Chapter Twenty-Six

The Hex Beast was not one, but three.

Lucianne thought about this as she ambled down the packed hallways of Ravenspire, students chattering about on either side of her in groups. The smiles on their faces betrayed the fear that lied underneath their masks. They were afraid, and Lucianne knew not for long, because she would get to the bottom of this.

She pondered everything she currently knew. Jonas, Harper and Abbie seemed to be in a cult, one that involved sacrifices of some sort which would explain the bones. Blood was also involved in each "Calling" they had, and somehow it must be related to the bloody history of Crestfall. Genevieve surely had something to play in all of this. Even while she was dead, she was still wreaking havoc on the lives of all townspeople.

What if the three of them were deluded and they worshipped Genevieve, thinking that murdering students was the way to resurrect her or something? It sounded really crazy, but she wouldn't put anything past a cult.

And what about Abbie? She was missing, and the cohort had yet to realise that she was because Abbie was someone who was invisible, but Lucianne knew something had happened to her. Somehow, she had to investigate more, discover more facts and unearth the truth.

Sitting down at a table far from where Jonas and Harper were sitting, but not far enough that she couldn't watch them closely, she bit into an apple and chewed. She had sunglasses on and was pretending to be intrigued by something on her screen, but the next time she looked up, Jonas and Harper were making a beeline towards the exit of the food hall. Taking another quick bite of her apple, she jumped out of her seat and left the food hall, tailing them furtively.

They did not talk as they walked down the hallways. Students were on either side talking, but she saw no such behaviour from Jonas or Harper. As she continued to follow them down corner after corner, however, she soon found herself alone with them. Harper threw a glance behind her back and Lucianne rushed behind a beam to hide herself. Looking around, Harper turned back to the front and Lucianne left her hiding place.

The two of them stepped into the common area as Lucianne hid behind another thick beam. Holding a compact mirror at the edge of the beam, she caught a clear view of them on it. She perked her ears up when their mouths started moving.

Harper spun around and around on the same spot, both her hands cupping her forehead in frustration. She stopped to glare at Jonas, an accusing finger pointed directly in his face.

".... you - ..." she said. "Knew.... Crazy!"

"Stop....." he said. "..... okay."

"...… fucking - ...... Glacier..."

"Abbie….." he said.

She heard the name Abbie! Lucianne pressed her face against the stone beam, trying to pick up the conversation better.

Jonas continued. "Bitch...…." he said. "...….safe, for now. She'll report on her progress again."

Progress? What progress? Well, at least now she knew that Abbie was safe, but whether for long, she wasn't sure. Or was the person with safety in question not Abbie, but someone else?

"...….no," Harper said. "...….. Just do it."

"...….then...I - ......Calling…."

Harper spun around and around again, tears falling down her face. She gesticulated wildly in stress. "Fuck off, Jonas! ...….Abbie...…"

"......….school library...….. alright….."

Harper wiped her tears away, but more flowed. Jonas came over to pull her into an embrace. "Stop!"

He held his hands up in the air, then backed away. "Suit yourself."

"......... next Monday...….. library! Then...….. die on Monday."

"...... great...…. Then - " Jonas said. "...… do it."

Harper nodded her head fervently. Then pointed another finger at Jonas. "You fucker!"

"Whore!" Jonas hollered back. They parted, Jonas to the abandoned section and Harper away to the dormitory halls.

Well, that was one interesting conversation. Pity she couldn't catch everything. They were yelling, but whisper-yelling. She did get some bits of information though. Something was happening in the school library, something that seemed to include Abbie.

Not only that, something big was happening next Monday. It was Saturday now and Monday was way too close for comfort. According to the conversation, someone was going to die on Monday. Whether that was Abbie or one of the students they had kidnapped, she didn't know.

What she knew was that she was going to bust the culprits.

And that her next location was the school library.