With those dark thoughts playing through my head, I left the library and returned to my dorm room.
Chapter 17
Bethany
After classes I made my way to Professor Ubel’s office. I hoped I could talk him into a quick tutoring session so I could maybe help when another attack happened. Hesitantly, I knocked on the door.
“Ah, my dear girl, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Professor Ubel asked as he answered the door.
I smiled. “Good afternoon, Professor Ubel, I… I came by before, but you had a visitor, so I hoped we could make up my tutoring session today?”
Professor Ubel looked over at the clock on his wall. “I was indeed occupied with a visitor,” he smiled, “but I do believe I can fit in a quick session today. Come in, my dear.”
Expelling a breath of relief, I moved into the room and set my books on a table.
“Come, let us go next door and I will set up a new challenge for you.”
I followed behind as Professor Ubel went to a cabinet and pulled out a box. He cast a spell and the box opened and out popped a creature.
“Professor, what is that?”
Professor Ubel picked up the creature and held it up. “This, my dear girl, is a mimic.”
I watched as he chanted a spell and the mimic turned into a replica of Professor Chalcedony. I gasped and backed away. Professor Chalcedony had died last semester, killed by the automatons he’d created. It had been horrific to watch.
Professor Ubel looked over at me and smiled. “Do not fret, my dear girl, merely a replica, but certainly an incentive, yes?”
I frowned. “What do you mean, Professor?”
“The spell we are going to work on today, my dear girl. I am going to teach you to drain your opponent’s power.”
“But a mimic doesn’t have power, does it?”
A chuckle slipped from Professor Ubel’s lips. “Oh but it does, my dear. A mimic is capable of acquiring not just the form, but the powers of those its handler chooses. This mimic has all of the same powers Professor Chalcedony held, though he is not autonomous, he cannot harm you unless I order him to.”
I gave him a hesitant smile. “Oh…okay.”
“Now,” he said, setting the Professor Chalcedony look-a-like at the far end of the room, “for the spell. Hold your hands thusly.” He formed his hands into an odd shape. His thumbs were pressed to the tips of his ring fingers and then touching the joined at the tips creating two sort of circles. The middle and pointer fingers were touching as well and spread wide as they pointed up and his pinkies were pointing straight forward.
I did my best to contort my fingers into that position. He checked my finger positioning, made a slight adjustment, pushing my fingers into each other and widening the circles created by my thumbs and ring fingers. “Is this correct, Professor?”
“Yes, that is correct. Now. Center your fingers at your diaphragm and then push up and out until your arms are straight.” He demonstrated and I attempted the same movement. “A bit more of an arch as you come up and then out, my dear girl.”
I followed his demonstration feeling an ache in my fingers from holding that position. “I think I’ve got it, Professor.”
He watched me for a few moments and then nodded. “Very good. You will do that movement three times to charge the spell, then hold it. Make sure you keep your aim at your opponent, my dear.” He smiled indulgently. “Now, one more step. You must find your magic and channel it from your center and into your fingers, directing it through your fingers. You aren’t actually going to send the magic out, you will channel and hold it centered in the circles created by your thumbs and ring fingers. It will work as a siphon so that you can drain the power from your opponent. Do not release your positioning until you have drained all of their power.”
“All of their power?” I questioned. “Won’t that kill them, Professor?” I worried. I didn’t want to kill anyone, especially not any of the vampires or witches who weren’t themselves.
“Of course not, my dear girl, it will simply turn them human.”
That didn’t sound right to me, but I didn’t want to contradict him, so I kept my skepticism to myself. I would just have to be careful when fighting people for real. “And what happens if I release my fingers before I do so, sir?”
“If you release the position before you have drained all of their power, it could have any number of effects. It could leave them stunned, or passed out, or if you are reckless enough to release it too quickly, you could leave them with enough power to harm you.”
I nodded. “And what happens to my magic and the power I drain from them when I release my fingers?” I asked, making sure I was thoroughly aware of all possibilities.
“You will absorb their powers and your magic will return to your center.”
“If I absorb their powers, will I be able to access their powers? Like Rogue in X-men?”
Professor Ubel frowned. “I’m not aware of this Rogue person or what an ex-man is, however, yes, you will be able to access your opponent’s particular powers for a short period of time. If you drain them completely, their power will shift to you permanently, boosting your own powers even more. It is one of the reasons many are unhappy with your existence, my dear girl, they fear that you could drain them and take their powers.”
His words shocked me. “I would never attack anyone who wasn’t attacking me, Professor, so they should have nothing to fear from me.”
Professor Ubel had a look in his eyes that I couldn’t read, but it still troubled me until he said, “Of course, I know you have a pure heart, my dear girl. Do not concern yourself with what others may think of you.”
I nodded.
“Now, shall we give it a try?” he asked, gesturing to the mimic of Professor Chalcedony.
“Yes, of course.” I put my fingers into position and then began to channel my magic as he’d described. Once I felt my magic centered in the circles between my thumbs and ring fingers, I moved my hands in the arch as he’d told me to, keeping my pinkie fingers aimed at the mimic.
After a moment I felt the pull of the siphon. My hands began to tremble with the power it was drawing in from the mimic and after about ten seconds that seemed much longer, the mimic dropped to the floor, curled in a ball, back in its original shape. Without even thinking, I moved my magic back to my center and unlocked my fingers from their position.
“Very good, Bethany.” Professor Ubel smiled at me, his eyes seemed to be lit up with glee.
“Thank you, Professor. Should I try it again?” I asked.
He looked at the clock and then nodded. “Yes, I think we may have time for two more.” He set the mimic back up. This time though, he made the creature look like Victoria.
Victoria, I knew, had summoning powers. She’d been my roommate when I first came to Dusk Academy, but she’d attempted to kill me and had become a vessel for a Formless One. We still weren’t sure exactly what had happened to her. Rumor was her parents had found her drained of all her powers and she was back at home under strict supervision and unable to interact with anyone. I didn’t think that was true though. I was nearly positive that the Formless One had killed her and disposed of her.
I swallowed hard and performed the same positioning and movements, draining the Victoria mimic until once again it fell to the floor curled up in a ball back in its original shape. “How was that, Professor?”
“Fairly good, my dear girl. Would you care to take a moment and attempt to use those powers you just drained?” He arched a brow and smiled.
I nodded and concentrated, thinking of my textbook in the next room. Within seconds, my textbook floated through the air from the other room and into my hands. “Cool.” I grinned.
“You mastered that quite quickly.” He gave me a benevolent smile.
I watched him set the mimic up once more and this time it took the shape of the nearly six and a half foot tall Strigoi, Lukas. His arms were big and muscular, and his chest was wide and
looked as hard as a rock. “Um, Professor?”
“Not to worry, my dear girl, I have control, remember? Simply a mimic with Lukas’ powers. He is a Strigoi, so he is capable of shifting, though I am not aware of what creature the Russian shifts to, so this mimic will not have that power for you to absorb. Though you may be able to shift to vampire for a moment and experience their blood lust. I shall have a pint standing by should that happen.”
I nodded and took a deep breath as he went to his classroom for a moment and then returned with a bag of blood.
“We keep a small locked refrigerator in each classroom for emergencies,” he explained. “Now, when you’re ready.”
I performed the spell exactly as I had before. This time as the siphon took hold I felt a weird change come over my body. My stomach tightened and I felt physically stronger, as if I could bench press a car and not break a sweat. Once again, the mimic turned back into itself and curled up in a ball. I dropped my fingers and then a ringing in my head made my vision go blurry and turn a hazy red. I felt my teeth elongate and I used my tongue to feel the two sharp points that now protruded from my gums.
Something moved and I turned with a hiss to find Professor Ubel shoving a bag of blood into my face. I grabbed it with a snarl and punctured it with my teeth, pulling large gulps of blood into my mouth. It tasted metallic and sweet. I got the sense of the person who’d donated it. A middle-aged man with blond hair and green eyes. Smart, but quick to temper and prone to drink. I slurped down the last of it and noticed the hazy redness dissipate from my vision. My fangs drew back up into my mouth and now I could no longer sense the person whose blood I’d had to drink. My stomach returned to normal and the feeling of strength fell away. I was back to myself.
“Ugh,” I murmured, swallowing the now distasteful thickness of blood on my tongue. “Water?” I asked, hoping Professor Ubel had one for me after that.
He grinned. “Here you go, my dear girl. That was simply a marvelous display. I’ve not ever seen anyone change so quickly or thoroughly using a mimic. I am quite impressed with your powers. I imagine you will be a force to be reckoned with if you come up against a vampire in the future.”
I swallowed down half of the bottle of water he’d given me. I glanced up at the glee on his face and felt a shiver go through me. “I hope that never happens. That was not enjoyable at all.”
He smiled and moved to the mimic, picking it up and replacing it back in its box and then returning it to the cabinet. “That is all we have time for today, my dear. Perhaps we can practice more next time.”
I finished off the bottle and dropped it into the recycle bin. “Thank you for taking the time to work with me today, Professor.” I felt drained and sluggish now and all I wanted to do was grab a sandwich and go back to my room.
“It was my pleasure, my dear girl.”
I smiled and followed him back to his classroom. Picking up my books, I said, “Goodnight, Professor.”
“Goodnight.” He shut the door behind me.
Sighing, I dragged myself down to the cafeteria. I chose a turkey sandwich, another bottle of water and some chips and then returned to my room. I set everything down on my desk and dropped onto my bed. Before I knew it, I was asleep.
Chapter 18
Bethany
I’d slept all night and when I woke, the turkey sandwich was still sitting where I’d dropped it on my desk. It didn’t look appealing, so I chucked it in my wastepaper basket and then grabbed the water. The chips would keep, I knew, so I shoved them in my desk drawer for a treat later.
Opening the water, I drank down half the bottle before recapping it. I felt better than I had last night, thankfully. It was still early, so I opened my math textbook and sat down to do the assignment so it wouldn’t be late. It only took twenty minutes, so when I finished, I packed everything back up and grabbed my clothes to head down to the bathroom.
Once I finished changing and seeing to my morning routine, I returned to my room and gathered my books, but when I grabbed my phone, I noticed a message flashing on the screen. My heart beat furiously in my chest as I opened it. If this was him breaking up with me—
Hey, I’m sorry for not attending class yesterday or texting you. And I’m sorry I hurt you with what I said. I’ve not been feeling great. I’m skipping class again today. Would you meet me this afternoon? — James
Feeling relieved that it wasn’t a break-up text, I frowned. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say to that first part, but I set my books back down so I could type a reply. After a moment, I began to type.
You’re forgiven. I don’t like feeling like that, though, so… just don’t do it again. Don’t try to push me away. We work best when we work as a team. I’m sorry you aren’t feeling well. Yes, I’ll meet you, where? – Bethany
My heart had calmed by the time he sent back a reply, so he must have been waiting for me to answer. That made me smile.
Merriwicks? — James
Glancing at the time, I knew I only had a few more minutes, so I sent him back a final reply.
Sure. Three o’clock. Have to run now, I’ve got Warding class. — Bethany
He didn’t acknowledge it, but I knew he’d gotten it. I gathered my books and rushed out of my room, pulling the door closed behind me and locking it.
“Hey, Bethany, running late too?” Helen called from down the hall.
I glanced over my shoulder at her. “Yeah, no time for breakfast, you?”
“Yeah, I didn’t eat either. It’s gonna be a long day.”
I nodded as we both hurried to our shared class. We walked in about twenty seconds before the bell rang and I smiled at her. I missed having her as my roommate, but she still wasn’t ready to move back over with me. To be honest, I didn’t blame her. People were out to get me and had already sent creatures to attack me in our room once last semester. Who knew what would happen this semester?
Sighing, I took my seat and opened my Warding textbook and notebook and started writing down the notes Professor Singh had on the board. I glanced up to see her watching over the class, checking to see that we were all in our seats and working. I smiled and went back to it.
Halfway through the class, Professor Singh had us up and practicing. It was one of the things I loved about her class, it wasn’t all theory, some of it was hands on. She was coming to be one of my favorite teachers. She’d helped James and me a lot last semester when we’d had trouble with the automatons. Honestly, I don’t think we’d have done as well against them without her. And the chupacabra and Ancient One too, of course.
The rest of the day passed slowly. Every time I looked at the clock it seemed to be going backwards or standing still. I knew it wasn’t, but by the time two-thirty arrived, I was already exhausted. On my way to my room, I swung by the cafeteria to grab a snack since I hadn’t eaten breakfast or much of my lunch. I knew I’d better eat before walking the mile or so into town to meet James at Merriwicks.
In my room, I ate my snack of cheese and crackers and then changed my shirt before heading out. It was five til three when I arrived. I noticed James through the window, sitting at a booth alone. There didn’t seem to be anyone else in the coffee shop, except Merriwick behind the counter.
“Hello, Merriwick,” I smiled at her, “Can I have a house blend?”
“Hello, deary, of course.” Merriwick’s eyes flashed at me and for a moment it gave me pause because they didn’t look quite right, but when I blinked, they were back to her normal coloring shot through with blood.
I figured it must have been a trick of the light or something as I moved toward the register. I gave her the five-dollar bill I had out to pay for my coffee and then shoved the change in her tip jar.
“Thank you, deary,” she murmured before turning her back to me.
I smiled and moved to join James. “Hi,” I said sliding into the opposite booth, “how are you feeling?”
James peered at me, blinking as if he hadn’t even realized I was there. He loo
ked down at his mug of blood and then around the shop and blinked again before turning to me.
“James, are you all right?” I asked, concerned.
“Yeah, sorry. Just didn’t… see you come in.” He looked at me, one half of his lips rising in a smile that didn’t quite finish so it looked like more of a grimace.
I reached for his hand. “You sure you’re okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine. I’m not infected.” He looked up at me. “It’s not an infection that’s causing everything,” he said softly. “It’s magic.”
I raised my eyebrows at that. “How do you know?” I asked.
“I went and spoke to the Librarian. They told me. They said it wasn’t an infection, but magic. They didn’t elaborate though, so we still don’t know what or who is behind this. Witch or vampire. It could be either one.”
Frowning I recalled the altercation the previous morning in the hallway between Professor Zin and Professor Corbett. “The Librarian stopped Professor Zin and Corbett fighting, well arguing, yesterday. Do you think whatever magic this is, has affected them too? That it’s not just us students who are feeling the effects?” I looked at him and took a sip of my coffee. It really was delicious.
“I don’t know. It could be.” He sighed and downed the rest of his blood.
“You know, considering the chupacabra are vampiric, do you think the Ancient One might be a vampire?” I had this theory in my head that the Librarian might be the Ancient One, and that was why they were helping James and me, but I wanted to know what James thought.
James shrugged and looked away. “I don’t know.”
“Well I was thinking, what if the Librarian is the Ancient One?” I said it softly, hoping Merriwick couldn’t overhear me. We were still the only ones in the shop and Merriwick seemed to be occupied toward the back. I could see her puttering around in her open kitchen behind the counters.
A Witch’s Immunity: Supernatural Academy - Book 3 Page 9
