First Magic by Raven Steele (ebook reader screen txt) 📖

“We’re here.”

I blinked and looked out the windshield.

Matt was parked in my driveway and staring at me expectantly. “Are you sure you’re okay? I could come inside with you.”

“I’m fine. Really. You should go join the others. I think Tracey would like that.”

He frowned. “Tracey?”

I winked and smiled, then closed the door. He may have not noticed Tracey’s interest in him, but maybe now he would.

As soon as Matt’s car was out of view, fear reclaimed me. I dashed inside, my eyes scanning the darkness as if it were a cobra ready to strike.

“You’re back early,” Jake said, surprising me. I expected him and Heidi to be gone somewhere as they rarely spent time at our house, but there she was sitting next to him with a big smile. It quickly disappeared the moment she saw my face.

Jake noticed too and hurried over to me. “What’s wrong?”

“Huh? Nothing. Why?” I darted into the kitchen and pretended to be looking for something to eat.

“You look scared.”

With my head in the fridge, I forced my face to relax and turned around. “I’m fine. We had a lot of fun. Those corn mazes are really cool. Have you ever been, Heidi?”

“Lots of times!” She began to tell Jake all about her childhood, and I could tell it wasn’t going to be a short conversation. Jake returned to the couch next to her, his eyes only on her. The two were so obviously in love, it made me sick. One of them could’ve said they had rabies, and the other would’ve thought that was the most adorable thing in the world.

I easily snuck back to my bedroom and shut the door. Finally, I could think without having to put on a “brave” face. What I’d seen tonight had been terrifying. Who could have done it and why, were the only words that raced through my mind.

Faster than any brain should work, images of everyone I knew flashed through my mind as potential suspects. I started with those who had been with me. I crossed off the girls from my list first. I just couldn’t see one slitting a bunny’s throat and then carving my name into it. I also didn’t think they would’ve had enough time to get it done and then still be able to find us in the maze.

That left the guys. There was just Adam, Christian, and Matt. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see any of them doing something so horrible. Besides, what would be their motive? I thought of other people I knew. There were several others I could think of that didn’t like me, but enough to do something like this?

I sat up in bed. There was one person I thought could be ruthless enough and definitely think I deserved it. Mike. The more I thought about him, the more I convinced myself that it was him. He could’ve easily found out where we were going from Adam, and then planned the whole thing ahead of time.

My suspicions made sense except for one thing: the strange feeling that had come over me and led me to the bunny. Maybe I’d sensed the dead animal. I still wasn’t sure how Light worked exactly, and maybe because it was a full moon, I was more sensitive to death. I liked this theory best as it was much easier to accept than what the back of my mind kept trying to tell me.

I shook my head, dismissing the ugly thought again. It just wasn’t possible. A Vyken wouldn’t mess with me like that. He would just kill me, drain the Light from my blood, and be done with it. That’s what I convinced myself, but the truth was I didn’t know what a Vyken would do. My mother and father never told me, and if my aunt had said anything, I hadn’t listened.

I made a mental note to call Sophie later and ask her about it. I dreaded the call but better to be safe than sorry.

Later that night, Jake knocked on my door. “Llona? You still awake?”

I mumbled something incoherent.

“May’s here to see you.”

I sat up. “What time is it?”

“Almost eleven.”

I mentally turned on the lights. “Send her back. Thanks, Jake.”

My room was a mess, and I looked like a train wreck, but I didn’t care. I tried to smooth my hair back with little success.

May wrinkled her nose as she came into my room. “Sorry it’s so late, but I wanted to check up on you.”

I sighed. “I’m seriously fine. I just didn’t feel like going to dinner.”

“I don’t blame you.” She shoved off dirty clothes from my vanity chair and sat down. “And to be honest, that’s the real reason I came over. We need to talk about happened in the maze.”

“What do you mean?”

May scowled. “Come on. You saw what I did.”

Stunned, I dropped my gaze to the bedspread and twisted a thread through my fingers. I wasn’t expecting this. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“But I want to. I have no one else, and for some reason I trust you. Probably because I know you’re different, too.”

I shook my head and opened my mouth to deny it, but she interrupted me.

“Can we please just be honest with each other?”

I sighed. “Listen, May, I don’t care what you can do. So you’re different. We’re different, but I think it’s better if we don’t talk about it.”

“Why?”

“To keep us safe.”

“But what about what happened out there? Someone’s messing with you, and I think it’s because of what you can do.”

“You think someone’s messing with me because I can’t cut my hair?”

May laughed, half-heartedly. “Do you really think I’m that dumb? There’s a lot more to you than just invincible hair.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

She let out an exaggerated sigh. “Really? So you’re saying you can’t manipulate light?”

I wrung my hands together. “What makes you think that?”

“I wasn’t sure at first.” She leaned back. “I mean I definitely had my suspicions. Lights do crazy things when you’re around, like the blackout at the school assembly and the way you acted afterwards. There were other signs too, but after the corn maze I knew for sure.”

“What happened at the corn maze?”

“I took the batteries out of the flashlight, yet you still made it work.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Maybe you just thought you took them out.”

“We’re both different, Llona, and the sooner you admit it, the sooner I can feel a whole lot better about myself.”

“How’s that?”

“My whole life I’ve felt out of place, like I don’t belong anywhere. And because of my scary ability, I’ve never allowed myself to get close to anyone. I was afraid they would see what a freak I was, but now that we’re friends, I finally feel like I’m not so different. Because if there’s you and me, then there’s got to be others, too.”

“When did you first find out about your ability?”

May twisted her hair between her fingers. “A few years ago. It was really scary at first because I couldn’t control it. Little fires would appear out of nowhere. I could just be looking at a wall and all of a sudden it would burst into flames. For the longest time, I didn’t believe it was me doing it.”

“What did your mom say?”

“She thought I was a pyromaniac. For almost a year, she had me going to a shrink. It was horrible. Eventually, I was able to get it under control, mostly anyway, and just in time too. She almost sent me to an institution.”

“Where does your fire ability come from?”

“I have no idea, and I have no one to ask. I almost wonder if it came from my real parents, but I have no way of finding them to ask. Maybe when I’m older …” her voice trailed off.

“I’m really sorry. I can’t imagine not knowing where it came from. What a trip.”

“So what about you?”

I swallowed hard. I couldn’t believe I was about to tell someone my secret. “I know this is going to sound crazy—”

“Highly unlikely.”

“—but I can only explain it by starting with a story because that’s how it was told to me.” I tried to think of a way to tell my tale without it sounding weirder than it was.

“Apparently, thousands of years ago, Light used to be an actual personage, sort of like us. The world was a good place then. There was no evil and everyone was happy. But then some Prince killed his brother and the forbidden darkness entered his heart which basically changed him into a monster. He spread this dark poison to others and soon they were hunting Light, the only beings who could destroy them. These monsters became known as Vykens. To protect themselves, Light hid within the female DNA. We call ourselves Auras. As for the freaky hair, I think it’s just a weird side effect or something.”

May’s eyes were big. “And Vykens?”

“They’re still out there somewhere. The real crappy part of it is they’ve figured out that if they drink the blood of an Aura, then they are no longer confined to the night.”

“Wait a minute. So Vykens are like vampires?”

“No, vampires