Bitter Demons

by

Sarra Cannon

Published by Dead River Books

This book is dedicated to my amazing husband.

George, you are my heart. <3

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters,
places, and incidents either are products of the author's
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual
events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.

Copyright 2011 by Sarra Cannon Bittmann

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce
this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.
If you would like to share this book with another person, please
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own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this
author.

Find Sarra Cannon on the web!

http://www.sarracannon.com/

www.twitter.com/sarramaria

www.goodreads.com/sarra_cannon

www.facebook.com/sarracannon

Cover design by Robin Ludwig Design, inc.

http://rldprint.com/

I can't say thank you enough to my critique
group and best friends, J.D. Robinson, Erica Reeder, and Alok
Baikadi. You guys are a treasure to me, and I don't know if I could
have written these books without your support, willingness to read,
and insightful critiques. Thank you from the bottom of my
heart.

Thank you to my good friend Lori Hayes who
invited me to Crystal Coast for a writing weekend. I'm not sure I
could have finished this book without that mini-vacation, so thank
you. Plus, your friendship means a lot to me!

And always, to my soul mate. For allowing me
to follow my dreams. I love you.

Peachville High Demons Series:

Beautiful Demons

Inner Demons

Bitter Demons

She's Just Like Her
Mother

Will It Hurt?

Prima Futura

This Isn't Going To Make Me
Love You

I Only Had To Think
It

Myself, But Better

She's Just Different
Now

Just Do It

She Was Nothing

Aerden

There's Got To Be A
Way

I Guess I Was Expecting
More

You're A Public Figure
Now

This Better Be
Good

Caroline, Is It?

Get Away From It
All

Crows Can't Scream

There's Only Fear

The Fear In His
Eyes

You're All That
Matters

A Plague On This
Town

Motive

Zara

It's Yours, You
know

Butterfly

It Should Have Been
Me

The Black Stone

Someday

Consequences

A Crow Feather Wouldn't Be
So Hard To Overlook

The Silver Box

They Can't Keep Us
Apart

Since You're At The Top Of The
Pyramid Now

Her Blue Eyes

I Have A Lot Of
Gifts

Mrs. Shadowford's
Desk

Wrath

I Couldn't Cry Another
Tear

Quite The Storm

Eyes As Red As
Blood

Friends Don't Hurt Each
Other Like That

A Matter Of Life And
Death

The Crow

I'm Sorry, Mother

The Cup Of Blood

A Coven of Crows

Trust Takes Time

A Proper Trainer

The Rift

Outside, a gentle mist coated the windshield.
Dread pooled deep in my stomach as I stared out at the Ashworth
mansion.

"Hurry along," Ella Mae said. "You shouldn't
keep them waiting."

"Aren't you coming?" I asked.

She tightened her jaw and shook her head.
"You'll find them in the living room."

I pulled the handle on the door and slipped
out into the rain. My damp blonde curls hung limp against my coat.
I shivered and raised my hand to knock just as the door swung
open.

"The ladies have been expecting you." A short
man in a black suit took my coat, then ushered me toward the living
room.

The members of the council of the Order of
Shadows sat around the Ashworth's living room. They were dressed in
suits and skirts and held china teacups in their hands. My faded
jeans and t-shirt seemed dingy and way too casual for the occasion.
I shifted awkwardly and cleared my throat. All eyes turned to
me.

"Harper," Mrs. Ashworth said with a smile.
"We're so happy you could join us."

As if I'd had a choice.
My jaw
clenched tight, but I tried to keep my face expressionless. I'd
gotten in trouble enough times in my life to know when someone was
about to lecture me. This room had that sort of tension in the air,
and I braced myself for what was coming.

In most foster homes, this was the moment
when a family decided they wanted to get rid of me. But this wasn't
just some foster home. In Peachville, the stakes were much
higher.

I glanced around the room and felt grateful
for the few familiar faces. Sheriff Hollingsworth. Mayor Chen. Mrs.
King. The rest of the women were strangers. From the way they were
looking at me, I gathered they all already knew who I was.

"Why don't you have a seat over here," she
said. She pointed to an uncomfortable looking chair next to Mrs.
King, and I sat down.

I was grateful to be able to sit by the one
person in the room I knew best. Someone I felt I could trust. Mrs.
King gave me a closed-lipped smile. Her worried eyes made my
stomach twist into knots. I didn't typically do well in these types
of situations. I pressed my lips tight, determined not to lose my
cool.

Mrs. Ashworth stood by my side with her hand
on my shoulder, as though she were claiming me. Either that or
showing her power over me. I forced myself not to pull away, no
matter how badly I wanted to.

"Ladies, this is Harper Madison," she
said.

Everyone looked at me and nodded, smiling and
mouthing "hello" as our eyes met.

"Harper, I'm sure you're wondering why we
brought you here tonight." She walked into the center of the
makeshift circle, her palms pressed together tight. "We wanted to
talk to you about some of our concerns."

I raised my eyebrows, my heart pounding. I
could already feel myself growing defensive and tense.
Here it
comes.

"The incident at Brighton Hospital was
extremely dangerous and quite frankly, it was reckless." She paced
in front of my chair. All eyes followed her. "We're very concerned
that you are not taking your training seriously."

Mrs. Ashworth chose her words carefully, but
I could tell what she really wanted to say was that by risking my
own life, I was risking the lives of everyone in this room. Why
didn't she just come out and say it, then? Why keep tiptoeing
around these secrets? My hands tightened into fists.

"What I mean to say is that being a trainee
for the Order of Shadows is a very serious responsibility," she
said. "We can't have our girls throwing themselves into dangerous
situations like that. You should have come to us for help."

"Especially when it comes to saving people
like that Hunt boy," an elderly woman said. The disgust in her
voice brought a sour taste to my tongue. I fought to control my
temper. My face burned with the effort. That Hunt
boy
had
spent every afternoon by my side when I was in the hospital last
week. Hotness aside, he was definitely someone I wanted in my life.
And I would have been with him tonight, too, if I hadn't been
called to this stupid meeting.

Mrs. Ashworth turned quickly and gave the
woman a strange wide-eyed look. Then, she looked back my way with a
hesitant smile. "I'm afraid your behavior that night has us all
more than a little bit upset," she said. "The incident came up for
discussion at the council meeting, which is why we asked you to
come here tonight."

"So you could tell me to be careful?" I
asked.

The women shifted in their seats at the sound
of my voice. I guess they weren't used to people talking back to
their leader. In the back of my mind, I was aware that I needed to
watch my tone, but I could feel myself losing control. I was just
so tired of the secrets and the lies in this town. Why didn't they
simply say what they meant instead of tap-dancing around it?

"Yes," Mrs. Ashworth said with a curt nod.
"We brought you before the council hoping it would help you
understand just how serious we take your actions when you fail to
follow the rules. I would hate to have to remove you from the
cheerleading squad."

I snorted. Loud. It was kind of an accident.
An immediate reaction to the thought that I was in danger of being
taken off the squad. I knew they would never take me off the squad.
I was the Prima and would eventually be in charge of this town. Her
empty threat made me laugh, but as soon as the sound left my body,
I knew I'd made a big mistake. I felt Mrs. King tense in the chair
beside me.

"Sorry," I muttered, sitting up straight
again.

Mrs. Ashworth cleared her throat and adjusted
the hem of her blouse. "I don't think you understand the situation
you're in here," she said. "It's only because of your spot on the
cheerleading squad that you avoided another visit from your social
worker."

I narrowed my eyes at her. Was she seriously
threatening me with this? As if they would simply send me away to
be placed in juvenile detention all the way in Atlanta? Seeds of
anger took root in my belly. I opened my mouth to tell her exactly
what I thought of her threats, but the touch of Mrs. King's hand on
my arm made me pause.

"The council has voted to place you on
probation." She began to pace again. "It's only temporary, of
course, and will be contingent upon your behavior in the coming
weeks."

"Weeks?" I said, unable to hold back my
tongue.

Mrs. Ashworth lifted her chin. "Yes, weeks.
If needed, possibly months. That all depends on you."

I clenched my jaw tight to keep from
screaming. They had no right to place me on probation! If it hadn't
been for me, we'd have had a fourth dead student in this town. I
mean, I wasn't expecting anyone to go calling me a hero or
anything, but I didn't expect to be reprimanded so harshly
either.

"What exactly is probation?" I fought to keep
my voice steady and controlled, but I could hear the quiver of
emotion underneath.