The pendant didn't come back.
I searched for it every morning.
Nothing.
Eventually, I stopped.
That was becoming my strategy for everything lately.
If I couldn't explain something, I ignored it.
It wasn't healthy.
It was effective.
Mostly.
By Monday, life had returned to normal.
Ethan was back at school.
He remembered missing Friday, although he still couldn't explain why.
Maya had decided not to mention it anymore.
And I had successfully avoided the northern forest for three whole days.
Things were getting better.
Until I found the door.
---
Blackwood Academy had an old east wing.
Nobody used it anymore.
The building had been closed after part of the roof was damaged years ago.
We were told not to go there.
Naturally, students went there all the time.
But I'd never b
