Spirit Hunters

7 || Cackles and Shadows

Cassia may have wrinkled her nose at the thought of a bodyguard before, but she wished Aeden would appear as she walked through the school. Rin was meant to take Aeden's place during the day. She'd only seen him once, situated in the front row of her literature class.

Maybe she wouldn't crave a protective presence near her if she wasn't watching the woman with the upside-down face floating through the hall.

So far, the woman—the spirit—hadn't done anything malicious. She simply floated back and forth, humming a soft melody. Her black hair likely reached her knees, but it was impossible to tell with the way it lifted around her as if lifted by wind only it felt.

Even if this wasn't one of the dangerous spirits, though, Cassia couldn't wrestle down her unease. Had this spirit always roamed the halls? And if so, why hadn't she seen it before? She'd caught multiple glimpses of spirits in the last week, and even when she tried to look closer, she couldn't get a clear picture before they blinked out of sight.

The strange old lady had been the first one she encountered for an elongated time. Maybe it would always be like this now. Why, though? What had changed?

She brushed her hair behind her ear. Her hand lingered, touching the strangely colored strands that marked her as being something different, and not in the way she had first thought.

"Earth to Cassia! You there?"

Cassia jolted. Orsa stood with her arms crossed. Her locker stood open beside her, and she already held the books she'd come here to grab. Right. They'd been having a conversation before Cassia spotted the spirit.

She flushed. "Sorry about that. I was distracted."

Orsa squinted at her before looking behind her, likely searching for what had grabbed Cassia's eye. When she turned back, Cassia expected to see confusion, but instead, Orsa smiled knowingly.

"You checking out your man?"

"What?" Cassia jerked her head back to the hall. Either he had just appeared or she'd missed him behind the ghostly lady, but sure enough, there Rin was there, leaning by a classroom door and waiting for it to open.

What shocked Cassia most was that he was staring right at her.

She ducked her head on instinct, and the warmth in her cheeks bloomed into a fire. Maybe he'd brushed her off the previous night, but his attention still made her heart flutter.

"Oh my gosh, is he checking you out?" Orsa whispered. She grabbed Cassia's arm in both of her hands and shook her. "The Rin Hino is staring at you!"

Cassia forced a smile. If only Orsa remembered their encounter with Rin the previous day. He didn't even remember them. She was only on his radar because he was meant to be protecting her, and that was only under order.

Orsa frowned. "You do not seem nearly excited enough for this. He's literally your dream man, Cassia. Come on, what's up? Wait." Her eyes widened. "There's not someone else, is there?"

As stupid as it was, Cassia suddenly flashed to the bookstore, silver eyes twinkling as Aeden slid over his purchase.

"I just don't think he's checking me out or anything," Cassia said. "It's more likely he just chose a random spot to look at while he waits."

"Oh, we'll see about that." Orsa beamed as she slid her arm down, hooking her elbow with Cassia's. "We need to get to class or I'd drag you over to talk to him. For now, we can have you play hard-to-get and see if he keeps following you with his eyes."