Shaden Wars

-BEEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP-

I reflexively reached out and smacked the alarm clock causing it to fall off my bedside table. Groggy, I slowly opened my eyes, momentarily blinded by the sunlight streaming through the window beside my bed. Stretching, I rose up into a sitting position and rubbed at my eyes. I blinked and looked about my room confused.

My room was relatively small with only one door connected to it. The walls were dual colors of deep blue and sky blue, and there were also multiple drawings covering them. The drawings were rough sketches of people, animals, and places I’d seen. My desk and floor were mildly littered with laundry I was too lazy to properly put up and there was an odd assortment of books stacked precariously on my wardrobe. Mostly teen fiction novels I borrowed from the local library.

Standing up I glanced down at myself and noticed I was wearing my cheetah pajamas. When did I…?

Shaking my head I walked over to the mirror that was set up beside my door. I peered at myself in disbelief. My hair was a tangled mess as per usual, but I looked completely normal. I couldn’t shake the feeling I was missing something. Something important. That is, until my cell phone started ringing on my bed. Frowning I walked over and checked the number. It was Lily calling.

“Hello?” I answered cautiously.

“RAYNE!” Lily shouted through the receiver. I jerked the phone away from my ear wincing.

“Yes, yes what is it? No need to yell,” I said.

“Rayne? Are-Are you alright?” Lily asked breathlessly.

“Um…yeah? Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked.

“Rayne…do you remember anything from last night?” Lily asked. I froze.

“I…no…no, I don’t…” I whispered suddenly feeling really cold.

“Me neither,” she said. I could hear by her voice that she was feeling the same panic that was quickly starting to flow throughout me.

“What? How did we? I mean-“ I said shaking my head. There were so many questions.

“I don’t know,” she said quietly.

“Ian!” I said suddenly struck by the idea. “He was here all night he must know something!”

“Right, ya. Ask him!” Lily said.

“Ok, I’m going to. I’ll call you back after,” I said hurriedly. “Oh wait, have you called Kate?”

“No, I’m about to though,” she said.

“Ok, good. Ask Ash if he knows anything too.”

“Will do,” she replied before I heard the click ending the conversation. I immediately yanked my door open and tore down the hallway towards Ian’s room. Panting, I rapped on his door and impatiently shuffled from foot to foot as I waited for him.

“Ian?” I called loudly. I heard some kind of muffled reply and then things rattling around as Ian came to the door. He opened it with a yawn.

“Sup?” he asked sleepily. He was wearing a pair of plaid fleece pajama pants and an old grey t shirt he had. I thought to myself distractedly how his fashion sense was maybe just as bad as mine. Shaking my head I nervously tugged on a strand of my hair as he looked down at me.

“Do you…uh…well, do you know what happened last night? After we had gone to the club?” I asked mentally face palming myself. He narrowed his eyes at me and then peered down the hallway. Once he confirmed no one was around he grabbed a hold of my arm and jerked me into his room closing the door behind us.

“What the crap?!” I exclaimed surprised. Ian ran a hand through his hair, a nervous habit, and gave me a look.

“Rayne. Be upfront with me right now. Were you guys drinking last night?” he asked seriously. I scoffed at him and but he kept a neutral mask.

“Oh, you’re not kidding? Really, Ian? No, we were not drinking!” I said loudly. Ian glanced back at the door and then at me putting his finger up to his lips. Oh, right. I forgot Natalie was here.

“Then why are you asking me if I remember last night?” he asked. I blushed and felt embarrassed. He’s right. It does sound pretty sketchy.

“I..I can’t remember.” I said. My voice wavered and Ian’s expression changed to one of concern.

“Rayne. Did you drink anything? Someone could have slipped you something…” he said in a tense tone obviously distraught at the idea. I blushed even deeper.

“No, no nothing like that!” I said. Ian’s posture became visibly relieved and he sat down on his bed. I glanced around the room and noticed that he had cleaned. It was very clean and empty looking. “Lily doesn’t remember anything either.”

“Her too?” he asked frowning. “What about Kate?”

“I’m not sure. Lily is calling her right now. You don’t know either?” I asked. He scratched his head and creased his brow deep in thought.

“Honestly? The last thing I remember was looking at the eclipse through some binoculars I swiped from Natalie. I probably fell asleep after that…” he trailed off glancing towards the window. I followed his gaze and saw the binoculars sitting on the windowsill.

“The eclipse…” I said quietly. I couldn’t remember much of it. “I remember all of us standing out on the balcony watching the eclipse, but then…it all goes black.”

Ian frowned and shrugged. “Must have come home after and went to sleep. You should definitely check with Kate. But I’m sure it will come back to you eventually.”

“Yeah. I guess so,” I said. I left Ian’s room and slowly walked back to mine. Why can’t I remember?

Once in my room I called Lily back and she picked up immediately.

“Rayne? What did he say?” she asked.

“He doesn’t remember. He said the last thing he remembers was watching the eclipse from his room. He thinks he must have fallen asleep after. Or during. Or whatever. How about you? What’d Kate and Ash say?” I asked desperately craving answers. I heard Lily sigh.

“Same thing. Neither one of them remembers anything beyond the eclipse.”

“Damnit,” I cursed under my breath. Why can’t I remember anything?

“I know. It’s bizarre. How can none of us remember anything?” she asked.

“Wait a minute,” I said struck with another idea. “We should go back to PiPs and just ask them what happened! Someone there must have seen us.”

“Yeah! Ok, I’ll grab Kate and meet you there in half an hour,” she said seeming to feel a bit better now that we had a lead.

We hung up and then I ransacked my closet for a change of clothes. I quickly settled on a pair of black khakis and a light beige sweater. Throwing on my worn pair of black converse I was almost out the door when a hand grabbed my arm bringing me to an abrupt halt.

“Hold on a second young lady,” Natalie said sternly. I winced and slowly turned back to her. Aunt Natalie, Ian and I’s legal guardian, stood at a whopping 5’4 and embodied the description of a pixie. Sharp angular features, short spikey hair, petite frame, and fair skin? She was practically a living fairy. Ian and I teased her about it, but don’t let her size fool you. She’s 34 years old and she’s a firecracker so to speak with a large temper and short fuse.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked with a raised brow. She let go of my arm and I shrugged innocently.

“To Lily’s house.”

“Uh-huh, you’re in trouble. You know that don’t you?” she asked.

“F-for what?” I replied.

“For not hanging out with me on your birthday!” she said throwing her hands up in the air. I let out a small sigh of relief. My aunt didn’t know I went to PiPs last night. She usually frowns upon clubs like that. Especially with how I was dressed.

“Oh,” I said smiling.

“Oh? You’re damn right ‘oh’. I didn’t get to see you at all yesterday! Not even for a few minutes to wish you a Happy Birthday!” she complained. She pouted and I couldn’t help but laugh. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her tight.

“Thanks, Natalie. I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you yesterday. But I appreciate your enthusiasm.”
She hugged me back fiercely and then lightly pushed me away.

“Well, I guess it’s late technically, but here’s your present,” she said pulling a shiny purple package out from the cabinet next to us. I self-consciously began to unwrap the gift under Natalie’s excited gaze.

The paper tore open to reveal a cardboard box underneath. Glancing up at Natalie with a puzzled expression, I continued to open the box. Inside I felt something large and smooth against my palm. I gently shook it out of the box and gasped.

“A tablet?!” I asked amazed. The tablet was about the size of my head and it gleamed under the lights like a brand new shiny toy. Natalie smiled at my reaction and nodded.

“Well, with school coming up soon and all I thought it would come in handy.”

I threw my arms around her again and hugged her tightly.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Aunt Natalie! You’re the best!” I exclaimed in my excitement.

“I know, darling, I know. Now get out of here and go see Lily,” she said laughing. I grabbed my jacket and ran out the door with my new tablet in tow.

Once outside, I quickly jumped into my Saturn Ion and floored it towards downtown. A quick glance at the clock told me I was running a little behind, but that’s ok. I vaguely remembered the way to get to PiPs and had a brief moment where I thought I was lost. But an instinct in my gut led me there.

When I parked at a meter and made my way to the club I saw Lily, Kate, and Ash waiting for me at the entrance.

“Rayne! Are you ok?” Ash asked immediately. I nodded and looked up at PiPs. In the daylight it was not nearly as impressive as it was at night.

“Yes, I’m fine. Let’s go,” I said leading them into the club. There was no bouncer this time which confused me at first. With a shrug we continued on into the main lounge.

There were a couple of people wandering around the bar, but the lounge was otherwise deserted.

There was a different bartender this time, a woman who strangely resembled a young Christina Aguilera. What’s with all the Hollywood actor/actress look alikes?

“Who should we ask? There’s a different bartender. The DJ?” Kate asked looking around wildly. Ash and Lily frowned, but remained silent.

“We could ask the manager? Surely they must know what goes on in their club, right?” I asked.

Everyone agreed, so we set off down a hallway adjacent to the lounge. After passing some restrooms we came to a large maple door with a simple golden plaque on it that read Management.

“Simple, and to the point. I like it.” Ash remarked lightly. I rolled my eyes at him and gave a rough knock on the door.

There was nothing but silence on the other side. Uncertain, I knocked again. Still no response. I boldly reached out and jiggled the door handle before Lily snatched my hand back.

“What are you doing?!” she whispered.

“I want answers,” I replied. I raised my hand to knock a third time when suddenly a voice cut across us from down the hallway.

“The manager’s not in at the moment. You’re supposed to make an appointment.”

We all turned and looked at a girl who stood a few feet from us, an expression of disdain on her face. She was dressed like a secretary and had mousy brown hair and thick rimmed glasses. I squinted and read that her nametag said Lucinda on it.

“Um…we don’t have an appointment. Lucinda, is it? We just have a couple questions about something that happened here last night,” I said as calmly and reasonably as I could. Lucinda scrutinized me behind her glasses and sniffed.

“I’m afraid without an appointment, meeting Mr. Radon will not be possible no matter what the reason.”

A flare of annoyance sparked through me and I took a step forward angrily. Ash quickly grabbed my elbow and shook his head.

“Excuse me. Lucinda? May I call you Lucy? We experienced a strange occurrence last night in this very establishment. Now whether or not that incident was a pleasant one or horrific one that’s mention to the public could possibly result in the federal investigation here which I know neither of us wants…” Ash rambled on as he slowly sauntered up to the girl putting on his million watt smile.

The girl frowned and blushed in confusion.

“I…um…well, we wouldn’t want any rumors spread…” she mumbled. Ash, not missing a beat, gently grabbed her hand.

“No, of course not! That’s exactly why we’re here! Now, I know we don’t have an appointment with Mr. Rayman…”

“Radon,” she corrected.

“Right, right. But we’re busy people see? And if we can’t resolve this little issue than we may have to take our questions elsewhere, such as the local authorities. That can’t possibly be good for business, and we would rather not have to do that,” Ash said smoothly. The three of us stood there watching the poor girl get all flustered as Ash turned on his full charm.

“I cannot believe she’s buyin-“ Kate remarked, but then Lily elbowed her in the ribs.

“Well, I suppose I can pencil you in…” Lucinda said blushing. Ash smiled at her and she practically swooned.

“That’s fantastic! Thank you so much, Lucy. You’re amazing.”

Lucinda told us to wait in the lounge while she walked off dazed. We slowly walked back to the lounge and took our seats while Ash grinned at us all.

“You…are truly a force to be reckoned with,” Kate remarked with surprise. Lily and I laughed as he did a quick bow.

“That? That was nothing my dear sister.”

“Uh-huh,” she said shaking her head.

I relaxed back into the cushion and closed my eyes. What could have happened last night? The eclipse…it must be related. I can’t remember. It all seems like a dream…

-Lilies swayed in a cool breeze, brushing against my legs-

I opened my eyes. That’s right! That…vision or whatever it was. That field…there was something I was supposed to remember about it…

“Get your hands off of me you bloody git!”

I spun towards the sound of a struggle and felt my face heat. Standing at the entrance to the dance floor, was someone I really didn’t want to see clad in black jeans and leather jacket. I heard Kate barely contain a laugh and Lily take in a sharp breath.

Kyllian stood there with his back to us. He was toe to toe with one of the missing bouncers judging by the man’s weight-lifting stature and signature sunglasses. It would almost have been comical seeing as the bouncer was twice Kyllian’s size, except that it looked like Kyllian was about to take on the not-so-merry giant. He was waving his hands in aggressive jerks as he yelled at him.

“I know something happened last night, you damned godzilla! He thinks he can hide from me, but I
will get to the bottom of this! You can count on that!” he shouted as the bouncer effortlessly pushed him back towards the exit. Which also meant towards us. I reacted quickly without thinking.

“Oh my gawd! Killian you asshole! How could you just run off like that!” I yelled as I strode over and grabbed a hold of his jacket. He and the bouncer both froze as they looked at me with equally dumbfounded expressions. I felt my face flush with embarrassment but it was too late to turn back
now.

“You can’t just go running off after last night!” I scolded him. The bouncer looked between us confused and I gently put a hand on his arm. “I am so sorry, sir. He suffers some short-term memory loss after…you know…drinking.”

Kyllian frowned and I stomped his foot.

“Ah-right! Right, love. I’m ashamed to say I’m a bit of a lightweight,” he remarked completely straight-faced. The bouncer looked at him with a scowl and then at me.

“This is your guy?” he asked gruffly. I inwardly barfed, but outwardly smiled what I hoped was a genuine innocent smile.

“Unfortunately, sir. I really am sorry for his behavior.”

The bouncer grudgingly released Kyllian making him stumble into me. I flinched as he grabbed a hold of my shoulders to steady himself. I shock ran through me where his hands where and I shivered.

“This is your one and only warning,” he barked at us. Kyllian almost rolled his eyes, but I punched him in his gut making him cough instead.

“Absolutely, sir. Thanks so much!” I gushed animatedly. The bouncer stalked off and I immediately pushed Kyllian away from me. He stumbled a little and gripped his side where I had hit him. Looking up at me he had a boyish grin on his face.

“Full of surprises aren’t you, love?” he said laughing. I glared at him.

“A simple ‘thank you’ would be fine,” I snapped.

He chuckled at that and slowly stretched. I noticed that he was wearing a plain white shirt now, and as he stretched it slowly exposed some of his lower abdomen. The glimpse showed me a small trail of hair leading from his navel down into his pants and I immediately looked away blushing.

“Thank you, lass, but you needn’t have intervened. I had that situation under control,” he said with a smirk. His eyes glowed brighter in the daylight and I was momentarily distracted by them. They were like big reflective gems that sparkled with his mischievous humor.

“Sure, just like I didn’t need your help last night,” I replied sarcastically. Kyllian grinned at that.

“Oh, the cat has claws,” he said while making a ridiculous cat claw motion at me.

“Whatever,” I sighed.

“So this is Kyllian the lech?” Ash remarked acidly from behind me. I glanced at him and saw the Lily and Kate were also with us now. Kyllian narrowed his eyes at Ash as he sized him up. Then he let out a laugh that surprised me.

“Ah, so my reputation precedes me,” he said grinning.

“You don’t deny being a perverted son of a bitch?” Ash asked sounding as surprised as I felt. Kyllian shrugged and winked at me.

“Well I like to think of myself as more of a charming perverted son of a bitch, as you’ve so eloquently stated. I’m honest to a fault I dare say,” he said distractedly as he fiddled with the zipper on his jacket. Ash glared at him and I could almost feel the tension coiling throughout his body.

“Not typically something to be proud of,” Ash said coldly. Kyllian regarded him with his usual smirk.

“Well at least I’ve my honor, mate. What’ve you got?” he asked while letting his eyes linger on me.

“Ok, ok. That’s enough of that,” I said standing in between them. I turned to Ash and snapped my fingers at him, “Can you give us a second?”

He looked down at me confused, but then reluctantly did what I asked. Lily and Kate exchanged looks and followed him back to the seats. Turning back on Kyllian I gave him a hard look.

“Now, now, love. To be fair, he started it by calling me a pervert,” he said with his hands up. I rolled my eyes at that.

“You are a pervert.”

“Yes, but an honorable one. Important detail,” he said with a smile.

“What are you even doing back here, Kyllian?” I asked curiously. Some emotion flashed across his face and he looked away from me. Confusion maybe?

“Don’t think you’d believe me if I told you, love,” he said quietly.

“Ok, again, my name is not love, it’s Rayne. And try me,” I said crossing my arms in front of me.
Then it dawned on me as I saw him hesitate.

“Kyllian…what happened to you last night? After the Eclipse?” I asked. I knew I was right when he looked at me surprised.

“Honest? I have no idea. It’s the strangest thing…I just-“

“Can’t remember,” I interjected. He looked at me all traces of his casual smugness gone. “I can’t either.”

“How?” He asked. I nervously wound a strand of hair around my finger and fiddled with it.

“We don’t know. None of us can remember,” I said while gesturing back at the group.

“Fancy that,” he remarked without humor.

“That’s why we’re here to see if the manager can help us. He must have some kind of surveillance or something. Whatever, happened…it happened here.”

“Oh, fantastic,” Kyllian barked loudly. I frowned at him confused and he sighed heavily.

“See, love, that’s what I’ve been trying to do all morning. But that bloody…” Kyllian looked towards the direction the bouncer had taken. “They’re not letting anyone see him. I’m afraid you all are just as screwed as I am.”

“Not exactly,” I said vaguely. Kyllian’s attention snapped back to me instantly. He raised a brow.

“You know something I don’t, love?”

“Ash managed to get us a last minute appointment with the manager,” I said. Kyllian sucked in a breath and scratched his head.

“Don’t suppose you all got room for one more, ya?” he asked.

“Definitely not,” I replied. He nodded having expected that.

“Well…how about this then,” he said and came closer to me. I involuntarily stepped back from him and he smirked at me.

“Easy, lass, I’m not going to bite ya,” he said quietly making me blush. “Unless of course you wanted me to in which case I’m only all too happy to oblige…”

“Just get to the point,” I snapped embarrassed.

“Right then. With this nasty business of amnesia applying to all of us here,” he said as he whipped out a cell phone, “best that you have my contact information so you can help a bloke out.”

With a start I realized it was my phone he was holding. Stunned I instinctively patted my pockets, but the usual form of my phone was nowhere on me.

“How did you?! Give it back!” I said angrily as I tried to snatch it back from him.

“Ah-nope,” he said while he caught a hold of my wrist. The contact once again sent little shocks of warmth along my skin like a current.

“Let go,” I hissed. He held on to my wrist tightly as he kept typing away on my phone. I pulled my other hand back ready to hit him square in his jaw, when he suddenly released me. He held out my phone and I snatched it from his hand. Looking down at the screen I saw the new contact he had added.

“Kyllian Maxwell?” I asked momentarily distracted.

“In the flesh,” he said with a grin, green eyes flashing. I glared at him and put my phone securely into my pocket.

“Don’t do that ever again,” I snapped.

“Scout’s honor,” he replied witha wink.

“Rayne!” Lily called from the group of seats they were at. I turned and saw the Lucinda was starting to walk down the hallway towards us.

“Guess that’s my queue,” Kyllian said lightly. I frowned and turned, but he was gone. I glanced around surprised, but he was nowhere to be seen. I skimmed my pocket with my fingertips knowing that now I had a way to contact him. Not that I would ever want to. But it is what it is. He’s involved in this somehow.

I walked over to the others, ignoring Ash’s hateful looks.

“What happened with Kyllian?” Kate asked. I could tell the curiosity was eating her up inside and I internally groaned. She going to try and get all the details out of me later.

“Nothing helpful,” I replied. Ash straightened in the seat as Lucinda reached us and he gave her a beaming smile.

“Lucy! Good news I hope?”

“Mr. Radon will see you now,” she said giving Ash a shy smile in return.

“Peachy keen,” Lily murmured. I smiled to myself and we followed Lucinda back down the hallway to the Management door. Maybe now we can finally get some answers.

When we reached the door I felt a shiver of anticipation go through me. Lucinda shot us all glares except Ash, and hesitantly opened the door. She ushered us all in and shut it securely behind us. I frowned at her rush, and then turned around to take in our new surroundings.

We had entered into a large room with plain white walls. Large paintings covered the walls depicting sinister battles and carnage making me wince. It was extremely out of place in this office. There were also black shelves that were stacked next to each other lining the walls. On the shelves were various books, manuals, and packages.

I moved forward and caught my foot on a giant rug laid out before us. Lily and Kate immediately reached out and steadied me as I blushed from embarrassment. But then I noticed the design on the rug.

It was pitch black as night, slightly contrasting with the regular grey carpeting covering the rest of the floor. However there was two large almond shapes symmetrically placed in the rug, almost like eyes. They burned a blood red color and I recoiled from their gaze. The eyes almost seemed to flash for a second and I gasped. Must be my imagination…

Shaking my head, I quickly skirted away from the rug and continued to follow the others. I glanced around once again taking in the brutal paintings. Why would the manager have these in his office? At a club?

“Oomph!” I huffed as I accidently walked into Ash. He glanced back at me and rolled his eyes.

Realizing we had reached the summit of the room, I quickly peered around him curious. In front of us was a very large deep mahogany desk, and behind it lay the wide back of a black leather chair. Knowing the manager was facing the other way I almost laughed at the dramatic notion as he slowly swiveled to greet us. The laugh died in my throat instantly as I finally saw him.

He was dressed in a flashy silver suit complete with a black tie securely fastened around his neck. His hair was slicked back, not even one strand out of place. Everything about his appearance shouted calm, cool, and crisp. He casually leaned back in his chair as the faintest of smiles played over his lips.

His deep brown eyes, that should’ve seemed warm, held nothing in their depths but contempt as he gazed at us. Standing there dumbfounded, I felt Ash shift beside me uncomfortably.

“So,” the man remarked coolly as he crossed his hands in front of him. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“You…” I said without thinking. “You were here yesterday night…”

“The paper towels guy!” Kate interjected as recognition dawned on her face. I felt Lily tense and I knew she felt as I did.

“Yes, I’m here quite often,” he said with amusement that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “The question is why you are here?”

“You know this guy?” Ash asked confused.

“Chany? Charles?” Kate pondered aloud.

“Chancellor,” he said calmly giving Ash a hard look.

I pushed my inner feelings down and met his steely gaze.

“We’re here because last night something happened. We have no memories of anything that took place after the Eclipse.”

There was dead silence as we all awaited his answer. Chancellor thoughtfully rubbed his jaw with his hand. He looked at each of us in turn with an unreadable expression before his eyes finally rested on me. I looked at him challengingly as he tried to stare me down. I saw something dark move behind his eyes, but I didn’t waver and he smiled.

“Well, sounds to me like you all had one hell of a night!” he said chuckling. “However, we take under aged alcohol consumption really serious in these parts and such illegal acts are not to be tolerated here.”

“What? We didn’t drink any alcohol,” Ash cut in defensively. Chancellor gave him a look and Ash coughed, “Sir.”

“And yet I cannot fathom any other possible explanation for your particular situation. A sudden bout of group amnesia? Unlikely,” he proposed, turning his stare on Lily. I felt her stiffen beside me and I glared at him.

“We know how it sounds, Mr. Radon. But we are telling the truth. All that we ask is for some kind of surveillance tape or something…anything to show us what happened,” I said as calmly as I was able. I grew unnerved under his gaze. Take a picture…it will last longer…

“My apologies, Miss…” he trailed off crooking an eyebrow at me quizzically.

“Rayne,” I said angrily.

“Miss Rayne. You see our surveillance is strictly forbidden to the public for your own protection of course. I am not at liberty to disclose such things to you and your group here. To do so would result in the violation of others privacy. You understand?” he finished with a smile.

“You-You can’t just keep that from us!” Kate exclaimed. “We damn well have a right to know what happened to us last night! At your club. What if something bad happened, hm? Don’t think that would be good for business, Mr. Radon,” she hissed while taking a menacing step forward. Lily grabbed her arm and tugged her back into line, but I could tell the damage was done by the smirk on Chancellor’s face.

“Why, is that a threat my dear?” he asked tauntingly.

“Please, ignore my sister,” Ash pleaded. We all looked at him surprised. “If you could just help us get this little bit of information-“

“I will do no such thing,” Chancellor interrupted.

“What?” I asked aloud.

“Let me just make something clear to you all. Seeing as you’re young and let your unruly tempers get the better of you…” he continued giving Kate a hard look.

“I would not help you even if I could. Really, it’s as simple as pressing play on a screen, and yet I will not lift a single finger to retrieve the information you so desire,” he said casually.

“But why?!” Lily cried. Chancellor looked at her and smiled serenely.

“Because I don’t want to. And I don’t take kindly to threats, no matter how ridiculous,” he said with a smirk.

“You…” I scoffed. I didn’t even have the words to reply to him.

“You son of a bitch! Give us some damn answers!” Kate growled lunging forward. Ash reached over and grabbed her before she could reach the desk and I saw Chancellor grinning from his seat.

“This isn’t over,” I declared angrily. I nodded to Ash and he quickly dragged Kate from the room.

Lily paused at the doorway, waiting for me. I spared Chancellor once last glare and then turned to follow her out.

“I agree full-heartedly, Miss Rayne Claymorr,” I heard his voice almost like a whisper in my ear. I froze outside the doorway and looked back at him.

He met my eyes and I saw a gleam of pure malicious intent reflected in his. “This isn’t over. It’s only just beginning.”

My heart throbbed in my chest and I stepped back away from him involuntarily. Then without anyone touching it, the door swung shut with an audible slam in front of us.

“Holy shit,” Ash whispered. “Did you?”

“No,” I replied as goose bumps covered my arms. “I didn’t do that.”

“What the hell is going on?!” Lily asked. I could hear the tremor in her voice and I shook my head.

“I don’t know…” I said quietly. How did he know my name?

“Let’s get out of here.”