Sisters of Misery by Megan Kelley Hall

it.”
    Rebecca held Kate’s gaze for a moment, her beautiful face expressionless. “Then I won’t charge you any extra for it. But be careful. These are not things that should be played around with. Maddie, I need Cordelia’s help out back. Can you watch the store for me?”
    Maddie nodded as Rebecca and Cordelia hurried into the back room.
    “Do you think that she could have guessed all of the crap about the Queen and material wealth and good taste and that I get everything I want by my Rolex, my diamond rings, my Kate Spade purse, or was it really all in the cards? Ooooohhh, so mysterious!” Kate said jokingly. “Plus, the only reason she said all that crap about me being a bitch and wreaking havoc or—what did she say?—having uncontrolled and destructive forces is because that’s exactly what Cordelia wanted her to say. Just to scare me. Look at me, I’m shaking,” she said, holding out her hands. The other girls laughed along with her. “God, what a racket they’ve got going here. Good thing for them that we’ve got so many gullible people in this town.”
    “Kate,” Maddie said in an exasperated tone, “what else do you want? I mean, are you finished here?”
    “Oh, no, Maddie darling,” Kate said. “I’m just getting started.” She burst out laughing as the other girls followed her out the door. “Don’t be late for the game tonight. Or else, you’ll be subjected to my destructive and uncontrollable wrath.”
    Maddie went into the back room after the girls had left, curious to see what Rebecca really saw in the lines of Kate’s hands. Rebecca was speaking in hushed tones to Cordelia, but stopped abruptly when Maddie entered. Rebecca quickly made an excuse to leave, saying something about needing supplies as she hurried past Maddie.
    Rebecca then stopped mid-stride, turned to the girls and said, “I don’t think you should be spending much time with that Kate girl. Her aura is very bad, very dark. Plus,” she hesitated for a moment as if choosing her words carefully, “her purchase this afternoon is disturbing. Anyone buying that particular oil…” her voice trailed off. “Have you ever heard of chaos magic?”
    Maddie stared at her blankly. “Oh…never mind,” Rebecca said quickly. “I know that you’ve been friends with those girls for a long time, but trust me when I tell you that they are up to no good. They are dangerous.”
    She paused for a moment, as if weighing how much she wanted to tell Maddie.
    Maddie recognized the worried look on Rebecca’s face—it was the same one that Tess had when it came to the Sisters of Misery. Maddie was always worried that Tess would disapprove if she found out what went on in their meetings, especially the initiation rituals. According to the ritual, each member of the Sisterhood had to spend the night alone on Misery Island. Luckily, up until that point, Maddie had never been chosen to stay the night—Kate had never held her to it because of her family name. Somehow, the Crane name was both a blessing and a curse. She was fortunate that she didn’t have to spend the night out on Misery, but it always felt like she had little choice in her friendships.
    “The card that Kate originally picked was this one.” Rebecca extended the card so Maddie could take a closer look at the grotesque figure on the card and read the word at the bottom: Devil . “To make matters worse, it was reversed when she pulled it from the deck.”
    “What does that mean?” Maddie asked, knowing from Rebecca’s expression that it couldn’t be good.
    Rebecca looked back and forth at the two girls. “It means you need to stay away from that girl—all of those girls—but that one especially.” With that, she raced out of the store, claiming that she needed to cleanse herself from all the negative energy.
    “What was that all about?” Maddie asked Cordelia, who was putting price tags on various items.
    “Mom just got freaked out by your friends,” Cordelia