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ChapterEighteen
I jumpat every shadow since yesterday. I don’t know what that was yesterday, and I pray, with all my heart, that it doesn’t happen again. The Druid was no help. Dugald isn’t either. The only thing that is clear now is that I’m on my own.
I’m not going to wait on them to save me.
The first thing is to save my scholarships. Dad wants me to graduate and I’m not going to let him or myself down. Once that’s handled, then I can focus on the next thing. If nothing else, I can take out some more student loans and use at least part of them to pay “rent” to my parents. That should help with their bills.
Clenching the paper in my hands. I’m barely aware of the other students I pass. This paper is both a lifeline and a doom. It’s a classic Gordian knot.
The pressure in my head throbs in time with my heart. If it keeps building, I am sure that my head will explode. I want to swear and scream, but there’s no point. This is it. If I’m going to salvage my scholarships and remain in college, this is my one chance.
My professor didn’t have to offer me this lifeline. There’s no requirement on him, but at the same time, he could have set the bar a little lower. I thought switching from premed to archaeology as a major would be easier, but that was before my life was turned upside down in Scotland.
A soft breeze caresses my face and, for an instant, I smell fresh peat. I close my eyes and inhale deeply, clutching at the smell. Finding the complex layers within it. The musky odor of cattle and the soft scent of fresh heather disturbed by feet running through. My cheek tingles with the memory of Duncan’s fingers touching me. The sensation spreads to my lips.
“Hey, watch it.”
I’m thrown to one side as there is the sound of books clattering across the concrete of the quad.
“Oh, sorry,” I apologize, snapping my eyes open and losing all hints of the memory.
I crouch and help pick up the books he lost. Handing them to him he looks me up and down. He’s tall, blond, and lithe. Dressed in crisp jeans and a blue polo with wavy hair cut short. He has a soft jaw and blue eyes.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Sorry. Lot on my mind.”
We rise together and I hand him his books.
“If you’d like a coffee, I know a place.”
“No,” I say too fast.
The hurt in his eyes is as clear as if I stabbed him with a blade. He frowns, then nods and shakes his head.
“Yeah, okay,” he says, looking past me. “Didn’t mean to offend.”
I force a smile that I don’t feel because now, on top of everything else, I feel bad I hurt his feelings. He was being nice and I’m being a jerk.
“You didn’t,” I say by way of apology, and his eyes snap back to mine with immediate interest. Not the effect I want. At all. “I’m, uh, I’m with someone.”
“Oh,” he says, nodding his understanding. “Well, lucky guy.”
“Heh, uh, thanks.”
Our fellow students pass, carrying their books or backpacks, but none of them give us a second glance. Most are absorbed in their phones, barely aware of their own feet, much less anyone else around them.
“I’m Todd, by the way,” he says, shifting his books and offering his hand.
“Hi, Todd; Quinn.”
I take his hand and his grip is surprisingly strong. He moves in a step and the soft wings of fear flutter at the edges of my thoughts. His blue eyes darken, the pupils widening.
“Destroyer,” he says as his mouth stretches into a terrifying grin.
I try to pull my hand free, but he tightens his grip. I struggle but can’t break free. He’s taller than I am, towering over. My heart thrashes like an animal caught in a trap. Indecision rushes through my thoughts like a roaring river, pinning me in place. Todd looms larger as the world around us darkens.
“Todd, let me go.”
