Sweet Reckoning (The Sweet Trilogy #3)(11)

Outside in the warm morning I climbed into my car and called Patti.

“You doing okay?” I asked her.

“Fine. You?”

“Yeah. Just tired. I think you should stay where you are until it’s time to move.”

She sighed. “You’re probably right. There’s plenty of stuff in walking distance. I should go over to the store and get a couple novels to keep me busy. I’ll need my car eventually.”

“Yeah. Once I get word, I’ll come get you and we can run back to the apartment to grab our stuff and leave.”

“All right, sweetie. Be safe.”

A sudden chill slid up my spine. My thumb hit the End button and I heard the Legionnaire chuckling inside my head—a rattling, insidious sound. I turned and jumped at the sight of the dark whisperer behind me in the car. Its ugly face grinned in gleeful malice, and its giant wings stretched through the sides of my car. How long had it been there? The hearing of demon spirits wasn’t very good, but in this small, quiet space the whisperer would’ve had no trouble. I went over the conversation in my mind, searching for anything incriminating I might have said. Any little thing could be used against me at this point.

“What do you want?” I asked, letting my irritation show.

Again, it chuckled, and without answering flew away. What the heck was that about? Just a checkup? I had to be more careful—constantly on guard. This was why Marna needed to stay away from Jay. Hopefully she would do the smart thing. For once I was siding with Ginger.

Not knowing if or when Pharzuph might come back to town, I got out of Atlanta and drove to a mall. I walked around all day, buying a few things. At four o’clock I went to see a movie by myself, which was lonely, but it passed the time.

I never stopped looking for demon spirits.

Veronica called to see if I wanted to hang out, but I told her I couldn’t. The incident with the whisperer in my car was too fresh on my mind. I promised her we’d see each other before she left in five days. I hoped I could keep that promise.

My anxiety was rising. Dad hadn’t contacted me or sent his ally spirit, Azael, with any messages. I hated waiting. By the end of day three I’d bitten off all my pretty fingernails. I’d seen a whisperer every day. Each day one would find me, swoop down, circle me, and leave, as if monitoring my location. The only good thing was that after they spotted me, they left me alone.

On day four, after my daily whisperer sighting, I went to see Veronica.

“I can’t stay long,” I said. All of her bags were packed in her room, and stuff was lying around with the look of someone in the midst of moving. Something inside me ached at the sight.

Close to Veronica’s chest, like a thin band around her, was a deep, blue sadness. On top of that was a fizz of orange excitement with a sprinkle of gray nervousness. Emotions were funny things.

I reached for her hand and she took it, then looked down at my fingers.

“What did you do to your nails?”

“Oh . . . I’ve been kind of stressed.”

“Sheesh, Anna! You could’ve at least cleaned them up with a file. Can I do your nails? For old times’ sake?”

“Sure,” I said.

Her dark, thick hair had been recently cut and blown out in a voluminous style around her jawline. I memorized the look of perfectly drawn eyeliner around her almond eyes, the slant of her regal nose.

We sat down on the floor with her basket of polishes.

Veronica talked to my nails. “Don’t worry, you poor things. Roni’ll take care of you.”

She gently filed the messy nubs, and I bit back a wave of emotion.

“How’s Jay?” she asked without looking up.

I cleared my throat. “He’s . . . okay. How are you?”

“I’m okay, too, I guess. It’s weird, though. I miss him. But I feel like I don’t have the right to call him anymore. It’s hard to stay friends after you’ve been together.”

“Yeah,” I whispered. “I wonder if you’ll meet someone in Spain.”

She grinned up at me. “We’ll see. I don’t want anything serious, but I’m counting on a lot of hotties in my near future.”

“I’ll miss you,” I said.

She patted my hand. “Don’t get sappy. No tears. Just think of me when you do your nails, ’kay? And for God’s sake, don’t bite them anymore.”

My poor nails were the least of my concerns.

CHAPTER FIVE

MARNA

I missed Kaidan like crazy. It’d only been five days since our video chat, but it felt so much longer. We were trying to stay cautious—to chat only when we knew it was safe, but it was hard.

I was tired of bouncing around to different hotels every day, hanging out in their gross bars sipping Cokes so that if whisperers came I could jump into action. I was only eighteen, but I had a fake ID to buy alcohol if necessary. I was bored, lonely, and impatient, waiting for Dad to give me the thumbs-up to leave for Virginia Tech.

I was surprised to see Ginger’s number calling me that afternoon as I sat in my hotel room, reading about a swoony alien guy. Books were about the only thing that could distract my anxious mind.

“Is she with you?” Ginger asked, sounding frantic. “She” was obviously Marna.

“No.”

“Shite! She snuck off when we got stateside.”