What to do when you think you are being followed!
From behind her, Lilly heard the sharp snap of someone stepping on a twig. Her body tingled a warning. She turned and stood silent and still for a long moment examining the shadows. Though she couldn’t understand exactly how she knew, Lilly had the uneasy feeling they were being watched.
Zymura stood next to her, her eyes searching the darkness. She looked nervous. “Let’s go,” she said urgently. She took Lilly’s elbow and steered her toward their destination.
“You feel it, too?” Lilly lowered her voice to barely a whisper.
“Yeah, I think I do. Act normal, like we don’t suspect anything.”
“How do we do that?”
“Keep walking and keep talking like we would if we didn’t think we were being followed.”
“Okay.” Lilly took a slow deep breath to calm her nerves. “Besides the gremoires, are there any other reasons you want to skip the dance?”
Another twig snapped. Someone was definitely following them.
“Yeah, I don’t know how to dance.”
“I don’t think I do either.” Lilly struggled against the urge to peek over her shoulder to see who was behind them. She stopped in mid-stride. Were they really being followed or was the fog just making her paranoid?
Something rustled in the darkness just a few feet away.
Turning around slowly, Lilly scoured the foggy courtyards with her eyes. Searching deep into corners and the pockets of shadow, she examined the night for signs of someone lurking. She saw nothing.
“Lilly, what is it?” Zymura stopped and stood, studying her with watchful eyes.
“It’s probably just my imagination.” Lilly forced a smile to hide the tide of panic rising in her gut.
“I definitely have a creepy feeling we’re being watched,” Zymura said, her eyes darting, her voice barely audible and quivering.
“Me, too!” Relieved to discover she wasn’t paranoid, Lilly relaxed a little. “I feel like someone’s been following us since we left the dorm.”
“What should we do?”
“I say we get to the auditorium as fast as we can and blend in with the crowd at the dance. In half-an-hour if we’re not having fun, we go to Plan B and sneak away to the library,” Lilly whispered quietly into Zymura’s ear and giggled nervously.
“And if we’re still being followed?”
“We head back to the auditorium and stay put until the dance is over.”
“We don’t go to the library?” Zymura raised an eyebrow.
“If we really are being followed, we’re safer crossing the courtyards back to the dorms with everyone else than we are going to the library alone.”
Posted by Deborah McTiernan
Author of Lilly Noble & Actual Magic
Dares readers to believe in themselves and discover the magic within!
Read more: <ASIN: 0989180700> or <ASIN: B00D0DD97U> (Kindle).
Comments