“I think it’s creepy. How do they know? Do you have a smell or something? Like only supernatural beings can smell you?” That was a really good question. “How did
Matilda know?”
“How did Matilda know what?”
“You said she insisted on living with us and you were against it,” I said. “So how did she know?”
“I ... I’m not sure that she did,” Kelsey said ruefully. “I’m not being evasive. I just don’t know that the reason she insisted on living with you guys is for anything that high-minded.”
“Meaning?”
“The thing with Matilda is that she doesn’t really think things through,” Kelsey offered. “She never looks to the future. She only cares about the right now.”
“So why would she have wanted to live with me last year?” I mused absently. “I mean, other than the fact that I was friends with Rick?”
Kelsey raised her eyebrows suggestively.
“No way.”
“When she gets obsessed with something there’s no talking her out of it,” Kelsey replied blandly.
“You’re saying this could all be because she has a crush on Rick?”
“If she thought living with you could get her closer to him, then she might do it.” Kelsey seemed embarrassed on Matilda’s behalf.
“So Matilda might have gotten caught up in all of this by accident?”
“I told you before that she gets caught up in what other people are doing,” Kelsey reminded. “It could really be a coincidence.”
“And you’re sure she’s not a witch?”
“She wouldn’t have been able to keep that a secret. That’s why I was so surprised to hear the sorority is full of witches. I couldn’t believe she could keep something like that from me.”
“So now she just thinks she’s a witch.”
“Which makes her dangerous,” Kelsey admitted.
“But maybe not evil,” I added.
“Do you think Laura is evil?” Kelsey glanced around nervously, as though she was making certain Laura wasn’t hiding in a corner and listening.
“I think Laura is exhibiting some personality traits that worry me.”
“That’s not really an answer.”
“I don’t think that Laura was evil last year.”
“And this year?”
“I honestly don’t know. I’m hoping that if we thwart whatever the sorority is trying to do the real Laura will come back.”
Kelsey didn’t look convinced. “Well, I don’t want to add to the mountain of suck you’re living on these days, but there’s something else.”
“I don’t want to know.”
“I know,” Kelsey said, getting to her feet. “I think you need to know, though.”
“I can’t wait.”
Kelsey disappeared into the bedroom she shared with Matilda and then returned a few seconds later carrying a shoebox.
“You bought me shoes?” I asked hopefully.
“I found this the other day when I was looking for my advanced algebra book.”
“There’s not something dead in there, right?”
Kelsey shook her head. “No. It’s creepy, though.”
I reached over and took the box from Kelsey. I shook it a little, gauging its weight. It didn’t smell, so I was hopeful that nothing dead was going to stare back at me when
I opened it. Kelsey said there wasn’t a dead animal in the box, but as far as luck goes, this hadn’t been my year. I sucked in a big breath and then flipped the top off. I wasn’t sure what I was looking at when I finally peeked inside.
“That’s my bracelet,” I reached in and pulled out a familiar leather cuff. “I thought I left it at home over Christmas break.”
“She’s hoarding it for a reason.”
“And why would she want one of my homework assignments?” I asked, pulling out a familiar notebook. I had used it for my creative writing class.
“I don’t know.”
“Oh, God, is that my hair?” I pulled a small hank of blonde hair – held together by a purple ribbon – out of the box. “How did she even get this?”
“I don’t know,” Kelsey replied. “I don’t think it’s good, though.”
That was an understatement.
“She’s not just a klepto, right? Maybe she just likes stealing things?”
“Your hair?” Kelsey looked dubious.
“Oh, man, why can’t anything ever just get better? No. In my life, everything just gets worse and worse.”
“You think they’re hoarding it to use for a spell?”
The thought actually hadn’t occurred to me, but now that seemed the obvious answer. “I was actually hoping she was just discovered she was a lesbian,” I lamented wryly. “I guess that would be too easy.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea.”
“This sucks,” Kelsey sighed.
This really did suck.
Thirty
“So what do we do now?” Kelsey’s face was a mask of concern. Her odd green eyes were fixed on me and flooded with worry.
“We have to find out what they’re doing with this stuff,” I said, reaching into my pocket for my cell phone and snapping a photograph of the box’s contents before shoving the box back toward Kelsey. “Put that back where you found it.”
“You’re not going to take your stuff back?” Kelsey raised her eyebrows questioningly.
“Not right away. I don’t want to tip them off that we know what they’re up to.”
“We know what they’re up to? When did that happen?”
She had a point.
“Okay, maybe I just don’t want them to know that we know they’re up to anything. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah. Kind of.”
Kelsey got to her feet and took the box back into the bedroom. When she returned, she fixed me with a hard stare. “You took a picture. Who are you going to show it to? Paris?”
I grimaced as an answer pushed to the forefront of my muddled brain. “Not Paris. At least not just Paris.”
“Then who?”
I jumped to my feet and reached for my coat. “I have to run an errand. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Kelsey’s eyes widened. “You’re just leaving me here? What should I do if they come back?”
“Pretend you don’t know anything.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“I know,” I replied. “I just have to talk to someone. He should be able to help. God, I hope he can help.”
“Aric?”
“No. And if he calls, don’t tell him what’s going on. Just tell him you don’t know where I am.”
“You want me to lie to him?”
“It’s not a lie,” I replied pragmatically. “You have no idea where I’m going.”
“Are you going to that Rafael guy you won’t talk about?”
“No.”
“You’re not going to tell me where you’re going? Really?”
“I don’t have enough time to properly explain.”
“Oh, man, there’s more? There’s more you haven’t told me?” Kelsey looked as though the world was coming to the end. She was panicking – and I didn’t have time to deal with it now.
“Not on purpose,” I corrected her.
“Just go.” Kelsey waved me off. “Do what you have to do.”
“You’re going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine. They don’t view me as a threat. Remember?”
At least we had that going for us.
I left Kelsey and headed across campus toward Professor Blake’s office. I had no idea whether he could help, but I figured he was my best option. I knew he was going to ask questions, but I was hoping he would have a few answers, too.
Professor Blake was grading papers, his office door open, when I made my presence known. I watched him work for a few minutes, his blond hair falling across his brow, his attention trained on the papers and nothing else. If t
his was a movie and he was a spy, he wouldn’t survive very long. He had absolutely no spatial observation skills.
“Are you just going to stand there?” Professor Blake never looked up from his task.
Okay, maybe he had some spatial observation skills.
“You knew I was here?”
“You have a certain presence.”
I had no idea whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. “I need to talk to you.”
“That would probably explain why you’re standing in my doorway fidgeting like you are.”
“I am not fidgeting,” I protested.
Professor Blake finally looked up from his task. “Why don’t you come in and shut the door?”
I did as he asked, perching nervously in one of the wingback chairs in front of his desk. Then I waited.
Professor Blake leaned back in his chair and watched me curiously. Finally, he couldn’t take the silence any longer. “Is there something on your mind?”
“Delta Omicron.”
“They do seem to be the topic of conversation these days, don’t they?”
“I know you’re investigating them.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Everyone on this campus is investigating them,” I replied. “The wolves are up to something. I have no idea what, but they are working on a plan to take them down.
The vampires are watching the situation carefully. I have no idea whether they plan on moving on them, but I don’t think they’re just going to ignore them. And you guys, well, you guys are always up to something.”
Professor Blake smiled wryly. “I don’t know whether I would say that we’re always up to something. I would say we’re always working toward the greater good.”
“Your version of the greater good,” I corrected him.
“It’s funny to me that you’re still under the delusion that there are some monsters out there that are good monsters.”
“And it’s funny to me that you would even say something like that when it’s humans who are apparently putting this college at risk right now,” I countered.
“Touché.”
“I didn’t come here to fight,” I said. “I came here to … exchange information.”
“Exchange information?” Professor Blake cocked an eyebrow speculatively. “That sounds like a covert government op.”
“Maybe,” I agreed. “I don’t know another way to put it, though.”
“You know that you wouldn’t have to come here and beg for information if you would join the cause?”
“I’m not begging. I’m trading.”
“What makes you think that you know more than I do?”
“Because I have two roommates who are full-fledged members of Delta Omicron.”
He was making the rules, but I was winning the game.
Professor Blake flattened his lips into a tight line. “I had heard that.”
“So, I guess you might say that I have inside information.”
“From more than one source, too, apparently.” His barb was pointed. He was casting aspersions on my continued association with both Aric and Rafael. I decided to ignore it. Now wasn’t the time to get into that fight again.
“I’m here just to talk about Delta Omicron.”
“Fine,” Professor Blake sighed dramatically. “What do you know?”
“I know that they’re conducting regular rituals to bolster their power base. I also know that to do that they’re draining their new pledges.”
“What do you mean ‘draining them?’ They’re sapping power from the other witches in the group?”
“I don’t think they’re all witches,” I replied earnestly.
“Then why would they let them in the sorority?” Professor Blake looked puzzled.
“Because the recruits don’t need power for the witches to suck them dry.” How is it that I know more about this stuff than the self-purported expert?
Professor Blake looked surprised by my answer. “I don’t think I understand.”
“The way it’s been explained to me is that every person has a life essence,” I continued. “That’s what the witches are using.”
“So you’re saying none of the new recruits are actually witches?”
My mind wandered to Laura, but I didn’t tell Professor Blake the truth about her. There was still a chance to extricate her from this situation without telling everyone what she really was. “I can’t say that for sure,” I answered carefully. “I think, if they stumble across an actual witch, it’s just a bonus for them.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Professor Blake mused. “The question is, what is their ultimate goal?”
“I was hoping you might have some insight into that,” I said ruefully.
“All I’ve heard is gossip,” Professor Blake admitted.
“Well, sometimes gossip is true.”
“People are saying that Delta Omicron wants to take over the campus,” he said.
“To what end? It’s not like this is some little fiefdom or something.”
“No,” Professor Blake shook his head. “It is a supernatural stronghold, though.”
“How?”
Professor Blake chuckled dryly. “Look around, Zoe. It’s not a coincidence that all of these supernatural beings have found their way to this exact location.”
I had never really considered it before, but now that he mentioned it, that was rather odd. “So, why are they here?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? You must have a theory.”
“I have many theories, but none of them have any basis in fact.”
Well that was disheartening. “Still,” I pressed. “You must be able to rule some things out. I mean, maybe the school is built on an old Indian – I mean Native American – burial ground.”
“What?” Professor Blake looked completely flummoxed.
“Haven’t you seen Poltergeist? Whenever something bad or supernatural happens, an old burial ground usually comes into play.”
“The real world isn’t the same as television,” Professor Blake countered.
“That was a movie.”
He waved away my correction. “Whatever.”
“So, is it built on an old burial ground?”
“I don’t think so,” Professor Blake shook his head.
“You should check into it and make sure, though,” I suggested.
“I’ll do that.”
“How can you not know, though?” I asked. “That seems like a gross oversight on your part.”
“You don’t know either,” he shot back.
“I’m just a student. This is all new to me.”
“You really are tiresome.”
“You’re not the first person to tell me that.”
“I’ll bet.” Professor Blake rubbed the bridge of his nose. “So what else do you know?”
I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, pulled up the appropriate photo, and then handed it to Professor Blake. He took the phone cautiously and then studied the picture. “What exactly am I looking at here?”
“My roommate had it hidden under her bed.”
“That’s not really an explanation.”
“It’s my stuff. My bracelet. My notebook. My hair – and I’m still a little freaked out about how she got my hair. I don’t think I’m missing any and yet it still looks like my hair.”
Professor Blake frowned. “Your roommate has been collecting artifacts from your life? That can’t be good.”
“No. I didn’t think so either.”
“Have your roommates been acting hostile toward you?”
That was an understatement. “They’ve been hard to deal with.”
“Do you think they’re trying to hurt you?”
“I think that Jessica is trying to hurt me. I think she’s trying to use Matilda and Laura to do it.”
“And you think they’re susceptible to that sort of mind control?” Professor Blake didn’t look convinced.
/>
“It appears so.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?”
“I have no idea. Do you have any suggestions?”
“I suggest taking your stuff back,” he said. “Right away.”
“Why? What are they using it for? It’s for some sort of spell, isn’t it?”
“If I had to guess? Yes. The only reason they would be gathering your things is to try to take something from you.”
“Like what?” If he said my life, I was dropping out. I swear.
“I think they’re trying to take your power.”
“What power?”
Professor Blake smirked. “Even we don’t know the true source of your power yet. I don’t think you do either. Whatever it is, though, they want it.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because everyone on this campus wants it. That’s the only thing that everyone seems to agree on.”
Well, that wasn’t a comforting thought.
Thirty-One
After leaving Sam Blake’s office I was too keyed up to return to the dorms so I headed to Aric’s apartment.
Professor Blake had given me some things to think about, but the truth was he didn’t have the answers I needed. I wasn’t sure Aric had those answers either, but I figured he knew more than Blake did.
It was time to ask the big questions.
I let myself in Aric’s apartment, expecting to find him watching a game on television. His truck was parked outside, so I knew he was home.
The main door of the apartment opened into the living room, but Aric wasn’t sitting in his usual place on the couch. I glanced around curiously, figuring he was in the kitchen fixing a snack – or maybe in the bathroom – but both of those rooms were empty, too.
Maybe he was in the bedroom?
I moved toward the door but paused when I heard his voice. My heart dropped. Who was he talking to in his bedroom?
“I told you that wasn’t acceptable.”
Aric’s voice was fraught with anger. I waited to hear who would respond – because if it was a woman’s voice, I was going to kick some butt. If it was a man’s voice, I was going to freak out. Instead, I heard nothing.
“I don’t want to hear any excuses,” Aric exploded.
That’s when I realized he was talking on the phone. Relief washed over me. I wasn’t going to have to kick anyone’s ass today but his. I should have gone back to the living room to wait for him, but I did what any self-respecting woman in my position would do: I eavesdropped.
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