Everyone clapped politely. My right leg bounced up and down. Just tell us already.
“As you know, we do only have the one open slot, so even though competition was fierce, we can only invite one special girl to become a Demons cheerleader. And that girl is...”
I squeezed Drake's hand so hard his knuckles turned white. My breath caught in my chest, waiting to hear the name.
“Harper Madison!”
I jumped up and screamed, my face flushing with joy. Beside me, Agnes stood and gave me a big hug.
“Come on down and join us Harper,” Mrs. King said.
The rest of the squad gathered around me, hugging me and telling me congratulations. Brooke pulled me out beside Mrs. King and lifted my hand into the air. The crowd in the gym was on their feet, whistling and cheering for me.
The moment was surreal. Was it really only a month ago that I had moved to Peachville? I never dreamed life could change so much so quickly.
My cheeks hurt from smiling so much as I waved to the crowd.
“Harper, we would like to present you with this brand new Demons uniform,” Mrs. King said as Brooke handed me a blue and black sports bag that held my pom poms, shorts, a t-shirt with the Demon mascot, and a crisp new uniform. “Let's welcome Harper Madison to the team one more time!”
The crowd cheered and I scanned their faces. Movement to the right of the bleachers caught my eye and I turned to look. A handsome boy with brown spiked hair stood leaning against the wall, staring at me. The cheer of the crowd turned to background noise as our eyes met. For a moment, we were the only two in the room.
He lifted his chin in a nod of acknowledgment, then turned on his heel and left. I felt lightheaded and weak in the knees. I knew him from somewhere. But where? It seemed important.
Mrs. King's voice brought me out of my trance.
“Harper will be our honored guest tonight at the game and hopefully by next week, she'll be on the field cheering with us, so make sure y’all give her a warm welcome and lots of support over the next couple weeks. Go Demons!”
“GO DEMONS!” The squad yelled, then I gathered me up in a group hug.
A Night To Remember
After the announcement, Agnes and I walked to the parking lot together. Drake was waiting for us in his black Camaro. It was a sleek sports car his parents bought him as a present for his sixteenth birthday. It made me a little uncomfortable to think of riding around in such expensive cars in my torn jeans and old hand-me-downs.
Agnes climbed into the back.
“You sure you don't mind?” I said. “'Cause I could get in the back if you want.”
“Don't be silly,” she said. “I'm sure you want to ride up front with Drake.”
I did, but I was desperately trying to be nice to her. I knew how much she wanted to be a Demons cheerleader. It was one of the first things she'd told me about herself when we met, and I had taken it from her.
Mrs. King only made me feel worse when she told Agnes that she was her second choice.
“At least that puts me in a good position for next year's auditions,” Agnes had said. “Or if another spot opens up.”
I didn't want to tell her that the chances of that happening were next to impossible.
As Drake spun out of the parking lot, he slipped in a CD. Rock music blasted out and he let down the windows. I was thankful for the music, because it meant we didn't have to worry about an awkward conversation that might make Agnes feel bad. I think Drake knew it, too. He looked over at me and winked.
At Shadowford, he got out of the car and walked me to the door. Agnes was about to go inside when he stopped her.
“You know, we're all having a party tonight at Foster's family's lake house,” he said.
Agnes turned and lifted one eyebrow. “Are you talking to me?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I know you're good friends with Harper, so if you want to come.” He shrugged.
Her face lit up. “Seriously? That would be awesome, thanks. Can I ride with you guys?”
Drake glanced at me. “Sure,” he said. “Bring a friend if you want. Or a boyfriend.”
Agnes rolled her eyes. “I don't have a boyfriend, but I'm sure one of my friends'll come. I'm gonna go ask around. See ya tonight!”
She took off into the house. I smiled up at Drake.
“That was super sweet of you.”
“Any friend of yours is a friend of mine,” he said. “Besides, this is your night. We're going to have the best time ever.”
He leaned down and brushed my lips lightly with his. As far as first kisses go, it wasn't bad. There was no movie music playing in the background. No crazy weak knees or fireworks shooting off inside my brain. But there was a stirring of butterflies. And butterflies are good.
“See you tonight,” he said.
I smiled. “See you tonight.”
When I saw him again, he was running onto the field with his teammates. As usual, Agnes and I were lined up with the rest of the fans as the team made their entrance. This time, though, Drake broke off from the team and came over to kiss my cheek.
The whole town came out to cheer on the Demons football team. To my great surprise, even Mrs. Shadowford came along to hear the announcement that one of her girls was chosen as the new cheerleader.
“I'm very proud of you, Harper,” she said when I made it back up to the stands. “It's been a few years since one of my girls made the team.”
“Who was the last one?”
She hesitated, as if trying to remember. “You know, I can't quite remember. I'd have to look it up.”
I smiled at her, but in my gut, I felt that she was lying to me.
I thought about the picture of my mother and the other cheerleaders. Had my mother lived at Shadowford, too? Or any of the other women in the picture, like the mayor or the sheriff? I wondered. After what I'd seen on the third floor, I knew there had to be some connection between Shadowford and the magical power in this town. Hopefully now that I was an official member of the cheerleading squad, I would have access to some of those answers. I reminded myself to be patient. Answers would come in time. If I pushed too hard, the doors might close to me, and they would be a lot harder to get open a second time.
Just before halftime, the announcer called me down to join the other cheerleaders on the field. He introduced me to the crowd as the newest Demons cheerleader, and again I felt the heady rush of excitement and acceptance. The town welcomed me even though most of them had never even met me.
It should have been the happiest night of my life. And in some ways, it was. But there was always this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was getting into something dangerous. As of today, I was a cheerleader. Girlfriend of the star quarterback. One of the popular kids. It was exciting, but also terrifying. I had grown used to life as an outsider. I didn't know how to survive life on the inside of the circle. What if I couldn't handle it? What if I said the wrong thing or took a wrong turn?
Then again, I couldn't spend my entire life worrying about what might go wrong. So instead, I waved to the crowd and embraced my new existence.
Later, after the game was won, Agnes, Courtney and I all piled into Drake's car and headed out to the party.
“You were great out there tonight,” I said to Drake.
He reached over and took my hand. “Thanks. I can't wait until you're on the field cheering for me.” He glanced back to the girls in the backseat. “You guys ready to party?”
Agnes giggled. “This is so awesome,” she said. “This will be my first official PHS party.” She sounded excited.
“I am so ready to just let loose,” Drake said. “Tonight, we can really celebrate Harper making the team.”
“Yes,” Agnes said. “Tonight is going to be a night to remember.”
They Choose You
Drake drove through downtown, across a bridge, then out into the dark countryside beyond. I had never seen this side of town before.
“Where's this
party anyway?”
He turned down the radio a bit. “Foster's parents have this cabin down by the lake. They let us use it whenever we want,” he said. “It's completely stocked, too. You'll see.”
Drake turned off the main highway onto a deserted dirt road. I couldn't see any lights and for a minute, I wondered if he'd gotten lost. Then, up ahead, a huge orange flame rose up.
“A bonfire?”
“So cool,” Agnes said.
I didn't want to tell him how much fire scared me. Already, I could feel my palms getting sweaty. Great. Just what I needed.
At least thirty people were already dancing and drinking around the fire. A stereo system was set up on the huge side porch and the speakers blasted loud music. I wondered if there were any neighbors who might call and complain, then remembered that we were in the middle of nowhere. Plus, these were the rich kids. They probably never got in trouble.
The so-called cabin was actually more of a mansion. I figured anything over three thousand square feet lost the right to be labeled a cabin, but what did I know? Geez, what was it with this town and huge houses? This one raised up high into the sky, three stories up.
Drake's hand closed around mine and he led me through the party. I looked back to say something to Agnes, but she and Courtney had disappeared into the crowd. Oh well. I'd find them later.
Brooke, Allison, and Lark stood on the porch, their faces lit by firelight. They waved me over like we were old friends.
“Time for tequila,” Brooke yelled over the music.
“Ew, I can't do it,” Lark said. “I had the worst hangover last time. I think we should do a round of lemon drops in remembrance of Tori.”
“Hell yeah,” Allison said. “Lemon drops it is. You down, Harper?”
Everyone looked to me. What the hell. “Let's do this.”
**
“I seriously need to pee.”
Lark grabbed my arm and practically dragged me toward the house. We'd been doing shots and dancing by the fire for the past hour, and to tell the truth, I'd had to pee for the last twenty minutes.
Together, we climbed our way through the crowd. Inside, though, both downstairs bathrooms had lines three people deep.
“Dammit, I'm going to seriously pee my pants,” she said. She leaned against me and I struggled to hold her upright.
“If you pee on me, I swear to God, I'll never forgive you.” I laughed and grabbed her hand. “Come on, let's check upstairs.”
The second floor had several bedrooms. In the first room, a couple grunted in the shadows. “Taken,” a guy yelled out. Lark and I giggled and shut the door.
A couple other rooms on that floor were locked tight, too.
“I think there's a third floor,” I said.
Lark groaned. “You aren't seriously going to ask me to walk all the way up there?”
“Come on.”
The stairs up to the third floor were dark and when I flipped the switch, nothing happened.
“Forget it,” Lark said. “I'm going back down to wait.”
“Scared of the dark?” I teased.
“Yes,” she said. I laughed as she made her way back downstairs.
I wasn't scared of the dark. And I really needed to go to the bathroom. I didn't think I could wait for one to free up.
I slowly walked up to the third floor. From the second floor lights, I could tell that it was one big giant bedroom up here. A master suite? Sliding doors led out to a balcony with a view out toward the lake and a little bit of moonlight spilled in through the gauzy curtains. There had to be a bathroom up here somewhere.
I stumbled over a pillow and cursed, then laughed. Other than a glass of champagne I had sneaked at a party for one of my foster parent's twentieth wedding anniversaries, I had never drunk alcohol before. It made my head feel spinney and light.
I found the door to the bathroom and turned the knob, silently praying no one was in there. It opened easily and I ran my hand along the wall just inside the room. I flicked the light switch up, but again, nothing happened.
You've got to be kidding me.
I wasn't about to go back downstairs. I shut the door behind me, shutting out all light, and finally, happily, got rid of the pressure on my bladder. I giggled, thinking that Lark was probably still downstairs waiting in that line. All because she was afraid of a little darkness.
I washed my hands and stepped out into the large master suite.
A chill slid down my spine like an icy fingertip. Someone was in there with me. I could feel their energy. Their anger.
The hairs on my arms stood up and my breath caught in my throat. I felt instantly sober, all giddiness gone.
“Hello?” My voice came out a whisper.
A match struck and caught fire, lighting up a small area in the center of the room. Agnes sat on the carpet, holding a bright red candle. A pentagram was drawn around her with black sand.
“Agnes? What are you doing up here?” A knot formed in the pit of my stomach.
She didn't say a word. She sat the candle on the floor in front of her, and I stepped forward, thinking it would fall over on the carpet. Instead, the candle stayed upright. I wasn't even sure it was actually touching the floor at all.
I glanced toward the stairs, my legs tensing in case I needed to make a run for it.
“Congelo.” Agnes' voice was commanding and deep. Not at all like her usual girly tone.
My legs felt suddenly stiff. I tried to step toward the stairs, but I couldn't move.
“You're not going anywhere,” she said. The corners of her mouth raised up in a sinister smile that made my heart stop.
“What's going on?”
She threw back her head and laughed. “I'm making sure there's an extra opening on the cheerleading squad.”
I felt sick.
“What have you done, Agnes?”
“I think you already know,” she said, standing.
“It was you,” I whispered. The image of Tori's half-burned body on the ground flashed through my memory. Oh, dear God, I was going to be sick. I begged my legs to work, but I was frozen to the spot.
“I had the perfect plan,” she said. “Get rid of one of the cheerleaders, then slip into her spot on the team. I knew they would hold auditions. Mrs. King isn't the type to miss out on an entire year of competitions and without a full team, the Demons would be disqualified.”
“Why Tori?”
“Because I knew that when the police went searching for her killer, they would find several people who might want to get rid of her.”
My mind struggled to understand what was going on. Agnes had killed Tori! And she had framed me for it. My hand went up to my sapphire pendant and Agnes laughed.
“Believe it or not, I picked Tori before you even moved to Peachville. Let's just say she had a secret relationship that provided a pretty clear motive for murder if the police needed someone to take the fall.”
“Coach King,” I whispered.
She raised one eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. “Wow, you knew about that too? Maybe you're smarter than I thought you were. Too bad that won't help you now.”
I swallowed but my mouth had gone dry.
“Anyway, that was a tricky one because if Mrs. King ever found out I set her husband up, she might never let me on the squad.” Agnes looked at me and smiled. “Then you moved in and gave me another idea.”
“How could you do it?”
“What? Frame you? Or kill that blonde bitch who was never nice to anyone? It wasn't hard.” Her hands rested by her side, and my eyes were drawn to them. Short crackles of light were coming from her fingertips like tiny sparks of electricity. “All I had to do was set you up to piss her off once or twice.”
I remembered my first day of school when I had tripped and splattered ketchup all over Tori's shirt. I'd thought I tripped over a backpack or something, but when I had looked, there was nothing there. “You tripped me,” I said.
“Very g
ood,” she said with a laugh. “Once everyone had seen you arguing with Tori, I just needed one more thing to seal your fate.” She pointed toward my throat. “I saw that drawing you did of your mother. She was wearing the same necklace, so I knew it was important to you. Important enough that you would report it missing.”
“All this just to be on the cheerleading squad? Are you crazy?”
Agnes drew in an angry breath. She lifted a finger toward me. Her hands were covered with a bright light of electric current. “You and I both know it's more than just a cheerleading squad. You don't even appreciate it half as much as I will,” she said. Her voice was high and wild. “I don't understand why they picked you. After all the work I've done to learn how to control my power. I thought they would recognize my talents and reward me, but you...”
She raised both of her hands into the air. They were balls of light now, crackling with energy. I recognized that energy. For me, it manifested itself differently. I had no real control over the way objects moved when I got angry. Agnes, though, had learned to use and control her power.
“You are nothing,” she said. Her feet rose off the ground and I gasped.
Outside, the music thumped. It was too loud. Even if I screamed, I knew no one would hear me.
“Being a Demons cheerleader is not just about competitions and dance routines and stupid football games,” she said. “It's about being recruited. It's about being special enough that they are willing to hand you the keys that will help you unlock all of the magic inside. And instead of choosing me, the one with obvious power and potential, they choose you. An insignificant girl who has no idea how to cast a single spell.”
Sparks shot out from her body in quick bursts. The sheriff had said Tori was burned, as if she'd been cooked from the inside. She had looked to me because of my history with fire, but it wasn't fire that killed Tori.
It was lightning.
A Part of Me
Fear ripped through my chest. I didn't want to die. For the first time in my life, I actually had something to live for. Something worth fighting for.
I stared down at the floating red candle and concentrated all of my anger onto it. At first, nothing happened. I felt helpless. Weak.
“When you're gone, Mrs. King will have to let me onto the squad,” she said. “You heard her say that I was her second choice. Well, once everyone is finished mourning your death, I'll be her first choice. I figure it will take about a day for everyone to forget you. Or haven't you noticed that memory works a bit different here?"