Ondine (Ondine Quartet #0.5 Series Prequel)

Chapter One

This is a prequel novella to the ONDINE QUARTET series. You can get this book and the rest of the series at Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, and Smashwords.

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I shouldn’t get involved.

But the fear rolling off him grated against my magic.

He cowered beside the science building, the dull concrete exterior swallowing his thin frame. Mousy brown hair flopped in front of his eyes and he gripped his biology book so tightly, his knuckles had turned white.

Kane Sullivan, a senior with a crooked nose from a break that hadn’t healed right, loomed over him. His partner, Sasha Min, had already planted himself near the back door as lookout.

That left their ringleader. Six-one and two hundred pounds of lean muscle,  Rui Vergara studied the kid with cold aloofness.

Every inch of him, from the rough edges of his features to the deceptively casual way he stood, exuded calculated danger.

It was a look most people stayed far away from.

Of course, I did the opposite and learned everything I could about him my first week here.

Identifying and tracking the predators in your territory was a key element of self-preservation. And around here, Rui and his crew were at the top of the food chain.

How this quivering kid had gotten mixed up with them was beyond me. Maybe he owed them for the Ritalin he purchased to keep up with honor classes.

“So what’s it going to be?”

Kane slapped the kid’s cheek, the sharp crack cleaving through the air. A pink flush swept over scrawny boy’s pale skin and recognition slid into place.

Troy McCormack, a freshman. He’d been in the school office a few weeks ago, rearranging his schedule while Principal Hamon chewed me out for sleeping in French class.

I had the vague sense I’d also seen him somewhere else, but couldn’t place him.

Quiet and bland-faced, Troy was the kind of pleasantly unmemorable person you saw thirty times before you remembered him.

Curiosity heightened. Strange that he’d attracted so much attention.

Afternoon sunlight drenched the wood table beneath me, heat seeping through my jeans and warming the back of my legs.

Rui’s icy voice sliced through the delicate spring air. “I need you to get the money from him.”

Potheads occupied the narrow recess beside the stairs while the cheerleaders and athletes took the table farthest from the building door.

They weren’t getting involved.

Neither was the Student Council group gathered along the west side.

I’d managed to follow her rules for the four months we’d been in Los Angeles. The championship tournament was in two hours and she’d be seriously pissed if my performance wasn’t better than the last one.

I needed to concentrate on my own shit, not get involved in anyone else’s.

Troy’s fear ratcheted up another notch and the hot spike of emotion raked against my insides.

“I—I don’t know him that w-well…”

“That’s a problem.” Rui adopted an expression of mock concern and pulled out a cigarette. “‘Cause your dad owes mine a lot of money.”