Page 234 of Sigils & Spells

“Just bring the clothing, please.” Ravyn hesitated. “Did you and Gabe…?”

“Did we what?”

“I heard your wailing.”

Silence once more, and then, “Did Daniel?”

“The entire cafeteria heard it. Probably the whole campus.”

Aoibhe sighed. “It wasn’t triggered by sex, if that’s what you’re thinking. We…kissed. Nothing more.”

When she didn’t say anything else, Ravyn didn’t pry. Now was definitely not the time. Daniel was hurting, and with what she witnessed in Sleepy Hollow, he deserved to know…something. His life was in danger because of her. His mother had died, predicted by not one, but two death omens.

“I’ll be there shortly.”

When the call ended, Ravyn pulled up the internet browser and typed in, “What is a group of moths called?”

The search result at the top answered her without needing to open a link.

An eclipse.A group of moths was an eclipse.

“I choose this figure because most cannot look upon my true one. Moths are drawn to me…”Mothman had said. Had he eclipsed himself in darkness, in moths?

But aren’t moths drawn to light?

A knock sounded on the door. Aoibhe had been quick. “It’s unlocked!”

Her friend opened the door enough to peep in, saw the coast was clear, and came in with a duffle bag she placed on the bed. “Where are your clothes from last night?” Bafflement rang clear in her tone.

Ravyn sighed. “Either in the cafeteria bathroom or the dean has them.”

Aoibhe’s jaw dropped open. “You shifted?”

“After hearing your banshee cry. Yep.”

“I need to sit down. I’ll be in the hall waiting for Gabe while you dress.”

Ravyn had never dressed quicker in her life. She opened the door as Daniel was coming down the hall, eyeing Gabe warily. “Why are they here?” he asked as she moved out of his way for him to enter. When Aoibhe and Gabe came in after him, she shut the door.

“Sorry for your loss,” Aoibhe said suddenly, not doing anything to ease the tension.

Gabe grunted in what Ravyn could only assume was meant to be the same sentiment.

“Thanks,” Daniel said, blinking fast and turning away. Discomfort and upset was so palpable in the room, even she began to squirm.

“I think we should all sit down for this,” Ravyn suggested, guiding Daniel to his bed and sitting next to him. She kept her hand on his lower back, hoping her touch soothed him in some way. Aoibhe sat on the end of the opposite bed. Gabe, shrugging, pulled his hoodie lower over his eyes and sat backward in one of the desk chairs, leaning his arms over the back and his chin on top of it.

“Okay,” Ravyn said, and took a deep breath. Confession time. She hoped Daniel didn’t react too badly. “Something happened last night, but before I can tell you all of that, I have to confess something.” She turned to face Daniel, hating how miserable he looked. This was not the conversation he should sit through right now, yet the longer she waited to tell him, the more it would hurt him when he figured it all out. He was already enmeshed in this, and he would find out about her on his own eventually. His discovery of her seemed inevitable.

First step to breaking generational curses: doing the opposite of what I am expected.Hopefully it didn’t backfire. “The three of us, are…well. We’re death omens. Like the ones we study in class.”

He stared at her, unblinking, and then his eyes narrowed. “That is not funny.”

“It isn’t funny, Daniel. You’re right. It’s serious. This is absolutely serious.” She looked at the other two. Gabe looked bored, Aoibhe’s expression unreadable. “After Aoibhe’s wails last night, I shifted for the first time. I had to go to the bathroom so no one would see. I left through the window.” She’d leave the part about the dean out for now. “I turn into a crow. A harbinger.”

“I’m a banshee,” Aoibhe chimed in, doing her part to try to soothe the clear ire rising in Daniel’s reddening cheeks.

“And you?” Daniel turned to Gabe. “You’re in on this shit, too?”

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