Read Online Gods of Chaos (Red Magic) by Jen McConnel - Free Book Online Page B

clenched. Had I crossed an invisible line? I so didn’t know how to act around him anymore, but I needed him. I knew that much.
    Finally, he sighed. “I miss you, too. But this is important. What if this is your chance to get out from under Hecate’s thumb once and for all?”
    “But what’s the point if the other Red won’t help me?”
    “Be patient, Lena. Things might change.”
    I closed my eyes, trying not to cry. “I guess.”
    “Just don’t make any deals.”
    “Fair enough.”
    We talked for a few more minutes until we ran out of things to say. Finally, as a joke, I asked about the weather.
    “We’re due for an ice storm. They’re saying it’s going to be the worst in twenty years.”
    I laughed. “They always say that, and it never is.”
    I could almost hear Justin shrug. “I don’t know. Something’s strange about this winter, but I can’t tell what it is.” Mom had said the same thing, and I felt a tingle of unease on the back of my neck. Something about the weather wasn’t natural, but I didn’t want to alarm Justin.
    “You’re imagining things. I have to go, but I’ll call you later and let you know when I’m coming home.”
    “Give it a chance. Things may change!”
    I smiled at the certainty in his voice. “Whatever you say.”
    After I hung up, I plopped onto a bench. Justin could always make me feel better. He might have been willing to date me again, despite the love spell and all the other craziness between us, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to put him in that kind of danger. Hecate had already used my best friend to try to get to me, and I couldn’t bear it if something were to happen to Justin, too. It really didn’t matter, I realized; we hadn’t talked about anything that had happened last fall, so I had no way of knowing if Justin thought of me as a friend or something more. He acted like he’d forgiven me for the love spell, but I couldn’t be sure. For the moment, all that mattered was that he was safe, and he was more likely to stay safe if I stayed away from him. That thought gnawed at my heart, but I knew I was right. I wasn’t safe to be around.
    A squirrel chattered on the ground near my feet, breaking me out of my melancholy. It scampered off quickly, but I leaned back on the bench, thinking. I’d needed the simple reminder to just focus on the here and now. Sometimes, I got so overwhelmed with my problems that I forgot to enjoy things.
    That had been happening a lot lately. I’d hardly noticed my surroundings in Iceland, and now there I was, sitting on a bench in Scotland, and I hadn’t looked around since I’d landed. I shut my eyes and then opened them again, willing myself to really see what was around me.
    Even in the depths of winter, I could tell that Scotland was beautiful. Surveying the street from my bench, I felt the irresistible impulse to look for Ebenezer Scrooge. Even though Dickens set his novels in England, something about the dark streets of Edinburgh made me feel like the Victorian era had never ended. I drew a deep breath, taking in the smell of pollution mingled with snow that hadn’t fallen yet. It was strange and beautiful, and I started to relax a tiny bit.
    Glancing up, I noticed the slate gray sky for the first time that afternoon. The storm looked like it wasn’t far off. I pulled my old, green wool coat tighter around me and tried to get my bearings. I hadn’t been paying attention to where I was when I followed Marcus to his apartment, and now I realized that I wasn’t sure how to get back to the hostel.
    I reached for the bag that hung over my shoulder and pulled out a shiny travel guide. My mom had traveled all over the Celtic lands when she was in college, and she’d offered me her beat-up guide book, but I’d opted to buy this new one. It had seemed silly at the time: I wasn’t planning on doing any sightseeing, so why would I care if the guide was up to date or not? Still, now that I was lost, I was glad I’d listened