Page 307 of The Blairville Legacies

“But what does Adrian want fromyou?” I asked, puzzled.

“I don't mean Adrian.” Bayla turned in a circle for a second. “I mean the man with the long felt coat, the slightly younger guy!”

Somehow, I couldn't keep up. And a funny picture had formed in my head.

“So does that mean we're playing hide and seek with Adrian and a homeless man with a coat?”

Bayla took a deep breath and continued, “We have to hideveryfar away from here now, Larissa. Somewhere, preferably at Mum's house.”

I nodded. But I still understood just as little as before.

Without hesitation, Bayla pulled me across the parking lot and the music became quieter and quieter.

“Do we have to hide so far away?” I broke away from her and hid behind a large stone at the exit of the club.

Bayla looked at me impatiently, then came to me and pulled me up. “Yes, we have to go to my place. It's better there and above all, it'ssafe.”

Tiredness overtook me out of nowhere. I usually lasted a long time at parties. Student life was damn exhausting...or I'd just had one drink too many.

“Alright,” I whined and put an arm around Bayla, who scooted to the side.

Bayla supported me all the way down the street through the industrial district and all the way down the main street too.

I was tired, and actually I would have liked to just lie down on the bench in front of us. But at every bench, Bay picked up speed and I didn't have a chance to even ask for a break. After what felt likehours, we turned into the street where Bayla lived. I recognized the street sign. We must have been walking for a while. And Bayla was still holding me.

“You're such a good friend, you know that?” I laughed, feeling incredibly comfortable by her side.

Bayla looked at me with a grin, although there was also a hint of concern in her gaze. Then she looked around, probably hoping that Adrian wasn't looking for us yet. And suddenly, the thought seemed far too abstract. Why would Adrian do something like that?

The wind swept across the street, giving me goose bumps. My legs froze, and suddenly, another gust of wind came up and made an eerie noise in the treetops. It cracked behind us. I looked around, as Bayla had done, but there was no one there.

“Playing hide and seek is scary,” I said and pulled my cloak even further around me.

“Let's walk faster, please.”

Bay sounded scared, exactly like she had a few weeks ago in the forest when we'd met those men. And right now, it was exactly the same. Dark, cold, and windy, just like it had been on campus when Adrian had taken me with him.

Crack.

Bay and I startled and wheeled around.

Crash.

A branch had come crashing down directly two meters behind us, where we had just been standing.

“Holy shit,” I whispered, immediately feeling much more awake.

Bay looked at me, terrified.

“It's just a branch,” I laughed, but she pulled me on.

Then it suddenly became pitch black as the lanterns went out.

Bay sucked in a sharp breath.

Countless Halloween pumpkins glowed around us, but so dimly and threateningly that my goosebumps intensified.

“The lanterns always go out at this time of night,” Bay said, quickening her pace.