Cast Into Darkness by Janet Tait Page A

around Kate took on a wavy look, as the world might appear from the inside a glass bottle. A shield spell, just like under the car.
    Missy squinted. She thrust her arms out and fire formed around them—finally, a spell Kate could see. Missy threw the flaming sphere straight at Brian. It hit his shield and disappeared. Brian grinned.
    “That’s enough of that.” It was her uncle Grayson’s voice, accompanied by his firm footsteps on the concrete walkway. One slash of his hand and all three—Missy, Gordon, and Hayley—fell from the sky like birds whose wings had been clipped. Another wave pinned Missy’s and Gordon’s struggling forms to the ground. Grayson seemed to be able to hold Hayley with just his glare. She cringed under the heat of his anger.
    “Are you okay? What in the hell are you doing here?” Brian asked as he helped Kate up. She couldn’t find a trace of the beaten-up Brian from last night. Instead, his usual “No Hair Product Left Behind” look was back. He could have posed for a magazine cover in his perfect polo with the collar turned up, cocky stance, and just-ironed khakis.
    “I’m looking for you,” Kate said. “Don’t know how I could have forgotten how unwelcoming a twitchy caster could be.”
    “Yeah, well…you know how it is.”
    Did she ever.
    Brian glanced at Grayson, still chastising Missy, Gordon, and Hayley a few yards away, then turned his attention back to Kate. “Do you still have it?” he whispered, eyes narrow.
    “Do you know how much trouble—” she hissed.
    “Not now. Meet me tonight. At nine. Our old place. Remember?”
    The catalpa grove, at the edge of the estate. She nodded.
    “Not a word to anyone about it.”
    “Grayson should know,” she whispered, with a sideways look at her uncle. “He’s the expert—”
    “No. No one.”
    Grayson gave Missy and Gordon a final glare before he sent them on their way. Kate had been too busy whispering with Brian to hear what punishment Grayson had given them, but judging from the glower Missy shot her, it must have been a doozy. She’d better watch her back.
    Hayley ran over, breathless. “Kate,” she squealed, throwing her arms around her cousin. “You’re home. Sorry about those guys. They can be real jerks after a mission.”
    “Yeah, right.” Paranoia backlash might be a pain in the butt, but it got used as an excuse for all-around bad behavior way too often. Especially when the victim was a Null.
    Grayson frowned at Hayley. “And what do you think you’re doing, hanging around with casters back from a mission? You should be in class, young lady—if you expect to graduate this year and join those hooligans on a mission.” Grayson pointed to the caster classroom, filled with students Hayley’s age, a good distance across the lawn.
    “I know, Dad, but—”
    “No buts. Good thing for you the lunch bell is about to ring.”
    “I was helping Kate, defending her…” Hayley sighed.
    Grayson waved Hayley’s excuses away and gave Kate’s ripped shirt a puzzled look. “Are you sure Gordon missed you?”
    “That’s from…earlier.” She glanced at Brian. “I’m fine.”
    Grayson pulled her close, and tension fled her as he gave her a gentle squeeze. “Welcome home, sweetheart. Sorry I missed your play.” He smelled like old books and pine trees and long nights telling stories by the fire. His black hair was streaked with gray at the temples—more than the last time she’d seen him, months ago. “Got called away last night.” He let her go. “You know how it is.”
    Brian cleared his throat. “I’m starving. Lunch, anybody?”
    Kate sighed. “Sure.”
    “Great idea,” Grayson said. “There are sandwiches inside the Sanctum. Hayley, can you bring a tray to my office before the students finish them off?”
    Hayley nodded and ran off. Grayson took Kate’s arm and they walked toward his office, around the back of the Sanctum. Brian followed.
    The spacious room, lined with floor-to-ceiling