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instantly understood. There was an undeniable look of
control and manipulation in his eyes. Why hadn t I ever
noticed that before? Poor Claire was blind to his
superficial adoration, and to my horror, Brynn smiled at
them approvingly.
Something felt horribly wrong here tonight.
They filed into the thick woods on silent footsteps
toward an obnoxious wall of music, hidden well within
the trees, that only a select few, a privileged few, knew
about. Claire handed me a small square with a
crooked smile. I looked down at the picture and fought
against crumpling it in my fist. I suppose in the dark it
wasn t half bad and I reluctantly followed the others into
the concealing night.
Chapter Thirteen
I lost my footing several times as I did my best to
sidestep the roots and crevices of the black forest s
floor. The last time I had been in a setting like this was
quite different and I found myself desperately longing
for the magical place Garreth had shown me.
Looking back in the direction of the highway, I found
the noisy whoosh of tires on asphalt was growing more
distant by the second. The music I had heard from the
shoulder had definitely been misleading. I assumed we
were close to the rave but I was sadly mistaken. This
was taking longer than it should have. I became very
edgy as I realized we were walking farther and farther
away from civilization.
I would have made a run for it if it hadn t been for the
tail end of our party keeping a tight watch on me. Brynn
guarded my every step, as though predicting I would
disappear from our group in a heartbeat. I imagined
plans to escape, dreaming that the night would get
ridiculously darker and I d slip away into it; or, maybe
I d get lucky and a branch would snap back and whack
Brynn in the face, allowing me to run for it.
My hand itched like crazy to find that branch, but no
such luck. I felt Brynn s icy stare carve a permanent
hole in my back. How could Claire possibly think she
could bring me here and have me actually enjoy
myself? Just when I d had enough of tripping through
the dark and scraping myself silly on thorn bushes, an
old warehouse came into view.
The concrete fortress took on a chilling presence as
flashing lights and pulsating music bled from its
openings. A good crowd had already gathered,
forming a line, and to my relief I didn t recognize
anyone from school. Leave it to Brynn and her crew to
be the only ones from Carver High to make an
appearance at something like this.
Brynn stopped babysitting me long enough to push her
way to the head of the line with uncanny ease. She was
now busy flirting with the bouncer at the top of the steps
while the strange glow from a strobe light flickered
through the open doorway and bounced off her skin.
With seconds to spare, I tried to take advantage of her
absence. Claire! Come on, let s get out of here!
Claire turned to look at me with a blank expression that
made me want to shake her and drag her back to her
car. I wrapped my arms tightly around myself trying to
conserve some body heat. I wondered if I was coming
down with something.
Claire, please. I want to go home.
But as she opened her mouth to finally answer me it
was Brynn s velvet voice that I heard, not Claire s.
She s not ready to leave yet. Are you Claire? She
stepped closer, linking her arm possessively through
Claire s.
I reached out and touched Claire s arm only to recoil at
the touch of her skin. It was like ice. Maybe I wasn t
coming down with something. Maybe Claire was sick.
Claire, let s just go back to your car and get coffee like
we planned. My head just isn t up to this. I pointed
toward the pulsating building.
Aww. Do you have a headache, Teagan? Brynn
interrupted. Or are you just concerned about
protecting your stellar reputation?
I hated her mocking tone so I chose not to answer her.
This intrigued Sage, Emily, and Lauren, all of whom
suddenly stopped ogling the others in line and became
interested in what was now taking place on the grass.
Then Ryan came closer and I realized he was the
leader of our little group, not Brynn. That misconception
alone caught me totally off guard and made me
apprehensive about what might transpire here deep in
the woods. As seconds became endless, agonizing
minutes, it crossed my mind that we were here for
something other than a ridiculous rave.
Ryan set the lantern down at his feet where the light
seemed to exaggerate his proportions. I felt myself
take a step back. In the eerie glow of the lantern his
eyes appeared even darker than Brynn s, with no
distinction between pupil and iris. My breath caught in
my throat. His eyes looked lost& vacant& soulless, yet
eerily intelligent. As the others stood around
anticipating Ryan s call, I was being silently sized up.
Claire had said something the other day about Ryan
rubbing off on her intellectually. I wouldn t have believed
it until now. There was something about the way he
stared, dissecting me to my core. He was reading my
soul as if it were a book, I was sure of it, while the
others grew bored waiting. Clearly, they didn t have the
ability to read a person as he did. I practically jumped
out of my skin when Ryan finally spoke.
Teagan, why don t you go home.
If she can find her way back. Sage snorted under her
breath.
Claire obviously wants to spend some quality time
with her friends, Emily added.
Ryan s words stung me more than those of the other
two. I was being dismissed. Without Claire. But I
couldn t look him in the eye any longer. I was shaking.
I slowly looked each one in the face, searching for a
way out of this searching for anything. My eyes finally
met Lauren s. She was the newest to their group,
therefore wouldn t she be the weakest? Her honey-
blonde curls framed her face and her blue eyes shone
back at me. Yes! It was there, a connection. I pleaded
with her in silence, afraid Brynn or Ryan would catch on
but they didn t.
Don t you think that s for Claire to decide? I asked
softly, more for Lauren.
As soon as my words left my lips, the acknowledging
light in Lauren s eyes paled. Our connection severed. I
was dizzy with fear, wondering if the blasting music had
finally taken its toll; that if, indeed, I was seeing straight.
Slowly and deliberately, I studied each face before me.
Each one stood stock still, glaring at me, while I
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