The Secret of Spellshadow Manor (The Secret of Spellshadow Manor #1)(5)

About two hours into the party, Natalie needed the bathroom. She claimed she could find it herself, which left him sitting alone for the first time.

He took a slow sip from his drink, feeling the cool crackle of carbonation trickle down his throat, then lowered the can to his knee again. He focused on the scene around him now that his attention wasn’t consumed by Natalie.

He actually liked parties, in general, even when he found himself alone. There was something intriguing about the ways people let their guard down; he might see some of them every day at school, but at a party he got to see a completely different side of everyone. In the darkened room, with music blasting its throbbing bass through an expensive PA system and colorful lights pulsing rhythmically, dancers dropped their inhibitions and personas, becoming freer, wilder.

Though most likely nobody could tell from his relaxed demeanor, he found the room’s energy engaging, observing the scene with bright, interested eyes.

His eyes fell on a girl named Sarah, who was glowering darkly on the sidelines of the pool. Not unusual for Sarah, but a little out of place amid the revelry surrounding her. He followed her gaze to Josh, who he was pretty sure was Sarah's boyfriend, dancing closely with another girl. Mindy, he thought, from the basketball team. He felt a jolt of sympathy for Sarah, but it quickly dissipated when she seized Terry, a small boy with thin brown curls and bad posture, and pulled his arms around her. Hm. Interesting.

Dull, ghostly light was filtering up from the splashing water, throwing shadows of the swimmers up across the house like contorting dancers. The air was hot with the last embers of summer, and it hung heavy and wet against his skin as the smell of smoke drifted into his nose. Alex closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the earthy nighttime scent.

“Hey, Alex.”

Alex turned to see Phil approaching him again, his face dappled with watery light. Alex raised an eyebrow, wondering what he wanted.

“So,” Phil said, drawing close and putting an arm around Alex, turning him so they were both surveying the party. “Got your eye on anyone, seeing that Natalie is just a friend?”

“Uh, no, not so much. Just hanging out tonight. I'll bet you do, though."

"No, no, no. I'm here for you tonight, bro. Gonna show you how to live a little."

"Is that so?" Alex had to stifle a chuckle. He'd always thought Phil something of a brute, and they had never been what he would call friends, but in this more liberated environment, he found his behavior amusing. "All right then, do your worst." He was actually morbidly curious to see who Phil thought was his match.

"Okay," said Phil. "Well…" His gaze swept the sea of figures, and he frowned a little as he tried to decide how, exactly, Alex should live a little. "All right," he declared after a moment. "There's your girl. Constance. She's smart, right? Like you." He boldly pointed straight at Constance, who was seated primly at the pool's edge, chatting to her friend Jamie in an undertone.

Alex was surprised. He'd expected a much less thoughtful match from Phil. Constance was indeed smart, and quiet, and pretty. But she was also terribly shy, even now keeping her arms close to her and talking only to Jamie. And she was a little odd, too. Alex doubted Phil had noticed, but Constance often wore tiny pentacle earrings and a leather hex bag, or something like one, around her neck. Someone like Constance was unlikely to appreciate being bothered by a guy like Phil, and Alex threw out an arm to stop Phil lurching over to her. Luckily, she was too absorbed in her conversation to notice.

"Woah, Phil." He clapped Phil companionably on the back and steered him around to face the Jacuzzi instead. "Constance is pretty great and all, but—"

"All right, all right," interrupted Phil. "Tough customer, okay. Let's see…yeah! Check out Julia!"

Julia was sitting by the Jacuzzi, a towel drawn around her shoulders, bare legs glistening with pool water. Her laugh tinkled prettily, the noise clear and carrying, but Alex detected a note of insincerity. She was clever, friendly, and beautiful, yes, but a little self-absorbed. Nothing out of the ordinary for a girl her age, he supposed, watching the practiced way she flipped a shiny lock of golden hair.

He glanced at Phil again, noticing the way his eyes lingered on Julia's legs, the way his pupils dilated ever so slightly. He smiled to himself.

"Yeah, Phil, that's more like it. I think she's perfect for you."

"For me? Nah, I'm not—"

"She's looking over here! Go on, go talk to her!"

"What? Is she really?" She actually was, to Alex’s delight. She flashed them a smile before turning back to her friends, chatting a little more animatedly than before.

"Yeah, go on, man. You got this."

Phil collected himself fairly quickly and started for Julia, but stopped mid-step, seeming to remember he was supposed to hook Alex up.

"Okay, buddy, but come on…You really are going out with the French girl, right?" He grinned widely and gave Alex what was probably meant to be a light nudge before squaring his shoulders and heading in Julia's direction. At least Julia could handle herself if she wasn't as interested as she seemed.

Alex recovered quickly from the "nudge" and, upon straightening, immediately scanned the crowd for Natalie. She’d been longer than he’d expected her to be.

He spotted her as she stepped out of the house, looking a little flushed. Just as she began making her way toward the pool, he noticed something behind her that made him do a double take.