“Good to see you’re still going strong,” said a voice from behind me, making me jump.
“You,” I said to Ulric, though I was inwardly pleased to see a familiar face.
“Me. So, how’re are you liking St. Erzsebet’s so far, ladies?” He pulled up a chair alongside me.
“How do you think?” I answered. “This is Natalie,” I added, “Natalie, Ulric”. They shook hands and I noticed she didn’t display the same venomous superiority towards Ulric that Goth Girl had. It made me like her. Helped set aside our mishap in the lecture hall.
“Hi. It’s good,” replied Natalie. “We were just talking about who we might be paired up with as a roommate.”
“Ah, yes. That’s always hard for you guys.”
“Why just for us?” I asked, “Isn’t it hard for you…guys?”
“No, you might have noticed that for how sprawling the academy is, only about forty first-years get in every year.” He said it like it was a thing of great pride. Like admission to some exclusive school. The way witches, warlocks, faeries and other shifters viewed getting into Superno. This had to be public Ulric talking. In his car he’d shared a wholly different sentiment about attending Bloodline Academy. “There aren’t that many werewolves that come in newly every year. It’s normally between eight and ten. Unlike the vampires, we don’t get one room per two of us, we have a single, large room in our dorm that has beds in two rows to accommodate up to ten of us together.”
“That many?” asked Natalie. I could tell it was more out of inexperience than judgement and thankfully, so could Ulric. “We just naturally form together as a pack and it actually works out okay.”
“In my coven, I grew up with four witches to a room,” I shared.
“Did you like it?” asked Natalie.
“It gave me security, knowing I was never alone. Hearing them all in the night, being around everyone in the day. It was nice,” I said as sadness passed over me. I still couldn’t believe that in a couple of days, I wouldn’t be going back to it all. Being at the academy, made Quinn and Nina’s catty remarks from time to time seem like a warm breeze on a summer’s day. I longed for it. And there was nothing I, nor anyone else could do. I was here.
As the sadness passed, it was replaced by raw anger. It had taken Babette and Lorna two minutes to forsake me and turn their backs on a bond that they’d made. Normally for a witch to leave her coven without its blessing was seen as the mother of all betrayals amongst witches. Convenient how it didn’t seem to work the other way too.
“I second that but then again we are pack animals by nature. Lone werewolves aren’t the norm.”
“Same with us. Witches, I mean,” I said, as Ulric’s amber eyes locked with mine.
“Seems like the two of you have quite a bit in common,” Natalie smirked and I broke away my gaze.
“As I headed over here, I saw le Boursier posting some notices on the bulletin board. I bet they’re about your roommates as well as pointing the new werewolves among you towards their packmates.” Ulric looked thoughtful.
“Thanks!” said Natalie, standing up immediately, not bothering to finish the rest of her dinner or rather, lunch, I guess?
“Yeah, thanks, we’ve got to go,” I agreed, pulling myself up too.
“No worries,” said Ulric as we left. His eyes lingered on me until we were out of the food hall.
Although I’d completely missed it before, we easily found the bulletin board upstairs by the sight of a handful of first years huddled around it. Petrified of what I’d find, I read names down the list that was titled ‘Sanguine’. Relief washed over me as I saw that Goth Girl was paired with some girl named, Nyx Burrows. I had no idea who she was, but Nyx had saved my skin. Even if she was as bad as her new roomie, in my book she’d just scored major points for taking a space that very well could have been assigned to me. I read and reread the list and then again. I couldn’t find my name on it.
“I think they’ve forgotten to include me,” I said, beginning to skim the other list.
“You’re with me!” announced Natalie, the happiest I’d seen her since we’d met.
“What? Really?” I reached the bottom of the Novus list and there, sure enough were both our names.
“Do you think it’s a mistake?” I asked, cautiously.
“I don’t think so? Maybe even if it is, we shouldn’t say anything? I mean, out of everyone here, I’d much rather have you as my roommate.”
“Did you girls have a question?” asked le Boursier, walking up behind us and appearing from seemingly out of nowhere. Everyone at this place seemed to have a knack for making me jump.
“Not really, we were just checking our room assignments and timetables,” said Natalie, trying to be vague in case it had been a mistake to put us together.
“Ah, I see. Yes, you’ll find that you two are together,” said the older woman, through her too-round spectacles. “This is deliberate.”
“Great!” said Natalie, looking at me.
“And it’s the first time we’ve ever assigned a Novus and Sanguine together. But due to Miss. Quartz’ rather complicated state of being, we had to make an executive decision that went against the school’s tradition. Even your classes will all be the same.”
“May I ask, why?” I asked, “As in, what is it about my being that caused you to decide that – not that I’m complaining?” I threw in for good measure.
“Even with Natalie’s lack of impulse control when it comes to your blood, let’s say she’s a much safer option, while you come into your own Sanguine nature at this academy. Placing you with other Sanguine whilst you’re still more witch than vampire, would be like throwing a mouse into a pit of vipers and expecting something good to come of it.”
“Huh,” I said.
“Anyway, I must go, there is something urgent I must attend to,” said le Boursier, briskly walking away. While I was greatly relieved to have been spared from being on the same dorm as the Sanguines, it provided little comfort that I was still about to be holed up with a vampire who had had to run in the opposite direction from me, just to stop from wanting to taste my blood. It was one thing to hang out with Natalie but sharing every night, or day, in close proximity to her as she grew hungry wasn’t something that gave me reassurance after all.
Chapter 7
“Not bad, not bad! What do you think?” said Natalie, in excitement as we made our way to our assigned dorm room and opened the door.
“Yeah, it’s okay,” I said as we went inside. The rooms were brightly lit and generally minimalist with accents of the same gothic style that had stayed with the rest of New Orleans. They were beautiful in their own way and yet just as creepy too. Each room, which was the size of an apartment, was endowed with a hefty locking system on the inside. As soon as we’d entered the room, I saw why le Boursier had assigned me with Natalie rather than one of the Sanguine vamps. If there was ever an altercation within the room, I wouldn’t have stood a chance. Not that I did with Natalie but at least she didn’t hate me like some of the others did.
The vampire dorm was about five floors below ground level. The floor was evenly split in the middle with the Sanguine vamps getting one piece for their dorm and Novus getting the other. There was some connectivity between the two, through a couple of common areas.
The werewolves were on the first floor up from the ground. The dorms were positioned strategically. The vamps had been placed where it was safest due to being very difficult to get to, either for an intruder that came from the main entrance upstairs or from a threat that came up from the tunnel system on the tenth.
The girl who’d given us the tour had proudly let us know that the underground system of linked pathways had been the direct inspiration from the Catacombs in Paris but unlike their Parisian counterparts, these ones were secret and no one that wasn’t affiliated in some way with Bloodline Academy knew of their existence.
“I’m going to try and rest,” I said after we’d changed into the maroon silken pajama
-sets laid out on each of our beds.
“Of course, you must be really tired,” said Natalie, “it’s been a lo-o-ong day for you!”
“Hasn’t it for you?”
“Vampires don’t get tired. It’s kind of weird to explain. We don’t feel the aches and pains of exhaustion or that cloudy feeling in the head like mortals and other supes do from a lack of sleep.”
“I do,” I said remorsefully. Despite being mostly a morning person who loved being awoken by the sun, I was someone who had only ever been able to function if I’d had an early night. This was the longest I’d ever successfully been awake.
“Mm-hm, I’ve heard that faeries are the most fragile without adequate sleep. Crystal witches do come from the fae bloodline, don’t they?”
“Yes. So, if vamps don’t feel tired, why do they sleep?” I asked, realizing how ignorant I was on vamp biology, compared to Natalie’s knowledge of other species and types.
“If vampires don’t sleep just like anyone else, their senses begin to dull. Even though we don’t feel tired, sleep restores us. Some Sanguine vampires born at a time of chaos and war have gone into hiding in underground in crypts and secret places for the best part of a century. They come out with extreme amounts of strength that Novus can only dream about. We need to eat more often so…” she self-consciously trailed off.
“I should let you get some sleep then,” I said bidding Natalie a good night.
“Same. Sleep well,” she said settling down on her bed. I watched her across the rather large bedroom, as she quickly went into a deep state of sleep. I sat on my bed and waited for a while before I cautiously approached her bed to take a closer look and see how out she really was. As she’d said, she didn’t look tired and nor did she have the hint of an expression on her face. She just looked perfectly peaceful. I could understand why resting vampires needed the kind of protection they got at the academy. They were basically in an inert state when sleeping and would be defenceless to any attack.
I continued to watch her for a whole hour and when she didn’t move a muscle, I realized that at least for this while, I was alone. I took my bag and went into the living room portion of our suite. I opened the bag and took out one of the small salt sacks, bound with some rope. I reached for some and filled the pockets of my blazer with as much of the salt that I could manage without it spilling back out and making its presence known when I wore it. I quickly felt for my crystal, checking the time on the ornate clock on the wall. It was five in the morning. It was a very long shot but I tried it anyway. I sat in a comfortable chair, holding onto the quartz tightly.
Nothing happened and I felt panic rising from within. What if my already non-existent witching powers, mixed with the overbearing heaviness at Bloodline Academy had made contacting Safi impossible? She’d definitely be asleep like a rock. Almost akin to Natalie at this time in the morning, I sat there frustratedly doubting what I was trying to achieve. I focussed my thoughts towards Safi, picturing her face, her voluminous hair bouncing with her animated presence. I felt like I hadn’t seen or spoken to her in years.
I stifled a small shriek as the crystal glowed and moved in my hand. “Put it down somewhere!” I heard Safi’s urgent voice. I leapt out of the chair and placed the crystal on the floor in front of me, moving back.
In the stillness, I heard a pop no louder than a bubble bursting and I gasped as Safi materialized before me. “Wow, nice digs,” she said, looking pleased with herself. She was still in the same outfit she’d been wearing when we’d said goodbye.
“It’s really you!” I said as we both closed the gap between us and embraced tightly.
“Who else could it be?” she asked me in her sassy, smart-ass way.
“I thought you’d be asleep at this time!” I said dumbly.
“I would be – had I gotten any sleep. I’ve been too worried about you to do that.”
“I’m sorry,” I said reflexively.
“So, where are the princes and princesses of darkness? In their coffins I presume?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Shh!” I smiled, pointing to the bedroom.
“This place is like a freaking fortress. It was really hard to get into, I’m telling you. They’ve got their own magic going on in here. I almost couldn’t figure out how to neutralize it to be able to enter. If you hadn’t helped clear the way…”
“What do you mean, I didn’t do anything,” I said, confused.
“You definitely did.”
“I really didn’t.”
“Trust me Kat, there’s some powerful binding magic or at least a vampire equivalent that they’re using here. The crystal must have glowed white?”
“Yes, right before you told me to put it down. I think it even moved a little.”
“That was you. It was like you opened the door. I’ve been trying to communicate with you all night but it’s only when you must have tried that it worked, which means that I’m entering because of your magic.”
“But you’re the one that worked all the spells on the crystal?” I said, still not believing what she was proposing.
“Correct, I made it receptive. But you brought it to life and it’s through your magic that I found my way. Don’t get me wrong, the fact that I can move about like this is wicked. But my power can’t handle the whole lock-down going on here. I can’t penetrate that. Being here seems to have activated your inner witch,” Safi said with the pride of an older sister.
“Thanks!” I said and for a minute it felt like we were back at the coven. “Oh no, what if you can’t get back?” I was suddenly worried. “It’s not safe for you here.” I thought of how Natalie, a vamp who actually liked me, had reacted to one drop of my blood. What had stopped her from indulging was that I was also part vamp and that was taboo.
“I’m not afraid of them. Don’t you remember our one encounter?” she said referring now somewhat nonchalantly to the showdown that had happened when Babette had taken us to the witch saloon.
“Yes, we almost got sucked dry that night, how can I forget?” I asked wondering if we’d both been at the same encounter. Our first and only one with a group of vamps – up until now.
“We survived – triumphantly,” said Safi, amused.
“Because your mom intervened. Anyway, that was different. We weren’t on their territory like we are right now. There’s one sleeping in the next room!” I tried bringing home to her how carefully she had to play things.
“Ooh, can I see her?” she asked, her eyes lighting up, like I’d just told her about a new pet-cat. The girl loved thrills. The only one she’d been pretty wary of, had been Ulric. I guessed her confidence had been greatly upped since breaking out of the coven. I put my finger to my lips and quietly walked over to our bedroom, where Natalie lay motionless.
“Wow, talk about undead. Do you think she can hear us?” asked Safi, intrigued, peering at Natalie.
“Shh, I don’t know, let’s go!” I honestly had no idea what we’d do if Natalie rose. Safi begrudgingly walked back into the living room with me. I yawned. “How is it that you don’t look even a bit tired?”
“Magic, silly,” she beamed.
“I didn’t know it could do that. What exactly? How?”
“Come here!” she said and a spark of silver shot out of her hand as her blooming glowed. “Better?”
“Oh, wow, I feel like I’ve just slept for twelve hours!” I said feeling a burst of energy. “You didn’t even need to use a spell!”
“Spells are generally for longer-term solutions. A few hours here and there is easy to conjure. Just summon the power within and will it to be so.”
“I wish I’d paid closer attention to Babette and Lorna,” I said.
“I didn’t learn this from them!” Safi feigned being offended.
“Your mom and brother?” I tried hard not to smile like a dope as I mentioned her brother.
“Not really, I mean sure, I’ve been around their magic all my life but being around something won’t ma
ke it rub off on you unless you possess it from within. I guess it can awaken it but not much more. We’re not incantation witches. Our magic is sense-based. We feel our way into it.”
“Oh,” I felt deflated. I’d been around magic all, well, most of my life too and it hadn’t done too much awakening. “Maybe I’m just not strong a witch as you and the others?”
“That’s not it silly. You’ve proved that tonight. I think if anything you’ve always expected yourself to come up lacking so you have.”
“What do you mean?” Could it really be as simple and yet as complicated as believing in myself?
“Look at me. I practice developing my magic all over the place. So much so that Lorna claimed it’ll weaken me.” Safi stared at her blooming with pride and a dash of cheekiness.
“Won’t it?”
“Lorna, in case you hadn’t gotten that message, is a huge control freak. Of course, developing magic doesn’t make the practitioner weaker! And that’s a dumb game for her to play because if my mother knew the way she runs certain things, she wouldn’t swan around like she does.”
“Speaking of which, aren’t you going to be missed of you don’t go back soon?” I asked realizing that the rest of the world would be stirring awake to begin a new day.
“I normally sleep in until eight. No biggie.”
“But if Quinn or Nina see your empty bed they’ll totally snitch,” I insisted. The last thing I wanted was for my best friend to get into trouble because of me. and being missing from the coven would be big.
“You’re right,” Safi sighed in annoyance. “Are you sure you’re okay here?”
“It’s my only option right now. And Natalie, my roommate, is nice.” When she’s not turning on her heels and speeding in the opposite direction because of my blood being a point of attraction for her.
“Okay. I’ll be back soon. And let’s talk every day through the crystal,” Safi hugged me and took a deep breath, standing back from me. She closed her eyes and I saw a ripple through the room as the crystal glowed white. In a split-second there was a muted pop and she was gone and I was alone again but for Natalie in the next room.
Magic Within: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 1) Page 7
