Tag: Character: Dawn

Chatoyant College, Chatoyant College Book 14: Ghost Stories

Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 31: Buckling

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“I think she might have left the room, if the cold air was her,” Edie said. “It felt like she went… right through me.” She shuddered again. It wasn’t a pleasant thing to think about, much less to feel.

“Let’s try the hallway, then,” Corrie said, getting to her feet. “That is where Roe’s vision took place, after all.”

“I just hope she hasn’t gone downstairs to harass Annie some more,” Dawn said.

Edie led the way back out into the hall. She looked up and down it, but of course she didn’t see anything.

Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 31: Buckling” →

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Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 30: Knocking

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Saturday, September 16

Edie looked left and right at her friends. They both nodded at her, and she nodded back at them. Then, shoulder to shoulder, the three of them started up the stairs.

They had talked to Annie; she had agreed that it was a great idea to try to communicate with the ghost and figure out why she was bothering Annie, if she even knew. She had also agreed that it was best if she stayed out of the way, so she and Roe were hanging out in Roe’s room. Edie, Corrie, and Dawn could call them if they felt they needed help, but otherwise they were out of the way.

Edie was glad. If the ghost had a problem with Annie specifically, she was not in the line of fire right now. And if the problem was just with anyone in that room, now there would be three of them to contend with.

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Chatoyant College, Chatoyant College Book 14: Ghost Stories

Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 29: Seeking

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Friday, September 15

Dawn sat down on her bed, looking at her two roommates. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Somebody has to do something about Annie’s sleep,” Corrie said.

Dawn grimaced. That was certainly something she could not deny. Annie had been doing okay, and her burn was healed enough now that she no longer needed the bandage all day, but if it was lack of sleep that was making her mess up in magic class—and it was the ghost that was messing with her sleep—then she definitely needed help. And the professors weren’t offering it.

Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 29: Seeking” →

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Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 26: Investigating

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Tuesday, September 12

Corrie frowned, thinking about what Edie had just told her. She’d said yesterday that she wanted to talk to her and Dawn about Annie’s problem, but they hadn’t all been able to get together until dinner tonight, since Dawn worked on Monday evenings. Corrie wished they hadn’t waited. She wanted to go ask Annie more question, but she knew Annie had decided to go to bed early, since healing her burn was apparently exhausting her.

“I know it sounds kind of crazy,” Edie said, twirling her fork in her spaghetti. “But…”

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Chatoyant College, Chatoyant College Book 14: Ghost Stories

Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 24: In Shock

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Dawn wanted to ask Ginny if Annie would be okay, but if the answer wasn’t good, she didn’t want to force Ginny to say it in front of Annie—or listen to the silence. So she just bit her lip and focused on helping her friend walk. Luckily Annie was small and light, because she really didn’t seem to be able to keep herself steady. When they got to the steps, she and Ginny just lifted Annie by the arms.

They finally reached Ginny’s office, where Ginny had Dawn wait in the doorway, holding Annie up, while she pressed a button in the wall next to a bookshelf. The shelf came down to reveal a cot on its other side. Dawn wasn’t sure whether it was magic or just a very clever Murphy bed.

Without waiting to be told, Dawn helped Annie get onto the bed. Annie clutched the edges of it with apparent gratitude, taking deep breaths through her teeth.

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Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 23: Do Something

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Dawn thought Mardalan seemed to disapprove of her spell idea, but since she hadn’t actually suggested any alternatives, it must have been good enough for the assignment. Maybe it was a weird combination. But if it didn’t work, Dawn would be no worse off.

She set the candle on her desk, taking her time to find the right spot, while Mardalan spoke with Celeste. She put the stone on top of the candle, to the right of the wick, and tried to concentrate on seeing the future of her relationship while also finding her inherent magic to light the candle. It took her a couple of tries—she hadn’t been practicing—but the candle caught, the reflection of the flame shimmering in the stripes of the stone.

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Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 22: Violent or Passionate

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While they passed the papers around, Mardalan opened the storage locker and carried out several handfuls of candles of every type—from fat white pillar candles to tiny candles that appeared to shimmer, obviously intended for birthday cakes. After laying the candles on the floor, she returned to the storage locker and brought out several plastic bags. She lay them in among the candles, then stepped back. “Please come up and choose candles,” she said. “One per person, please, but choose whatever you would like. Please also select one item from a bag, then return to your seats.”

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Chatoyant College, Chatoyant College Book 14: Ghost Stories

Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 21: Candle Magic

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Monday, September 11

After having gone through two full weeks of Ritual Magic classes, Dawn had to admit that Mardalan did seem to have some understanding of knot magic. She performed a simple spell right in front of them on the first full day of class, using a knot to capture smoke from a small candle; they all watched the smoke disappear into the knot in her rope, and when she untied the knot, the smoke was completely gone. Dawn couldn’t even smell anything.

Mardalan had also avoided touching any of them, even in passing. She was obviously not an experienced teacher, but at least she seemed to have no interest in doing them harm.

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Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 20: Strange Noises

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Edie gasped. She should have known that the story would have a tragic ending, since they were talking about a ghost, but the idea that this striving scholarship student had died by suicide still really struck her. She would have guessed that the student had been killed by a faerie or some magic gone wrong. But then, there wouldn’t be a well-known story on campus about a student having been killed by a faerie, would there?

Of course, she hadn’t heard this story before. It could have easily been suppressed by the magic that kept people from noticing the strange discrepancies that having a campus filled with faeries produced. And she thought if that were the case, the only reason it could have resurfaced was if there was really a ghost.

“So she haunts the building?” Corrie asked. “What is she supposed to do?”

“People say they see her, standing in the hall or on the stairs,” Sam said. “Or there are strange noises.” Continue reading “Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 20: Strange Noises” →

Chatoyant College, Chatoyant College Book 14: Ghost Stories

Chatoyant College Book 14: Chapter 14: How to Protect Yourself

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Saturday, August 26

Corrie, Edie, and Dawn arrived early to the magic building that morning, wanting to make sure they could get to their assigned rooms easily. After all, if everyone on campus was required to attend one of these classes, it would be a huge crowd.

To Corrie’s disappointment, the class list pointed them each to a different classroom. She and Edie were each in one of the big amphitheater-style classrooms, and Dawn was in the same one where they’d had trance class last semester. Corrie was on the top floor, so she waved goodbye first to Dawn and then to Edie as she trudged up to the classroom.

It was only about a quarter full when she got there, so she was able to find a seat in the front row, near the far side of the room. Professor Lal was standing at the front of the class, talking quietly to a couple of students Corrie didn’t recognize. No one seemed to be intimidated by Professor Lal, but she was in her usual glamour, and maybe they didn’t remember that she was a faerie.

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