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ghost. She rubbed her arms to get rid of the heebie-jeebies she got at
finding herself standing in the middle of a corpse.
    The man had come to a stop some distance from the stairs. To
land so far away, someone had to have done more than push him, they had to have
sent him flying.
    “Raven?”
    “Huh?” She turned to see Durant’s alarmed face inches from
her own. The real world returned in a rush of sound and color, and she
staggered to keep her balance as she was dumped out of the vision. Now that she
was no longer touching the ghost, the past lost its grip on her. Humidity and a
hint of Magnolias hung in the air, as if she’d pulled it with her through time,
but the haunting scent disappeared as quickly as the vision.
    Without the excitement, her creature rolled over and returned
to its slumber.
    “Where did you go?” Durant’s hands were knotted into fists,
no doubt to keep from shaking the answer out of her.
    She blinked to clear the last of the vision. Her mouth had
gone bone dry, and she licked her parched lips, struggling to answer him in a
way that wouldn’t freak him out. “The past, I think.”
    Durant’s brows lowered ominously, and he looked ready to
scoop her up into the safety of his arms.
    “I’m fine.” She smiled to cover her unease. “I accidently stepped
in a ghost and saw a snippet of his murder.”
     

 Chapter Four
     
     
    “ O h,
well, if that’s all.” Though Durant’s voice revealed no inflection, a muscle flexed
in his jaw.
    “The murder happened a long time ago.” She tried to brush it
off, but immediately noticed he was having none of it. Taking another tack, Raven
prodded his back to get him moving forward, placing her own feet with more care
this time. “We’d better hurry, or we’ll be late for dinner.”
    They entered the large ballroom, now converted into a
cafeteria of sorts. The decor was clearly original to the house, the wallpaper
unchanged. It was as if she had stepped through time.
    Most of the students were already eating, all of them older
than she would have expected. Although a few appeared curious about their arrival,
the majority of the students dismissed them out of hand, while the rest didn’t
seem to even notice. The unpleasant smell of cafeteria food thickened the air,
but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
    “This way.”
    She followed Durant’s example and filled her plate. As they
walked toward an empty table, she noticed there wasn’t any available space on
his dish, the food piled so high it spilled over onto the tray. They barely sat
down when a small group of girls walked into the room and grabbed their food.
    They giggled, rudely staring at Durant as they neared, then
one of the girls stopped, forcing the rest to halt as well.
    Raven stilled, instantly on alert.
    “He doesn’t belong at the table.” The girl smirked as she removed
a bowl from her tray and set it on the floor. “Here, kitty-kitty.”
    Raven went taut, ready to lunge across the table. Durant gave
a tiny warning shake of his head. He bent, scooped up the bowl and smiled,
flashing his fangs. “Thanks.”
    A couple of the girls squealed and leapt back, but the one
in charge narrowed her eyes at the challenge before she led her small band of
stuck-up princesses away.
    Raven’s blood boiled at the insult, and she barely resisted
following to teach them a lesson. They headed toward a table at the front of
the room. As they neared, the occupants scrambled to vacate, but one boy wasn’t
fast enough. The leader of the group leaned over and shoved the poor guy’s tray
of food to the floor while her friends laughed.
    “Don’t do it.”
    Raven blinked innocently. “Do what?”
    The girls were fools if they thought she was helpless. Raven
reached for her core before she remembered there was nothing left. The reminder
was an annoyance. She might not be able to use her own power, but that didn’t
mean she was defenseless. She noted the plug-ins behind the main table, and
drew down