HE couldn't do it.
No way, he thought. Maybe one day but not today.
He took his mind off the contacts and thought of the progress he'd made since he started classes. Taking a break during Biology was an accomplishment for him but that wasn't important. Something was wrong with most of the students. No one remembered his incident on the roof but the seemed to mock him about his run-in with Audrey. Taking a deep breath, he walked out of the toilet and headed for class.
The class had ended before he got there. The only people left inside were Reyna and Leo.
"...that is why we can't afford to take the risk," Reyna's voice echoed.
"How do we deal with Isaac?" Leo asked. They were facing the back of the class so they couldn't notice his presence.
What were they talking about? He could listen to their conversation better if only he could move closer.
He took a step forward.
"Not all people can eavesdrop, Isaac," Leo said, turning around.
"How...?" Isaac stuttered. They're hiding something, he decided.
Reyna eased the tension in the room. "About that haircut," she said and whisked them to the school's hair salon.
There was only one person there, a student.
Judging from his looks and his tie, Isaac guessed that he was their senior. He had red hair and brown eyes. His left ear was pierced with a stud.
"What brings you here, Reyna?" he said warmly. "And who's...oh."
He gave Isaac a pitiful look then it changed into a smile.
"You're Isaac, right?" he asked, stretching his hand out. "Hi, I'm Ethan."
Isaac hesitated before he took Ethan's hand. In the blink of an eye, Ethan pushed him into a chair.
"So how are we doing this?" he asked, displaying a pair of scissors. "Bald?"
Isaac's head snapped back.
"Don't mess it up," Leo warned.
"What?" Ethan chuckled. "Don't trust me?"
Isaac looked at himself in the mirror. His look was about to change.
He suddenly had an eerie feeling. The atmosphere had changed slightly but he wasn't going to let it bother him. Then the lights went off.
"What is it this time?" Ethan grumbled and turned on the flashlight on his phone. "And it better not be Silas."
"Maybe it's a power failure," Isaac suggested.
"No, it's not," Leo corrected. "The school has never had a power failure."
"Leo can we talk for a sec," Reyna said. He nodded and they walked out of the salon.
"You crushing' on Reyna?" Ethan asked him, backing the mirror.
"No!" he replied quickly.
"You are," Ethan said. "Quick denial proves it."
"What's it to you?" Isaac asked and figured it out. From the way he had looked at her when they entered the salon, Isaac could only think of two reasons.
He liked her or he was her ex.
Isaac went with the former, so as not to overstep his boundaries.
"You like her too," he deduced.
Ethan chuckled. "You got me there."
Isaac turned to look for Leo and Reyna.
"Hey do you know where...," he started to ask Ethan but he had also vanished. Maybe they were playing a prank on him. He could understand Leo and Reyna but Ethan couldn't have vanished. There was only one entrance into the salon which was also the only exit.
"This can't be happening," he murmured and stood up from the armchair. What was happening? He had to find out.
Unbeknownst to him, Ethan was still in the room but not where Isaac could ever find him. Ethan tried screaming for help but Isaac couldn't hear him. No one could help him in the mirror.
* * * * *
Isaac ran down the corridor.
The school was empty. There was no sign of students not even teachers and it was just fifth period. He was about going to Blanc's office when he heard his name on the corridor to the left.
"Hey Isaac!" It was Ethan.
Isaac met him lying on the floor beside the wall. How could Ethan end up here from the salon? That wasn't the problem at hand.
"What happened?" he asked Ethan while helping him up.
"I don't know," Ethan replied with great effort. "It went...black, then...I found myself here."
"Let's go to the clinic," Isaac suggested.
They stumbled along for a while and they finally got there. The door had metal boards on the side and a wooden doorknob.
As Isaac turned the knob he glimpsed a reflection of them on the metal. Isaac looked shaken up but he wasn't holding Ethan.
A woman with wild black hair and pale skin was in his place. She was about Ethan's height and a scrawny frame. Her robe was mattered with blood and her face was sunken.
"What's wrong Isaac?" Ethan asked him.
He gulped. "N...nothing."
He opened the door and pushed Ethan inside.
"What was that for?" Ethan said from the other side of the door.
"What are you?" Isaac asked.
Ethan chuckled then erupted into a deep laughter.
"What do you want?" he asked the entity in front of him.
It pointed towards him and the doors of the clinic burst open. The force pushed Isaac into the wall behind him. It walked towards him and stretched out his hand. As it closed its palm, Isaac felt his throat tighten.
Just when Isaac was about to lose all hope, a blast of sound erupted at the other end of the corridor and knocked Ethan or whatever it was away.
Leo and Reyna walked out the shadows. Behind them were the least expected people Isaac hoped to see.
"Why did you save the halfbreed?" Audrey asked.
"He's important and you know that Audrey," Reyna replied.
"What just happened?" Isaac asked.
"No time to explain, let's go," Leo said and hauled him up.
They ran to the cafeteria and locked the doors behind them. Isaac knew that wasn't going to help as the thing could probably move through animate objects.
Ten seconds passed in silence.
"What happened halfbreed?" Adrien asked. Isaac had to admit the twins looked neat amidst the chaos.
"His reflection. In his place was a woman," Isaac explained.
"What do you mean by that?" Reyna began.
"I mean that wasn't Ethan back there."
"You're blind. We could perfectly see that that was Ethan but I'm disappointed that he didn't finish you off sooner," Audrey said.
"He's right," Leo declared.
"Not you too," Adrien sighed.
"I'm still in my right senses," Leo replied, "That thing doesn't have a heartbeat and it doesn't breathe."
"So it's a ghost?" Isaac asked.
"Not technically," Reyna replied. "It's a wraith. But not the time for explanations. Time to exorcise it."
"Leo and Adrien lure it in, I'll protect us and Reyna you protect the halfbreed," Audrey ordered.
"First of all, my name's not halfbreed and second you plan isn't going to work," Isaac corrected her. It wasn't a wraith; he could tell. It was similar to the man in the red cloak but its presence was mild in comparison.
"What would a halfbreed like you know about exorcising wraiths?" Audrey hissed.
Isaac didn't reply. He felt the eerie presence behind him before it came but he wasn't fast enough. Something grabbed his hair and pulled him back. He flew backwards and hit a bench. He winced in pain as he felt a piece of wood dig into his shoulder.
It was Ethan. He ignored the others and walked towards him.
"Not so fast," Leo yelled and clapped his hands. Isaac couldn't understand how a single human being could produce a sound that loud with a single hand clap. The sound wave hit the ceiling above him causing it to crash down on Ethan. Isaac pulled out the wood in his shoulder and ran towards them.
Ethan emerged from the rubble unscathed. Benches began to fly towards them one by one. The first one missed but the next two headed towards them.
Audrey moved forward and stomped her foot on the ground. The temperature dropped drastically and Isaac could see his own breath. Frost spread from her feet and a wall of ice sprang up between them and the benches.
After a while the benches stopped hitting the ice and it grew uncomfortably quiet.
"Think she's gone?" Adrien asked.
Audrey started laughing maniacally.
"Audrey?" Reyna said quietly. "Are you okay?"
She turned around suddenly. Her eyes were bloodshot and black veins were concentrated around them.
"Modern day exorcists are weak. Can't believe she agreed easily," Audrey said with a voice that didn't belong to her.
"Leo?" Adrien said.
Leo nodded, confirming what everybody was thinking.
From her feet frost shot out again. It was about reaching them when red hot flames burst from Adrien's arms and surrounded them.
"Hey sis, fight back!" Adrien yelled.
Reyna whispered in his ear and he spread the flames out in a wide range. Using that as a distraction they rushed out of the cafeteria.
"How do you beat that thing?" Leo asked.
"The item that summoned it," Isaac replied. "Exorcise the item that summoned it."
"Which would be?" Reyna asked.
"Do you know Mary Worth?" Isaac asked.
"Who the hell is that?" Adrien growled. Leo and Reyna both shook their heads.
"Seriously?" Isaac exclaimed. "What about Bloody Mary?"
"Why didn't you go with that in the first place?" Leo asked.
"Pure madness," Adrien said.
"Yet wraiths exist," he replied and they turned down the corridor.
"Fair point," Reyna said.
"Let's split up," Reyna said when they reached the courtyard which led to other parts of the castle. "What are we looking for?"
They turned to Isaac.
"Typical summoning," he explained. "Black candles, no light, an inverted pentagram and a weird looking mirror. Also it should be in a toilet."
"How do you know all this?" Adrien asked.
"There are eight toilets and four of us. Each of us take two toilets at different wings of the castle," Reyna explained.
The air became colder.
"Let's go," Reyna said and they went their separate ways.