after the initial attack on Stark House i was distrustful of many people that i presumed to be a possible suspect for the murder of Mason Maxwell the third.

classes were scheduled again leaving many of us without time for much leisure activities. the homework distraction was good. with studying and leafing through pamphlets my brain had little room left to worry. 

of course that feeling of dread never went away. it was always there. my silent reminder that masons death was just the beginning. 

just because i happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time meant nothing.

the headmistress didn't give me any leeway. she was just as tough with me as any of her students. in fact, we never spoke about my grandmothers coven or magic again. truthfully i was relieved. it was good to know that some things at Stark House remained as they should.

i jump when i hear a ringtone. heads start to turn and students immediately check their pockets and purses in case it was their cell phone that rang but by then the noise went away and everyone started going back to writing the daily prompt. 

when the same ringtone sliced through the air the headmistress lifted her head from the podium and began the inquisition of whose phone it was. suddenly purses were being lifted and pockets checked. i went to look for an eraser and that's when i found the phone one of the angels gave me to use. 

it was vibrating and that's when i stupidly realized i forgot to put it on silent. after lowering the volume all the way down i quickly hit messages and furiously scrolled down. 

Is this aislin? someone texted. 

i couldn't get busted for this. i looked around the room and decided i should at least answer whoever it was. "Yes." i typed

the headmistress shuffled papers on the podium and when her name was called upon went over to a student in need of help. 

in the moment of opportunity i looked back down at the phone and checked to see if i had any missed alerts but there were none. not even seconds later and the phone silently vibrated in my hand. 

"Good to know you didn't give me the wrong info. Trust is important between a teacher and student." it read

me "Who is this?"

"Wessex woods next to the school. you know of it?"

i hesitate....."yes" i answer

"be there tomorrow. lets say.....four -ish. You better not keep me waiting.....and leave your little ghost companions behind."

between catching up on angel stuff with toby and striving to maintain a decent grade point average so that i wouldn't get kicked out i hadn't seen the ghost forms of mason or channel in weeks.

I knew for sure that i could no longer trust rider. during the past few days I've stayed clear of him. though i couldn't say the same for when i slept.... 

in my dreams i was defenseless and knowing that he took full advantage of that fact. people were beginning to take notice that something was off when they saw me. i couldn't eat, i was afraid to sleep in fear that i might see him in one of my dreams.

practically the only place i was unaccompanied was in my dreams and even there i was being bombarded. or more like open fired. choose your pick.   

what could i say? that my grades were suffering because i was being stalked by rider whose real name is samuel as in angel samuel? 

pffft. fat chance they would believe me. 

i didn't tell anyone not even toby what rider was doing. namely, i didn't want to worry him. it was bad enough he decided to stick by me everywhere i went. "-until i learned how to defend myself i needed someone to protect me" toby said. and when he couldn't 'be there' then someone else would fill that spot. 

currently i was in class but i couldn't pay attention. 

rider stormed through my dreams yesterday. the surroundings didn't matter so much as the punch line.right now grasping an understanding of my enemy was of paramount. was i far-reaching, pretty much, but i couldn't help but speculate if there was a significant meaning just waiting for me to take into account. 

like if i tried hard enough i just might be able to connect a cautionary tale and intention into my findings. he was the unwanted intruder and i was the shepard. 

blood ran through my veins. rider was the crush right after. 

in my dream there was a space of existence before all of creation started bearing fruit. a time when temptation didn't have a name...... 

without even trying the slithering snake wormed itself towards me. 

i knew it was bad. not safe. and yet i stood waiting. watching. 

a persuasion of provocation and seduction coaxed me into coming closer so close that i could practically hear its blood red tongue the color of pomegranate reverberate. 

rider overshadowed the snake, watching it as the snake eyed me. this particular dream i remembered most because it was the first time he uttered a word to me.

"when it comes to its next meal a snake will be patient until the right moment." rider said staring right through me as if he could see my soul. 

as if awakening from a spell i took a step back. "you're not supposed to be here." i warn rider knowing full well i had nothing to use against him. 

rider rolled his plain just brown eyes. "oh alright." rider said in his foreign accent. he snapped his fingers and the snake evaporated. no vapor or thunder. the snake just dissipated into thin air. 

rider starts moving in towards me just enough so that we can look each other in the eyes. "drab uninspiring wesley i understand. but toby? i had to see for myself." rider said smiling for no reason.  

I was alone trapped in that nightmare, on edge, spooked. terrified my nightmare would keep paralyzing me for fear that Rider would somehow hurt more people that I loved. 

unable to stop i kept repeating that same conversation hoping that i could make sense of it. 

i knew i had to find out what riders end plan was before he striked again.

after school i couldn't drag it out any longer. i was going crazy so i went in search of kira. 

i would make her tell me once i saw her. however instead i found the headmistress who invited me into her office. i was surprised when i heard tobys voice though.

i sat down next to him with a blanket securely over my lap.

"does it hurt?" i was a fan of ink but the markings on his arm were nothing of the usual sort. 

i was getting used to the odd shapes of calligraphy that stood out. -i never saw them because he always wore long sleeve. 

"i wear them as a badge of honor." toby rotates his ripped forearm.each piece was dissimilar from the next. the entire sleeve was made out in an odd color. not quite black but not a pigment or shade i recognized either. 

"what are they?" each mark was super intense. i could swear a couple even glowed.

toby looks at his arm. "each time i lock up one of the fallen a new seal appears." 

"like magic." i whisper tracing my finger on his smooth skin.

there was something beautifully hypnotic about them. i especially wanted to know the story behind the one on his neck. it was big and bad ass bold yet had a feminine softness to it. 

"not exactly." toby puts his sleeve back down."theres a little more to it than spell writing." 

i was excited at the prospect of seeing one appear. "can you show me one day?" i ask him feeling self conscious because he might say no.

toby grins.

the professor walks over to us and toby quickly stands up. 

"its done." she hands toby a small bottle with a cork screwed in to protect whatever content was inside.

toby puts it away in his pocket before i could ask what it was.

"its strong enough?" he asks her.

the headmistress didn't seem pleased by the question. "doubting my powers are we?" she asks raising an eyebrow. 

when toby looked at her the headmistresses eyes shined big and full. pupils intensified and grew larger. "it should work. however, i don't have to remind you that magic is not an exact science. its a whole production and when done in the correct order by combining intention with the right amount of ingredients you just might get lucky enough to activate the spell. which i did, of course, no problem."

toby used his persuasion on the headmistress. so thats how that worked. 

"however there's no way for me to say if the one you're after will feel the effects." the headmistress finishes.

toby thanks the professor for her assistance. "that's fine. i'll take my chances." he says.

toby leaves and i'm left alone with the professor. we drink tea as i spend the rest of my time reading various books about Duma and soul mates.