Torment by Lauren Kate Page A

said. “Except for the drum circle part, in case that wasn’t obvious.”
    “Luce.” Roland waved from his position on the boulder. “You made it.”
    Miles and Shelby were already way ahead of her, heading toward the hot dog station, so Luce trekked over a dune of cool, damp sand toward Roland and the others.
    “You weren’t kidding when you said you wanted to make your presence known. This is really something, Roland.”
    Roland nodded graciously. “Something, huh? Something good, or something bad?”
    It seemed like a loaded question, and what Luce wanted to say was that she couldn’t tell anymore. She thought about the heated conversation she’d overheard in the teacher’s office. How sharp Francesca’s voice had sounded. The line between what was good and what was bad felt incredibly blurry. Roland and Steven were fallen angels who’d gone over. Demons, right? Did she even know what that meant? But then there was Cam, and … what did Roland mean by that question? She squinted at him. Maybe he was really only asking whether Luce was having fun?
    A myriad of colorful partygoers swirled around her, but Luce could feel the endless black waves nearby. The air near the water was whipping and cold, but the bonfire was hot on her skin. So many things seemed to be at odds right now, all shoving up against her at once.
    “Who are all these people, Roland?”
    “Let’s see.” Roland pointed at the hippie kids in the drum circle. “Townies.” To their right, he gestured at a big group of guys trying to impress a much smaller group of girls with a few very bad thrusting dance moves. “Those guys are marines stationed in Fort Bragg. From the way they’re partying, I hope they’re on leave for the weekend.” When Jasmine and Dawn sidled up next to him, Roland put one arm around each of their shoulders. “These two, I believe you know.”
    “You didn’t tell us you were such big friends with the celestial social director, Luce,” Jasmine said.
    “Seriously.” Dawn leaned in to whisper loudly to Luce, “Only my diary knows how many times I’ve wished to go to a Roland Sparks party. And my diary will never tell.”
    “Oh, but I might,” Roland joked.
    “Is there no relish at this party?” Shelby popped up behind Luce with Miles at her side. She was holding two hot dogs in one hand and stuck out her free one to Roland. “Shelby Sterris. Who are you?”
    “Shelby Sterris,” Roland repeated. “I’m Roland Sparks. You ever live in East L.A.? Have we met before?”
    “No.”
    “She has a photographic memory,” Miles supplied, slipping Luce a veggie hot dog, which was not her favorite, but a nice gesture nonetheless. “I’m Miles. Cool party, by the way.”
    “Very cool,” Dawn agreed, swaying with Roland to the drumbeat.
    “What about Steven and Francesca?” Luce had to practically shout to Shelby. “Won’t they hear us down here?” It was one thing to sneak out under the radar. It was another to plant a sonic boom directly on that radar.
    Jasmine glanced back toward the campus. “They’ll hear us, sure, but our leash is pretty long at Shoreline. At least for the Nephilim kids. As long as we stay on campus, under their umbrella of surveillance, we can pretty much do as we please.”
    “Does that include a limbo contest?” Roland grinned impishly, producing a long, thick branch from behind him. “Miles, you going to hold the other end for me?”
    Seconds later, the branch was raised, the drumbeat changed, and it seemed like the whole party had dropped what they were doing to form one long, animated limbo line.
    “Luce,” Miles called to her. “You’re not just going to stand there, are you?”
    She studied the crowd, feeling stiff and rooted to her spot in the sand. But Dawn and Jasmine were making an opening for her to squeeze into line between the two of them. Already in competition mode—probably born in competition mode—Shelby was stretching out her back. Even the buttoned-up