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"Look, I'irlfriend is upset, but the only friend I have here is being accused of soe I just can't feel sorry for her right now, okay?"

I waited for hiot up off the steps and went back to his clipboard

"Have you seen anything that looks like 'Demon-possessed Instrument: J Mompesson'?"

"Possibly" I hopped off the shelf and went to the space where I'd found a drum the other day, but of course it had vanished By the time we found it (it had hidden itself behind a pile of books that disintegrated e moved them "Really, really hope those weren't important" had been Archer's only comment), our hour was nearly up

I heard the lock above us click open The Vandy had stopped coet us; she just unlocked the door

We tossed our clipboards down and headed for the stairs

As we started up, I could've sworn I saw a flash of green out of the corner ofThe hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and I rubbed my hand absently over them

"You okay?" Archer asked as he opened the door

"Yeah," I said, but I was freaked out "It's justCan I ask you so really weird?"

"Those are my favorite kinds of questions"

"Do you think anyone around here could raise a deh or make a sarcastic comment, but instead he paused outside the cellar door and looked at me in that intense way he had

"Why would you ask that?"

"Soht She thinks Holly may have been killed because, uh, some people raised a de his head and saying, "Nah, there's no way Mrs Casnoff would know if there was a demon on campus They're pretty conspicuous"

"Why? Are they green and horny?" I willed a blush away and said, "Ihorns, notthe other"

"Not necessarily They can look as human as you and me Some of them even used to be human"

"Have you ever seen one?"

He looked at me incredulously "Uh, no Thank God I like my face where it is and not eaten off"

"Yeah," I said as we reached the main staircase "But you're a warlock Couldn't you take a de to the stained-glass angel above the stairs "See that sword? De that can kill deinally nah

"You mock," he said, "but that's some hardcore stuff The only place you can find it is in hell, so it's kinda hard to co at the ith new appreciation

"Archer!" I heard Elodie trill from somewhere upstairs I walked past him "Well, thanks See ya"

"Mercer"

I turned around

He was standing at the bottohts of the chandelier he was so handso he hen he looked that good "What?" I asked in the e

"Arch!"

Elodie ca past me, and Archer's eyes went from me to her

I turned and ran up the stairs before I had to see her in his ar of October, Chaston had sent written testi about the attack, so Jenna was allowed to stay I'd thought that neould do so to remove the shadows from under her eyes, but it didn't She hardly talked to anyone besides hed

As forthe hang of life at Hecate My classes were going well Elodie and Anna had been shaken up for about teeks after Chaston and tee to torture nored me But by the middle of October they were back to nor about clothes

I avoided trouble with the Vandy even though she'd made Archer my permanent Defense partner, probably in the hopes that he'd inadvertently killforced to spend more time in close proximity to him was its own type of torture In fact, theeach other's blows in Defense, theinto so that I really didn't want to put a nah, believe me, that was definitely part of it--it was the way he ran his fingers through his hair The way he looked atto talk to The way his eyes lit up when he laughed at hed at ot to know hi Elodie seemed He'd sworn there was more to Elodie than met the eye, but in the two s I'd heard her talk about were spells foryour hair shinier or freckles disappear She'd looked atthat one Even her essay for Lord Byron's class was about the way physical beauty enhanced a witch's power, supposedly because it gave her easier access to hu behind her in Ms East's Magical Evolution class, I couldn't help but roll my eyes as she prattled on to Anna about the dress she was planning on conjuring for the school's annual All Hallow's Eve Ball in teeks

"Most people think redheads can't wear pink," she was saying, "but it totally depends on the shade of pink Either really light pink or dark pink works best And hot pink, of course, is just trashy"

This last bit was spoken in a louder voice for Jenna's benefit She was sitting beside nore theers steal up to her pink streak a few ed her arm "Don't listen to them They're total bitches"