“You and your friends could have died because you were so careless.”
“You’re right,” I said, stretching my hands palms out as I tried to appease her. “But we didn’t.”
“Desi, you didn’t even know how to banish the wolf! You would’ve played your little game of tag until it ripped you to shreds. Cameron would’ve bled out and died.”
“I know!” I said, my voice rising. “We would’ve died without your help. I get it.” I sighed and rubbed my forehead. My throat burned. She was right—I royally screwed up. “But why didn’t you just banish the wolf the minute it got there?”
“My job is to teach you, Desi. I thought you could handle it. I was wrong.”
I groaned. “Well, we can’t all be you, Kiz. All hail the glorified criminal in raven form.” I bit my lip. I shouldn’t have said that.
Kismet’s eyes darkened. “Don’t you dare. I’m serving my time. I’ve been with you for seventeen years. I practically raised you.”
“It’s kind of hard to raise a kid when you’re a raven twenty-three hours a day.”
“That’s not the point, Desi! The point is, you need to trust me and take these magical threats seriously! What would your parents think? I doubt they’d be beaming with pride at the thought of their daughter out drinking when she should be learning to protect herself.”
“Oh yeah, like they did?” I laughed without humor. “A lot of good that did them in the end.”
Kismet sighed and placed her fingers over her temples. “I’m not saying you have to train to hunt demons like they did, Desi. But you should at least show up for your studies. That’s why I’m here, and once you turn eighteen, you’ll have no one else to train you. You haven’t even mastered Pulling objects with your magic yet. Let me help you.”
I rubbed my arms. “What’s the point of studying magic if I plan to pursue ballet?”
“We’ve been over this. You need to strengthen your abilities first. If ballet is that important to you, you can pursue it later in life, but now is the time to harness your powers because—”
“Because in two months, you’ll be gone,” I said in a monotone, rolling my eyes. “Well, I’ve been on my own for five years now, so what else is new?”
Kismet dropped her arms against her legs in exasperation. “I’ve been here your whole life, Desi! You have never been alone.”
Something snapped within me, and my nostrils flared. “You’ve been here out of obligation, Kismet. Not by choice. The only people here by choice were my parents, and they’re gone. Soon, you will be, too.”
Kismet’s angry expression softened, but I tore my gaze away from her. I didn’t want to see the pity in her eyes. I saw it constantly from everyone who found out my parents were dead. Everyone except Cameron, Mia, and José. They didn’t care. They didn’t treat me like a sob story who needed comfort. They were real around me, even if they were slackers who liked too much alcohol.
“Just . . . avoid drinking, okay?” Kismet said softly. “Never put yourself in a position—”
“—where you aren’t in control of your powers,” I finished with a nod. Dad had said that all the time. “I know.”
Kismet sighed and stepped closer to me. Her warm hand found mine, and she offered a tentative smile. “I may have been sentenced to be your Familiar, but it’s impossible to be around you for so many years and not love you, Desi.”
I nodded again. A dam burst in my chest, and I couldn’t breathe. I sniffed and cleared my throat. “I’ll be more careful next time,” I promised. I slipped away and darted into my room before my emotions drowned me.
Hovering near the door, I heard Kismet groan softly. Then a blue glow emanated from the living room, and a flutter of feathers indicated her hour was up.
I leaned my head against the door. Though I could still talk to her, I couldn’t bear to tell her the truth: that I planned to run away from the magical world forever.
Chapter 2
A BURST OF BLUE LIGHT. Mom sobbing. Kismet uttering an incantation.
“Desi, wake up! You’re okay. You’re okay. Just wake up!” Mom begged.
My eyelids slid open. Pain flared in my head. I looked from my mom’s tear-stained face to Kismet’s panicked expression and blinked, confused. I shifted and realized I was lying on concrete. A streetlamp glowed against the midnight sky, illuminating our street with an ominous mustard-colored tint.
“What happened?” Kismet asked.
My head throbbed as I tried to sit up. “A noise woke me. Someone grabbed me. I tried to scream, but everything went black. Then . . . I woke up here.”
Kismet and Mom looked at each other, brows furrowed. “No demands? No threats or ransom?” Mom asked.
Kismet shrugged, frowning as she glanced back at me. Then her face slackened and drained of color. “It’s a diversion.”
Mom’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. “Oh, no . . . Peter!”
Before I could say anything, Mom flung open the front door and ran back into the house. Kismet rubbed my shoulders, but I felt only numbness. Confusion. Pain.
Then Mom screamed, and I knew something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.
A bleep on my computer woke me. Reality slammed into me as I opened my eyes, my chest rising and falling with rapid, terrified breaths. I shook the recurring nightmare from my mind and wiped the tears off my cheeks. This is real. This is real. I blinked sleepily and shoved my brown curls out of my face. With a groan, I slid out of bed and stumbled to the computer, squinting at the instant message from José.
sexycubano82: hey! you aren’t answering your cell.
I yawned and glanced at my cell phone. José had called three times while I’d slept. I slid out the keyboard and typed my response.
dizzydezzy: out of minutes. call me after 9.
sexycubano82: noooo! I have news. you free?
dizzydezzy: yeah, come on over.
I pulled
