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  She followed the signs to Union Court, BU’s food hall, which turned out to be an enormous space containing ten or twelve well-known franchises as well as a few unfamiliar ones. There was a Panda Express (yeah, they wouldn’t be getting too much business from her), Starbucks of course, a salad place named Loose Leaf’s as well as some others. It was kind of hard to make much out, packed to the brim as it was. All the students in the world were here it seemed.

  Her eyes searched the crowd for familiar faces, wondering if she’d actually find them when she saw the girls waiting for her by the entrance. Back in Goth gear, Eve was the easiest to spot. Even from a distance, Marley could see that her face was hidden away again under the heavy layers of makeup she liked to wear. Although it wasn’t her place to say anything, she found it a shame as Eve was a naturally pretty girl. What had happened that made her feel she had to hide her real face away?

  She saw Cassie next but noticed with a shock that she wore an almost identical outfit to hers. Why would she change out of her designer jumpsuit to wear a more ordinary outfit? If it was first-day impact she had wanted, which Marley assumed was the case since she had taken so damn long in the bathroom, she would have gotten it with the jumpsuit. It was with some relief that Marley saw Tyler looking pretty much as she expected her to look, her tolerance for surprises rapidly dwindling.

  “We thought you weren’t coming,” Tyler said in greeting.

  “I just keep getting lost in this place,” Marley explained.

  Leading them to a place called Coco’s Chow, Eve grabbed a meat sub and a bottle of water. “You’ll get used to it in a few weeks. Happens to everyone.”

  The place was so packed, Marley had to squeeze past a group of students to get to one of several refrigerated units.

  “I don’t think we should talk in here, seems like we’d be overheard anywhere we sit,” Cassie said concerned, her eyes flitting around the place nervously.

  Moving to the checkout, Eve tossed her a look over her shoulder. “We’re not staying here. I know a place we can go that’ll be more private. We can talk there.”

  “You seem to know your way around already,” Marley said, envious of her knowledge. It would be great to be able to get around without having to consult a map every five seconds.

  “I’ve been here before,” Eve answered before thinking. She stopped quickly, but not before the others caught what she had said.

  “You have?” Cassie said.

  “When?” Tyler asked.

  Her stomach plummeted as she saw them look at her, waiting for an explanation. Knowing that she couldn’t hide the truth forever, Eve sighed. “Last year. I dropped out for personal reasons.”

  “Like what?” Cassie asked again seemingly with no filter.

  Eve shot her a hard look. “Do you not know what personal means?”

  Cassie’s mouth snapped shut at her tone. An awkward flush started over her cheeks. Silence fell as Cassie tried to find a way to apologize. Marley reached for something to say, anything to defuse the situation. Nothing came to mind.

  “I didn’t mean to pry, sometimes I just speak without thinking…” Cassie finally stammered.

  Eve’s only response was a sharp nod of her head. “Grab your food. I’ll meet you back at the entrance,” she said, moving away.

  Stung by her curtness, Cassie looked at Tyler and Marley.

  “Do you think she hates me now? I’m always messing things up.”

  “Of course not,” Tyler answered, surprised she would even think such a thing. “You just mentioned a sensitive subject is all. Why would she hate you for something so small?”

  Cassie didn’t answer but her eyes slid over to Eve as she watched her disappearing into the crowd.

  M oments later the girls followed Eve through several connecting wings until they stepped into a pretty courtyard outside. A stone fountain of an angel formed the center of the small space. The bubbling water provided more than just a pleasant backdrop to their conversation, however. It also doubled to hide it from anyone who might otherwise overhear their unorthodox conversation.

  Marley, Eve and Tyler unwrapped their sandwiches, then watched in astonishment as Cassie opened a large box of sushi, a seaweed salad and a fruit salad as she sipped from a green juice. As if that wasn’t enough, she also had a large wedge of cheesecake.

  “Where do you put all that food?” Tyler said, asking what all the others were thinking.

  Unwrapping a pair of chopsticks Cassie shrugged self-consciously. “Oh, I don’t eat it all. I just pick at it. I like the variety. Eating one thing’s so boring,” she said without thinking before looking immediately horrified when she took in their lunches.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean…” she started but Tyler cut her off.

  “Listen, I used to eat like that too. You’ve got nothing to apologize for. Enjoy your lunch.”

  “Help yourself to anything you want,” Cassie said in earnest. “I really can’t eat all of this on my own.”

  “Could the four of you be any more ridiculous?” came Christian’s voice from above. He sat cross-legged on the hedge beside them.

  “Great,” Marley said. “You’ll all be happy to know that our so-called Guardian frenemy is back.” She nodded glumly above her, knowing any chance of a peaceful lunch was now thrown out of the window.

  “You said we need to find Michael, but how are we supposed to do that?” Cassie asked first, surprising the others with her bravery. She seemed like she was about to burst from all the questions she had for him.

  “When magic is used, it sometimes leaves a trace of itself that other magical beings can sense. Or you could use your powers. That should work too.”

  “How, when we’re not even sure what we can do?” Marley tried to still her shudder as visions of her hand squeezing Christian’s heart flooded her mind.

  “There’s not a simple answer to that. It’s not like you’re a superhero with a clear-cut power. You need to discover what they are and what you can do. Once you know that, you can utilize them against him.”

  “You keep saying we need to go after Michael, but he’s clearly dangerous. What makes you think we can go against him when you and your mentor couldn’t?” Tyler asked. She didn’t want to anger him yet the point needed to be raised.

  “It does sound like he’s more concerned about this Michael guy than he is about our lives,” Cassie said, twisting her chopsticks anxiously.

  “This is ridiculous,” Eve said suddenly, slamming down her sub. “You want us to give up our lives to fight this guy on only your hearsay when we can’t even see or hear you ourselves!”

  “Are we back to this again?” Christian roared.

  “You can’t blame us for being upset,” Marley started to say, but she never got to finish. Christian jumped down storming up to her until his face was almost pressed into hers, or would be, had he been alive.

  “Don’t you talk to me about being upset! I had a life! I wasn’t just a Guardian, I had dreams, but you ended them all! You think this is how I wanted to die? In a stupid accident right when I was this close to avenging Eric! The least you could do is to stop this pity party you’ve got going on, accept your responsibilities, and go after the monster who killed the man who was the only father I ever knew! God, the four of you are so irritating, yapping about food or clothes when there is so much at stake! I can’t bear to be around you!”

  Without another word, Christian disappeared.

  Rather than repeat him — and frankly, she was getting pretty tired of having to parrot his every word — Marley choose to give the gist of his thoughts. Despite how she tried to spare them, however, they were left feeling pretty small.

  “I think going after that guy is the wrong thing to do. We don’t know how to use our powers — or even what they are,” Tyler said.

  Cassie nodded in agreement. “Don’t you think we should try to practice somewhere, figure out exactly what it is we can do?”

  “Yeah. That seems like a
better use of our time,” Eve agreed to her surprise and relief. It seemed she wasn’t holding a grudge against her after all.

  “Let’s meet somewhere after school. Where can we go that’s quiet, where no one is likely to go?” Marley asked. Having only moved to the area recently, she didn’t have much idea of what was around.

  “I know the perfect place,” Eve said. “Give me your numbers, I’ll text you all directions.”

  They nodded, agreeing to the plan as they exchanged numbers. Marley felt a little better knowing they were taking matters into their own hands. They would figure this out without Christian’s help.

  “He’s right you know,” Tyler said suddenly, cutting into his thoughts. “He died, and no one knows or even cares about that apart from us. With Eric gone, it doesn’t sound like he has anyone else left.”

  “Christian’s life ended without fanfare and now he’s back. It must mess with him mentally. It would me,” Eve said.

  “Do you think… should we give him a funeral service of some kind?” Cassie raised tentatively.

  “Like the whole shebang, with the coffin and wake?” Eve asked disbelievingly.

  “No, just a small thing. With just the four of us present. And Christian of course. Do you think it would help him?”

  “It certainly couldn’t make him any angrier could it?” Tyler said.

  “But wouldn’t we need his body to do that?” Cassie asked.

  “Speaking of which, where is his body? I assumed Christian knew where it went but he hasn’t said anything about it,” Tyler asked.

  “No,” Marley agreed, suddenly wondering about it herself.

  Where was Christian’s body?

  Chapter 9

  “How inept are you, that you can’t kill someone who’s already dead?”

  Across town, several feet below ground level, deep inside the dark, dank sewers of Roxbury, three figures huddled over a body.

  The only source of light came from a newly-bought crank light, of the type used for camping. One of the three figures stepped out of the shadows into the light. It was Michael. He stared down at the body lying on a concrete slab with barely concealed rage.

  “I’m trying boss,” said Pike, one of his cronies, an eerie-looking hunchback. His eyes were too wide for his face, which was hideously disfigured by millions of scar-like depressions. His teeth were filed to points, at least that was how they seemed. In reality, they were fangs, similar in form and function to those found on big cats, and great for ripping his prey to shreds. He wasn’t that bright, but he was easy to command and very dangerous.

  Just how Michael liked them.

  His other little helper was a different matter entirely. Smart, with a sadistic streak that matched his own, Fink was abhorred by his community because of his taste for deep-fried girl-meat. He had struggled to find an employer who would turn the other cheek for this particular culinary quirk of his. That Michael did not care who he ate so long as it wasn’t someone he needed, well, it was a match made in heaven. Holding the hilt of a knife, he approached the Guardian’s body. His mouth twitching as he licked his lips in anticipation, having never tasted one before. Raising the knife overhead, he swung the blade down, but the knife bounced harmlessly off the Guardian’s body, flying across the room.

  “What the hell?” Fink exclaimed. “It’s like I’m trying to stab a piece of metal.”

  A fury burned inside Michael. They had not carried the body all the way here only to be unable to destroy it. He snatched the can of gasoline from Pike’s hands, approaching it himself.

  “If you want something done…”

  Unscrewing the cap, he poured the acrid smelling liquid over Christian’s body, watching it soak into his clothes, turning them several shades darker. Moving a safe distance away, he struck up a match, flicking it onto him. Flames exploded, their fingers blooming to the ceiling as the fire spread along his body at lightning speed. Michael waited for the smell of burning flesh.

  But it never came.

  Though the flames danced high, singeing Pike’s hair until he was forced to jump out of the way or risk having his face melted, Christian’s body and clothes remained intact.

  Michael stifled a howl, hurling the empty can against a wall.

  “Do something!” he yelled at Pike, who nodded, hoisting a heavy chainsaw into his arms. Pulling the cord, the engine burst to life, the blades whipping wickedly fast, causing a horrendous noise.

  Moving towards Christian, Pike lifted the chainsaw high above his head, slamming it down with all the force he could muster. Like the knife, however, it simply bounced off his body, taking him with it. He lost his grip on the weapon sending the chainsaw spinning across the ground, out of his control, only stopping at a gesture and word from Michael.

  Summoning up his power from within, Michael channeled a ball of pulsing energy into his hands hurling it at Christian. Though the body bucked from the contact, it remained intact.

  “How is this possible?” Fink asked, awed.

  “I’ll tell you how,” Michael said angrily. Reaching across, he ripped open Christian’s shirt to reveal the maze of tattooed sigils that glowed across his body, protecting him.

  “Magic.”

  Chapter 10

  Scientific apparatus sat on the benches surrounding Tyler.

  As her professor droned on explaining the various experiments they would be conducting over the course of the term, Tyler found her focus drifting to the bottles of chemicals lined up inside a cabinet beside her.

  Even as a child, Tyler had loved the certainty of science, that if you put two hydrogen atoms together with one oxygen one, you would make water. No matter where you were in the world, this was the same. Science was reliable in a way nothing else was.

  This was the first time she had set foot in a lab since her parents had died, and she found herself desperately craving more of that certainty. Life had been so simple before… Feeling the pain well inside her chest again, she squeezed her eyes closed for a moment.

  No, not here. Not in class.

  She could not burst into tears in front of the whole class on her first day. She would not be known as that girl. She had to keep it together.

  Focusing on the student in front of her, Tyler studied the back of her head, hoping that the activity would draw her attention away from her debilitating thoughts when something vibrated in her pocket — her phone. It had been set to silent so it wouldn’t ring in class, but she’d left the vibrate option on, in case there was an emergency. Now that she was the only family Ally had left, Tyler made sure she could always reach her if she needed to. With all of Ally’s medical needs, this was doubly important.

  She took out her phone and hid it behind a course book. Hoping her professor wouldn’t see, she unlocked it to find a message from the girl herself:

  I’ve finally figured out what I want for my birthday!!!!! Xoxoxo

  After the message came a link leading to a bag shaped like a ladybug. Of course. It was exactly the kind of thing Ally loved, and she knew immediately it would get a lot of use. When she saw the price, however, she felt the beginnings of worry.

  If this had been before, she wouldn’t have blinked at the price — it wasn’t exactly expensive — but it was more than she could reasonably afford right now, at least until she had a chance to speak to the loans office to find out what the hold-up was there. As her money issue raised its ugly head again, a wave of resentment came crashing over her.

  Why did this have to happen?

  Hadn’t she gone through enough already? Why was there now added money pressure on top of her fight to reunite with Ally and the whole supernatural being thing? She had always been raised to believe in God and had believed in him since she was a child actually, but if there was one, why was he punishing her like this?

  Feeling her rage building, she suddenly noticed that the air had that same heaviness that had been present last night at the church. She could feel the static in her hair, and with it cam
e the knowledge that something unnatural was happening. Terrified of a repeat of last night’s events, she tried to clamp down on her own emotions but saw with horror that the solutions in the glass bottles around her were starting to bubble as if they were held over a powerful flame.

  She froze, panicked, looking towards her professor, but she could not see what was happening from her vantage point at the front of the room. Tyler turned back to see the solutions were making their way up the spout of the bottles. She steeled herself knowing the bigger cause of concern came not from the solutions themselves, but from the actual glass bottles.

  If glass was heated too quickly, it would shatter.

  That was another certainty of science. She looked around, hoping her neighbor could see what was happening and do something about it, but his nose was immersed in a textbook, oblivious to the surrounding danger.

  She turned back to the bottles and saw that in her split second of hesitation the solutions had reached boiling point. Reacting out of pure instinct, she shoved the student next to her out of harm’s way as the bottles exploded, raining glass and chemicals around them. Her would-be lab partner fell off the stool he had been sitting on, landing on the ground in an untidy heap. Students spun around, shocked, as the professor stopped mid-flow a look of first puzzlement then shock spreading over her face.

  Something landed on the arm of her cardigan. Tyler glanced down to find whatever solution had landed on her eating a hole into the fabric. Shrugging out of it quickly, she threw it to the ground as the rest of the cardigan smoked and burned. Running to the nearest sink, she shoved her arm under the tap, washing off whatever the solution had been as her professor rushed over to help her. Tyler stared blankly ahead as her professor checked over her, one thought running through her head.

  She could have killed someone.

  Chapter 11

  L ight danced prettily across the blue water.