The Divide Page 0,62

hands, and Cassie realized just how much danger she was in. Scarlett did seem just crazy enough to kill her. She had to try to talk did seem just crazy enough to kill her. She had to try to talk her way out of this.

"Why kill me," Cassie asked, "when we could lead the Circle together?"

Scarlett widened her eyes. "Really?" Her voice came out sounding childlike. "You'd be willing to do that?" Cassie nodded energetically. "Of course," she said, trying to sound believable. "We'll kick someone else out to make room for you as the twelfth member. Trust me, there are plenty of weak links."

Scarlett's dark red lips curled into a vicious smile, and she laughed with her whole body. "You really are pathetic," she said. "You don't know much, but even you know it doesn't work that way."

She pulled the pointer out of the flames. The burnt marshmal ow on its tip was now on fire, burning red like a hot coal.

"Someone has to die to break the Circle's bond," Scarlett said. "And whichever member dies, they're immediately replaced with someone of their own bloodline." She shoved the flaming tip of the pointer under Cassie's nose. "Didn't you know that? Or had you and your little friends not gotten to that lesson in witch school?

"You made for mostly an easy target," Scarlett continued.

"Until that protection spell made it impossible to kill you in New Salem."

"You were the one who cut my brakes," Cassie said. It had finally all began making sense.

Scarlett ignored the accusation. "But now you're vulnerable," she said. "No protection spell. And without even your precious Circle to save you."

Cassie tried to think of a spell, any spell, to help her out of this situation, but none came to mind. It was like her brain had reset to a blank page. Scarlett had somehow rendered her completely powerless.

"And since you brought the Master Tools right to me, killing you should be easy." Scarlett urged the fireball-

tipped poker a centimeter away from Cassie's face.

She's going to burn me, Cassie thought. She's going to set me on fire.

"Don't waste your energy trying to do a spell," Scarlett said. "Only black magic works in this house." Black magic. That explained it, all of it.

Cassie may have lacked the words to call on the element of Water, but she had to do something. With no other options, she took a swing at the pointer, knowing full well she'd burn her hand doing so, but it worked. She knocked the weapon from Scarlett's grasp across the room. It landed with a thump onto the thick throw rug.

Cassie was mildly proud of herself, but Scarlett didn't seem the least bit rattled that she'd deflected the burning pointer from her grasp.

"Nice work," Scarlett said. "I couldn't have done that better myself." She directed Cassie's attention to the smoke rising up from the rug where the pointer had landed.

Then the smoke gave way to a small, newly born flame.

Scarlett's dark eyes sparkled, reflecting the silver of the diadem and bracelet, and the buckles of the garter. With a single wave of her hand, she fanned the small fire across the entire floor and up all four walls of the cottage, surrounding Cassie in a sweltering tent of heat and flames.

I'm a fool, Cassie thought, a fool for being so trusting.

Cassie cowered at the sight of the fire. There was no escaping a blaze of this size.

"You've gone too far," Cassie cried out. "You'll burn in here with me."

Scarlett stood up and calmly began walking through the flames to gather her things. "Another thing you don't know," she said, yanking her clothes out of the closet and stuffing them into a large duffel bag. "The fire protection spell. It was one of Daddy's favorites."

Smoke filled the room. It caught Cassie in the throat and brought stinging tears to her eyes, but Scarlett remained unbothered by it.

"No!" Cassie screamed, crawling across the floor toward Scarlett, but she could only move a few inches in any direction. The flames were blocking her every exit. Within minutes the fire would consume her. "Please, Scarlett, we're sisters. Please don't do this!"

Scarlett stood still with her bags in hand. Angry flames danced and cracked all around her, and black smoke encircled her body like a sinister tornado. "At least go with a little dignity, Cassie."

She dropped her bags in place and took a few deliberate steps closer. She leaned down slowly, like a serpent, to look Cassie in the eyes. "Did