A Time to Die (Elemental Rage Book 2) Read Free

hurt. She wanted to be left alone.
    Claire took Mindy
to the room they shared to help her change.
    Aunt Bertha inched
her way to the kitchen and wondered when crossing the house had turned into a
marathon. Meatloaf tonight.  No way would she let a little pain keep her from
taking care of her girls.
    A fleeting thought
crossed her mind, and Bertha wondered who would care for them when she was
gone.

Chapter 2
     
    ~~ Raven ~~
     
    Finally!  Friday
night!
    Little cloth bags
of garlic and sage had been hung on every window in the Gray house.  Raven
considered her options.  Sneaking through the window would have been the best
option if she were in the room alone, but Jade shared a bedroom, and her sister
would raise a stink if she tried that.
    With a sigh, Raven
put a foot down on the carpet.  She had some hope of escape. Volleyball tired
Jade out, so she led a fairly dull existence outside of school.  Jade ate, did
homework—it was Friday night which said a few things about Jade—played on the
internet and then went to sleep. Her back was turned and she was snoring when
Raven shut the door behind her.
    Raven grabbed the plastic
bag stuffed with clothes and her high heels from under the bed. She just had to
get out the door, down the hall, and down the driveway without any of the other
five people in the house figuring out that she was gone.
    When the door
creaked, Raven was sure someone was going to catch her.
    As she ran down
the driveway under a full moon, Raven laughed. She felt so alive. 
    Shelly’s car was a
beat up silver Saturn four-door with 95,348 miles on it.  Raven hopped into the
passenger seat, “It’s a little too easy.  Mom would have been sitting in the
arm chair reading.”
    Raven wished she
could unthink those thoughts.  It somehow felt traitorous to even suggest that
it was better now that her Mom was gone, kidnapped, apparently willingly from
what her letter suggested.  Raven wondered if she even cared that her daughters
had nearly been murdered while she was gone. Then the thought was gone, and she
was a normal kid sneaking out of the house.
    Shelly liked
driving fast. They were swerving around corners doing eighty. As if she wasn’t
taking both of their lives in her hands, Shelly spoke conversationally, “Yeah.
The worst was that party you missed last year.  Seriously. I was sitting at the
top of your driveway when you texted me.”
    Raven hurriedly
changed from her t-shirt and girl boxers to a deep green silk blouse that
worked wonders for her eyes followed by a short mini skirt.  She tore her
nylons trying to put them on, “Should I wear the tear or go without?”
    “Without.” Shelly
said without hesitation. “Hey, don’t go anywhere alone with Tony in that
skirt.”
    “Tony?” Raven
didn’t recognize the name from her class.
    “College senior. 
He’s got a thing for high school girls.  Your skirt is easy access, and he’s
all about that.” Shelly rolled down the window, enjoying the night air.
    “Shelly, what are
you not telling me?  That’s a really vague warning.” Raven was a blunt type of
individual and generally wanted things spelled out.
    “Look, no one’s
exactly accused him of rape, but everyone gets blitzed at these things and
stuff happens.  I’m just giving you a heads up.”  She pointed with her thumb to
the back, “Want to get this party started a little early?”
    “When you’re going
eighty?” Raven joked. A bit of a flush crept into her cheeks when she realized
that her thoughts were completely Jade.  When did she worry about rules and
such?  And when did she worry about creepy guys at parties?  If Shelly had told
her the same thing last year, she would have shrugged it off.
    She pulled a pair
of wine coolers out of the bag. Raven felt guilty when she handed one to
Shelly, “Don’t get us killed.”
    “Whoa, when did
you turn into a DARE campaign?” Shelly at least braked before guzzling the
bottle.  Raven recognized a show when she