Bitter Demons (7 page)

The Cypress coach nodded and stepped on the
bus briefly to give the rest of the squad instructions. Meredith
stood beside me, studying me a little too closely. It made me wish
I had been too late to make the whole meet and greet. Brooke wanted
the chance to schmooze with these girls? She could have it as far
as I was concerned.

"So, how does it feel to suddenly find out
you've got this amazing destiny?" Meredith asked. She chewed her
gum vigorously and blew a big bubble. It burst with a loud pop.

I shrugged. "Great," I said.

"I should think so," she said. "I mean, it's
a real Cinderella story."

I'd never thought of myself as Cinderella,
but I liked that better than the prodigal thing. Although, I
certainly didn't think my current path was leading me toward a
happily ever after.

"I simply can't imagine it," she said. "I
mean, I've known since I was a little girl that I was basically
royalty in Cypress. But you? You must have been so excited to learn
that you had more to look forward to than a pitiful string of
foster homes."

Wow, this chick knew more about my life than
I thought she would. Did everyone know? Or just her since she was a
future? She talked about my life as if the Order had lifted me from
some terrible life of poverty and shame. I guess she was right in
some ways, but I hardly saw how this life was all that much better.
Sure, the magic was awesome, and I was closer than ever to finding
out the truth about my mother. But I also knew that all of this
came at a very hefty price.

The cheerleaders were finally allowed off the
bus, and I was glad to get out of my one-on-one conversation with
Meredith. I had hoped to find her sympathetic and easy to talk to,
but she seemed stuck-up. Not my favorite kind of person, to say the
least. She'd probably get along with Brooke just fine.

I helped show the visiting squad to their
locker rooms. On the way there, a cute girl with silky straight
brown hair ran to the front to stand beside me. She was slightly
out of breath when she reached me.

"Hey," she said, panting. "Harper,
right?"

She had a sweet smile that was
contagious.

"That's me," I said. I braced myself for
another condescending comment, just in case.

"Oh my god, I'm so excited to finally meet
you," she said. "I'm Caroline, Meredith's younger sister."

Great. Another one.

"Hey," I said. "Nice to meet you."

"I can't imagine how weird all this must be
for you," she said. "To have all this pressure just heaped onto
your shoulders out of nowhere."

I turned my head to study her more closely.
Maybe she wasn't like her sister at all. I softened. "It's been
tough," I said. "Sometimes I feel like I stepped into the Twilight
Zone."

She laughed. It was a sparkling, genuine sort
of laugh that made me instantly like her. "I hope we get a chance
to talk more later," she said. "I heard someone say we're having a
party after the game and spending the night in town tonight."

"Yeah, the mayor offered her lake house to
us," I said. Luckily, the party qualified as an approved event, so
my curfew had been lifted for the evening. "Everyone should be
there. It'll be fun."

"If you have time, come find me," she
said.

"I will."

She waved as she disappeared into the guest
locker rooms. I waved back and smiled. The difference in the two
futures was phenomenal. For the first time in my life, it made me
glad I didn't have a sister.

The Peachville vs. Cypress play-off game had
everyone on their feet. It made sense that both teams were
excellent. I mean, after all, they both had magic on their side. I
had never confirmed it, but I was pretty sure Drake's mom gave him
a trinket to help him with his game. Something similar to the
sneakers us cheerleaders wore. And if Peachville did it, other
demon gates probably used magic on the field too.

As I watched, I realized this was possibly
the first game all season that seemed like a fair match. I suddenly
felt sorry for all of those non-magic teams we beat earlier in the
year. Technically speaking, it wasn't really fair. Using magic was
no different from using illegal steroids. The only thing was that
it was a hell of a lot harder to prove.

Jackson warned me that using magic was
dangerous for lots of reasons. Not just the awful headaches or
feeling sick when you used too much power. Magic was addictive.
Worse than any opiate or crack or whatever else. Once a witch got
used to having power, it was very difficult to live without it. I
hated to say that I kind of understood what he meant. Ever since my
confirmation, magic had been so easy for me, it was definitely
becoming addictive.

I turned toward the stadium full of
Peachville fans. I cheered and kept a smile on my face, but my eyes
searched for Jackson's face. If I could trade all the magical power
running through my veins for the safe release of his brother, I
would do it in a heartbeat.

The crowd roared. I flipped around mid-cheer
to see Drake's perfect pass land in the hands of number
sixty-three. Touchdown. The game was tied with only two minutes of
game-play left. Usually at this point in the game, Peachville was
at least fourteen points up. Now, we were fighting just to stay in
it.

The Demons football team went for the
two-point conversion and scored, putting Peachville up by one
point. Everyone in the stadium was on their feet, and for a moment,
I was just a normal girl cheering for her team. All my thoughts of
magic and responsibility faded away. I cheered with my community,
and I felt like part of the town.

Cypress had the ball and made an attempt to
run it down the field, but on the second down, Foster Adams
intercepted the ball. I never heard so much sound come from a crowd
of people as I did in that moment. People on the Peachville side
jumped up and down. With the ball in Peachville's hands, the clock
ran down quickly. Peachville won by one point, and everyone was
ready to celebrate.

Most of the cheerleaders were all smiles as
we made our way to the locker rooms to change.

"Did you see that last pass Drake threw?"
Brooke said. She'd rushed up to me on our walk back and hugged me
so hard my shoulder screamed in pain.

I winced. "Ouch. Still kind of sore over
there, Brooke."

She looked offended. "Isn't that ever going
to heal?"

I wanted to roll my eyes. I'd been stabbed
with a ritual dagger made from metal that isn't even found in this
dimension, and she expected me to be healed in three weeks. "Not if
people keep aggravating it," I said.

She cleared her throat, then seemed to brush
it off. She smiled again and put that high-pitched excitement in
her voice that she had when she first walked up. "So did you see
the pass? He's amazing isn't he?"

"Great," I said, not wanting to argue. "It
was an awesome game."

"I really don't see why you guys broke up,"
she said. "You were the perfect couple. Foster says he never stops
talking about you and that he hasn't even been able to think about
other girls since you broke his heart."

"He really should move on," I said. "I'm just
not interested."

"Don't be ridiculous," she said with a laugh.
"Any girl in this school would kill to go out with him. How could
you not be interested in a super-rich, super-goodlooking star
quarterback?"

Gee. I don't know. Could be the fact that
he's an asshole.

I kept my mouth shut and prayed for someone
to save me from the conversation. I spotted Lark holding the door
for us just up ahead. I jogged to meet her.

"Thanks," I said cheerfully.

"You guys are coming to the party, right?
Mom's been working like mad to make sure everything is perfect,"
she said. The three of us walked together into the locker rooms.
"We hardly ever use the lake house since Mom was elected mayor. She
just doesn't have time to go out there with us. It was full of dust
and stuff, but we got it aired out and it's looking good."

"That's so sweet of her to host us all
there," Brooke said. She sounded sugary and fake. I hardly
recognized her anymore. One minute she was talking about me behind
my back and the next she was trying to be my best buddy again.

"Yeah," Lark said, making a face. She
obviously noticed the weird tone of voice, too. "My mom's a
sweetie."

"Do you guys want a ride over there?" Brooke
asked. "I can take at least four people."

"I'm riding out there with Mom as soon as I
can get changed," she said. "We've still got some stuff to set up
before the crowd descends."

Brooke looked to me.

"Actually, I'm planning to ride out there
with the two futures from Cypress," I said. Mrs. King had asked me
earlier to be their host, so I couldn't very well say no.

"Fine," Brooke said, her shoulders tense.
"I'll go see if Allison wants a ride."

I was relieved when she walked away. I didn't
like her energy lately. I wanted the old Brooke back, but I knew
that was never going to happen. Either her demon was changing her
from the inside or the power of being part of the Order was going
to her head.

I changed quickly and ran out to meet the
futures from Cypress. Mrs. King had offered to give the three of us
a ride out to the party. She thought it would be good for us to
spend some time together. Meredith and Caroline were already
waiting outside the gym. They'd both changed into jeans and
sweaters. Every detail of Meredith's outfit was very precise. Her
earrings had a stone that exactly matched a stone in her belt
buckle. The brown leather boots she wore exactly matched the brown
of her sweater. It was all a little too matchy matchy, and I
wondered if she was using a glamour. For all I knew, that was
standard training for a future.

"You look great," I told her. "I like your
belt."

"Thanks," she said. She put one hand on her
hip and studied my outfit with both her eyebrows raised. "As a
future, you know you really should spend more time on your
appearance. You're a public figure now."

I nodded and gritted my teeth. I probably
should have used a glamour tonight, too, but I was afraid I was
using magic a little too much lately. "I'll work on that," I
said.

Caroline caught my attention and rolled her
eyes. She stood slightly behind her sister so Meredith couldn't see
her face. I stifled a giggle.

"It's like when celebrities like Britney or
Lindsey Lohan get photographed wearing awful baggy shirts or no
make-up or something. Everyone notices."

We made our way toward the parking lot and
Mrs. King's car.

"I hardly think anyone's going to be
photographing me," I said.

"Yes they will," she said. "Not the press or
anything, but people around town will begin to see you as a sort of
local celebrity. You'll start to see your picture in the paper and
the yearbook and all around. And once you become the Prima, you'll
be a real leader around here. If you want some tips on how to dress
or how to put together an outfit, I'd be happy to help."

"I think I can handle it," I said, tired of
the conversation about my fashion. It was like a flashback to
Brooke telling me I had to stop wearing so much black when I first
got on the cheerleading squad. I wasn't really a big fan of people
criticizing my fashion choices, but I knew I couldn't exactly tell
her to stuff it either.

"I mean, I know you don't really have a lot
of money or whatever," she said. "But there are other ways."

I glanced at Caroline and she smiled.

They had to know about glamours. What other
way could Meredith mean? They didn't strike me as the type to
recommend shoplifting. I wanted to ask them about it, but Mrs. King
came up at that moment and ushered us into her car.

The ride to the party didn't help me feel any
closer to the futures from Cypress. Meredith droned on and on about
what it means to be a future. I felt like I was being lectured the
whole time. Caroline was pretty quiet up front next to Mrs. King,
but if I had to choose, she would be the future I would prefer to
hang out with.

Luckily, it didn't take long for Meredith to
ditch us once we arrived at the Chen's lake house. The boys from
both football teams had arrived ahead of us, and it was obvious a
few of them had been waiting for us to arrive. Whatever popularity
I'd been experiencing the past few days since the confirmation
ritual, Meredith had it ten-fold. Since her mother was still the
reigning Prima, she was possibly years away from her final
initiation ceremony, but if I had to guess, I'd say she was several
steps farther than me in her journey.

Her beauty and allure was lost on me, but as
she walked onto the front deck, the sea of guys there literally
parted to let her pass. Every head turned and guys jumped at the
chance to offer her a drink. Caroline and I stood back on the grass
and watched.

"Does that happen everywhere she goes?" I
asked.

"Pretty much," Caroline said. "You should see
my mom."

That last part she said under her breath, but
I caught the bitterness in her tone.

"You don't like them very much, do you?"

Caroline looked up, her eyes wide. She shook
her head. "I don't not like them," she said. "I mean, it's my
family. I love them."

"That's not exactly the same thing," I
said.

She scrunched up her nose. "No, I guess it's
not."

"It's no big deal," I said. "To tell you the
truth, I'm not the biggest fan of your sister either. I thought
she'd never stop criticizing me. She's kind of full of
herself."

Caroline laughed. "You have no idea how good
it is to hear you say that," she said. "It's like everyone's always
under her spell. Guys fall all over her at school. Teachers adore
her and she always gets perfect grades. And she's Mom's favorite,
by far. Meredith is a little princess."