Misty

We returned to campus and discussed the new arrangements with everyone. The girls had no issue with helping us. Of course, they wouldn't have a problem. They didn't get saddled with babysitters.

Nathan and Noah threatened Emilio with bodily harm to figure out this demon's plan before I got attacked again. Diego and Marissa defended Emilio, while Eden referred to Nathan and Noah as the brute brothers. I laughed, pissing off Nathan and Noah.

Those idiots got even with me when they tossed my underwear onto the front lawn. I retaliated and put hot sauce in their boxer briefs. It gave a whole new meaning to hot stuff. Well, don't mess with my bra and panties.

Aiden moved his operation into the house before he killed the breaker box and destroyed another furnace. Nash didn't want to explain why we needed Owen and Dexter to return to campus again, and I couldn't blame him. 

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly, hoping for different results. That will never happen to us.

*****
Nash and I hit the library to work on a paper for English class. The professor wanted us to use actual books and not scroll the internet for sources. Does the professor realize we don't live in the Stone Age? Plus, that's history, not English.

I scoured the books on the shelves before I found information on my topic. I pulled a few books and returned to the table while Nash flipped through pages of a book. I sat across from him and cracked open a book before searching for information. I jotted notes and cited the source for later. I don't need to get kicked out of school for plagiarism. That would suck.

Other students were working on coursework, typing on the keyboards of their laptops. Some students were reading. It was everything you expect in a library, except we weren't expecting upcoming issues.

I focused on my paper as people packed up and left the library. Nash flipped through pages while writing.

Eventually, I stretched and noticed Nash and I were the only ones left in the library. "Pst," I said, getting Nash's attention.

Nash lifted his head and looked at me.

"I think the library is getting ready to close."

Nash glanced around and noticed we were the only ones left. "Where's the librarian?"

I gazed at the front desk and didn't see the librarian. We got up and packed up our stuff quickly before hurrying to the front door. When we pressed on the handle, we discovered it locked. Shit.

Nash pulled his phone from his pocket and texted Nixon when I felt a cold draft behind me. A chill ran down my body as my locket started glowing. Nash and I glanced at my locket before turning around and waiting.

It didn't take long for our guest to make its appearance. Something slithered past us. Like the fools we are, we followed it and saw it slip around a bookcase. Nash and I exchanged glances and returned to the doors. We tried to use our bodies to open them. Hell, Nash even unleashed energy without much success.

I felt a chill and turned my head slowly to see a black entity rise from the floor. My eyes expanded into saucers as they grew in size. I gripped Nash's coat sleeve and tugged it. Nash stopped and glanced at me. I pointed in front of me. He turned and stared at the massive black entity before us. He moved closer to me and kept his mouth shut.

The black entity took shape into a person before moving close to us. My locket glowed brightly, shrouding us with light. It moved its face closer to me and snapped its jaws at me. I stayed still as Nash gripped my upper arms.

It jerked its head to Nash and bared its gnarly, decaying teeth. Was it smiling at Nash?  Oh, hell no!

I lifted my foot. The thing snapped its faceless face to me. I lowered my foot and placed it on the floor. Nash dug his fingers into my arms, telling me to stop moving.

Have you ever stared in the face of pure evil? It's not a pretty sight.

Something clanged to the wooden floor, distracting the entity and giving Nash and me a chance to escape. We darted from the thing and ran. That thing released a screech before chasing us around the library. That wasn't bad enough. Nope, it caused the bookshelves to tip and fall into the next one.

Nash and I booked it past the falling bookshelves before we became pancakes. Nash glanced behind us and noticed the thing gaining on us. "Faster!"

"That's what she said!"

"Mags!"

"Nash, I couldn't let that chance pass me!"

"Joke later!"

We skidded around a bookcase and ran until we escaped before it fell on us. I'm more of a waffle girl if I had my choice.

We ran through the library as the entity flipped tables and chairs, chasing us. As we dodged this thing, the front doors blew open. The entity stopped and whipped to the interruption. We stopped and saw the cousins enter and stop. The thing lunged at them and screeched.

"It's time for the Gray way." Nixon cracked his neck.

Nathan cracked his knuckles.

Then the cousins split up, pissing off the entity. It chased them as they threw books and whatever they could get their hands on. The entity dodged the assault and screeched, chasing them around the library.

"Anytime, Nash!" Nixon yelled, jumping over an overturned table.

Nolan jumped over the counter, grabbed office supplies, and whipped the entity. Nathan and Noah pelted the thing with hard-bound books, distracting it and allowing Nash to approach it from behind. He shoved his hand into its back. The thing threw its head back and screamed. Nash expounded a burst of energy, making the entity explode.

So much for a peaceful night at the library.

******
Valentino

Mags and I grabbed our stuff before leaving the library with my cousins. Nolan snapped his fingers and erased the video footage of the destruction in the library. Luckily, the house wasn't that far from the library.

Once we got home, I dropped my books on the table and onto the couch. Mags followed suit, and my cousins plopped down in chairs.

"What took you so long?" I asked Nix.

"I was busy."

"Doing what?"

"Kat," Nathan said.

Nix whipped a pillow at Nathan and smacked him in the face. "I was working on homework, twit. Trust me. I prefer to study anatomy. Preferably my girl's anatomy."

Nathan shrugged and put the pillow behind his back.

"Do you think it was that snake?" Noah asked.

"Doubtful," I said. "Trixie doesn't want to hurt me. Mags is her target."

"That's reassuring," Mags said.

I shrugged.

"How many more can we expect before finishing this school year?" Nathan asked.

"Beats me. But I don't want to take any more chances and risk anyone's safety. Mags and Eden got hurt last year."

My cousins nodded in agreement. We got lucky last year. It could have been so much worse for Mags and Eden.

Emilio came downstairs, fiddling with a gadget.

"What are you doing?" Noah asked him.

Emilio walked toward us and sat in a living room chair. "I've been configuring how much energy we need to power the ring. This is a small-scale model of the design Nolan's dad drew." He set a mini ring on the coffee table and pressed a button. The contraption lit up. "I have a battery powering it. For something of a massive scale, we would need massive energy."

Nix and I exchanged knowing glances about the energy.

"I haven't figured out the formula for the energy needed. Aiden can't tie into the electrical without causing problems."

Nathan sat forward and studied the model. "We would need a massive battery."

"Yeah, but we have to be careful so it doesn't explode from an energy overload." Emilio studied the model and pursed his lips in concentration before sighing. "I'll keep working on the formula before finding a source." He turned off the model, picked it up, and headed upstairs.

Nix avoided eye contact with the others since we determined the energy source to power that ring. If Emilio could figure out another way, we wouldn't need to worry about our theory. Mags and my family would disagree with our theory and do everything they can to stop us.

I got up and headed into the kitchen to brew a coffee.

Nix entered and walked toward me. "Nash."

"Nix, I haven't decided anything yet."

The coffee was poured into the cup since we had a regular coffee pot and a single-serving one for times like these.

"We need to tell them before they figure it out."

"No, we don't. You and I both know they would never agree to our theory."

"It's not a theory, and you know it."

"We haven't tested it completely. What if we tell them and get them upset for nothing? Then what?"

"You give them the choice. If you don't tell them, you're taking their choice from them. How fair is that to them? Plus, Maggie will hate you for keeping this from her."

"It doesn't matter." I shook my head. "It's my decision."

Nix didn't like my response.

I grabbed my cup and leaned into Nix. "Not a word to anyone about our discovery." I walked out of the kitchen, leaning Nix to furrow his brows.

Until Aiden finished constructing the ring, I had nothing to worry about. For all I know, finishing it would take him a few years. I'll deal with it when the time comes.

Did you think Nash and Maggie wouldn't encounter trouble? They can only escape so many times before they get caught.

Buckle up because I have plans until we reach the final chapter in A Crazy Thing Called Love. You got time before the book ends.

If you haven't read It's a College Thing, I suggest you do so. It plays an intricate part in this book.