"Okay, spill," Evelyn demanded, her voice shaking slightly. "Who the hell are you, and what kind of freak can see high-grade astral cleansing magic?"Ryan stared up at her from his position on the cold, wet concrete. His left shoulder throbbed where he had landed after his desperate dive-roll, and his brain was currently struggling to process the fact that he was covered in pink glitter, smelled like a synthetic strawberry orchard, and was surrounded by hundreds of pine-tree-shaped air fresheners."Look, lady," Ryan said, his voice cracking slightly from pure, unadulterated exhaustion. "I'm just a guy who was trying to take a shortcut to his dorm so I could sleep for three hours. I don't know what astral cleansing is, and I definitely don't know why you're pointing a glowing plastic toy at my face.""It's not a toy!" Evelyn hissed. Her cheeks flushed a deep, vibrant scarlet that was highly visible even in the dim, pulsing pink glow of her wand. She stepped closer, her combat boots squ

The heavy fire door of the sophomore dorm complex clicked shut, cutting off the relentless, freezing downpour of the autumn night. Ryan and Evelyn stood in the dimly lit, carpeted hallway of the third floor, breathing in sync like two exhausted runners at the end of a marathon. They were completely soaked. Water dripped from the hem of Ryan’s threadbare hoodie, pooling onto the industrial carpet, and they both smelled like a highly questionable combination of fresh rain, burnt electronics, and sour, exploded milk."Hurry," Ryan whispered, his voice hoarse as he fumbled with his plastic key card. His fingers, still trembling from the residual adrenaline of the convenience store explosion, slipped twice before the lock finally beeped green.He pushed the door open and ushered Evelyn inside, quickly locking it behind them and throwing the deadbolt."Is your roommate here?" Evelyn whispered, her teeth chattering so hard they made a clicking sound in the dark."No," Ryan breathed, leaning

"We’re going through!" The words were instantly torn from Ryan’s lips by the howling, rain-slicked wind, lost in the roar of the downpour.The towering wall of violet force loomed larger by the millisecond. Up close, it wasn't just a flat surface; it was a humming, vibrating sheet of raw, static electricity that made the hairs on Ryan’s arms stand on end. The asphalt beneath the scooter’s wheels seemed to warp, and the falling rain vaporized into tiny, hissing puffs of steam before it could even touch the crackling purple barrier."Are you insane?!" Evelyn shrieked directly into his ear. She squeezed him tighter, her arms locking around his ribs with a desperation that threatened to crack his sternum.Ryan didn't back down. He couldn't. The physical pressure of her body was a hot, solid weight against his back. Her chest was flattened hard against his shoulder blades, her rapid, terrified heartbeat vibrating straight through his spine in a frantic, syncopated rhythm. Even in the middl