Free Secret Of The Rose (Legacy Of Magick Series, Book 2) by Ellen Dugan Page A

lowered her camera.
    As we watched, Leilah did a roundabout, then started on a series of backflips while the squad and the crowd spelled out E-A-G-L-E-S. She landed her sixth flip with a controlled little bounce.
    “Wow. She’s good,” Duncan said. “Somebody’s got major gymnastic skills.”
    I watched her as she waved to the families along the sides of the street that cheered for her performance. “I’m surprised she’s not on the varsity squad with those kind of skills.”
    “It wasn’t her talent that kept her off the varsity squad,” Ivy confided.
    “Really?” I peered at Ivy over the top of my sunglasses. “I smell gossip. Gimme details.”
    Ivy grinned at me. “Leilah’s got an attitude. Let’s just say that she’s not an easy person to be around.”
    “Oh, really?” I thought back to when I’d met her while she’d been admiring the Halloween decorations. She’d been friendly enough. But there was no denying that she certainly seemed to be in her element now. Leilah walked several feet in front of the rest of her squad waving to the crowd in a way that made me think of a pageant girl.
    As I watched Leilah wave to the parade goers, something caught my eye from directly across the street. Folks were jostling back and forth to get a better view when suddenly the crowd parted, and I saw Thomas Drake. My heart slammed against my ribs as I recognized him. He stood perfectly still directly across the street from us. He was wearing sunglasses, his salt and pepper hair was brushed back from his unsmiling face. It was the formal dark suit that had caught my eyes, I realized. That’s what had seemed out of place. As I stared at him, he inclined his head in acknowledgement. Our gazes held— for one heartbeat. Then two.
    I jolted hard when Duncan and his crew started to cheer and whistle. I blinked. The crowd shifted, and he was gone. I shivered in reaction. Why would he be here? Was he watching us? Was something else about to happen?
    The trailer that made up the Varsity cheerleader’s float was being slowly pulled along by a red, heavy duty truck. I adjusted my sunglasses and told myself to relax as I waved to the injured Viviane and Kate as they sat on the sides of the colorful float. Several squad members rode on the float, but a few girls marched along side waving metallic pom-poms at the crowd.
    As the float cruised slowly by, I noticed a large black dog walking through the crowd on our side of the street. His leash trailed behind him, and I looked to see if anyone was trying to catch him. As I watched the dog weave in and out of the spectators on the sidewalk, I had the weirdest feeling of déjà vu. My stomach turned over and everything else around me, the people, the floats, Duncan and Ivy, all blurred away.
    It was like tunnel vision where all I saw was that dog. His head swept left, then right, and he gathered himself as if he was about to bolt. The cheerleader’s float: Something’s going to happen to the girls. I reached blindly for Duncan’s arm and heard myself say, “Something’s wrong.”
    Time seemed to slow down as the dog streaked out into the middle of the parade, directly in front of the red truck. There was a sudden screeching of brakes, and then several screams. Duncan and the guys on the crew shot past Ivy before I could even take a step.
    I shook myself out of wherever I had just been. With a snap, time seemed to re-set itself. The crowd pushed forward as one, and even though the float was only about ten feet away from us, for a few moments, I couldn’t see anything. Ivy grabbed my arm, and we started to work our way through the crowd.
    “Is Holly okay?” Ivy shouted.
    “I can’t see!” I called back . Damn it! Gwen had said the dark magick had been contained! Now something else had happened to the squad. My heart raced as I broke through the people milling around.
    I saw Holly and Cypress squatting down beside the float. They look unharmed, and Holly had her arm around