Feeding Frenzy (The Summoner Sisters Book 1) Read Free Page A

door, avoiding the puddles she always leaves when she showers, but enjoying the warm steam already wafting around the small, tiled room.
    I undress, careful of the hitch in my collarbone from when I broke it two years ago.  I trace the scars on my hips and back, and feel for the earring that heats up and glows when trouble is near.  I straighten the silver and iron cross around my neck, and move my spell pouch to the back of the toilet, within reach of the shower should I need it.
    As soon as hot water touches me, I feel alive again.  The road grunge, the aches and pains from sitting too long, the headache from insufficient sleep all fade away under the glorious water pressure.  Leaving is hard, but my very exacting internal clock starts going into overdrive if I shower more than fifteen minutes, so with a sigh I turn the water off and towel dry.
    “Which did you pick?” I call out as I pull on yoga pants and a thermal shirt.  Silence.  “Lia?  Which did you pick?”
    I instinctively reach for my earring again as I open the door.  It’s not hot, which is a good sign, but Lia isn’t on her bed or anywhere else in the room, which is less good.
    “Fuck!”
    I grab my phone, my gun and the last of my cash before I run towards the door, trying not to panic.  The previous close calls she’s had swarm to the forefront of my mind, and the worst possible scenarios vie for my attention.  All of our wards are still in place.  What could get past them?

C HAPTER 2
     
    As I head down the stairs to the parking lot, I see the idiot I call my kid sister stepping out of our car.  She waves cheerfully at me.  My knees give out under me and I fall to the step, trying to slow my heartbeat.
    “What’s wrong?” she has the nerve to ask.  “Something after us?”  She looks around suspiciously, hiding the knife she draws behind the take-out bags she’s carrying.
    “Well, you’re certainly about to die,” I say when I regain breath enough to speak.  “You can’t just wander out, Lia, I’ve told you.  Definitely do bother me if you’re about to leave.  Or at least leave a note for fuck’s sake.  Jesus.  I’m going to be grey by twenty-five, I swear to God.”
    “I’m sorry!  I saw a place down the street—thought I’d be back well within the eighteen minutes of peace I get when you shower.  But then I got to talkin’ and though I may have added more grey to your head, I did get us both dinner and jobs and a few leads in under twenty minutes.  I’m the best.  You’re welcome.”
    I stand back up and look at her warily.  One of our mottos is, if it feels too simple, it’s because you don’t know everything about it yet.
    “I can’t help but feel that maybe some of that isn’t the sort of news I’ll be happy about, but good work all the same.”
    “Let’s eat first, and I’ll fill you in.”
    I look down at the shirt that bags around my waist, and the hip bones you can see through my leggings.  “Food is good.”
    We go back to the room and sit on the floor with our backs to our respective beds.  It may not be as comfy, but it doesn’t leave crumbs in the bed, and the one chair in every hotel room simply isn’t comfortable enough to fight over, most days.
    “So, catch me up,” I say as I bite into the ham, egg, and cheese sandwich she brought me back.  We’ve found that after several days of packaged food, easing back in through things like breakfast sandwiches is for the best.
    “Hang on, let me get a bite, too.”  I nod and we fall into contented silence again while we enjoy something that has exactly zero soy or chia in its ingredient list.
    Soothed by carbs and cheese, I let out a sigh of contentment and allow some of the tension I didn’t realize I’d been carrying to release.  I fix Ophelia with a patient stare while I wait for her to finish her sandwich.
    “Okay.  So the four girls are all part of Chi Kappa Kappa, which we may also be in, Idaho U. chapter.”  She