Page 79 of Death Card

“See?” Christine says. “You’re not so special now.”

“You’re nothing,” Britney growls, stalking toward us.

Their words make me sick to my stomach. I’m not naive. I’m well aware there’s a segment of white people who truly believe they’re better than us solely because of the color of their skin.

I scramble to my feet as Orion’s hands glow bright red. The girls are forced to jump back as the grass beneath their feet erupts in flames.

“The magic will never fit right beneath your skin!” I yell. “Your body will fight it off like a virus and you’ll die before you ever become a real witch. You’re nothing more than an impostor.”

Christine’s face reddens, but a serene expression crosses Britney’s. “Don’t worry about us. Just wait until Gazannol gets its hands on you.” Thunder claps at the mention of the demon’s name. “It’ll let you watch as we kill your family and your pretty little girlfriend before it shreds your soul to pieces.”

Orion steps forward. “If it’s Mikaela you wanted this whole time, why kill the others? Why not take her out to begin with?”

Christine shrugs. “We needed the magic their bodiesprovided. It strengthened our power and solidified the demon’s grip on reality.”

I think of the long list of people they’ve killed. Orion must think of them too because his voice cracks as he says, “They were innocent people.”

“Nobody’s innocent in war,” Britney says. “Besides, it’s been worth it to see the pain their deaths caused you.”

Christine shifts her gaze to Joelle, who’s been crouched on the ground near the tree. “You’d better say goodbye to your girlfriend now,” Christine says. “Once Gazannol has bound its soul to yours, it’ll be unstoppable.”

“And we’ll share in his power forever,” Britney continues.

Everything neatly slots into place. Gazannol is using the girls to get to me. It knows that I’m the descendant of La Reine Sorcière. My power exceeds that of any random mortal or even most of the members of my coven. It’ll draw on my strength to feed its own, and then it’ll burn the world to ashes. These stupid girls don’t know how badly they’ve fucked up.

Money, power, and prestige are what they’re after. They think magic will provide that. But with Gazannol walking the earth, there will be no society for them to conquer and no election for Britney’s dad to win. Everything they know and love will go up in smoke. Humanity will cower at Gazannol’s feet.

“You don’t know what you’ve done,” I say. “This isn’t going to play out the way you want it to.”

Britney beams. “That’s what you think.”

An iron vise wraps around my wrist as someone grabs me from behind.

36

I whirl around,coming face-to-face with a third masked figure. There’s a shout as Orion dives for me, knocking the other person off their feet. Joelle gasps and I reach for her, clutching her to my side as we watch Orion and the masked figure roll around on the ground, throwing punches and sending up a thick cloud of dirt.

“Stop it!” I scream, throwing up my palms to strike a magical blow, but they’re rolling around so much that I might hit Orion if I try to help. Still, I’ve got to do something.

The masked figure rears back and hits Orion across the face. It sends a spear of white-hot anger straight through my middle. A scream tears through me as a bolt of electricity flies from my fingertips, striking the ground near them. It startles the masked figure enough that Orion is able to get the upper hand. As he throttles the figure’s throat, his mask falls off and reveals Tyler’s smug face.

Of course he’s involved. Looks like summoning demons is Britney’s idea of romance.

I step forward to help my brother when a blast of energy sends me skidding across the ground, slamming into a tree trunk. When my vision settles, Britney’s got a knife to Joelle’s throatand Tyler is dragging Orion to his feet, restraining his arms behind his back.

“Give it up,” Britney sneers. “It’s over.”

She’s right. I can’t see any other way out of this, not without backup, and I have no idea whether that’s coming at all. It would be one thing if I was dealing with three mortals, but they’ve got stolen power thrumming beneath their skin. I can’t take them on alone.

“There’s so much more to life than titles,” I say, staggering to my feet. “And it says a lot about you that you don’t believe your dad can win this election on his own merit. You’re doing the same thing you claim I did: cheat.”

“Consider it leveling the playing field,” Britney says, her venomous words carrying across the clearing.

“You can’t fight anyone else’s battles,” I say, overly aware of the blade hovering dangerously close to Joelle’s neck. “My grandfather and your dad are going to have to win or lose this election themselves. But if you think I didn’t earn that title, then okay. Whatever will help you sleep at night. But let Joelle go. I know there’s too much history between our families to ignore, but she’s innocent in all this.”

Joelle’s eyes are wide as saucers. Her gaze hasn’t drifted from me once. The point of the knife is so close to her neck; her throat bobs as she swallows, and the blade nicks her skin. A thin line of blood flows from the tip.

Britney’s smile grows wider as she tightens her grip on Joelle. “Oh no. I’ve been watching you, Mikaela. I know how much she means to you.” Britney uses her free hand to stroke Joelle’s cheek. Her fingernails are blackened and cracked. “If you don’tget in the fucking summoning circle, I’m going to rip her throat open and soak the ground in her blood. The ball’s in your court.”