My Tethered Soul: Volume 2 (Reaper's Rite) (12 page)

I tiptoed to peck him quickly on the cheek, and then wriggled my way through the dancing couples to the hallway. Gym lights dimly lit the lockers lining the hall, but otherwise the area was dark. I quickly found the girls’ bathroom and pushed the door open, glad that the school staff was considerate enough to keep this light on.

“Naomi?”

A girl fixing her makeup looked up at me for a second, then went back to applying lip gloss. I bent down to peek under the stall doors, but didn’t see any feet. Maybe she ran into someone and had to stop and chat. I was sure she would be along soon, so I checked my hair.

Lip Gloss Girl tucked her things back in her clutch purse and hurried out of the bathroom. I tucked a stray hair back in place, humming the song that Gavin and I had danced to. Like a soft breeze, a whisper caught my ear.

“Hello?” I turned toward the stalls. Had I missed someone’s feet? I bent down, but saw nothing. “Is… someone in here?”

I took a few steps forward, the sound of my heels on the tile floor echoing in my ears. I was probably just imagining the whisper. After all, I’d just gone from the loud gym to the quiet bathroom. My ears were simply adjusting to the noise variance. Weren’t they?

But I had to check. I couldn’t let it go. Rubbing my sweaty hands on my dress, I licked my lips, trying to muster up some moisture in my otherwise dry mouth. Holding my breath, I put my hand on the first stall door.

“Hello?” I called once more, just to be sure. It wouldn’t be out of the question that a student had passed out drunk in there after indulging in too much spiked punch. At least, that’s what I was trying to convince myself.

When no one answered, I shoved at the stall door. It banged against the inside wall and ricocheted back at me. But the stall was empty. I peered at the remaining stall doors: there were four more. Swallowing back the grit in my throat, I went to the next door. Was I really doing this? There had to be an easier, quicker way.

Of course there was.

I took two steps back and concentrated on the remaining doors. Focusing on the air in the room—as stale as it was—I pushed my energy toward the doors, willing the air to drive them open. My body buzzed with magic, and suddenly a wind swept through the space. All doors flew open at once. I let out a breath when I saw that all the stalls were empty.

Just then, the bathroom door opened. Laughing to themselves, Naomi and Mara walked in.

My hand slammed onto my heart. “You scared the crap out of me.”

“Well, you’re in the right place for it.” Naomi said.

“Is something wrong?” Mara looked around as if checking for other people. Or something else that might be lurking about.

I shook my head. “I thought I heard—”

Suddenly, it sounded like the building groaned.

Our eyes widened and Mara reached for my hand. Without saying a word, we all ran into the hall. Another low rumble filled the darkness.

“Thunder?” Naomi’s brow creased.

Mara peered into the dark recesses of the hall. “I don’t think so.”

Naomi’s hand found my arm. “Remind me again why we’re friends?”

The gym was to our right. From what I could see, nothing seemed abnormal. The music was loud and people were dancing. It was feasible none of the students in the gym had heard the noise.

Danny and Gavin emerged through the doors and headed our way. At first, Gavin smiled at me. But after looking at my face a moment longer, his expression changed.

His footsteps quickened. “What is it?”

Before I could answer, the groaning sound filled the hall again.

Danny swiveled his head back and forth, searching for the source of the sound. “What was that?”

Gavin slapped him on the back, donning a relaxed expression. “I’m sure it was just the school pipes. Why don’t you go ask the DJ to play that song you were telling me about? We’ll be right in.”

Danny ran a hand over his short-cropped hair. “Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to get rid of me?”

“We’re not.” Naomi’s eyes flitted between Danny and me. She was trying to act casual, but she wasn’t fooling anyone.

A creaking noise echoed through the hall, like someone slowly pulling open a squeaky door. Then a
thump
. All at once, something appeared on the floor, coming out of the darkness. It looked like it was floating. Then I realized what it was. Fog rolled down the hallway like a thick carpet, swift and quiet. It snaked around our shoes, slipping over my feet like icy fingers, then dissipated. This time, the groan sounded closer.

Danny, staring at the floor, grabbed Naomi’s arm. “What the hell is going on?”

Heavy footsteps made us turn toward the gym doors. Chase and Hunter ran up to us, concern on their faces.

“What are we staring at?” Hunter asked Mara, whose eyes were still peering into the darkness.

“Not sure. But whatever it is, it isn’t good.”

Hunter’s hand came down hard on Chase’s shoulder. “We better check it out.”

“Is somebody going to tell me what’s going on here?” Danny asked.

Hunter pulled a slim flashlight out of his blazer and aimed it down the hall. It was hard to tell, but I could have sworn I saw movement at the far end where the corridor split. The guttural growl vibrated through the hall. But this time, it was followed by a whisper. Was that my name?

I swallowed back the lump in my throat. The expressions on everyone else’s faces told me I wasn’t the only one to hear the voice.

Danny clutched his chest. “Holy crap, what was that?”

The rest of us looked at each other. I bit my lip.

“Well, Danny,” Chase said, “it’s a long story.”

“Let’s go,” Hunter said, marching forward.

The hallway looked infinitely long. We followed Hunter’s beam of light, senses on high alert. Gavin pulled me closer to him, and I could hear his heavy breathing. Between sections of lockers stood closed classroom doors, and I held my breath as we passed each one, keeping my eyes peeled for movement behind the dark windows.

We reached where the corridor split, Hunter swinging his flashlight left and right.

“Hunter,” Chase said.

Hunter aimed his light at Chase, who pointed to the floor. The beam of light then hit another patch of fog, which winded around our ankles. I shivered as the cold mist brushed against my skin. This time it didn’t disappear. Without saying a word, Hunter made off toward the source of the fog.

“Danny,” Gavin said, “maybe you should go wait for us in the gym.”

“No way in hell, man.”

Once again, we followed Hunter. I felt Mara’s hand slip around my arm, and I knew what she was thinking. We were getting closer, and we had to prepare ourselves. Though it had been a long time, I had faced a Reaper before. I knew what I had to do, even if it scared me to death to have to face it. Especially with no weapons at my disposal. But Mara hadn’t ever battled this force before. Not since figuring out how to use her powers, anyway. She had to be at least as terrified as I was.

Hunter’s beam caught a swift shadow moving across the wall. It was there one second, gone the next. We froze in place and waited.

“What?” Naomi asked. “Why did we stop?”

“Shadow,” I whispered.

“I didn’t see anything,” Naomi whispered back.

“It’s fast,” Chase said.

Hunter slowly let the flashlight move from one side of the hall to the other. With a rumbling moan, the shadow flew from the floor to the ceiling. But once Hunter caught up with the light, the shadow had vanished again.

“Dammit.” Hunter’s voice was almost as low as the Reaper’s growl.

“What?” Danny moved between Gavin and me. “What did you see?”

“You didn’t see that?” Gavin asked.

“I saw nothing,” Danny said.

“Me either,” Naomi added.

Hunter didn’t turn toward us, but kept searching the walls, the fog-covered floor, and ceiling with the flashlight. “They’re unlikely to see it. They’re Regulars.”

“What did he call us?” Naomi asked Danny.

Chase spoke next. “That’s what he calls non-magical people.”

“Non what now?” Danny’s voice had amplified.

We didn’t have a chance to explain; the shadow swept by again, rattling the lockers beside us. The seven of us scrambled back against the opposite wall of lockers, kicking up swirls of icy mist. Hunter’s light waved left and right until it landed on a face.

“Whoa, somebody’s having a little too much fun with a fog machine.” Kelly stood fifteen feet away from us, one palm up to block the flashlight beam.

“Kelly, what are you doing here?” I couldn’t keep the panic out of my voice.

“Could you lower the light, you bunch of geeks?” She squinted through her fingers.

As she stood there waiting for us to respond, the shadow slowly rose behind her. The dark form of arms stretched out from the silhouette of a tattered cloak, reaching for Kelly.
Oh God, no.
As much as I disliked Kelly, I wasn’t about to let her get ambushed by a Reaper. My hands clenched, and I readied myself to use my magic. The problem was, I wasn’t sure what to do.

“Kelly, just get the hell out of here.” I made my voice as harsh as I could manage.

“Screw you, freak!”

The shadow moved closer. The silhouette of a scythe formed, looming over Kelly.

“Really, Kelly?” Mara yelled. “What are you going to do? There are seven of us.”

I wasn’t sure if Kelly could hear the panic in Mara’s voice. For her sake, I hoped she would simply realize she was outnumbered and walk away graciously. She had a much bigger problem to deal with than our little gang if she didn’t.

But Kelly was stubborn. She crossed her arms, to hell with Hunter’s flashlight, and stood her ground. The shadow of a long skeletal hand appeared, its boney fingers stretching toward Kelly’s throat.

Something shiny caught my eye. There was a drinking water fountain on the wall not too far from Kelly. I suddenly knew what to do to get her out of there. My fingers tingled and my blood warmed. With a loud
chink
, the spout of the fountain popped off. A continuous stream of water shot out toward Kelly, drenching her and her formerly beautiful prom dress. She shrieked, arms flailing, and ran down the hall, cursing. I almost let out a sigh of relief, but the shadow growled again.

“What do we do?” Mara asked, her words practically running together. “We’ve got to get it out of the school.”

“I wish I had my crossbow,” I mumbled.

Mara’s voice was small, but she began reciting the spell Lilura taught us.

“Oh spirits of good, heed this plea,

Let demons touch not mine nor me.”

I joined in, the two of us getting louder as we went. The Reaper howled, shaking the lockers on either side of us, but we continued. Mara reached for me, her fingers entwining with mine. My bones buzzed and my skin grew hot. It was as if an electric current was forming in the core of me.

Then something happened that I’d never experienced: a white light emanated from my fingertips. Looking closer, I realized it wasn’t just my fingertips, but Mara’s too. We kept chanting, but we raised our joined hands, staring at the brilliant white light we held together. It was like a small glowing ball with tiny zigzagging veins of electricity zipping along the surface. The louder our chanting got, the bigger the ball became. It grew to about the size of a softball. I wasn’t sure what it was, but something told me to throw it. At the Reaper. Mara must have felt the same instinct, because she raised her hand up with mine. The glowing ball lit up our faces. We nodded at each other, and then we pitched it.

It whipped through the air at incredible speed, whistling as it raced toward the Reaper. It was fast, but the Reaper was faster.

“Whatever that was, do it again,” Chase said.

Without skipping a beat of the spell, Mara and I locked fingers again, willing them to light up. My heart sped up as the white fire appeared once more. It grew faster this time. I searched the wall for the Reaper.

“There!” Hunter shouted.

Mara and I aimed. The ball of energy rocketed toward the Reaper’s shadow. He moved, but the ball of light caught the silhouette of his hand and burst as it hit the wall. It was the hand holding the scythe, which the Reaper must have let go of when the ball hit. His weapon, at first only a shadow, emerged from the wall. The rusty silver blade appeared and dropped to the floor.

The Reaper screamed, the howl like an explosion in my ears. He swiftly circled us once, wind blowing wildly in the hall, and then fled from our sights. The fog quickly cleared out, as if sucked away by a vacuum. We all stood in silence for a moment until every last bit of mist was gone.

“Whoa,” Naomi said. “Wonder Twin powers activate.”

Gavin wrapped me in his arms. “Are you okay?”

I nodded against his shoulder.

Danny, who was hyperventilating, pushed closer to us. “I don’t know what the hell just happened, but I don’t think I want to hang out here anymore.”

Hunter approached the scythe, bending down as if considering touching it.

“Is it really there?” Chase asked.

“It’s here.” Hunter picked the scythe up, examining it. “We’ll take it to Lilura.”

“Zadie, is it gone? Please tell me it’s gone.” Naomi whispered.

My eyes searched the dark surroundings, but nothing moved. “I think so. For now, anyway.”

A skinny woman with big hair answered the door. Her nametag read “Candice.” I recognized her from her Realtor picture on the
For Sale
sign in front of the house. Strong perfume wafted out and smacked me hard on the nose.

“Are you here to see the house?”

I glanced at Gavin. He gave me a subtle nod.

“Yeah.”

Candice scrutinized the six of us, clearing her throat. “I’m sorry. I’m not allowed to let kids go in unsupervised.”

“Kids?” Hunter scoffed.

Mara stepped forward and linked arms with me. “Our dad is coming. He’s just running late. He’s really interested in the house.”

“You’re not going to make us wait outside in the rain, are you?” Naomi whined.

“No.” Candice patted her rock-hard coif. “Well, I guess it’d be okay. But don’t touch anything, and come find me in the kitchen as soon as your father shows up.”