“You’re right. It sucks,” I said without much conviction. I could see her point, but I thought the restrictions justified in some cases. The true natures of some magickind were downright scary. I was pretty sure if given the freedom to do so, hags like Ms. Hardwick would toss the candy bars in favor of little children.

Selene smiled and stood up, relieved at my agreement, no matter how feeble. “I’m sorry for being a little nutzo lately. It’ll get better. I promise.” She turned toward the closet. “Are you hungry? I’m starved.”

I started to point out that she really hadn’t told me anything about what was actually going on with her, but I held back, sensing she needed more time. “Sure,” I said.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Selene and I headed down to the cafeteria to grab a late breakfast/early lunch.

Eli was waiting for us when we arrived. I’d sent him a text message about Britney. Unfortunately, Lance was with him, too, but that couldn’t be helped.

“So are we all going?” Eli said as Selene and I sat down with our trays.

“I’m going,” Lance said, bringing his fist down on the table.

“Easy, killer,” I muttered.

Selene took a drink from her water goblet, wiped her lips, and set it down with the kind of elegant finesse that belied the likelihood of tripping and falling. For once, she’d actually put on makeup to hide the scratches on her face. “We can’t all go to the hospital. I’m sure there’s a limit to the number of visitors she’ll be allowed at once.”

“Yeah, and she might not want to see us at all,” said Eli. “Who knows what kind of condition she’s in right now?”

I looked at Lance, barely suppressing a smile. “I’m pretty sure she won’t want to see you, period.”

Eli kicked my shoe under the table.

“What?” I said assuming my most innocent expression. “It’s true.”

“Not helpful.”

“I think only Dusty and I should go,” said Selene. “We’re better friends with her than either of you two.”

“Yeah, but you might miss something important,” said Eli.

I scoffed. “It’s not my first time questioning somebody. Plus, you know how Britney is. She’s so shy she might not say anything with you there.”

Eli nodded. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Any luck on getting a pass?”

“I got one,” Selene said. “My mom already called it in.”

I sighed. “I’m still working on mine. My mom’s cell is going straight to voice mail. She probably forgot to charge her battery or dropped her phone in a toilet. I e-mailed her but considering she does most of her e-mailing on her cell I’m not hopeful. I tried my dad but he’s not answering either. He gets up early on Saturdays and goes for long hikes, minus his cell. Says it’s his only chance for a little peace.” I scrunched up my nose. “I think he’s just lucky he hasn’t gotten lost and eaten by bears yet.”

Selene snorted. She’d met my dad a couple of times last summer, and found his absentminded-professor routine amusing. I usually found it dangerous, especially when he did things like leave the oven on for seven hours after finishing dinner. My dad was a classics professor at Chickery College, a private—and ordinary—liberal arts school.

“Yeah, no luck here either,” Eli said, an odd strain in his voice. “My dad’s working a case, I guess.”

I understood his worry at once, remembering the dream. “You haven’t talked to him at all?”

“No, but I called the department this morning and they told me.”

I smiled. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

Lance looked between Eli and me, his brow furrowed. “Well yeah, he’s fine. Why wouldn’t he be?”

I inclined my head toward Eli, allowing him to decide whether or not to respond. I’d told Selene about the dream before we came down to breakfast, of course, but she was part of the Dream Team and could definitely be trusted. The verdict remained out on Lance.

Eli cleared his throat and looked around for eavesdroppers, but the cafeteria was pretty empty, typical for a Saturday. And to my delight, Katarina wasn’t present. Still getting her beauty sleep, no doubt.

Satisfied it was safe, Eli recapped the dream from last night. His portion of it, anyway, keeping mine a secret. I couldn’t help the upsurge of affection I felt for him at his thoughtfulness. It was just his tendency to do stuff like that which made it so hard not to have feelings for him. Well, that and his overall hotness.

Lance appeared to listen to the story with some difficulty, the effects of the curse still plaguing him. The bruises beneath his eyes were deeper than ever, and he kept yawning as if he hadn’t slept for days. He seemed to be doing his best to cope with the curse, but I had a feeling it was going to catch up to him sooner or later.

“So what do you think it means?” Lance said when Eli finished.

Eli set down his goblet. “I’m not sure. It could mean lots of things. I did some research on crows and their symbolism. There’s a lot of it. War, death, famine, plague.”

“All kinds of bad, in other words,” I said.

Eli frowned at me. “Did you really think it could be anything else?”

I grimaced, doing my best not to picture the gruesome scene from last night. “No.”

“Crows can also be messengers from the dead,” said Selene.