Hexed Read Online Free PDF Page B

the basket in a championship game. So this is what it looks like to be popular , she thought.
    She looked up from the yearbook and watched him drive the basket for an easy layup. He was in blue shorts and a sweaty gray tank top that clung to his smooth chest. Though he was obviously very photogenic, it was the way he moved that impressed Lucifer. While the other boys muscled their way around each other, David glided across the court with the natural grace of a dancer. It was easy to tell why he would be featured so prominently on the pages of the yearbook.
    But something about him was rubbing her the wrong way. It took a moment for her to realize what it was. It was his smile. It beamed. And when one of his friends cracked a joke, David’s laughter rang through the gym like a chorus of bells. He seemed happy. And that bothered her. His girlfriend had been ripped into another dimension by a witch and was suffering who-knows-what while he was here playing with his friends as if it were just another typical Saturday morning. But she knew that wasn’t fair to him. Buck had told David that Gina was home, sick in bed. He had no idea what had really happened.
    Lucifer walked down the bleachers toward the court. As she came closer, the group of girls stopped giggling and turned to watch her. She could feel their stares on her, like mascara-caked heat lamps boring into her skin. But it wasn’t the disapproving way they stared at her that made her feel uncomfortable; it was that they were staring at her at all. Lucifer wasn’t used to being noticed. She was a thief. And for a thief, being noticed was never a good thing.
    She walked onto the court and headed straight for David, completely ignoring their game. “What the hell!” one of the boys said.
    Lucifer craned her neck to look up at David and said, “David, can I talk to you for a sec? It’s about Gina.”
    David’s face went pale. “Is she okay? Her dad said she had the flu. Is it something else? What is it, what’s wrong?”
    As far as Lucifer could tell, he seemed genuinely worried. “She’s fine. But can we talk over here? Privately.”
    Before David could say anything, one of the other boys said, “Hey, get off the court!”
    â€œIt’s all right, Ethan,” said David.
    â€œNo, it’s not all right.” Ethan hovered over Lucifer, the basketball tucked high under his arm. He was an inch taller than David with perfect skin and a face that Lucifer expected most people would consider pretty rather than handsome. But those pretty features were twisted as he scowled down at her. “You don’t just walk out onto the court in the middle of a game.” Then he leaned closer and said, “You could get hurt.”
    David came forward. “Calm down. I’ll only be a minute.”
    â€œDon’t tell me to calm down. We’re in the middle of a game. This bitch can wait until we’re done.”
    David and the other boys blanched. “Damn,” one of the boys said. “Someone just grew a pair.”
    â€œHey, easy, Ethan!” David said. “What’s gotten into you?”
    Lucifer had been called much worse and didn’t particularly care, but she was more concerned about why he was so angry with her for interrupting the game. She didn’t have much experience dealing with people in social situations, especially people her own age. She must have missed some kind of social cue, but she had no idea what it could have been.
    Unfortunately, there were more important things to worry about. Lucifer wasn’t sure what kind of witch had taken Gina, but she knew she had only a tiny window in which to get her back safely. Like everyone else in the world, time wasn’t a friend to her.
    â€œYour name’s Ethan, right?” Lucifer asked. “I’ll tell you what. Since you want to play so badly, how about you play me.” Lucifer reached into her trick