Page 87 of These Witches Don't Burn
“Wait. There is something.”
Finally. “What?”
“He must be in college. He had a fraternity tattoo.” Savannah traces one finger across the inside of her right wrist. “When he picked up Veronica, his sleeve lifted enough to show it.”
“What was it? What did it look like?” I sneak a look out the window. The first car screeches to a halt across the street. “Can you describe it?”
Savannah nods. “It was a triangle. It looked like a delta.”
My heart stops cold. “What?”
“Delta, the Greek letter.”
It can’t be.“Are you sure?” A memory surfaces, and it turns my stomach.It’s delta. The symbol for change. It’s the only thing in life you can really count on.
Savannah glares at me, looking more like her usual self. Or, at least, the only side of her I ever had a chance to know. With her feelings for Veronica, I probably only saw the harshest parts of her personality, not the real girl underneath. “Of course I’m sure. My mom was a Delta Sigma Theta. I’d recognize that symbol anywhere.”
I’m out the door a second later.
“Where are you going?” she calls, but I’m already halfway down the stairs. “Hannah!”
I pause at the sliding glass door, boarded up from the last time I was here. “He’s not in a fraternity. It was Benton Hall.”
“Benton? Wait! Where are you going?”
“I’m going to save her.”
26
BENTON’S THE WITCH HUNTER.
I speed through town, a single certainty pulsing through my veins.
Benton Hall killed my father.
Through the haze, I hear my phone ringing on and on. I don’t bother checking the screen to see who it is. I won’t let anyone talk me out of this.
It’s time for Benton to burn.
Somewhere in the back on my mind, all the pieces fit together. Benton befriending me in art class, joking and laughing and creating all year. Then it’s summer and he’s asking me out, keeping me close.
He’s the one who attacked Veronica. He’s the one who ran me off the road and broke Gemma’s leg. The one who destroyed my home. Tried to destroy Nolan’s—
I slam my foot on the brake as I reach the turn and fly around the corner.
Benton’s the one who set the fire at Nolan’s house. He must have gotten trapped on the second floor when Veronica added her power to the flames. I can’t believe I played detective with him while he plotted to kill my family. I should have left him to die at Nolan’s house. If I had, none of this would have happened.
My dad would still be alive.
As the Hall mansion comes into view, my hands clench around the steering wheel. There will be nothing left when I’m done. I throw the car in park and lean across the seat, digging through Dad’s glove box for the matches he kept there. I clutch them tight in my fist and hurry out of the car. The earth trembles the moment my foot touches grass, the air whipping around me. Every element reaches for my power. I stow the matches in my pocket, keeping the fire close but unlit.
I won’t let the house burn until I know for sure Veronica isn’t inside.
As I approach, the mansion seems to grow taller, more threatening, but its size won’t keep me out. It won’t scare me away. I bound up the marble steps and rest my hands across the mahogany wood of the front door. My magic itches, presses, wants me to burn my way through the entrance, but instead of the matches in my pocket, I reach for a different element.
The wooden door trembles beneath my fingers, thenCRACKS.It pulls away from its hinges and falls forward into the foyer. I’m greeting by vaulted ceilings and silence.
“Benton!” My voice echoes back at me, over and over. No one responds.
