Casters Series Box Set Page 19

  Alex turned back around. Brooke tore her burning glare away.

  Dani, by no means oblivious to the situation, leaned in closer and whispered, “Did you hear what happened over at the Walker place last night, after the dance? Total Halloween shit!”

  “What was that?” Alex asked. She clamped down on her excitement as she pulled the paper from her wrap, but couldn’t think of eating a bite until she’d heard what Dani had to say.

  Dani looked around, as if she were about to share some earth-shattering secret and didn’t want to be overheard, but chances were that if rumors were flying half the kids in the food court had heard them already. Mansbridge was that small of a town. The schools were that close together.

  “Well,” Dani said. “Apparently Melissa saw a Heller last night.”

  “Oh, one of those costumes with the pennies—” Alex tried to sound casual.

  “Ha! She wishes! No, apparently Miss Melissa thinks she saw a real Heller right inside the house. And then a pack of them flying though the sky, she claims, out at the Walker Farm. Scared the crap out of her!”

  Brooke raised a questioning eyebrow along with that cat-ate-canary smirk. “Do tell?”

  “Yeah, I guess she and Seth were watching TV late last night and one flew right into the room. Attacked Seth. Melissa too. Then Seth toppled it with a broom—”

  “Poker.”

  Alex shot Brooke a warning glare.

  “Well,” Brooke recovered. “I heard it was a poker. But you know how stories fly around here.”

  “Do I ever!” Dani shook her head. “But it probably was a poker, now that you mention it. Sounds more logical.”

  “Why?” Brooke asked.

  “Pokers are made of iron, but I’ve yet to see an iron broom!”

  “And that’s significant, why?” Alex asked.

  “Oh right, you guys aren’t from around here, are you? Legend has it that Hellers are helpless against iron.”

  For one fleeting second, Alex met Brooke’s knowing stare.

  “Anyway, Melissa ran for Bryce while Seth stayed with the Heller,” Dani said. “Bryce was still out in the horse barn. But while she was gone, the Heller got away.”

  “How?”

  “Apparently, a whole swarm of Hellers came in and attacked Seth.”

  “Wow,” Alex breathed.

  “Yeah.” A hint of giddiness was unmistakable in Brooke’s voice. “Yeah... wow.”

  “Bizarre or what! But Melissa swears it’s true.” Dani shook her head. “I’d say someone must have put angel dust in her weed, except she doesn’t touch drugs.”

  Alex fiddled some more with her wrap. “What does Seth say about the whole thing?”

  Dani removed the plastic cap from her soda, tipped the cup back and chomped on the mouthful of ice. “Seth isn’t saying ‘boo’. Nothing at all. His grandfather was nuts, they say, always looking for the Heller, and Seth just hates when people bring it up. So his girlfriend claiming to have seen not just one but a flock of them, must be driving him... well, nuts. But holy crap, he looks terrible.”

  He did.

  Dani continued. “Seth must have talked to Melissa and told her to tone it down.”

  “Why?” Brooke asked.

  Dani shrugged. “Dunno. She wouldn’t say a word when I asked her about it myself. Just mumbled ‘never mind’. But man, I could see it in her eyes! She believes she saw something. But the cat’s got her tongue on the whole thing right now.”

  “That’s not all that’s got her tongue.” Brooke nodded toward the couple, who were half-standing to lean across the table for another kiss. Brooke smiled, dangerously.

  Alex shook her head. “God, why don’t they just get a room?” She turned back to Dani. “Did Bryce see anything?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Not that he mentioned to Huxley. And they had hockey practice this morning before Huxley picked me up for school.” A smile absolutely lit Dani’s face. “Oh, and guess what else happened at the dance!”

  “What?” Alex asked out of a politeness she never would have pretended last year, yet she was soon tuning out the drama of who broke up with whom, which cheerleader got pissed at which jock, who puked on the dance floor, and what they were smoking in the boys’ john. Her eyes were on Seth and Melissa.

  Seth did look like hell. There were dark circles under his eyes on his otherwise too-pale face. As she watched, he ran a hand through his disheveled hair, and then did so again. Melissa didn’t look any better. She wore not a trace of make-up, and her long black hair was pony-tailed up in place. Clearly not the beauty queen’s usual attire. As Alex watched, the two stood, looking for all the world as if pulled by a simultaneous thread. They left their uneaten lunches on the table and—oh shit!—started walking this way!

  “Be nice,” Alex warned Brooke.

  She grinned. “Aren’t I always?”

  Alex’s heart pounded as Seth and Melissa drew closer, but they didn’t so much as cast a glance at the girls, not even when Dani gave a friendly little wave. No, their eyes were fixed on the exit, on getting the hell out of there.

  Brooke’s hand on Melissa’s arm stopped them as they passed.

  “Oh hey, Melissa,” she said, her voice dripping with fake concern. “I heard you had a hell of a night. Or, should I say a Heller of a night?”

  Melissa’s eyes narrowed, but she said nothing, only pressed her thin lips more closely together.

  “Back off, Brooke,” Seth said.

  “What?” Brooke asked. “Can’t a girl be friendly? Concerned?”

  “You can’t!” he said.

  Brooke ignored the dig. “I heard Melissa saw some sort of boogie-man-thingie—”

  “A Heller,” Melissa whispered, and Alex’s heart went out to the terrified girl. “It was a—”

  “It was nothing!” Seth hissed at Brooke “Why don’t you just mind your own fucking business, Brooke. Come to think of it, why don’t you just do us all a favor and get the hell out of Mansbridge. Head back to New York or New Jersey or whatever city it is you whore around in.”

  Dani was mercifully quiet, her eyes shifting from Brooke to Seth to see who’d win this showdown.

  Brooke would. Alex knew it as soon as Brooke smiled. “Oh Seth, sweetie... there you go, getting all he-man again, protecting your little girlfriend. You must think she needs protection.”

  “Brooke... ” Alex’s warning tone was ignored.

  Brooke’s eyes shifted to Melissa. “Guess that’s going to be a full-time job now that the Hellers are out again, huh Melissa? You won’t dare cuddle up in the dark now. Heaven knows what’ll be waiting there next time. And of course now that they’ve seen you, what do you bet they come looking for you? Man, if I were in your shoes, I would so not go out at night. And oh wow, if you hear that Heller scream—”

  Alex kicked Brooke under the table, rattling the laminate top of it.

  Thankfully, Brooke silenced immediately. But my God! How much she’d said! So much more than the rumors had!

  “Screw you, Saunders,” Seth said, vehemently.

  “What, again?”

  But that last remark didn’t seem to reach Seth. Holding Melissa’s hand all the more tightly, he stormed toward the exit by the cinemas. Alex watched them walk toward the double glass doors, past the ‘now-showing’ posters and the little arcade attached to the box office. Seth’s arm swung up as he opened the door for Melissa. She stepped through, but he didn’t follow.

  Instead, Seth stopped suddenly. His head turned slowly as he stared back at Brooke and Alex, an odd look on his face. A pondering look.

  A look of narrow-eyed suspicion.

  Definitely suspicion.

  Her heart pounding against her ribs, Alex looked away.

  “There’s Huxley!” With a ‘k-bye’ Dani was out of her seat and heading to the other side of the food court. Huxley was all smiles as she bounced to his side.

  “That wasn’t too bright,” Alex grated under her breath. “If Seth connec
ts us... ”

  “Damn it, Alex... I know.” The tremble in Brooke’s voice was unmistakable.

  Alex looked down at her uneaten wrap, knowing she’d never be able to eat a bite now. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “God, yes,” Brooke agreed.

  Chapter 25

  Copper

  Brooke

  They all had a key to the new lock on the attic door, but it was Maryanne who produced hers to open it. Fitting, Brooke supposed, since it was thanks to Maryanne that they weren’t shut out tonight. Thanks to her, they weren’t prevented from casting out.

  God, that would have been all Brooke needed, on top of the slip-up today at the food court. They’d talked about it, of course, the three of them. To Brooke’s surprise, Alex was really nice about it, minimizing what she’d said. Though Brooke appreciated the kindness, she wound up coming clean with Maryanne. They were all in this together, which meant Maryanne had to know exactly what had been said. It had been worth it to see the surprise register on Alex’s face.

  While Brooke and Alex had been off trolling the food court for gossip, Maryanne had made productive use of her day off by eavesdropping on a conversation between Old Lady Betts and Old Man Smith. Which is how she discovered their plan to slap a new lock on the attic door. But of course, nothing and no one was going to get between Maryanne and casting out. So Maryanne had waited until the deed was done, then snagged the shiny new key right off its peg in the caretaker’s key box almost before it had a chance to cool.

  Brooke’s attention had perked when she heard ‘key box’; one never knew when that kind of knowledge would come in handy. But when she’d asked Maryanne where to find it, she’d just shuddered and said, “Nowhere you’d want to go.” Ordinarily, Brooke would have pressed until she got an answer, but that would hardly have been the way to show her gratitude. Because Maryanne—who knew she had such serious stones?—had snuck down to the hardware store with the key and had three copies made, then slipped back into the house in time to return the original before it was missed.

  And all without detection.

  Either Maryanne had the skills of a cat burglar, or Betts was in a serious funk again. Brooke was putting her money on the latter.

  Once in the attic, there were no preliminaries for a change. No reading, no talking. The four candles were lit and placed in position. The cushions were carefully arranged. Then, after glancing at each other, they tapped on the stained glass window in turn and cast out. Alex first, followed by the ever-eager Maryanne, then finally Brooke.

  Not that Brooke was any less eager to cast out than the others. Lord knew she was always up for that. Not quite so transparently as Maryanne, she hoped. But the point of tonight’s cast out was to spend some time with Connie, and Brooke just didn’t connect with Connie the way the others did. Especially Alex.

  The girls peered in at their bodies, lying inside the attic in that strange repose, looking so misleadingly vacant. Then Brooke glanced around. She’d half expected Connie to be out here waiting for them, but she was nowhere to be seen.

  “So, what now?” she asked. “Do we wait for Connie to find us?”

  “No, she won’t come this close,” Alex said.

  Well, duh. Of course. This was where Connie had been imprisoned. Or rather, where her original had been imprisoned.

  Maryanne’s head swiveled as she searched the darkness. “Should we... I don’t know... yell or something?”

  “She’ll find us,” Alex said. “But first, let’s retrieve those copper bracelets.”

  A moment later, each of them wore one of the thin copper bands. Brooke examined hers closely. It appeared to be the same one she’d worn the other night, but who knew? Maybe they were all identical. Whatever the case, it made her feel good to slide it on, even though it didn’t flood her with energy as it had the other night.

  Alex turned and soared off in the direction of the river. Brooke and Maryanne followed her lead. In under a minute, they were soaring over the black, glistening waters of the Saint John. The moon wasn’t quite full, but it was bright enough for another caster to plainly see them. Sure enough, within a few minutes, Connie joined them.

  Strangely, it wasn’t Alex who spotted Connie first, despite her relentless side-to-side scanning. It was Maryanne, who spotted the fourth caster coming up behind them. But instead of greeting the newcomer herself, Maryanne put her heavy cast hand on Alex’s arm. Alex came to a stop and turned.

  “Connie,” Alex said, softly. “There you are.”

  “Yes.” Connie’s voice was gravelly with disuse. “Connie’s here.”

  “I’m so glad you came,” Alex said. “We’ve been very anxious to talk to you.”

  Connie pointed to Brooke and said, “Brooke.”

  “Guilty as charged,” Brooke said.

  Connie tilted her head.

  “She means yes, her name is Brooke.” Alex said. “You must have heard us using it a lot while we yelled at her last night, huh?”

  “Yes.” The voice was still a croak, but there was a smile in there.

  “Very funny,” Brooke said.

  Connie pointed to Alex. “Your name?”

  “Oh, sorry! I’m Alex Robbins. Alexandra, actually, but everyone calls me Alex.” Alex touched Maryanne’s arm. “And this is Maryanne Hemlock. And Brooke’s last name is Saunders. We all go to Streep Academy and share a room at Harvell House.”

  “Harvell,” Connie rasped. “My name.”

  “We know,” Alex said gently. “I found your diary.”

  Connie pulled back abruptly.

  “It’s okay,” Alex said. “No one else has seen it. Actually, I’m the only one who’s read it, but I did share some of it with Maryanne and Brooke here. That’s how we learned to cast out through your window in the attic.”

  “No... don’t talk about the attic!”

  “Okay,” Alex said, holding out a soothing hand toward Connie, but Connie just pulled back further.

  “I don’t think she wants to be touched,” Maryanne said.

  Brooke snorted. Maryanne: Master of the Obvious. “Can you blame her? She probably can’t remember the last time someone touched her in kindness.”

  “God, you people!” Alex said. “She’s right here. Stop talking about her as though she’s not.”

  Crap. Alex was right. “Sorry, Connie,” Brooke said. “I’m not the most tactful person in the world, as you’re bound to discover soon enough.”

  Connie tipped her head in acknowledgement of the apology. Or so Brooke thought. But with her next words, she thought maybe Connie was just trying to indicate direction.

  “Come with me,” she said, moving slowly toward the southwest. “Show you something.” When she was satisfied that they were going to follow her, Connie picked up the pace.

  “Is it far?” Brooke asked. “Because we don’t have a lot of stamina yet. We get tired pretty quickly.”

  “Not anymore,” she said, pointing to Maryanne’s bracelet. “Copper.”

  Brooke hoped she was right, because they were soaring at pretty much top speed and covering a lot of ground. She looked down at landmarks that were becoming increasingly less familiar. Make that a helluva lot of ground. If the copper didn’t come through by supplying energy, or at least slowing the depletion of it, they might find themselves too far from home to get back. Brooke was not normally hyper-cautious, but this seemed a good time to begin. They didn’t really know this caster, did they? Except through those diary entries. Maybe Connie was crazy and intended to imprison them all so she’d have company in her exile.

  She was just about to announce this was madness and she was turning back when Connie abruptly started to descend. The other girls followed. Brooke did too, but not without some wariness.

  Connie led them across a secondary highway and into the woods. Brooke was fuming about having to push through so many tightly planted young fir trees. Brush your hand through one branch and it felt cool to know the tree on a molecular level. Drag you
r ass through dozens of them, and it didn’t feel so good. Not to mention the tug she felt when the copper bracelet encountered leaves and branches, forcing them to flex and bend to its solidity.

  But a moment later, they cleared the trees and Connie stopped. Thank God!

  “Home,” she announced.

  Home? Brooke looked around and saw nothing but trees, thickets and a tangle of weeds. “Um, where?”

  Connie turned and disappeared into the densest, thorniest bit of thicket. She passed through it without a scratch, of course, but her bracelet caused the leaves and twigs to shiver ever so slightly. Alex, laughing, was the first to follow, and Maryanne hesitated only a second before joining her. Their passage through the thicket caused even more rippling of the branches. Clearly Connie knew every thorn, branch and leaf and was able to manipulate the bracelet through them more effectively.

  Brooke hovered there, undecided. Could it be a trap?

  Alex poked her head back out. “What’s wrong with you, Saunders? Connie just invited us into her home. Stop being so rude and get your ass in here.”

  Okay, not a trap. Probably.

  Heck with it, she decided. If it was a trap, they’d all rot in it together. Or more probably, their bodies would rot in that attic. She felt her original’s heart leap and pound, and grinned. Relax, she told it. I’ll come back.

  “Brooke, come see this!” called Maryanne.

  Brooke slid through the thicket and found herself in a small enclosure. Overhead, the branches of dozens of trees twisted and twined together, creating a bower of living limbs.

  “Oh wow, you must be all but invisible in here, even in broad daylight!” Maryanne said.

  “Yes,” Connie said.

  “What about when the leaves fall off?” Alex asked worriedly.

  “I stay in a cave on the cliff until snow comes. Snow makes a good roof.”

  Brooke looked down. The grass beneath them seemed to be littered with junk. “What’s that on the ground?”

  “Lay down!” Connie instructed.

  Yeah, right. Sink into the earth so you can pull some kind of crap to trap me there? I don’t think so. Brooke lifted her chin. “Thanks, but I don’t feel like it.”