“So... when's the first virgin sacrifice?”

     Her breath sent shivers up my spine as her whispered words slithered across my neck. I smirked, pushed the dull blonde hair behind my ear, and flashed my eyes at her, hoping my cheeks weren't flushed.

     “Not until next week, Jess. Don't worry... you're not on the menu.”

     She returned the smirk and rolled her eyes theatrically.

     “Ha ha, Stevie. You can suck it.”

     Her eyes flicked to the book I was reading and she nodded.

     “What's that mean, there? 'Transference'?” She asked, standing and popping her hip to one side.

     “Oh, that? I...” The words caught in my throat as I fumbled to close the book and shove it aside.

     I knew I was blushing then. I just hoped she didn't think it was because of how she was standing or the fact that her perfume was swirling around my nostrils, causing my brain to backfire. 

     I had a sudden irrational fear that she could hear the sound.

     Her musical laughter broke the awkward silence and she play shoved me.

     “You nerd. Calm down. You don't have to tell me all your secrets.”

     Her phone beeped and she snatched it off her hip, her fingers flying as she threw digital words into the ether. She looked up, lip curling again, and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

     “David's here. I'm outtie. Catch ya on the flip flop, girl!”

     Her smile sent a warm knife through my heart, and she kissed the top of my head. She spun on her heel and walked towards the door. Standing in the doorway, she turned and winked at me.

     “Don't summon too many devils, hun. There's enough skulking around these dorms.”

     Before I could come up with any kind of witty retort, she was gone.

     The silence in the empty room was thunderous. I swallowed hard, hearing my throat click, and I shook my head.

     I flipped the book open again and leaned forward, the air still crackling, like thousands of tiny little needles dancing on my skin.

     I took a deep breath, louder and more dramatic than was necessary, and heard her voice in the back of my mind.

     “Calm down.”

     If only it were that easy, Jess. You have no idea what you do...

     Which is exactly why I was doing what I was doing with this decrepit old book.

     I began mouthing the words on the page, memorizing, preparing. I turned the pages with care, drinking in every nuance in every word.

     For this to work, everything had to be perfect.

     My eyes danced over the lines... stopping, turning, a swift pirouette, back, forth... until the pages were as much a part of my thoughts as she was. Then I closed my eyes and repeated the same routine, every lift and spin, and smiled.

     There. Yes.

     Standing up, I rolled my shoulders and arched my back, as if I had actually been dancing. I turned and slid open the top drawer of my dresser. 

     The blade felt cold in my hand. I balanced it on my palm for a brief moment, then with one smooth motion, flipped it up and pierced the tip of my finger.

     The pain did not surprise me. I had done this before. What came next was always worse.

     Without really thinking, I pushed the book to one side of my desk and let my fingers flutter upon the surface. The same tickling buzz that had been in the air seemed to run down my arm and out of my fingertips, burning red marks into the wood.

     The silence hung thick around me, a sludge which only the hammering of my heart could pierce. 

     Then the murmuring rose.

     It started deep in my throat, a voice that was not mine. A voice jagged with age and death. It was repeating the words I had memorized, as it had so many times before.

     “Jessica.” The voice spoke, splintering the silence.

     The screams that followed always shook me, no matter how many times they ate into my thoughts. The cries of a thousand souls, pleading...

     The tears spilled down my cheeks as I held the blade aloft. The light from the nearby desk lamp, a silly little thing that Jess had bought me, glittered off the metal.

     With a final blistering mind scream, and with every ounce of strength I had, I plunged the knife deep into my own throat.

     The blood shot like a geyser, splattering on the wall, pouring out over my desk, and the black fingers began crawling up into my skin, pulling me away, away...

     As everything faded, I heard the ever so faint sound of the door clicking... and an ear shredding shriek...

     Floating... spinning...

     Hands on my lifeless body...

     For the briefest of moments, everything stopped. The air itself seemed to pause. The final few synapses fired off in my brain, and the ancient camera of my mind clicked off one final image.
    That ridiculous lamp, shadows flung across the wall, scattered sprays of blood.

     Then... nothing. Until...

     I blinked.

     I licked lips that were not my own.

     And something felt very wrong.

     “No...”

     The voice was not right.

     With a weight I was not expecting, I lifted my hand in front of my eyes.

     Jessica's terrified sob met my ears.

     “David! Get help! Stevie is...”

     Her voice cracked.

     No. This was not right at all.

     He was not supposed to be here.

     With David's eyes, I scanned the floor.

     “David! Please!”

     Jessica's voice clawed at the remnants of David's conscience, but I ignored it.

     There... under the body that not long ago was my own.. 

     I crouched, David's body cumbersome, and picked up the blade. Jessica's wide, glistening eyes followed the movements.

     “David... what are you doing... ”

     Her perfect complexion began to wrinkle in confusion and worry, and the heart beating in the chest that was not my own skipped. 

     “I'm sorry, Jess.”

     No. I did not like this voice.

     I held the knife in David's hand. Jessica stumbled back and bumped into the desk, rattling the lamp. The light shuddered on the walls, casting shadows at odd angles across the bloodied husk slumped over at her feet.

     My eyes locked with hers. The fear I saw in them broke David's heart.

     I had to finish this. Now.

     “This was meant to be different, Jess. But it's okay. The incantation will work now. Trust me.”

     Before Jessica could scream, the blade glinted in the still shuddering light and I tore open David's throat.

     The world spun into darkness again. Another ancient camera click, another image burned into another set of eyes I was discarding. For a brief second, our souls became fused, then the black fingers ripped them away, until only I remained.

     I blinked Jessica's eyes and wiped David's blood off of Jessica's face.

     Yes. Perfect.

     And now I will be with you forever, my love.

     I opened Jessica's mouth and licked her lips. I blinked her beautiful blue eyes. Reaching out a perfectly manicured hand, I clicked off the desk lamp. The shadows fell over the two dead husks, cast aside like refuse.

     “I'm outtie.” 

     I smiled, her voice tasting sweet on my tongue. I glanced over at the mirror hanging on Jessica's side of the small dorm room, flashed her perfect teeth, and ran a hand through her long dark hair.

     An electric buzz crackled down my spine, raising the tiny hairs on my arms. I popped my hip how she always would, smirked, and walked out the door.

     Into our new lives together.