Insidious(74)

“What the hell is going on around here? It’s like the freaking Twilight Zone,” she whispered. “Those two have been practically joined at the hip since freshman year. There’s gotta be something in the water, because everyone’s been arguing. Even Kevin and Angela broke up.”

“What are you lookin’ at, chief?” Bolton suddenly throttled a scrawny freshman against the lockers as the poor kid tried to discreetly slink past Trace.

I slammed my locker shut and prepared to move in to intervene, seeing Bolton ready to strike again. Reese swooped in though, grabbing hold of Bolton’s arm just as the jock started driving it toward the freshman. He redirected its target, sending Trace’s fist right into the locker beside the kid’s head. The freshman yelped at the near impact and took off down the hall like a rocket as Trace whirled around.

“You got a problem there, freak?” barked the jock, unfazed by the devastating blow as he yanked his knuckles out of the now-dented locker face.

“Holy crap,” blurted Carly.

Trace took another swing, this time directed at Reese’s face. It came as no surprise that the magician quickly deflected it, quickly grabbing hold of the extended arm. He forced it just enough in an unnatural angle that it threatened to break, but he thankfully didn’t apply further pressure.

Reese focused his eyes on the jock as he stepped right in front of him, pushing him up against the dented locker. “How about you run off to the weightlifting room, work your hostility off on an actual punching bag, aye?”

Trace’s face fell neutral, his frame slackening. “Whatever.”

Reese released his hold, and Trace shoved past, purposely knocking shoulders with the magician to throw him off balance. Reese didn’t budge.

“Damn, talk about a knight in shining armor,” sighed Carly as Reese returned to my side. Was that…admiration I saw? “That kid’s face would’ve been a crater if you hadn’t stepped in.”

“Someone was bound to intervene. I just got there first.” He casually shrugged, pulling his hat off to run a hand through his hair. I’d come to learn that was his telltale sign. Anytime he was either anxious or lying, he instinctively had to touch his hair.

The moment the incident started, everyone, including Trace’s own friends, backed off. There was no way anyone else was going to come to that kid’s rescue, and he knew it. A new knot formed in my stomach as I parted ways with the pair. I made my way upstairs to head to my next class, only to find Adam already waiting there for me.

Before I even approached, he pushed off the lockers and nodded over to the adjacent hallway.

“I take it you heard the news,” I muttered dryly, following after him.

“Yeah, and it gets worse,” he said lowly, handing over his phone.

He wasn’t kidding.



***



I found Reese sitting on top of a cafeteria table as I followed in the procession of students flocking towards the gym. Principal Harris had ordered a mandatory assembly, in which the Sheriff was set to speak. Considering word of mouth, I figured Blackburn was invisible to the rest of our classmates. Everyone walked right past him without a blink of an eye, all the while speculating further on Ava’s earlier assessment. Yep, Reese was now Prime Suspect Number One in the court of public opinion.

“We’ve got another problem,” I whispered, pulling him clean off the tabletop. “Another girl, asides from Casey, was killed last night. A jogger came across her earlier this morning. In the woods, drained of blood. And it gets worse.”

“Of course it does,” he groaned, ruffling a hand through his hair. “What now? Is a hundred foot marshmallow man attacking the city?”

“The girl was one of the cheerleaders that vanished from the Hersey bus. Felicia Coldwater. Whoever did this kept her for over two weeks before they decided to kill her.”

“Hellhound?” he suggested. “Maybe another Reaper found her-”

I shook my head. “Her throat was slit, and there weren’t any stab wounds to her heart. They already got the coroner’s initial report. She wasn’t branded.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Your run-of-the-mill demon only goes after humans to possess them, and a Hellhound would have ripped her apart to make it look like an animal attack.”

“The kicker: there were occult symbols found on site.”

His eyes narrowed. “Where did you hear all this?”

“Adam.” I handed over my phone, showing him an image from the crime scene. “That’s the girl from my vision.”

Reese’s eyes widened all the more. “You sure?”