What He Heard

Chapter 27

               Willow, feeling like her eyes must be glazing over, blinked rapidly and tried to refocus on her cousin’s words. “…have to understand that these articles you two write are drawing attention. This last one, about the graffiti, has had everyone talking. And watching you! Some people think you’re working for the teachers now, and others caught the hints that you both find this funny, but either way, it’s gotten you even more attention.”

            Rune grinned at Ed, leaning back against the locker beside Willow’s. “Attention’s what news is all about. Bringing information to people and letting them know what’s happening. And with people thinking we work for the admin, well, anyone who talks to us for more than a minute or two ought to be able to figure out we wouldn’t do that. Hell, I’m pretty sure Marsden would be glad to see both of us drop out.”

            “This is serious! You’re both becoming infamous here. That kind of attention could easily end up with people trailing you all the way home. Imagine what could happen there!”

            Willow rolled her eyes. “That’s not going to happen. No one is going to care about us that much. Especially given how much work that would be, just to get out to our property.”

            “You can’t take this lightly. It could easily-”

            “Ed.”

            The sharp female voice cut through his lecture and had the older Byron freezing in place. Only two women could make him do that, and since it was unlikely his mom was there, Willow smiled and craned around to try and catch sight of her other cousin. “Hey Darby.”

            Darby nodded at her before coming to a stop just beside Ed, her hands on her ample hips and her eyebrows up. “I’m pretty sure I told you to lay off the lectures, especially to Willow. They’re stupid and stuff everyone knows already. It’s not so bad with Tracy and her lot, since they’re new to this school, but the others? Seriously, you need to knock it off.”

            “But-”

            Her head shake cut him off. “You heard me,” she said, brown eyes steady as she stared him down. Once Ed looked away, Darby turned her attention back to Willow. “I’ve got a problem I’d like to get your tricky brain to working on, if you wouldn’t mind.”

            “What is it?” she asked, frowning slightly. Darby rarely asked anyone for help, causing worry to bubble up inside Willow. With Uncle Allistair gone…

            “I think someone might be following me around. At least, I get the feeling someone’s watching me sometimes, and I haven’t been able to figure out who it is. It’s kind of creepy. Normally, I wouldn’t be too worried, what with being a Byron and all, but with the hunters around, I can’t afford to go wild. Too much risk of witnesses and the story getting out, so I was hoping you could help me come up with a different solution. One that preferably won’t interfere with school or work.”

            “That sounds pretty serious, Darbs,” Willow replied, frowning. Beside her, Ed could only stare. “Are you sure you shouldn’t be talking to someone else?”

            “Nah, it’s not that bad. And there’s still a chance I’m just being paranoid. That’s why I wanted to see what you think would be a good idea. Oh, and you too,” she added, glancing at Rune. “If the worst did happen, then I can still take care of myself. I just worry about the rest of the family, you know?”

            Willow glanced at Rune, who frowned. He met her gaze after a moment then shrugged. “I think we need more information,” he said.

            “That’s probably our best idea for now. Do you mind if we shadow you for a while?”

            Darby shrugged. “As long as I can still get to work on time, then go for it. I actually have a shift after school if you want to tag along.”

            “That’d work. The more information we get, the more likely our plan will work.”

            “We’ll just shadow you from here,” Willow said. “Then we can see if anyone passes by multiple times or is watching you too much or whatever.”

            “Go for it. I’ve tried, but haven’t noticed anything or anyone out of the ordinary, other than the feeling of being watched. I’m pretty sure it’s not my imagination. I just can’t find out where it’s coming from.”

            “Does it happen at work?” Rune asked.

            Darby nodded. “Yeah, off and on, and when I’m walking to or from work, and once while I was at the mall with friends. But only in the last like week, so it’s been pretty recent that it started. Not at home so far, thank god!”

            “Why didn’t you tell me?” Ed asked, his shock finally breaking enough that he could speak.

            She snorted. “Because you don’t react well to stuff like this. You freak out. And you’d probably do something stupid if you actually managed to catch whoever it is at it. Willow’s got the right sort of sneaky mind and she’s had Uncle Allistair’s training beaten into her, so she’s clearly the best choice.”

            Willow flushed slightly. “Thanks,” she said. “Once we figure out who it is and get an idea of why, we can come up with a  good plan to get them to stop. I’m hoping it won’t take us too long.”

            “Good,” Darby said, nodding. “Because I’m getting really tired of grabbing my necklace every time a shadow moves.”