The Revolt (The Reapers: Book Two) by Katharine Sadler Page B

dies
with the witch. So either the family has shit bad luck or the curse
stuck somehow after the witch died.”
    “Are there any witches in town?”
    Tucker kept his mouth shut and Ghoul did look
at him that time. He shook his head slowly. “’Course there are, but
I don’t know them and I don’t want to. You want to find the witches
you’ll have to do it yourself.”
    “’Course I will,” I said, mimicking his tone.
I glared at Tucker and went back inside.
     
    The rhythmic thud of the bag being worked
seeped up from the garage along with some god-awful jam-band music.
The garage was where Cat had set up our punching bag and weights. I
thought about going down and getting in a workout with Jed, but
then I’d have to change the music, which would probably require me
telling him why his music choice could only possibly be hindering
his workout. Even though the idea of explaining my theory of how
high-octane, heavy metal music stimulates blood flow and increases
energy levels was tempting, I was too tired for that conversation
and too sore to train.
    I went back to my room, changed into sweats
and collapsed on the bed. As hard as I’d fought leaving, I’d
accepted it was time to move on and, now that we were back, I felt
stuck and out of place. I was glad to have another opportunity to
help Angelica, but I no longer felt I really belonged in that condo
or that town. I found myself chewing on my hair, trying to figure
out my next step. Disgusted, I spit the hair out and clasped my
hands over my stomach.
    With my connections, there had to be some way
I could help Angelica. I grabbed a notebook and pen from my desk
and started jotting down ideas. I needed to learn more about
Bruce’s family, and the first place to look was the internet. If I
had the name of the first person in the family cursed, maybe I
could find out what he or she did to make someone mad enough to
curse them. I should probably start with Bruce and find out what he
knew, but I wasn’t eager to talk to him after sending Angelica away
in tears. I’d see what I could discover on my own first. Next, I
needed to find out who the witches were, and if they had any
connection to Bruce’s family. They were just people, right? I
tapped my pen on the pad and stared at the wall, trying to think of
what I could offer in exchange for information. Money? I had $800
to my name. A chance to talk to one of their dead? Maybe. I kept
tapping my pen and staring at the wall, but could think of nothing
else. Not that any of my plans mattered if I had to leave
Briarton.
    I sat up, lay back down, got up and paced for
a while, and, finally, picked up my cell phone. I could spend the
whole day on the internet and never find out as much about the
curse as I could from Bruce. I had to stop being a coward.
    “Kelsey?” Angelica answered on the first
ring.
    “How’d everything go at the store?”
    She sighed like she’d been holding her
breath. “Fine. Julia’s thrilled, of course, and kept asking if I
was sure you would be coming back. She’s an ambitious little
princess.”
    “Yeah, but she’ll do a good job. How are you
doing?”
    “I’m pretty sure my best friend hates me and
that’s making me kind of miserable, actually.”
    I almost smiled. It had been a long time
since she’d called me her best friend. “I don’t hate you. I’m
worried about you. Did Bruce tell you anything else about this
curse?”
    She paused. “Hold on.” I heard the click
clack of her shoes on the hardwood floor and a door closing. “Sorry
about that. Yeah, he told me the story, but it’s pretty vague. Some
ancestor of his pissed off somebody who worked for the family. I
guess the servant was stealing from them and they fired her. She
told them she’d cursed them and, not long after, people started
dying.”
    “Does he know where or when this happened?” I
asked. “Does he have any names? If we knew who this started with,
we might be able to trace the family line and find out