The Wild (Book Four The Hayle Coven Novels) Read online

  Classic Syd.

  My posse waited for me, as usual, in the sunny nook by the front door. Beth’s shining brown bob bounced as she spotted me and waved with her usual innocent enthusiasm. Simon’s glasses flashed as he turned and smiled, badly cut dark hair falling over his eyes. Blood towered over him, Goth makeup and jet black locks always reminding me of Frankenstein. His equally emo girlfriend, Pain, hovered next to him. She met my gaze with her crystal blue eyes. Instantly, I could tell something was wrong with her.

  Before I had a chance to single her out, Alison, my former cheerleader-bully-now- turned-best friend, rushed forward and grabbed me in a big hug, spinning me around in her excitement.

  I gasped for breath as she stopped and grinned at me so wide I worried about her sanity.

  “Prom day!” She giggled, a decidedly wicked sound. “Aren’t you totally jacked?”

  I shrugged, noticing the dreamy look on Beth’s face, the flush of embarrassment on Simon’s. Neither of my Goth friends seemed terribly impressed. “I guess.”

  Alison rolled her eyes and winked. “Yeah, me either.” The others were already retreating deeper into the school to get ready for exams so Alison linked arms with me and led me after them.

  “Seriously, I’m so happy you’re going to be there.” She made a face like all of this was beneath her. “I went last year and let me tell you, it sucked being the youngest. And I know, I know,” she maneuvered us cleanly through a pack of giggling girls, “it’s not our prom or anything. But we’ll still have fun, right?”

  “Sure, Al.” I managed to smile. “I know we will.”

  “Got to run. I’ll see you at lunch.” She hugged me quickly before moving off, smiling at me over her shoulder.

  She was right. I could have fun tonight. And if Alison attended, at least I’d have someone else to talk to besides Brad. And it was prom.

  So why the feet dragging?

  I dumped my stuff in my locker, freed my English book so I could return it after my exam and headed to class. I rounded the corner at a trot, actually on time, when I ran right into Brad.

  He caught me before I could do too much damage to either of us, his easy smile lighting me up more than I expected it to. “Hey, Syd.” He let me go once I was stable. “In a hurry?”

  “Homeroom,” I said.

  He laughed. “Your favorite.”

  Yeah, right. Ms. Fiat hated my guts. One more detention with her and I’d set a school record.

  “Ready for tonight?” He didn’t seem concerned I was in a hurry. Brad leaned his wide shoulder against the wall and grinned at me, green eyes still amused.

  “I guess.” Wow, way to waffle. He leaned forward and kissed me softly, once. When he pulled back, he was frowning a little. He did that a lot these days whenever he touched me. I knew it was because I no longer had any magic to trigger his latent talent. But he still wanted to be with me, so at least I knew it wasn’t just my power holding us together.

  More than I could say for Quaid.

  Speak of the devil, as Brad leaned back, my eyes flickered to the left and right into the chocolate brown gaze of the guy himself. For a moment my heart stopped, wanting to be anywhere but there with Brad, under Quaid’s watchful eyes. But those same eyes flickered away from me as if they didn’t recognize me, like I didn’t exist or matter.

  My blood surged, anger bitter. Just to spite Quaid, I grabbed Brad’s shirt and pulled him down, kissing him back.

  When I leaned away, he grinned, but there was discomfort in it. “Ease up, Syd. Save some for later, will you?”

  I flushed, this time angry with myself. “See you tonight.”

  He hesitated, almost spoke. Then, he smiled. “See you tonight.”

  The bell rang so I had no time to ask him what was up. Ten feet from the door and I ran the distance.

  Guess who still got detention.

  Lunch couldn’t come fast enough. Though, I admit I found my friends chatter more annoying than anything and sat on the end of our table, head down over my food.I wasn’t the only one. I looked up to see Pain watching me. She left the others to scoot down her side across from me. Her fingers tapped nervously on the tabletop, black nail polish shining in the fluorescents.

  “Hey, Syd.” She looked down at my sandwich. It was a mess of torn up bits. “Not hungry?”

  One of her eyelids twitched over and over again and I saw the strain around her mouth. Something was definitely off. Since my magic was gone, I couldn’t feel if she was finally shedding the walls of power containing her own magic or if she was just being her same old neurotic self. I hoped the former in one way. As far as I was concerned, we were in the same boat, powerless without our consent. But at least her end was in sight. Mine? I had no idea.

  I honestly hoped it was the latter too, though. When Pain finally broke out, I wasn’t sure what would happen or what it would do to her. She was fragile already, though I knew it was because she sensed her power her whole life without being able to do anything about it.

  Talk about a Catch-22.

  “Not so much,” I said, shoving the mess aside.

  “Me either.” I could hear the clatter of metal shaking and knew if I looked under the table her knees would be jiggling, the chains on her boots making the racket.

  “You okay?” She sat there with me for a reason, clearly. Did she remember what I used to feel like? I exposed my power to her once, when she was under the thrall of Demitrius in disguise, in an effort to get through to her. But Mom erased those memories. At least, I thought she did.

  Pain’s shoulders rolled forward, making her huge, layered earrings sing along with the chains on her boots. “Things have just been… weird lately.”

  “Weird how?” For once I didn’t have any inside information and found it incredibly frustrating.

  “Do you remember your dreams?” Her blue eyes flickered sideways as if to check and see if the others were listening. She must have decided it was clear to continue.

  Why did her question make my stomach clench? Probably because of the dream I’d had the night before.

  “Sometimes.”

  She nodded as if that was enough. “Me too,” she said. “But never ones that make sense, right? Like, you’re being chased by a blue bull through an empty city while an octopus directs traffic. Stupid stuff like that.”

  Um. Well, not exactly. She had a vivid imagination.

  “I don’t know why I’m telling you this.” She sat back suddenly. “It’s not your problem.”

  “I’m your friend.” I felt a surge of affection inside me, and a welling of compassion. “You can tell me anything.”

  Her gaze stayed flat and blank for a long moment. Then, she smiled and I saw a hint of the real Pain, the happy and innocent girl she was never allowed to be thanks to whoever tampered with her. She leaned close again, almost whispering.

  “Well, it’s like this. I’m in this room, right? Surrounded by people. Like a court or something, nobility. But they don’t look like normal people.”

  I could barely breathe. It was the same dream. But it couldn’t be. Could it?

  “And I’m all mad and jealous,” she scowled like she’d never be jealous in real life, “and I sentence this girl to death. I hate her!” Pain shuddered and hugged herself. “And they do it. They kill her. Oddest thing is, she seems familiar. It all does. Like it’s more a memory than a dream.”

  I caught myself nodding and had to force myself to stop. “What do you think it means?” As calm as I managed to be on the outside, I was freaking out solid on the inside. What the hell?

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe nothing. But it felt like something.” Pain let her arms fall, her fingers tapping on the table. “Just don’t tell anyone, okay?” Her eyes pleaded with me, like it was the most important thing ever.

  I knew why the secrecy. She’d spent some time in the hospital during the whole Cesard incident, when the possessed magician took over. And from what Blood told me, she’d been in t
herapy most of her life. A byproduct of being blocked and knowing something was wrong while having no control over the whole thing.

  “Not a word.” I put all my empathy and conviction into it. “No one’s business.”

  She smiled, black lipstick cracking a little. “You’re the best, Syd.”

  Oh, I wish. And I couldn’t wait to go home.

  At final bell, I bypassed Alison with a promise to see her later and ran for Mom. I found her just descending into the basement. The look on my face must have been enough to warn her because she instantly turned back and came to my side.

  “Syd,” she said, “what’s happened?”

  I tumbled into a chair and told her about the dream and Pain’s copycat of mine. She listened quietly until I was done before taking my hands in hers.

  “It’s okay, honey,” she said. “Pain’s walls are finally coming down. You said her birthday is soon, isn’t it?”

  That was right. Less than a week. Still, what did that have to do with the dream?

  “You two were linked at one point,” Mom said, “when you tried to save her from Demitrius. It’s likely you’re still linked. She’s dreaming, possibly of the past she’s been forced to forget, and you’re going along for the ride.”

  That didn’t make any sense. “Mom, I wasn’t me. She wasn’t her.” I remembered the face of the girl accusing me and she looked nothing like Pain. Not even human.

  Mom squeezed my hand and stood. “As far as I’ve been able to tell, the wards around her are meant to fall when she reaches her majority, which is why she’s reacting so much lately. I don’t want you to worry,” she said. “Not about the dream or Pain. These things happen.” She seemed very distracted. “If it happens again, please let me know. Otherwise, it’s probably just a left over of the connection.”

  Mom moved off but I grabbed her to keep her with me. “What about Pain?” She couldn’t just leave her like that. “She needs help.”

  Mom shook her head. “It’s not my place,” she said. “I’m not her coven leader, as much as she doesn’t seem to have one. But until her power manifests completely, I can’t offer her a place with us, just in case she’s been claimed by whoever did this to her.” She sighed deeply. “It’s far more complicated than you think. As a coven leader, I have an obligation to help her, but as a coven leader, I can’t. Which means I’m doing what I can. I have people watching her, Syd, so she doesn’t hurt anyone, or herself. We’ll be there for her when the time comes. But until then, until she is a full witch and out of the influence of whoever did this to her, my hands are tied. You know I can’t interfere in another coven’s business, whether they’ve abandoned Pain or not. And that’s exactly what this is. When her blocks fall, if she is unclaimed, we can take her in. But not until then.”

  While I understood the logic of what she was saying, emotionally I couldn’t accept it. What was the good of being a coven leader if she wasn’t able to help a young witch in trouble, no matter the circumstances? I knew coven law was tricky, that many of those laws were as old as witchcraft itself, and were there for a reason. Without them, witches of ill intent would have free rein to do what they wanted. But this was ridiculous.

  I tried to hold Mom back again, to see if there was a way around the law, but lost. Not because she pulled away, but because the kitchen door opened and a very wound up witch walked in.

  Erica Plower, my mother’s best friend and second in the coven, flipped back her blonde hair and held up her armload of bags with a huge smile.

  “Prom, anyone?”

  ***

  Chapter Three

  Chiffon, satin and sparkles fell around my hips and legs in a bouncing, flouncing swirl of blue. I barely noticed. I was too busy trying to breathe inside the form-fitted shell of the bodice, squeezing me so hard I actually looked like I had something called cleavage. Real diamonds glittered in the mostly ignored holes in my ears. Why did I insist Mom let me have my ears pierced when I was ten? This was probably the first time they’d seen earrings since… okay, I couldn’t remember when.

  But the crowing jewel of this whole affair? My long brown hair sat in glossy, elaborate curls, a few dangling down the side of my face while the rest foamed over in a frothing pile on the top of my head.

  Darling.

  And then there were the shoes. Shiny silver with more sparkles. Heels adding at least three inches to my height while pinching my toes, making the balls of my feet ache just looking at them.

  I’d never in my life worn that much eyeliner. Or foundation, blush, bronzer, highlighter, mascara, fake lashes, eye shadow, lip liner, lip stick, lip gloss… if Erica painted on one more layer my face would stop moving behind the mask of shellac she applied.

  Mom hovered over me where I sat at her dressing table, a mouth full of bobby pins at the ready, one already poised in her hand. She examined my hair curl by curl as Erica finished with my lips. Mom dove for an errant lock and jabbed it with the pin, making sure it wasn’t going anywhere by anchoring it to the skin of my scalp.

  “Ow!” Protest ignored. Like every other attempt I’d make to keep these two away from me. The moment they heard I had plans to go to prom with Brad, my mother, the most powerful witch around, joined by Erica, reverted to giggling teenagers who couldn’t wait to transform plain old me into a work of art.

  “There.” Erica sat back and clasped her hands to her chest. “Oh, Syd. You look so beautiful.”

  Mom hefted a can of hairspray and shot a jolt at the general area the last pin went in. I coughed and waved at the mist of stink as she too stepped away. “Perfect.”

  Erica held out one hand to Mom. “Give it here.”

  The hairspray changed hands. It amazed me Mom was so willing to let Erica mess with my hair at all. They’d fought bitterly over who controlled what for at least a week. I finally had to put my foot down.

  “You two play nice, or I go to a salon.”

  Horrified, they agreed to split the difference.

  As Erica came at me with the can I wished the threat I’d made hadn’t been idle. Anything to escape the clutches of these two.

  “Close your eyes and hold your breath.” The perky blonde didn’t give me a chance to ask why doing so would be important before holding the nozzle directly in front of my nose and cutting loose.

  I managed to squeeze my eyes shut, but ended up coughing and gasping from the coating she gave my makeup.

  “Now it will last all night.” She beamed at me.

  All night? Chances were with the lacquer she added I’d still be scraping this stuff off next week.

  “Thanks,” I said through my stiff and uncomfortable face.

  Mom took my manicured hands and dragged me to my feet. I wobbled on the stilts, toes complaining loudly while my lower back begged me to sit back down. The skirt hem fell to the floor with a soft hiss, covering the shoes completely.

  So I was wearing them why?

  Mom and Erica proceeded to hug each other, dabbing at the corners of their eyes with tissue. Seriously.

  “She’s stunning,” Mom gushed.

  “I know,” Erica practically squealed. “We did a fabulous job.”

  Did they just double air kiss each other? I wanted to gag, but couldn’t move my cheeks.

  “I’m not sure about this.” I ran my hands down the shining satin. “Are you sure?”

  Mom stepped aside, her full-length mirror suddenly exposed and reflecting back at me.

  “See for yourself.”

  Her smirk was almost too much. If she and Erica patted themselves on the back any more I was calling this whole thing off.

  Until I looked at myself.

  “Holy crap,” I whispered. That was me? My eyes looked huge and really blue. My hair was so shiny Brad would be able to see himself in it. The bodice made my waist look non-existent. Even my lips looked bigger. And yup, cleavage. Wow.

  Mom and Erica crowded around me, their beaming faces next to mine.

  For the first time in my li
fe, I realized how much I looked like my mother. Which made me think about my demon and how I would never be like Mom ever again if I didn’t get her back.

  For the first time since I’d started asking to be normal, I actually was. Looking at myself in the mirror, unable to feel my magic or my demon, deaf and blind to the power all around me, as beautiful as I looked, I wanted to cry.

  I just wanted my demon back.

  Instead of bursting into tears and getting yelled at for ruining my mascara, I forced a smile at them.

  “Thank you.”

  I turned slowly toward the door, swaying on the unfamiliar heels, hoping I’d grow used to them soon, when Mom stopped me. “One last thing.” She spun me away from her far faster than I thought was safe in my current footwear. Before I could protest, something cold slithered around my neck before tightening. For a second I thought of the fights we’d had in the past and shuddered at the feeling. Honestly, looking back, if I was her I would have choked me a long time ago.

  Instead, she did the clasp on the necklace and stepped away. The metal quickly warmed to skin temperature. She seized my shoulders again and turned me back to the mirror. The choker made me gasp, in a good way. Woven silver thread surrounded a sapphire stone in the center. It fit me perfectly.

  My fingers grazed over it. “Mom, it’s amazing!”

  She hugged me gently around the shoulders. “It was your grandmother’s. And her grandmother’s before her. In fact, it’s been in our family for many generations.” Mom caught and held my eyes in the mirror. “We love you, honey,” she said. “It’s perfect for you.”

  I might not have been a materialistic girl, but I really loved that necklace.

  I turned to her, the tears threatening for real this time. At some point while I admired my new jewelry Erica slipped out and I was grateful.

  “Mom,” I whispered around my thickening throat. “I love it.”

  This time when she hugged me, neither of us worried about mussing my hair or my dress. I clung to her a little longer than I needed to, but she didn’t complain.