The Emerald Staff by Alison Pensy Read Free Book Online Page B

as
pirates. Zoë’s boyfriend succeeded in doing a very good
impersonation of Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean .
Then Lurch and Thing turned up and joined forces with
the rest of the Addams Family. Although, there was one
person conspicuous by her absence but Henry assured Faedra she
would be there soon.
    The DJ started playing music and several
people made their way to the dance floor. The rumble of thunder
could still be heard over the Time Warp. It sounded like the
storm was on top of them now and it added the perfect creepy feel
to the party that the fake Jack O’Lanterns could only dream of
creating.
    A little while later, after Faen had swept
her around the dance floor a couple of times, Faedra was deep in
conversation with her group of friends. Amy and Zoë were telling
her what they’d been up to since she last saw them a few days ago.
Jocelyn was listening intently, just happy to be included in a
social gathering, and Faen stood at her side chatting away to her
friend’s partners.
    “Henry, darling.” The smooth voice cut across
the room and carried above the music.
    The velvet viciousness of it made Faedra’s
blood turn to ice. Even with her back to the owner, she knew
exactly to whom it belonged. She sucked in a sharp hiss, and all
the color drained from her face. Her eyes widened in sheer terror,
and she froze, as if in suspended animation. She had to hold down
her body’s instantaneous reaction to heave, as nausea came over her
in waves.
    “Fae? You alright?” Amy asked after noticing
her friend’s sudden change in demeanor.
    Faen and Jocelyn knew in an instant what the
matter was; the young Custodian was most certainly not all right.
Faedra’s glass slipped through her fingers. She had lost all
feeling in her hands. Faen caught the glass a split second before
it could hit the ground and shatter, potentially spraying them all
with Coke.
    “Fae, what is it?” Zoë continued, concern on
her face.
    Faedra was stock-still, her mind whirling.
What was she doing here? How did she know her father?
Oh, God, her father. At that thought, the shock and fear turned to
outright fury in a single heartbeat, the ice in her blood melted
and started to boil instead. How dare she go anywhere near my
father. The light bulb in the sconce beside her shattered and
sparks rained down on her friends.
    Her friends flinched at the tiny explosion
and their eyes widened, a blue light reflected from them back at
her. Warm hands encompassed hers and curled her fingers closed. She
felt the warm breath in her ear from a whisper she could barely
comprehend.
    “Not here, Faedra, not now.”
    She looked up at the face of her Guardian,
searched his eyes and saw only compassion and concern there. He
still had his hands curled around hers, closing off the ability to
use the power she wanted to throw at full force across the
room.
    Faen leaned in again, brushing his lips
against her ear so only she could hear. “There are too many people
who could get hurt.”
    “Whoa, Faedra, where did you get those glowy
blue things? I want some.” Amy’s boyfriend blurted, snapping her
back to reality.
    What was she thinking? She was standing in a
room filled to bursting with family and friends and she had almost
discharged her energy without even giving a second thought to the
carnage she could have caused. She turned to Amy’s boyfriend and
gave him a nervous smile.
    “Uh, will you excuse us?” Faedra said,
grasping Faen by the arm and dragging him across the dance floor as
far away from the recently arrived party guest as possible.
    “Well, it explains why she persuaded Dad to
hold the party here instead of at the house. She wouldn’t be able
to get past the wards.” The young redhead hissed as she dragged
Faen towards a darkened corner behind the DJ.
    “What the hell is she doing here, Faen?” she
asked as she peeked over Faen’s shoulder to make sure her father
was still okay. He was chatting with his Halloween family ,
his