Free Phantom Eyes (Witch Eyes) by Scott Tracey Page A

didn’t snore like her brother.

nine
    Jade left sometime the next morning. I remembered waking up long enough to tell her goodbye before gravity dragged my head back down to my pillow. It was almost the afternoon by the time I woke up, and I felt good. Rested. The twelve hours of sleep I’d gotten was really working for me.
    The fridge was full of leftovers when I walked into the kitchen. I portioned a little bit of everything onto a large plate and tossed it in the microwave. My appetite was still out of control, but that was fine. It was better than when I couldn’t stomach eating anything.
    I devoured everything on my plate and went back for seconds. Last night hadn’t gotten me any closer to figuring out my next move. It came down to fight or flight. One way or another, I was going to have to make a choice. Did I want to stay, and try to fix the problems I’d caused? Or could I really just run away, and never look back?
    Jade had suggested talking to Matthias, and Drew had suggested going back to Grace, but neither one of those options felt like the right choice yet. I didn’t want to deal with Grace again until I knew what I was doing—until I knew I could convince her to restore my powers. And Matthias … he’d saved my life the other night. But he’d done that because my head had been filled with thoughts of vengeance. What would he do if he thought that I was going to run?
“Hiding from Captain Crankypants?” Drew asked from behind me. I stopped my contemplation of the microwave and turned to see him perched on the countertop like he’d been there all along. Or like he’d magically appeared there.
    “Only because I can’t run away with my tail tucked between my legs,” I said, eyeing him. “What do you want?”
    “If you’re serious about that exercise thing, there’s no time like the present,” he said. “I figure I can make you cry within an hour or two.”
    “You want to work out with me again?” Drew stared at me like I was the simplest person he’d ever encounter. “After what happened yesterday?”
    “Look, that was weird, but maybe it’s a side effect of your new life. Maybe you’ve secretly been allergic to sunglasses your entire life, and now you’re like … a scrawny, midget-sized version of a pro wrestler.”
    “Or maybe you’re still an idiot.” I paused. “No, you’re definitely still an idiot.”
    “I’m an idiot that doesn’t get pushed around, though,” Drew pointed out. “I—” And then he stopped, cocking his head to one side.
    “What is it?”
    Drew shook his head immediately, holding out his hand like he wanted me to shut up. His eyes were locked somewhere to my left. When the microwave beeped to signal that my food was done, I jumped, and whatever spell Drew was under was broken.
    “You didn’t tell me Gentry was hanging around,” was all he said, taking off deeper into the house.
    I trailed him through the halls, realizing halfway there that we were heading for Jason’s study, the one he used the most often. It was where he’d had me meet with the eye doctor right after I’d gotten out of the hospital, and where we’d met with the funeral director and the priest for John’s services.
    Jason’s voice carried into the hallway. “Braden won’t be your concern for much longer!”
    “I can help you,” Trey insisted.
    “What the hell is he doing here?” I demanded in a whisper.
    Drew glared at me and mouthed an exaggerated “Shut up!”
    “She might say he’s not worth her time, but we both know that’s not true. You know as well as I do what happens when she smells blood in the water.”
    “If Lucien doesn’t want him dead, then she won’t kill him. And Lucien was never one to part with his toys before he’s squeezed out every last bit of usefulness.”
    Trey’s voice got even louder. “Are you kidding? He may have partnered up with my mom, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to do what he tells her. In case you haven’t noticed,