by Kasi Blake
An hour after finding the body, Bay-Lee overheard students talking about her in the break room. She was looking for Keisha and was about to pass the open doorway when she caught her name and froze. Her ears strained to hear more. A few of the voices were familiar while others were strangers, but they all had one thing in common. They were discussing her.
“I think she’s a jinx,” one of the boys said.
Jordan laughed. “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be her next victim... I mean, roommate. Maybe it isn’t a coincidence.”
“What are you getting at?” another boy asked.
“Maybe she’s behind the deaths.”
Bay-Lee’s jaw dropped. What was wrong with that girl? She couldn’t possibly believe Bay-Lee had murdered Tessa... or Serena. It was Nick’s stupid drummer friend trying to ruin her reputation and her life.
She recognized the next voice as Keisha. “Several hunters have been killed in the same way, strangled, stabbed, or beaten to death on their birthday. Do you think Bay-Lee toured the country on a killing spree before coming here?”
A tension-filled silence reigned for what seemed like minutes instead of seconds.
“She’s got you there,” a boy said to Jordan.
“Believe what you want,” Jordan said in a snarky voice. “The good news would be she’s a jinx. The bad news... I pity her next roommate.”
The kids laughed and Bay-Lee clenched her hands, fingernails digging into her palms and willed herself to remain outside the door even though every inch of her wanted to march inside of that room and confront the gossiping students.
“There’s supposed to be a curse on the Van Helsing’s,” one of the boys said. “This could be part of it. She could be drawing the evil thing to her and her roommates without realizing it.”
Jonah joined the conversation. “I heard the Van Helsing curse is about something bad in their blood that makes them crazy. My dad told me the Van Helsings have to become hunters. If they don’t, they become serial killers. They can’t control their vicious tempers and need for blood.”
“You make them sound like vampires,” Keisha said.
“I’ve never seen Van Helsing lose his temper,” the first boy said.
They were all in agreement on that point.
“I still think it’s her fault,” Jordan said. “She’s bad. Trust me. I know evil when I see it.”
Bay-Lee started forward, ready to defend herself, but hands landed on her shoulders before she took a full step. Thinking it was Nick, she relaxed against the warm body behind her. Then she realized something was off about the body, too lean and short, not muscular and solid. A familiar voice whispered in her ear. “Don’t let them get to you.”
She stiffened. It was Gavin standing behind her, not Nick. She turned around and spoke at a low volume. His sincere eyes encompassed her entire face, open wide and somewhat vulnerable. For a moment she almost forgot she didn’t trust him anymore. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Baseball’s on. I was going to watch the game.”
“Do you agree with them? Am I a jinx?”
A small smile touched his lips. “There’s no such thing.”
“Then what’s happening? Why did both of my roommates die?”
“A horrible coincidence?” He straightened his spine and glanced at the open doorway. “We’d better get out of here before someone comes out and sees us. You don’t want them to know you were eavesdropping. Do you want to take a walk with me, clear your head?”
“I guess.”
He offered his hand and she took it. She had ulterior motives for going with him. She still wanted to know why he’d had her necklace in his pocket at the party. Although he’d denied taking it, she didn’t believe him. If he wouldn’t tell her why he’d felt the need to steal her mother’s necklace, she would find out some other way. The two of them turned at the same time and headed for the elevator just as Nick was stepping off it. His hardened gaze dropped to their interlocked hands. Bay-Lee would have snatched her hand away, but Nick didn’t give her a chance.
He blasted past them, going into the break room, raging fury in his eyes.
Once again Bay-Lee wanted to chase him, but she couldn’t. As far as everyone else at school was concerned, they were not in love. If she chased after him, someone would figure out they were secretly together. Gavin would see. She would have to talk to Nick later.
Gavin walked her to his dorm room instead of to hers so she wouldn’t have to be alone where two of her roommates had died. His invitation appealed to her, giving her a chance to ask about her necklace. Maybe he would be truthful if she cornered him. He pushed the door open and she realized he was sharing a room with someone else. Two beds, both rumpled and used, but no sign of a roommate anywhere.
“Jonah,” he said in answer to her unspoken question. “He’s my roommate.”
Before she could ask about her necklace, Gavin took a detour. He left her in his room while he went to the bathroom, so she used the opportunity to snoop. Searching his side of the room for a clue that would tell her why he’d taken her necklace, she rushed through his drawers. He didn’t have anything of importance. Giving up, she took a step backwards and her shoe landed on something hard. She bent over and picked up a tiny silver bear charm. A frown drew her brows together. Hadn’t Tessa complained of losing this little bear?
There was a pile of books in the corner and her gaze swept over the titles. Black magic? A narrow green volume promised black magic isn’t hard to learn. Gavin was messing around with the dark arts. She grabbed the book, shoved it under her shirt, and ran for the elevator as fast as her legs would take her. She didn’t even bother to shut his door.
If she got away clean, she was going to read the book in Van’s castle to keep Gavin from catching her. If she was lucky, he’d marked a page or scribbled notes inside. Then maybe she’d know what he was up to.