Broken Spell Read Online Free PDF Page B

trail her. Boulder and Sean follow, trying to hide behind the group. They scrunch up a little, looking ridiculous, since they are even taller than Drake.
    Boulder’s “tactic” is backfiring. Priscilla looks like a model, and Boulder looks like a linebacker—which he was. Together, they practically force the Fremont students to stare at our group.
    I feel a sudden tingling. Two sources of magical energy are closing in on us. I slow down and look back to the parking lot, trying to find the witches. Priscilla, Sean, and Boulder pass me by and continue their awkward march, but I don’t follow them. I’m curious.
    Drake stays with me and keeps silent, his hand still holding mine.
    The sensation intensifies. Even knowing the general direction, it’s hard for me to determine who they are. Too many students are arriving at the same time.
    But a couple of them are turning their attention to me. Two girls. One of them looks familiar. Before I can place her, though, she approaches and greets me.
    “Hey, it’s you!” A pierced girl with dark make-up flashes me a broad smile.
    I blink a few times before a name comes to me. “Greta?”
    She opens her arms, moves forward, and gives me a cozy hug. With her so close to me, the sensation of my True Sight Charm becomes a faint electric shock. The other girl, a beauty with large brown eyes and curly black hair, wearing a Sailor Moon tee, stares at us with an amused smile. I can easily feel her energy too.
    Greta lets me go and turns to Drake. “Hi to you, too. Boyfriend or beard?”
    “Boyfriend. Name’s Drake,” he says.
    Greta doesn’t blink, but her eyebrows rise the slightest bit. She points to the anime girl. “This is Yara.”
    Greta’s pale complexion contrasts with Yara’s. It’s weird seeing them together: a goth girl clad in black and a sunny Sister dressed as if it were summer.
    Yara waves to us, exposing an exquisite silver mermaid tattoo on her right arm. I glance at Drake, who is staring at the tattoo. His eyes then go straight to Greta, the silver moon inked on the back of her neck partially visible to him. I tug on his hand to snap him out of it.
    “Nice tats,” he says, trying to disguise his indiscretion. “Same color and everything.”
    “Yeah,” Greta says slowly, narrowing her eyes and touching the nape of her neck as if by instinct. “BFFs, you know?”
    Drake nods, unconvincingly.
    I turn to him. “Drake, why don’t you go check on the guys? See if they’re in trouble.”
    He looks at me, confused. “I’m sure they’re fine.”
    I purse my lips.
    “On second thought, they might need me,” Drake says in a hurry. “Nice to meet you.” He nods at Greta and Yara and leaves.
    Yara pulls out her phone and starts texting. She does it so quickly her fingers are a blur.
    “Is he a Knowing?” Greta asks.
    I nod. “Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you went to Ballard.”
    Greta shrugs. “This is my school. I just moved temporarily to Ballard to help with the Search. After you found the Singularity, I came back here. Thanks for finding her, by the way. I hated those snobs at Ballard.”
    “And Yara was responsible for Fremont?”
    “Uh-huh. Come on, let’s go. The bell is about to ring.”
    Greta moves to walk and holds my hand, pulling me with her. I don’t know how to react, so I just hold her hand back and walk beside her. I look back and see Yara still pounding the phone, following us with her eyes on the screen.
    A commotion at the front steps of the building stops us. Boulder is at the center of the gathering. Why am I not surprised?
    “Seriously? You’re coming here?” A big guy is yelling at Boulder. The guy’s oversized belly shows beneath his tight t-shirt. He is sweaty, his shaved head glistening even in the cold weather. A slightly smaller jock has his hand on the chest of the bigger guy, as if holding him back.
    Boulder makes an apologetic gesture. “It’s not like I had an option. There was a freaking