Darkest Powers Bonus Pack 2 Read Free Page A

girl to the one nobody wants around.
    As I concentrated on dodging Derek, I found Tori. Typical. Stop looking for something and there it is. She was walking straight toward me, so there was no mistake. Then she saw me, and swung the other way, moving as fast as she could without breaking into a run.
    I
did
run. I’m not as worried as I once was about what people think. Blame Derek. Or thank him, I guess. Being less self-conscious is a good thing. As Aunt Lauren pointed out the other day, I hardly ever stammer any more.
    When Tori ducked into a back hall, I knew I finally had her. It was a dead end leading to the restrooms.
    She hesitated near a service door. A group of girls came out of the bathroom and took up the whole hall. When they’d passed, Tori was gone. I reached the door, and quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching. Then I opened it and peered inside.
    The room was empty.
    I was about to back out when I heard a curse. I followed it to a big metal grate on the wall. No way. How would Tori even get up—?
    Well, there
was
a table under the grate. But still, crawling into a vent? Wasn’t that a little dramatic? Even for Tori?
    Depended on how badly she wanted to get rid of me.
    Or was it a test? See how far I’d go to help her?
    When I climbed onto the table and peered through, I could make out a distant light. It shifted, and I saw Tori’s face, illuminated by the light ball spell Kit had taught her.
    I lifted the cover and crawled in. I could still see Tori ahead, stopped, glancing around as if trying to figure out where to go next.
    I felt my way along. When Tori started crawling again, I instinctively picked up speed, then stopped myself. I didn’t have a light ball, so it was almost completely dark. I had to take it slow and steady.
    My fingers inched along the metal bottom. Then they touched down on empty air, and I pitched forward, but caught myself.
    “Chloe?” Tori’s voice sounded oddly weak as it echoed down the vent. “Is that you?”
    She waved the light ball around and squinted.
    “Yes, it’s me,” I said. “Just hold on.”
    “I . . . I smell something. It’s . . . it’s making me dizzy. I need— Oh, God, I feel sick. It’s some kind of gas.”
    “Hold on.” I reached out gingerly. I couldn’t feel the floor. “There’s some kind of gap.”
    “It dips a little. Just climb over. I . . . I really feel sick.”
    “I know. Just wait until I—”
    Fingers grasped my ankle. I jumped, and if it wasn’t for that iron-grip, I’d have tumbled right into the gap.
    “Careful!” Derek yanked so hard I fell flat on my face. “It drops off right in front of you.”
    I kicked free and glared over my shoulder at him. “I know. That’s why I stopped. But thanks for almost
scaring
me over the edge.”
    “You’re too jumpy.”
    “Huh. Shocking really. Between ghosts popping up and my werewolf boyfriend sneaking up, you’d think I’d have nerves of steel.” I turned back to Tori. “Sorry! We’re coming. Just hold on.”
    “Who’re you talking to?” Derek asked.
    “Tori.”
    “What? Did she fall down that hole?”
    “No, she’s right there.” I pointed.
    He squinted into the tunnel. “Well, if she was, she’s gone.”
    The light ball had gone out, but there was no way he shouldn’t have seen her earlier. He had a wolf’s night vision, which is how he’d noticed the gap.
    “But you heard her, right?” I said. “We were talking.”
    “I—” He lowered his voice. “I only heard you, Chloe.”
    I started scrabbling forward. “Tori!”
    Derek caught my ankles and pulled me back along the shaft. Next thing I knew, I was standing on the floor, struggling, with his arms around me.
    “I need to go back,” I said. “I’ll be careful. I need to—”
    His arms tightened. “She’s okay. There must be a logical explanation.”
    A logical explanation for why I could see and hear Tori, and he couldn’t? Of course there was. She was a ghost.
    “And it’s