Free The Soul Seekers: Horizon by Alyson Noël Page A

of purple paint intended to mimic those of the raven who guides me.
    His neck snapped cleanly in half.
    His head crudely twisted so that it points the wrong way.
    With a square of creamy white paper crammed in his beak.
    I take a cursory look all around, checking for signs of Cade’s presence, but other than the coyote tracks left in the finely milled gravel lining the walkway, it seems he’s long
gone.
    Grasping the paper with the tips of my fingers, I look past the masked coyote with blazing red eyes embossed on the front, and unfold the card to find an invite to the Rabbit Hole’s
Masquerade Ball.

MOON SHADOW

A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born.
    A NTOINE DE S AINT- E- XUPÉRY

ELEVEN
DAIRE
    “Well, Cade’s never been known for his subtlety, that’s for sure.” Lita leans back against the couch cushions and scowls. “Or his originality, for
that matter. A masquerade black-and-white ball? Please.”
    “I thought calling it the Resurrection Ball was kind of clever,” Xotichl says. “You know, the building’s resurrecting, they’re resurrecting . . .”
    “How can you be sure it’s from Cade?” Axel cuts in, his gaze moving among us. “No one’s seen him in months.”
    “Well, if not Cade, then it’s definitely from one of the other Richters.” I glare at the invitation propped on the table before me, and curl my feet up under my legs.
“Doesn’t matter who delivered it, Coyote was here, and he left a direct challenge to me, to Dace, to all of us. But the worst part is . . .” I focus on my fingers twisting in my
lap. Struggling to find the right way to tell my friends that the house is no longer a sanctuary, no longer a safe place to hide, in a way that doesn’t leave them terrified.
    “There’s a worse part?” Lita gathers her hair off her neck and fans herself with her hand. “Well, go on then, let’s hear it.”
    Deciding to just state it like it is, I say, “Finding that dead raven on the stoop means the protection spell is no longer working.”
    Lita’s eyes bulge. Axel squints. Auden pulls Xotichl closer, while Xotichl’s expression turns to dread.
    “Not long after I arrived in Enchantment, Paloma assured me the property was protected. Claimed I had nothing to fear as long as I stayed within the surrounding walls. But now, after
this”—I jab a thumb toward the invite—“it’s clear that no longer holds.”
    “But we’ve been so good!” Lita cries. “We’ve maintained the salt border by pouring a fresh coat every day. And just last week, Axel fixed a weak spot on the coyote
fence when he saw one of its supports was coming loose, causing it to sag against the adobe wall.”
    Axel nods to confirm it, as Xotichl adds, “And every time I come over, which is pretty much every day, I reinforce the protection spell in the way Paloma showed me.”
    “And yet, despite all our efforts, Coyote still managed to breach.” I shrug. Determined to state the facts with as little drama as possible. “It’s no longer safe for you
here. What you choose to do about that is for you to decide.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Lita lets go of her hair, allowing it to spill over her shoulders in gorgeous, white-tipped waves.
    “It means that things are about to get serious. Things are about to escalate. And while I’ll do my best to protect you, I think the Richters have just taken the first step toward
showing me the depths of my limits.”
    I return my focus to my friends. Watching as Xotichl keeps a wary gaze on the box, while seeking comfort in Auden’s nearness. What a shame that after all the time they’ve spent
apart, he returns to Enchantment just in time for another round of Coyote versus Raven.
    “Everyone has limits,” Xotichl says. “We just have to discover theirs.” She prods her new glasses up the delicate bridge of her nose. And when her eyes meet mine, I
can’t help but grin. Despite