Watch Me Burn: The December People, Book Two Read Online Free

she ended up casting…the effects of the spell would fade.
    Emmy heard a knock on her door. “Are you dressed?” Dad asked.
    “Yes,” she said.
    Dad opened the door.
    “I didn’t say you could come in, though,” Emmy said.
    “You don’t get to decide that. It’s my room. I just let you sleep in it.”
    “Mmmm…actually I think it’s Mom’s room since she pays the rent for this crap hole.”
    Despite his big talk about it being his room, he stayed in the doorway.
    “Evangeline is casting spells on me,” Emmy said. “But you know, that’s not even what pisses me off. She won’t own up to it. She pretends I’m the crazy one.”
    Evangeline stayed on the bed rubbing her forehead. “You
are
the crazy one.
She’s
the one casting spells on me. Just because she can’t find her shoes. She’s crazy.”
    “Maybe you could find your shoes if you didn’t shove all your stuff in your closet or under the bed when we ask you to clean your room,” Dad said.
    “You always take her side,” Emmy said, and collapsed onto her own bed.
    “Emmy, is there a summer witch on the Sugar Land volleyball team?” Dad asked.
    Emmy sat up, and stared at him.
    “What? Why?”
    Dad took a crumpled looking flyer out of his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Emmy. Emmy’s stomach squeezed. She had truly hated Julie. But now, she was on a missing child flyer. Emmy didn’t know if that made her feel sad, but it felt
wrong
. She thought those things didn’t happen to the good wizards.
    “What happened to her?”
    “She’s missing,” Dad explained, unhelpfully.
    “But why do you have her photo? Do you know her?”
    “I got this off the bulletin board at the gas station. I saw that she played volleyball, and I thought you might know her.”
    Emmy stared at her knees.
    Dad came in and sat next to her on the bed. “Are you okay?”
    “Yeah,” she said.
    “You do know her?”
    “No. Well, yes. I mean, I’ve never talked to her. But we were at camp the same time last year. And I’ve seen her at games.”
    “Your mother thinks she’s a summer witch because of the bracelet she’s wearing in the photo. Do you think she is?”
    “Definitely.”
    Evangeline sat on Emmy’s other side, surrounding her. Evangeline took the flyer from Dad.
    “I’ve never met a summer witch,” Evangeline said.
    “Do yourself a favor and keep it that way,” Emmy said.
    Evangeline handed the flyer to Emmy and she passed it back to Dad quickly, not wanting to look again.
    “It can’t be that bad, right? Can bad things happen to summer witches?” she asked, echoing Emmy’s own thoughts.
    “Bad things almost happened to her when I met her,” Emmy said. “She’s got this warm, fuzzy vibe about her that makes everyone fall in love. All the Mundanes, anyway. Not me. I hated her on sight. I don’t know how summer wizards aren’t extinct. You’d think if they crossed paths with any winter wizard who was even slightly messed up in the head, they’d get slaughtered…Why are you asking me about her? I don’t understand what’s happening.”
    “No reason, I thought you might know something useful.”
    “So, you think I kidnapped her?” Emmy was joking, but not completely. If anyone knew how much Emmy had hated Julie, it might make sense to accuse her.
    “Of course not.”
    “Well, good. Because I didn’t. It’s not like there is room to store her in here anyway. Check the closet if you want, but there isn’t even room for my clothes in there.”
    “Was there anyone who had a problem with her? Any jerk boyfriends? Or other weird stuff? Anyone not like her?”
    Emmy smirked.
You mean, other than me?
“No, Dad. Everybody in the world loves her. Like I said, we’re not friends. I don’t know anything about boyfriends or anything like that. If you want to know who would want to hurt her, I would say, all dark wizards. Just being around her made me want to claw off my skin, or her skin.”
    Dad’s face turned green at