Bitter Demons

22. Motive

I couldn't sleep. All I could think about was Caroline, scared and alone, possibly being tortured. And it was all my fault. I tossed and turned until the sun rose outside my window.

I decided to run a hot bath when there was a knock on my door. I threw on my faded robe and opened the door, unsure who to expect.

"Good morning." Courtney moved past me, carrying a tray full of food. "I convinced Ella Mae to let me bring up some breakfast for you."

"Thanks," I said. The fresh fruit and yogurt looked delicious, but my stomach was still in knots from the night before. "Just set it down on the bed, and I'll get to it in a sec."

"Are you feeling all right?"

I sighed. "Did Ella Mae tell you what happened last night?"

Courtney shook her head.I sat down on the edge of the bed and picked at a green leaf on top of one of the strawberries. "One of the cheerleaders from Cypress was kidnapped at the party last night."

Courtney put a hand to her chest. "Oh my gosh," she said quietly. "Did you know her?"

"I'd just met her yesterday," I said.

"I don't get why you're in trouble, though," she said.

It was hard to explain these things to Courtney when she didn't really know the whole truth about Peachville. Or at least, I didn't think she knew. We had all been brought to this house because we were special, right? I already knew that Courtney had some magical powers. More specifically, I'd already learned that she could move items with her mind and she could recharge a witch who had used up her power. Still, that didn't mean she knew about the demon gate or the fact that the town was inhabited by a powerful coven of witches.

Frankly, I didn't want to be the one to tell her, either. After how crazy it made Agnes, I didn't want to risk another girl being mad at me for being chosen over her. I didn't know how it worked or why the Order chose one girl over another, but I was fairly certain that despite any magical abilities, Mary Anne and Courtney weren't ever going to be invited to join the cheerleading squad.

"It's complicated," I said. "I'm not really sure I should talk about it."

Courtney's gaze dropped to her hands. I felt bad about shutting her out. I could tell she wanted a friend, and I really owed her after she recharged me the night I went upstairs to steal the memory spell book. But I had no choice. I'd already gotten one girl kidnapped. I didn't need to pull someone else into my crazy life.

"I get it," she said, her dark blonde hair falling down over her face. "Did you have something for me to take to Jackson?"

I walked over to my desk and grabbed the folded note. I hesitated before I handed it over to her. Could I really trust her with this? I wanted to believe that she was on my side, but every time I trusted someone, they either turned out to be a psycho or they turned up dead.

"I won't read it," she said, holding out her hand.

I handed her the note. "I know," I said. "I just don't want to get you in trouble."

Courtney smiled. "I'll be okay." She stuffed the note in the pocket of her jeans."I'll let you know if he writes back," she said.

When she was gone, I sat on my bed and ate some of the breakfast. Courtney was so quiet when I first got here, but after Agnes died, she really came out of her shell. Still, I hadn't seen her with any friends at school or anything. She never talked about any of her friends, either. Did she even have any?

Maybe that was why she always seemed so eager to help me out or talk to me about what was going on in my life. She'd definitely tried to reach out to me several times. She'd even trusted me with her magic secrets. I suddenly wondered what Courtney's real story was. And Mary Anne's too, for that matter. I mean, here we were, three girls living in the same house day in and day out, yet we hardly knew a thing about each other's past.

There was a reason each of us were brought here. According to Morgyn, it was because we were all either adopted or motherless, and we all showed some kind of tendency toward magic. But where were Courtney and Mary Anne from? Did they have families out there? Or were they adopted like me?

Could their past have something to do with Caroline's disappearance? I didn't have anything connecting Caroline to this house, but the look on Mary Anne's face last night made me think she was hiding something. To me, finding out more about the girls I lived with might be the first step toward figuring out who wanted me dead.

If Agnes was smart enough to figure out why she was brought to Shadowford, why not Mary Anne and Courtney? And I'd already learned firsthand what that knowledge could do to someone who wasn't chosen to join the Order. It was enough to make Agnes want me dead. Was one of the other girls living here just as angry?

Whoever took Caroline really wanted me. I was sure of it. I pulled a notebook from my book-bag and started a list. At the top, I wrote MOTIVE in capital letters.

Who had motive to hurt or kill me?

The Others went to the top of the list. After all, I'd killed three of their top local members. That wasn't exactly public knowledge or anything, but I couldn't be sure no one knew what happened that night at the old Brighton Hospital. The Others seemed to think all demons were evil and any witch who joined with a demon was equally evil. They wanted to end the Order of Shadows, and for them, killing me would be a huge victory. Yes, they had motive for sure.

Mary Anne and Courtney were next on the list with a big question mark beside their names. I needed to dig deeper into their past to try to find out if some hidden motive lurked in there somewhere. Plus, I needed to find out just how much they both knew about this town and why they were brought to Shadowford in the first place.

I tapped my pencil against the edge of the notebook. Who else might have a motive to want me dead? After last night, it was clear that Mrs. Shadowford didn't want me here, but wasn't she a member of the local Order? If she went through her initiation here in Peachville, then her life depended on mine. That automatically ruled her out, unless she was suicidal.

I wrote her name on the list anyway. There was always a possibility she was never joined with a demon from the Peachville gate. Maybe Jackson would know.

I spent the rest of the morning trying to think of any reason someone would want me dead. A morbid task for a cold, dreary morning. When all was said and done, I had a total of 5 entries on my list.

MOTIVE

1. The Others

2. Mary Anne and/or Courtney ??

3. Mrs. Shadowford (Peachville demon gate?)

4. Rival demon gate with reason to hate Peachville

5. Some mystery person (Crow?)

Overall, it wasn't the most impressive list. There were just too many unknowns at play. The jeans I wore the night before were crumpled up on the floor. I leaned down and fished the black feather from the pocket.

Somehow, that feather was the key.