Page 148 of A University of Betrayal

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I paused, looked around to see if Emely had returned, tried to smell the scent of Senseque or her blood, but there was nothing. Just the cold night air and a dark corridor. But the feeling on the back of my neck that someone was watching me didn’t go away. It only subsided as I drove through the forest in my car toward the town center.

Chapter 29

Bayla

Studying was okay, but it became too monotonous if you didn't have a counterbalance.

Larissa hadn’t been in touch, neither had Julie, and Julian was on campus. I was pretty much alone here, and I was starting to need a change. I could read and write all day, but inside I was starting to get restless.

I felt extreme cravings for that sweet smell, like there was a dish somewhere in the house that my mum had baked, and I couldn’t find it. And the worst thing was that Mum smelled the strongest.

I rolled through bed and got up to take the book to the shelf... and immediately I was standing in front of the shelf.

A little stunned, I held on to it and tried to understand where this speed had come from. Had I just flown across the room? Something was wrong with me, and I wasn’t sure if it had something to do with the wolf inside me that wanted out. All I knew was that the herbal teas had helped. But the herbs had run out.

I nervously played with the blue crystal pendant on my necklace.

Actually, I was pretty much screwed. What if I turned here, in this house?

I realized how it started to work inside me at the mere thought, and I looked down at my arms.Black veins.

No, no, no, not now…

However, the rustling of curtains successfully distracted me, as it wasn’t coming from my room. It was coming from next door. The room where Julian and I had closed the window last time.

I was sure,reallysure, that Mum was gone. I’d heard her leave. A car had driven away, and she’d told me she had to see Amara again quickly. It was already midnight, but that didn’t matter. The Circle apparently had priority. And this wild smell had finally disappeared with her.

I wondered if she had baked cake for Amara and didn’t want me to eat it. Possible when it came to Mum.

But that still didn’t answer the question of where the noises from next door were coming from.

Wake Talks

Petri Alanko, Alan Wake

A strange rattling noise finally made me leave the room quietly and pause in front of the door to the next room. This time I wouldn’t wait. I yanked the door open.

As expected, it had been the curtains, which I had – strangely enough – heard all the way over to the other room, that were rustling in the wind. The room seemed deserted, empty. No one was here.

Goosebumps spread all over my body. First on my arms, then down my legs.

I quickly ran my fingers along the wall. I tried to switch on the light, but it wouldn’t come on. The light switch seemed to be broken.

At least I could see enough. It seemed as if the nights here had become brighter. Maybe because the endless storm clouds had temporarily disappeared?Strange island…

Alarmed, I walked across the room to the window and leaned out to see if anyone or anything was up to mischief. I had probably already become paranoid. Well, I wouldn’t be surprised.

It was dark outside. The last leaves of the oaks and ash trees were rubbing against each other, making a creepy crackling sound. The wind had picked up.

I quickly closed the window. Then I turned around and… slammed straight into something. Or rather, intosomeone.

I shrieked, but the person pressed a cold hand over my mouth in time so that no sound escaped.

“Be quiet,” a deep male voice murmured and pulled me away from the window. “And calm down.”

My heart raced.

A man. A tall man.

---