Read Online Beautiful Chaos by Kami García, Margaret Stohl - Free Book Online Page B

in the Tunnels most of the time, anyway.”
    “Good choice for Ridley’s room. Because she’s
not
the kind of girl who would sneak out a secret passageway in the middle of the night,” I said.
    Lena paused, her hand on the doorway. “Ethan. She’s the least magical person in the house. She’s got more to be afraid of going down there than any of—”
    Before she could finish her sentence, I heard an unmistakable sound. The sound of the sky ripping, and an Incubus slipping out of sight.
    Traveling.
    “Did you hear that?”
    Lena frowned at me. “What?”
    “It sounded like someone was ripping.”
    “Uncle Macon doesn’t rip anymore. And Ravenwood is completely Bound. There’s no way any Incubus, no matter how powerful, could get in here.” She looked worried, though, even as she said the words.
    “It must have been something else. Maybe Kitchen is experimenting again.” I touched her hand on the door, my breath catching. “Open up.”
    Lena pushed, but nothing happened. She pushed again. “That’s weird. The handle’s jammed.”
    “Let me try.” I threw my weight against the door. It didn’t budge, which was kind of humiliating, so I tried it again, even harder. “It’s not jammed. It’s—you know.”
    “What?”
    “Whatever the Latin is for using magic to lock your door.”
    “You mean a Cast? That’s not possible. Ridley couldn’t use an
Obex
Cast, even if she found one in a book. They’re too difficult.”
    “Are you kidding me? After the stunt she pulled with the cheer squad?”
    Lena looked at the door, her green eye glowing and her gold eye darkening. Her black curls began to blow around her shoulders, and before I heard her speak the Cast, the door blew open with such force it went flying off the hinges and into Ridley’s bedroom. Which seemed like the Caster way of saying “Screw you.”
    I flipped on the lights inside Ridley’s room.
    Lena wrinkled her nose as I picked up a pink lollipop stuck to the long blond hairs wrapped around a giant hot roller. There was a mess of clothes and shoes and nail polish and makeup and candy—on every surface, in the sheets, hidden in the pink retro shag carpet.
    “Make sure you put that back where you found it. She’ll have a fit if she finds out we were in here. She’s been really weird about her room lately.” Lena nudged an open bottle of nail polish that was oozing onto the dresser. “But there are no signs of Casting. No books or charms.”
    I flipped back the pink carpet to reveal the smooth lines of the hidden Caster door in the floor.
    “Nothing except—” Lena held up a nearly empty bag of Doritos. “Ridley hates Doritos. She likes sweet, not salty.”
    I stared down into the darkness at the stairs I only half believed were there. “I’m looking at an invisible stairwell, and you’re telling me the chips are weird?”
    Lena held up a second bag, a full one. “Pretty much. Yes.”
    I held out my foot, feeling around until I found the solid footing in the air. “I used to like chocolate milk. Now it makes me sick. Does that mean I have magic powers, too?”
    I stepped into the darkness before I could hear her answer.
    At the base of the stairs that led into Macon’s private study, we could see him standing at a desk, staring at the pages of an enormous book. Lena took a step—
    “Seven.” A girl’s voice.
    We froze at the sound of the familiar voice. I put my hand on Lena’s arm.
    Wait.
    So we stood in the shadows of the passage, at the edge of the door. They hadn’t seen us.
    “Seven what, Miss Durand?” Macon asked.
    Liv appeared in the doorway, holding a stack of books. Her blond hair spilled over her favorite Pink Floyd T-shirt, her blue eyes catching the light. In the darkness of the underground, Liv looked like she was made of sunshine.
    Marian’s former assistant, my former friend. But that wasn’t quite right, and we all knew it. She had felt like more than a friend. While Lena was gone, that had been one