The Divide Page 0,46

you!

It was all so vivid, Cassie was sure it was real.

The connection worked, Scarlett replied, relieved but still terrified.

Where are you? Cassie asked.

I don't know! The hunters are holding me captive.

They're torturing me, studying my powers. Please help me!

Try to stay calm, Cassie said. Think hard, is there any clue as to where you are?

Help me, Cassie. Please, hurry. I think they're going to kill me soon.

No! Cassie was losing her. The connection was fading.

Scarlett, can you still hear me? I promise we'll find you, somehow. Scarlett? Hello? Hang on. We'll save you!

Cassie sat up in bed, startled. She was fully awake now, in her bedroom, alone. Her mahogany furniture stared back at her. She could hear her mother snoring down the hall. All was as it should be.

It was three in the morning. Adam had said to give it the night. But what if Scarlett didn't have till morning? She had to call him.

Shaking, she dialed Adam's number, and the moment he answered, she said, "Scarlett's been kidnapped." Adam sounded groggy and confused. "What?"

"I dreamt it. But it wasn't a dream. She came to me, Adam. We communicated."

"Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything. It's the hunters.

They have her."

"Okay." Adam cleared his throat. "I'll put out a call to the others. Where should we meet?"

"Behind my house, out on the bluff. We can't risk waking my mom."

"Done. I'll be right there."

"Adam, one more thing." Cassie could hardly express how thankful she was to have him at a time like this. "I love you."

She could almost hear him smile. "I love you, too," he said.

Chapter 20

Faye, Deborah, and Suzan were the last to arrive on the bluff. They staggered toward the others, bleary-eyed and disheveled, and severely underdressed for the pre-dawn chill. "They were out having a good time," Adam said when he saw them coming. "Looks like they still are."

"So what's the big emergency?" Faye called out in a voice much too loud. "It better be good. Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"What's wrong with you?" Melanie asked.

Faye cracked up laughing and patted Melanie on the shoulder. "You and Laurel aren't the only ones interested in herbology." She pulled an eyedropper from her pocket.

"Care for a taste? It's all natural."

Melanie's face hardened. "This is no time for that," she said. "The hunters have Scarlett."

Faye returned the eyedropper to her pocket. "I guess that's a no, then."

Cassie chose to ignore Faye, Deborah, and Suzan and only address the others, who were capable of paying attention.

"Scarlett doesn't know where she is," Cassie said. "But she's terrified they're going to kill her." She went on to describe her dream in vivid detail, how the hunters were holding Scarlett captive, torturing her, and studying her powers, and how she begged Cassie to come save her.

"What should we do?" Adam directed the question to Diana, but it was Cassie who answered.

"We need to find out where the hunters are keeping her," she said. "We can use the locator spell Constance taught us."

"Yes!" Faye said, staring up at the moon as if it were speaking to her. "We're back to using magic!"

"Not so fast." Diana pursed her lips. "We have to navigate this very carefully."

"Buzz-killer," Faye said.

"What we did on the docks was an exception," Diana said firmly. "Using magic still puts us at risk. What if this is a trick to help the hunters figure out who we are?"

"I don't care about that," Cassie blurted out.

Everyone swung their head in her direction, awestruck by her outburst.

"My sister is in danger," Cassie continued, refusing to be dismayed. "It's worth the risk."

Deborah was the first to break the silence with cackling laughter. "That's not your call to make, princess." Cassie had the urge to scream out again, but she restrained herself and simply said, "As one of the leaders of this Circle, it is partially my call to make."

"When are you going to get it?" Faye shouted. "You don't get to put your own petty needs before the Circle."

"This is hardly a petty need, Faye," Cassie said. "Scarlett is being tortured. They're probably going to kill her."

"But it's fine with you if we all get killed trying to save her." Faye turned her back on Cassie dismissively, swatting her pitch-black hair in her direction. "You're just being selfish."

"You're one to talk about being selfish," Cassie shot back. "Who's more selfish than you?"

"Okay. That's enough." Diana raised her clear, overpowering voice and called for order.

Adam placed his hand on Cassie's back