Covet (Clann)

off the cuff then slipped downstairs and out the back patio door to the Circle. The clearing’s magic buffering wards would prevent Mrs. Faulkner from sensing me while I worked a little late-night magic. If Dad was right, then the Clann kids would be on the warpath tomorrow.
    Time to make a few protective charms for Savannah again.
    * * *
    The next morning, I made the mistake of stopping by the kitchen for a bowl of cereal, figuring I’d be out the door long before either of the females in the house woke up.
    But apparently Mrs. Faulkner was an early riser. She was waiting for me at the island in the predawn light, a steaming mug of coffee already in hand like she owned the place.
    I switched directions, aiming for the door to the garage instead. No way was I having breakfast with a grown-up version of the Brat Twins.
    “And where are you going?”
    Oh man, she even had the same high-pitched, sugar-sweet voice as her daughters. The sound of it was way worse than fingernails down a chalkboard.
    “Football practice. We start early in the mornings.” I answered her without turning to face her, my hand on the doorknob to freedom now.
    “Not without your mother’s vamp ward, you’re not. She warned me that you might try sneaking out without it.”
    I faced her now, my teeth clenched. “I don’t need it.”
    She smiled sweetly. In combination with her overtanned leathery skin, she reminded me of an alligator. “She feels you do.”
    “Well, she’s not here.”
    “No, but I am.” She took a slow sip of coffee, her eyes never leaving mine.
    I actually caught myself considering using magic on her. But then my mother would really blow a gasket.
    Letting out a long, slow breath, I headed back upstairs to grab the wrist cuff then stomped downstairs again.
    “Put it on, please,” she said.
    I stared at the door, so close to escape. From my own home. “You know I’m supposed to be the next Clann leader, right?”
    “Yes, well, until that day comes, you are still expected to obey your elders. And your mother gave you a direct order to wear that ward.”
    Working hard to keep my energy level under control, I slapped the leather shackle around my left wrist then snapped its buttons. “Happy? Can I go now?”
    “Drive safely. We wouldn’t want you to get into another wreck on my watch, either.”
    Implying what, that she thought she had the power to make me want to drive off a cliff?
    Royally ticked off, I headed for school, hoping she’d find a cliff to drive off before I returned home tonight.
    Along the way, I stopped and flash burned the cuff on the side of the road before continuing on to school.
    I’d texted Savannah to ask her to stay home from school till things calmed down, but got no response, and she didn’t answer when I tried calling her, either. I was hoping that, after talking to my dad, the vamp council would order Savannah to lay low. But just in case they didn’t, or she decided to come to school today anyways, I was packing some pretty ingenious charms.
    I waited till the end of first period football practice then made sure I was the first one out of the field house so I could get to the main hall before Savannah. As I entered through the main hall’s rear doors, I spit out the charmed piece of gum I’d just chewed and slapped it onto the brick wall just above the doorframe. Then, instead of going straight to second period English lit, I went to the other end of the hall, pretended to exit the front doors, and slapped another chewed-up piece of gum above them.
    I headed for class, figuring I could tag the cafeteria exits at lunchtime and the sports and arts building after school when no one would be there.
     
     
    SAVANNAH
    “You are not going,” Dad said Tuesday morning. “I forbid it. They will most likely be wearing wards in full force.”
    “I have to, Dad.” I tried to keep my voice calm as I stood in the foyer, Charmers duffel bag’s strap gripped in one hand, the keys to my brand-new, just-delivered-last-night car in the other. “You don’t understand. I may have never physically fought back, but at least I’ve never run away from a descendant. If I don’t go to school—not just this week but today —they’ll think they’ve won. They’ll be even worse. They’ll think they can run me out of school permanently. And then where would it end? Next thing you know, I won’t be able to go to the store because some descendant might be there wearing a ward. And then