“Because she’s a witch.”

“Exactly my point. Why—” I stopped, and the true meaning of Nora’s words sank in. “You mean a real witch, don’t you?”

“As opposed to a fake witch?”

“So people follow her around because—”

“They’re under a spell. One you somehow managed to avoid.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Which part? Her putting a spell on that many people or you avoiding it?”

“Both.” My mind was spinning. Shannon was a witch?

“It takes a lot of power to create and maintain a spell of that size. My guess is it’s taking all her efforts to keep it up. As for you avoiding it, maybe she doesn’t have enough magic to include you in the spell. She might be maxed out already.”

“Is she…evil? Like Rebecca? Will I have to…” I didn’t like Shannon. Not at all, but that didn’t mean I wanted to kill her.

“She’s worse than Rebecca. I brought you to Rebecca first because she was the weakest one of them. I wouldn’t have you go after the most powerful witch right off the bat. I’m not trying to get you killed.”

I needed to sit down. I pulled the green curtain aside and sat next to Mrs. Wentworth’s sleeping figure. My lunch was threatening to make another appearance. At least I was in the right place for getting sick. I put my head between my legs and took several deep breaths.

“Shannon was as socially challenged as her brother before the spell. She hated it. Half the school ignored her, and the other half treated her like the stuff you’d find on the bottom of your shoe. It drove her mad, so she tapped into some wickedly strong magic to put a spell on them all.”

If Shannon wasn’t a witch, I’d actually feel bad for her. Having no friends in high school was torture, but it didn’t give her the right to control everyone with magic.

“We’ll deal with Shannon later,” Nora said. “Tell me more about Dylan.”

“He said we needed to talk, which is what he always says. Oh!” I lifted my head to look at her again. “I almost forgot. Ethan got me a prepaid cell phone. A lot like the one you got me, actually. And somehow, only hours later, Dylan was texting me on it. He got the number, and I don’t have a clue how.”

“You aren’t quite getting this witch concept, are you?” She shook her head. “We can pretty much get our hands on anything if we really want it, and if we aren’t afraid to use black magic. Now, what did the text say?”

“There were three. All the same. Attack another witch and you’ll wind up back in your grave.‘”

“So, he knows.” Nora started pacing. “That means he found Rebecca.”

“That’s what I thought, too. There’s one more thing.”

She stopped pacing and looked at me.

“He told me you were lying to me. That nothing was what it seemed.”

She smirked. “I’m not surprised. He’s desperate. He knows you’re targeting evil witches like him, and he’s trying to freak you out. Trying to make you turn on me. He doesn’t want me helping you. I’ll bet you anything he’s the one who stole your necklace.”

“The funny thing is I actually thought he was the one who had given it to me. Before you told me the truth.”

“I’m sure that’s what he wanted you to think.” She took my hands in hers, and my fingers tingled. Was that magic I was feeling in her touch? “Listen to me. You can’t believe a word he says. He’ll say or do anything to save himself. I’m going to help you get through this, okay? You just have to trust me.”

“I do.” I had to. She was the only one I could turn to right now.

“Good. One last thing. How did you leave things with Dylan?”

A twinge of guilt stung my insides. “This girl I know came into the bathroom and called the teachers when she saw Dylan. The school cop took him away in handcuffs.”

“Unfortunately, that won’t hold him for long.” She bit her lip as she thought. “Don’t go anywhere by yourself. Not even the bathroom. Especially not the bathroom. If Ethan can’t go somewhere with you, call me.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Nora. I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t helping me.”

She shifted uncomfortably, making me wonder if she wasn’t used to people thanking her. “How are you feeling? Any signs of an attack coming on?”

“No. I feel great. Really energized. And my arms have been tingling. It may sound dumb, but I feel like some of Rebecca’s magic is lingering inside me.”

“It will probably wear off.”

“When the next attack hits?”

“Most likely.”

I wondered when that would be.

“You probably won’t need to feed as often, though. A witch’s life force combined with the energy in their powers should sustain you longer.”

“So, I am stealing their powers, too.”

“I wouldn’t go trying to do spells or anything, but in a way, yes, you are.”

That seemed surreal. Their magic was healing me. Too bad I couldn’t drain their magic alone. It would’ve been nice if that were enough to sustain me without having to kill the witches, too. Still, Nora had been right. This was better than attacking innocent people. At least these witches were doing bad things. Evil things. Of course, so was I.

“Don’t feel guilty,” Nora said, making me think she really could read my mind with her witchy powers. “You’re saving people from them. In the end, you’re doing a good thing.”

I hoped she was right. I tried to tell myself she was.

I left the nurse’s office and went through the motions for the rest of the day, not paying attention and only half-caring if my teachers noticed. In last period, I started seeing spots. Luckily, I was sitting down. I didn’t want a repeat of my fainting in the diner. We were supposed to be reading from our science textbooks and figuring out this experiment that seemed completely impossible. I was glad we weren’t actually performing the experiment, only mentally going through the steps so we’d know what to do in lab tomorrow. I could just see me falling onto a Bunsen burner and singeing all my hair off.

I gripped the edges of my desk to steady myself in case I started to get woozy from the head rush the visions could cause. My sight disappeared, and I waited for whatever was about to show itself to me. It had to be Rebecca. Unless…

The curtain rose. There were flowers everywhere and a long red carpet. It was a garden. Someone was getting married. The wedding party was assembled in front of the audience. Their backs were to me, so I wasn’t sure who I was looking at. Was this Rebecca’s wedding—or at least the one she would’ve had?

The couple was exchanging vows now. I could see the girl’s face. It wasn’t Rebecca. That meant this had to be the mystery guy. The one I kept seeing. The guy who seemed familiar in some way. I begged the vision to zero in on him. If only he’d turn his head.

The couple kissed, and her head blocked my view of his face. It was torture not knowing whose life I was stealing. And why was I seeing so much of this one person’s future? All my other visions had been different. One glimpse at each victim’s future. But this guy—I was seeing different parts of his life, and he got younger in each vision.

The couple separated and turned toward the audience. My heart clenched in my chest. Oh, God no! I felt more than faint. I felt like I would collapse into myself. Fold up until there was nothing left of me. The mystery guy…

It was Ethan.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

MY heart raced as my vision ended. I blinked back tears, thankful for the darkness. I couldn’t look at Ethan’s face anymore. If I was having visions of him, of his future, it meant I was somehow draining the life from him, too. But how? In my sleep? When I touched him? Oh God, I couldn’t stay away from Ethan. I couldn’t. He was everything to me. The only part of my old life I still had. The best part, too.

My cheeks burned with hot tears. I was sure I could see again, but I kept my eyes closed, not ready to face the world. I knew people were probably staring, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered right now. Nothing but Ethan and how to stop him from dying.