Page 100 of Psycho Beasts

After a long, pathetic moment of gasping, I shoved my panic back into the dark recess of my brain and straightened.

Four teenage girls stood in front of me with serious expressions on their faces.

“Aran’s doing drugs.” Lucinda pointed to the bed.

Because that was what my life needed right now…another crisis.

Chapter 18

Sadie

DRUGS AND GODS

Aran was sprawled out under the covers, sucking on a foot-long glowing blue stick.

She blew out a cloud of electric-blue smoke that matched her hair and smiled lazily.

She waved.

“Hey, Sadie, why is your flame so bright? Everyone else’s is white, but yours is a gray purple. Good thing it’s not black. That would be baaaad. I can’t see mine, but I’m sure it’s black. I’m an awful person; it has to be.”

“She claims she can see colored flames in all our chests,” Jala whispered and grimaced.

“She’s not well.” Jess held Jala’s hand in hers tightly.

They looked at me desperately, united in their fear for Aran’s well-being.

“She’s clearly lost her mind.” Jinx rolled her eyes like everyone around her was being dumb again.

Noodle still had his fake eyelashes on, and he pointed and chittered at Aran like he was also worried.

I was so physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually exhausted that I could see Jinx’s point.

We weren’t the brightest group.

All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and have a pity party, but I searched deep into my soul and found the fortitude to do what was right.

Marching over to the bed, I ripped the long pipe out of Aran’s hands.

“Don’t you know drugs are bad and kill people? Who knows what this enchantment is doing to you? I’m so disappointed.”

Aran’s ethereal skin was sallower than I’d ever seen it, and dark circles stood stark against her fair complexion.

She was falling apart.

I whacked her across the head as hard as I could. “People who do drugs are embarrassing. Girls, please leave the room for the evening. I need to fix this.”

Four teenagers looked at me solemnly. Well, three did; Jinx just muttered something about how we were all dead.

I sighed heavily and whacked Aran again.

“Girls, I’m going to sort her out. Why don’t you go hang out with Jax? I’m sure he misses you, and Lucinda, you could probably get Xerxes to teach you some knife tricks. I know you said something about learning.”

They nodded hesitantly.

“You’ll fix her?” Jala asked, pink eyes wide as she stared at Aran. “At school, they said you could never walk in the valley of the sun god if you did drugs. Your soul would be corrupted.”

Aran laughed. “What a crock of shit.”

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