Page 3 of The Devils of Raven's Gate

I jump. “Jesus, where the fuck did you come from?”

The pretty but weird as fuck blonde girl from earlier smooths her hands over the purple and black lace of my largest suitcase. It’s almost as big as her. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. Professor Erebus always says I’m too light-footed for my own good.”

As I look closer at her, I notice her eyes are bright blue like a neon sign. But their intensity is masked by the dark circles under them. She looks like she hasn’t slept in days. Her skin is pale with just a slight tinge of pink dotting her cheekbones.

“Professor Erebus? I thought that asshole was a student.”

She purses her lips. “Valentin is a student. Julian, um Professor Erebus I mean, is his uncle.”

I slump down onto my middle-sized suitcase, using it as a makeshift chair, and whip out my class schedule. “Awesome. I have his Gothic Lit class first period and his nephew already hates me.”

She studies my face, looking at me as if I’m the most interesting thing she’s ever seen. “I think you can handle him.”

I snort. “You don’t know me.”

Her eyes widen, and she shoves her hand toward me. “How rude of me. I’m Jessamine. But you can call me Jess.”

I hesitate for a second before taking her hand and shaking it. “So proper, aren’t you? I’m Maureen… Blackwell.”

Jessamine’s eyes widen again. “Oh, you’re from Ever Graves?”

Fuck. I have to remind myself that I’m using a name that really doesn’t belong to me. “Um, no not exactly. My mother is from there originally. But I grew up in Wickford Hollow.”

She nods. “Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Maureen.” She grabs my key. “Follow me, I’ll show you where your room is. We’ll have to take the elevator. Looks like they put you on the top floor. You must be special.”

I cock my head to the side. “Not sure what that means but if you say so.” Fuck, I thought Wickford Hollow was strange. If I’m so special then maybe I’d have a room that wasn’t the farthest away from the front door. Guess I won’t be snoozing my alarm on Monday morning if it’s going to take me twenty minutes just to get down here.

After helping me load all my crap into the elevator, Jessamine and I squeeze in, and she hits the button for the seventh floor. “The ravens keep watch on the roof. Don’t feed them, though. Or they’ll always expect it.”

Is this chick for real? “Noted. Don’t feed the birds.” What in the actual fuck did I just sign up for?

“Don’t call them that,” she hisses. “They’ll hear you… The ravens are so much more than just birds.”

I’m starting to wonder if this girl even goes to school here. I might have just gotten into an enclosed space with a tiny deranged serial killer. My eyes dart to one of my smaller bags, remembering the knife Bailey tucked into it. “My bad,” I mumbled.

Jessamine unclenches her jaw and smiles. “It’s okay. You’re new here. But you’ll be one of us soon.”

I nod, unsure of what else to say that won’t elicit more of this bizarre rambling.

The doors open, revealing a lavish space, and my jaw drops. How can this be my room? I step inside to find myself in a small apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows, a sunken living room, and a small kitchen. I spin around in circles, taking it all in. “This must be a mistake. Are all the rooms like this?” I find it hard to believe that every dorm room has its own private elevator entrance.

Jessamine giggles. “No, silly. Only families of Ever Graves get these. Like I said, you’re special.”

My heart is literally pounding. Fuck. I don’t belong here. How long before the school realizes that the Blackwells cut my mom off twenty-five years ago? I should have just registered under Maureen Gray. I came here to blend in with the crowd, not be the center of it. This room is anything but subtle.

I walk to the window and draw back one of the black velvet curtains. Peering down at the headlights below, a wave of nausea takes hold of me. I shake my head, my palms sweating. “I’ll talk to them about this tomorrow. I can’t stay in this room.”

“Not up to your standards, Blackwell?” a girl’s voice calls from behind followed by the sound of heels clicking across the marble floor.

I turn around to see a tall blonde girl with thick pouty lips and eyes the color of sea glass. Her slinky black dress hugs her curves like a lover’s embrace, making me suddenly feel like I’m dressed in rags. “Who the fuck are you and where’s Jessamine?”

She scrunches her eyebrows together. “Jessa-who?”

I sigh. “The tiny fairy-looking girl who was helping me bring my stuff up? She was just here.”

She looks even more confused than I feel. “No idea what you’re talking about. I hope you aren’t always like this. Blackwell or not, I refuse to live with a weirdo.”

My stomach drops. “Oh. You’re my roommate… Sorry. I’m Maureen.”

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