“You really think this is some kind of Cast?” Lena looked at Liv.
“No. I think we always fight like stray dogs in the street when we try to socialize at parties.” Liv rolled her eyes.
“See? There you go, having to be the smart one all the time.” Lena tried to pull free, but I clamped down harder on both of their arms.
“It’s a Furor, you moron,” Liv snapped.
“I’m a moron? I said Furor before this whole thing started.”
I pushed them both through the gate in front of me. “You’re both acting like morons. And now we’re gonna get in the car and go up to Ravenwood. And if you two can’t say something nice to each other, don’t say anything.”
But I didn’t have to worry, because if there was one thing I had figured out about girls, it was that pretty soon they would give up trashing each other. They’d be too busy trashing me.
“That’s because he’s afraid to make a decision,” Liv said.
“No, it’s because he doesn’t want to upset anyone,” Lena snapped.
“How would you know? He never says what he’s thinking.”
“That’s not it. He never thinks about what he’s saying,” Lena fired back.
“Enough!” I pulled through the crooked iron gates of Ravenwood, furious at both of them. Furious at Ridley. Furious at how the year was turning out. Furor, that was the right name for it, whatever this was. I hated feeling this way, and I hated it even more because I knew the feelings were real, even if it took a spell to bring them out into the open.
Lena and Liv were still fighting when we got out of the car. Even though they knew they were under the influence of a Cast, they couldn’t help themselves. Or maybe they didn’t want to. The three of us walked toward the front door, and I stayed between them. Just in case.
“Why don’t you give us some space?” Lena pushed in front of Liv. “Ever heard of a third wheel?”
Liv pushed her back. “Like I wanted to come here? So once again, I’m supposed to clean up your mess? Then you’ll forget all about me, until next time—”
I wasn’t listening anymore. I was looking at Ridley’s window. I saw a shadow pass in front of it, behind the curtains. All I could see was a silhouette, but I could tell it wasn’t Ridley.
Link must have gotten here first, except I didn’t see the Beater. “I think Link’s in there.”
“I don’t care. Ridley has a lot of explaining to do.” Lena was halfway up the staircase when I crossed the threshold. I sensed the change immediately—the air itself felt different. Lighter, somehow. I looked back at Liv.
Her expression looked the way I felt. Confused. Disoriented. “Ethan, does something feel weird to you?”
“Yeah—”
“It’s the Furor,” Liv said. “It’s broken. The magic can’t pass the Bindings.”
“Ridley! Where are you?” Lena was steps from her cousin’s door. When she reached it, she threw open the door without knocking. She didn’t seem to care if Link was in there or not. But it didn’t matter.
The guy in Ridley’s room wasn’t Link.
10.18
Hostage
What the hell?” I heard his voice before I saw him. Because he probably wasn’t expecting to see me in Ridley’s room any more than I was expecting to find him here.
John Breed was sprawled out on Ridley’s pink shag carpet, with a video-game controller in one hand and a bag of Doritos in the other.
“John?” Lena was as surprised as I was. “You’re supposed to be dead.”
“John Breed? Here? It’s not possible.” Liv was shocked.
John dropped the bag and jumped to his feet. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
I stepped in front of Lena and Liv protectively. “I know I’m disappointed.”
Lena didn’t need protecting. She pushed past me. “How dare you come into my house after everything you did? You pretended to be my friend, when all you wanted to do was take me to Abraham.” Thunder rumbled outside. “Every word you said to me was a lie!”
“That’s not true. I didn’t know what they were gonna do. Bring me the Bible. The Book of Moons, whatever you want. I’ll swear on it.”
“We can’t do that. Since Abraham has it.” I was pissed off, and I didn’t want to listen to John play dumb. It was a new tactic, and I was still trying to adjust to the fact that he was hanging out in Ridley’s bedroom eating Doritos.
Lena wasn’t finished. “If that wasn’t bad enough, you turned Link into—you.” Lena’s hair was curling, and I hoped the room wasn’t about to catch fire.
“I couldn’t help it. Abraham can make me do things.” John was pacing. “I—I can’t even remember most of what happened that night.”
I crossed the room, until I was standing right in front of him. I didn’t care if he could kill me. “Do you remember dragging Lena up to that altar and tying her down? Do you remember that part?”