Given Read Free Page A

chick books, romances, and the magazines are things like US Weekly and InStyle.
    The next box is full of shoes. High heels, sneakers, flip-flops, boots.
    I’m starting to think this was a big fat dead end. I’ll probably have nightmares tonight, but other than that I haven’t accomplished anything.
    And then it happens. I pick up the box that was on the bottom of the pile. It’s been nearly flattened by all of the crap on top of it. There’s clearly not much in here.
    But there is something.
    Papers. Handwritten papers. I pull them out and stare at them, trying to make sense of what’s written on them.
    One seems to be a letter or something, but it’s not dated and it’s not even finished.
    It just says:
    Justine,
    You have to realize that Raine knows less than we thought. But
    she does know enough to be dangerous. She’s formidable, if a bit naïve
    and self-absorbed. Then again, what teenager isn’t?

    As for Campbell, he’s got no clue of his own importance or the
    power he possesses. Nobody has told any of them about their pasts. But
    as we know, the past becomes the present.

    If Campbell and Natalia are going to stand a real chance, they
    need to be together. You see

    It ends there, as if she stopped writing mid-sentence and simply never returned to it. I wonder who Justine is.
    Beneath the letter is a piece of paper with what looks like a scribbled family tree.
    There are branches with names I don’t recognize, and question marks next to some of them, little notes next to others.
    On the bottom of the tree are three distinct branches. And each branch has two names on it. The name in the middle branch is Leonid Veris. Next to it, in parentheses, is my name. Campbell Elliot.
    On either side of my and Leonid’s names, are two separate branches. One says Alessia Terris and in parentheses, Natalia Moore. And on the other side of me, Sasha Terris and in parentheses, Raine Marsden.
    My mouth is dry, and I lick my lips. What is this? Is this some kind of game Hadley was playing, making up names for us all? But somehow I don’t think so. At the top of the page, she scrawled that phrase again: “The past become the present.”
    The family tree has other names going up the branches. Weird names that I don’t recognize, and then next to some of them, names of kids in Santa Anna.
    Becca has a question mark next to hers.
    Aidan’s name has an asterisk and a little jotted note. “Can he be Leonid’s second in command?”
    I shake my head at the absurdity of it all. Aidan second in command to some dude named Leonid? What planet am I living on?
    Then again, nothing can truly surprise me anymore. And nothing can truly be beyond possibility, either. There has to be something in this family tree that can help me.
    After all, Hadley was truly one of them, a real witch with knowledge of their history and inner workings.
    I fold up the papers and stuff them in my back pocket.
    “How pleasant to find you here,” the voice says from behind me.
    I spin around. Reed’s standing in the doorway, his arms folded, a big grin plastered across his face.
    “Holy shit, you startled me,” I say, breathing heavily from the shock of seeing him here.
    “Startled you? You’re in my house,” he says, still with that smile on his face.
    But his eyes are dark and the smile doesn’t touch them. He’s watching me very closely.
    “But that’s all right, Campbell. I don’t mind. You’re a friend of Natalia’s after all, and any friend of hers is a friend of mine.”
    “This isn’t your house,” I say, trying to stay calm. “This is Hadley’s house.”
    Reed starts chuckling and then he breaks into a wild laugh. “And who do you suppose bought this house for her to stay in?”
    “Oh. Well…I’m sorry. I thought it was unoccupied.”
    He looks around the room. “You’ve certainly made a mess of things in here.
    What, pray tell, were you looking for?”
    I shrug. “I don’t know. A necklace to help Natalia.”
    His eyes