Magic Within: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 1)

by Ahava Trivedi

  “Oh look, there’s another one!” said Nyx, pointing towards the circle.

  “You’ll have to go through me first,” I said. I stood straight, completely trying to defy that I’d worn myself out by getting Lorna downstairs.

  “And me,” said Natalie, streaming across from the opposite side of the street from where Lilith had come, she stood protectively beside me. She looked imposing. Her skin was radiant and her eyes were shining like two heated coals in the dark. She bore her protruding fangs like a snake, ready to strike at the slightest sign of trouble.

  We were stood close enough that I could make out the tinge to her lips and lower face that told me she’d disappeared earlier to replenish herself in case her strength was needed. I didn’t know if it would be a match for the three vampires now menacingly close by, revitalized on pure witch-blood. Yet Natalie looked confident. Ulric crept out of the shadows and joined us. Winnie stepped out in front of her three vampires. We were unevenly matched. And we were guarding two others, one of whom was too injured to attempt a getaway.

  Ulric growled, a low warning growl at his sister. I was overcome by his inner turmoil, which wasn’t threatening Winnie but imploring her. His sister took no notice and the two of them froze as they each tried to stand their ground in front of the other.

  “Tonight’s an excellent night, Winnie. You get to prove which side you’re really on,” Lilith said picking up on the tension between brother and sister. Winnie responded by growling at her brother, showing her teeth through a snarl.

  I glanced back at Safi. Despite the duress she was under, she continued to try, holding Lorna in an embrace. I couldn’t tell if it was just my paranoia or if the circle had dimmed a little, its’ protection starting to fade.

  Riskel stepped up to us first. His eyes glowed like Natalie’s and his body looked more powerful than I remembered. He smiled, a smile that would have been cheeky, if not for the situation. “You can make this really easy. Just move out of the way and we can all go back to being friends after tonight,” he said, in a sultry tone.

  “We were never friends,” I said, “I’m not part of the Dark Legion and never will be.”

  “That’s what you think this is about?” Lilith screamed hoarsely, “Wow, I’ve gotta give it to you. You’re even stupider than I thought!”

  “Don’t you think if we were doing this on behalf of the Dark Legion, we’d have tagged some profs who are obviously on board far more than us?” said Nyx, amused but not angry. “And I don’t think the academy would be the best place to slaughter witches, do you?”

  “Then why?” I asked, “and why her – why that coven?” Even both werewolves seemed to have paused their confrontation to listen to why we’d ended up where we had.

  “Because before you showed up, Sanguine vampires were the only ones that really counted. It’s been that way since this academy was established. My entire family has attended and we were treated like royalty. Your hybrid blood has made them look to you as the next queen of the vampires!” Lilith raged, “It’s pathetic and disgusting.”

  “And as we’re not witches like you, the more witch-blood we drink, the stronger our vampire powers will become,” smiled Nyx, like she was explaining a small fact. “We thought we’d start with your coven to be strategic. Their magic is posing the biggest threat, with that whole no-go area in St. Louis cemetery.”

  “Blah, blah, blah, Nyx,” interrupted Lilith, “our biggest thrill is the opportunity to attack you. I don’t like you and your witches taste amazing. Is that good enough? Now enough with the talking – the new one’s mine!”

  Winnie pounced at Ulric without a second thought. Caught completely off-guard, he whimpered in surprise at first and then in pain as his own sister tore into him. Natalie thrust something roughly into my hand.

  “Drink it quickly while I stave them off!” she said, getting in front of me, so the only thing between her and three Sanguine vampires engorged on Lorna’s powerful blood, was the vicious scrapping of Ulric and Winnie. I knew she was right. This was my only way of standing a chance against them and saving us.

  I heard a tight pop, echo behind me and as the white light of Safi’s protective circle faded into nothingness, it took me a moment to process the empty space left behind. They were gone. I opened the bottle of blood and quickly downed it instantly feeling renewed. I stared back at the vampires across from us who were getting ready to attack.

  “Follow my stream!” I said to Natalie, getting an idea. I streamed past Ulric and Winnie, hearing a high-pitched whimper from one of them, and kept going as Lilith and the other two spun around, realizing what I’d done. I could feel Natalie behind me and in a few seconds, we were both going at the same speed. It felt like we were flying through the air together. I streamed in zig-zags through the bustling street and as we got further from the academy, I could tell Natalie was finding it hard to keep pace with me. in the blur of our bodies, I grabbed her arm, making sure she didn’t fall behind. We reached Basin Street and I could see the huge glow emanating from the cemetery grounds. It was so bright that its’ lustre easily dwarfed the moon. I stopped abruptly, as did Natalie.

  “Now what?” she asked, slightly out of breath.

  “They’ll be coming after us.”

  “And then?” she looked intimidated.

  “Look,” I pointed inside the grounds where there were figures mobbing around within the brightness.

  “That’s where Principal Nadasdy said we or at least I, couldn’t go,” said Natalie, staring at the site where our magic had mushroomed.

  “I know but see them? That’s the Supernatural Light Alliance. They’re attending to Lorna and I’m sure they’ll help us defend ourselves,” I said sounding less sure in closer proximity. My gut had told me to come. I didn’t know it was because I wanted to make sure Lorna and Safi got away safely or if I actually believed that this would be a safer place for me and Natalie against what awaited us at the hands of Lilith. “Stay here, I’m going to go and alert them,” I said. I hoped I’d bought us some time as I expected Lilith would be equally hesitant about being anywhere near the powerful magic.

  “Okay,” replied Natalie apprehensively. I zoned into Ulric. He was now running as well, probably on his way over. I didn’t have much time to do whatever I needed to do. I streamed up to the gates and Safi saw me right away. She was breathing in a labored way, exhausted from the feat she’d performed. Lorna had an additional pod of magic put around her as they were getting ready to leave.

  “Wait!” Safi managed, stopping the other witches and warlocks in their tracks. “Look, it’s Kat, we need to help her and her friends!”

  “We don’t have time, Saffron!” said a voice with finality. I recognized it without seeing the face. It was Safi’s mom, Pearl Quartz.

  “But mom!”

  “I take it your friends are vampires?” asked Pearl Quartz, coming over to the gates. I’d met her a handful of times before but as she gazed at me, her emerald-like eyes, showed no recognition. She wore a frown as she studied me and threw back her tight, curly locks, which, illuminated by the magic around her were like freshly fallen snow being hit by the sun’s glare.

  “One of them is, the other’s a werewolf,” I said almost feeling guilt by association as she continued to watch me. Not like I was her daughter’s best friend but as if I was an atrocity.

  “We can help you and the werewolf but there’s nothing we can do for that vamp,” said Pearl.

  “No, I can’t leave her here – they’ll kill her,” I said, beginning to feel desperate. I’d made the only choice I could think of and it had been the wrong one. “And one of them, Lilith, still has my crystal,” I added, remembering my original goal for the night.

  “Even in her debilitated state, Lorna recovered the crystal,” said Pearl, “we have what was required. We got what we came for.”

  “But mom, Kat’s friends are legit! We wouldn’t be here without all of them!” said Safi, finding all her strength and w
alking slowly over to where her mom was.

  “I’m sorry, Safi, you know the rules,” said Pearl Quartz, as she turned to Safi and then back to me, “take it or leave it but make your decision now. We’re leaving and we’re calling back our magic from this space when we’re gone. You and Saffron were wrong to do this without guidance or permission.” She rolled her eyes and walked off to attend to the final preparations about ten others were making, which included taking away the very magic that had made the cemetery a no-go area for the population of Bloodline Academy.

  “Mom! Aviar, do something!” Safi screamed at her brother whom, I’d completely missed, was standing with the others from the S.L.A.

  “Enough!” said Pearl, in the distance, distracted by something she had begun to do around Marie Laveau’s tomb, where swirls of magic went into the air but instead of forming like a protective cocoon like they’d done since Safi had started coming here, they became thin and dispersed higher and higher into the sky.

  “No, mom! She needs help – they’re here! Aviar, you need to help her!” screamed Safi, signalling Lilith’s presence. I spun around so quickly that my back knocked against the gates, making the metal reverberate. I looked frantically for Natalie at the other side of the street but didn’t see her. Ulric was there too, though not with them. Winnie was absent.

  “This is starting to get really annoying!” said Lilith, taking a few steps towards me. Something she wouldn’t have been able to do moments ago, when our magic in and around the cemetery was still intact.

  “Where is she?” I said, feeling my inner magic and the urge to fight until the death, rising together.

  “Who? Oh, your little Novus buddy? Riskel, Nyx, show her!”

  “Here,” said Riskel, streaming over to Lilith’s side with Nyx. Both of them had a firm grip on Natalie.

  “Let her go! You’ll have hell to pay with the academy if you hurt a fellow vampire,” I tried, taking a few steps towards them.

  “Save yourself, Kat!” said Natalie, struggling, in vain.

  “Oh relax, who hasn’t hurt a Novus here and there. Besides, we make ‘em we can break ‘em,” cooed Nyx. Lilith reached behind her back to withdraw something and before I saw it, I knew it was a stake.

  “Mom! That vampire helped save our lives!” yelled Safi in the background. It made no difference. I could feel the crystal magic bleeding out and away from the cemetery as the witches and warlocks carried on with their conjuring, to get everyone in the grounds of the cemetery as far away as possible by the time our magic had been dismantled.

  I sensed Ulric as he came charging up the street and jumped Lilith, his jaws viciously met her hand that was gripped around the stake. She stumbled backwards, dropping the weapon. As Ulric stopped his assault and went for the stake, she quickly recovered, laying into him. My own instincts led me to stream directly at Riskel and Nyx who were pulling Natalie in separate directions, literally trying to split her down the middle.

  “Leave her alone!” I cried, swinging back and punching Riskel hard in the face. He hissed, stunned by the blow, momentarily releasing his hold on Natalie. I resisted the urge to get physical with Nyx, as my magic came to the fore and I found I didn’t need to.

  A wave of energy radiated through me from my arm, to the whole of my body. It was so intense that on top of the shock, it was also painful. I imagined it felt similar to what it must be like to get struck by lightning. White sparks shot out my hand which was pointed at Nyx. The first bolt that hit her, threw Natalie several steps away and she smashed into the ground.

  I watched Nyx, caught in the grip of the power that surged out of me, like I was an observer. And in many ways, I was. If anything, I felt like a vessel for the magic that was drawn to the darkness of the vampire like an opposite that had no choice but to attract to her. I learned that beyond a certain point, I couldn’t control my powers. I may have summoned them but they took on a life of their own once there. I could only shape them. Natalie scurried over to my side.

  “You saved me!” she cried, like some part of her had doubted I would. Nyx was shaking violently and her silhouette glowed bright white in the night. If I didn’t stop what I was doing, or rather what was happening to her, she’d disintegrate.

  I summoned again but this time, to ground my magic, to call it back into myself and then to divert it into the earth. I was distantly aware that the magic within and around the cemetery had completely dissolved. I didn’t have to turn around to know that Lorna and Safi had gotten away. It took all I had to call back my magic. Its’ force gradually lessened and Nyx continued to shake and shiver on the ground even as I directed the pulsing energy still felt within myself, into the ground. It was like both my inner witch and vampire wanted to come out and play and only begrudgingly agreed to tame themselves upon my repeated instruction.

  Ulric yelped and my attention came back, instantly feeling a glimpse into his fearful but determined mind. I went closer to where Lilith and him were fighting and saw a sizeable gash trickling blood on his back. I didn’t know whether this had been Winnie’s handiwork or Lilith’s. Riskel had joined in and Ulric’s strength was waning. I could feel it.

  “Keep an eye on Nyx,” I said, to Natalie as I went into the battle where Ulric was outnumbered. Did all supes fight this unfairly or was this something that was limited to ones of dark-blood? I summoned my magic again and this time a bolt hit Riskel who was attacking Ulric from the back. He’d caught him by his hind-legs and was trying to tackle him to the ground.

  Riskel stiffened, letting go of Ulric, who fell to the ground but landed on all fours, or rather threes as one of his front legs appeared to be injured. As Riskel looked like he was being electrocuted, I called out to Ulric, “Wait! Let me help you!”

  Leaving Riskel in a writhing heap, I aimed at Lilith who was already mid-stream, headed straight for me. I let the power strike her just enough to stop her in her tracks and stun her, before drawing the magic back. It was marginally easier this time. With the three of them down, I rushed over Ulric and hurriedly tried to assess his wounds. The one on his back was quite bad but the more concerning was the one on his front leg, going all the way down to his paw. It was deep and looked like the muscles had been split. He looked away and for the first time since we’d had our telepathic connection, I felt him consciously pull away and rescind it. I knew that meant it had to be even worse than I realized.

  “Lie down,” I said, trying not to sound panicked, “I can help you.” The usually stubborn werewolf, immediately obeyed and further fear whirled inside me. I’d seen other, seasoned witches, like Lorna and Babette and others heal injuries as bad as this but I had never done it myself. Even they had never been surrounded by three extremely pissed and stunned vamps, getting less stunned and more pissed by the second.

  I held my hands up over his wound and wondering what the hell to do next, I closed my eyes and followed the tingling that came from my blooming. I moved my hands in circles, hovering just above his wound. I could hear his deep and ragged breathing. I summoned my power but this time, to fix instead of subdue.

  I felt a warmth pass through me and I could see the light of my magic working, as it reflected on my face and onto my eyelids. When I finally opened my eyes, what had been a gaping, bloody mess, was almost beginning to close over. “You’ll be okay,” I promised through the swirling brightness. His golden eyes told me he felt the same way and there was another flicker that I thought spoke of more. But I didn’t know for sure, as I was no longer able to read his mind.

  Without thinking or caring how I looked, I reached down and put my arms around him, his soft fur and warm body was a welcome escape from the disastrous night. My wish that he’d been in his human form had barely formed when the werewolf’s body began to buzz. It was a very subtle movement at first, if it could even have been called that. I gave him some room and found that he was definitely vibrating. It was so fast that it felt like he had his own form of magic coming to the surface.

 
In about a minute, he’d changed and was fully clothed, apart from a rip running down the leg of his jeans where he’d been hurt. He saw the curiosity on my face and smiled, silently, putting his arms around me this time. I felt a warmth run through me and my blooming glowed like it could have lit up New Orleans all by itself.

  We stayed there in the dark, snuggled close for only a couple of minutes. It couldn’t have been any longer than that when I heard a choking sound from a short distance away. I rose to my feet as a reflex, surveying the environment to locate the source of the noise. I assumed it was coming from one of the casualties of my magic from moments earlier. I almost rolled my eyes, thinking that I’d have to go and help Lilith or one of her minions, who’s only mission tonight had been attempting to kill us.

  I walked towards the sputtering sound that had already gotten weaker and Lilith was on her knees in the dust. She was kneeling over someone. She turned around and caught my eyes. Her smile was vengeful and triumphant and I knew in an instant that it wasn’t Nyx or Riskel. It was Natalie. And she was dying.

  Chapter 21

  I ran over to her, as did Ulric. I felt my own inner darkness rising as rage pulsed through me and I got a glimpse of the stake that had been plunged into her chest. I knew in that moment I could take all three of them and win. But whatever time Natalie had left was running out. And if it came to that, I didn’t want that to be the last thing she ever saw. It wouldn’t come to that. It couldn’t.

  I stared at Lilith with eyes that must have been flaming. Knowing the damage was done and the seriousness of it implied for her, she and the other two vamps quickly streamed away, leaving us alone like they were never there. I knelt over Natalie, who tried to talk but couldn’t.

  “What shall I do?” I cried out in desperation to Ulric who lingered behind me.

  “I don’t think there is anything you can do, she only has a couple of minutes,” he said softly.

  “It’s going to be okay, Natalie,” I said fighting my hoarseness as a colossal lump formed in my throat. I tried to steel myself not to cry but the tears sopped down my cheeks anyway. I held her hand which was already beginning to go cold, like she was already gone.