“I still can’t believe the way you out-maneuvered Moldark that day!” said Natalie, coming to sit at the bottom of my bed, snapping me out from fleshing out my plan about the crystal.
“Yeah, neither can he, I bet,” I smiled apprehensively. I may have demonstrated a little of my abilities but I didn’t need more enemies.
“He’s hot,” said Natalie, with that faraway look on her face.
“And he knows it.”
“I hate it when that happens,” Natalie smiled, still enjoying thinking about him. “What should we do today?”
“I was going to just…explore a little,” I said, “you know, maybe go out for a while and get to know the city.” I wanted to throw her off my trail about finding Ulric.
“Where do you think you’ll go?”
“I don’t know the city well enough to say,” I tried, getting up and beginning to get dressed for the day. I rummaged through my dresser drawer at the few, sad looking clothes I possessed that weren’t my uniform. Most of my dresses and even lounging clothes were still at the coven. I wondered what had become of them. I found a pair of faded jeans and a t-shirt which I hesitated wearing due to the short sleeves. My blooming would be fully revealed in all it’s shiny glory, lighting up the night.
“Cute!” said Natalie, looking at my t-shirt. “Want to have breakfast together?”
“Sure.” I got dressed and we went into the food hall. There was an air of excitement amongst everyone as they tucked into their food. It was probably because the night was young and I realized that the first-year students weren’t the only ones who didn’t have any classes. Catching a glimpse of Lilith and her gang I walked on proud, with my head held high. We sat down and Natalie waved Valenthia over as she entered the hall, looking around.
“How’s it going?” she asked. A smirk played across her face.
“Good,” Natalie smiled.
“What are you guys up to?” asked Valenthia, twirling an amethyst lock between her fingers.
“We’re going into the city,” said Natalie, taking a bite of toast and a sip from her bottle of blood. “You should come too!”
“Ooh, I’d love to…but I kind of have a date,” said Valenthia, turning away with a grin, “not that it’s a big deal or anything.”
“What? That’s awesome! Who?” asked Natalie.
“I’m not saying anymore or you’ll laugh. Or worse, get all judge-y.”
“No come on, you can’t tell us half of it and leave it like that!” I said. While I was happy for Valenthia, it occurred to me that Natalie would definitely want to hang out the entire night now that I was the only one available. This would be even more difficult than I’d thought.
“Yeah, no fair!” protested Natalie.
“Okay, fine. But don’t laugh, you’ve been warned,” said Valenthia picking up Natalie’s bottle and taking a large swig from it. “It’s Riskel,” she sighed, screwing up her eyes.”
“What? I thought he was with Not-So-Lovely Lilith!” whispered Natalie, her eyes going wide.
“They broke up. And we’ve been flirting since way before so, why not?” said Valenthia, defending herself.
“That’s great. If he makes you happy, then as you said, why not?” I said, eyeing Natalie’s bottle of blood and feeling something that resembled too close for comfort to a craving. I glanced around the hall. I would not have even a drop. It was too soon since last time and if I indulged whatever had just come to the surface, who knows how much more I’d want. This wasn’t me. Not the me I knew and although it was nice not to have to fear for my life every second at the academy, this part of the new me, made me very uncomfortable.
“Yeah, yeah, same here. I fully approve! And let’s face it, he is pretty dreamy,” said Natalie, sounding more shocked than anything else.
“Yeah, absolutely gorgeous,” I said, which was the truth. It was just his other attributes that didn’t do him any justice.
“Okay, I’ve changed my mind, whatever you guys are doing with the whole supportive besties routine, is even harder than if you were honest. Tell me what you really think.”
“This is what we think,” grinned Natalie.
“Exactly.”
“Yeah right!”
“No, it’s time at least one of us got a boyfriend – I mean, what gives? We’re three ridiculously good-looking vamp-tastic bachelorettes. I’m surprised we’re not dating more,” said Natalie, longingly.
“Or at all,” I reminded her.
“Yeah! Sometimes I think it would be easier to find eligible guys in the vast pool of mortals. Like in my life before. Guys who barely knew I existed would stumble over each other’s six packs to date me now that I’m like this!” stated Natalie with an air of confidence that, even amongst supes, only a vampire could have.
“True. But the problem with that is if you find someone special, you’ll barely be getting the party started and before you know it, half a century will have passed and he’ll be pushing seventy,” laughed Valenthia.
“Eww, gross!” giggled Natalie.
“Especially for you as a Novus because you’re stuck exactly as you are, basically forever.”
“What about you? Us? I mean…you know what I mean?” I had no idea that the aging process or lack of, depended on which type the vamp was.
“You? No idea. I say this with all my love but you’re a one-of-a-kind freak of nature, so unless witches age as badly as humans, I’d say you have nothing to worry about. Pure blooded vampires age very slowly and even as we do, look at our profs. None of the Sanguines look older than thirty, maybe thirty-five tops, right?”
“Right,” I said.
“We never look older than our thirties even if we’re several centuries old. Whereas with Novus vamps, it goes one of two ways. If they’re turned when they’re under forty, their stock of youth renews itself back to around the teenage years, or they’re old when turned and the youth is so far gone that they just look old forever.”
“Like le Boursier!” I exclaimed making sense of it.
“Yep,” replied Valenthia.
“Can we get back to the matter at hand here? Our friend has a date. With a guy who’s hotter than hell – even if he is a little dense at times,” said Natalie.
“Ha! I knew it! Judge-y!” exclaimed Valenthia, like she’d been waiting to get hold of anything one of us said wrong.
“No, I swear, I’m not judging. I always thought he was actually being corrupted by Lilith. And, I bet it’s just a façade he puts on. And then, when you least suspect it, he’ll say something totally deep and profound! Guys like him always do!” shrieked Natalie, as excited about the date as Valenthia who chugged the remaining bottle of blood and stood up.
“Anyway, I better get going. I’ll catch you guys later,” she said.
“Good luck, have fun and whatever you do, we want to know all about it!” chimed Natalie as we watched Valenthia leave.
***
“Where are we going?” asked Natalie as we made our way to the main floor. “I don’t really know the city well at all so you’re going to have to lead the way.”
“Maybe we could ask one of the werewolves?” I said, trying to set the scene for seeing Ulric. In truth, I had done some exploring the day I’d last seen Safi but apart from finding my crystal and if need be, following Lilith until I found it, I actually hadn’t planned to roam outside the academy at all. It was just something I’d made up on the spot and if I wasn’t careful, we’d end up staying outside the whole night and neither of my goals would be any closer to being achieved.
To my dismay, the whole upper level of the academy was empty, apart from a few mortal staff members running back and forth attending to various tasks. Like mice trying to get from one hole to another, unseen and unheard.
“I know what this is about!” said Natalie, lighting up.
“What?”
“A particular werewolf – Ulric, right? Please don’t tell me you have a date too and I’m your third wheel?”<
br />
“No, it’s not like that. If I’m to be honest…”
“Hey ladies, how’s it hanging?” said a smooth, masculine voice, making us both turn around.
“Moldark! Hi, how’s it going?” said Natalie, completely taken that he’d actually talk to us by choice.
“It’s going,” he said, his eyes lingering on me notably longer than on Natalie.
“Hope you’ve recovered from the other night?” Natalie said, looking at me and the back to Moldark.
“Of course, never better,” he continued gazing at me as if I had been the one who’d asked the question.
“No hard feelings?” I said awkwardly.
“None whatsoever.” As with every time I’d seen him, he was inscrutable. Of everyone I’d had dealings with at Bloodline Academy so far, Moldark was one of the few I knew least about, including what he thought about the likes of me. What I did know, loud and clear, was that he was the most self-assured out of anyone I’d ever met.
“So, what are you up to?” said Natalie, trying her best to prolong the encounter.
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” came the reply.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, looking around the deserted hall.
“There’s a house party, near Bourbon Street,” said Moldark, locking his gaze on me. Something flickered in his eyes. It wasn’t hatred like the others in my class, of his rank and file.
“For vampires?” asked Natalie.
“It’s being hosted by one of the city’s wealthy, vamp-loving, wannabe eccentric humans, I believe. You know the kind – probably hoping that by hosting a bunch of supes, they’ll end up on this side of the street by the end of the night.”
I cringed. Since supes, especially vamps had become common knowledge, there were an increasing number of humans, those scared witless by death, who tried to make a bargain, even sweeten the deal by getting all close and personal with vamps for their brand of immortality and witches for their magic. It was a big no-no within the wider supernatural and mortal communities and for this reason, was usually done covertly and only by word of mouth. Hosting a bunch of supes in one place was also hugely risky as things went off the rails more commonly than they didn’t. What did occur to me, was that Ulric might be there, as might Lilith. As hesitant as I felt, it could work out well if they were both in one place.
“I wonder if that’s where our friend went?” I said, thinking out loud.
“Valenthia,” replied Moldark.
“Yes, she kind of blew us off as she had a date. With Riskel, actually,” elaborated Natalie.
“You’re kidding right?” Moldark scoffed, “Riskel’s pretty locked down by Lilith.”
“No, they broke it off a bit earlier,” said Natalie, filling him in, “and you’d have to be blind not to see the chemistry between Val and him.”
“Chemistry or not, you must be mistaken, she wouldn’t be with him,” said Moldark, like the love lives of classmates were yet another topic that he was the ultimate authority on.
“She’s not,” I said getting annoyed, “Val told us she had a date with Riskel. And whether you like it or not, he’s obviously broken up with Lilith if he’s asked her out.”
“In that case, guy’s got game, moves faster than anyone,” said Moldark still not convinced.
“What do you mean?” I asked beginning to get the familiar feeling of dread squirming around in the pit of my stomach.
“Until an hour ago, Riskel and Lilith were all over each other. I saw them myself. Ergo, Riskel obviously pulled a fast one to your smitten friend,” he cast Natalie a look of smugness, like she too had been sprung, “so he could get a taste for what it’s like to spend the night with a girl who’s not an evil bitch, even by vampire standards,” he grinned, having schooled us on the obvious.
“No shit,” said Natalie, with wide eyes full of feeling.
“Yep, so are you coming or not?” Moldark looked solely at me for the response, knowing what Natalie would say.
“Sure,” I said. Great, now I had to find Valenthia and make sure she was okay too. This night was turning out to be intense and seeing through my original plan was becoming harder by the minute. How had Valenthia ever thought that the pros of dating Riskel would ever outweigh the cons?
Instead of taking us through the main gates, Moldark ushered us to follow him down, a few levels, into the bowels of the academy, where the tunnels ran like catacombs throughout the city. The air was cool as we descended and I couldn’t help but feel that with each step we took, the night was already beginning to swiftly spiral out of my control.
Chapter 17
“How do we get back into the academy this way?” asked Natalie. Her voice bounced off the stone walls of the winding underground tunnels we’d been walking in for the last twenty minutes.
“You don’t,” said Moldark, “if you could, why would anyone ever bother going through the hassle of announcing their presence with their blood at the main gates?”
“True, I guess,” said Natalie.
“How do you know all this?” I asked.
“We’ve been here a while now,” he said with the subtext that it was common knowledge that should have been acquired by all first years. “And most vampire magic has the same key principals. Let people out easily enough but not in. Of course, that’s unless you’re prey in which case, the opposite applies.”
“Hmm,” said Natalie.
“Just a left here and we should be exactly below the scene of the impending crime,” said Moldark, with a sly smile. Full-blooded vamps had a twisted sense of humour.
We walked up a narrow staircase of what seemed like hundreds of small cobbled steps and emerged from a cellar door. I’d assumed we’d come out somewhere on the street but no, we were actually inside the gothic little house where the house party was taking place. And, as per Moldark informing us that there was no way back, the second we were through the door, I tapped my foot and felt cold stone beneath me like our passageway had never existed. Natalie and I gazed at each other as Moldark, who clearly didn’t see the novelty, had already started up a flight of stairs in the house, like he was zeroing in on something. Or someone.
We looked around, getting distracted by the attire of a more mature-looking vamp. She was gorgeous and dressed entirely in black, in a real-life costume, just waiting to play the part of temptress. She looked at me and licked her lips, which was enough to keep me moving.
“We should find Valenthia,” I said, sticking close to Natalie.
“Agreed.”
We followed Moldark’s direction, up the staircase where I could hear the muffled chatter of voices under the clogging of footsteps. A few students from the academy were crammed into the claustrophobic room above. I recognized Darius instantly but looked around, with Valenthia and Ulric in mind. Neither were there and nor were Lilith, Nyx or Riskel. Something didn’t seem right and I had the urge to leave. I was sure I could navigate the streets easily enough but the house and those at the so-called party, gave me the chills.
“Here’s a drink, ma’am,” said a completely ashen guy who’d made his way upstairs, with a silver tray, laden with wine glasses. Of blood.
“Oh, thanks?” said Natalie, hesitantly taking a glass. She seemed to relax the moment she’d taken a small sip.
“I’m good, thanks,” I said, tearing myself away from the tray, feeling repulsion and awe. I took in the man carrying it and felt the awe immediately slip away. He looked so drained that the blood held in the many glasses, may well have been all his. He didn’t notice my gawking and numbly walked past me, offering up the glasses to the others, who took one without a second thought, or glimpse at the man. “Is he…?” I began.
“Turned?” asked Natalie. I just nodded. “No, he’s a blood let. Not everyone whose blood feeds a vampire gets turned. It’s something the vampire has to do consciously. The relationship, assuming he’s not been preyed upon against his will, is one of complete trust. If a vampire chooses to take adva
ntage, there is nothing the one giving their blood can do. They’re compelled to keep giving until they have no more left.” Natalie looked down. “I guess no relationship is safe from abuse.”
“But why would he be paraded so openly at a party where the host wants to be turned?”
“Who knows, maybe someone brought him here to drive home the power dynamic, that even though we live by blood, we’re not dependent on anyone other than ourselves.”
“Let’s just find Valenthia and leave?” I urged.
“Sure,” replied Natalie, taking it as a cue to down the contents of the glass. She walked over to Darius and asked him if he’d seen Valenthia. When he nodded, I streamed over to them, knocking over a small table next to Natalie.
“Sorry, what about Lilith and Riskel? Where they with her?” I added.
“Riskel was. I haven’t seen Lilith or Nyx at all since class. Why?” asked Darius.
“No reason, we’re looking for Val,” I replied, hurrying Natalie away.
“Sure, anytime – take whatever you need but don’t even do me the courtesy of answering one question,” retorted Darius.
“Sorry! We’re just in a rush,” I said, not wanting to stick around a minute longer then we had to. We streamed out until we fell out into the street and Natalie gave me her hand as she got to her feet. Suddenly I was paralyzed by a sharp howling sound. I frantically turned to Natalie but she looked utterly oblivious to the noise and as another howl pierced through my ears, I slumped back down on the curb, cupping both hands on each side of my head.
Magic Within: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 1) Page 16
