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me.”
    Tori met her mother’s gaze. “You think I came here for revenge? This is called an escape.”
    “Escape? So you’re going to run off and live on the streets? Daddy’s princess sleeping in alleys?”
    Tori’s eyes flashed, but she only said calmly, “I’ll be fine.”
    “With what? Did you bring money? A bank card?”
    “And how would I get that, when you locked me up?”
    “I bet Chloe has some. I bet she never left her room without it, just in case.”
    They both looked at me. I didn’t say a word, but my answer must have shown on my face. Mrs. Enright laughed.
    “Oh, I’m going to get money, Mom,” Tori said. “I’ll take it from you.”
    She slammed her arms down and a wave of energy smacked into her mother and me, tottering us backward. Tori waved her hands over her head. Sparks flew, caught in a gust of wind that wailed around us in a whirlwind of dirt and sawdust. I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my nose and mouth.
    “You call that powerful magic, Victoria?” her mother shouted over the wind. “It’s a temper tantrum. You haven’t changed at all. Only now, you call on the forces of nature to howl and stomp for you.”
    “You think that’s all I can do? Just watch—”
    Tori froze in a binding spell. The wind stopped. The dust and sparks fluttered to the floor.
    “I’m watching,” Mrs. Enright said, “and all I see is a spoiled brat with a fancy new car, tearing around, not caring who gets hurt. As selfish and inconsiderate as ever.”
    Tori’s eyes glistened with tears. As her mother advanced on her, I eased back toward the pile of metal pipes.
    “Now, Victoria, if you’re done throwing tantrums, I’m going to call Lauren to come and get you, and hopefully she can manage to
keep
you this time.”
    Liz was circling toward Mrs. Enright, her gaze on another pile of crates. I shook my head. The angle was wrong and she’d see it falling. I bent and lifted a bar.
    “Lauren Fellows won’t be the only person reprimanded for this little escapade,” Mrs. Enright continued. “You’ve just earned yourself a week in your room, alone, no classes, no visitors, no MP3 player. Just a lot of time to think about—”
    I swung the pipe. It hit the back of her head with an ugly
thwack
. The weapon flew from my hands. She teetered and I thought I hadn’t hit her hard enough. I tripped over my feet to get to the pipe, now rolling away.
    Then she fell.
    Tori broke from the spell and raced to her mother, dropping beside her. I did the same and checked her pulse.
    “I think she’s okay,” I said.
    Tori just knelt there, staring down at her mother.
    I touched her arm. “If we want to go, we have—”
    She shook me off. I leaped to my feet, ready to leave her. Then I realized what she was doing—checking her mother’s pockets.
    “Nothing,” she said through her teeth. “Not even a credit card.”
    “I’ve got money. Come on.”
    One last look at her mother, and she followed.

Twelve
    T ORI AND I HUDDLED under the tarp covering a trailer bed. There wasn’t a cab attached, so we were in no danger of our hiding place rolling away. I thought that made it the perfect spot. Tori disagreed.
    “We’re sitting ducks here,” she hissed, crouching. “All they have to do is lift this cover and they’ll see us.”
    “If they get close, we’ll run.”
    “And how will we know that? We can’t
see
anything.”
    “Liz is scouting.” I uncrossed my legs. “About Liz—”
    “She’s dead.” Her voice was a harsh rasp. “I heard my mother. She killed Liz, didn’t she? Her and those people.”
    “I-I’ll explain later. We need to be quiet. Someone could hear—”
    “No one’s around, remember? Because Liz—my
friend
Liz—is a ghost and she’s standing watch. Apparently, she’s been helping you for God knows how long, and you didn’t even bother to tell me she was dead, that they
murdered
her.”
    “I told Rae—”
    “Of course. Rachelle. How’s that working out for you?”