Page 216 of Sigils & Spells

Another car passed them, and dread ate at her gut as she watched it in the mirror. Were they slowing down? Brake lights lit the dark with flares of red. She shut her eyes and inhaled. She couldn’t help everyone, and even if she kept Daniel safe from other supernatural beings, she was the one that he was truly in danger of.

Was she the reason this one had appeared on the road tonight?

“Please, humor me on this,” she said, not wanting to think too hard on what her mind wanted to imply. “That car is stopping. You don’t need to come back tonight.”Or ever.It was too dangerous. She’d always wondered if there were other beings like her family out there, and had heard stories, but now she knew the answer was a resounding yes.

He drove in silence for some time, finally speaking as he entered the dorm parking lot. “I…” The statement didn’t get finished. When he parked, he killed the ignition and turned toward her, awaiting an answer she wasn’t sure she could give.

“That woman was not alive,” she said softly. “As crazy as it sounds, you have to believe me.”

“I want to, but…”

She sighed, looking back out the window, clutching her fingers together in her lap tightly. How would he ever understand that her attraction to him caused him danger? “I just want to go to my dorm.”

“I’ll walk you—”

“You don’t have to.”

“But I will.”

They didn’t speak again until they made it to the door of her dorm room. Daniel looked as though he wanted to say something, yet found himself at a loss for words. She understood that notion entirely. What had started as a wonderful date with promises of joy and affection had ended in anything but. When sirens filled the air as emergency vehicles raced toward some disaster off campus, the confusion that had gripped him for the past twenty minutes turned into fear. His color faded as he took on an ashen complexion. Something bad had happened to the driver of the car that had stopped, and they both knew it.

For the first time since she’d come to Kasper Island, Ravyn realized what her mother had been afraid of all along. If death came for those she cared for, she would never cease feeling responsible.

And she was not the only harbinger of death on this island.

CHAPTER6

Classes were cancelledMonday and Tuesday due to the unexpected passing of a student. Chad Richardson. He had enrolled for his final semester for his undergrad degree in biology. Had planned to be a teacher.

And now he was dead.

Freak accident, authorities called it. Campus security assumed Chad had been driving under the influence. The autopsy, Ravyn wagered, would tell a different story. Whether or not it would be publicized remained a matter of doubt. If she knew one thing about the nature of humans, they loved a scapegoat. Why make students and parents believe the roads were unsafe—or haunted, for that matter—when drunk driving not only caused panic, but furthered the message for students not to imbibe, especially if they were getting behind the wheel?

Other than a brief text to check if Ravyn was okay after the alert went out that a student had died and classes were cancelled, Daniel hadn’t tried to contact her at all. She stared at the open door to the classroom and braced herself. Would he be able to look at her today? Had she ruined everything?

Perhaps it had been for the best, since she was growing too fond of him so quickly.

You could always go home, Ravyn.

She shook her head and entered the classroom. Aoibhe was already seated, having left early to drop off letters at the campus post office. Her family had insisted on handwritten letters, apparently. Ravyn found it sort of sweet. What wasn’t sweet was the fact that Daniel had not yet made it to class, and now she would have to continue dreading their inevitable encounter.

That was, of course, if he hadn’t withdrawn from the class, or the school, or the state and ran as far away from her as possible.

Ravyn slumped into her chair and laid her face into her hands and groaned as quietly as she could. Why was she beingsooooooodramatic?Seriously!

“What’s the matter with you?” Aoibhe whispered. “You’ve been weird and avoidant since your date, and I’ve tried to be polite about it, but you’re killing me over here.”

Ravyn didn’t even bother to look up from her palms. Hopefully she wasn’t utterly destroying her makeup. Actually, who cared if she did? Easier to keep potential lovers away when she looked crazier than a loon. “I’ll tell you tonight. I promise. Just let me wallow one more day, please.”

“Why are you wallowing?”

She slumped her arms to the desk in front of her and dropped her head on top of them. Daniel had heard her. Of course he did. Now she’d have to answer to the both of them. “Because I’m a freak and you don’t like me anymore.”

A few chuckles from the row behind them made her want to melt into the floor. Great, now their classmates were eavesdropping.Ugh.

“Okay, now you’re being silly. Of course I like you.” He sat down. “Things got awkward and then really real, ya know? I am not sure I believe what you said, but I can’t stop thinking about it now.”

She looked up at him, trying to formulate a response, but someone else chimed in from the back of the room. “No one wants to hear about your extracurricular activities. Be freaks behind closed doors, but keep private conversations private.”

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