I wondered what Mathias might be doing, if Noah was goofing off playing video games, what kind of items Forrest might be replicating, and I even wondered about Alan — how could he own a mansion and not want to live there? What had his family been like, and what had the Nefastus wanted from his parents?
Science wasn ’t any more interesting. In English, we got our papers back from the assignment for writing about the Salem Witch Trials, which I had barely managed to get done and turned in even a day late, and I was disappointed that my typical A was an unsightly C.
Glumly, I sauntered off to lunch in search of Serena. She was waiting at one of the tables near the doors that led outside. There was nothing appealing about the cafeteria menu, so I passed on eating the square-shaped pizza and went straight to the table. Zach was sitting at a different table with his friends — the majority of the basketball team — and I was relieved. I had seen and heard enough about him in the last few days that I didn’t need him interrupting my time with Serena at school, too.
“ You weren’t in English class,” I pointed out and she didn’t appear to hear me. “Earth to Serena ...”
I followed her gaze and sighed. She was staring over at the basketball team ’s table. Her slice of pizza was limp in her hand and about to fall on her lap. I leaned forward and jerked it away before it splattered onto her pale yellow top.
“ Hey!” she exclaimed in surprise, blinking up at me. “I didn’t see —”
“ Yeah. You didn’t see me. I got that.”
Serena frowned and pushed her tray aside. “Sorry ... what’s up?”
“ Why weren’t you in English class?”
She shrugged, her eyes darting back over to Zach. “I skipped.”
“ You skipped ? Your mom’s going to kill you.”
“ It’s not a big deal. I mean, yeah, I might get grounded for a day or two —”
“ More like a week or two,” I interrupted. “Remember last year, when you missed a whole day because you wanted to go shopping ? You were grounded for a month.”
“ Shopping and sneaking out to see your boyfriend are two different things,” she argued.
With a sigh, I stopped making an effort to talk to my best friend. She was clearly too busy to pay attention to me. Not that I had anything to talk about outside of Clan stuff.
The rest of the school day seemed to last forever, especially history class. Mr. Watcher shocked us all by not assigning any homework, though, and for that I was thankful. I rushed out of my last class as quickly as I could and sped out of the building, trying to ignore Serena and Zach as I passed them.
I stood outside the door to the motel, tapping my foot and waiting. Not being initiated as a full member of the Clan yet, I didn’t have the special device that allowed access into the building, so every time I came ‘home’ I had to wait for someone to let me in. Today, there was an unfamiliar scrawny girl with blonde pigtails and stormy blue eyes greeting me. She looked to be younger than any of the other members, which led me to conclude that she must be Eden.
“ Hey, Madison!” Noah shouted from the couch, where he sat with a game controller in one hand and a soda can in the other.
“ Hey,” I said and stepped past the young girl.
“ You’re Castus Young, huh?” she asked, looking up at me curiously.
With a nod, I watched her shut the door behind me. “It seems like everyone knows that.”
“ It’s hard not to, with your eyes that color ... you’re the only Summoner I’ve ever seen.”
My eyes would always be a dead giveaway about the power I possessed, and a reminder t o my mother that my dad wasn’t with us.
“ Oh. Of course. Who are you?” I asked, searching the room for Mathias or Alan. Noah and another boy on the other side of the couch were the only others in the room.
“ Eden,” she squeaked. “I’m not a witch ... well, not yet. But Artemis lets me come over to visit my brother and learn
Science wasn ’t any more interesting. In English, we got our papers back from the assignment for writing about the Salem Witch Trials, which I had barely managed to get done and turned in even a day late, and I was disappointed that my typical A was an unsightly C.
Glumly, I sauntered off to lunch in search of Serena. She was waiting at one of the tables near the doors that led outside. There was nothing appealing about the cafeteria menu, so I passed on eating the square-shaped pizza and went straight to the table. Zach was sitting at a different table with his friends — the majority of the basketball team — and I was relieved. I had seen and heard enough about him in the last few days that I didn’t need him interrupting my time with Serena at school, too.
“ You weren’t in English class,” I pointed out and she didn’t appear to hear me. “Earth to Serena ...”
I followed her gaze and sighed. She was staring over at the basketball team ’s table. Her slice of pizza was limp in her hand and about to fall on her lap. I leaned forward and jerked it away before it splattered onto her pale yellow top.
“ Hey!” she exclaimed in surprise, blinking up at me. “I didn’t see —”
“ Yeah. You didn’t see me. I got that.”
Serena frowned and pushed her tray aside. “Sorry ... what’s up?”
“ Why weren’t you in English class?”
She shrugged, her eyes darting back over to Zach. “I skipped.”
“ You skipped ? Your mom’s going to kill you.”
“ It’s not a big deal. I mean, yeah, I might get grounded for a day or two —”
“ More like a week or two,” I interrupted. “Remember last year, when you missed a whole day because you wanted to go shopping ? You were grounded for a month.”
“ Shopping and sneaking out to see your boyfriend are two different things,” she argued.
With a sigh, I stopped making an effort to talk to my best friend. She was clearly too busy to pay attention to me. Not that I had anything to talk about outside of Clan stuff.
The rest of the school day seemed to last forever, especially history class. Mr. Watcher shocked us all by not assigning any homework, though, and for that I was thankful. I rushed out of my last class as quickly as I could and sped out of the building, trying to ignore Serena and Zach as I passed them.
I stood outside the door to the motel, tapping my foot and waiting. Not being initiated as a full member of the Clan yet, I didn’t have the special device that allowed access into the building, so every time I came ‘home’ I had to wait for someone to let me in. Today, there was an unfamiliar scrawny girl with blonde pigtails and stormy blue eyes greeting me. She looked to be younger than any of the other members, which led me to conclude that she must be Eden.
“ Hey, Madison!” Noah shouted from the couch, where he sat with a game controller in one hand and a soda can in the other.
“ Hey,” I said and stepped past the young girl.
“ You’re Castus Young, huh?” she asked, looking up at me curiously.
With a nod, I watched her shut the door behind me. “It seems like everyone knows that.”
“ It’s hard not to, with your eyes that color ... you’re the only Summoner I’ve ever seen.”
My eyes would always be a dead giveaway about the power I possessed, and a reminder t o my mother that my dad wasn’t with us.
“ Oh. Of course. Who are you?” I asked, searching the room for Mathias or Alan. Noah and another boy on the other side of the couch were the only others in the room.
“ Eden,” she squeaked. “I’m not a witch ... well, not yet. But Artemis lets me come over to visit my brother and learn
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