Touch of Sibyl

Chapter Twenty

I escorted Nica down the stairs. Carlos was waiting in the main common room.

He wore a classic tux that made him look like a tall, lanky penguin, but I didn't say anything to Nica. Because the band geek's face lit up at the sight of the Valkyrie, just like hers did when she saw him. More pink sparks flashed around Nica's fingers, and if Carlos's grin got any wider, his lips would pop off his face.

"Hi," Nica said in a soft voice, stopping in front of him.

"Hi," Carlos whispered back. "You look beautiful."

Nica blushed. Carlos kept staring at her. Neither one moved or said another word. Finally, I cleared my throat to make the band geek get on with things.

"Oh! This is for you." Carlos jerked forward and held out a plastic box with a single pink rose inside, as if he'd just remembered that he'd been holding it all along.

"Thank you." Nica took out the flower, handed me the empty box, and slipped the simple corsage over her wrist.

I got a little flash off the box, an image of Carlos clutching it in his sweaty hands and wondering if he'd picked out the right color rose. It was a sweet, nervous feeling, that he'd be worried so much about something so small. I could feel that Carlos wanted everything to be perfect tonight, right down to the corsage.

The two of them stood there staring at each other, before Carlos cleared his throat.

"Well, I guess we should be going. We wouldn't want to be late." He frowned. "Or would we? What's cooler?"

Nica laughed. "I'll tell you all about it on the way over to the dining hall."

Carlos held out his arm, and Nica slipped hers through his. The Valkyrie turned to wave at me; then the two of them left the dorm. I watched them go and smiled. They really did make a cute couple.

Now that they were gone, I had no reason to stick around Valhalla Hall. But instead of heading over to my own dorm, I turned and walked back up the stairs to the second floor. Everyone had left for the dance already, and the dorm was still and quiet, like no one lived here at all.

Nobody saw me use my driver's license to pop the lock and slip back into Jessy's room.

It looked exactly the same as it had the first time that I'd been in here a few days ago. Bed. Vanity table. Desk. TV. Bookshelves. I pulled out Jessy's desk chair and sat down, still holding the empty corsage box in my hands. My eyes scanned over the room, hoping for a clue or a vibe or something that would tell me what had really happened to her.

But everything was exactly the way that I'd left it during my last break-in. Pictures of Jessy stilled lined the mirror over the vanity table. Makeup still cluttered the glass surface. And her bookcase was still full of reference books with titles like Common Valkyrie Powers, Mastering Your Magic, and Manipulating Magical Illusions.

I stared at the books a minute. Something about them stirred a faint memory in the back of my mind, some vague, half-formed thought. My eyes kept going back to the last book. Illusions, illusions ... it was something to do with illusions and magic. Something that I'd seen or felt or heard someone say. But even as I reached for it, I could feel it slipping away. Whatever it was, the memory, thought, or idea wasn't ready to come to the surface of my mind yet. Sooner or later, it would, though. They always did.

I didn't know why I'd come in here. What I thought I'd find, if anything. It just seemed ... sad. That someone could be forgotten so easily so soon, even if Jessy hadn't been the nicest person at Mythical Academy. Nobody ever wanted to be forgotten.

But there were no real answers to be found in the quiet room, so I got up and left.

I made it back to my own dorm, went inside the turret, and closed the door. Everyone who lived here was at the dance, too, and my dorm was just as quiet as Valhalla Hall. I was probably the only person left inside. Alone again. Naturally.