Feudlings by Wendy Knight Page A

to hit her again, her eyes dark and angry.
    "Arianna, that was just to show you what your mother can expect when Franklin gets home tonight. Unless, of course, you do as I ask. It isn't such a hard thing, killing the people who are trying to destroy you, is it?" Richard's voice purred behind her.
    Ari didn't move, didn't alter her gaze. She'd heard all this before. But this time, her eyes burned and she let the flames flow through her blood and out of her fingertips, burning into Franklin's wrist where she held it. He jerked, trying to pull away, but she refused to let go, and she was much stronger than he was. He writhed and shrieked in pain until she finally released him, shoving him away from her, watching as he fell into the seat across from hers.
    "That was just to show you what you can expect if you touch my mother one more time," she said, teeth clenched, letting sparks fly from her fingertips.
    "Arianna! That's enough. You're going to light the jet on fire. Franklin, go get your wounds treated.” Richard sounded bored, but Franklin half-stood, leaning on the chairs as far away from Ari as he could get, holding his injured wrist. He scampered from the cabin and Ari slowly turned to face Richard.
    "If you're going to try to hurt me, you had better do it in person, Richard," she said flatly.
    "You're in quite a bad temper tonight." He smirked. He always seemed to consider it a triumph to make Ari lose her temper. At least it was when she wasn’t close enough that she could take her temper out on him.
    "Stop threatening my mother," Ari said.
    "Fine. Get Troy and his partner out. I'll leave the rest to the team that will meet you there." Ari frowned but said nothing. The TV went blank — he was gone. She sank down into the plush leather chair and put a hand to her face, wondering how her new wound looked with her yellow and blue bruises that still lingered from falling off the ladder. Same side even. Fantastic .
    Franklin wasn't even close to being as powerful as her grandfather. But then again, her grandfather didn't like to touch people. He never would have struck her with his hand, and never to her face. He was sneaky that way.
    For the thousandth time, Ari wished her mother would just defend herself. She was powerful —Ari knew she was powerful. And she didn’t understand it at all, but Vivian never stood up to anyone. If she would, just once, Ari could be free… at least, free- er. Without the constant threat of hurting her mother, Richard wouldn’t have anything to control her with.
    The plane touched down three hours later. Ari was standing at the door when it opened and descended the stairs with her mind going in at least twenty different directions at once. She needed Will's shroud for this. She glanced at the team assembling just outside, but none of them had noticed her in the dark of the hanger. She escaped to the ladies’ room and dug her cell out of her pocket. "Will? Can you send a shroud to me?"
    "Again?" Will's worry came loud and clear through the line. "Ari, how about I open a doorway and you just come to me? They—"
    "Will, I don't have much time. Can you send a shroud or not?" she interrupted, glancing at the door.
    Silence for several seconds, and then, "Yeah I'll send it. Open your doorway in ten, nine, eight… " Ari hung up and stuffed her phone into her pocket but kept counting down in her head. “One,” she whispered, drawing the saldepement spell in front of her. As the doorway shimmered open she could see Will on the other side, and as always she had to fight the temptation to just step through and hide there with him.
    Instead she held out her hand and his shroud spell blasted through, enveloping her. As it settled over her skin like a warm blanket, she whispered, "Thank you."
    He shook his head sadly. "Be careful, Ari," he answered as the doorway faded.
    Resolute, she turned her back on the remaining sparkle and marched out of the room.
    Will was a powerful shrouder. The whole