Chatoyant College Book 8: From the Earth

Chapter 28: Standing Guard

Corrie returned to her dorm room slowly, and stared around at the empty room for a moment before realizing it was after ten and she'd missed the beginning of the Rainbow Alliance meeting. She stood there for another minute, unsure if she should bother, then decided she could use the distraction and hurried off.

The meeting did distract her—nobody seemed to mind that she was late and she was quickly able to join the group making posters to advertise for the Drag Ball. Laughing and joking about the magazines they were cutting pictures out of (and pasting in new and very different configurations) raised her spirits. It was always good to spend time with friends, especially doing ridiculous things like this.

However, when the meeting was over and she and Dawn were leaving, they crashed right down again. For one thing, Edie wasn't there. She'd been to the last meeting and seemed excited about the Drag Ball, but tonight she must be out with Leila again. And Leila's friends—some of them had been to their door looking for Edie. Corrie wondered if she had forgotten her own friends.

"You okay?" Dawn asked. "How'd the talk with your dad go?"

Corrie took a deep breath, reprimanding herself for thinking so poorly of Edie. "Um, it went okay. I mean, it wasn't as awkward as usual... but he didn't have any answers for me. Actually, I'm even more confused now."

"Yeah? How come?"

As they slowly made their way along the paths toward their dorm, Corrie explained about the werewolves' connection to the earth, then what Professor Lal had said about werewolves not having inherent magic. "It's like I'm the opposite of a werewolf somehow. But I do have that connection to the moon... and Dad thinks my running is a werewolf thing, too. It's only in magic that I'm the opposite." She shook her head at herself and looked over at Dawn. "How are you doing? Have you had any success with the trance stuff?"

"I actually haven't tried it yet." Dawn grimaced. "I guess I should just get out there and do it, but it doesn't really make sense to me. How do you reach outward?"

"It's just the opposite of what we'd done in class," said Corrie, surprised. She'd thought it was very straightforward. "You know, instead of looking inward for the magic, look out. I could still see my magic when I was doing it, but I don't know if I was doing it right."

"Huh. I guess I'll try that... it is more like looking than reaching when we do it in class." Dawn was silent for a moment, biting her lip. "I want to try it now, but I don't know if going on the grass in the middle of the night is a good idea."

"I'll stand guard," Corrie suggested. "I even have an extra four-leaf clover. Found it today."

"Really, you don't mind standing around in the cold?"

Corrie shrugged. "It's not all that cold. And no, of course I don't mind, I want to see you do it!"

"Oh, all right." Dawn looked around. They were getting pretty close to Gilkey. "Where's a good spot, do you think?"

Corrie pointed north. "I tried it by the statue of Vertiline Gravette. I kind of figured if it worked, I'd be able to tell whether she had any magic inside her. Plus, nobody ever goes there, not that it matters at this time of night."

Dawn grinned. "That's a good idea. And it's not too close to the woods, either. Let's go."

They walked quickly to the spot, then Dawn handed Corrie her bag (she'd brought some markers to the meeting for use on the posters) and sat down on the grass, close to the statue that wasn't really a statue. Corrie shifted the bag on her shoulder a bit, then watched Dawn settle in and close her eyes.

The night sounds seemed to descend on them now that they had stopped speaking; the hum of electricity from the dorms, the wind through the nearly leafless trees, the skittering of some small animals. Corrie felt a sudden chill and turned around—slowly, so if someone was watching her they wouldn't know she was startled—looking carefully at all the shadows and especially at the trees. Then she picked up her four-leaf clover and made another circle. Nothing. Nothing she could see, anyway.

Well, that was what she wanted. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone there, but she told herself not to be paranoid. Anyway, if someone was there, they could deal with it. She adjusted the way her iron bracelets sat on her wrists, then smiled to herself. If nothing else, she could damn well set things on fire with her mind.