I gave a short cough to clear the dread clotting my throat. I didn’t particularly want to relive any more of the Red Court’s greatest hits. The Red Court had to know that my sister’s injury was their doing, but as far as anyone else knew, my family had bought the story that it was just a terrible accident. Could Haley suspect that I was one of the only ones who knew anything more than the public story?
“Why me?”
“You’re only a sophomore, but I picked you because you’ve managed to make a name for yourself. You’re a good student, you’re an athlete, and you’re on the debate team. That tells me you’re a hard worker, you’re competitive, and you’re driven. That’s all I needed to decide you have potential.”
“You picked me?” This girl wouldn’t have stumbled across me in the course of a day, heck, a week even. How had she pegged me as a good prospect without ever so much as speaking to me?
Haley gave me a knowing smile. “We have our ways of selecting ambitious underclassmen, and you hold influence in some areas we needed filled. After some observation, we could tell you might be the kind of person that would...enjoy the work we do.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” It seemed my defensive streak wanted to come out to play today.
“Don’t act innocent now. There are certain personality markers that we look for, and you had them all.”
For someone deliberately trying to join a secret, potentially evil, mafia-like group, I didn’t realize I was broadcasting such a ruthless vibe.
I gave my brain a mental shake, hoping it would come up with a different response like a Magic 8 Ball. “I heard the Red Court was a no-boys-allowed kind of club. Is that true?”
If this rumor was accurate, it would narrow down the pool of potential members by half.
“It is.” Haley regarded me with a cool gaze.
It was probably time to wrap up this Q and A session before any seeds of doubt sprouted into genuine suspicion.
“Is there anything else I should know?”
“One of the best parts is that you’d be under the protection of the Red Court. We’ll never move against you.” She paused as if letting that sink in. What she didn’t know was that I wasn’t the one who’d need protection.
“So, what do you think?”
“There was never a moment I was going to say no.” This was the most honest statement I’d made all day. I was in this for as long as it took to take the Red Court down.
“Good.” A chime sounded from Haley’s bag, and she pulled out a phone to silence it. “We better get moving.”
“Moving where?”
“We, September Marie Williams, have a job to do.”
CHAPTER 4
MY STOMACH TIGHTENED with doubt. Could I do this? I knew I agreed to join, but saying you’ll plan to ruin someone’s life and then carrying it out were not the same thing.
Haley strode out of the theater room without looking back at me. Apparently, blindly following was expected. Noted.
“Think of this as your initiation. You pass, and you’re in. You fail, and we’ll part ways and never speak of this again.” She whirled back toward me, a tornado of blond curls. “And I do mean that literally. We’ll never speak of this again. Not that you’ll be talking to anyone else about this even if you do get in.” Haley held her index finger up to her lips, face impassive. It was the expression of someone who’d destroy me without a second thought.
I bobbed my head at the implied threat. Art student or not, she had a streak of iron at her core.
She kept walking, purpose in her steps, and marched up the stairs. Heller’s main halls were built off a quadrangle with the library situated in the middle and the performing arts department in the basement. Haley shot out into the quadrangle and toward the gym on the opposite side of the school.
“You have a small but important role to play in another team’s assignment. You’re going to be a damsel.”
“In distress?” I asked, struggling to keep up with Haley’s long stride. She had to be several inches over my five foot two and that was without the killer heeled boots she was rocking.
“A sweet damsel in distress. With those big doe eyes of yours, it should be easy. When we have an assignment, we use other members of the Red Court as part of our plans to give the ones organizing it some distance and keep suspicion of our involvement down. In this case, we’re breaking up Chase Merriman and his girlfriend. You know him?” She dug around in the canvas tote bag she used in place of a backpack as she spoke.
Ugh. Of course I knew Chase. He was the kind of guy who everyone knew. Though not particularly athletic, he had friends on every sports team. His popularity transcended cliques, and he was a perennial favorite of every teacher. At last year’s academic awards ceremony, he was called on stage so often he took over MC duties. He was just that guy. And my rival for top of our class.
“Who doesn’t?” For some reason, revealing the depth of my unspoken rivalry with Chase seemed too personal. “I don’t remember who he’s dating right now. Who’s his girlfriend and who asked for them to be broken up?”
“Don’t know, don’t care. This is for another team. We’re just helping carry out their plan. From the sound of things, the girlfriend has some insecurities dating Chase. We just need to give her a little push to call things off.”
That sounded awful. My stomach gave another uneasy pull. Keep it together, Ember. You knew you’d be breaking a few eggs. Revenge doesn’t come cheap.
We’d reached the gymnasium and Haley ducked behind a pillar, motioning for me to join her. “So, you need to quickly devise a way for Chase to put his arm around you. I suggest fake crying, something to give you an excuse for him to hold you and for you to bury your face in his shoulder. I’ll be taking a picture.” She waved a cell phone in front of me. “But I don’t want to see your face.”
She turned away to better position herself behind the pillar. That couldn’t be the extent of her direction.
“Umm...” I hesitated. “Chase and I don’t exactly get along.” We didn’t do anything to not get along, but there was an understood animosity between us that I appreciated. I knew where I stood with Chase.
Haley turned back to face me. “Like I said, Ember. This is your initiation. I think I’m right about you and your potential, but you need to prove that you can think on your feet.” She looked down at an incoming text on her phone. “Chase is going to be coming out of the gym in about ten seconds, so think of something quickly.”
With that, she gave me a little shove, a stiff nod, and a grim smile. Must have been her idea of reassuring behavior. But considering she was a seasoned member of the Red Court, she probably had all the same personality quirks (read: character flaws) I did.