Witch Eyes (9 page)

“Like Cyclops? From the X-Men?”

I knew what he was talking about, but only because I’d seen the movies. There hadn’t been a lot of comic books growing up with Uncle John. “What’s wrong with Braden? It’s been working for me all my life.”

“Everyone gets to call you Braden,” he said, flashing me a wicked smile that was like a punch in the gut. “I’m the only one calling you Cyke, right?”

“You realize you’re annoying, right?”

Trey’s smile was brightly comfortable. “I’ve heard that once or twice.”

I shook my head and wrapped the bag tighter around my palm. “Do you listen to yourself sometimes? Or ever? And why are you following me? You got me in, and I’m thankful, but that’s it.”
Stop trying to decide whether you want to annoy me or dazzle me.

“I work down the street.” Trey’s humor vanished. “Besides, I like trying to figure you out.”

“I’m an open book,” I said flatly. “Really.”

“
Maybe in Latin. Or Arabic. But you’re not as easy
to read as you seem to think.” His eyes were thoughtful. “And you don’t hate talking to me as much as you pretend.”

I was sorely tempted to point out that at least I could read Latin. Trey was just one more person who thought they had me figured out. Maybe he didn’t get the same memo from Drew that Gregory did, but that didn’t stop him from making assumptions. “I need to go.”

I didn’t stop to see if Trey followed. Instead, my cell phone chimed, and I answered Jade’s call.

Fifteen

I agreed to hang out with Jade and her friends, but I absolutely had to get home early enough to catch up on my homework. Second day at a real school, and it was already getting all screwed up.

An hour later, I had showered and changed. Hanging out with people my own age was a lot more intimidating than getting locked up in a binding circle. What if I said the wrong thing? Or made the wrong comment? What if they hated me?

I didn’t even notice at first that she pulled up in the same car she’d had the day before. “Isn’t your brother going to notice?”

She shrugged. “He loves me too much to say anything. At least that’s the plan.”

I chuckled and pulled open the passenger door.

“Rough day?” Jade asked. “You skipped out kinda earl
y.”

“
Migraine. I went home and slept it off.” For a few minutes we chatted
about school. It wasn’t u
ntil we skimm
ed past the quickly changing light that I remembered getting into a car with Jade was yet another bad decision I’d made this week.

“God, I can’t wait to get out of here,” she muttered at random.

I looked at her over the rim of my cup. “It’s not really so bad, is it? Don’t the Lansings get to walk around town and do whatever they want?”

Jade glanced at me, and I could tell she wasn’t amused. “You won’t understand.”

“What?”

Another light turned red, but this time Jade didn’t try to squeeze through at the last second. She stopped, and turned toward me. “You don’t know what it’s like. My mother walks around this town like she’s some sort of celebrity, and everyone around her is so fake. I don’t want to grow up like that.”

You wouldn’t understand.
It was like a punch in the gut. A reminder that Jade wasn’t
just
my friend, but she was also supposed to be my … archnemesis or something.

Luckily, Jade wasn’t one to bemoan her fate for too long. “So, about homecoming. I know just who you should go with.” Jade darted between lanes to pass a red SUV. As we cut in front of the soccer mom driving, I heard a loud honking behind us.

I turned to look, grateful for the distraction. “I’m not interested,” I said. The last thing I wanted was to get roped into going to some dance with one of Jade’s gir
lfriends. School dances were one of the things about high school that
didn’t
interest me. The fact that I didn’t have a clue how to dance only reinforced that.

“Well, I’m already planning on taking K.C., so it’s only fair if we focus on your date.”

I shifted in my seat, pulling myself closer to the door. Anything for a closer exit.

“If you think it’s going to be a big deal, then don’t worry about it. Every year a couple girls end up going together because they can’t get dates. I really doubt anyone would care who your date is.”

“Uhm … what?”

Jade beamed a patient smile in my direction. “Braden? Have you even
tried
looking down my shirt? Or even realize that it’s cut low?” She was right; the white chemise she was wearing exposed a lot of skin. “So like I said, I know the perfect guy for you. Don’t worry, I’ll set everything up.”

“I don’t want to talk about this,” I said quickly, before she went any further. I could feel my face getting redder and redder. Nothing had been said about having the gay talk tonight, and I was completely unprepared.

“Braden, it’s not that big a deal. I mean, the fact that my new best friend keeps secrets from me is a little hurtful, but I’ll get past it in time.” She glanced over at me, but I was too busy having hot flashes and rising levels of panic to catch her teasing tone.

“I already said I don’t want to talk about this. Okay? So just drop it.”

The minute she pulled into parking lot, I threw the car door open and walked off. For a second I wished I smoked, so I could have an excuse to just stand out here and watch traffic pass.

¤ ¤ ¤

By the time I finally walked inside the clothing boutique Jade had gone into, I was stuck between wanting to keep freaking out and hoping Jade would forgive a little temporary insanity. No one had ever just come out and outed me like that.

“Took you long enough.” Jade was standing near the door, holding a dress up against her frame. She pivoted to one side, and then the other, her eyes never leaving their spot on the mirror. “You should know I don’t like to shop by myself. I buy all sorts of things I shouldn’t.”

“Invite someone else next time, then.” Angst Boy wins again. Ashamed Boy knocked out in the first round. I winced the moment the words were out of my mouth.

H
er expression was cool when she turned, her face a chiseled mask of ice. “Did I ask to be the target of your identity crisis?
”

She wasn’t wrong. “Sorry.” Trying to cope with everything that was going on was getting to me.

“Look. Obviously I’m the last person to judge anyone. If you’re not ready to talk about it, then don’t. Just don’t turn into that overcompensating repressed guy, okay?” There wasn’t putting much past Jade. She saw things in her own way, but she definitely saw through me, too. She vanished into a dressing room and came out a few minutes later clad in her latest conceit.

“Can’t we just chalk it up to a bad day, and leave it at that?” I’d much rather focus on doing things that a seventeen-year-old should be doing.

Jade’s expression was pensive, her lips pressed together, her smoky eyes narrowed. “I think that depends.”

“On?”

Her face relaxed, eyes now burning with humor. “Does this dress make me look fat?”

¤ ¤ ¤

An hour and far too many purchases later, Jade and I abandoned our things in her car and headed for one of the local coffee shops. “The only place that’s worth it around here, unless you want to drive an hour for Starbucks,” she admitted.

I already knew the coffee shop she had mentioned by reputation. Their Styrofoam cups were a mainstay all around school, as students hustled to get their morning fix before the first bell struck. Only seniors were allowed to leave campus during lunch, but that didn’t stop the enterprising lower classes from trying to sneak off for some caffeine.

Jade walked around the school like she owned it. Life in the coffee shop was much the same. It was weird to walk in beside her, and see people come up to us or shout out a hello. It wasn’t even like she fought her way
to the top; it was just that everyone else took a step back for her. Must come with being a Lansing. Instant love and adoration.

She led me toward the back, where a group of her friends were already slouched along a number of couches. One of the girls I hadn’t seen before looked up.

“The blind kid?” she said skeptically to Jade.

“You think every guy not into you is blind anyway, Laney. What’s one more?” Jade said lightly.

I slowed. Hanging out with Jade was one thing, but socializing with her sycophants and hangers-on was a bit much. She lowered herself down onto the couch like a debutante.

“Scoot over, Carter, give him space,” Jade said to the boy next to her. The guy, proudly clad in his letterman’s jacket, shot me a dirty look but did as she asked.

“You’re the guy Riley was trying to get into journalism,” another girl mentioned. Her smile was uncertain, but friendly—the “I don’t know if he can really see me or not” discomfort. It was familiar. I quickly learned her name was Brooke, and she was the resident brain of Jade’s little coterie.

“I guess,” I muttered, taking a seat next to Jade. She grinned my way and slapped her hand down on my knee.

It seemed to be enough. I stayed quiet while they gossiped about the new school year. Who had done interesting things over the summer, which teachers were already in hyperactive detention mode, and where the parties were going to be.

“I’m already looking forward to the Halloween party Tanner’s throwing. Remind me again why you’re not having one, Jade?” Laney said while ripping apart the muffin in front of her. There was something wrong with the top layer of the muffin though, because that half got discarded while she picked at the rest.

“I’m so over parties this year,” Jade said. “Everyone expects something bigger and better than last year. I’ve got enough on my plate.”

“We’ve got homecoming coming up too,” Laney replied, while the jock chimed in with, “Maybe that’s one game we’ll win this season.”

Everyone seemed to laugh at that. As I found out, the football team was one of the few that hadn’t seemed to flourish since the school had gained a benefactor in Jason Thorpe. Jade rolled her eyes at the mention of his name, quickly and deftly slipping a change of topic in front of them like some sort of sleight-of-hand magician’s trick.

“Braden still has to tell us what he thinks of our fantastic school,” she announced with a sly smile. “And don’t forget compliments. Everyone likes them. And by everyone, I mean me.”

Way to put me on the spot, Jade.
“Well, my new friend Jade is pretty awesome. And has a great eye for fashion.” Uhm. I wasn’t sure what else to say, aside from compliments for Jade.
“School’s okay, I guess. It’s my first, so I’m not really sure what to compare it to.”

Laney snorted. “You’ve never been to a real school before? So you’re one of those homeschooled religious freaks?”

Before I could say anything, Jade stepped in. “Actually? If you weren’t trying so hard to come across as the stereotypical bitchy cheerleader, Lane, maybe you’d notice a few things.” Jade’s eyes narrowed conspiratorially, and she leaned forward. “New boy’s got his own Black card.”

I wasn’t completely out of the loop. I knew what a Black card was, and I definitely didn’t have one of those. But Jade met my confusion with a slow wink and a hint of a smile.

Laney sat back, opened her mouth once, and then immediately closed it.

Brooke stepped in to save the day. “So Braden, how about that physics homework?”

¤ ¤ ¤

The next morning went by like a blur. I thought I aced the English quiz, after Jade had explained what was really going on with all the stream of consciousness we’d had to read the night before.

The next two classes were simple enough. But as I was walking outside of the history classroom, I glanced at a mirror that was framed against the wall—just to make sure my hair wasn’t doing anything to antagonize me randomly. It did that sometimes.

The hair was fine, and I was starting to look more well rested since coming to Belle Dam. At least some of the tension wasn’t showing on my face. Just as I was about to step away, though, I saw the shadow out of the corner of my eye. I stopped immediately, instantly jostled by a pair of girls behind me who hadn’t expected a sudden obstacle to their escape.

I focused my sight out of the corner of my eye. The moment I did, the colors sharpened intensely, but not nearly as bad as when my eyes were uncovered. In the reflection, there was nothing. No shadow, just a white-faced teenager with a nearly comical look of shock across his face.

I hurried out of the room and headed down the halls. I’d seen it twice in under a week. It wasn’t magic, so what was it? I’d seen countless different symbols and images in the visions, and usually knew right away what they meant. Not this. It didn’t make any sense.

At the end of the hall was a classroom with the lights off. Riley had explained yesterday that the school was bigger than the students it housed. There were numerous rooms that never got used because there was really no need. I just hoped this was one of those rooms.

The minute the door was shut, my mind was already opening to all the ways to handle this.

I walked with a purpose toward the blackboard, pulling two long sticks of chalk off the tray and studying the desks as I headed for the back of the room. No good—the wood was covered in some sort of enamel. Any magic I wove through the desk would dissipate right through the chemicals. Magic liked nature. They were symbiotic. Finally, near the back, I found an older desk where the wood was polished but untreated. Perfect.

I focused on the door, narrowing my eyes. I pictured the lines of magic weaving across the door, intangible but full of blue and gold energy.
I don’t need to be in here after all,
the magic said. Over and over again, I rewove the spell, centering it on the doorknob. The more focus I put into it, the stronger the spell. “Hide me from those who seek entrance,” I murmured, the words focusing the magic into a final snap that seemed to hang in the air.

The shadow tugged at my memory, an image of grainlike darkness, like black sand or obsidian shavings. Images were fairly common—a spectral butterfly that hung invisible in the air might whisper of the old altars that had once covered that ground, or a ghost might mutter about how tragically he had died. There was always something to be learned. But the shadow kept its secrets well.

I reached up, grasping my fingers around the cool plastic of the sunglasses. I could do this. It would be okay. The glasses slid free, revealing the world as it truly was.

Reams of rose petals fluttered in the air, shades of how can he not see that I’m alive evergreen spotted with disease I love my job but they think they know everything so horrid little sexed up harlots smile and console don’t let them see the scarlet flames that still lingered in the air, a smoke that contained lines of magical fire.

With my eyes free I felt only a moment of unburdened relief, but everything rushed forward, a thousand voices trying to claw themselves back into life. Any place well used was always more jagged and harsh than someplace remote.

“Someone used magic in here, a long time ago,” I whispered to myself. The traces were faint—whoever it was had had an incredible control. It couldn’t have been a student. Even I could only manage a fraction of that skill. They hadn’t wasted an ounce more power then they’d needed to.

That wasn’t the point of being here, though. I had to focus on the shadow. The chalk clattered to the ground under my outstretched hand, and I pressed down on it, forcing it to snap.