Ghoulish Charms: A Lady of the Lake School for Girls Cozy Mystery by Sarina Dorie

Author:Sarina Dorie [Dorie, Sarina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Book Dragon Press
Published: 2022-02-02T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The Present: Present Problems

Vega could see it happening again. She was growing too attached to Hazel. It was unhealthy. It was dangerous. Friendship only led to misery.

She needed to ensure she didn’t grow close to Hazel, and she needed to guard her secrets better than she had with Malisha.

Before homeroom started, Vega returned to her dorm room and washed with uncured soap. She performed the spell necessary to keep her flesh from smelling like a rotting corpse and sprayed herself with her expensive French perfume in case any smell leaked through.

She realized now that when she’d seen the ghoul in the dessert shop, his skin hadn’t been ashen because of illness—at least not any disease that harmed humans. It was due to him being a ghoul. As was the smell of death he’d tried to camouflage with the stench of urine and fish. On the other hand, perhaps those odors he’d simply acquired while being homeless, and it had been an added benefit to masking what he was. He’d been careful to hide what he was. If it hadn’t been for Vega bringing Detective Medina to the body, no one would have known.

Had it been just her, would she have fought the ghoul for a taste of that body? Or walked away and left him to feast alone?

For being a Friday, the students behaved reasonably well. Vega only gave out three detentions before lunch. Two were for insubordination and one for swearing in class, but it was the afternoon detentions during her sixth-period class that became the highlight of her day. Students so rarely did anything creative. Turning someone else’s nose into a carrot was her favorite incident of the week.

Vega brought the two girls outside into the hallway, and the class copied notes from the board while she decided what to do with the two juniors, Claudia “Carrot-Nose” Wadsworth and Zaria Mihailovic.

“Why did you turn Claudia’s nose into a carrot?” Vega asked Zaria.

Zaria crossed her arms and glowered at Vega in defiance.

“I don’t know why she would do such a horrible thing!” Claudia wailed. “She’s just mean. She bullies me all the time. I hate her.”

Zaria clenched her fists and glowered. “I do not!”

“She did this to me for no reason at all.” Claudia wiped her eyes.

“No reason?” Vega crossed her arms. “Everyone always has a motive.” It wasn’t always a good motive, but if someone was going to the trouble of using their magic, it usually wasn’t because she was simply bored. There usually was some reason behind the cruelty.

Besides, Vega kept students busy enough there was no time for boredom. Zaria had a reason for acting out, as well as this choice of punishment. Other teachers might not have cared what the reason was and would have simply assigned a detention, but Vega always cared.

Mr. Reade had always cared to know the reason Vega and other students had acted out. It was a good policy. Sometimes Vega only cared to know students’ motives to satiate her own personal curiosity, but that seemed appropriately noble in her book.

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