Chapter 62 Chapter 62
The school hall felt like a tomb with too many living people inside it.
Students pressed together in tight clusters, some crying, some whispering furiously, others just staring at the body on the floor like if they looked long enough it might sit up and explain itself. Teachers stood at the edges, arms folded or hands covering mouths, faces pale and useless. The overhead lights buzzed faintly, casting harsh shadows across Mia’s lifeless face. She looked almost peaceful—eyes open, lips parted, no blood, no bruises, just… gone. Like someone had reached inside her chest and switched off the light.
I stood near the back wall, arms wrapped tight around myself, trying to breathe through the panic still clawing up my throat from the rooftop. Catherine was beside me, holding my elbow like she was afraid I’d collapse if she let go.
I kept staring at Mia.
Could Molly and the Terrible Four have done this?
The thought felt ridiculous the moment it formed. Molly was cruel, petty, vicious—but she didn’t have this kind of power. No one did. Not even wolves. Not even demons, unless—
Unless it was him.
My stomach twisted.
I felt him before I saw him.
The air shifted—colder, heavier, like someone had opened a window to the night. Shadows stretched a little longer across the floor even though the lights hadn’t dimmed.
Then he was there.
The One stepped up beside me, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed, like he’d just strolled in for a casual assembly. He didn’t even glance at the body on the floor. His black-rimmed eyes swept the room once—slow, assessing—then settled on me.
He didn’t speak.
He didn’t have to.
I could feel the question in the way he tilted his head: You okay?
I gave the tiniest nod.
He looked away again.
Toward the main doors.
That was when Molly and her crew walked in.
Ryan led, shoulders squared, trying to look like he belonged in the middle of a tragedy. Silas, Nikos, and Jacob followed, faces carefully blank. Molly was in the center—Claudia and Amy on either side of her like bodyguards. They moved straight toward the crowd gathered around Mia, slipping through the gaps with practiced ease.
The teacher nearest the body—Ms. Carter—looked up sharply.
“Where have you all been?” she asked, voice tight.
Molly didn’t miss a beat.
“Library,” she said smoothly. “We were studying when we heard everyone screaming. Came as fast as we could.”
Ms. Carter nodded—distracted, overwhelmed, not really listening.
Molly’s eyes flicked down to Mia.
She flinched—just a tiny jerk of her shoulders—but she covered it quickly. Inhaled deep through her nose. Exhaled. Claudia squeezed her elbow. Amy rubbed her back in slow circles.
I watched them.
They looked perfect.
Too perfect.
Grieving just enough. Shocked just enough. Concerned just enough.
My skin crawled.
Molly’s gaze lifted.
Met mine across the room.
Her eyes widened.
For one heartbeat she looked genuinely startled—like she’d seen a ghost.
Then she tapped Claudia’s arm.
Whispered something.
Claudia looked at me.
Amy looked at me.
All three of them stared.
Molly’s lips moved—silent words I couldn’t hear.
But I saw the shape of them.
She’s here.
Claudia’s mouth curved.
Amy’s eyes narrowed.
Molly straightened.
Took one slow step toward me.
The crowd shifted—people moving aside without realizing why.
Catherine’s grip on my elbow tightened.
“Harper,” she whispered urgently. “We should go.”
I didn’t move.
Molly kept walking.
Closer.
Closer.
Until she was only a few feet away.
She stopped.
Looked me up and down—taking in the torn hoodie, the red mark on my cheek, the faint smear of dried blood on my lip from her earlier slap.
Her eyes flicked to The One standing beside me.
Then back to me.
She smiled—slow, poisonous.
“You look like hell,” she said softly.
I didn’t answer.
She tilted her head.
“Guess the rooftop didn’t work out the way we planned.”
Catherine sucked in a breath.
I felt The One shift beside me—small movement, but enough to make the shadows in the corners stretch a fraction longer.
Molly’s smile didn’t falter.
She leaned in just enough that only I could hear.
“You should have stayed gone,” she whispered. “Now everyone’s going to ask questions. And when they do… I’m going to make sure they all point at you.”
My stomach twisted.
She straightened.
Looked at The One again.
Then back at me.
“See you around, Harper.”
She turned.
Walked back to her friends.
They melted into the crowd.
Catherine exhaled shakily.
“We need to leave,” she said again.
I nodded.
But I didn’t move yet.
I looked at The One.
He hadn’t taken his eyes off Molly’s retreating back.
His fingers flexed at his sides.
The shadows around his boots thickened.
I touched his arm.
“Don’t,” I whispered.
His gaze flicked to me.
Black eyes searched my face.
Then—slowly—he nodded.
Once.
But the shadows didn’t retreat.
They stayed.
Coiled.
Waiting.
And I knew—deep in my bones—that whatever came next,
Molly had just made herself a target.
And The One never forgot a name.
—
The body had been cleared away by the time the paramedics and police finally left, but the hall still felt wrong. Empty. Like the air itself remembered what had happened. Mia’s spot on the floor had been mopped, the caution tape taken down, but I could still see the outline of where she’d lain—eyes open, mouth slack, skin gray. No blood. No wounds. Just… gone.
I sat on the low bench outside the principal’s office, knees pulled up, arms wrapped around them. Catherine had gone to grab water. I didn’t move. I couldn’t. My mind kept replaying it: the girl’s smile in the mirror, the way her scream cut off, the silver light streaming into his mouth. I kept feeling it—phantom coldness in my own chest, like part of me had been hollowed out too.
Footsteps.
Soft.
Deliberate.
I didn’t need to look up to know who it was.
The One stopped in front of me.
He didn’t sit.
Just stood there—hands in his pockets, head tilted slightly, black-rimmed eyes watching me like I was the only thing in the world worth seeing.
“Tell me what you’re thinking about,” he said quietly.
I lifted my head.
Met those eyes.
“Did you kill her?”
He smirked—slow, unashamed.
“Yes.”
My breath caught.
So plain. So simple. Like admitting he’d eaten lunch.
My eyes widened.
“So it was you.”
He tilted his head.
“Which other demon do you know apart from me?” he asked, voice low and almost amused. “Who else do you think can suck a life out of someone without leaving a mark?”
I stared at him.
My mouth opened.
Closed.
My goodness.
I couldn’t believe this.
I pushed off the bench—legs shaky—and started walking away.
Fast.
He caught my wrist.
Gentle.
But unbreakable.
I froze.
“You know I’m still hungry,” he said.
My heart stopped.
“What—”
He stepped closer.
Opened his mouth.
I felt it instantly—pulling, draining, like something vital was being tugged out of me. My knees buckled. Vision blurred. The hallway tilted.
Energy.
Life.
Slipping away.
“Harper!”
Catherine’s voice snapped through the fog.
Fingers snapped in front of my face.
I blinked hard.
Reality rushed back.
Catherine stood in front of me—eyebrows furrowed, holding a water bottle and a flyer.
“Where is your head?” she asked, half worried, half exasperated.
I blinked again.
Looked around.
The hallway was normal.
Students walking past.
Lockers open.
No body.
No The One.
Just me—sitting on the bench, breathing too fast, hands clenched in my lap.
“I… uh…”
Catherine frowned.
“Forget about it,” she said quickly, thrusting the flyer at me. “Look—a field trip just came up.”
I took the paper with numb fingers.
One Week Wilderness Camp
All students welcome
Special focus: Power Development & Team Building
Different abilities. Different strengths. One shared experience.
My stomach dropped.
“One week in camp,” Catherine said brightly, “all together with students carrying different powers. Might be fun, right? Get out of this place for a bit.”
I stared at the flyer.
Students with different powers. And might prey on the weak like me. Just great.