Page 64 of The 13th Daughter

"But I don't wanna be a Coven leader."

"Doesn't matter," Jeff grinned. "It's who you are, what you are."

"That won't protect her from the curse," Kay said grimly.

"But it might give her a fighting chance," he replied, still grinning.

"Maybe," Kay conceded.

"So the curse does have something to do with me."

Kay opened her mouth to say something and like Jeff, she nearly choked.

"It's okay," I told her. "I know you can't say anything specific about it. Don't try. You'll hurt yourself."

"CJ, I'm sorry," she said in frustration. "I wish I could tell you everything."

"I know." She sounded so helpless, like she really wanted to tell me everything. Was I wrong? Should I tell her everything? She might be able to help me make sense of the diary.

The pain hit swift and hard. I nearly screamed at the intensity of the agony that tore through my stomach. Okay, so telling Kay wasn't such a good idea.

"CJ, what it is, what's wrong?" Jeff fretted.

"Stomach cramp," I muttered. "Can we just go home?"

"Sure, hon. We'll drop the Chance's anchor and come back for it tomorrow." He hauled Billy up and dragged him out of the cabin and up the stairs.

"Hon?" Kay's eyes were wide and smiling. Leave it to her to forget the whole dream issue and plow ahead into what she considered the more important topic-boys.

I rolled my eyes. "Kay."

"Okay," she laughed. "He'd be good for you, though, CJ. He's been in love with you forever."

"I know."

"You know?"

"He told me."

"And?" Kay demanded.

"And nothing. I have a boyfriend, Kay, that I love. Which I still can't believe. Sometimes I wonder if what I'm feeling isn't just some kind of infatuation. I've only known him for a short while, but..."

"But you love him," Kay finished. "Love is not something you can control, CJ. It can creep up on you, build out of friendship,or hit you the moment you meet someone. Don't question yourself so much. Trust your instincts. They'll never lead you in the wrong direction."

If only she knew what my instincts were saying about her.

"We're ready!" Jeff hollered from up top.

"Finally," I sighed. My stomach was killing me. Just being near Kay right now was causing me all sorts of pain.

Billy regained consciousness on the ride home. He glared at me the whole way. Kay was quiet. I was glad to drop them both off.

"Are you okay?" Jeff asked when he pulled up in front of my house.

"Yeah." Maybe I could get Dad to tell me why he took the dream away. "Can I ask you something, Jeff?"

When he nodded I continued. "What's the difference between a binding spell and a blood oath?"