Sins of the Innocent - Jamie McGuire Page 0,2

normal for another few beats before doing it again. There was something wrong about the creature. My lungs burned when I breathed in. More than sulfur, more than the stench of death and evil, its scent confused me—not a feeling I was used to. I sensed curiosity and maybe something soft … delight? Amusement?

The bell rang, and I watched Morgan walk away from the hideous hunched monster perched on the cabinet.

“What?” Morgan said as he approached.

“Nothing. Let’s go,” I said, pulling him along as I let my supernatural feelers out into the hallways.

The only non-human beings I could pinpoint were Bex on his way back to my location and the creature Morgan and I had left behind in calculus.

“So, I was thinking maybe we could get smoothies today,” Morgan said.

“Not today. I’m training with my uncle.”

“Oh, yeah. He’s a boxer or MMA fighter or something, isn’t he?”

“No.”

His nose wrinkled. “Oh. Really? All this time, I thought he was a professional athlete. Then why do you work out every day?”

“Because it’s good for you. What about after dinner? I’ll pick you up.”

“Can I drive?”

“Sure.”

Morgan grinned. “Sweet. I feel so bad A in your car.”

“It doesn’t have quite the same effect when you say ‘bad A.’”

Morgan stopped, pushing up his round glasses. “Mom doesn’t like for me to cuss.”

I stared at him for a moment, and then I opened my locker and pulled out my next textbook. He always had the same hopeful glint in his eyes when he asked me to go places with him. Remaining close friends with a boy who thought he was in love required patience, finesse, and something I was born for—balance. Lucky for us, I was far from clumsy.

“Would you do me a favor, Morgan?”

“Anything.”

“Always be my friend.”

The light in his eyes snuffed out, but he rebounded with a smile. “No matter what.”

I patted his arm. “Pick you up at seven, Morg.”

He puffed out his chest a bit, looking around the congested hallway to see if anyone else had heard. “Yes, you will.”

I turned away from him to walk to class. The creature didn’t resurface, but the scent lingered for a while before disappearing altogether. The other students didn’t seem to notice, still chatting about graduation weekend and trivial things like what they would wear under their gowns and what day they were leaving for various foreign destinations.

“Once you finish your exam, you’re free to leave,” Brother Sheposh said. “See you at the graduation ceremony.”

Excited whispers hissed throughout the room.

I was glad my last class was English IV. The answers were fairly straightforward, and Brother Sheposh had been my instructor before. He knew I was familiar with the material. Without a need to pretend to take my time, I turned in my exam within fifteen minutes, nodding to Brother Sheposh as I passed his desk.

“It’s been a pleasure, Miss Ryel. Good luck to you in all things.”

“Likewise, Brother Sheposh.”

As I walked alone across the parking lot, I caught the scent again and paused. Turning in a full three-sixty, taking my time, I pulled in all my surroundings as my lungs burned, and my eyes watered. Everything came into focus—every sound, every leaf twitching in the breeze. But I sensed nothing in the trees, behind or under the cars, or even on a different plane.

I continued walking, growing increasingly frustrated with the mystery. Thirty yards from the Audi, something dark pulled my attention over and up, like a mortal would turn toward sound. The creature, silent and still, sat on a ledge on the next building.

I reached slowly for the handle of the Audi, waiting for the creature to attack, almost daring it to, if that was even what it had come for. But the being remained on its perch, seemingly uninterested. Almost disappointed, I yanked on the handle and fell into my seat in a huff.

“Interesting visitor you had today. Goblins at school.” Bex mulled that over while I fastened my seat belt and pressed the ignition button.

He looked like a giant sitting in the passenger seat of the Audi with his knees nearly level with his chest, even though the seat was back as far as it would go.

“It wasn’t a goblin.”

“Remember when you used to call them globins? Daddy! Globins!” He made a poor attempt at my childhood lisp.

I rolled my eyes, glancing in the rearview mirror, before I pulled into the street. “It was another druden.”

Bex barely acknowledged my comment, only breathing out a single laugh.

“It was, Bex.”

He shot me a disappointed look.