“What exactly is a pureblood?” Luke asked, hand shaking as he held it up.  I arched my eyebrows at him, wondering where this came from.  Nobody shot him any accusing looks, most people seemed to nod their head in agreement.  Dr. Wineman gave him a quizzical look.

“A pureblood is an Eidolon that has no human blood within them,” the doctor explained slowly, “they’re very rare these days, as almost all of the Etheric Shades are mixed with humans.”  He touched his knuckle to his chin before moving on with his lecture.

Two hours later the class finished early.  Like the previous lecture, Luke and I stood to let people pass by before walking down ourselves.  Once we got to the bottom the doctor asked to talk to us again, this time he was watching Luke rather than me.

“Yes?” Luke asked, sounding more worried than anything.  After the week he’d had, I didn’t blame him.

“I would just like to talk to you about your question earlier,” Dr. Wineman said, “alone if you don’t mind.” 

Luke looked at me and shrugged his shoulders, giving me the okay to leave.  I waved at the doctor and stepped outside, shutting the door behind me.

The place had emptied out fast, and I wished to do the same.  Being in the empty beige hallway reminded me how vulnerable I was to Jared and, I supposed, whoever was murdering women around town.  A noise caught my attention and I turned just in time to see the blonde receptionist with the mismatched roots and eyebrows had come around the corner, giving me only a glance before heading into the washrooms.  Dismissing her as easily as she had me, I pulled out my phone and began playing solitaire.

Moments later Luke stepped out of the classroom, brow furrowed and lips a tight line.

“You okay?” I asked.  I could count on one hand the number of times I’d seen that face.

“Yeah,” he said, waving me off, “I just need to use the washroom.” 

I nodded watching him until he disappeared behind into the men’s washroom.

A minute passed when I let out a puff of crisp, white air.  I inhaled deeply and let out another, ensuring I wasn’t imagining things.  The temperature had dropped and in my head I was back at Charlie’s apartment, her eyes staring at me.

My phone clattered to the tiled floor, the noise jostling me from my haze.  Everything moved too slowly as I ran towards the bathroom.  My legs couldn’t move fast enough, like a nightmare I couldn't control.  I had no idea why I jumped into action so quickly, I’d never done it before.  And I had no idea what I was going to find—all I knew was that someone was in danger.

I smashed the bathroom door open, eyes scanning the area only to find Heather on the floor, skin a frozen blue.  Above her was the smoke, wavering in the air.  It looked like it was struggling to stay still, like it couldn’t focus on being in the room.

I’d never thought smoke could have a back, but I could tell when this cloud shifted in my direction.  A figure of a man, a rough outline of shoulders and hands twisted towards me.  I had no idea what it was trying to do as it stayed floating above the woman.  My mouth hung open, all the words on the tip of my tongue disappearing before they could make a sound.  The edges of the smoke began to shift faster, and when I blinked it was gone.

I took a shaky step forward.  My knees wobbled, but they got me to the foot of the woman on the floor.  I waved my hands where the smoke had been and decided that it was safe…maybe.  There was nothing there, at least nothing I could see or feel.  My breath no longer came in white puffs, and the temperature had begun to rise.  From the open window I could hear a clicking close by, as if someone was just outside tapping on the wall.

Kneeling down, I touched the woman’s neck to feel for a pulse; nothing.  Her skin was cold, just like Charlie’s had been, her eyes glazed over with a white film as she stared at the ceiling, or more likely her attacker.

A breeze brushed across my face, shifting strands of brown hair in front of my eyes.  I didn’t care; I just stared down into Heather’s eyes.  After a while I finally looked up at the open window, is that how it had gotten in?  Was there an open window at Charlie’s or Alex’s?  I didn’t know.  I couldn’t even remember—the scenes in my head were unusually blurry.

I struggled to get back on my feet.  There was little feeling in my legs, but I managed to get to the door without falling.  Moving as quickly as I could, I walked out of the bathroom, picked up my phone, and called for help.  Regret filled my heart knowing Luke was in the other room.

“911, what is your emergency?” the operator said calmly.

I jumped as Luke appeared beside me.  “Was it just me or did it get really cold for a minute there?”

I looked into his eyes, seeing nothing but innocence.  He did not need this again.  Luke held up his hands to apologize once he saw the phone in my hand.

“Yes,” I said, “I need to report a…murder, I think.” 

Luke’s eyes widened.  “What?”

I gave the operator the address and was told to wait.  It took only five minutes for the first siren to be heard and six minutes until there were flashing lights outside of B Hall.