Either oblivious to Landon’s dark expression, or just choosing to ignore it, Haya greets him, then leans a little in my direction. “Did you get your schedule yet, Billie?”
“Yeah, Mr. Qureshi gave them to us last night.” I pull the piece of paper from my pocket — another spelled object — and smooth it out on the table. “Looks like I have...Discovering Your Unfinished Business first.”
“I have that too,” Rafe says. “Though I think I’ve got a good chunk of that figured out.”
I grin up at him but feel my stomach dip like a buoy at his expression. A frown tugs on the corners of his mouth and his dark eyes, which he’s now got aimed at the table, are wide with pain. Though I’ve only known him about a day, his general persona has been happy, friendly. Maybe those smiles are hiding deep wounds.
Sometimes the people who smile most are the ones who have the deepest hurt.
“That’s good,” Haya says, squeezing his forearm. “That class will help you work out how to finish it too. Some of it is very scientific, even if it is a soft science like Psychology, but even that has its benefits. And you’ll also be partnered up with somebody to help them finish theirs.”
Rafe tries on a grin that fails to bring up the dimple. “That’s cool. I’m definitely going to need all the help I can get.”
Landon rolls his eyes, stabbing his eggs with a plastic knife. “Yeah, it’s great. I love being delayed because of somebody else’s unfinished business.”
I cross my arms and rest them on the table. “You in a hurry to get to the other side?”
His glare cuts through me, so I lay on the smile a little harder. Maybe it’s slightly bratty, but at the moment, this is my only defense.
“Let me explain something to you,” Landon says. “The longer we’re stuck in the realm of the living, the more likely it is that we can end up twisted. If some Xer finds our graves, or an object we didn’t realize we were tied to, and torches either one, we don’t get to pass on peacefully. We end up trapped on this plane as ugly shadows of ourselves. The only thing left behind is an angry entity on a rampage to cause all the damage it can. Is that what you want?”
My mouth dries out and my breath catches in my chest. Haya gives a funny little grunt, almost like she’s clearing her throat. She stands quickly, mumbling something unintelligible, then glides out of the room. Again, I wonder if this is what happened to her former roommate, Erin. If it did, then Landon’s a total jerk for bringing it up.
In the end though, I have to agree with him. The last thing I want is to lose my sanity because I hang around too long in a plane I no longer belong in. And if I’m going to avoid that, I have to get my memories back.
The one million questions banging around in my mind rush me to finish breakfast and track down Kaz before class. I find him easily, eating a giant breakfast sandwich in the far corner of the dining hall all by himself. This only adds to my curiosity, but the answer to why he’s sitting alone is going to have to wait until the more pressing questions are out of the way.
He gives me a little finger wave as I plop down in front of him. “Hey Billie. Settling in?”
“I don’t know about the settling part. Landon and I just had a conversation that freaked me out a little.”
Kaz sighs and sets down his sandwich. “He can be a little overly emotional and dramatic. So, don’t put too much stock in what he says.”
Tracing the scar on my lip, I squint at the Ghost Guide. “So then if the Xers find my body, they’re not going to torch it and turn me into an unthinking rage monster? Like, well, like that ghost I saw in the field?”
Tears well in my eyes at the memory of that encounter. Something about it was so painfully familiar, I just can’t remember why.
“Okay, that part’s true,” Kaz says.
I almost laugh at how direct his statement is. “Well isn’t that just swell. Do I need to be worried about a random forest fire destroying my bones too?”
Kaz brushes crumbs off his hands. “A few things. First of all, we’re going to do everything we can to find your body as fast as possible. Burning bones can only twist you if it’s done with a very specific ritual and a particular set of spells. Cremation won’t twist any ghosts, and neither will death by fire.”
This makes me pull up on the panic reins a bit. I hadn’t even thought of cremation or burning to death. I shiver at that thought. What Kaz says still isn’t totally comforting, but at least I don’t have to worry about a stupid accident causing me any problems. Now if I could just find my mortal coil, as it were, I’d feel a lot better.
“That’s good at least,” I say.
Kaz crosses an ankle over one of his knees. “I know it’s a lot to handle, especially since you’re also missing your memories. But Mr. Qureshi’s going to get in touch with one of our medium contacts today. He’s the best in the business. If anyone can find your body, Theo can. Trust us. We don’t want you getting twisted any more than you do.”
Chapter Five
This dark conversation, barely punctured by hope, follows me like an unhappy little cloud as Rafe and I search out our first class. Discovering Your Unfinished Business is near the front of the building, but I drag
