Charmed by Michelle Krys Read Free Book Online

see her hormones snuff out.
    “
We
have reason to believe our friend was kidnapped by the Priory before they were killed,” Bishop finishes.
    “That
is
a problem,” she says disinterestedly. “So you want to find her?”
    Duh. Genius, my ass.
    “We’ve tried a locating spell and it didn’t work.”
    “And you used a deeply personal possession?” she asks.
    “Yes,” Bishop answers.
    “And you’re sure it’s personal?” she asks, falling heavily back onto her cushion, like the pretty-pretty-princess act was only for when Bishop was available. “Because that’s important.”
    “Yes, I’m sure,” I cut in, annoyed. Like I don’t know my best friend.
    “And you did the spell correctly?” she asks.
    “Yes,” Bishop says, matching my annoyed tone.
    “Then there’s only one place she could be.” She locks eyes with me for the first time since we entered her tent. “And it’s not on earth.”

5

    I can’t breathe. Paige can’t be dead. She can’t be.
    “What’s her problem?” Irena asks, looking at me as though I’m an animal behaving in a strange yet fascinating way.
    “She thinks you’re saying her best friend is dead,” Bishop answers before turning to me to interpret. “That’s not what she meant.”
    My head spins so fast I can’t form words.
    Irena rolls her eyes. “Even if your friend were dead, you could summon her voice. If you can’t summon her at all it means she’s not on this earth, in this dimension.”
    I try to grasp her words, but it’s like she’s speaking another language. What I do register is this: Paige isn’t dead. Isuck in a breath, feeling my lungs expand enough that I can finally take in a good breath.
    “She doesn’t know about Los Demonios?” Irena asks Bishop.
    “She only just had her two hundredth moon,” he says defensively. “And lots has happened since then.” He turns to me. “There’s another dimension.”
    “Yeah, I got that,” I say, just to remind everyone that I’m not, in fact, an invalid. “Los Demonios. And you think Paige could be there?”
    “That can’t be,” Bishop responds. “Why would the Priory bring her there? They kidnapped her for leverage. What would be the point if they couldn’t get her out after?”
    Irena shrugs, playing with the ends of her hair. “I don’t pretend to understand sorcerers.”
    “Wait a minute,” I say, stepping around Bishop. “What’s this about not getting her out?”
    Irena looks at Bishop. I know instantly that whatever she’s going to say next isn’t going to be good.
    “This other dimension—” she starts.
    “Not just anyone can go there,” Bishop interrupts. “In fact, most people would never want to go there.”
    “Why?” I ask, though I’m not sure I want to know. Nerves skitter in my stomach, making bile rise up my throat.
    Bishop looks as though he’s searching for the right words.
    “It’s a prison,” Irena blurts. “Los Demonios is an alternate dimension of Los Angeles where the most evil andmurderous witches and sorcerers are sent after they’ve been convicted for a crime.”
    A dimension filled with evil paranormals? And Paige is there? To think that just moments before I thought it was good news when Irena said she wasn’t dead.
    “Oh God, why?” I whine.
    “Because they couldn’t be sent to regular jail,” Irena answers, with a dismissive flick of her hair, misinterpreting my lament as a question. “They’d just magic themselves free.”
    Bishop drags a stool over and sits me down, and I put my head between my knees the way Mr. Johnson made the kid do when he almost fainted after we’d dissected a pig in Biology last year. It doesn’t help; my head spins so fast it makes me dizzy. It’s because of me that Paige is in Los Demonios. Because she’s my friend that she’s in unspeakable amounts of danger. She must be losing her mind with fear.
    “How do we get her out?” I finally ask.
    They’re both silent. The sounds of the boardwalk filter