“I’ve never seen anything like it!” exclaimed Natalie, “You were all silver, like a lightening bolt through the cave!”
“That was something to see,” admitted Valenthia.
But as the thrill of what had taken place wore off, I had so many thoughts going through my head and I hoped with everything I had that Safi wouldn’t somehow find out what I’d just done. She’d been the best friend anyone could ask for and knowing I was a vampire hadn’t broken us. My actually indulging in blood drinking was a different deal. Then there was another problem that I didn’t dare to give too much airtime to. It had taken blood to awaken this part of me. Would it take more blood to sustain it?
Chapter 13
“Alright, as always, we’ve got a lot to get through, so I want to see everyone advance from last time at the least. I can’t say I’m overly impressed with anyone in this year’s class but develop from you are and that’s all you need to concern yourself with,” stated professor Duquette sternly as we spread out in the cavernous space that now served as our ‘Supernatural Combat’, classroom all the time.
I was surprised how little theory there was to the class. But practice, boy was there lots of that. It was the first time I was in any way, capable of participating. Everyone but me, took their place to practice the ‘stun maneuver’ as Duquette gave a set of basic instructions.
“This is a move best used if someone, say a powerful warlock or an alpha werewolf has you cornered. It’ll give you enough time to stun your enemy, either into submission so you can gain the upper hand and do whatever you need to, or in extreme cases, to successfully escape.”
If I had any grip of elementary vampire combat techniques, this would have been one I could have well used with Goth Girl and Nyx the other day. Oh well, pure and simple salt had done something of a good job too, I thought. As if Lilith had heard my thought, she turned her head and glanced ominously in my direction, her eyes glinted an angry red. Duquette walked past and she looked away. Natalie grinned at me tentatively and I realized I wasn’t the only one who’d been mildly amused by the topic at hand.
“And what’s your update Miss Quartz?” asked Duquette coming over to where I was positioned, doing little other than standing there. She checked out her freshly done French manicure with satisfaction, not in the least bit, expecting anything new.
“Actually, I learned how to stream,” I said as quietly as I could. The last thing I wanted was for Goth Girl or anyone else in the room other than my two friends, to learn that I’d made some strides. Them underestimating me was my best defense.
“Oh, really?” Duquette looked sharply away from her nails and at me, “And what may I asked, prompted this, change?”
“I just practiced a lot,” I lied, glancing at Natalie, who pretended not to hear me.
“That is peculiar. I spoke to Professor Kragen after your last class and if you’d said nothing had happened yet, he strongly advised that you start consuming some blood to kick-start the process.”
“He did?” I asked feigning surprise. I saw Valenthia, who it turned out had heard me, give me the stink-eye for not confessing what I’d done or giving her any of the credit for convincing me to do it.
“Quite. This is interesting. Come with me.” Duquette walked to the other side of the room where we were completely apart from the other students. “Okay, show me what you’ve got,” she said.
“Okay, erm, let me see if it works again,” I said hesitantly. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to succeed or fail.
“It’s not some airy-faery spell, Miss. Quartz, of course it’ll happen again if it happened the first time,” Duquette said impatiently.
As I got ready to stream across the room, I could see from the side of my vision that most of the class has stopped practicing their moves and were standing in the backdrop, watching me. So much for keeping whatever I could do a secret. I looked straight ahead and this time, just the vague intention was enough. My blooming tingled and as it lit up, my entire body felt like it was a light as a feather. I felt a rush of my witching magic as well as something else, almost lift me off the ground as I blazed through the air, to the other side. There were a few gasps from my classmates as I streamed my way back to Duquette. With her impervious expression, I couldn’t tell if she was amazed or appalled by what she saw.
“Well, I never! Based on this display, Miss. Quartz, I’d say if anyone here has the potential to excel, it’s you.”
“Thank you,” I said, astounded. This praise likely meant I was in deeper shit than I’d first thought. I looked across and saw more than a few pairs of crimson eyes, glaring out at me from across the makeshift room.
“Whatever it is you’re doing keep doing it. I want to try something.” Duquette walked back where the others stood, the rest of the lesson effectively lost on them. She briefly scanned the bodies and faces, deliberating. “You,” she pointed, “Mr. Whitlock, come here, please.”
Moldark walked over and came and stood by me. He nodded at me in distant acknowledgement like he was some crown prince and I was a mere subject. “What may I do for you, professor?” he said. Apparently, he had no sense of hierarchy whatsoever. And if he did, he must have thought he was on top.
“You’re going to do the basic defense maneuver I taught you a few lessons ago. And, Miss. Quartz, you’re going to try and penetrate his defense.”
“Sounds sexy,” said Riskel to some snickers.
“Mr. Nash, go and serve your libido on your own time. If you don’t want to take this seriously, I’ll keep it in mind and put your name forward first and foremost the next time there’s a resurgence of vampire hunting by the Supernatural Light Alliance.”
“Sorry,” mumbled Riskel.
“Now, Miss. Quartz, your aim is to get behind Mr. Whitlock, where you will be able, in your vampire form, to drain his blood if he were a warlock, witch or other supernatural creature or simply snap his neck if he’s been too pesky an opponent to you.”
Goosebumps ran up and down my body as I pictured what she wanted us to demonstrate. As a Crystal Witch, we didn’t kill. Ever. Unless there was mortal danger. It occurred to me that in this case, vampires had such perils to defend themselves against too because some supes did in fact, hunt them.
“Alright,” I said resigning myself to the fact that in these classes, I was always going to have an audience. I gauged Moldark’s stance as he got into position. This was going to be lame and awkward. I had no idea what physical combat actually entailed or what I was doing. I inelegantly held out my arms as I proceeded towards him. What if he defended himself? He could kill me too easily. Moldark looked into my eyes. His were deep and completely unreadable. This was going to be like a circus act on my part. I strode towards him.
“More confidence, Miss Quartz, you need to show him that he has reason to be on edge!” commanded Duquette. I took a few steps back to allow me to try again. Just as I bounded up to him, Kragen burst through the entrance of the cave, followed by le Boursier.
“Trista, I’m glad we found you, Principal Nadasdy has called an emergency meeting,” said Kragen, looking put out. Le Boursier shook her head vigorously in agreement.
“Alright, class dismissed,” said Duquette, cool as a cucumber.
“No, sorry, I should have clarified, students are to attend as well,” said Kragen.
“Everybody, form an orderly line then and follow me. There will be no streaming,” stated Duquette as we all got ready to walk out.
***
We followed the professors as le Boursier disappeared off somewhere else and were led into the same large lecture hall as the one we’d been at when we’d all arrived at the academy. We were the last set of students to join and as I walked past the back rows, I realized that even the werewolves were present.
I spotted Ulric who’d already seen me and his eyes flickered in acknowledgment. I tried searching his face for a clue as to what was going on as I passed him. “It’s the cemetery,” was his thought. I picked it
up distinctly. It was unmistakeable. I tried to get more and all I got was Safi’s face.
My own panic grew by each moment and by the time I’d reached an empty row and filed into it with the rest of my classmates, my heart was pounding. My blooming tingled in response to my emotions and I tried hard to calm down. It didn’t make any sense. Safi hadn’t been there in days. What had they found out? If it was just about our magic surely, they never would have filled a hall with the entirety of the student and staff body just to single me out? What was going on? And why would Nadasdy take time out of his busy schedule because of it? It couldn’t be about us. Safi was safe. She had to be.
“Thank you all for being here at such short notice,” said Nadasdy, clearing his throat. His outfit was as eccentric as it had been that day, only today the burgundy coat had been swapped out for a teal colour of the same vintage style and he was wearing pinstripe pants. “As you know, we have an ongoing battle on our hands with the Supernatural Light Alliance, or S.L.A., as they like themselves to be known.
“Most of you will now know that despite our thin tolerance of them and theirs of us, the true battle between us and them has been ongoing through the ages. The Dark Legion has been instrumental in keeping the S.L.A.’s secret vampire hunting division, at bay. We’ve had a hard road to say the least. We knew that to defeat them, we needed the most powerful supernatural weapon to hand.
“Ever since we established ourselves here in New Orleans, we always thought that weapon lay within a certain branch of witchcraft – voodoo. What we’ve found will change everything about the way we conduct ourselves.” The principal looked out into the room and his eyes lingered on me a second too long, before he continued.
“It would appear that crystal magic is the most powerful weapon in the whole of the supernatural world and the blood of a Crystal Witch can be used by us.”
I knew it was coming from the second I’d walked in and seen Ulric’s face and read his mind. I wanted to shout out that if they’d harmed Safi in anyway, they were all screwed. There would be a war. She wasn’t just some Crystal Witch, she was the daughter of one of the most powerful witches that the S.L.A., had to offer. Her mother and brother would hunt each and every vampire down with the full backing of every supernatural creature who wasn’t with the Dark Legion, including me. If they so much as touched even one hair on her head they were as good as dead.
“This is great to know, but what does all this mean?” asked Duquette, the only one from either the faculty or students bold enough to question the principal.
“It means that we can support the Dark Legion by being even more strategic. No one must hunt any witches or warlocks in the Crystal Covens just to satisfy your own thirsts,” stated Nadasdy.
I was shocked how open he was that hunting was something vampires even did anymore. Since it had been outlawed the moment vamps were out of the closet, I’d assumed it was something only the deviant ones did so openly. Alas it was Bloodline Academy so what was said within its four walls didn’t seem to follow the regular rules of supernatural conduct.
“Has someone with crystal magic been…caught?” asked Kragen, following Duquette’s lead.
“No, not yet,” said Nadasdy. I breathed a sigh of relief that was obvious enough for Natalie and Valenthia both to turn their heads slightly in my direction from either side where they were seated. At least I knew that Safi was safe. For now.
“Our discovery has also led to the unearthing of something more. That is actually why, I’ve gathered you all here. The reason we know now more than ever before that the blood of someone from a Crystal Coven is our most potent catalyst, is because the crystal magic that comes from those beings, is our biggest threat. If we imbibe its source we live, more powerful than before but if we are on the receiving end of its magical biproduct, we meet an instant end.
“In St. Louis Cemetery where the witch Marie Laveau was laid down to rest, someone belonging to a Crystal Coven, specifically from the Circle of Quartz has spun a great deal of magic. Whereas voodoo magic had little affect on us unless it was being directed at us, this magic is so great, that we can’t even enter the cemetery without being destroyed.
“The gates of the cemetery have also been activated as a vessel to hold the magic. Until we know more about how and why this magic has been conjured, no one here with either vampire blood or living a vampire afterlife, must go anywhere near St. Louis Cemetery. I would advise you avoid the streets that frame that area.” Nadasdy concluded seriously.
If I’d felt gawked at before, it was nothing compared to the way everyone in the hall sought out where I was sitting. I was in a room full of vampires and werewolves that Safi and I had inadvertently pissed off to the extent that if they turned on me now, in this closed off space, there was no way I could even attempt an escape.
I sat there stupidly, waiting for a frenzy. The seconds passed like minutes. When nothing happened about a few red eyes in the crowd, Nadasdy spoke up again. “I understand that we have a Crystal Witch in our midst. But Katrina Snow Quartz is one of us. She’s Sanguine,” he looked squarely at me, “and I have every confidence that as her own vampire side begins to surface,” his look became focussed, like he was seeing or hearing something the rest of us couldn’t, “as it already has,” he smiled with satisfaction, “she will be a great asset to our agenda and to the Dark Legion. Try not to make this a witch hunt – yet.”
We filed out of the hall. The vamps looked pissed and still gave me death-stares as they passed, though the werewolves looked quite pleased by Nadasdy’s revelation. I wondered if Ulric had shared the news with them beforehand. I guessed they were used to being forbidden from places and hunted. Most vampires were not.
By the time my class and I had left the hall, our Supernatural Combat lesson was over and Duquette had already streamed her way on out, to whatever it was she had next. Natalie, Valenthia and I walked over to the common room area on the fifth level as we had a free period. Our class was already there and Natalie went and grabbed a couple of bottles of blood from the fridge, to join everyone else who was already partaking.
“I’m fine thanks,” I said automatically as she offered one to me. I turned away as a very tiny part of me almost did the opposite and wanted another taste. I couldn’t explain it other than that the vampire side was rising from within. I hated the taste of it, the sight. The thought of it was still as gross as before. And yet. Valenthia looked as if to say something but thought better of it and lazily nursed her own bottle. We watched as Riskel taunted Darius about something and the two of them took jibes at one another, not quite arguing full-on but testing the waters.
“Can you see well in the dark now?” Natalie asked after a while.
“Yes, I had never been able to before but I noticed it for the first time, the night of my seventeenth birthday.”
“I thought it was awesome the when I could. It was like seeing everything in proper colour, when before it had been pale and uninteresting, somehow lacking,” Natalie reminisced. Valenthia just nodded along. She’d been born seeing everything with vampire vision. Moldark went and said something to Riskel and he appeared to lose interest in annoying Darius who slam-dunked his empty bottle into the bin and streamed away.
“Where were you from, before you turned?” asked Valenthia.
“Upstate New York,” replied Natalie, “believe it or not, I was your clichéd example of a prissy and spoilt teenager. I had everything a rich kid could have wanted.”
“Do you miss it?” I asked.
“My parents didn’t have any time for me. I was mostly left to the nanny while they went on cruises or cocktail parties. I loved them but they were away so much, they weren’t even my next of kin on the night it all happened. The nanny was.”
“Have you ever seen any of them again – since?” asked Valenthia.
“No, my new family said it wasn’t a good idea. Even though everyone knows that Novus vampires exist, most mortals have a ‘not in my backyard’ mentality
. And I know as well that my mortal parents would have flipped out. I think they’d have preferred a dead daughter to one who lived by becoming a vampire.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
“It’s okay,” said Natalie, perking up, “not that I’m comparing but my new family has shown me more care than the old one ever did.”
“I’m close to my mom. I’ve never met my dad. We do okay,” Valenthia smiled. I said nothing as I’d never known mine and unlike Natalie who was luckier second time around, I couldn’t say the same about my two mothers in the coven.
“I’m not afraid of you, you know,” said Lilith walking up to us with Nyx and Riskel in tow.
“Great, I guess,” I replied. Thought I really wanted to, I didn’t mention the crystal, knowing that she’d only take that as a bigger sign that it meant something to me if I did.
“What about me? Should I be afraid of you?” asked Riskel cheekily, his sea-green eyes, glimmered. Was he trying to flirt with me, right in front of his girlfriend who wanted to kill me?
“That’s your call,” I said, not wanting to encourage him.
“Nice work,” he said, pointing at my blooming.
“Nadasdy might think you’ve got something to offer us but you better watch your back. I know you’re up to something!” she said looking at me but more riled by her boyfriend.
“Is that threat?” asked Valenthia.
“It’s a promise,” said Lilith, walking back over to the fridge and getting another bottle of blood. Even after she’d backed away, she continued to watch us from a distance.
“I wouldn’t worry about her. There’s not much she can do unless she wants to incur a severe punishment, maybe even more,” said Valenthia and Natalie agreed. I wasn’t so sure.
Chapter 14
Magic Within: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 1) Page 13
