Instead, she found monsters and nightmares, and who knew what else when Victor came to collect his Nine?
I couldn’t understand how people could treat other human beings so horribly. My fists were clenching and unclenching at my sides. I could feel magic building in me, like steam in a kettle. Strangely, it had a color – although I couldn’t see it with my eyes, I knew it was cool blue. Like the ice on the rivers and lakes of Siberia.
Suddenly, barking echoed through the garden, and two dogs burst from the bushes, running at full speed. They were enormous black and brown beasts with pointed ears and vicious teeth.
“Come on!” Jean-Sébastien grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the tree line. The dogs swerved and headed straight for us. They were already just fifty meters away and closing fast. We would never make it off the property, and I wasn’t sure if the dogs would stop chasing us even then.
I stopped. Enough! Enough of André and Marie and their evil parties, their dungeons, and their creepy friends. Enough of their snarling dogs. Enough of my friends being mistreated!
Magic swelled in me, making me grow cold.
I turned and planted my feet. Holding tight to my dream stone, I took a deep breath and roared like a bear. The pent-up magic burst out of me and slammed into the dogs, hitting them like a chilly wave. One dog fell to the ground. The other somersaulted head over tail and landed in a heap beside his mate.
The night was deathly quiet again. Both dogs rose on wobbly feet, shaking their heads and whimpering.
“Leave us alone!” I growled. My voice sounded strange to my ears, deeper and darker than normal. A small ache throbbed in my chest as if the huge explosion of magic had left a hole there. The dogs tucked their tails between their legs and ran away, yipping.
Jean-Sébastien watched me thoughtfully. Great. Now I’d blown my secret. By tomorrow, everyone in Luyons would know I was a witch.
To my surprise, he just shook his head and smiled. “You are one strange girl, Anna Sophia.”
Yes, strange was becoming my middle name.
Chapter 9
D ear Diary ,
People, just like books, can’t be judged by their covers. Look at André and Marie. They appear to be good parents and kind-hearted benefactors. If you ask anyone in Luyons, they will say without hesitation that the Montmorencys are tremendous humanitarians.
But behind the booming laugh and the fancy ball gowns, they are slavers.
That theory works both ways too. Sister Constance has a reputation for sternness. She rarely has a kind word for anyone. A stranger, looking at the little family in our dorm house, would think that Sister Constance despises the children in her care. And yet, I’m starting to believe that might not be true…
----
J ean-Sébastien zoomed into the garage beside the orphanage. I jumped off the scooter and tossed him the helmet before he’d even cut the engine.
“Go check on Beatrice,” I said. “She was supposed to be with Gaëlle and Marie tonight.”
“Fine,” he said. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to find someone who will believe me when I tell them that two of Luyons’ most prominent citizens are crooks of the worst sort.” And I had a good idea who would believe me. Sister Constance had always seemed suspicious of André and Marie. Of course, Sister Constance was suspicious of most people, but maybe that would work in my favor tonight.
We were fifteen minutes past curfew, but the door to my dorm was unlocked. Sister Constance liked to lull stragglers into a false sense of security. She would let them wander in ten or fifteen minutes late. But she always waited in the lobby with a stern word and a list of chores to be done as punishment for tardiness.
I hoped she would be there tonight.
I didn’t try to sneak in; I opened the door wide and ran inside. My dorm house wasn’t always the homiest home, but tonight, I was glad it was mine.
Sister Constance and Sister Daphne were
I couldn’t understand how people could treat other human beings so horribly. My fists were clenching and unclenching at my sides. I could feel magic building in me, like steam in a kettle. Strangely, it had a color – although I couldn’t see it with my eyes, I knew it was cool blue. Like the ice on the rivers and lakes of Siberia.
Suddenly, barking echoed through the garden, and two dogs burst from the bushes, running at full speed. They were enormous black and brown beasts with pointed ears and vicious teeth.
“Come on!” Jean-Sébastien grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the tree line. The dogs swerved and headed straight for us. They were already just fifty meters away and closing fast. We would never make it off the property, and I wasn’t sure if the dogs would stop chasing us even then.
I stopped. Enough! Enough of André and Marie and their evil parties, their dungeons, and their creepy friends. Enough of their snarling dogs. Enough of my friends being mistreated!
Magic swelled in me, making me grow cold.
I turned and planted my feet. Holding tight to my dream stone, I took a deep breath and roared like a bear. The pent-up magic burst out of me and slammed into the dogs, hitting them like a chilly wave. One dog fell to the ground. The other somersaulted head over tail and landed in a heap beside his mate.
The night was deathly quiet again. Both dogs rose on wobbly feet, shaking their heads and whimpering.
“Leave us alone!” I growled. My voice sounded strange to my ears, deeper and darker than normal. A small ache throbbed in my chest as if the huge explosion of magic had left a hole there. The dogs tucked their tails between their legs and ran away, yipping.
Jean-Sébastien watched me thoughtfully. Great. Now I’d blown my secret. By tomorrow, everyone in Luyons would know I was a witch.
To my surprise, he just shook his head and smiled. “You are one strange girl, Anna Sophia.”
Yes, strange was becoming my middle name.
Chapter 9
D ear Diary ,
People, just like books, can’t be judged by their covers. Look at André and Marie. They appear to be good parents and kind-hearted benefactors. If you ask anyone in Luyons, they will say without hesitation that the Montmorencys are tremendous humanitarians.
But behind the booming laugh and the fancy ball gowns, they are slavers.
That theory works both ways too. Sister Constance has a reputation for sternness. She rarely has a kind word for anyone. A stranger, looking at the little family in our dorm house, would think that Sister Constance despises the children in her care. And yet, I’m starting to believe that might not be true…
----
J ean-Sébastien zoomed into the garage beside the orphanage. I jumped off the scooter and tossed him the helmet before he’d even cut the engine.
“Go check on Beatrice,” I said. “She was supposed to be with Gaëlle and Marie tonight.”
“Fine,” he said. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to find someone who will believe me when I tell them that two of Luyons’ most prominent citizens are crooks of the worst sort.” And I had a good idea who would believe me. Sister Constance had always seemed suspicious of André and Marie. Of course, Sister Constance was suspicious of most people, but maybe that would work in my favor tonight.
We were fifteen minutes past curfew, but the door to my dorm was unlocked. Sister Constance liked to lull stragglers into a false sense of security. She would let them wander in ten or fifteen minutes late. But she always waited in the lobby with a stern word and a list of chores to be done as punishment for tardiness.
I hoped she would be there tonight.
I didn’t try to sneak in; I opened the door wide and ran inside. My dorm house wasn’t always the homiest home, but tonight, I was glad it was mine.
Sister Constance and Sister Daphne were
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