Dreams of Graham were not that uncommon for Rachael. In fact, over the years, she had probably dreamt of the man with the lavender eyes more often than she’d dreamt of anyone else. However, now that she’d met him in person, and he wasn’t just a figment of her imagination, waking up to the realization that she’d had a vivid dream about him, and not the kind one shared openly with their mother, made her a little nervous to see him later in the day. What if he could read it all over her face?

Trying not to think about it, Rachael focused on Sasha and her plan to go to the library to see if she could find another spell that might work against the vampire. Taking a shower in her new bathroom also got her mind off of things--until she remembered a particularly steamy shower Chell had taken in this same bathroom, not alone--and had to rush to get the shampoo out of her hair and turn the water to cold for a few seconds. Perhaps choosing Chell’s room wasn’t a good idea after all...

Dressed in jeans and a nice T-shirt with a cardigan over top in case the AC was chilly, Rachael made sure her makeup was on point and then slipped on some comfortable sneakers. She planned to swing by the cafe for breakfast on her way to the library, but she knew Jazz wouldn’t be joining her as the fan was still whirring; it wasn’t 9:00 yet, which meant her next door neighbor likely wouldn’t be up for at least another two hours. Deciding to stop by Rex’s room on the way downstairs, she grabbed her laptop, shoved it in a backpack, picked up a notebook and a pen, and slipped that inside, too.

In the hall, she could hear footsteps and voices coming from one of the adjoining walkways, but no one was out and about in their section of the dorm, probably because the students from Upper Summer were already in class or in the gym. Rachael knocked on Rex’s door and waited a few moments. He didn’t answer, so she figured he might already be in the cafe or had gone to the gym. Making a mental note to get his phone number so she could text him next time, she headed for the stairs.

She’d reached the first landing when she heard someone coming her way. The steps were light and even, like a small determined person. Rachael’s stomach twisted in a knot, and she said a little prayer that it would be anyone except the person she dreaded seeing, but when she rounded the corner to go down the next half-flight of steps, she met Sammi Knight’s eyes.

“Good morning.” Rachael forced a smile, reminding herself Sammi had no reason to dislike her--as far as the trainer knew. “How are you?”

“Fine.” Sammi’s smile was a thin line that showed no teeth. She looked at Rachael’s bag and then back at her face. “You haven’t started class yet, have you?”

“No, no, not until the first. I just thought I’d check out the library.”

Sammi nodded, but her expression showed she hadn’t accepted that answer. She seemed suspicious. Without another word, Sammi hurried past her, and Rachael turned to watch her go for a few seconds before she quietly said, “See ya later.”

“Yep,” Sammi called without turning around.

Rachael moved on, feeling dissed by her own character. Sure, she was used to them doing their own thing and ignoring her while she was writing, but she never would’ve expected one of them to be so rude, right to her face.

At least Rex was in the cafeteria when she got there, which meant she wouldn’t have to sit alone. He had a stack of pancakes in front of him so he wouldn’t be finishing any time soon. It wasn’t hard for her to find her smile again, despite Sammi’s attitude, when he looked up and acknowledged her with a grin. Letting her bag slide down her arm to her hand, Rachael made her way to the table. “Hey, good morning. Can I join you?” She slung her bag over the back of the chair before he even answered.

“Please, have a seat,” Rex said, more comfortable with her on day two than he had been the day before. “Jazz still sleeping?”

“Fan’s still on, so I’m thinking yes.” She chuckled and headed off to grab some pancakes and juice, noting there were only a few other students in the cafeteria at the moment. Getting up early for classes that started at 8:00 might be a bit of a struggle. While she was used to fairly early mornings, she wasn't used to making herself presentable before noon. She figured she’d get used to it. Eventually.

Rex was reading something on his phone when Rachael got back to the table, the forkful of pancake he had poised over his plate dripping syrup as he focused on the words and not the food. “Rex? You okay?” She pulled the chair next to him out, and the screeching sound of the metal legs on the tile brought him out of his stupor.

“Oh, yeah. Fine.” He blinked a few times and then remembered he was mid-bite. He placed the soggy pancakes in his mouth and set his phone down.

Rachael cut her pancakes up while she asked, “Did you find something else out about Sasha?” She kept her voice down, even though the other students in the cafe were several tables away and were not paying any attention to them.

Still chewing, Rex nodded, and Rachael felt the hairs on her arms stand on end. After he swallowed, he said, “I think she might be responsible for another slaughter in New York state. I have a feeling she was working her way back here from wherever she was.”

She took a deep breath and a few bites of her breakfast while she pondered his statement. Washing it down with a drink of her juice, she considered whether or not they should continue down this path or let someone else handle it. “Do you think they know?” she asked, assuming he’d know she was talking about the hunters and others in charge of the academy.

Shaking his head, Rex put his empty fork down on his plate, clearly done with his breakfast. “I don’t think they’ve had a chance to look at it yet. Graham’s out of town. Trip has been working on local recruits. I think he’s headed back out today. The trainers and professors are all working, and there doesn’t seem to be anything suspicious reported in the news. Nothing that indicates it’s Sasha anyway. They may think it’s a vampire, but if they don’t realize it’s her, they probably won’t act quickly. Or they’ll let locals handle it, and that’s probably not the best idea.”

“Because they’re not strong enough to take her out?”

“Precisely.”

“But then… who is?”

Rex shook his head again. “Without Chell Knight here, I don’t know.”

Rachael looked at her plate again. She hadn’t taken too many bites, but she was also not hungry anymore. As far as Rex knew, Rachael wouldn’t have a clue who Chell was, but she couldn’t get her face to cooperate well enough to fool him so that he'd feel obligated to explain. He’d just have to assume she’d heard things--which she had--but nothing about how powerful a hunter Chell had been. “We’ll just have to figure something out, I guess,” she concluded, not sure what that something might be.

Scooting his chair back, Rex grabbed hold of his tray. “I think I’m going to go see if I can track down Trip before he leaves. He should know. Sorry to leave you to eat alone.”

“That’s okay. I’ve kind of lost my appetite.”

Rex’s smile was empathetic as he crossed the cafeteria to turn in his tray. Trip was supposed to give Rachael her badge, amongst other things that day, and since he hadn’t done that yet, she thought maybe Rex could find him before he left campus. Hopefully, Trip would take Rex seriously and not blow this off. It seemed like Sasha had come to Chell’s back yard on purpose, and whatever it was the vampire was looking for, someone would have to stop her. The body count was piling up, and Rachael didn’t want to be responsible for any more innocent lives being lost. If only there was a way to bring Chell back. Even if that would mean she’d lose her chance with Graham, that would be better than Sasha running free, wouldn’t it?

Realizing it didn’t matter because Chell wasn’t coming back, Rachael followed Rex’s trail to turn in her dishes, determined to get to the library and see what she could find. If Chell was clever enough to find a way to lock Sasha up, Rachael had to be, too, because she’d created Chell in the first place. She only hoped the world she’d created had a magic strong enough to incarcerate the vampire again, and hopefully, for good this time, because she doubted any of them were capable of destroying Sasha Thornsby.