The Unlikely Resident of Room 313

Chapter 29

"When are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?" Eric asked for what felt like the millionth time since they left the DTE annex house. Roy and Eric were barely at the end of the long, windy street nicknamed Frat Row, and Roy's patience was thinner than the threads of moonlight peaking from the cloudy sky.

"When we get there," Roy answered between gritted teeth. There was no time to waste with details. Roy knew details were important—he just wasn't sure how much he could give the DTE without his head exploding all over the sidewalk. Asteria didn't have time to wait for Roy to pick up the pieces. "Just keep walking."

Eric wasn't as drunk as Roy worried he was when he burst into the DTE house like a tornado in rural Kansas. He braced himself for a stupid standoff of 'who do you know here?' and whatever other bullshit they'd come up with fretting over since he was alive. Instead—much to his relief—Eric already noticed Asteria was gone. Whether it was the threads of dread that lingered from the Dark Man, instinct, or Eric having a sliver of a sixth sense himself, he knew something was wrong. Asteria didn't simply ditch the party. It was easy for Roy to get Eric out of the door. But the moment he mentioned the graveyard, the protests began.

Eric dug his heels into the grass and stopped. "Do you really think I'm going to walk into a graveyard in the middle of the night with you? I don't even know who the fuck you are!"

Whirling around, Roy stuck his hand out. "The name is Roy. You are Eric. There, now you know who the fuck I am. Can we go now?"

"I still don't understand why you think Asteria is at the cemetery," Eric said. "I know some guys from TKD. Maybe she's over there. Let's just stop by and see if she's there. Or check her dorm."

"She's not there," Roy answered over his shoulder. As he said it, he reached for the mental connection that bound them—thankful for the first time ever of Asteria's stupidity in casting a spell—and prayed he would feel her on the other side. That this was all just a simple misunderstanding. Maybe the connection simply expired.

The hope fizzled out from under his skin like an opened bottle of Coke at the end of a party. He would've gone to the cemetery himself if it weren't for the fact that the Dark Man owned that hallowed space. Typically, cemeteries were of no consequence for ghosts. Many lived there. Others avoided them because of the things that also called it home. But somehow, in the midst of him rotting the university grounds for all these years, the cemetery turned into his own evil lair, and enslaved those who dwelled there to do his bidding. The moment Roy made his presence known, the Dark Man would be alerted. And if he didn't have Asteria, he would know she was vulnerable, and that would kill Roy all over again if it caused her any more pain.

Eric made a sound of protest, breaking Roy from his thoughts. Cursing under his breath, Roy conceded. "Check," he said. "But be quick."

Without another word, Eric ran toward a bright red house across the street. Roy held back the urge to follow him and turned his attention to the darkness of the cemetery looming a thousand feet away. Now that the rot was spreading through the cemetery, there were too many shadows to navigate. It would be the perfect place to hide Asteria.

Or trap her.

Or hide her, kill her, and then trap her soul. A cold bolt of fear struck his soul as he remembered the day on the beach. The Dark Man staked his claim on Asteria and vowed to destroy anyone or anything that got in his way. The creature's cold voice brushed his mind.

That is my starlight, he said. No one can harness her.

The only thing was that the Dark Man didn't harness starlight souls. He snuffed them out. Or at least tried to. That was one of the new things he remembered from the night he died.