Chapter 5
1018 Words
I followed him out the double doors of the Gathering Room, close but not too close, and slipped my hand into my pocket. My fingertips brushed the dead man's hand, its skin like rubber. It was closed in a loose fist. When it decided to open - something I couldn't make it do - I would grab hold, and it would lead me into the darkness its owner had once inhabited. This was also known as shadow-walking or literally becoming a shadow. Because the hand belonged to an actual murderer, this was really, really dark magic.
His friends parted ways in the middle of the entryway, the guys to one set of stairs and the girls to the other. I climbed up behind the girls, keeping my gaze locked on Ramsey on the other side and matching his steps like the perfect shadow.
"Every year we come back, he gets hotter and hotter," one of the girls with bright red curls in front of me said.
Another groaned. "He's the only good thing about coming back."
The door to the second floor opened, which must've caused a massive slow-down in our ascent because I smashed face first into the rear of the redhead in front of me. I bounced back a step hard enough for the hood on my cloak to fall back. Had he seen? Did he recognize me now? I skated my gaze across the entryway toward him, but he was already climbing toward the third floor, completely oblivious.
Maybe I should've been paying more attention to the rage pummeling the air right in front of me. The redhead I'd run into had already whirled around, her fists clenched at her sides.
"And every year, the freshmen get more and more s**t between their ears," she spat. "You have eyes, necromancer. Use them."
The old me would have apologized profusely, throwing smiles and light around for forgiveness, but the new me had nothing to be sorry for.
I stared up at her towering over me, attempting to make my expression as cold and fathomless as possible. "And you have girth, necromancer. Lose it." It was a terrible thing to say, especially since she was gorgeous because of her curves and despite the ugly scowl marring her flawless, almost translucent-looking face. Even I knew never to say that to someone, but I couldn't snatch it back. Still, my stomach bottomed out as heat crept into my cheeks.
Her nostrils flared, and she took a step closer, and I had the sudden image of me flying off this staircase. "What did you say?" Her tone was as deadly as a snake's hiss.
I lowered my voice and tried to placate her spiked nerves so she didn't kill me. "I ran into you because you stopped suddenly, not because I was trying to. I just want to get to my room."
She raked her gaze down my front with a disgusted sneer and then spun around. When she marched past the second-floor door, she turned to give me one more death glare. "Freshman freak."
Yeah, good thing I wasn't here to make friends because it seemed like I'd forgotten how to. I used to have many. A pang speared through my heart at the memory of Lisa, my best friend, whom I'd completely shunned to seek revenge. She knew about Leo's death, had tried to contact me afterward, but...I wasn't the same person. I didn't even know if I could be around someone who radiated sunlight and positive energy without withering like molded fruit. I missed her though. I sometimes even missed myself.
Shaking my head to rattle those thoughts away, I strode toward 2B and found my class schedule on a roll of parchment tied with a black ribbon outside my door. After unrolling it, I groaned inwardly.
Dawn Cleohold's Monday through Friday Schedule:
Breakfast 7:00, The Gathering Room
Death, Dying, and Reliving: A History of Cautionary Tales 8:00 9:30, Room 210
Symbology 9:30 11:00, Room 111
Psycho-Physical Education 11:00 12:00, Gym
Lunch 12:00 1:00, The Gathering Room
Divination 1:00 2:00, Room 104
Undead Botany 2:00 3:00, Green Floor
Latin 101 3:00 5:00, Room 133
Dinner 6:00, The Gathering Room
All those classes five days a week... That would cut into my Ramsey-shadowing time, yet if I didn't go, I would draw attention to myself. That was something I didn't need, so I'd have to blend in and stalk him in my spare time. Between classes, the weekends...past the dark hour every night until it was done. Smiling, I touched my pocket to seek the dead man's hand for comfort. I wouldn't get caught.
As soon as I stepped inside my room, an immediate buzzing voice overshadowed all thought. My new roommate leapt at me and did a little twirl in the middle of the room, already talking several miles per minute. Her skin was a luminous ebony color, and she didn't have a trace of hair on her head. Not like she needed it. She was stunning without it, in part because of the delicate swirls tattooed in white and red all over her face and scalp that sort of resembled a skull.
She wore silver bracelets and rings and large hoop earrings that jiggled every time her jaw flapped. Her dress was unlike anything I'd ever seen, made from several different kinds and colors of fabrics sewn together in long, fluttery pieces that made her look like she was constantly moving. Which she was. Then she finally stopped and looked at me with expressive brown eyes framed by gorgeous lashes.
"Eh, hello?" she said.
I blinked. "What?"
She threw back her head and laughed, a belly-shaking one that brought tears to her eyes. I found myself smiling in spite of myself. Her huge grin reminded me a lot of Lisa. Her bright energy reminded me a lot of me. The old me, when every day was new and fresh so long as I had my older brother hero close by.
- Writer
