Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins Read Free Book Online Page B

photograph showed a vampire I knew well—Lord Byron. Yes, the poet. He’d been a teacher at Hex Hall, and once he’d left the school, I’d seen him at a club in London. And now here he was, strolling down a street, a scowl on his face. But he wasn’t alone.
    Jenna was walking next to him, looking nervously over her shoulder at something. She was thinner than normal, and paler, if that was even possible. But there was no mistaking that bright pink stripe. I ran my fingers over her image before looking at the paper.
    New vampire joined Lord Byron’s nest , the note read. Female, age TBD, possibly one Jennifer Talbot .
    There was a date under that. Taking into account those three weeks I’d missed, the picture was taken less than a week ago.
    Jenna was safe. Jenna was safe and not burned up. She was with Byron, who may have been a total jerk, but who would take good care of her.
    I closed my eyes and hugged the picture tight to my chest. If Jenna was alive, then maybe Dad, Archer, and Cal were, too.

CHAPTER 8

     
    T he next morning, Izzy took me on a tour of the compound. As promised, there was barbed wire and bunkers, but the main thing I took away from the place was how still and barren it was.
    “We’ve always lived here, and the other Brannicks used it as sort of a halfway house. They came here for extra training, for strategy sessions, whatever,” Izzy told me as we walked through the basement. There were a couple of cots down there, all covered with the same scratchy-looking blue blankets. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead.
    “Where’s your dad?” I asked her, sitting down cross-legged on a cot. “I mean, you obviously have one.”
    Izzy fidgeted with her hair. “He’s hunting supes on his own. Boys aren’t allowed to live with Brannicks.
    They just come for, uh, visits and stuff. We usually see him every three months or so.”
    “That’s very…Amazon Woman of you.”
    She sat down next to me and began picking at the blanket. “It sucks,” she muttered.
    I caught myself going to take her hand and then pulling back at the last second. “Thank you for Jenna’s picture,” I said, changing the subject.
    Blushing, Izzy suddenly became very interested in one of her nails. “It was nothing. When you said pink hair, I remembered that picture we’d gotten in last week, and I figured it was her.”
    “I don’t guess you happen to have any other pictures lying around?” I was so relieved to know that Jenna was okay, but that didn’t lessen the hollow feeling in my stomach whenever I thought about my dad, Cal, and Archer.
    Izzy shook her head. “No, that one came in from a friend of Mom’s that specializes in hunt—um, keeping up with vampires.” She ducked her head, looking up at me from underneath her bangs. “You’re still really worried about your dad, aren’t you?”
    My voice was a little strangled when I replied, “Yeah. I am. I’m actually worried about a lot of people. Do you think…That dude in the mirror, Torin. Would he really know where my dad is?”
    Something flickered across Izzy’s face, and she pulled back a little. “Maybe. But he’ll just say a bunch of smart-ass stuff before maybe telling you anything real. That’s what he does.”
    Standing, I said, “I think I can hold my own in smartassery.” I jogged up the basement steps, determined to go have a little word with Mirror Boy. Until I knew that all the people I cared about were safe, I couldn’t even begin to wrap my mind around this whole Casnoff thing.
    But when I got to the War Room, Mom was inside, leaning against the big table, arms crossed, facing Torin. Whatever they’d been talking about, they stopped as soon as I entered. I didn’t like the expressions on either of their faces.
    “Um, hey,” I said, rapping my knuckles on the door-frame. “I was actually just coming to talk to you.”
    “Okay,” Mom said, but I shook my head.
    “Not you. I mean, we definitely need to talk, but first, I want to