It was as cold as ever inside the room, the scuffed floor freezing against her bare feet, and Lily limped through it as quickly as she could to the relative warmth of the kitchen. The staff kitchen had been the “preparations room” back in the house’s plantation days, the student ambassadors always said when they gave tours of the school. It was where the servants (twenty-first-century code for “slaves”) had fixed up the food after it was brought inside from the kitchen before they served it to the Siward family.

Whenever Lily was in here, she pictured some Sally Hemings type spitting in her master’s food. That’s what Lily would’ve done if it were her.

She dug in the cabinet for the first-aid kit and bandaged her finger quickly. When she limped back into the darkened dining hall, something looked different. She held the candles higher. It took her a second to spot it.

It was the chairs. Three of them were standing in a neat row alongside the table.

What the hell? Lily was positive they’d all been pushed to the edges of the room a minute ago.

She’d been right next door. If someone had come in and rearranged the room she would’ve heard. But there hadn’t been a single scrape along that ancient wood floor.

She must’ve been mistaken when she walked through before. The chairs must’ve been arranged this way from the beginning.

A movement on the far side of the room made Lily’s head jerk up. It was in the farthest corner, where her candlelight didn’t reach. In the dark she could barely see what had moved.

Slowly, as her eyes readjusted to the dim light, she saw the faint outline of a person. A girl, wearing a long skirt. She must’ve been the one who’d moved the chairs.

“Jesus,” Lily said. “You scared me. Are you looking for candles? There are more over in the kitchen.”

The girl didn’t move.

“Why are you standing in the dark?” The back of Lily’s neck prickled.

The girl in the corner lifted her head slightly, but she didn’t speak.

“Hey!” Lily took a step back. She stumbled.

Someone tapped on her shoulder, hard.

She whirled around. “Stop it!”

There was no one behind her.

She turned back around. The girl was gone too.

“What the hell?” Lily nearly tripped over her crutch as she made her way to the heavy double doors that led to the main foyer. When she pushed on it, the door gave way easily. Lily drew in quick, sharp breaths as she fell out into the hall.

It was dark outside the room. The only light was a single candle at the far end of the main hallway. Lily held her candelabra out to illuminate the shadows.