Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her foot impatiently as she hissed at Billy. “I can’t believe you got us into this mess!”

He gawked at her, running his hands nervously through his hair. “Are you kidding me right now? You’re the one who wanted to run off and play dirty in the temple!” he whisper-screamed at her.

They stood in a room as staunchly plain and small as a jail cell, Paige off in the opposite corner, having a conversation with one of the monks. Charlotte didn’t know when or where Paige had learned the local language, but a part of her was glad someone could communicate, even if Paige was the ultimate bore.

She should have never hooked up with Billy. She had made a grave error in judgment. She never let anyone into her pants unless they had something to offer her, but she’d made an exception with Billy. She’d heard about his playboy attitude, but she also knew most of his conquests claimed he was great in bed. He was one of the sexiest men she’d ever met, and his father had enough money to buy half the country.

For once, she just wanted to have a good time. The fling would be over the minute they got back to school. She didn’t want to associate with someone like him in public.

And now, they were being held like prisoners. She shook her head at Billy. “You’re the one who wanted me to go down, and you’re the one who stumbled into the damn table and knocked over some magical something that was probably an offering to keep some angry pagan god at bay.”

Billy rolled his eyes, but Charlotte could read the uncertainty in his face. “Come on, you and I both know that voodoo and santeria and all these things are nothing more than myths and superstitions. Paige will offer up our sincere apologies, I’ll call my dad and have him write a big check to offer up as a donation to the temple, and we’ll be free to go.”

Charlotte gazed down at the tiny red pricks all over her arms and legs, where the ashes had lightly burned her skin when they blasted at her. “If it’s not real, how do you explain this?” She motioned to the damage on his arms. “And how did the blood catch fire in the first place? It doesn’t matter what religion you are, or if you’re atheist. I don’t care if you worry about black cats crossing your path or walking under ladders. You can’t deny what happened in there.”

It looked like Billy was going to respond, but the little powwow in the other corner broke up, and Paige walked over with Ethan and Kyle in tow. Kyle seemed antsy, shifting from one foot to the other, and Ethan was as pale as Paige, though he also looked like he nervously waited for an explanation.

“So, are we free to leave?” Billy asked, and Charlotte smacked him on the arm. He scowled at her indignantly. “What was that for?”

“Would you just let her talk?” Charlotte chastised. “She’s the only one who can tell us what these guys are going to do to us.”

Paige held up her hands, as if to halt the argument, and Charlotte quieted. She glared at Billy, daring him to speak, but he pressed his lips together. She didn’t like Paige. The girl was way too prudish, kept her nose buried in her books all the time, and came from a poor background. She dressed plainly, and she always carried this look of disdain for Charlotte. But in this moment, she held all the power and the knowledge, and Charlotte would temporarily show some respect.

“They aren’t going to do anything to us,” Paige said, and Charlotte noted the emphasis on the word ‘they’. It made her even more nervous. “What you destroyed was a sacrificial altar. That blood was spilled from an individual who willingly sacrificed himself in order to protect the people here from Kali.”

Charlotte had no clue what she was talking about, but Ethan obviously did, his skin tone faltering to a sickly green. “Who the hell is Kali?”

“Honestly, he pretty much is Hell personified,” Ethan said, his voice gruff. He stared off into space, apparently recalling what he knew. “Kali is a demon of strife, hardship, famine, plague. Basically, he’s everything that causes the chaos of this world and makes it hard to get by. A human sacrifice of blood would be meant to keep the temple safe from his penchant for deviance.”

Charlotte didn’t know what to think. “But that’s all a bunch of mythology and legend, isn’t it?”