Whitethorn Academy

Chapter Twenty

My new room didn't look any different from the old two. They were all the same layout, all the same colors. Not a single difference separated them. And yet, this room felt strange.

Maybe it was because I knew I was being watched extra carefully.

We still couldn't find Loki and I spent my day off from classes calling his name around the dorm and quad. Ms. Rose was adamant that he would turn up, but I kept thinking of the dark red ink used to write that threatening message on my mirror.

What if someone had done something horrible to him?

A sharp, bitter wind whipped my hair in my face, stinging against my skin. I tugged my jacket tighter against me, though it did little to help against the dropping temperatures.

The sky, a solid sheet of slate gray, looked unforgiving and ominous. Ms. Rose said the weather was calling for a likely chance of snow tonight and I wanted to find Loki before any sort of storm would hit. I didn't want him left out in the cold to fend for himself.

"Loki!" I called again, before clicking my tongue sharply a few times. "Here kitty kitty!"

There was nothing. A few students, halfway across the quad, looked over at me, their expressions curious. But there was no sign of the little tabby cat I called mine.

I sighed as another burst of wind ripped past, sending goosebumps flaring over me as it cut through my clothing like it was made of nothing.

"What in the world are you doing?" An irritated voice asked from behind me.

I turned, surprised to see Alek, his eyes slanted into a glare. "Why does it matter to you?"

He made no notion that my words bothered him, or affected him. "Why are you yelling around like an idiot?"

Heat flared across my face, but I knew I was too chapped from the cold for Alek to notice any blush. "I'm not acting like an idiot," I snapped at him. "I'm looking for my cat."

Alek opened his mouth to respond, with some smartass comment, when he was interrupted by another voice.

"Hey Alek, why do you go be a dick somewhere else?"

Jason made his way over to us, hands tucked into his pockets. He seemed as nonchalant as ever, but the venom in his voice when he'd spoken to Alek had said volumes.

Alek appeared unaffected. He didn't even acknowledge Jason's presence. He kept his gaze, cold and unnerving, focused on me. "Stop screaming like a banshee, calling for an animal that doesn't want you to find it."

"I'm not leaving until I find my cat," I said stubbornly, setting my jaw. "And you can leave if you don't like it."

At that moment, there was a small meow. Loki twined his way through Alek's legs, but Alek paid him no attention. Then he moved on, meowing softly as he made his way to me.

I picked him up, thankful that he was okay. "Hey buddy," I said as I scratched under his chin. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Loki purred loudly, the sound reverberating in his little chest. Alek was staring at the cat, as if the way Loki rubbed his face against my hands was interesting to him.

"I guess now you can stop screaming at the top of your lungs," Alek sneered. "It was getting annoying."

Jason rolled his eyes. "Just bugger off, Aleksander."

Alek visibly stiffened, as if being called by his full name repulsed him. A muscle feathered in his jaw and his fist curled at his side. But then in the blink of an eye, all the emotion faded, and Alek was, once again, devoid of all feeling. Just like a statue.