Crushed (23 page)

Woozy from hitting her head, she couldn’t think straight, couldn’t concentrate, and couldn’t stop the bleachers from falling.

Groaning, Kristen flipped onto her stomach and reached for the medallion. Her fingers strained. It was an inch too far. Any second, the bleachers would crush her. She didn’t have time to do anything. It was over. She was going to die this time, and there wasn’t anything anyone could do to save her.

###

During his race to get to the gym, Zach stumbled upon several traps. He ran down intersecting hallways, and things flew at him from every direction. He didn’t have powers, so he couldn’t use magic to flick them away. He had to dodge them instead. A few things hit him, but he kept moving. A thick history book clobbered him. Pencils flew at him, pointy-side first. He ducked, and the tips embedded themselves into the wall.

Just as he reached the doors leading into the gym, Brittany and Cyndi popped up in front of him with a disturbing flash. Now he understood why it had bothered Kristen when he used the power to pop in and out of places. “I told you to take her home,” he yelled at Brittany.

Cyndi raced into the gym ahead of the rest of them. She pointed and yelled out a spell. The medallion jumped into Kristen’s hand, and she flipped onto her back, using a spell of her own to stop the bleachers from falling on her. The bleachers went backwards and reconnected to the wall with ease.

Cyndi ran to Kristen with Zach on her heels. They both grabbed Kristen by the arms and helped her stand. She looked like she’d been in the middle of a violent storm without shelter. Zach wanted to kill Morgan with his bare hands. She was lucky he didn’t have his powers anymore because his anger would have shaken the building down on her head.

“No, Brittany!” Cyndi yelled.

Zach looked over his shoulder in time to see Brittany crossing the gym to meet his sister with a wide smile. Morgan returned the smug grin, knowing she’d won the battle. Kristen latched on to Zach’s arm. The disbelief on her face mirrored his. This was why he’d asked Brittany to stay the hell away from the school. She was going to get them all killed.

Brittany scratched her stomach through the dark gray T-shirt as she approached Morgan. The other girl welcomed her with a quick hug and said, “I’m glad you made it. Let’s party.”

“Party on.”

Brittany reached out a hand and touched Morgan’s cheek in a friendly caress. Her hand lowered. She grabbed the locket around Morgan’s throat and tugged hard. The chain instantly broke. Morgan cried out in surprise, too stunned to do anything. Brittany raced across the gym floor, locket dangling from her clutched fingers, and a huge smile on her face.

Morgan hit her with a spell, and she went down hard. Her hand opened. The locket slid across the floor, stopping at the toe of Kristen’s shoe. For a moment no one moved. Frozen, they all stared at the locket in stunned wonder.

Zach ran to Brittany and helped her up. She was wearing an expression that he hadn’t seen before, not on her face. Then he realized why. Incredulous, he asked, “Cyndi, is that you?”

She smiled. “See? You
can
tell us apart. It was Britt’s idea for me to pretend to be her. She untied me, and then we swapped shirts.”

Morgan screamed. “Brittany, get my locket!
Now!
”

Brittany snatched the locket from the floor before anyone else could.

Cyndi’s face crumpled. “Brittany, no!”

Brittany’s eyes closed for a moment, and she scrunched her face up tight. “Love is my weapon. I love my sisters, and I won’t betray them.” In control now, she handed the locket to Zach. “Don’t worry. I went to see Grandma Noah, and she gave me the crystal. It helps me stay strong and fight the influence of the Crushed spell.”

“Awesome!” Cyndi shouted with glee. She raised her hand for a high five, and Brittany complied. The triumphant smack made Morgan scream like a wounded animal. They all turned in her direction.

Morgan lifted her hand and started to yell out another spell.

“Quick!” Kristen told them, “Link hands. We’re stronger together than we are apart. Zach, stand in the middle and destroy the locket. Hurry! Girls, we have to protect him. The medallion will help boost our power. Let’s do it.”

They held hands and chanted a protection spell while Zach stood in the center of the small circle. He pulled out the piece of paper Grandma Noah had given him. First, he removed Brittany’s hair from the locket. Then he got out a lighter and set the end on fire. All the while, Morgan was sending deadly spells their way.

The girls spoke louder as a strong wind filled the gym. The wind swirled around the Noah sisters but couldn’t get to them. Morgan screamed louder. Their hair whipped around, and the wind pulled on their clothes. They squeezed their eyes shut and continued to blast words into the air. As long as they could keep it up, Morgan couldn’t stop Zach from doing his job.

Morgan’s spells visibly hit the force field around them. Obliterated one by one, they made tiny, colorful explosions. It would have been pretty if it weren’t for the severity of the situation. Zach forced his mind to focus on the words he needed to say.

He burned the hair from the locket while saying his own spell. Grandma Noah had told them it didn’t matter that he didn’t have powers anymore. It would still work because Morgan was his sister. A family member had to destroy her. Maybe that was why she wanted to get rid of Zach so desperately.

After the hair was gone, Zach dropped the locket on the floor and crushed it under his biker boot. It broke apart. He stomped it again and again until it turned to gold dust. The wind sucked it out of the circle and blew it away. Then, the wind died down until it was completely gone.

Zach turned to look for his sister, but she was gone, too. The spell had worked. Morgan wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone ever again. A flood of relief filled his body to overflowing. He pulled Kristen into his arms and held her close. At least she was okay. He kissed the top of her head.

Brittany said, “Ding-dong, the witch is dead.”

“Britt!” Kristen pulled out of his arms to glare at the other girl. “That was Zach’s sister. Show a little compassion.”

“It’s okay,” he said with a smile. “I was thinking the same thing.”

Brittany held a hand up for a high five from him this time, which he delivered with cool satisfaction. Cyndi looped an arm around Brittany’s neck. Kristen joined in the group hug. She laughed and said, “I love my sisters.”

One at a time, she kissed them both on the cheek.

With a scowl, Brittany wiped her face. “If I wanted to be slobbered all over, I’d get a dog.”

The sarcastic remark was so Brittany that Kristen laughed harder. They had the old Britt back. Kristen and Cyndi let each other go so they could motion Zach to join them. He stepped into the hug, feeling a little weird about it, but in a good way. They stood there and embraced for a few minutes, glad to be alive.

“That’s enough,” Kristen finally said. “We have a mess to clean up.”

They looked around at the gym, and the feeling of victory died. The room was going to have to be fixed before school tomorrow, or there’d be questions. Kristen took the lead, assigning everyone a duty. The girls used their powers to repair the splintered overhead beams and ripped floor, while Zach had to do his assignments manually.

Zach wasn’t sure if Morgan’s spells or the protective wind had made the bigger mess. Not that it mattered. Either way, it had to be repaired. He insisted Kristen sit on the bleachers that had almost crushed her earlier while the rest of them did the work. She was amazing, but she was still human. Dried blood in the corner of her mouth and a growing bruise on her forehead had him concerned. She’d done enough for one night. Occasionally, his eyes drifted over to check on her. She smiled. Sometimes she waved. Grinning, he went back to work. He began to whistle while thinking about his good fortune. The future was a blank slate. He could live without worrying about the council being after him. It didn’t matter to him how he spent the next sixty years as long as Kristen was beside him.

“Do you understand the charges against you?”

They were on the top floor of a silver skyscraper in downtown Chicago. Nine council members sat behind a long table at the front of the room. Each had a gavel, a short glass of water, and a yellow pad of paper in front of them, along with a couple of ballpoint pens. They were dressed in black suits, probably to make them seem more formidable. No worries there—they had Kristen quaking in her shoes, afraid for Zach and for their future together.

Zach nodded in answer to the question, but he kept his mouth shut.

Kristen blindly reached for her grandmother’s hand, so glad the woman had insisted on taking them to Chicago for this ridiculous trial instead of making Zach face it alone. They sat in the back row on a wooden bench while Zach stood before the council. Grandma Noah had told him what would happen along with how he should behave. If anyone could get Zach out of trouble, it was she.

The council could put him in prison for the rest of his life. They had the power. Fortunately, Grandma Noah knew how to talk to them. Years ago, she’d retired from her spot on the council. Kristen hoped at least a few of these people still respected her grandmother for the amazing work she’d done.

The head councilman stared at Zach with cold eyes. “Do you have anything to say for yourself before we pass sentence on you?”

Grandma Noah shot out of her seat, dropping Kristen’s hand. She’d been waiting patiently for this moment. Every head on the council snapped up as she strode down the aisle with purpose in her steps. She didn’t stop until she was standing next to Zach. “I have something to say in Mr. Bevian’s defense, if I may?”

“The floor recognizes Evelyn Noah.”

Grandma Noah placed a hand on Zach’s shoulder while speaking, and the show of unity did not escape the shrewd eyes of the council members. Her voice rang loud and clear as she said, “There is no excuse for what Zach did.”

The council members nodded in agreement and murmured amongst themselves for a second. Kristen slid to the edge of the seat and strained to hear, but she was too far away. A silent movie about a possible life without Zach began to play in her head. She clenched her hands, digging fingernails into her palms.

She was confused. Was her grandmother trying to get Zach thrown into prison? Did she still think he was dangerous? Kristen wondered if maybe they should have left her grandmother at home. If she chose to, the woman could destroy him instead of saving him.

Grandma Noah continued. “However, he is an eighteen-year-old boy, and I am asking you to take his age into consideration. All of you have children, and I happen to know that not one of them is a saint. I dare say, some of them are quite mischievous, but I don’t see you trying to put them in prison. Correct me if I’m wrong. Would you allow any of your children to be locked up?”

“Mr. Bevian did not break a simple rule, Evelyn,” the councilman in the middle said, shaking his head. “Because of him, a very dangerous creature was allowed to roam free for nearly two years without the council’s knowledge. She could have killed people. She could have exposed our very existence.”

“That
creature
was his sister.”

“I am afraid that is of no consequence to us. The boy committed a cardinal sin by hiding her existence from the council even though he knew about her dangerous powers.”

“Do I need to remind the council that I sat in the very seat you are currently occupying, Trevor? I know about our laws and don’t need you to remind me of them. I also know you have the discretion to let this go.”

“Let it go?” Trevor exchanged a disbelieving glance with the other council members. “This young man put the entire population at risk, and you want us to slap him on the wrist? I think your recent years of idleness have softened your mental faculties.”

Grandma Noah raised her voice. “This boy has suffered enough! He lost his family, his sister, and his powers. There isn’t anything he can do to hurt you now, even if he wanted to—which I happen to know he doesn’t. It’s over. Let it go.”

“Isn’t he currently dating one of your granddaughters? That gives him access to power. He could talk her into doing something nefarious. She would not be the first good girl led astray by a bad boy.”

Kristen’s mouth dropped open. They were going to use her against Zach? Fearing the worst, Kristen slowly rose up on trembling legs. She was not going to allow them to put Zach into prison, especially not their prison. She’d heard horrible rumors about the place. It made foreign prisons look like tropical vacation resorts. He wouldn’t be able to survive it after losing his powers. If he were put into their enchanted prison, he would die.

“I’ll give up my powers,” she said in a barely audible voice.

No one heard her.

Kristen forced her legs to move. She hurried to stand between her boyfriend and her grandmother, determined to be heard by the council. Her entire body shook with fear, but she wasn’t afraid for herself. Grasping Zach’s wrist, she tried to mentally suck some strength from him as she said, “I’ll give up my power.”

A few explosive gasps punctuated her statement.

Grandma Noah leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Let me handle this, dear. I can get him off without you sacrificing yourself.”

The woman’s familiar perfume wafted over Kristen, calming her nerves. For the first time in weeks, she knew exactly what she was doing. The possibility of losing Zach made her face a sharp reality. Getting a college degree or running her father’s offices in Hong Kong, none of it mattered. Love was the only thing worth risking her life for. As long as she had Zach by her side, she could be happy.

“I know what I’m doing,” she said.

“Do you?” When she nodded, Grandma Noah added, “Nothing will ever be the same if you give up your powers. You won’t be a witch anymore. You won’t be able to protect yourself or influence people as you get older. You’ll be an ordinary girl. Is that what you really want?”

“Will I still be the same person inside?”

Her grandmother nodded and smiled. “Of course you will, dear.”

“Then nothing else matters.”

“And what if things don’t work out with Zach? Will you still want to be an ordinary girl? Or will you have regrets?”

Kristen repeated the questions in her head. Would she regret giving up her powers if Zach broke her heart someday? Slowly, she shook her head, and a soft smile curved her mouth. “No regrets. Promise.”

It was Zach’s turn to voice his opinion. He took her by the shoulders and pulled her around to face him. His fingers gently tightened in a reassuring squeeze. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I want to,” she insisted.

“You shouldn’t have to sacrifice yourself for me.”

She stepped into his arms and gave him a quick hug before turning to the council. “If I let my powers be taken, will you let Zach go without any punishment? Will you end this now and forever?”

“We will,” Trevor said. “Are you prepared to give up your powers?”

Both Grandma Noah and Zach protested loudly.

The head councilman banged his gavel. “Silence in the courtroom.”

Ignoring them all, Kristen straightened her spine and nodded once. “I am.”

The head councilman turned and spoke to the council members on his left before conferring with those on his right. Decision made, the stern-looking man said, “Very well. You have three days to forfeit your powers, Miss Noah. If you fail to do so within the required time, we will put a bounty on Zach Bevian’s head, and every hunter in the region will be on his trail. There won’t be a safe place for either of you to hide.”

Grandma Noah gasped in outrage. “How dare you threaten my granddaughter!”

“It’s okay, Grandma,” Kristen said. “I’ll do it before the three days are up.”

Grandma Noah and Zach began to protest in earnest now, but the head councilman struck the table with his gavel twice, ending the trial.

Kristen stood silently between two of the people she cared about most in the world. Despite her bravado, she wasn’t sure if she could handle life without her powers. But she knew for sure she couldn’t handle life without love.

###

Three days later, Zach drove her to school. An awkward silence filled the car from the beginning to the end of their trip. Once he parked in the rear of the lot, he turned to Kristen with an anxious expression on his face. The grace period had ended. If he didn’t accuse her today, the council would take him away in chains. She’d wanted to do it right away, get it over with, but Zach had insisted on waiting until the last possible minute in case she changed her mind.

That wasn’t going to happen. She had decided she could live without powers a lot easier than she could live without him. So when he turned to her, ready to argue the point again, she was ready. Holding up a hand to stop him, she said, “We’re doing this. Today. That’s all there is to it. Stop trying to talk me out of it.”

“I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself just to keep me out of trouble.”

“It isn’t that big a deal. You don’t have powers, and you seem to be adjusting.” A thought popped into her head, and she glared at him, eyes narrowed. “Wait a second. You don’t think I can handle it. You think you’re stronger than me.”

“No. No. No. That’s not it.”

“I think it is.”

Unbelievable!
He didn’t know her at all if he thought she was going to crumble. Lifting her chin high, she said, “I can not only face this challenge head on, I can beat it. In fact, I’m willing to bet that I can do a better job living without powers than you can.”

His eyes widened a fraction. “Don’t get me wrong. I like your competitive side, but this is serious. After I accuse you, it will be too late. Your powers will be gone. What if you decide you can’t do it then? You’ll blame me because you lost them.”

So, that was the problem. He was afraid she was going to grow to resent him if life wasn’t an easy ride later on. She stroked his bare arm where the T-shirt ended and said, “I want this. I really do. You may not believe me now, but I was thinking about asking you to accuse me even before the witches’ council intervened. If we’re going to be together, we need to be equals.

“Anyway, I’ve spent my whole life overcoming obstacles, facing challenges, and defying the odds, but I ignored what could be the biggest challenge of my life—living without powers.”

He leaned over and placed a quick kiss on her mouth. “You are incredible. Do you know that?”

She blushed. “I think you’re pretty awesome, too.”

“Did you tell your sisters about giving up your powers?”

“No way. Brittany would have knocked me out to keep me from doing it. She’s better at dealing with things after the fact than she is before they happen.” Taking a deep breath and smiling big, she added, “Let’s go do it. I’m ready.”

###

Some of the kids were eating breakfast in the cafeteria while others sat around, talking to their friends. Brittany and Cyndi approached them as soon as they entered. The two girls were arguing and wanted Kristen to play referee.

Neither of them seemed to notice Kristen’s distress.

Cyndi stood directly in front of Kristen and said, “Brittany wants to curse Jack and Gina. She won’t listen to me, so maybe you can talk some sense into her.”

Arms folded across her chest, Brittany said, “They deserve to pay after what they—”

“The universe will—”

Brittany made a rude noise. “If you’re going to wait for the universe to get even for you, you’ll be—”

“I don’t care.” Cyndi flicked her eyes to where Jake and Gina were rising from a nearby table. “Jake’s a total jerk, and I know that now, so I’m glad we aren’t together anymore. I’m glad he found Gina. He can make her miserable now instead of me.”

Kristen and Zach exchanged amused glances over the twins talking in code. Kristen tried to intervene in the argument, but neither of the girls would let her fit a word into the conversation. Then it became a moot point. As the happy couple passed them, Brittany waved a hand in their direction.

“Britt!” Cyndi scowled. “I asked you not to do that.”

Kristen stared after Gina, sort of hoping to see a giant wart growing on the end of the girl’s nose, but nothing seemed to change. “What did you do?”