Twisted Sisters (The Orion Circle Book 2) Read online

  “I think Kacie found all the support she needs elsewhere,” I bite out before storming away.

  Raven calls my name several times but doesn’t chase after me. Thank God it wasn’t Rebecca or we’d still be arguing. When I reach the locker room, I change into my workout clothes with a lot more banging than necessary. Hitting the lockers feels good. My foot connects with the lower locker. I can’t find my blasted sparring gloves. With a groan I remember that I loaned them to Daniel. Figures. I grab the boxing tape and tape up my knuckles. I’d go without it, but if a coach catches me, I’d have my gym privileges suspended.

  Stomping into the weight room, I almost let out a growl of frustration. Sam is at the heavy weight bag I need. None of the others are strong enough to handle my fury. I could try lifting, but I think I’m too restless to bother. Sam meets my gaze. His eyes widen, and he scurries away to the smaller teardrop bag. Hell, that’s more his speed anyway.

  The first punches I throw are hard but controlled. After a while, I settle into a rhythm of punches and kicks. The sounds around me melt away until all I hear is the slap of the bag against my hands and feet. It isn’t until some sweat rolls into my eye that I come back to my senses. Wiping a hand across my forehead, I head to the locker room. After a quick shower, I dress and pull out my phone, steeling myself against the texts I know are there. Text after text telling me what a jerk I am for ditching Kacie. Not a single: hey, Logan, are you okay? The nastiest text is from Daniel. Hell I’d almost believe I didn’t see what I know I saw based on his words.

  Where the hell r u? Cici needs you. Ten minutes later: U know things r crap, Get ur ass to lunch! Five minutes later: GFY.

  I collapse to the metal bench and open Kacie’s texts.

  R u ok? Followed by: Where are u? They continue about every minute or so, ten texts in all. Kacie hates texting. She must really be worried. My icy heart melts a bit, but then I remember how she looked in his arms, her lips locked with his. Damn her. How much can she possibly care when she can sneak around with him behind my back?

  Only one voicemail, and it’s from her.

  “Logan, where are you? Is everything okay? I’m worried. Raven said you were really upset about something. Angry. Please call me.”

  I delete the message. Her voice was almost frantic. Let her stew. Maybe she’ll figure it out on her own. The bell rings, but instead of heading to class, I decide to skip the rest of the day. I can’t go to class and pretend everything is okay. Not when I feel like someone ripped my heart out and stomped it into dust. As I near my car, I curse under my breath.

  Crows cover my Mustang. At least ten, maybe twenty. Why are Kacie’s familiars hanging around me? I try to shoo them away, but they ignore my shout and waving arms. The largest, Kacie’s special bird named Poe, sits on the roof of the car staring at me. Its unblinking gaze is unnerving. The bird watches me as I open the car door, putting my face within inches of its feathered body. I half expect it to attack, but it allows me to get into the car without incident.

  Throwing the stick into reverse, I peel out of the parking space, my tires squealing on the pavement. The birds take flight, swirling around the car in a black mass before taking off into the sky. Slamming into first gear, I speed through the lot way too fast. The throaty roar of the engine is soothing, and for a brief moment I feel better. Then I’m forced to stop for a red light, and the bitterness returns full force. Turning on the radio, I switch the station to Octane and crank up the volume.

  The drive home is nothing but a blur of movement and loud music. As I turn onto my street my heart lurches. Mom’s Escalade is parked in the drive. She knows. Of course she knows. I’ve been broadcasting my emotions loud and clear. Mom’s always had a knack for knowing when I need her‌—‌even across town. The front door opens, and she walks outside. Without a word, she comes to my side, placing her arm around my shoulders. I watch in silence as Kacie’s crows land on my car, taking up their previous positions like I never left the school. What does it mean? They’ve never followed me around before.

  “What happened, honey?” Mom asks in a soft voice. When I don’t answer, she points to the birds. “Is there a reason that you know of for this display?”

  “No.”

  One word. It’s all I can get out through the lump in my throat. Being around Mom makes me want to fall into her arms and cry. I refuse to cry. Not over them. They don’t deserve it.

  “It’s an omen,” she murmurs as she leads me toward the front door. “They know something is going to happen to you. Your closeness to Kacie makes them almost your familiars as well.”

  “Kacie and I are through,” I bite out, pushing the front door so hard it slams against the wall.

  “The birds don’t think so.”

  “Screw the birds!”

  I throw my backpack to the floor and stomp into the kitchen. My stomach growls, though I don’t really feel like eating. Mom walks in, the picture of calm beside my seething rage. Without a word she pulls out a can of tomato soup and lights the stove.

  “Do you want a grilled cheese too?” she asks as though I didn’t just scream at a flock of birds.

  I open my mouth to say no, but instead mumble, “Yes, please.”

  She putters around the kitchen humming softly while I slump on a barstool at the counter. My head falls to my hands. I let it rest there while watching Mom, and listening to her soothing humming. It’s an old Celtic tune, one she sang to me when I was little. Inch by inch, I feel my muscles unclench. The tension seeps from my body, and I feel empty. Drained. The aroma of tomato soup teases my nose, and my stomach twists in rebellion. I still don’t think I can eat.

  “Do you want to tell me what happened?” she asks, stirring the soup in the pot.

  “No,” I reply, letting my head fall to rest on the cool, granite countertop.

  “You know talking about it will make you feel better,” she says in a matter-of-fact tone.

  “Will you leave me alone if I tell you?”

  “Hmm, perhaps. I’ll leave you alone right now if that’s what you really want.”

  She places the grilled cheese on the counter before me. I don’t want to eat. My stomach rumbles then roils. It seems it can’t decide what it wants either. When she sets a mug of steaming tomato soup next to the plate, I take a deep breath, enjoying the way the steam tickles my nose. Shrugging, I take a sip of the hot soup. It’s viscous yet tasty. I take another sip, pleased when my stomach remains quiet.

  “I don’t know where to start,” I say before tearing off a bite of the grilled cheese. “It’s been an unbelievably bad day.”

  “Start at the beginning.”

  “Kacie was a wreck this morning after drama. She found out she was going to be rehearsing a kissing scene with Daniel, and she freaked out.”

  “Yes, I can imagine that would be difficult for her. For being an actress, she’s rather shy,” Mom says, nodding.

  “Well, things got worse,” I say around a mouthful of sandwich. “By second period there was a betting pool about what would happen at rehearsal. I’m guessing lots of people will show up to watch.”

  “That’s awful,” Mom says, taking away my empty plate.

  “Yeah, she was really upset,” I murmur, remembering the frantic look on her face, and that was before I heard about the betting pool. Maybe she was so scared because she knew her secret was about to be revealed. “I heard from Rebecca that she walked out of her chemistry class, so I went looking for her. I didn’t have to look far. I mean there’s only one place she’d be.”

  “The Orion Circle room.”

  “Yeah. I opened the door and saw them.” My eyes burn and I clench my hands into fists. “Kacie and Daniel. Together. Kissing.”

  She chuckles. “Oh, that must have been quite a shock.”

  “Why are you laughing?” I ask, turning my fury on her. “I walked in on my girlfriend and my best friend kissing, and you think it’s funny?”

  “Calm down, Logan,” she says, strokin
g my arm. “You might be overreacting. I know it must have been devastating to see that. But think about it for a minute. Think about Kacie. She’s been in our coven for two months, have you noticed anything about her behavior?”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” I ask in an exasperated shout.

  “Our Kacie likes to prepare, perhaps even over-prepare when it comes to anything public. I’ve never seen anyone practice a simple poem to the Goddess so many times.”

  I meet her gaze. She stares at me with a look of pity in her eyes, yet I can’t help but think that it’s me she’s disappointed in.

  “Just spit it out already,” I order in a harsh tone, flinching when she gives me one of her death glares. “Please.”

  “Is it possible that Kacie was afraid about how she would react the first time she kissed Daniel on stage and wanted to practice?”

  “That’s absurd!” I shout, throwing my hands in the air. “It makes absolutely no sense. Why are you defending her? Do you realize how much she hurt me?”

  “Yes, I do. And I’m not defending her,” Mom says, her mouth set in a grim line. “I’m furious at her for doing this to you. For making you feel the way you do right now. But I think you leapt to an erroneous conclusion.”

  “So you really believe they were merely rehearsing,” I say, making a quote motion with my fingers at the word rehearsing. “It didn’t look like rehearsing to me. I was stunned for a moment. They never noticed me, too intent on each other. It was one hell of a long kiss for rehearsing.”

  “All I’m saying is that you need to talk to her,” Mom says as she takes my empty mug away. She crosses over to the sink and rinses out the cup. When she turns back to look at me, her expression is soft. “Give them a chance to explain. They owe you that much. Daniel’s been your best friend for years.”

  My phone rings before I have a chance to respond. Mr. Kincaid, the second-in-command of our Orion Circle chapter and our faculty advisor, according to caller ID.

  “Hello, Mr. Kincaid.”

  “I see you skipped some classes this afternoon‌—‌including mine,” Mr. Kincaid says. Crap. I forgot about physics. Of course Mr. Kincaid would know about my absence. “I covered for you with the office, but now I need you to do something.”

  “Of course, sir,” I reply, glad I didn’t receive the tongue lashing I expected.

  “Anna can’t make her three o’clock appointment this afternoon. I need you to go in her place.” Anna, Mrs. Kincaid, our chapter’s head, always vets the new clients. She rarely delegates the task.

  “New client?” I ask, my pulse leaping a bit. I’ve never fielded a new client before even as an assistant. That the Kincaids trust me this much, it’s an honor.

  “Yes. I’ll text you the address,” he says, his voice muffled. I can hear some paper moving around. “A group of college girls at San Antonio University think they have a ghost problem. Go check it out and determine if we should set up an investigation. If we need to investigate, determine the appropriate response time.”

  “I’m on it,” I reply, relieved to have something to do.

  “Three o’clock,” Mr. Kincaid says. “Don’t be late. Oh, and Logan?”

  “Yes?”

  “Don’t skip classes without permission. I won’t cover for you again. I only did this time because Michelle was so insistent.”

  “Yes, sir,” I say before hanging up.

  Michelle is the empath in the Circle. Strong emotions overwhelm her. I thought I steered clear of her, but obviously not clear enough. While I felt like a bowling ball was crushing my heart, she probably felt it too. Craptastic.

  Chapter Three

  Rehearsal

  KACIE

  The auditorium is filled to almost overflowing. Mr. Holmes encourages the student body to watch our rehearsals, so there’s little I can do about it. I feel like I’m under a microscope. Everything I say, every move I make is under scrutiny. It’s beginning to drive me mad.

  It would have been much better had we started with the kissing scene, but no, Mr. Holmes is doing everything in order. I run through the song and dance number on autopilot. I’ve practiced it so many times in my bedroom, it’s second nature now. At least I look good for this part of rehearsal.

  After the song ends, I step back to wait for the director to call the next scene. My mind wanders, returning to dwell on Logan. He missed lunch and hasn’t answered his phone. Raven ran into him on the way to lunch. She acted so guarded about him. All she said was that he was upset about something, and she didn’t know what. I can’t help but worry. His car wasn’t in the parking lot after lunch and neither were my birds. Where could he have gone?

  The moment I’ve been dreading for days arrives with much fanfare, drawing me out of my thoughts.

  “Okay, let’s check out the chemistry between my two stars,” Mr. Holmes says, clapping his hands together. “Start about two lines away from the kiss.”

  Hoots and hollers flood the auditorium as the audience shows their approval that the moment of truth has finally arrived. Really, don’t they have anything better to do than torment me? I’m so relieved that Daniel and I practiced earlier. Otherwise, I think I might’ve run from the stage. He meets my gaze and gives me a wink as we walk toward each other to center stage. I barely register him saying his line. Mine comes out in a clear voice, giving me an internal confidence boost. It’s time.

  I close the distance between us, placing one hand on his chest and the other at his nape. We gaze into each other’s eyes for a moment before I wrap my arm around his neck and push up onto my toes. The moment I press my lips to his, he responds by wrapping both arms around me. The kiss is chaste, but I doubt it appears that way to the audience. I count slowly to five in my head like we agreed then pull away.

  “Brilliant!” Mr. Holmes shouts. “Absolutely brilliant. I’m so pleased‌—‌I’m dismissing everyone early today. Happy Friday.”

  “I think Mr. Holmes has a hot date,” Daniel whispers in my ear.

  My reply is drowned out by the roar of the crowd all talking over one another. A wry half-smile forms on my lips as I watch the arguments breaking out all over the place. These asshats deserve whatever they get. I heard the odds were two to one that I’d run off the stage. I’m glad we screwed up their idiotic betting pool.

  “Logan isn’t here,” I murmur, glancing around the theater.

  “Were you expecting him?” Daniel asks over the noisy crowd.

  “Yeah, we were supposed to go out for dinner tonight,” I reply, biting my lip. My phone vibrates in the pocket of my blue jeans. I pull it out, frowning when I see Rebecca’s name. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Logan’s on assignment and needs our help asap,” she blurts out in an excited voice.

  “Is he okay?” Worry jars my heart into a rapid beat.

  “Yeah, I think so,” she says. “Look, I’ll text you the address. You’re with Daniel, right?” She pauses for a couple beats. “How did it go?”

  “Great,” I reply with a snicker while watching the rowdy crowd exit the auditorium.

  “Well that’s a relief, anyway. Ask Daniel if he can drive you to the SAU campus. We could definitely use his help with the spirit board.”

  Spirit board? This could be very bad. “Are you free tonight?” I glance up at Daniel, and he nods. “Yeah, text me the address. We’re on our way now.”

  “Hurry,” she says before disconnecting.

  “What’s going on?” Daniel asks as we head backstage to get out backpacks.

  “Logan is on assignment and asked for backup.” My voice shakes, betraying my nerves. “I’m worried about him.”

  “Yeah, me too,” he says, grabbing his bag, “I have a bad feeling about this. I think I know why Logan was angry earlier and why he bailed.”

  “Are you going to share?” I ask when he remains silent.

  “No, not yet.” We walk out the backstage door into the parking lot. Daniel’s SUV is right in front surrounded by his bimbo
groupies. “Ah, hell.”

  They flutter around him, cooing and whining. It’s enough to make me vomit.

  “Sorry, ladies, as you can see I’m busy.” Daniel shoulders past them. They don’t take the hint, and he can barely open the door wide enough to shove his backpack through.

  “God, don’t you tramps have anything better to do than bug my guy?” Raven asks, arriving on the scene with a nasty scowl on her face. She yanks the car door, opening it wider, hitting a couple of the gathered groupies. “You know, like sacrificing babies or puppies or something.”

  “He’s not your guy,” the leader says, sneering, “are you, Daniel?” She tosses her blond hair with a red, manicured hand.

  “No comment,” Daniel says as he squeezes into the front seat. “And for the record, you girls really need to find someone else to stalk. It’s getting old.”

  “It got old long ago,” Raven snaps. She hops into the backseat and slams the door, hard.

  I almost feel bad for the four girls, watching their faces fall. But really, Daniel should have said something to them before now. After getting into the passenger seat and closing the door, I toss my backpack into the backseat next to Raven. We travel in silence for a while since Daniel doesn’t turn on the stereo. I’m not used to being in a car without any music.

  “For the record, I’ve asked them to leave me alone before,” Daniel says with an exasperated groan. “It’s like the challenge makes them more rabid or something. Lately I’ve just been trying to ignore them.”

  “Sorry, Daniel. I don’t blame you,” Raven says, leaning forward. “Living next to the president of your fan club got old real quick.”

  “Hey, at least you don’t have to worry about me ever dropping by.”

  “Oh no, that’s the least of my worries.” Raven flops against the backseat. “Queen Bitch had the gall to drop by last weekend with a Daniel questionnaire. Like I’d give her any information about you.”

  “You’re kidding.” Daniel sounds dumbfounded.

  “Yeah, I wish. But no, she really did and there were twenty-five Daniel-related questions.”