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one for, lost, a goner Blaise had chosen hi to play hih Thea’s mind Randy Marik Jake Batista Kristoffer Milton Troy Sullivan Daniel Xiong
And now: Brie Ross
But Eric was talking, sounding aniirl? Thea?"
"Yes Now-"
"Look, do you knohere she is? I really want to talk to her" The hazy look descended again, and Eric stared into the distance "She’s just I’ve never o of the notebook and stared
Fro place, Thea stared, too
It had never happened before This guy didn’t even seeh But by the Blue Monkey-headed Goddess of Inquisitiveness, what Thea really wanted to knohy she herself felt so relieved by it
A bell rang Blaise was still standing there flabbergasted Eric stuffed the notebook in his backpack
"Could you just let her know I asked about her?"
"She doesn’t care if you asked about her!" Blaise snapped, voice no longer honeyed "She said very explicitly that she never wanted to see you again And I’d watch out if I were you Because she has a te tones
Eric looked slightly alarmed-and crestfallen Thea saw his throat ood-bye to Blaise, he turned and walked out the far side of the corridor
Well by the Red Crow-headed Thunderbolt Goddess
Blaise turned around and stalked up the corridor in Thea’s direction Thea didn’t even try to hide
"So you saw all that Well I hope you’re happy," Blaise said waspishly
Thea wasn’t She was confused Strangely agitated-and scared, because the Cup of Death was still floating before her eyes
"I guess we should both just leave hi? I’ to have hilittering, "you’ve already staked a claim"
Thea floundered, shocked "I well no"
"Then he’s h her hair, disordering the black waves "Isn’t it nice that Gran has so many love charms in the shop," she mused
"Blaise" Thea had a hard tihts "Don’t you remember what Gran said? If there’s anyto be any trouble for us," Blaise said, her voice flat and positive "Only for hi oddly e you can do
She didn’t seekid, probably a freshman, who looked like a shapeshifter; a teacher who had the hunting light of the lamia-the born vampires-in his eyes No made vampires, no olves No other witches
Of course, she couldn’t be certain All the people of the Night World wereunseen They had to be It hat allowed them to survive in a world where there were sodifferent
But when she was sitting in the world literature classrooirl was small-boned and pretty, with thick eyelashes and hair as black and soft as soot She had a heart-shaped face-and diirl’s hand, which was playing with a pin on the girl’s blue-and-white-striped vest A pin in the shape of a black flower
A dahlia
Thea ie in her notebook While the teacher read a passage fro a black dahlia, tracing it over and over until it was large enough for the girl to see distinctly When she raised her head, she saw the girl was looking at her
The girl’s lashes swept down as she looked at the drawing, then up again She shtly
Thea smiled and nodded back
After class, without any need to discuss it, Thea followed the girl to the front of the school The girl looked around to make sure no one was in earshot, then turned to Thea with soht?" she said
Thea shook her head "Circle Twilight Aren’t you?"
The girl’s face lit up with shy delight Her eyes were dark and velvety "Yes!" she said and rushed on, "But there are only two more of us-two seniors, I ht, and I was afraid to hope!" She thrust out her hand, di "I’hten The girl’s laughter was infectious "Thea Har of the witches, the symbol of their harmony, their oneness
"Unity," Dani murmured Then her eyes widened "Harhter of Hellewise? Really?"
Thea laughed "We’re all daughters of Hellewise"
"Yes, but-you knohat I mean You’re a direct descendent I’m honored"
"Well, I’-forth,’ isn’t it? That’s a pretty i awed, so Thea said quickly, "My cousin’s here, too-Blaise Harman We’re both new-but you as before"
"We moved in last month, just in time to start school," Dani said Her brow puckered "But it you’re nehat do you hed "Well, it’s kind of co Both she and Dani looked at the school building in frustration, then at each other
"Meet me here at lunch?" Dani asked
Thea nodded, asked which way her French class was, and then flew off toward the other side of the building
She sat through her next two classes trying to actually listen to the teachers She didn’t knohat else to do She had to concentrate to keep the ireen eyes out of heron the steps out front Thea settled beside her and opened a bottle of Evian water and a chocolate yogurt she’d bought at the snack bar
"You were going to explain how you know Vegas," Dani said She spoke softly because there were kids everywhere in the front courtyard, sprawled in the sun with paper bags
Thea eyed a row of sago palain "Blaise and I-our mothers died ere born They were twin sisters And then both our dads died So we grew up sort ofaround from relative to relative We usually spend the summers with Grand the school year But these last couple of years well, we’ve been in five high schools since ere sophomores"
"Five?"
"Five I think five Isis knows, it could be six"
"But why?"
"We keep getting expelled," Thea said succinctly
"But-"
"It’s Blaise’s fault," Thea said She was s-to boys Hu us kicked out of school Both of us, because I’m always too stupid to tell them she’s the one responsible"
"Not stupid, I bet Loyal," Dani said war some comfort in the sympathy
"Anyway, this year ere in New Haain To the captain of the football team His name was Randy Marik"
When Thea stopped, Dani said, "What happened to him?"
"He burned the school down for her"
Dani le Then she straightened out her face quickly "Sorry, not funny For her?"
Thea leaned against the wrought-iron stair railing
"That’s what Blaise likes," she said bleakly "Having power over guys, s they would never ordinarily do To prove their love, you know But the thing is, she’s never satisfied until they’re completely destroyed" She shook her head "You should have seen Randy at the end He’d lost his et it back"
Dani wasn’t s anymore "Power like that she sounds like Aphrodite," she said softly
And that’s right, Thea thought Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love who could turn passion into a weapon that brought the whole world to its knees
"Remind uys she’s played In a way Randy was lucky"
Thea took a breath "So, anye got shipped back here to Grandma Har to take us They figured if Gran couldn’t straighten us up, nobody could"
"But thatwith the Crone Part of the reason randmother"
Thea nodded "Yeah, people come from all over to take her classes, or to buy her as She’s not always easy to live with, though," Thea added wryly "She goes through a couple of apprentices a year"
"So is she going to straighten Blaise up?"
"I don’t think anybody can What Blaise does-it’s just her nature, the way it’s a cat’s nature to play
with oing to send us to our aunt Ursula at the Connecticut enclave"
"The Convent?"
"Yeah"
"Then you’d better stay out of trouble"