My heart thumps loudly in my ears as I make my way through the fall splendor. From this vantage point, the pond is almost obscured by the smaller trees and shrubbery. Keeping my eyes trained on the area I last saw the figure, the cold air cracks in my lungs as I race to the pond’s edge.
“Hey—hello? Who’s out here?” I call out when I think I’d be within earshot.
I freeze, even holding my breath so I can hear better.
The only response is the growing cacophony from the crows.
Walking out to the small dock area, my eyes sweep across the shoreline, but other than two swans swimming peacefully at the edge, there’s nothing here.
Exhaling slowing, I walk the shoreline to the spot where I saw the figure. Bending down, the grass is flattened and the semi-frozen dew is gone. I glance up, surveying the nearby trees and bushes, but there’s no sign of footsteps having traveled anywhere else. It’s like whoever was here simply up and vanished.
Chills rush up my spine, and my phone vibrates in my pocket, making me squeal out loud. Pulling it from my pocket, I’m relieved to see Wade’s smiling face shine back at me with his call.
“Hello?” I answer, my voice shaking more than I’d like.
“Hey there, beautiful. I think I’m nearly there. You almost ready to head out?”
Clearing my throat, I glance around one more time and walk toward the manor. “Uh, yeah, almost. How long until you’re here?”
“Siri says ten minutes. So, probably five?” he laughs.
“Okay, I’ll be ready. See ya in a few.”
Hanging up, I race to the house so I can run to the bathroom and freshen up.
When I enter the house, Dad is still nowhere to be found, so I beeline to the bathroom. In record time, I’ve done everything I need to do and head back to the front of the manor just as there’s a knock on the front door.
Taking a deep breath, I straighten my shoulders. Suddenly self-conscious, I step back to look myself over in the large entryway mirror, tousling my crazy auburn hair a bit and pinching my cheeks so I don’t look like death warmed over.
Turning back to the door, I fling it open. “Hey there,” I say, unable to stop the massive grin spreading across my lips at the sight of him.
His dark hair blazes with red and gold streaks in the morning sunlight and just seeing him threatens to melt me into a puddle at his feet.
“Wow, this house…it’s something,” Wade says, raising his eyebrows. His eyes sparkle mischievously as he adds. “But if it’s not Hogwarts, are we sure it’s not the Winchester mansion?”
I roll my eyes, pulling him inside. “No, it’s just the Blackwood Manor, smartass. But in honor of your observation, I will say, good pop culture commentary. Did you just watch the horror film?”
“Actually, no. I’ve visited it in person, thank you very much. It’s creepy. And totally awesome.”
“Well, all right, then,” I say, totally impressed.
“Ready to embrace the Witching Stick?” he asks, trying hard not to stare into the depths of the house.
“Sure, but do you want a quick tour before we head out?” I ask, knowing full well what the answer will be.
“Oh, god, yes,” he purrs, relaxing his shoulders and having a look around.
“All right, come on,” I laugh, linking my arm in his. After a quick tour through the rest of the manor, I finally stop outside my bedroom door.
“And this…is my room,” I say, leaning my back against the heavy wood with my hand resting on the knob behind me.
Wade steps forward so he’s directly in front of me. His silver eyes are almost crowded out by the intensity of his pupils. Heat rolls off of him and it takes all of my strength to stay put and not open the door.
“Well, are you going to show me?” he finally asks, leaning in close.
I grin and tilt my head slightly to the side—an offering as I consider.
He takes the hint, gently placing his lips on the space just under my ear. “Pretty please?” he whispers against my skin.
Sighing with contentment and more than a little longing, I twist the knob and open the door. We step in together and he walks into the middle of the space with a certain air of satisfaction.
“So, this is where you spend your time now, is it?” he says, circling the room. He walks over to my dresser, his fingertips grazing one of the red petals from a large floral arrangement of roses Wade had delivered the other day.
“Well, thankfully not as much as I used to, but yes.” I nod.
“Used to?”
“Long, boring story,” I say, waving my hand and trying to avoid casting my gaze to the bed.
Orientation…must get to orientation…
“You’ll tell me, though, right?” he asks, turning back to me.
“If you have trouble sleeping,” I tip my head tersely, “then sure.”
“Excellent,” he says, walking to me and offering up his bent arm. “Shall we, then?”
My eyes fall one last time on my bed and take hold of his arm. With a little less pep, I lead us back to where we started. Wade’s black Impala is parked in the loop, right behind Big Blue.
He tips his chin toward the statue in the middle of the loop. “Interesting decor your dad has there. Don’t you think?”
“I know, right? I kinda like it though,” I say, walking down the steps.
Wade’s eyes flick back to the weeping angel one more time. Then his hand sweeps out toward our two vehicles. “Which carriage would you like to take, my lady?”
I chuckle. “Well, seeing as this is my new town and I need to learn the way, I’ll drive.”
Hurrying out in front of me, Wade opens my door and waits for me to sit down before he closes it. Then he runs back around to the passenger side and hops in.
“Thank you, sir,” I say, putting the keys into the ignition and firing up the engine.
“Of course.” He tips his head curtly.
Placing my phone on the in-dash holder, I punch in the coordinates to get us to the school. Once they’re up, I put the SUV in drive and head out. For the most part, the scenery is nothing more than trees, rolling hills, and wide open roads. As we enter town, older houses with a mix of Georgian and Victorian flare begin to scatter the roads in increasing density. Other buildings begin to come into view, as well. The library, a bar, a pizza joint, two churches, and a burger place called the Bourbon Room. It takes us roughly fifteen minutes to reach Windhaven Academy and as we enter the parking lot, it’s clear the school is what dominates this town.
The parking lot itself extends the length of a couple of football fields put together. All around us, people are rushing in and out of the gothic-looking building, adorned with old stones, covered with red ivy. As we come to a stop, I can’t help but take in the looks on people’s faces. Rather than excitement or nervousness, most of them have wide eyes as they use large gestures.
“Wow, these supernatural folks take orientation really seriously around here,” Wade mutters, eyeing them as well.
“I don’t think this is normal. Do you see their faces? They’re scared,” I say.
“Of what? Finding out what lessons they have?”
I shrug. “Only one way to find out.”
Both of us kick open our doors and make our way toward the building. Everyone is engaged with someone else, but the snippets of conversation I catch as we pass by are all the same.
“…missing…”
“…creature…”
“…water…”
“…could it be back?”
I don’t even have time to take in the grandeur of the academy, which, even in my periphery is impressive. As we enter the wide main hall of the school, a man wearing a suit and tie is ushering people back out the door. “Sorry, everyone. This year’s Witching Stick has been canceled because of what’s happened. Please know we’ll be doing our best to get everyone situated as soon as we can.”
Wade turns to me with alarm written across his face. “Wha
t do you think happened?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know. Let’s go ask.”
Together, we walk up to the man in the suit.
“Excuse me,” I begin.
The man’s arms are splayed out wide as he flicks his wrists and tries to get everyone to stay on the other side of him.
“You need to go home, Miss. Things aren’t safe right now,” he says.
“What’s happened?” Wade interjects.
“Two ten-year-olds have gone missing near our lake. We need all available faculty to use their gifts in order to help us search for them,” he says.
“Professor Lambert, we need you out back, sir,” a woman with short, curly blond hair says, tapping him on the shoulder.
“Will you excuse me?” Professor Lambert says, turning and heading down the hall.
The blond-haired woman remains behind, taking up the role he vacated.
“You need to head home,” she says as her dark brown eyes fall on us.
“Do you think the kids are okay?” I ask, trying to wrap my head around all the confusion.
“We have our best trackers on this. That’s all you need to know for now. Please, both of you, head home. I’m sure this will all be resolved before school on Monday.”
“Come on, Dru, let’s go,” Wade says, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and leading me down the hallway.
The number of people at the school has dwindled, but those who are still here run back and forth as if they don’t know what direction to head.
“Talk about a weird orientation,” I mutter as we leave the main entrance hall.
“I’m sure it will all get worked out,” Wade offers.
I shake my head. “If they need the teachers, do you think it’s a supernatural problem?”
“Maybe? I suppose that would make sense.” Wade agrees.
My mind whirls through different scenarios as I try to come to a conclusion of what could be happening. My mind instantly goes into bleak.
Did the children drown? And if they did, what could any of the teachers do about it?
“Don’t let this freak you out. I’m sure it’s all just a precaution. Okay?” Wade says, intertwining his hand with mine as we walk through the parking lot.
“I’m trying not to. It’s just so weird. You know?”
“I totally get it,” Wade nods. “Dang, I was looking forward to learning what they think your superpowers were, too. I mean, what if you can summon storms or zap things with your mind? How cool would that be?”
I shoot him a sideways glance.
“Sorry, I know…you’re worried. I was just trying to lighten the mood,” he says, grinning sheepishly.
As we get close to where we parked, a guy with spikey white-blond hair pops up from the back end of my vehicle. When he sees us, he starts running into the tree line. Instantly, alarm bells go off in my head and I start running after him.
What if he’s involved with whatever is going on?
“Hey—hey, what were you doing?” I yell.
Wade’s on my heels, keeping up as if an impromptu sprint after a fiasco like today’s orientation is no big deal. I race past my SUV, but the white-blond guy bounds into the tree line and I lose sight of him completely. Twisting back to Wade and Blue, I get a good glimpse of what the guy must have been doing.
Etched into the paint of Blue are the words: veritas vos liberabit.
Chapter 10
Veritas vos Liberabit
Thrusting open my bedroom door, I stomp over to my desk and drop into the chair. Flipping up the lid to my laptop, I immediately fire up Google.
“Don’t be too upset. I’m sure it’s nothing bad, Autumn,” Wade offers, placing a hand on my shoulder as I type feverishly.
I tap the edge of the desk, waiting for the page to load. “And maybe you’re right. But who knows in this town? I mean, who does that sort of thing? You know? Especially with what just happened at the Witching Stick. What if it’s a clue to the missing girls?”
“Maybe it was just some jerk who was drunk and thought he was being funny? I mean, it’s still a college.”
“I suppose,” I nod, considering.
After searching through a few of the Google results, I point to the screen and lean back in my chair, more confused than ever.
Wade leans in, narrowing his gaze. “The truth shall set you free?”
“Yeah, what the hell?” I mutter, anxiety and anger welling up inside me. “Why would anyone bother keying something like that on my vehicle?”
“Looks like it’s also the motto for a bunch of colleges, but none of them are nearby. It’s not Windhaven Academy’s either,” Wade says, confusion mirroring back at me.
I shrug. “Right? At least I feel a little better knowing what it says.”
“I hate to ask, but…is there anything you’ve been hiding? I mean, something that you’d be targeted for?” Wade says, his face crumpling.
Shaking my head, I push away from the desk. “No, not even remotely. Until I got the invite to Windhaven Academy, I’ve led the most vanilla life ever.”
Wade breathes out slowly through his nose. “Well, until you can find the guy who did it, anything we come up with is all just speculation. So, what do you want to do? Go hunt him down? Do some sniffing around town?”
I chew on my lower lip for a moment. If we go out, there’s a good chance it will go nowhere. I don’t know anyone in this town yet and the likelihood of finding the guy right now is pretty damn low. Plus, there’s the whole issue with the missing kids. If there’s something out there, something mystical or supernatural, I don’t want to get caught up in it. Or worse yet, be a suspect because we’re roaming around when we’ve been told to go home.
“I never got to tell you,” I say, glancing up and looking into his concerned gaze. “Before you showed up today, I thought I saw someone out by the pond.”
Wade takes a seat on the edge of the bed, placing his elbows on his knees, and clasping his hands. “Okay…”
I stand up, pacing. “What if…what if maybe he had something to do with the missing kids?”
“Wait a minute. I’m all for a good conspiracy theory, but that’s taking a pretty big leap. I mean, what would even give you that idea?”
“I’ve never seen him before. He looked”—I break off, thinking back to the hidden, almost ghoulish appearance—“off. Like he was out of sorts. Ripped-up clothes. I couldn’t really see his face. Then when I went outside, he was gone.”
“Well, you haven’t been here long, so everyone would be new to you. Maybe they were just homeless?” Wade says. “Didn’t your dad say he has a housekeeper? What if it was him?”
I think on that for a moment. There’s a sliver of truth in there, since I haven’t met James yet. However, I doubt he’d be dressed like that. Shaking my head, I continue to pace. “No, I don’t think so. Why would he look like he was homeless? I just keep thinking about the fragments of stuff I was hearing at the school. About the water and creature…”
“Well, do you want to take it to the police? See if the guy matches the description of whatever they’re looking for?”
My fingertips fly to my face and I blow out a puff of air. “I sound ridiculous, don’t I?”
“No, not at all. Something weird is definitely going on. I get it. You’re just trying to make sense,” he says, standing up and taking me into his arms.
“No, I sound crazy,” I say, running my fingertips over my forehead. I take a deep inhalation and close my eyes. “Maybe you’re right. We should just chill here. Enjoy our night together and come Monday, if it seems relevant, then I’ll say something.”
“That sounds like an excellent plan,” Wade says, pulling me closer. “With that all resolved, what do you think we should do next?”
“Well, I could show you where I saw the creepy dude?” I say, playing coy.
Wade pauses a moment. “We could, but it’s sorta not what I had in mind.”
I glance up into his misch
ievous eyes. “And just what did you have in mind, sir?”
His eyebrows make their way toward his hairline and he grins. “For starters, I was hoping to meet your dad…”
“Oh, right. My dad,” I say, nodding. That was so not what I thought he was implying. “We can go hunt for him. I would think he’d be home.”
Wade kisses the top of my head and takes a step back. “Lead the way, beautiful.”
We make our way out of my bedroom, down the hall, and into the main entry. With the exception of the large grandfather clock chiming noon, the house has settled into relative silence.
“Dad? Are you here?” I call out, hoping the central location will broadcast far enough.
Wade tips his head, listening.
“Hmm, strange,” I mutter, looking around the space. “He’s always here somewhere.”
I walk over to the antiquated intercom station in the main entry, but when I push the button, all I get is static.
“So much for that,” Wade laughs. “Ya gotta love old technology.”
“Right? It worked the other day when Dad showed it to me. Oh, well, I guess I’ll take it as a sign we’re meant to grab a bite to eat and just spend some quality time together instead,” I say, walking past Wade and heading toward the kitchen.
After a quick lunch comprising turkey sandwiches and Red Bull, we find ourselves back in my bedroom.
“I’m kinda bummed I haven’t been able to meet your dad yet. On the upside, it looks like we have the house to ourselves,” Wade says, walking over to the window seat. He pats the space beside him and I drop into the cushy pillows and cross my legs.
“Looks like,” I nod.
“What should two young college kids do with such an opportunity? Skinny dip in the pond? Race around the house naked?” Wade chuckles, his arms splaying out to suggest the whole of the house.
“Hmmm…seems like you have nakedness on the mind, Mr. Hoffman,” I say, quirking an eyebrow, as my lips slide into a smirk.
I’m both elated about that prospect, but also hella nervous. It’s been over a year since I was alone with a guy I liked and things got hot and heavy. But damn, I could use the distraction and I’d be kidding myself if I hadn’t been daydreaming about what it would be like to feel his body against mine.
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