Inari's Renegade

Chapter 12

  Authors note: Hey guys sorry, it took me a while to update. I had this chapter written for a while and I just now got the chance to upload it.  This chapter is dedicaed to not_ so_unique_name because she made me this wonderful cover for my story. ^_^ Please tell me what you think of this chapter and if you  see any mistakes. Also if you like it, please press the vote button and remember to tell your friends! :)

        When I awake, I find myself in a dim room. A powder scent wafts through the air and a  white curtain surrounds the twin bed I am lying in. My first guess is that I’m in a hospital, but I dimiss the thought when I hear the sound of laughter outside the door and the squeak of sneakers on linoleum. I assume I am still in school, possibly in the infirmary. I situ up and a damp cloth falls from my forehead. I’m about to place a foot on the ground, when the curtain is ripped back and the school nurse, Mrs. Valentine, appears before me.

“Good you’re a awa-when did you put on cat ears?” she asks me.

Cat ears?

I put my hands to my head where I felt two fluffy, pointy ears portruding from the crown and twitching to the sound around me. I clutch them in an attempt to hide them and refrain from wincing at the volatile gesture. I look into her inquiring eyes and will to  her forget what she’s  seeing, but no such luck. She’s still staring at me with a bemused expression, but not the kind I get when I’m putting someone under hypnosis.

Before I could come up with an excuse, the P.A system sounds. “Mrs. Valentine, you have a call on line one.”

“I’ll be right back.” She tells me.

     I force a smile as she goes to her office to answer the phone call.  Once she leaves, I get out of bed and the room starts swirling around me. I stagger to the side, but someone catches me. Bile rises in my throat, but I force it back down. My eyes roll as I looked up at the ceiling.

The person starts to shake me. “Penelope, Penelope, snap out of it!”

I moan and place my hand on their shoulder. “Please, stop shaking me.”

“Sorry,” They pick me up, bridal style and place me back on the bed with caution. I close my eyes to compose myself for a moment and hear the curtains shut again. Once I open my eyes, I see Kieran. His expression is inscrutable and his face paler than usual. If I knew he was the one  who picked me up, I would have put up a fight, but I was in no condition.

“Honestly Penelope, how could you have let your emotions get the best of you again? We just talked about this.”

“I’m fine, thanks for being concerned.” I retort. “And my emotional state wasn’t the problem. I was attacked and my energy was…drained. Otherwise, do you think I would have let a human see me in my half-form?”

“Oh,” His anger dissipates. ‘”D-do you think it was Erebus?” he looked away from me.

I shake my head. “I would have felt his presence. I think something else is out there.”

    The curtain opens again and we turned to see who it is. Rin stares back at us with his brows furrowed in confusion. Doesn’t the nurse watch when people enter her room? I can understand Kieran getting by, but Rin?

“Well,” Rin says, “I see you’re fine now, so I guess I’ll just go.”

“Rin, wait.” I couldn’t let him go again. Ismene said he needed me…and I needed him just as much.  “Did you come because you were concerned about me?”

He turns back around and narrows his eyes at me. “Don’t flatter yourself. Someone said you were attacked by a janitor wielding a mop and I just wanted to see if it was true.”