Entangled (Spellbound #1)

Chapter 9

Raj held the amulet three inches in front of his face and stared till it went out of focus. This had become his habit for the past two months. He barely touched his Zippo any more. He was slouched in his seat, one elbow propped on the desk—the moonstones, the charms, the initials GP dangling in front of him.

Beyond the amulet he could see students arriving to class. They were silhouettes, mannequins without faces.

"Did you hear about Charlene Perez?"

Raj barely registered the words.

"... pretending to be her dead sister."

"That's messed up."

"Maybe she's having a nervous breakdown."

"Or is playing the sickest April Fools' joke in history."

Raj shot out of his desk, closing his fingers around the amulet as he walked swiftly out of the room. His feet carried him over the polished hallway. He didn't even know where he was going. Raj squeezed the amulet in his hand so tightly the crystal felt as though it would cut into his palm.

He rounded a corner and made for the student center. The halls were clearing out as the last seconds before the final bell hovered in the air. It rang as he crossed over the school crest in the middle of the student center. A wall of light caught his eye from the triple sets of double doors beside the main office. Raj headed for them.

As he neared, a figure stepped out of the office lobby into the deserted hallway. Her hair was pulled into a long braid and she was wearing embroidered jeans. Raj's heart lurched inside his chest.

It wasn't possible.

"Gray!" he yelled.

She looked over her shoulder, startled. Her eyes widened and she began walking faster.

Raj picked up his pace. When she saw him gaining ground she began running.

"Gray!"

He wanted to stop her in place, make her stand still. He had to confirm it was her. He had to know. But he'd promised her.

Raj began sprinting.

She pushed through the double doors out into the breaking light. Raj reached the doors right before they clicked shut, shoved them open, and hit the pavement on the walkway leading out.

Gray had shot across the pickup lane into a patch of grass between the teachers' parking lot and the road. Raj sprinted toward the grass. Gray had just about made it to the road. She slowed and looked over her shoulder one last time before vanishing.

"Gray!" Her name burned all the way down Raj's throat.

He'd lost her again. Oh god, he'd lost her again.