From Bad to Cursed by Katie Alender Page B

the whole thing was a lark.
    “Whatever.” Pepper grabbed her car keys. “I’m going to Kira’s.”
    Megan knocked lightly on Mimi’s bedroom door, and Adrienne pulled it open.
    “Oh my God!” she squealed. “Hi!”
    Behind her, I saw my sister’s face turn white. But Megan and I pushed our way in, and there was nothing Kasey could say in front of the other girls.
    The ten of us fit in Mimi’s bedroom with room to spare. It was pristine, like an ad in a decorating magazine—the perfect backdrop for the array of immaculately dressed girls, wearing blissful, self- satisfied smiles, legs crossed at the ankle, posture perfect.
    The whole room fell silent when Adrienne went to her bag and lifted out a large object wrapped in midnight-blue velvet. She set it on the dresser and unwrapped it, then held it in front of herself while everyone in the room sat perfectly still.
    You had to admit—it was quite a book.
    Ten inches wide, sixteen inches tall. The cover was leather, densely embossed with runes and symbols—stars, moons, vines, Celtic knots.
    For a moment, I considered just grabbing it and taking off, but then Adrienne spoke.
    “We protect your dwelling with our blood and our lives,” she said, in the vague drone of a pod person.
    “ We protect your dwelling with our blood and our lives,” everyone repeated.
    Megan and I glanced at each other. They did not sound like they were kidding.
    Even if I did manage to wrench the book out of her hands, there were five girls between me and the door. Self-defense training or no, odds were I’d never make it.
    Adrienne broke into a smile. “I’m thrilled to announce that Alexis and Megan are joining us today! Alexis was one of the first upperclasswomen I met at Surrey, and she was so nice to me, even though she’s popular and has a boyfriend and I was a gross loser. And of course, Megan is well-known for her leadership.”
    The way Adrienne talked about herself, you’d think she was dishing on some sad reject—not the sweet, well-meaning girl she’d been a few short weeks before.
    “Megan and Alexis.” Adrienne could hardly speak through her giant smile. “Please stand.”
    Stand? I glanced at Kasey, whose face was buried in her hands.
    Suddenly I felt like maybe we should have thought this whole thing through a little more.
    I got to my feet, my heart beating as if I’d climbed ten flights of stairs. Megan stood next to me.
    “Please put these on your ring fingers.” She passed each of us a thin gold ring. I slipped it over my finger. Adrienne looked into my eyes, her gaze as smooth as a polished stone. “Place your right hand on the book, and repeat after me.”
    Megan blinked with alarm and obeyed. Angling my body, I lifted my left hand and set it against the underside of the open book, hoping Adrienne wouldn’t notice. And if she did, I could just pretend I was confused.
    But she didn’t notice.
    “Geallaim dílseachta…”
    “Geallaim dílseachta…”
    She went through a whole long spiel of words that were nothing but nonsense—to us and to her, I could tell. I repeated as well as I could.
    “A tu, Aralt,” Adrienne said with finality.
    “A tu, Aralt,” we repeated.
    My nerves felt like a writhing bundle of live wires.
    Adrienne gently closed the book and leaned in to give us a kiss on each cheek.
    “Our sisters,” she said.
    Everyone clapped politely. A path cleared back to my seat on the bed, and I sank down, trying to figure out if I felt different. I felt on edge, somehow, but that was probably adrenaline. After all, I’d taken an oath in a language I didn’t understand to a supernatural being I knew nothing about.
    An oath. Why hadn’t Kasey said anything about an oath?
    It occurred to me that maybe she’d planned this all along. She had to know that Megan and I wouldn’t just leave the subject alone…just because we’d said we would.
    No. She’d been shocked to see us. And she didn’t look happy. She really believed she could