Touch of Sibyl

Chapter Twenty.two

I walked away from Zac as fast as I could, slithering through the crowd of dancers, careful not to brush up against anyone so I wouldn't accidentally flash on them. Coming here tonight had been a bad, bad idea. What the hell had I been thinking? Everyone had a place at Mythics-everyone except me. No, wait. That wasn't right. I had a role here, too, now-that Sibyl girl who had just made a complete fool of herself. The class idiot, in other words.

I hurried out the front entrance of the dining hall. More kids clustered outside around the doors now, passing cups of beer and silver flasks of who-knew-what from one hand to another, along with cigarettes and even a few joints.

For a moment, I thought about stopping and asking for a drink from one of them. Maybe a couple. I'd never been drunk before, so I didn't know exactly how many it would take. But they probably wouldn't share with me anyway. Besides, I doubted that getting drunk would drown out these feelings that I'd suddenly developed for Zac Quinn. I didn't think anything would help me with that, except maybe a total lobotomy.

I couldn't go back in to the dance, but I didn't want to go back to my room either. I already knew that I was a stupid, stupid loser. I didn't want to sit around and think about it the rest of the night. Besides, I'd put on my damn prom dress. I was at least going to wear it for more than an hour, even if it killed me.

Not really thinking about where I was going, I turned left and stepped onto the circular cobblestone path that wound past all five of the buildings that ringed the quad. I just started walking the huge circle, trying to find a quiet spot where I could sit by myself and ... and do something. Maybe scream. Maybe cry. I didn't know.

I wasn't the only one who'd left the dance early. Couples sat on every one of the iron benches close to the dining hall. They all stared dreamily into each other's eyes, giggling and kissing. One guy even had his hand down his date's dress, and the two of them were practically lying on top of each other.

It all made me sick.

Because even out here, I couldn't get away from everyone's perfect little dance-

Something winked in the shadows up ahead, distracting me from my dark thoughts. The bright flash came again, bobbing up and down, and I spotted another lone figure moving across the quad. Was she ... wearing something on her head? I squinted, but I couldn't quite make out who it was. Then, she stepped into the glow from one of the streetlights that lined the walkway, and I was able to get a good look at her.

Morgan Houston.

The homecoming queen plodded across the quad, heading toward the Library of Antiquities. Probably so she and Samson could hook up on the outside patio again. I rolled my eyes. Slut. The flashes that I'd seen had come from the homecoming queen tiara that Morgan wore on top of her head. The expensive crystals winked at me with every step the Valkyrie took.

I frowned. For some reason, something about Morgan seemed ... off. I kept trailing after her, wondering what it was. Finally, I realized that it was the way she was walking, so slow and steady with careful, measured steps. It wasn't the way a normal person would walk, especially a girl who was eager to hook up with the hot guy she'd been sleeping with on the sly. Morgan stepped through the glow of another streetlight, and I realized that she had a weird look on her face, too. One that was totally ... blank. She reminded me of a zombie or something, like she wasn't really herself. Like she was possessed or being controlled by someone else-

Little warning bells went off inside my head, and they only got louder the longer that I stared at the Valkyrie.

I glanced around, but by this point the dining hall and all the couples were several hundred feet away. Nobody else had noticed Morgan. They were all too absorbed in their own little dramas, in their own little bad romances, to notice her-or me.