The Hunt Read Online Free PDF Page A

space an unexpected elegance, like a nineteenth-century sitting room.
    â€œIt needs a good dusting, that’s for sure,” her mothersaid. “But it’ll do the job. Should I start preparing it for your friends?”
    Cassie nodded. The room had its own kitchen nook and bathroom, and in the living room area there was even an old television set. “It’s perfect,” Cassie said. “Thank you.”
    They wasted no time getting started. Her mother dug out every cleaning appliance and disinfectant they owned. They stripped the beds and vacuumed the carpet, scrubbed the bathroom and scoured the kitchen countertops. Cassie brought down fresh linens and some food for the refrigerator. Faye and Laurel will be pleased , Cassie thought. As far as overnight hiding places went, this was a best-case scenario.
    When they were finished, Cassie’s mother gave her an affectionate squeeze and headed back upstairs. Cassie’s mind turned to her father’s book. She had to figure out where it was.
    She eyed the mysterious room. Her mother was so good at keeping secrets—too good. How would Cassie ever discover where she’d hidden the book? It could be anywhere.
    And then the answer unwrapped itself like a gift. The room was spelled for protection, which meant Cassie couldsafely perform a summoning spell to locate the book without fear of being caught by her mother—or the hunters.
    She listened for a moment to be sure there was no movement coming from upstairs and then tightly closed her eyes. She concentrated and whispered a simple incantation:
    Book of Shadows, I summon thee.
    Be released, appear to me.
    Nothing happened at first, but then Cassie felt a peculiar tugging at her throat, a pull from the necklace around her neck. She grasped its silver chain, quickly released its clasp, and held it out in front of her. The quivering pendant was clear quartz. Of course—it was a visionary stone. It must have begun picking up traces of the book’s energy.
    Cassie let the pendant hang from its silver chain and watched the delicate crystal spin until it aligned itself in a definite direction. Soon it started swinging in broad sweeping strokes, like a pendulum.
    Cassie took careful steps in the direction it led, keeping her hand steady as best she could. She followed the curve of its path, which was guiding her nowhere near the room’s exit but toward the couch in the sitting area. Wasit possible her mother had hidden the book down here in the basement? A strange excitement filled Cassie’s chest as the silver chain straightened to a thin vertical line. The crystal stopped moving. It pointed and quaked at the floor directly below Cassie’s feet.
    Excitedly, Cassie lifted the throw rug to reveal the pale wooden slabs of flooring beneath it. There was a slight crack in one of the panels, barely visible to the eye but just large enough to dig out with her fingernail. It took a few tries to lift the board out of place, but once it was removed, the others were simple. And there was the book, nestled within a carefully carved divot like a tomb.
    Cassie eyed the dark book like a dormant enemy. She leaned in close to it and poked it with her pointer finger. Then, deciding it was safe to pick up, she held it in her hands.
    She couldn’t have Faye and Laurel lounging around so close to something so private and powerful. She wasn’t so concerned about Laurel using it, but Faye . She had to make sure Faye didn’t discover this book under any circumstances. The secret room was definitely no place for it.
    Cassie replaced the floorboards and the rug, then stood up to make her way to the stairs. She held the book close to her chest, trying to decide if she could sneak it past hermother by hiding it beneath her shirt. And then out of nowhere a foreign and mysterious feeling passed over her. She looked down at the book in her hands and had the overwhelming urge to open it, right then and