do.
“You okay?” Toni asks.
I nod. “But I can’t stop thinking about this connection between Keller and me.”
“Yeah, seems like you’ve got all kinds of connections.” Toni smiles, but it’s a bit shaky.
“You know the only reason I have it with Egan is because we’re both witches. That’s all.”
“I know.” She lies on her side and picks at the edge of her blanket. “I just wish I had something like that.”
“What you have with Egan is special, more so because there’s nothing supernatural at play. He loves you. And even though I don’t need my connection with him to know that, I can feel it, too. He was miserable without you.”
“He said that?”
“He didn’t have to.”
She rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling. “You ever wonder if we’ll all stay together after this is finished, if we make it through it. I mean, you hear about how life-and-death situations bring people together. But do they stay together after the high-stakes danger is past?”
“Toni, you don’t have anything to worry about. I’ve known Egan a long time, and before he met you I would have bet my life that he could never feel about someone the way he feels about you.”
She rolls back toward me suddenly. “We’ve got to kick these witches’ asses so we can get back to Baker Gap. I cannot wait to stroll into school hand in hand with Egan. We’ll be normal couples going to ball games, studying for tests, going to prom someday.”
“Toting your drums to gigs, hunting evil spirits,” I say.
“Okay, so semi-normal.”
We laugh and talk about normal things like breaking curfew and going to prom. When Toni threatens to get a prom dress that looks like Kaylee’s layer cake dress from Firefly , I tease that maybe I’ll dress like the glamorous Inara.
“Good grief, Keller will have to beat all the guys off with a baseball bat.”
Even though I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, the normal girl inside of me sort of likes the idea of Keller defending my honor. “I really do love him,” I say. “More than I ever thought I could love anyone.”
“I know. I think that’s the thing that’s going to save us all.”
It seems cosmic somehow that love might be the thing that fuels the defeat of the covens, which are made up of anything but love. I imagine that pendulum swinging closer to the middle, bringing things back into balance.
Chapter Seven
“I want to get out of this building for a while,” I announce at breakfast the next morning.
“Not sure that’s a good idea,” Amanda says.
“What’s not a good idea is me going stir crazy because I haven’t seen the sun since I don’t know when. I want to breathe some fresh air.”
“We don’t know if any of your coven might be nearby,” Hope says. “We’ve not detected them, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t shown up since we checked. You’d be making yourself a target.”
“I’ll sense them if they are anywhere close.” Because we’re related, I’ll be able to detect them before the Bane members can. I glance at my bracelet. “But to make sure they can’t detect me, I’d like you to put another bracelet on me, double the protection.”
“I think it’s a good idea,” Sarah says, drawing surprised looks from the others. “You’ve done everything we’ve asked, and you’ve been working hard and virtually nonstop. Maybe a break will actually help our progress when you come back. Just don’t be gone too long.”
I nod at her. “Thank you.”
Amanda leaves the room but isn’t gone long. In her hand is a silver bracelet identical to the one on my left arm.
“It won’t hurt this time since we’re not attaching it to your wrist,” Sarah says.
I stand and approach Amanda then extend my right arm. The darkness inside me feels agitated, but I’m able to keep it from raising too much of a fuss as Amanda clicks the silver band together. She touches the bracelet with her fingertip, causing the closure
“You okay?” Toni asks.
I nod. “But I can’t stop thinking about this connection between Keller and me.”
“Yeah, seems like you’ve got all kinds of connections.” Toni smiles, but it’s a bit shaky.
“You know the only reason I have it with Egan is because we’re both witches. That’s all.”
“I know.” She lies on her side and picks at the edge of her blanket. “I just wish I had something like that.”
“What you have with Egan is special, more so because there’s nothing supernatural at play. He loves you. And even though I don’t need my connection with him to know that, I can feel it, too. He was miserable without you.”
“He said that?”
“He didn’t have to.”
She rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling. “You ever wonder if we’ll all stay together after this is finished, if we make it through it. I mean, you hear about how life-and-death situations bring people together. But do they stay together after the high-stakes danger is past?”
“Toni, you don’t have anything to worry about. I’ve known Egan a long time, and before he met you I would have bet my life that he could never feel about someone the way he feels about you.”
She rolls back toward me suddenly. “We’ve got to kick these witches’ asses so we can get back to Baker Gap. I cannot wait to stroll into school hand in hand with Egan. We’ll be normal couples going to ball games, studying for tests, going to prom someday.”
“Toting your drums to gigs, hunting evil spirits,” I say.
“Okay, so semi-normal.”
We laugh and talk about normal things like breaking curfew and going to prom. When Toni threatens to get a prom dress that looks like Kaylee’s layer cake dress from Firefly , I tease that maybe I’ll dress like the glamorous Inara.
“Good grief, Keller will have to beat all the guys off with a baseball bat.”
Even though I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, the normal girl inside of me sort of likes the idea of Keller defending my honor. “I really do love him,” I say. “More than I ever thought I could love anyone.”
“I know. I think that’s the thing that’s going to save us all.”
It seems cosmic somehow that love might be the thing that fuels the defeat of the covens, which are made up of anything but love. I imagine that pendulum swinging closer to the middle, bringing things back into balance.
Chapter Seven
“I want to get out of this building for a while,” I announce at breakfast the next morning.
“Not sure that’s a good idea,” Amanda says.
“What’s not a good idea is me going stir crazy because I haven’t seen the sun since I don’t know when. I want to breathe some fresh air.”
“We don’t know if any of your coven might be nearby,” Hope says. “We’ve not detected them, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t shown up since we checked. You’d be making yourself a target.”
“I’ll sense them if they are anywhere close.” Because we’re related, I’ll be able to detect them before the Bane members can. I glance at my bracelet. “But to make sure they can’t detect me, I’d like you to put another bracelet on me, double the protection.”
“I think it’s a good idea,” Sarah says, drawing surprised looks from the others. “You’ve done everything we’ve asked, and you’ve been working hard and virtually nonstop. Maybe a break will actually help our progress when you come back. Just don’t be gone too long.”
I nod at her. “Thank you.”
Amanda leaves the room but isn’t gone long. In her hand is a silver bracelet identical to the one on my left arm.
“It won’t hurt this time since we’re not attaching it to your wrist,” Sarah says.
I stand and approach Amanda then extend my right arm. The darkness inside me feels agitated, but I’m able to keep it from raising too much of a fuss as Amanda clicks the silver band together. She touches the bracelet with her fingertip, causing the closure
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