by L. C. Mawson
Once the last of the students entered, however, she smiled and the imposing air surrounding her relaxed.
“Good afternoon, everyone,” she said in a slight Spanish accent before turning to me. “And it seems we have a new student today. I’m Ms Espina, Amelia. Now, I know that this might seem a little embarrassing, but I need to get a sense of your reflexes, so I’m going to ask one of the other students in the class to come at you. Just defend yourself as best you can, I’m not expecting anything from you in this exercise, it’s just to get a base reading. And here.”
She moved over to the bench at the edge of the room and picked up a pair of large metal bracers with runes decorating the metal. “These will dampen your magic as you fight, ensuring that you don’t use raw Energy in your defence. This is purely a test of physical ability, not magic.”
I nodded and stood up as she came over and helped me to get them on.
She then looked over the collection of students and said, “Victoria, will you come over and help with this?”
I suppressed a groan. If there was one person in this class I didn’t trust not to try to actually hurt me, it was Victoria.
She stood up with a smug look. “Of course, Ms Espina.”
“All right, let’s move away from the others, and if you two could turn and face each other.”
We moved to the centre of the room and I turned to face Victoria.
She was still wearing that smug smile, and I wanted nothing more than to wipe it from her face.
But I took a deep breath, centring myself before we began.
Ms Espina stood just off to the side of us. “When I light my wand, Victoria, I want you to try to attack Amelia, just as I’ve been showing you in class. And Amelia, if you could defend yourself as best you can.”
Both Victoria and I nodded.
A moment later, Ms Espina’s wand lit with a sizzling sound.
Victoria barrelled straight for me in a rather clumsy way.
A moment later, she was on the ground, the wind knocked out of her.
As soon as they’d realised what had just happened the entire class erupted into cheers and laughter.
I couldn’t help but grin at that.
Yeah, even with the kit, I was sure that I was going to like this class.
Ms Espina turned to me with a raised eyebrow. “Taekwondo?”
I nodded. “Brown belt.”
She shook her head before turning to Victoria and helping her up. “Thank you for your help, Victoria. I think that was sufficient as a baseline test.”
Natalie got up and made her way over to me while Ms Espina was distracted, moving faster than my eye could track. One moment she was sitting on the ground, the next, she was next to me.
“You didn’t tell me that you knew Taekwondo.”
I shrugged with a small smile. “You didn’t ask.”
She gave me an unamused look and I shrugged once more.
“I watched a lot of Power Rangers growing up, and my parents were told to encourage my enthusiasm. Something about learning discipline and getting rid of some of my restless energy.”
“And a brown belt. I’m assuming that’s good?”
I shrugged. “I mean, it’s okay. It would be higher, but my parents couldn’t always take me to lessons, so I’ve had breaks over the years. And I’ve only done local competitions, nothing overly fancy.”
Natalie looked me over. “And you’re also looking at Oxbridge for uni. Why do I get the impression that you never do anything in half measures?”
“Because you’re a good judge of character.” I almost made a self-deprecating joke about how being good at school and one hobby wasn’t actually that hard when you had no life or friends outside of that, but I didn’t want Natalie to know how pathetic I had been before.
No, no one here knew the old me, they only knew the cool new Witch me.
Ms Espina turned to all of us, cutting our conversation short. “All right, let’s pair you all up and go over the Demon fighting styles again.”
She turned to me. “We’re cycling through the basics of all of the magical fighting styles, starting with the Demons. Most species don’t have to incorporate wands into their styles, so we’re leaving magic out of them until we get to fighting styles developed by and for Witches.” She nodded to the bracers I was wearing. “I’m going to assume that you’ve got enough discipline not to actually need those.”
I nodded as I looked around before speaking in barely more than a whisper so that no one else could hear, “How come no one else is wearing them?”
Ms Espina flicked her wand while muttering something under her breath. A moment later, the noise of the room dimmed.
“It’s a privacy spell,” she said. “Don’t worry, they’re used frequently, so no one will think it’s odd. And if you have to ask a teacher something that you don’t want overheard, I suggest you use one.
“As for your question, Ms Griffin informed me of how you broke through. Most Witches struggle to access raw Energy, so they don’t need bracers like these. They’re usually used by Demons when they train. But it looks like you might have an easier time with it than most, and I didn’t want you to blast Victoria out of fright when she came at you. But if you’re used to sparring, then I don’t think anything’s going to throw you enough to cause you to lash out.”
I nodded, not saying anything more. I didn’t want the conversation to turn to why I was so powerful, given that even I didn’t really know, and what I did know, I couldn’t explain without mentioning Freya.
Ms Espina lifted the privacy spell before turning to Victoria. “Victoria, could you partner up with Amelia again and show her the Demon forms I’ve been going through so far?”
I suppressed a wince, really not wanting to be partnered with Victoria.
Natalie stepped forward. “Actually, Ms Espina, Amelia is my roommate, and if she’s already educated, maybe she and I could try being partners?”
Ms Espina shook her head. “Sorry, Natalie. You’re still stronger and faster than her, and that comes with its own risks. No, you’ll have to stay partnered with me until we start fighting with magic.”
A pang of sympathy twisted my gut as I realised that I wasn’t the only one being singled out for my abilities compared to the other Witches.
But Natalie didn’t complain as she headed off with Ms Espina, and Victoria drew my attention with her sharp tone as she addressed me.
“One more round.”
I frowned. “But Ms Espina said that you needed to show me the Demon forms.”
Victoria rolled her eyes. “I’ll attack you with them. Then we’ll see who’s really the better Witch. I wasn’t trying before. I didn’t think you knew how to defend yourself.”
I shrugged, having clearly knocked Victoria down one peg too many.
If she felt the need to win back her pride, then fine.
But I wasn’t going to make it easy for her.
She came at me with a strike that I easily blocked.
Then another, though that was slightly more difficult.
I wasn’t used to this Demon style of fighting, and admittedly, it was throwing me a little, but I figured that I just needed to get used to it.
She struck out once more, and that blow did hit me, my block too slow.
I frowned as I realised that my arm was moving sluggishly.
Something was wrong.
I tried to move more quickly, to regain my speed and momentum, but it seemed that the faster I struggled against the sluggishness, the worse it got.
Black sparks crackled over my skin, but they did no good as I found myself completely frozen in place, unable to move.
My chest tightened, my lungs refusing to draw in breath as I recognised the sensation.
I had been helpless, trapped, as the Demons had appeared.
As they had held a knife to mum’s throat.
As they had cursed her.
I had been too weak and helpless, and now no one knew
how to heal her.
And it was all my fault.
I would never get to say that I was sorry...
I finally collapsed to the ground, barely registering my body hitting the cold wooden floor as I struggled to remain conscious.
“Amelia.”
I managed to turn my head at the familiar sound of Natalie’s voice, seeing that she was kneeling next to me as I realised that the curse that had been holding me in place had broken.
“It was Victoria. She cursed you to win the fight, but I think you realised and tried to break the curse with brute force.”
I nodded, that sounded about right.
“You managed it, but the effort exhausted you. You were still in the remnants of your last bout of magical exhaustion, so...”
Ms Espina leaned over me at that, moving her wand up and down my body as blue light swept over me.
She eventually put her wand away with a sigh. “You’re not physically harmed, Amelia, but you do need rest and restorative potions. Can you stand?”
I almost winced at the thought, but I pushed past that, not wanting to show how weak I was to the rest of the class.
I wouldn’t give Victoria the satisfaction.
I ignored my muscles as they screamed at me, and I pushed myself to my feet.
Natalie’s hand went to my waist to keep me steady, and I found her touch soothing, leaning into her a little.
She held me tighter. “I’ll shift us back to our room.”
I nodded and the world fell out from under me, the wooden floor disappearing and reappearing as the soft carpet of our room.
“So that’s what the teleportation is called?” I said, my words slurring as I spoke. “Shifting?”
Natalie nodded as she helped me over to my bed and I immediately collapsed into it, though I kept one hand on Natalie’s arm.
“Get some sleep,” Natalie said. “I’ll make sure that there’s some food here for you when you wake up.”
My grip on her arm tightened instinctively. I loosened it once I realised what I’d done, but I also realised that I didn’t want her to go.
Natalie examined me for a moment before sitting beside me. “You know, when Victoria cursed you... I could smell your fear. It was more than anything I’d ever sensed before. It’s no wonder you fought the curse so hard.”
I looked away. I knew that I shouldn’t tell her about my mum – I wasn’t supposed to be telling anyone about the danger I was in – but I was too tired to keep secrets from my friend. “Before I came here, before I even realised that I was a Witch, Demons attacked me and my family. They cursed me, freezing me in place, while they cut my mother with a knife that had another curse on it. A curse that she has yet to wake up from.”
Natalie held me tight as I curled into her. “Amy, I am so sorry.”
I didn’t have the strength to sob, but tears streamed down my cheeks. “The last conversation we had was an argument. She didn’t know about magic and she didn’t want me to come here. She didn’t want to lose me...”
“My mum had similar reservations,” Natalie admitted, her voice soft as her hand went to my hair, stroking the short locks. “For that argument to be the last thing we said to each other... I can’t even imagine...”
“I have to figure it out, Nat. I have to learn enough magic to cure her.”
Nat just continued to hold me as I finally fell asleep.
Chapter Sixteen
I groaned as I awoke the next morning, every inch of my body aching.
Every inch except the parts of me entangled with the figure beside me.
I took a moment to relax, finding comfort in the feel of the soft skin next to mine.
Comfort and something else. An unfamiliar feeling, not unlike the spark of my magic, igniting me with the same excitement and hope, though for what, I couldn’t say.
My stirring must have disturbed Natalie, as her eyes fluttered open a moment later, and I became acutely aware of how close we were, facing each other.
My traitorous thoughts went back to that night, at that party, and the feel of her soft lips against mine.
The first time a kiss had ever felt right.
I had been doing my best to ignore that thought.
But now, with her next to me, it became impossible as my nerve endings tingled with the memory, aching to be close to her once more.
I sat up, figuring that the distance would help, though as soon as I was separated from her, I felt cold, and almost detached.
Natalie sat up as well, regarding me carefully. “How are you feeling?” she asked, her voice soft.
The coldness melted a little as I found myself instinctively leaning closer to her.
“Kind of wrung out,” I admitted. “And actually, kind of... empty, if that makes sense.” I frowned. “I know that I’m tired and in pain, and I should feel worse about that, but...”
“Magic draws on emotion, remember? When you broke through, that was a lot of emotional turmoil, which probably kept you from feeling like this.”
I gave her a wry smile, though it was muted. “I had plenty of emotional turmoil last night.”
“You did, but you needed to heal and recover, and you will have used your magic to do so while you slept. You’ll be drained now.”
I looked her over. “Is this how you feel all of the time? I mean, if being a Vampire means that your magic is constantly draining your emotions, then is it this same kind of drain?”
She nodded. “It is. Though, I am also part-Witch, so I can sometimes get to a point where it’s not so bad.”
“How do you do that?”
She moved her hand to my cheek and a spark of heat rushed through me, cutting through the cold. “Any strong emotion helps. If you’re upset or angry, that can be good fuel. But that’s Dark magic, and if you skew more towards Light, focusing on people you care about will be better.”
“Which do you find easiest?”
“I don’t know. I used to think that it was anger and pain. I was always alone. Always the only Vampire or the only Witch, never fitting in anywhere. But now? I fit in here, at this school, with Charlotte and Lena and you.”
I smiled at the fact that she included me. “Yeah, I feel the same way. So, you just think about that?”
She nodded, though it lacked conviction.
“Or something else?”
Her gaze flickered down to my lips and before I could think about what that meant, she had closed the space between us.
I think if she’d done that at any other point, I would have stiffened with shock, or pulled away, but the warmth of magical Energy flooded my body, replenishing me and giving me a hunger for more.
My body needed this, like a craving, to replenish what it had used up in healing me, and I’d never been the best at restraint.
But then Natalie’s body stiffened before she disappeared from my arms, moving faster than I could track.
One moment she was beside me, and the next, she was standing at the other side of the room, staring at me with wide eyes.
I frowned, the coldness returning once more. It wasn’t as bad as before – I think the kiss had replenished me – but with Natalie across the room, there was a noticeable chill. “What’s wrong?”
She just continued to stare. “Are you seriously asking me that question right now?”
“Well... Yes.”
She sighed, shaking her head. “We can’t do this, Amy. I thought we’d agreed just to be friends.”
“We did! And we have been. And I wasn’t the one to do anything. You kissed me!”
“Yes, and it was a mistake. A lapse in judgement.” She folded her arms tight across her chest. “I’m sorry, this was my fault. You needed someone, but... it can’t be me.”
I shrugged. “Okay, fine. We go back to just being friends. No need to get worked up.”
Natalie groaned, shaking her head. “You don’t understand, do you?”
Once again, she moved faster than I could track, but this time,
she didn’t move away from me.
No, the next thing I knew, I was lying on my back, with Natalie’s hands pinning down my wrists.
I tried to move but couldn’t. She was too strong.
Her lips parted to reveal a sharp pair of fangs as I met her gaze, a gleam in her eyes that demanded submission.
I refused to look away, not wanting to back down, but I couldn’t deny the quickening of my heart rate and the shiver down my spine.
An instinctual reaction to being confronted with a predator and knowing that I was her prey.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you to be near me, Amelia? I’m not like other Vampires. Being part-Witch lets me feel emotions that most Vampires can’t until they’ve already tasted blood. If I get close to someone, I can’t control myself. If I get too close to you – if I have another lapse in judgement and kiss you again – I will bite you.”
My memories went back to that night at the party.
At how Natalie hadn’t just stayed kissing me.
How her lips had moved to my neck, and how I had felt a small prick before she had pulled away as fast as she could.
As if I were poison.
She hadn’t drawn blood, but I suppose it made sense that that had been her intention.
The thought of how close she had come to draining me in the past should have terrified me.
It should have had me running as fast as I could away from her.
Except I instead found that the thought of her teeth sinking into my flesh was far from an unpleasant one...
Energy crackled up my skin, and as soon as it reached the point where Natalie was holding me down, she jumped back, as if burned.
“Are you okay?” I asked, jumping up as she held her hands close. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you...”
Natalie just turned to glare at me. “It didn’t hurt, it just... Energy is powered by raw emotion, Amelia. Sharing it like that makes you an open book.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I’m sorry if it’s not what you want to hear, but this didn’t mean anything.”
