13 Secrets by Michelle Harrison Read Free Book Online

The girl’s eyes were everywhere—on the faces of the others, their surroundings, taking everything in. Rowan scowled at her.
    The boy’s gaze was slower, craftier, but Rowan knew who he was and knew he missed nothing. He set down the slim black case he was carrying, stuck his hands in his pockets, and casually leaned against the wall.
    “So who is she?” Rowan asked Tino, nodding toward the girl. “Apart from a convincing actress, that is.”
    “She’s called Suki,” said Tino. “She’s been with us for almost a year. She’s Cassandra’s replacement.”
    “And she can speak for herself,” Suki retorted in a voice that was as sharp as her features.
    Rowan studied her, for the first time wondering who her own predecessor had been. Tino had never volunteered the information.
    “We lost contact with Cassandra last summer, in July,” Tino said quietly, and this time Suki did not object to his speaking. “We don’t know whether she’d had enough or whether something… happened to her. No one heard from her, or about her. I started to look out for a replacement. It was around that time that I remembered Suki.”
    “You already knew Suki?” Rowan asked. “How?”
    “I was taken when I was five,” Suki said, taking over from Tino. “I never thought I’d be coming home… but then Tino found me. He brought me back to my mother.”
    Tino nodded. “Suki was recovered by the Coven. Even then, we could see she was special. We could see why she’d been taken. Her gift was so strong—”
    He stopped as Suki held up her hand for silence. Her head was tilted to one side, causing her short, white-blond hair to skim her cheek.
    “What is it?” Tino asked softly.
    Suki’s head straightened, and her eyes narrowed. “Seems one of us has been careless tonight.”
    “What do you mean?” Sparrow asked.
    Suki’s eyes shifted across all of them in turn. “If I’m not mistaken, we were all told to come alone.”
    Tino’s head snapped up. “That’s right. What’s the problem?”
    “We’ve been followed.”

     
    Still crouching behind the trough, Tanya began to shiver. The night was none too warm, and the new arrivals were unnerving her.
    “Who are these people?” Fabian whispered.
    “Only one way to find out,” Tanya replied. “We need to get closer and try to hear what they’re talking about.”
    “Or we could just go in and demand to know what’s going on.”
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We don’t know who they are or what they want with her—they could be dangerous.”
    “Shh,” said Fabian. “Look, over there. There are two more people coming through the field, just about to go in. Look how soundlessly they move.”
    “How many is that?” Tanya wondered out loud, once the figures had crept out of sight. They heard the slight scuff of the door opening and closing.
    “There’re seven of them in there now, including Rowan,” Fabian said. “How many more will come?”
    The door scraped again and three figures came into view at the side.
    “They’re leaving!” Fabian hissed.
    “We’re going to have to follow them,” said Tanya,beginning to edge out from behind the trough. She stopped when she saw that the figures were walking. “They’re coming this way!”
    “Get down and keep quiet,” said Fabian. “We’ll follow once they’ve passed.”
    Tanya hunched down behind the filthy trough, pressing her back against it and pulling Oberon toward her. The first they heard of the approaching strangers was the hissing of their breath in the night air and the whispering of their voices.
    “… Not far away,” said a girl’s unfamiliar voice. “Nearby… I can sense it.”
    Tanya turned to Fabian. His pale eyes were wide. The strangers were too close now, the trough the only thing separating them from Tanya and Fabian. When it was heaved from behind them, both fell back onto the soft ground with a shout, and Oberon ran for the trees, his leash trailing behind him.
    Rough