Page 166 of Home to the Hollow

“No,” she murmurs. Her eyes are on the side of the road as she continues. “And before you ask, no bullies like high school, either.”

What happened to our girl on campus that is bad enough for her to avoid the topic completely?

A low growl comes from the driver’s seat and I watch as Teddy grips and re-grips the wheel in irritation. “Then we’ll get what we need and get out. I don’t cotton to the idea of you wandering around alone if this place upsets you. Hell, I don’t even remember seeing you while we were here, come to think of it.”

“I worked hard to be invisible after the debacle at home. You nor any of the others who were part of it would have ever seen me. I made certain I was safe by bribing a work-study student in the admission office.”

Her admission shuts everyone up but big mouth Doyle and that earns him a hard elbow from Prez. I sigh as our girl turns her attention back to the scenery flying by, retreating into her mind as we get closer to the place she seems to dread above all others.

Hopefully, we can find whatever we need quickly and get her away from memories that take away her sparkle.

* * *

Teddy refusedto let Sugarplum run around by herself at first. I could see the two of them squaring off, egging on by Doyle as they argued whether she’d be safe when we split up. Prez and I watched for a bit before I finally suggested we send half of her companions with her to help protect her. She finally gave in, heading for the English department her parents once worked in. That left Hyde, Eurayle, and Hecate with us, so we each took a companion while Haggerty just wandered off on his own. He didn’t seem a bit concerned about it, and I can’t help wondering exactly what his lineage and skill set are.

At least with Teddy and Prez, I know what they can do if there’s trouble.

I volunteered to hit the dorms and Prez offered to snoop around the graduate schools while Teddy cruised the admin offices. I’m slightly concerned that Doyle is going to the science building—there arefartoo many things that explode in that area for my comfort—but if I’d switched with him, who knows what trouble he’d get into at student housing?

I shudder to think.

The trip across the quad is uneventful even with Hyde in tow, and it occurs to me that we’ve come during Spring Break. After college, you don’t tend to pay attention to those kinds of timelines unless you have kids, so none of us gave a second thought to just popping up here to check out the lead. It’s going to make all of our inquiries a little more difficult, but if this place is like it was a few years ago, we’ll find a few professors, grad students, and students who weren’t able to travel or go home for the week.

As I approach the main entrance to the apartment style dormitory buildings, a sense of nostalgia hits me and I chuckle to myself. I haven’t been away from herethatlong, but it feels like a lifetime ago.

“Mrrrp?”

Chuckling, I shake my head. “No, I don’t think I’d like to come back. Sometimes, we look back on things and see them how we wish they were, not how they actuallywere.”

Hyde bobs her head, following me as I decide where I want to go next.

The dorms at State U have always been luxurious. Despite being an in-state school, it’s a destination university for supes and all of the facilities were built and upgraded over the years through generous donations by wealthy supe families. Seven large, multi-level buildings form a circle around a lush outdoor common area designed to give students space to hang out or throw events. There’s even a pool with its own cabanas and several courts for everything from tennis to basketball.

Only the best for the most elite children of extranormals around the world.

I pick Thorn Hall first because it’s where the students from farthest away are usually housed. Ironically, it’s Jackson’s family’s dorm, and though I highly doubt someone in it is our stalker, I have to do my due diligence in all seven buildings. Luckily, the front desk staff is absent so they can’t make a stink about the serval. I head for the elevator and push the button for the basement level, waiting for her to join me.

If it’s like the dorm I stayed in while I was here—Santorini Hall—it should have study rooms, a small cafe, and a library. That means computers, and I’ll be able to use Eli’sSnitchapp to see if any of the school computers were used to send the messages we’re tracing. The bell dings and we step off, pausing while I look at the sign on the wall for directions.

I’ll be a son of a bitch; this has completely different facilities than my dorm.

Thorn Hall’s basement lists a law library, a squash court, an indoor golf range, a gym, and a goddamned dry cleaner. The hours of operation for all of the different areas are listed, and I blink as I take it in. Being a veterinary student, I spent most of my time in class or studying, so I didn’t venture out to the other parts of campus that weren’t necessary. It never occurred to me that each of the dorms was specially designed to cater to the needs of the type of student housed there.

Shaking my head, I gesture in the direction of the law library, but Hyde plops herself on a couch by the sign. I guess she's on the lookout now. I can breeze past the other amenities after I hit the more likely place where a wireless device might be lurking.

The heavy oak doors of the library aren’t locked—thank fuck—but the room isfarfrom empty. There are law students crammed into booths and corners all over, poring over heavy tomes as they take notes on tablets. None of them even look up as I saunter by with my phone, scanning for the device ID or IP Jackson identified. By the time I reach the small bank of computers in the back, I’m already getting tired of the cheekywomp wompsound it makes when it clears another suspect.

Tech geeks think they’re hysterical.

The bank of computers turns out to be a bust, and I heft a sigh of impatience as I make my way back to the entrance. None of the tired, scraggly looking students have even looked up, and I thank the stars I never wanted to be a law student. It seems like a dreary profession full of people who look like they wish they were dead. After I escape that den of misery, Hyde and I do a quick sweep of the other areas, but nothing pops up on the detector app.

I’m starting to wonder if this entire trip will be for nothing, to be honest.

We’ll never know if I don’t get a move on, so we trudge onto the elevator, stopping at each floor until we reach the top. There’s no sign of the device or IP anywhere in this building, and I have six more to go.

“Mrow?” Hyde asks as we leave Thorn Hall and head for Theopoulos Commune.

“I don’t know, girl. It seems like a leap that our target will be lurking in the arts dorm, but since we have to go to the business, agriculture, science, humanities, and athletic ones as well…”

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