She mounts her broom and heads up, and I stifle the urge to remind her to use the cloaking spell.

"Don't forget to cloak!" Dani yells out.

I shake my head, knowing Dani's going to get s.h.i.t for that.

Margo turns on Dani immediately, sneering. "G.o.d, you just can't keep your mouth shut for a minute, can you? You always have to-"

"Leave her alone," I say, standing between them. "I would've thought you'd be happy she's trying to make sure everyone is doing the right thing-it's what you're always preaching. She just said what we were all thinking!"

Margo curls her lip. "It's the way she says it." She turns toward Dani and scowls. "You think you're the only one who knows everything! You treat us like we're preschoolers just learning about all this s.h.i.t for the first time, and you don't even know what's really going on!"

"Hey," Zahara says, reaching out a hand on Margo's arm. "Chill out-this was tough enough without all the extra c.r.a.p. okay?"

Margo folds her hands across her chest and looks down at the ground. She takes a few deep breaths and looks Dani in the eye. "Yeah, I'm sorry. And sorry I was late. I just had a lot to think about." She picks up her stake, sees the point is broken, and chucks it in the garbage can next to the dugout.

Dani shrugs. "It's okay. I do kind of say stuff you already know," she says quietly.

"There, everything's cool, right?" Z says. "Let's talk about something else. Like lets hear some big freaking initiation details! How'd it go?" Z asks. "Are you feeling more womanly? Or more witchy?"

"Well, Sascha would probably say I'm feeling more b.i.t.c.hy than usual, but ..." Margo pauses, as all of our eyes go wide.

I think we're all amazed Margo is a little more self-aware than we might have given her credit for.

"But," she continues, "let's just say you all need to throw away any a.s.sumptions you have about what it is we do, and go to your initiation prepared to have the rug pulled out from under your feet."

"Why? What did they tell you?" Dani whispers, her eyes bugging out.

"Yeah," Z says. "You can't leave us hanging."

Margo doesn't say anything and I can almost hear her mind working out whether Helena's pet hunter can buck the rules and spill initiation secrets. I think she wants to tell us- she wouldn't have laid the whole rug thing on us if she wasn't at least thinking about it.

"Margo, you can tell us," I say. "We won't let on, right?"

Dani and Z nod.

"I can't," she says finally. She turns and picks her broom off the ground and wipes the dirt off the handle. "We just can't be s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around with hunts, okay?"

A car pulls up near the dugout and we all freeze.

"Is that Troy and Andrew?" I ask. "We'd better cloak!"

"No," Zahara says. "My mom said Michael was going to 'divert them' from keeping their date with Kelsey."

"Look, it's the van," Dani says. "It's probably Michael or maybe Connor." She wrinkles her brow. "But we don't need a cleanup tonight 'cause it was a . . ."

Margo puts her hands on her hips and glares at Dani.

"Well, you know," Dani says, shrugging her shoulders.

My heart races, hoping I'll get to see Connor again. The van lights go off, but it's Michael who opens the door and gets out.

We head over, and Michael puts an arm around Dani and Zahara's shoulders. "I was on decoy duty, so my mom told me what was going down tonight. I was kind of friends with Kelsey, and I know Sascha was, too." Michael looks around at us. "Where is Sascha-did she leave already?"

"Yeah, she took it kind of hard," I say, glaring at Margo.

Michael nods, like he's not surprised. "Well, I didn't know how you all would be doing, and even though it's against the rules, I thought you might like a ride home in a warm van instead of having to stick it in the cold tonight."

Margo and Zahara look at each other. Z gives the slightest shake of her head, and I know she's following Margo's lead and pulling herself back into traditional icy-hunter mode. I can't help but wonder if she'd be able to do it so quickly if Kelsey's body was still lying on the ground by the dugout.

"Thanks," Margo says, "but I think we should fly home. Kelsey won't be the last person we know on the hunt list, and we need to keep with the program. Right, everyone?"

"Yeah, right," Zahara says, slipping out from under Michael's arm. She takes out the flask from her cloak and takes a long swig, and then hands it over to Margo.

"Hunt list?" I ask.

Margo chokes on the brandy.

"Oh, my G.o.d!" I say. "Is that how it works-is there a list of spooks we go after?"

"What?" Margo sputters. "No! Well, sort of, but. . ."

"Come on, Margo!" I say. "We're all going to find out what's going on in a few weeks anyway-so what's the big deal? Just tell us how a spook gets on the list. How did Kelsey end up being tonight's hunt?"

"Look!" Margo says. "It's complicated-and Helena would kill me if I said anything."

Margo suddenly looks worried. "Don't tell her I said anything, okay? And if she asks about tonight, make sure you tell her it was me who finished Kelsey off." She pauses and looks at us one at a time with a steely face. "And I won't tell her how I found you all standing around not doing your job."

Margo hands me the flask and mounts her broom. "There is one thing I can tell you, Jules."

She reaches into her cloak and pulls out the star necklace-the inside of the stone flashes and glimmers with light. "Not showing your loyalty can gel you or your family in a h.e.l.l of a lot of trouble." She tips her head toward Michael. "I suggest you keep your mouth shut, too! You coming, Z?"

"Yeah! Um, I'll see you guys tomorrow," she says slowly. She gets on her stick and looks back at me. She shrugs and then they both take off in a shimmer as their cloaking spell takes effect.

They vanish into the low clouds, and Michael clears his throat. "Wow. I thought this was going to be a tough one tonight--but I didn't think it would be this bad."

I take a Sascha-sized gulp of brandy and shudder as it burns its way down my throat. "You know what I think? I think I'll take that ride, Michael."

7.

So how do you think someone gets on the list? I ask. I clutch the armrest as Michael takes a corner too fast.

"We're not sure if there really is a list," Dani says from the backseat.

"Are you kidding? Did you see how scared Margo was when that slipped out? There's a list! Michael, what do they tell you when you're on cleanup crew?"

"Just that they've tracked someone down, and then they give us the address where they are.

Sometimes they tell Connor and me personal info, like that last guy-the wolf-my mom told us he might be interested in joining me out in the woods behind the bar, if you know what I mean."

"But how could they know that?" I ask.

"Crystal ball?" Michael says.

Dani leans forward and nods. "Mrs. Keyes has one, she could be using it to track people down, or maybe she uses a spell to locate them."

"But what about Kelsey? She was supposed to meet Troy and Andrew, so how did they know to send you over there to make sure they didn't show up and witness the kill? If she was using a crystal ball, shed have to be watching Kelsey 24I7 to happen upon that information."

"I don't know. They just told me to have a couple of cases of cold beer in the back of the van, park it by Troy's house, and loosen a battery cable. I was supposed to convince them partying would be better than being bitten. Not that I mentioned Kelsey or anything, but being underage and unemployed, they were more than happy to accept some free booze in return for tightening up the cable for me. Actually, Andrew seemed pretty relieved they were going to take the beer back to Troy's. But you know what? Troy's been bitten before-I could see marks on him."

"Oh!" Dani says. "That means Kelsey's probably, you know, snacked on him before."

I nod. "And it also means vamps don't always turn their prey-something we were told they do."

Dani and I exchange looks, and I know we're both wondering if what she'd read on that message board is true.

"And Kelsey could've been telling the truth when she said she wasn't going to reveal to us,"

Dani says.

"And maybe we didn't have to dust her," I add.

Dani shakes her head. "What matters is she wasn't human anymore. Maybe she wasn't going to go after us, but she was fully capable of it."

"Yeah, and Z did say she'd already turned some other people, but still, I don't think this whole gig is quite what we thought it was. If there's a list, it means someone-maybe Helena-is making some sort of decision about who we go after and when we do it," I say.

"Geez, Jules," Dani says, swatting me on the shoulder. "You're making it sound like there's some evil plot. I just figured Helena makes a list of baddies as the coven hears about them, and then someone does research to make our job a little easier."

My shoulders slump. "Yeah, I guess." I watch the houses go by as we near my neighborhood. What Dani said makes sense, I think, but it doesn't explain why Margo was all freaked out-and she was freaked out. "Why all the secrecy, then? Why not tell us exactly what's going on instead of waiting for the stupid birthday initiation c.r.a.p?"

Michael laughs. "Because you witches are totally a.n.a.l about tradition! Margo and Z wouldn't even get in the van because you're supposed to fly home after a kill. h.e.l.l, you're probably breaking all sorts of covenants riding home with me."

"I know, it's so stupid-what does it matter if we stick it or get a ride home?" I ask. "And why these capes? Loved getting s.h.i.t about them from Kelsey tonight. She asked about our lame 'Little Red Riding Hood' look."

Michael laughs as he slows the van to a stop in front of my house. "Yeah, the capes are a little retro."

"Hey, keep going," Dani says. "I saw the kitchen lights on-maybe you should let us out down the street, I'll fly home and it will look like you did, too. I don't want any of us to get in trouble."

He accelerates and pulls over farther down the block by the woods.

"Viva la revolution!" I say.

"I'm just feeling a little spooked, all right? I mean all this talk about lists and traditions, well-remember the time Mrs. Keyes reamed me out because I hadn't made the binders tight enough and they fell apart before they hit the ground?"

"She was mad the vamp got away," I say. "This is just a ride."

"Well, you never know what's gonna make her go nuts," Dani says. "She came down on Z that time for showing up on a hunt without a stake even though we were going after a wolf!"

"Okay, fine," I say, opening the door. "But I plan on asking my mom a few things when I get in. Thanks for the ride, Michael. It was really nice not having to fly home in the cold even if we get in trouble!"

Dani gets out and shakes her head. "I can't help it if Mrs. Keyes scares the c.r.a.p out of me!"

"Mrs. Keyes scares the c.r.a.p out of everyone!" Michael says. "But I'll keep this illicit ride home under wraps. If you guys don't have another hunt tomorrow, I'll see you in school."

Michael drives off, and Dani turns to me.

"Are you really going to ask your mom about the list?" she asks, mounting her broom.

"Margo said not to."

"d.a.m.n straight I am. Just because you're too chicken to buck tradition, doesn't mean I am."

"Too chicken to buck tradition? Oh, please. I rode in the van same as you. I just like to keep my rebellion under the radar. Let me know if your mom says anything interesting."

"Will do."

Dani says the cloaking spell and takes off." I walk toward my house. As I pa.s.s the side garden, I'm tempted to sneak out to Mom's workshop to make sure Connor cleaned up, but I want to catch her before she heads to bed.

I open the kitchen door and smell mint hot chocolate. I walk in and see two mugs out on the counter and a pot steaming on the stovetop next to the cauldron.

"I'm home!"

Mom comes in tying her blue bathrobe sash tight. "I got home just a bit ago and thought I'd wait up in case you wanted to talk. I know that girl went to school with you all. Did you know her well?"

"We had a couple of cla.s.ses together and we worked on a group project once, but Sascha was the only one that was kind of friends with her." I decide to not mention Michael. I throw my cape over a chair, and spot the Ouroboros ring. Does my mom know about it? I get up and turn the burner off, and then I pull my sweater sleeves over my hands so just my fingertips are showing. "Brrrr, I'm still cold. This will warm me up, though." I fill up the mugs and bring them over to the table, wondering how long I can hide the stupid ring. "It was a tough kill, though."

Mom blows across the top of the milk. "Did she attack before you bound her?"

"No! That's what made it so hard. She just wanted to hang out with us."

"Well," Mom says with a little laugh, "that's not likely, but who ended up staking her?"

I take a sip and burn my tongue. "Ow! Margo did it. She showed up late, but once she saw Kelsey bound by home plate, she staked her without blinking an eye."

The corners of Mom's lips curl up and I wonder why this news makes her smile.

"So now that Kelsey's taken care of, who's next on the list? Anyone I know?"

Mom's smile dissolves in a flash. "What are you talking about?"

"It's okay, Mom. Margo let it slip out that there's a list of creatures we have to hunt. It's not like it's a big deal."

She smiles again, but I can tell it's forced. She takes a sip of chocolate, obviously weighing her response carefully. "What else did Margo say?"