The Hidden Door (2 page)

Sitting on the steps of the law library, I spot Riva flirting shamelessly with Malcolm. Sarah and Kelly are nowhere in sight. From out of left field a wave of relief washes over me. I can't quite place why. Maybe this will be tolerable with just the four of us…maybe fun even. I don't like Sarah or Kelly. They're Riva's friends, not mine. I don't really like Malcolm either. He grates on my every nerve. At the moment I can't say I like Riva all that much either.

“Daphne! Justin! Over here,” Riva jumps up and down on the steps, waving frantically, drawing odd stares from the few students hurrying out of the building.

“S
he's sure excited.”

Justin's voice caresses my ear, making me jump. I step away before saying, “She's sort of always like that.”

Justin and Malcolm greet each other while Riva grabs me in a stranglehold hug like we ha
ven't seen each other in years.

“I'm sorry,” Riva whines. “Don't be mad at me for having Justin pick you up, okay? Malcolm said he'd give me a ride, and you know how I feel about Malcolm.”

What I want to say is: “Oh yes, Malcolm. How you feel about Malcolm. Should I say his name again? Malcolm.”

Instead, I carefully extract myself from her hug and shrug. “It's fine.”

“So where is everyone else?” Justin asks, sittin
g next to Malcolm on the steps.

“No one else could make it,” Riva says, her trademark pout appearing. “And Kelly told me she was too scared. Can you believe that?”

A chilly wind whips around us and I shiver.
“C
an we take this inside please?”

The three of them look at me, seemingly surprised by the request. Or maybe just my tone. Sorry, but freezing my butt off just doesn't appeal to me. Besides we're getting weird looks from the college students passing by. Not that I care, but one thing Justin and I learned when we used to do this frequently was that drawing attenti
on to ourselves was a bad idea.

And I'm sure it still is. Maybe we shouldn't go on a Hidden Door hunt tonight, I think. We could always actually head over to the Halloween concert. I would kind of like to see it.

“Yeah, inside would be a good idea,” Justin agrees, slowly standing up.

We slip into the lobby of the law library and I sigh in relief as warmth envelops me. Sinking into the nearest cluster of decadently comfortable chairs, I let my backpack drop to the floor. I close my eyes briefly as I wait for the others to sit down. This used to be my favorite place on campus. I still come here to study occasionally, but nothing on this campus feels the same since the thing with me and Justin. And yet, here I am tonight.

“So, Daphne says you tell the story of the Hidden Door better than anyone else,” Riva gushes, leaning forward. Her bright pink coat crinkles slightly in its newness.

Justin shrugs out of his leather coat, letting it slump against the chair back.

“Daphne said that, huh?” I can feel Justin's eyes on me, but I focus on my hands. My chipped nail polish has never been so fascinating. And trust me, I have studied it before. Why did Riva have to go and say something like that? Now Justin thinks that I have some secret crush on him or something. Clearly that is so over.

The scrape of a chair makes me look up as Malcolm takes off his coat as well, and sits down. Riva scoots her chair alongside him then leans over in an obviously casual way.
I almos
t laugh at how silly she looks.

“Tell me this,” Malcolm says. “Is any of this story true?”

Justin laughs. That laugh never fails to make my heart skip a beat. “Are you scared?” The teasing lilt makes me smile slightly, while Malcolm scowls.

“Nah, I'm not scared of any of this ghostie-ghoulie stuff. I just want to make sure the girls won't be scared.” Malcolm says, patting Riva's knee.

Justin keeps laughing. “Sure. Sure. Whatever, man. All of this story is true. And Daphne won't be scared. She's known this story since before she could talk.”

I look at him in surprise. There is a warm tone i
n his voice and something else—
almost an admiration. “Just tell the story,” I grumble.

Instead of looking irritated, Justin chuckles and returns his focus to Malcolm and Riva. “The Legend of the Hidden Door began in 1890 when the college was built. Thirteen grotesques, or gargoyles as we tend to call them, were placed around the top of the castle.”

“Why is it a castle?” Riva asks.

“The governor at the time wanted classical, elegant buildings for each of the state universities which were teacher schools at the time.” We all look at Malcolm in surprise. He shrugs. “What? I paid attention in our local history class last year.”

Riva frowns. “But why do you all call it The Hun? Like, where did the name come from?”

Malcolm grins. Clearly he enjoys
imparting this knowledge. “The architect was obsessed with Vlad the Impaler, or Dracula, so he designed the interior as an exact replica of the castle where Vlad was imprisoned. The governor was so impressed he let the architect choose the name. He named it after the original castle, Hunyad.”

“And all of us townies call it The Hun,” I add.

“Right. So in 1890 the first commencement ceremony, which was scheduled to be held on the front lawn, was interrupted by a freak storm. As everyone ran for shelter, lightning struck one of the gargoyles, sending it crashing to the ground.” Justin pauses, gazing out the window toward the castle, a
s if he is imagining the event.

He is quiet so long that I jump in. “The freakiest part was that the gargoyle wasn't even hurt. Not even a chip out of the stone façade.”

Justin nods. “So they put it back up. Things were fine until the spring of 1927 when lightning struck again. Administrators discovered that this was the same gargoyle that fell off in the original incident, they decided to stick it in the garden courtyard and not risk it getting struck again.”

“So how did it lose its head?”

We all look toward The Hun, even though the floor-to-ceiling windows reflect the light from the lobby and we can't actually see out into the dark night. We know it is there. The headless gargoyle sitting in the courtyard just beyond the castle. The other gargoyles still stare down from their perches with big stone eyes, following everything silently. They lean forward slightly as if they are ready to jump at any moment. They are terrifying, especially at night.

“That's where the curse comes in. No one knows for sure who came up with the idea, but a group of fraternity boys dared each other to take the gargoyle's head as a prank,” Justin says, clearing his throat.

Suddenly the ornate entry doors burst open. A girl rushes in, her face white. Her eyes frantic. She stops halfway through the lobby, looking over her shoulder. Justin's voice has faded into oblivion. He gets up from the chair and makes his way toward her. When he reaches out to touch one of her arms, she shrieks and jumps away.

“Hey,” Justin says, his voice calm. “I just want to know if you're okay. Come over here with my friends.”

The girl collapses against Justin's comforting arm and he lea
ds her to where we are sitting.

“What happened?” Riva asks, leaning forward again.

“The…the…the Vampire,” the girl stutters. She holds out her arm, which is shaking wildly, covered with a torn sleeve of her blouse, matted with what looks like…blood. “I…I…I think he bit me.”

Justin and I exchange a glance. Riva jumps out of her seat and into Malcolm's arms. He pulls her into a strong embrace, his hands dangerously low on her backside. Given the situation their sudden snuggle seems highly inappropriate, although Riva does do a good job pretending to be freaked out. She simpers, covers her eyes, and says things about how she knew we s
houldn't have come out tonight.

The truth is this is exactly the sort of thing Riva hoped would happen. She wants action. She wants excitement. She wants danger. I, on the other hand, wish that I had stayed home in bed. Why did I let her convince me to do this?

Justin peels back the shreds of blouse sleeve, moving with slow deliberation. He cares about this girl he just met. The realization hits me like a flash of lightning. I watch more closely as he examines the wound, speaking softly to the girl. There is nothing flirtatious in his actions, just simple con
cern. My heart twists a little.

I've spent so much time over the past year being angry with Justin, I think I might have forgotten why I liked him in the first
place. This is why. Justin was—is—
the most caring person I have ever known. Suddenly I have to look away. My carefully arranged defenses are cracking, and if I am going to survive the ni
ght I need them to stay intact.

“I don't think this is a bite.” Justin replaces the sleeve and pats the girl's knee. “It looks more like a scratch. Still, you need to go over to the Health Center and let them check it out. Would you like us to walk you there?”

The girl's eyes shine like Justin is her hero. Are all girls so stupid? Yes, I know I just said he is caring, but come on. Justin didn't fight off The Vampire and save the girl's life or something. And now she seems willing to do just about anything he suggests. I wonder how she would feel about him if she knew he was in high school. I just want to get on with this dumb search so I can go home and curl up in front of some hideously produced horror movies from the ‘Eighties.

Stepping through the doors of the law library, icy wind blasts us. I pull the knit hood of my sweater up, covering my ears against the cold, but shoving all my hair forward in the process. My backpack suddenly feels like it weighs a ton. I try shifting the weight around as we walk toward the Health Center, which thankfully happens to be o
n the other side of The Hun.

Riva walks with Malcolm, gripping his arm and chattering brightly. Justin keeps the hurt girl beside him with a hand placed lightly on her back to guide her through this dark, treacherous night. Gag me. I'm left to bring up the rear. Maybe The Vampire will pick me off and put me out of my misery. Or maybe he'll turn me into a vampire. I laugh to myself, a small, snorty chortle
that's carried away in another round of howling wind.

The Halloween concert has probably started by now. Digging my gloves out of the side pocket of my backpack, I wish I had thought to wear an actual coat. My sweater felt plenty warm when I put it on at home, but now I can feel the bite of winter-like weather through every microscopic hole. I force myself to focus on the goose bumps pricking my skin so I don't have to think about the fact that The Vampire might be lingering in the shadows. I stare at the pavement as we walk not letting my eyes drift into the darkness. Even if the guy isn't a real vampire, clearly he's a menace and dangerous.

While Justin walks into the Health Center with the girl to help explain what happened, Riva, Malcolm, and I huddle in the entryway enjoying the heat.

“Isn't this exciting?” Riva says, sliding her hand back through Malcolm's arm and hooks them together. “Do you think we'll meet The Vampire tonight?”

“Geez, Reev,” I groan, wrapping my arms tighter around myself. “It's not like the guy is a celebrity or something. He's dangerous, obviously. Did you see what he did to that girl's arm?”

Riva frowns at me. She hates when I point out the facts of a situation. And I hate it when she romanticizes stupid things. We do not live in a movie. I bite my tongue. Riva splutters to Malcolm about her rationale for wanting to meet this villain. I swear, that's actually what she calls him. Malcolm's a good sport and listens intently to her blathering. I zone out, peering into the main area of the Health Center and am relieved to see Justin striding toward us. Alone.

“Margaret's all taken care of,” Justin says, pulling a knit cap out of the pocket of his leather coat. He pulls it on while heading toward the front door. He doesn't stop for questions; he just walks out into the night leaving us scrambling after him.

Riva lets go of Malcolm and rushes to catch up with Justin. “What happened? Did she tell you more? Where are we going next?”

I hang back as questions pour out of Riva. Justin jams his hands into his pockets, a tiny frown tugging at his lips. I know the look on his face. He always used to get it when one of the popular girls would try getting his attention. Knowing that he's irritated gives me a small rush of pleasure, although I'm not sure if it's because he is annoyed in general or because he's just annoyed with Riva.

“We should go home
,” Justin says.

Riva's face falls.

“But…we just got here,” Riva protests. I can tell that she's
irritating
Justin. He shifts his jaw impatiently from side to side, something I've noticed him doing countless other times.

Justin shakes his head and glances over at The Hun. “I didn't say we were leaving. I said we should. This vampire guy is getting dangerous. The nurse thought he must have used some sort of knife on Margaret. Luckily she only needs a few stitches. But we shouldn't be messing around on campus tonight.”