Perilous Waters Read Free Page B

hands, not wanting to wake her parents. Being forcibly teleported to a mob of jerks now ranked among the worst nights of her life, but somehow, David still managed to make her smile.

~ Chapter 2 ~
    Kaitlyn
    Kaitlyn sneered at the handcuffed man staring at her, letting her eyes glow white for a moment. She enjoyed the flash of horror on his face, wondering if she should send him a bolt of burning magic for good measure. Her hand lifted, a ball of bright energy swirling in her palm. She let her sneer become a vicious grin. Power. It was so very lovely. The more she had, the more she wanted. Before she could release her magic, the terrified man was hauled off by police to another room.
    Kaitlyn pulled a pout, sending her magic across the room anyway, causing the lights to flicker wildly amidst a spray of electricity. This would be the last time she set foot in a police station, she thought, as employees scrambled about to figure out what had caused a light bulb to explode. From now on, she would handle things with her magic.
    Bored, she turned, leaning her back against the counter as her father signed another set of forms and handed them back to the officer. Her mother waited in the car, though Kaitlyn didn’t know why she had bothered coming. It wasn’t as if she cared.
    “You were very lucky,” her father said as they left the building. “That man is a registered sex offender.”
    “I can take care of myself.” As soon as she got in the car she tossed the ice pack aside. That guy hadn’t stood a chance against her. Not really.
    “Restore,” she said, not bothering to lower her voice for her mother’s sake. Her mother never paid attention to anything she did, anyway.
    The mark on her arm glowed, shifting from gold to bright white. Magic flooded her chest as her split lip sealed itself shut. “Restore,” she said again, holding her hand over her swollen eye as her father entered the driver’s side. Immediately the pain vanished and her face returned to normal. Except for the scar lining her cheek from mouth to ear. But magic couldn’t fix that wound. Nothing could.
    “The guy beat her up pretty bad,” her father said.
    “As if it isn’t terrible enough that she got herself that scar across her face,” her mother said, turning on the car’s ceiling light. “Let me see you.”
    Kaitlyn remained motionless beneath her mother’s scrutiny.
    “She’ll have a black eye—” her father froze. He blinked. “Your eye was swollen almost shut at the police station.”
    “What are you talking about?” her mother snapped. “Her eyes are perfect.”
    “I’m telling you, her face was beaten. It’s in the police report.”
    Kaitlyn laughed at the two of them. “Maybe it was magic.”
    “Really, Kaitlyn,” her mother said as her father started the car.
    She crossed her arms and set her gaze out the window. “Yes, really,” she echoed. Really magic, but you never listen to a word I say, much less believe me.
    They headed home in stony silence. Kaitlyn wished she still had friends to text. This would be a kick ass story to talk about. There were always her new set of boy toys, but they weren’t really people to talk to. They were just there. Objects to play with when she felt bored enough to bother.
    “Honey, I’m worried about you,” her father said.
    His tone seemed sincere. It startled her, setting her momentarily off-balance. Whatever. The time for worrying about her was gone. No one needed to worry about her because there was nothing that could hurt her anymore. Not words, not her family, and certainly not idiots who thought that because they were bigger than her, they could do whatever they felt like doing.
    “You shouldn’t have been at a place like that,” he continued. “What do you expect is going to happen if you go out dressed like this, anyway?”
    Despite his gentle tone, something hot and bright sliced through her. What did she expect? “So it’s my fault that guy tried to rape