Ice puts his hand on Winnie's shoulder and gives me a cold look, before saying.

     " You don't have to tell her anything if you don't trust her. " I scoff.

     " Wow, thanks so much, BROTHER ! My best friend died, don't you think I want her to tell me what she saw...?! Or did ! "

     " Shut up, Diamond ! You don't know Winnie like we do. "

An uncomfortable silence follows his statement and Narbeth breaks it.

     " I think she has a right to know the truth. But she's your twin, only you really knows if Winnie can trust her. "

     " I wanna make things right. " says Winnie with a sigh. Ice nods at her, and she starts talking, taking breaks to whimper or tear up.

     " I, um... I just wanna say I'm so... So, so, so sorry... Narbeth and I were looking for Ice earlier and I ran away from him, because I felt... Something. Your friend followed me, I don't know how but you must've been not that far from us and she probably spotted me between the trees. It happened so... So fast. Too fast, really, um... After I... I... After I, k... " I groan and say.

     " Killed her ?! " She looks down to answer.

     " Yeah... I felt so horrible. I, um, ran away immediately. I heard some movement behind me, too. That's when I finally found Ice. Or he found me... Anyway, I told him everything and we started searching for Narbeth. He told us what he knew, we told him what we did... That's when Ice suggested we go to the library and you came in moments after that. "

     " Wow, there are more holes in that story than in a fricking piece of swiss cheese. "

The three of them are obviously hiding something from me and I absolutely hate it. I glare at Narbeth, knowing he won't be able to take it for long. I was right and he mutters.

     " C'mon guys... Don't you wanna solve this ? "

Winnie answers.

     " Yeah, but... Telling her everything when we just met ?! "

     " If Ice was murdered, wouldn't you want the murderer to tell you what really happened ? "

I jump in.

     " Yeah ! That's surprisingly smart, by the way, Narb. "

She removes a streak of hair from her face and locks eyes with mine.

     " We don't exactly, um, know what's, um, going on with me, but... I've... I noticed my teeth became sharper lately and sometimes, um, my ears just, um, become weirdly pointed... I also have these, like, flashes of memory that disappear. There's this flash, then... I'm in a different place, doing something else sometimes. They're usually not that long... When I, um... Did what I did to Heather, that was the longest I've ever experienced. "

I stare at her for a moment, thinking. She's either cursed, possessed or has powers that were inactive up to this point. At least I know why they went to the library in the first place : research. The first thing to find is always family ties. I declare.

     " I think we can all agree on two things : we don't want this to happen again, and no one can know what happened this afternoon. "

     " The only way to do that is to know what's up with Winnie. " Ice says, speaking basically what I was just thinking. I continue.

     " Who are your parents ? "

     " ... my parents abandoned me when I was a baby. I've lived all my life in an orphanage. The, um, Happy Ending Orphanage. Have any of you guys heard of it ? " Narbeth immediately reacts to her statement.

     " Are you kidding ?! That's where I spent four years before Morgan adopted me ! "

My twin and I simultaneously say. " Really ? How come I didn't know ?! " A twig snaps in the distance and we all freeze. The blonde holds onto my brother's arm and I notice a slight shadow crossing his best friend's eyes. Does he have a crush on her !? Too bad my gossipy friend isn't here for this... She loves some tea. Which she'll probably never get again by the looks of things. We wait and I can hear something moving in the bushes not far away. About ten minutes have passed and the thing is still there, moving, stopping, then moving again. I can't wait like this anymore ..! " That's it, I'm going out there. " " Diamond, don't ... " " Shut up, Ice. " I raise from the blanket I was sitting on, take a few steps and slowly push aside the Tent's canvas forming the opening. I walk out, closing the tent behind me. I look around. Nothing. I hear something that I didn't from inside our hiding spot. A kind of regular, very soft, low thumping... Like wings flapping, to keep oneself hovering, for example. I look up and see a long shadow zooming above the trees and escaping towards the school. I can't catch it, it has surely already gotten away.

     " The coast is clear. I think we should wrap this up, the sun's starting to set. "

I don't give any of them the chance to reply and head down the path we took to get here. I buy myself a lunch-tray at the cafeteria and climb the hundreds of stairs leading to the dorm rooms. Jackie is watching TV, nibbling on a cereal bar, when I come in. She tells me.

     " I thought Heather was with you, where is she ? "

     " Oh, um, I don't know... What are you watching ? "

I don't listen to her answer, feeling my heart palpitating furiously in my chest. Heather is dead. My best friend... I bite my lower lip so hard that I can feel blood spilling on the tip of my tongue.

     " Woah, Diamond ?! Are you okay ?! "

Luckily, Ace enters the dorm in my back, distracting my friend long enough for me to run to my room. I throw my meal on my desk and fall on my knees to the ground. I'm trembling and black dots appear in front of my eyes. I can't hear any sounds and my throat feels very dry. I can feel my stomach turning itself inside out and I blink repeatedly. I'm trying to take deep breaths, but the image of Heather's ripped up body, the smell of her blood and guts, won't leave my mind. A long steady beeping fills my ears. Everything is blurry and the room spins. I put a hand on my throat and feel even more sick. A flash of darkness. The floor. A flash of darkness. I throw up. A flash of darkness. Jackie runs in. A flash of darkness. Then... Nothing. Just more darkness. I cough. I breathe. I'm lying on my bedroom floor. Jackie is sitting on my bed.

     " Diamond ! " She jumps down to hug me and I sigh.

     " I'm sorry... "

     " Don't be ridiculous, it's not your fault if you're sick. You got me pretty worried though. "

     " Sorry... "

     " Stop apologizing, gosh ! Do you feel well enough to get to the nurse's office ? Or do we have to call her up here ? "

     " Oh, no need for that... I'll be just fine. "

     " Are you seriously throwing away a perfectly good reason to skip class tomorrow ?! "

     " Uh, yeah... I've got a test in the morning and I probably just ate something bad, no need to worry. " Three lies in one sentence ; I'm beating records right now.

     " If you say so... What class ? "

     " Chemistry... I should get something to clean that. "

     " I'll do it ! Be right back. "

I lie on my bed. I'm exhausted. Mentally and physically. This day was too much. Ace comes in. Of course...

     " Throwing up surely won't raise suspicion. "

     " I really don't need your sarcasm right now. "

     " I'd give you something else if your mouth wasn't coated in vomit. "

     " How nice of you... "

     " I thought you weren't up for sarcasm ? "

I sigh and move to a seated position. I scoot on my bed to reach my bedside table and open its drawer. I take my dental hygiene bag out.

     " I am not leaving you alone in my room... "

He exits and so do I. Luckily, neither my t-shirt, jeans or shoes were soiled by my accident, I can head to the bathrooms without fearing public opinion. Ironically, our very luxurious high school has communal bathrooms and shower rooms. No private ones. I'm about to leave the restroom after brushing my teeth, when I hear something strange. A sort of banging against one of the stalls door... I should just mind my business and leave... Maybe it's a couple making out, some desperate guy that snuck in the girls' lavatory to meet his girlfriend. Anyway, I'm out of here. The stall door slams wide open. I hesitate, but my curiosity gets the best of me. I look into the stall and mutter, confused.

     " Lucifer ..?! "