Page 14 of Virgin Sacrifice

The silky fabric hugged my body from my chest to my hips while the color popped against my warm skin and made my gold jewelry sparkle. The crucifix sat nestled between my breasts and the pure white of the dress was juxtaposed by the sexiness of the cut and the attitude of my chunky boots.

I loved it.

Lost in the moment, I bounded out to the hallway without a second thought, excited to get Autumn’s opinion on the final look.

Stepping out of my room, I was struck by how quiet the floor was for eight o’clock on a Saturday night. Scanning the corridor in front of me, nothing looked amiss, but a discomforting awareness slithered across my consciousness. I could feel the creeping sensation of someone’s eyes on me. The screech of aging hinges cut through the air, and I spun around to face the end of the hall in time to see someone in a hooded sweatshirt dash into the stairwell, the door slamming behind them.

A sensation of foreboding sank deep down into the pit of my stomach. The elevators and stairs all required a key card to access them. The only people who should be able to get onto the floor either lived here or worked for the school. Why would someone be lurking around and then run away like that?

Before I could worry more, the elevators pinged and a group of shrieking and dancing girls got off, the night’s pregaming festivities clearly underway already. As their chatter filled the hallway with noise, my heart rate settled down. Shrugging off the rest of my anxiety, I turned to head back to Autumn’s room to show her my outfit and finish getting ready.

I was being paranoid. Not everything that went bump in the night was a monster.

Chapter seven

Luz

“Some of the girls can be kind of bitchy,” Autumn explained as we trudged across the muddy campus, the ground still soggy from the rain the day before. “But they know how to throw a good party.”

She had dragged me to the other side of Hollow Oak, which bordered the town. A couple of girls she knew from prep school had rented a stately-looking house just off campus for the year.

As we made our way up the steps and into the house, I scanned the crowds, not really sure who I was looking for. It wasn’t like I had connected with anyone else besides Autumn. After my exchange with Dr. Blackwell, I found myself walking into all my classes with my shields up, wary of not just the professors but my fellow students as well. I still hadn’t forgotten the group that had lingered to enjoy my humiliation.

“Autumn!” A shrill voice pierced through the air, causing me to wince.

“Oh my God,” she shrieked in return, with equal enthusiasm but less ear-damaging shrillness. “It’s so good to see you . . . Hester . . . Jade,” she cooed as she exchanged air kisses with a pair of tall blondes who looked suspiciously like any one of a number of social media influencers—cookie-cutter perfection.

“We haven’t seen you all summer, now have we, Hester?” blonde number one whined.

“It’s like you’ve been hiding from us,” Hester echoed with more than a hint of accusation coloring her tone.

Autumn shifted on her feet as her cheeks flushed a telltale red. I didn’t know what was going on here, but these two had my maybe-friend on edge. I didn’t care for it.

Stepping in front of her to command the blondies’ attention, I offered a soft smile.

“Hi there, I am Luz. It’s so nice to meet Autumn’s friends.” I beamed at them, watching their eyes zero in on me in a predatory manner.

Vicious people so often mistook politeness for weakness.

Hester offered me a crocodile smile and leaned in closer to inspect me.

“Luz, is it?” She smirked. “How lovely to meet you.”

“Oh no, Hester,” Jade chimed in, stepping nearer and unabashedly looking me over. “I am certain we’ve met Luz before,” she said with a sickeningly sweet grin, drawing out the z in my name.

Autumn spoke up from behind me. “Oh, I don’t think you would have,” she said nervously, snaking around to grab my hand. “Luz is my floormate, she’s new,” she stumbled. “Like new to here, to the East Coast, new to the scene.” She tugged at my hand, attempting to pull me back into the crowd around us.

I held both myself and my smile firmly in place.

Kill them with kindness, as Mami would say.

“T-Texas!” Autumn stammered out loudly when I didn’t budge. “She’s from Texas originally, so you know, you probably don’t know her.”

“Don’t be silly, Autumn.” Hester prowled around us in a circle. “We know people from all over, don’t we, Jade?”

“And all walks of life.” Jade followed.

“Hmmm,” I murmured, tapping my finger against the corner of my lips as I pretended to think. We weren’t drawing a crowd yet, most people around us were too drunk to pay attention. But there were a couple of social vultures lurking around us, hanging on to every word. “I don’t know ladies, I’m just so sorry. I’m not really one to forget a face,” I said earnestly, shrugging my shoulders with another smile.

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