Betrayed by Kristin Cast, P.C. Cast Page A

white.”
    â€œMakes perfect sense to me,” Shaunee said.
    â€œDitto, Twin,” Erin said.
    I could barely hear them through the buzzing in my ears. “I . . . I need to go for a walk.”
    â€œI’ll go with you,” Stevie Rae said.
    â€œNo, you stay here and watch the movie. I just—I just need to get some air.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œPositive. I won’t be gone long. I’ll be back in time to see Ewan’s butt.” Even though I could almost feel the worried look Stevie Rae was giving my back (and hear the Twins arguing with Damien about whether they would actually see Ewan’s butt), I rushed out of the dorm and into the cool November night.
    Blindly, I turned away from the main school building, instinctively moving in the opposite direction from anywhere I’d run into people. I forced myself to keep moving and to breathe.
What the hell was wrong with me?
My chest felt tight and my stomach was so sick I had to keep swallowing hard so I wouldn’t puke. The buzzing in my ears seemed to be better, but there was no relief from the anxiety that had settled over me like a shroud. Everything inside me was screaming,
Something’s not right! Something’s not right! Something’s not right!
    As I walked I gradually noticed that the night, which had been clear, with a sky full of stars helping the almost full moon to illuminate its thick darkness, suddenly had clouded up. The soft, cool breeze had turned cold, causing dry leaves to shower down around me, mixing the smells of earth and wind with the darkness . . . somehow this soothed me and the tumult of disjointed thoughts and anxiety lifted enough for me to actually think.
    I headed to the stables. Lenobia had said that I could groom Persephone whenever I needed to think and be alone. I definitely needed that, and having a direction to go—an actual destination—was one small good thing in the midst of my internal chaos.
    The stables were just ahead, sprawling long and low, and my breath had started to come a little easier when I heard the sound. At first I didn’t know what it was. It was too muffled—too odd. Then I thought that it might be Nala. It was like her to follow me and complain at me in her weird old lady cat voice until I stopped and picked her up. I looked around and called “Kitty-kitty” softly.
    The sound got more distinct, but it wasn’t a cat, I could tell that. A movement close to the barn caught my eye, and I saw that a shape was slumped on the bench near the front doors. There was only one gaslight there, and it was right beside the doors. The bench was just outside the edge of the pool of flickering yellow light.
    It moved again, and I could tell that the shape must be a person . . . or fledgling . . . or vampyre. It was sitting, but kinda hunched over, almost folded in on itself. The sound started again. This close I could hear that it was a weird wailing—like whoever was sitting there was in pain.
    Naturally, I wanted to run in the opposite direction, but I couldn’t. It wouldn’t be right. Plus, I
felt
it—the knowledge within me that I could not leave. That whatever was happening on the bench was something I had to face.
    I took a deep breath and approached the bench.
    â€œUh, are you okay?”
    â€œ
No!”
The word was an eerie, whispering explosion of sound.
    â€œCan—can I help you?” I asked, trying to peer into the shadows and see who was sitting there. I thought I could see light-colored hair, and maybe hands covering a face . . .
    â€œThe water! The water is so cold and deep. Can’t get out . . . can’t get out.”
    She took her hands from her face then and looked up at me, but I already knew who it was. I’d recognized her voice. And I also recognized what was happening to her. I forced myself to approach her calmly. She stared up at me. Her face was covered with tears.
    â€œCome on,