Page 78 of Death Card

“Mikaela.” Her eyes burn with an urgency that I haven’t seen before. “I care too much about you to ever do that.”

Orion’s elbows crack as he stands and stretches his arms. “Let’s do this whole catching-up thing once we’re safe and sound,” he says. “They’ll be back any minute, and last I saw, they were mad as hell.”

Joelle’s rope snaps and I get to my feet, resheathing the knife. “It’s Mike Dupree, isn’t it? Who else is with him?”

Orion tilts his head. “No, sis, it’s—”

A branch snaps at the opposite end of the clearing, drawing our attention to two masked figures dressed in all black. As we whirl around, Orion reaches behind me to snatch the dagger from my grasp, slipping it into his back pocket before they can see.

Their faces are covered by white plastic masks, but the blond hair gives them away almost immediately.

Mike Dupree isn’t the one who summoned the demon. His daughter is.

“You might as well take those dollar-store masks off,” I shout. “We already know who you are. There’s no use hiding.”

Britney and Christine remove their masks in unison, sneering at us with identical expressions of pure disgust. I’m immediately taken aback by how haggard they both look.

Britney’s foundation flakes off her neck in thick chunks as black streaks pulsate beneath every inch of visible skin. Her eyes are sunken, and her face has a sickly jaundiced pallor. Christine looks a bit better, but she still has raccoon eyes and pale skin. The breeze shifts, tickling my nostrils with the scent of sulfur.

As I take a step toward them, Joelle reaches out to grab my arm, but I shake her off. I refuse to show these girls any fear. They may believe themselves to be powerful, but it’s all a facade. I was born with magic; they’re petty thieves.

“Why?” I demand.

Britney’s eyes darken. “You know why.”

And I suppose I do. Girls like Britney have been given everything their entire lives, and I embarrassed her in front of everyone when I earned the top spot as valedictorian. But that isn’t it. Gramps had the audacity to threaten her dad’s quest for power.

Hatred can do powerful things. It can destroy lives if you let it, but I refuse to allow it to ruin mine.

“Was it all worth it?” I shout. “Killing those innocent people?”

Christine answers for her. “They were a means to an end.” She clenches her fist. Green sparks fly from her fingertips. “They gave us what we needed.”

“I’ll be satisfied once I watch you thrash around and die,” Britney says, her voice dripping with utter disdain. “Your magic won’t be able to save you.”

Venom laces the wordmagic, as if it’s a filthy word. As if she hasn’t killed people to feel it flow through her own veins. From the look of it, the power isn’t as compatible with her body as she would like.

Anger flows white-hot through my veins. “You need to move on. You’re the one who cared so much about the stupid title. It’s in the past.”

“But it isn’t,” Britney sneers through gritted teeth. “And it’s not just about that. Look at your family living in that big fancy house. How much magic did it take to steal? To convince yourneighbors that you belong? You’re uppity, pretending like you’re better than us when you’re nothing but dirt.”

Orion stiffens at my side, but a part of me is relieved that she’s gone full mask-off. There are no more pretty smiles to hide her ugly thoughts.

“My great-grandparents worked hard to buy that house, and my grandparents worked even harder to keep it. So, what you’re not going to do is pretend like we don’t deserve to have nice things.”

Britney shakes her head. “You always scored better than me on every test. No matter how hard I studied. I couldn’t figure out how you were doing it until the day I saw you beneath the bleachers. You were holding a ball of light suspended in your hands, and that’s when I knew what you were.”

“And so you decided that you wanted power of your own.”

“It wasn’t right,” she spits, shaking her head. “You don’t deserve it. Look at you. All you’re doing with your life is working in that dead-end shop. You stole everything from me, and then you wasted it.” Her eyes flash. “But I’m going to take what you owe me, and I’m going to make sure that my dad wins this election. Your entire family needs to be knocked back down to the bottom, where you should be.”

I lunge forward, but Joelle and Orion both hold me back. “You’re not owed anything just because you’re white, blond, and pretty.” I pat my chest. “Iearnedmy place. It’s not my fault you’re mediocre, Britney. News flash: Magic isn’t the answer to everything.”

She lets out a harsh laugh. “Shut up. You cheated your way to the top, and I won’t let your grandfather do the same thing.” Sheclenches her fists. “This election is too important. My dad has a real opportunity to change this city for the better.”

“Better for who? We both know that your dad doesn’t give a shit about anyone who isn’t white, straight, and Christian. So, save your bullshit for someone else.”

She sneers at me as green tendrils of light appear at her fingertips. “I’m getting sick of this.” With that Britney staggers forward, flinging a bolt of energy toward me. Orion slams into me, knocking us both to the ground.