Read Of Starlight for Free Online Page B

tilted the vodka over the glasses, but the bottle swayed back and forth like someone else was pushing it, spilling all over Andrew’s forearms. Tina flinched and dropped it, and it rolled off the bar and shattered on the kitchen floor, splashing Andrew’s jeans. He jumped back and shook himself out.
    At the crash, half the people in the living room glanced over.
    “Party foul!” someone shouted.
    Her hand went to her mouth. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I’m drunk.”
    Alright, Megan, you’ve had your fun . I lifted my phone and tapped the invisible screen to dial her number, then squeezed it to my ear to hear it above the party. Ringing . . . yes!
    But then it stopped.
    Huh? Had she rejected the call? I listened for the voicemail, but it never came. It had just stopped cold.
    While Tina cleaned up the mess, pink in the face, a red cup slid across the counter.
    Enough, Megan.
    I slid out of my hiding place and darted across the kitchen, falling into a crouch under the counter. She had to be close by. “Megan?” I whispered.
    The red cup tilted off the bar and dumped beer on Tina’s head, splashing me with a few drops. Tina shrieked, and slipped on the spilt vodka, then peered angrily around at the kids who had made a circle around the mess. “Who did that?” she said.
    This was going too far.
    “Megan!” I whispered, groping around. My fingers brushed her leg, but she slipped away from me before I could grab on, moving toward a basket of chips and salsa. I leapt to my feet and caught an arm, but she wrenched it out of my grip. The bowl of salsa began sliding toward Tina.
    People had begun to notice. The music had stopped, and mutters flittered around the room. I touched a shoulder and followed it to her ear, then leaned in to whisper at point blank range.
    “Megan . . . STOP!”
    The bowl kept sliding.
    Why was she ignoring me?
    The salsa dumped on Tina, spilling gooey chunks of tomato all down her hair and the back of her dress. She gasped and spun around. “Who did that?”
    Twenty blank faces stared back at her from the living room. No one spoke. Had they seen?
    The basket of chips inched toward her.
    “The chips!” someone said, pointing.
    “Who’s moving that?”
    “Megan! Enough!” I hissed, tugging her arm. It refused to budge.
    The chips kept moving.
    I balled my fist and punched her hard on the shoulder. At last, she stopped, and I felt her hands groping my body.
    “Leona?” Her whisper tickled my ear. “Leona, is that you?”
    “Who else is invisible?” I spat. “We’re leaving.” I grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the kitchen. Our feet splashed through the pool of vodka. 
    “Look—” a girl pointed at my feet. I didn’t care. We needed to get out of here right now.
    A wall of bodies blocked our escape from the kitchen, they’d come to spectate. I swatted the nearest pile of red cups, spraying them with beer and vodka. The group flinched out of the way, and I dragged Megan past them and out into the living room, making a beeline for the door. My shoulder bumped another guy, and he staggered sideways, eyes wide. I shoved through another group, rubbing up against a guy I did not want to rub up against. I didn’t care, I didn’t care about anything, just getting us out of here. Eyes tracked our progress, following the commotion of jostled bodies. The remaining kids standing between us and the door got the hint real quick and bolted out of the way like bunnies.
    People could be smart sometimes.
    Holding hands, a terrified boy and girl split in opposite directions, and their hands snapped taut. They both tried to cross over to each other’s side and ended up colliding back in the middle and barely stumbling out of my way.
    And there she stood.
    Ashley Lacroix.
    The last person between us and the door. I halted right in front of her, and Megan slammed into my back.
    Ashley’s blue eyes glared straight into mine, and she yelled, “My name is Ashley Lacroix, and this is