Novels by Arden West

"Someone is following you," Elijah repeated with a stern expression on his face. "At first I thought it was Lucian—""Okay. But he's being weird," Ariah added. "Well, he's generally weird. But he told Hailey that—""Why did you think it was him?" I interrupted Ariah, not wanting her to tell Elijah what Luca had told me. "And why does it sound like you changed your mind?"Elijah's brows furrowed as he peered between me and Ariah. "What did he tell you?"Of course, he wasn't going to let this fly. I sighed. "He thinks you're up to something."Elijah released a snort. "Says him, of all people. He's up to something." I crossed my arms. "Yeah, I figured that much.""You need to be careful, Hails. Something's going on around school.""Like what?""I…" his voice trailed. The stern look morphed into concern. "I can't explain. But someone is watching you.""Who?" "I don't know.""How do you know someone is watching me?" I pressed.He placed a hand on each of my shoulders, moving closer. "I k

"Good night!" Ariah called after Nate and Celeste, turning toward our bedroom door to unlock it.I rubbed my arms, peering down the hall as students dispersed in all directions toward their rooms, then remembering I had promised Tilly, the ghost girl, that I'd leave the door to the courtyard open for her friend. I also wanted to check and ensure there was a cat named Ginger. I didn't want to risk helping someone when they were about to do something devious, like murdering someone.Tilly seemed harmless, but I wasn't taking any chances. By the time I turned back, Ariah was already inside our shared bedroom. I stuck my head through the doorway. "Hey, I forgot to take care of something. I'll be back in a few minutes.""Need me to come with you?" Ariah spun around, a mug in hand. "It's pretty late already.""Nah. It'll be quick, don't worry.""Kay. Want some coffee?" she asked, switching on the coffee machine."Before bed?" I snorted a laugh. "No, but thanks though."She waved me off, and

Hailey’s POV. “Stupid, freaking insufferable, top class, cow!” Nate hissed over his shoulder at Valerie as she offered us a saccharine sweet smile from her table in the center of the cafeteria. “One day, I swear—” “Nate, it’s okay. Just leave it, please.” I pressed four fingers to my temple and sighed. “Karma will get to her…Eventually.” “And when will that be?” he retorted as Celeste grabbed him by the arm, steering him toward the cafeteria exit with Ariah and me on their trail. “When she’s old and shriveled up like a prune?” “Honestly, that would be karma in itself. Her being all vain and that,” Celeste snorted a laugh. “I mean, it’s just juice,” I persisted. That, and my dignity along with it. When Nate paused dead in his tracks to shoot me one of those looks only Nate could pull off that said, ‘Oh yeah?’ with an attitude, I knew he wasn’t going to drop it. “Okay, fine. Then what do you suggest I do about it?” “Hmmm. Let me see.” Nate tore his arm from Celeste’s hold, eyeing

The vent was a tight fit. But, when I finally got to the second open vent and slid out, a great sense of relief took over. Being squished and unable to breathe wasn't on my 'to-do' list. I was scarce on my feet, when I could hear footsteps heading in my direction. I ducked behind piles of boxes, pulling on a scrap of material dangling over me to hide myself. It was thick with dust and I had to fight not to have a coughing fit right then and there, which would give me away. Based on what I could see, I was in some storage room. Though, I didn't spend much time mulling over it, as Ledger himself stepped into the room, carrying a small, wooden box. He placed it on top of a shelf, sending specs of dust dancing into the beam of light provided by the small lightbulb which was close to retirement. I leaned to the side, hoping to get a better look, but Elijah turned his back to me, blocking the view to whatever he kept inside that box. Not a few seconds later a grunt sounded, followed by

Luca's POV. I sat back on a chair in the far corner of the cafeteria, chomping down on a cold, stiff fry; my gaze zeroed in on Elijah, definitely up-to-something Ledger. There were guards stationed at every exit of the cafeteria and one between the boys' and girls' toilets on the other side of the room, but they seemed…distracted. More accurately, two of the three guards were eyeing the ceiling, their eyes following something I couldn't see, and the third one, by the main exit, seemed like he had a serious case of fleas. He'd been more focused on scratching various parts of his body, his attention everywhere but on Elijah. And the man in question? Well, he'd been watching the guards with a questionable smirk on his face like he was in on a joke only he was privy to. I bet all the cold fries on my plate that he had something to do with it. But, I was most interested in why he was so intent to get them off his case? I'd have bet he wouldn't mind a chance for some alone time with his

“Okay, so, I’m going to take a wild guess that you want something from me?”The ghost girl swooped through me, momentarily dazing my body with an unpleasant, cold, and stuffy feeling. I shot her a glare. “I don’t like it when you do that.”She shrugged. “It’s nice for me. The living feels homey and warm.”I ignored that statement, noticing that half the library was staring. I turned my face away so they couldn’t see me when I murmured, “What do you want from me?”“A favor.” She clasped her hands against her lap, swaying sideways, smiling sweetly. “A teeny, tiny favor.”“And what does this favor entail?” I dropped the cloth I used to try and salvage the mess, accepting defeat. There was no way I would be able to rescue the damaged books. My first salary was down the drain. I sighed. “I need you to keep a door open for me tonight.”I blinked. “You can just go through it?”“It’s not for me. It’s for a friend. A living friend.”I crossed my arms, suspicion rising inside me. “If it’s a li