"Is she okay?"

"She's going to die, isn't she?"

"Don't be silly, she is going to be perfectly alright."

Voices swum around Jade's head, but she couldn't tell who they belonged to. She opened her eyes to see a blurry, distorted room. The room was white and sterile-looking, but sitting up and keeping her eyes open gave Jade a headache, so she settled back down to her pillow.

"Open your mouth, dear," said a voice. After struggling for a few seconds, Jade recognized it as the voice of Madame Sanator, the Health Wing nurse. Obligingly, Jade opened her mouth and received a mouthful of stingingly cold Revival Potion, which restored consciousness and brought the drinker from sleep. The potion sent a jolt through her veins, and she raised her head.

"W-w-what happened to me?" she asked, adjusting herself so that her back was up against her pillows.

"You didn't eat anything all day, and so you fainted," provided Alana, who was sitting next to Jade on a stool. Her fingernails were ragged, so she must have been stressed. Alana never bit her nails unless she was really, really worried. "Abigail found you and brought you here."

"Abigail?" Jade had never heard of any Abigail before. Maybe she was some Merdock student or something.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten," said Alana, rolling her eyes. "You know, the ghost protector of Eaglesclaw?"

Jade didn't.

"It's alright," said a whispered voice from the corner. "Many people forget about me."

The voice belonged to a girl of about fifteen of sixteen. At least she would have been, if she had been alive. The girl had long tendrils of silvery hair, big eyes, and a sad smile. She was swathed in a long gown of white, but there was a large reddish stain on the front of the dress. Her fingers were always moving, pleating her skirt into tiny folds, playing with her hair, and tapping upon the wooden surface of the stool.

Legend had it that Abigail had died fighting off a terrible beast from the school. She had returned as a spirit, continued her education, and become the protector of Eaglesclaw. Jade had never paid much attention to the stories that circulated, but Abigail seemed nice enough. Some of the students had adopted her as a sort of school mascot. She was always included in school festivities, and she had a special place at the high table.

"How long was I out?" Jade demanded to know. If she had missed Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Orlov would be so mad! They had a test coming up, and Jade couldn't stand to fail anything.

"Jade...you've been out for twelve hours."

"It's midnight? Oh my gosh! I have so much studying to do. I can't believe I missed Charms. I bet Professor Bloxam gave us a long assignment today, I just bet she did..." Jade trailed off, seeing the expression on Alana's face. "What is it?" She had never seen her best friend cry before. But now it was all too evident. There were long shiny streaks on Alana's face, and her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy.

"The intruder did succeed this time. Professor Clearwater was right." Alana gulped.

"What happened? Who did they take?" Jade sat forward, ignoring the stabbing pain in her head.

"West."