CHAPTER 6

KATHERINE. “What if we run into the lady of the lake?” Josie asked and Priyanka heaved a sigh before replying. “That’d mean everyone at the bonfire is dead.” “She can’t kill that many people at once. And besides we’d see people running back to campus.” “Then you have your answer.” Priyanka, Josie and I were currently in the woods, walking along the path that led to Clearberry Lake. The moon was particularly bright, bathing the dirt path in a hazy sapphire glow, and the farther we got into the dense foliage of trees, the lower the temperature got, making me regret my decision to not bring a jacket. The three of us weren’t the only ones here though; other students heading to the bonfire were ahead of and behind us and since Lenore had said everyone was going to be there, I felt a bit nervous. Lenore was one of the party planners so she left for the bonfire before us and that reminded me that I was the only ‘new’ student here. Priyanka and Josie had come to get me from my room since I didn’t know the way to Clearberry Lake and the thought of them leaving me when we got there to hang out with the other friends they definitely had was what made me nervous. “Wait, the lake is Clearberry Lake?” I cut in and they glanced at me, raising their brows. “The lady of the lake. Is she from Clearberry Lake?” “Yeah,” Priyanka said and I tipped my head to the side. The title and the way Josie had talked about it earlier made me assume it was some kind of phantom but I hadn’t actually taken it seriously. “Is she real?” “I don’t know. I’ve never seen her.” “My roommate did,” Josie added. “Yeah, I trust your roommate as far as I can throw her.” “She doesn’t lie ‘all the time’. Some of the seniors say they saw her too.” “Then why are they throwing a party there?” I asked and the corner of Josie’s mouth turned up. “Exactly because of that.” ‘Ah…’ Finally, after minutes of walking, we got to a clearing from which I could hear music and the unmistakable sounds of a gathering, and in the middle of the clearing was a tall statue of a man that I recognized as Killian Blackwood, the school’s founder. The words ‘Knowledge is power, and in the darkness we find our true selves’ were carved into the platform the statue stood on and after walking past it, a sprawling lake glistening under the moonlight came into view. “Whoa,” I muttered as I took it all in. On the pine needle-covered shore crackled a tall bonfire that looked insanely cool and dangerous, throwing dancing shadows into the forest, while partygoers danced and conversed. There were tables laden with snacks and drinks and each table had floral centerpieces with candles while fairy lights were strung throughout the trees. Before I could finish my gawking, someone cut the music and I found myself getting pulled towards a stage which a couple of people were standing on by Josie. “Attention. Attention,” a boy on the stage started, drawing people’s gaze before clapping his hands together. “Okay. Well, welcome everyone and to the fresh meat…” He flashed us a smile, “Congratulations on your acceptance to Blackwood University. I’m Ethan Gresser and tonight…” I began to glance around as he kept on talking and a moment later, I spotted Lenore and Theo standing at the far end of the stage. They were talking to a couple of people and as I watched them interact for several seconds more, I began to wonder if they were dating. Their interaction in the library had told me they were close but the way she smiled at what he whispered in her ear made me realize they might be more than friends. My gaze slid from Lenore to Theo once again and I froze when I found him staring at me. ‘Crap.’ He raised a brow before I immediately looked away, heat rushing to my cheeks at the thought of him finding me weird seeing as I had been watching them like a creep. I fixed my gaze on a random group of girls that surrounded someone at the other end of the stage and the urge to check if Theo was still looking this way began to creep up on me. I ended up deciding to not do that and returned my gaze to the person addressing us on the stage. “Now, next to me is Clearberry Lake which is both the oldest and most haunted lake on campus. There have been thirteen different ghosts spotted here, but the one to watch out for… is the lady of the lake,” he said and confused murmurs broke out from some groups around us. “That’s right, the lady of the lake. First seen right here over fifty years ago, her ghost still wanders campus and it’s said that if anyone locks eyes with her, she drags them to the bottom of Clearberry Lake.” The murmurs increased – some sounded spooked and others sounded excited – while I wondered if the story was true because my dad never mentioned it when he told me stories about Blackwood… well he didn’t believe in ghosts so that was probably why he didn’t. “Is she behind students going missing last year?” someone asked and my brows snapped together. ‘Wait, what? People went missing?’ I glanced at Josie, giving her a questioning look, and she shrugged. “No one knows,” Ethan responded in a mysterious tone, his eyes glinting with mischief, while Priyanka muttered ‘Be right back’ to us before heading towards one of the tables that had drinks on it. “She might be and she might not be… but either way, Clearberry Lake’s fucking dangerous without her. Seriously. Students have drowned in it without the help of the lady that lives in it, so think twice before you go for a swim in it.” I frowned. ‘Again, why’s this party being thrown here?’ “Cannonball!” someone yelled before a loud splash filled the air and my head jerked in the direction it came from while people gasped. “Oh my God,” Josie muttered, shaking her head, without glancing at the lake. “You know who jumped in?” “My money’s on Blake,” she replied, glancing at the lake just before the head of a golden-haired boy popped above its surface. “And my money’s right.” ‘So that’s Blake,’ I thought as the beautiful boy threaded his fingers through his wet hair, pushing them away from his face as he beamed like the goddamn sun. “Well…” he said while students began to chatter excitedly. “Water’s perfectly fine.” Then as if a switch had been flipped, people began to cheer and run towards the lake, jumping in one after the other while music began to play from the speakers once more. “Oh.” “I’m sitting this one out,” Josie said, moving out of the way of some girls who ran past us while taking off their shirts. “Me too,” I muttered. I didn’t know how to swim. As people kept running past us, we began to move away from the lake and toward the edge of the stage. Lenore and Theo were still on it and as we got to the edge, she finally noticed us and waved. We waved back before Priyanka joined us, a cup in hand. “You and Lenore are joining the swim club. Shouldn’t you join the swim team in this activity?” she asked Josie as she gestured at the people jumping into the lake. “I’m not interested in swimming in the waters of death.” “The–” A ball of water suddenly flew right past Priyanka’s face and my brows jumped while she frowned. “Sorry, Pri!” a girl called out while I glanced in the direction it had come from to see some water elementalists having fun with their element. Remembering that Lenore was also a water elementalist, I returned my attention to Priyanka and Josie and asked, “Do you guys also have elements?”