Cassia struggled not to openly gape. Rin Hino, here, in the tiny shack out in the middle of the woods, tagging along with people who claimed to hunt spirits.

He was just as captivating here, in this dingy building, as he was in the pristine halls of Heartwood High. Rin always reminded Cassia of a snowflake, with his sharp bones and smooth, pale complexion. Strands of icy blond hair fell into a carefully stylized swept appearance. The only break in his pallor were his near-black eyes. They stared off at nothing, and Cassia couldn't escape the feeling he was a prince, a stoic mask drawn forth while an artist painted him.

At the noise coming from their corner, though, his eyes swung toward them, and Cassia's heart lurched under his gaze. Warmth crept up her neck. Despite her crush on her classmate, she'd never been the recipient of more than a passing glance. Now he scrutinized them, attention jumping between their uniforms and their faces. It took a total of five seconds for a dreadful realization to settle over her.

He showed no signs of recognition.

Cassia shared only two classes with Rin. In their literature class, he sat in the front row while she was in the middle on the opposite side. The other was gym, one of her largest classes, and boys and girls didn't always intermingle. Still, did he not recognize her or the others at all?

Her eyes burned as Rin turned his interest to the others he'd entered with. "Who are they?" he asked.

Tinni scoffed. "Jerk," she said under her breath, coming to the same conclusion Cassia had.

She wanted to point out their grade had over one hundred and fifty people and it was entirely possible to forget a few classmates, especially when one was newer, but now wasn't the time, and she was too deflated to put up the fight.

"And why is one of them carrying a stick?" This came from the ginger. Tal, Cassia thought Rayner had called him. He crouched beside Rayner and rested his chin against the desk.

Rayner pointed his mango-holding skewer in Tal's direction. "See, I asked the same thing, and nobody answered me."

"Just..." Orsa's voice came out higher pitched than usual. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Just in case you all ended up being creeps."

Tal's eyes glittered, and he grinned. Cassia could have sworn his canines were sharper than normal. "So, you brought in a stick for defense, but you also backed yourselves into a corner and let us all surround you?"

As Tal put their situation into words, Cassia felt foolish for her petty worries about her crush. Rin's presence made her feel less like this was dangerous, but that didn't mean they hadn't put themselves into a very stupid spot. Based on Orsa's lack of immediate response, she'd been just as sucker punched by Tal's words.

"Look!" she snapped, going back on the offensive. "We came here because we're worried about our friend. Are you really some weird ghost whisperers or what?"

Tal laughed. "'Weird ghost whisperers.' Just for that, I think we should hex you."

Considering how little Orsa had believed in all of this, it was astounding how quickly the color drained from her face.

Cassia hurriedly stepped in. She didn't know if any of these people could hex others, and Tal spoke with enough humor in his voice that she thought it was a joke, but she refused to risk it.

"I'm Cassia," she said, stepping forward. "These are my friends, Tinni and Orsa. We're here because, well..." She trailed off, her eyes moving over each of their faces. Was she really going to do this? Lay out her failures at their feet? At Rin's? Truly commit to this Spirit Hunter thing—

Her thoughts stuttered to a stop when her eyes fell on the black-haired boy that she hadn't gotten a good look at before. He'd lifted his head from his phone, and he now stared at her. Surprise widened his eyes.

Very distinct silver eyes. She wasn't wrong. She did know this boy. She just always saw his long black locks pulled back into a half-ponytail, keeping the strands out of his face.

Seeing him here took her out of this tiny shack out in the middle of the woods. Instead, she stood in a book aisle three months ago, pausing in her task of reshelving new stock. This customer, one she had never seen before, had stopped her, smiling sheepishly with a slight blush to ask her for a restroom. She'd never seen him. She would have remembered such a cute face.

She'd felt so bad having to tell the flustered boy that it was only for customers.

He'd assured her he had every intention of buying something.

But because of the hawk-like eyes of A Novel Stop's owner, Cassia had to watch over the customer, make sure he actually did buy something, all while being friendly to not make it awkward.

The boy had returned every other week since that day, always in search of another fantasy novel. Despite their strange meeting, they'd created a type of rapport. Maybe because he always managed to come in on the days she worked there. That initial day became an inside joke for them.

They weren't friends, but they weren't strangers. Still, she didn't even know his name. Had it been said during the rush of people entering? All she could recall was the shock of seeing Rin walk through that door.

"Is something wrong?"

Flann's voice jolted through Cassia, and she became aware of the rest of the room again. Heat spread up the back of Cassia's neck. The silver-eyed boy averted his eyes. Everyone else stared at their group. Well, almost. Tal smirked at the silver-eyed boy, a strange knowing in his expression.

"No, sorry, I just..." She shook herself. Focus. She had to focus. Taking a deep breath, she studied the two adults in the room. "Do you run this place?" she asked.

Flann nodded. "I do along with Bram here." She gestured to the white-haired man with a flick of her hand.

Cassia took longer than she really needed absorbing that information. She knew that she was only delaying the inevitable. Finally, as if ripping off a bandaid, she said, "I went into the Jade Manor, and ever since, things haven't exactly been normal around me."

The so-far-quiet white-haired man stepped forward. Bram, Flann said. He scrutinized Cassia, and it took a strangle hold on her nerves not to stumble back into her friends.

"Explain what you mean, if you don't mind." Bram had a gruff voice. It wasn't unkind, but it held little emotion at all.

It took a few attempts, but she forced out the quick explanation. Once again, she couldn't bring herself to mention the strange granny she'd met. Maybe if people she knew weren't present, but that incident had been too real, too unsettling. She couldn't bear to see their reactions.

Their worry. Their judgement.

As if thinking she was haunted was horrible enough.

Bram exchanged a look with Flann. A silent conversation passed between them in that single glance. After a moment, he nodded. "We'll take on this case. Thank you, Cassia, for finally bringing us the proof that we need to know that this Jade Manor truly is haunted. And I'm sorry for what we must do."

Fear shot through Cassia. She took a step back at the same time Orsa edged forward, her stick held up.

"Just so you know, I told my parents where we were going, so if you even think of trying anything—" Orsa began.

Flann flung her arm forward, something gripped in her hand. Whatever it was, sparkling dust flew out of it and toward their group. The dust settled over them.

Cassia coughed and sputtered as the particles infiltrated her lungs. It dried her throat, and she instantly craved water. Two hard thuds sounded around her. Despite the rapid beat of her heat, it seemed to freeze. She pried her eyes open and spun to her friends.

Both lay slumped on the floor, unmoving.

The scream built in Cassia's chest, becoming such an intense pressure it didn't know how to escape. Tears blurred her vision, but after a moment, she finally noticed that their chests lifted with breath. Not dead, then. Only unconscious. For now.

Anger and terror warred within her, the mix of impulses to surge forward and to retreat gluing her to the spot. But she didn't have to be defenseless. She scooped up Orsa's discarded stick and placed it between herself and these strangers.

No, these mostly strangers.

Rin was still here. And the silver-eyed boy from the bookstore. The ones whose appearance made her dare to drop her guard. Even if she didn't know the boy that well, Rin's father was too connected for his son to risk being involved with crime, right?

Or was that why he could get away with it?

No. No matter how cold and distant her classmate was, he couldn't truly allow this... this what? Kidnapping? Murder?

The so-called Spirit Hunters did nothing to give away their motives. They simply stared at her.

"How come the moonwing dust didn't put her to sleep?" Tal still casually rested his chin on the desk, but he now canted his head to the side, a confused pucker between his brows.

Moonwing dust? She'd never heard of that. It must have been some sort of drug they'd used to knock her friends out. She held the stick up higher and tightened her grip. "Stay away from us."

"Hey."

The familiar, calm voice caused strange jitters through Cassia's nerves. She shifted her stance to face the silver-eyed boy. He threw up his hands in a placating manner, but he still took a half-step forward.

"Everything's okay, alright?" His voice was smooth, his eyes gentle. "We can explain everything. Let's just put the stick down, take a deep breath, have a seat—"

Another half a step. He was too close. His hand tapped the end of her stick.

Instinct took over, and she swung.

He must not have believed she'd attack. Her swing hadn't even been good, but a loud crack sounded out as it struck against his jaw. The boy reeled back and would have likely landed on the floor if he didn't crash into the wall first. One hand flew up to his reddening cheek while wide, dazed eyes stared at her.

She stared back, not sure who was more surprised. Sure, she'd threatened violence, but she'd never hit a person before.

But she'd also never been backed into a corner, surrounded by mostly-strangers, with her best friends knocked unconscious. Swallowing, she pulled the stick back as if to strike again.

She almost dropped her only weapon when an explosion occurred next to her. The outburst of noise dragged her attention to the desk.

Tal and Rayner howled with uncontrolled laughter, the first of the two boys smacking an open palm against the desk in his fit.

"She got you good, Aeden," Tal said through his cackles. "What were you saying before about me practicing dodging?" Something about his own words only sent his amusement to new heights.

Aeden. That was the silver-eyed boy's name. In all the chaos going on around her, Cassia shouldn't have cared about that detail, but her mind plucked it from the air and stored it away.

"I think I should take this."

A sudden jerk, and then the stick was out of Cassia's grip. She jerked her attention forward again to find Flann in front of her, the stick that had been her only defense now in the woman's hand. "Hey!"

"Valiant effort, but don't let yourself get distracted." Flann winked before tossing the piece of wood to the ground. "Now, how about we take Aeden's advice and have a seat. You're in no danger from us, Cassia, but that is hard to explain to you if you're waving a stick in our faces."

Cassia took a small step away from Flann, placing her closer to her friends. "I have no reason to trust any of you. Not when... Not when you did this to my friends. And you tried to do it to me."

Flann's eyebrows shot up. "That's because most people aren't up to hearing everything we have to say. Here, let me prove it to you." She leaned her weight on her back leg and crossed her arms, leveling her dry stare on Cassia the entire time. "Many of the ghosts and spirits and monsters you know from legend are real in some form, magic exists, there is a society known as Spirit Hunters dedicated to keeping humanity safe from these forces, there was a slumbering spirit within the Jade Manor that you have awakened, and oh..."

She swished a pointer finger through the air, and where it moved, a sigil glowed umber. With a flick, it flew in Cassia's direction. She tried to scramble back, but it traveled too quickly, and she didn't want to fall on top of one of her friends. Thankfully, before it touched her, it dispersed into sparkling particles.

Off to the side, someone cursed.

"Well, will you look at that. Looks like this is a bit worse than we thought." Flann sighed. "Now, if you'll just look over your head."

Cassia didn't want to, not with those reactions, but her body had a mind of its own. Her chin tipped back, and her eyes searched the air above her. A desert replaced the inside of her mouth.

A wispy olive smoke floated over her head, coalescing to form a curling X, with one of the legs turning sharply inward like a fang.

"Do you know that you're marked for death, dearie?"

Cassia forced herself to look back at the others, and she could tell from their expressions that she had understood correctly.

"I think I could use that chair now."

***

Chapter WC: 2,340
Total WC: 6,502

Oh yeah, I'm a plantser, and this chapter was so plantsed xD Because I went into it thinking it was planned and somehow just... it wasn't? XD ANYWAY!  The mark of death is actually seen now, and yes, Cassia is very overwhelmed.  But also not being affected by a thing?  Sure there's nothing to that.  Also, you've now met Rin!  Doesn't he seem like a doll? :D 

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have somewhere there to discuss the book :D Let me know if you want to join!