Kylie closed her eyes in frustration. "Fine, he was wrong when he did that, but you admitted that you were a little wrong in kissing Kevin, too. It's time to get past it or get over him."

"You make it sound easy." Hurt hummed in Miranda's tone.

"It is easy," Della said. "Just kiss and make up."

Miranda ignored Della and stared at Kylie. "Like you don't have issues with Derek." She turned to Della. "And you with Lee."

"That's different!" Della snapped, her eyes growing bright as she immediately took the offensive.

No, it wasn't different, Kylie realized. "Look. Truth is, all three of us are in the same boat. The sucky romance boat. And Della and I made a pact yesterday." She glanced at Della, hoping she didn't look upset that she was sharing this with Miranda. But hey, they were a threesome, right?

Thankfully, the vamp didn't look pissed, and Kylie continued, "We're moving on. I'm gonna get past the whole Ellie and Derek thing and give Lucas a chance. Della's going to try to be nicer to Steve and see what happens. You want to join the pact?"

Miranda frowned. "But Todd Freeman called me this morning. He said he may come up here this weekend for a visit."

"Who's Todd?" Della asked.

"The cute warlock from her old school," Kylie answered, and glanced back at Miranda. "Look, if you don't want to forgive Perry, or can't forgive him, then that's one thing. But you can't stay on the fence."

"Yeah. Shit or get off the pot." Della snickered.

"I'm not on the fence," Miranda insisted. "Or a pot."

"Yes, you are," Kylie countered. "You still care or you wouldn't be jealous." So what did that say about her and Derek? Kylie pushed that question aside.

"But what if I blow Todd off and then Perry goes back to being an ass?"

"There are no guarantees," Kylie countered. "Not with love or with life. But we can't go through life never taking a risk. And that's what we are all agreeing to do. Put our hearts out there. Take a chance with a boy. We might end up hurt, but we might not."

Miranda stood there, her expression pinched as if considering the offer. "Okay, how about I make a pact to talk to Perry and try to figure it out?"

"Talking's a good start," Kylie said.

"Making out would be better." Della grinned.

Kylie started back walking. Miranda and Della followed.

"So what's the crazy shit problem you need to discuss with Burnett?" Miranda asked.

Kylie sighed. "I gave away a piece of my soul and I think I want it back."

Chapter Thirteen

"What's wrong?" Burnett called out from Holiday's office a couple of minutes later when Kylie stepped inside the camp's main offices.

The camp leader had set up an office for Burnett in the back of the cabin, but he apparently preferred using Holiday's office in her absence. Not that Kylie blamed him.

Holiday's office was small but nice. A tan sofa stood against one wall, leaving only enough room for a desk and a couple of file cabinets. Not that Holiday hadn't added her own mark to the tiny space. Plants, different kinds of ferns, and even some herbs were stationed at every corner. The air even smelled like Holiday-a light floral aroma. And on top of the large metal file cabinet were several different-colored crystals. The light from the front window streamed into the room and got pulled into the crystals, reflecting rainbow colors on the walls.

Burnett quickly closed a few files that were on the desk and then leaned back in Holiday's chair. Kylie couldn't help wondering if Burnett wasn't using her office simply because Holiday's presence was so alive in the room.

"What's wrong?" he asked again.

She just blurted it out. "Do you know anything about healing powers?" She dropped into the chair across from the desk.

"Not a lot, but some."

"If I bring something back to life, do I lose a piece of my soul?"

His brow creased deeper. "What happened? Did someone get hurt? Did you have to-"

"Not someone," Kylie answered. "A bird."

"Oh. Holiday told me about that," Burnett answered. He leaned forward. "However, she said you weren't sure it was dead."

"It looked dead," Kylie said. "And I just want to know, did I lose a piece of my soul when I brought it back to life? And what does that mean?"

Burnett folded his arms on the desktop. "I'm not nearly as up on this as I'm sure Holiday is, but she wasn't concerned. So I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Not happy with his answer, Kylie remembered the second thing she wanted to discuss. "I want a library card."

"A what?" he asked.

"I want to be able to read the books that the FRU have in their library."

He frowned. "It's not a library, or not a normal library. Before you are allowed a book, it has to be cleared."

"Why?"

"Because a lot of items in the collection are FRU documents."

"What is the FRU hiding?"

He looked almost annoyed at her question. "We're not hiding anything. But we can't let normals get their hands on the books."

She pressed a finger to her forehead. "Do I look normal to you?"

"We still have to be careful."

"So you're telling me I can't check out the books."