by L. M. Miller
She snatched her arm back quickly, tucking it against her body. He just grinned at her devilishly, licking his full lips. She scowled at him as the others looked thoroughly amused or put out, in some cases.
“That is just not fair. Trey always gets to taste the newbies’ bloods because of his skill,” Masoko complained, and Seph caught Phin’s disgruntled look shot at her.
“Well, develop an affinity for healing like Trey, and then you can sample the newbies’ bloods as well, ‘Soko. Until then…” he just shrugged, and for once, Masoko did not smile perkily back up at him.
“You taste good,” Trey commented, just to rub it in to Masoko and also to annoy Seph, which he managed beautifully.
“Really? Well, why don’t you return the favor and-” before she could finish that particular sentence, Stefan interrupted.
“I’m sure that this little conversation will have many fun twists and turns, but we still have to see if you’re good at my talent or not,” he stated with a little grin, stepping forward despite the fact that she knew he was not in the best of moods today.
“What can you do again?” She asked curiously, and he stared at her.
She just stared right back. What was he trying to do? His eyes were deep-set, quite dark right now, dazzling even. She could see the myriads of the stars behind them. His eyes almost seemed to swirl. They looked so cool. She suddenly pulled away and blinked several times. That had been… weird. He smiled mischievously at her.
“You’re relatively strong against me, but can you do the same back?” He asked her, not even bothering to explain to her that he was using the vampiric art of hypnosis.
“I can try,” she replied, rising to the challenge.
She moved back towards him, faces inches from his own. She stared into his eyes and noticed that they were not swirling anymore. They were not so dazzling either. She decided to try the same tricks against him though. She imagined her eyes were dazzling. They were pale-grey right now. They were resilient, grey pearls spinning in a whirlwind of snow. They were completely and totally encompassing. After only a few moments, Stefan pulled back, blinking rapidly.
“You did aight. I’m pretty good at resistin’ hypnosis, but you still aren’t that good. We could work on it some,” he grinned at her, and she did not find the look altogether settling.
“Any other skills you all feel like testing? It’s almost time for dinner, right?” She asked, and they all gaped at her in shock.
“You can’t possibly still be hungry,” Masoko said bluntly, and she smiled at her, flashing some fangs.
“No, not really. I mean, I’m a little hungry, but I’m not stuffed to bursting right now. There’s always room for more, but I probably won’t eat, if that’s allowed,” she looked at Phin, who nodded, eyes wide and a charcoal gray in color.
“No, you don’t need to eat dinner. You should be just fine with all that blood in your system,” he stated, still a little astonished that she could still possibly be hungry.
“Okay, so, are we done?” She asked, and then Roberta stepped forward, shaking her head.
“Nope, we still have me,” she would not meet Seph’s eyes, obviously a little embarrassed that she had been so susceptible to her mind control earlier.
“Aren’t you super-fast?” She asked, not meaning to but immediately gleaning the information from the weak girl’s mind.
“Yes,” the tall girl grinned satisfactorily, straightening her black vest over her black and yellow striped shirt.
“So, how do we test my speed?” She asked, and Roberta just sighed.
“Like this,” and she disappeared for a moment.
Seph felt a rush of wind pass by her, first to the left and then to the right. In ten seconds, Roberta had returned with a gallon of O+ blood. She shrugged, passing it to Kenji, who stored it in the refrigerator, restocking their classroom wares.
“Where did you get that?” Seph asked, and Roberta smiled a little impishly at her.
“I got it from the Main Hall. Right where Hazel always pulls out the bottles of blood for your meals,” Roberta explained, and Seph felt her jaw drop. “If you’re fast enough, she won’t even notice you were there,” and Capri opened the door for her. “We’re timing you. Go!” She shouted, and with an adrenaline rush, Seph moved.
In 11.2 seconds, she had returned with a gallon of AB-, her favorite. She smiled satisfactorily. Hazel had no idea. She had moved that quickly. Roberta was regarding her highly, arched brow raised carefully.
“You’re pretty fast, little one,” she commented, and Seph frowned at the inappropriate nickname that everybody seemed to be giving her. “We’ll train sometime,” and she resumed her place in the circle, out of the middle, where Seph was front and center.
Slowly, she rotated on the spot, looking at each of them in turn. Now what? She had been tested with each of them. What abilities did she have? She was, or could, be good at telekinesis, mind control, misting, and telepathy. She was moderately good at teleportation, speed, and healing. Her transmogrification skills were not ordinary, but they were something. She could not say if she was moderately good, very good, or bad at them because she didn’t change shape like any other vampire apparently. As for her levitation skills, they were fairly non-existent. Her hypnosis was all right but not that great. So, those were the extent of her abilities. This had been a profitable lesson.
“Well, that’s everyone,” Phin announced unnecessarily. “Tomorrow begins the real class,” he stated, and she noticed the others roll their eyes.
Apparently, the real classes were not as much as he was making them out to be.
“Ya, the real class,” Masoko mocked, using air quotation marks to embellish this point.
Just then, the ending bell rang, and everybody scattered, headed for the Main Hall more likely than not. Seph grabbed her things and hurried out after them, not wanting to be alone with the only vampire still left in the classroom, Trey. She was more than a little irritated with him for his little blood sampling, which he seemed to catch onto as she sent him a well-placed glare. She hoped he was not the type of person who had to talk about-
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“Seph!” She groaned inwardly as Trey scurried over to walk beside her in the hallway that was drenched in shadow.
“Ya, Trey?” She didn’t try to hide her annoyance, turning rapidly to cut across the courtyard, causing him to quicken his step in order to keep up with her.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” he said frankly, and she halted suddenly.
He walked a bit past her and had to circle around back.
“You took my blood without my permission, Trey,” she remarked coldly, stepping forward to invade his personal space.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated with a shrug. “Your blood was in the air, and it smelled so sweet. It’s usually first come, first serve with us, and nobody had moved yet. I was hungry, and your blood was in the air. So I’m not that strong. If we had been in switched positions, you would have sampled my blood. You would have probably bitten me, if not for the eight gallons you drank earlier,” his tone was almost accusatory towards her when addressing the amount of blood she had drank.
They had resumed walking and were nearly at the Main Hall now. Seph spotted Linda, Rodney, and Abernathy out of the corner of her eye, in the Gold Hall, waiting for her to join them. They obviously did not want to interrupt her important and somewhat heated discussion with Trey.
“You’re scared of me,” she acknowledged and watched as a hardened expression fixed itself upon his face.
“Us vampires live with each other for centuries, a few even a millennia. The only way we tolerate each other is not to hurt each other’s pride,” his wide, dark eyes narrowed on her. “I’m not afraid of you, Seph-” she cut him off swiftly.
“You only say that, Trey. I see it in your eyes, in your face. I hear your thoughts. You had the perfect little family, and they’re still your perfect little family. They still love you. They still wa
nt you home. They still accept you for who and what you are. You are afraid of me because you have never been hardened by anything in your life. We pull strength from our experiences, Trey, and you’re lacking in them,” she concluded, a winged brow raised.
Why was she saying this? She was being so mean. She was being purposefully hurtful, but she had to say it. Her wall was wavering now as more and more thoughts pressed in on her, immersed with the rest of the student body. She resented this. She needed to have more control. She should have more control. Speaking of control…
Trey suddenly grabbed her and shoved her up against a wall. Her ballet flats did not even graze the grass. He pulled her back only to curl his fists in her shirt and shove her back against the wall again, jarring the back of her head against it. She bared her fangs at him, and he bared them right back. He was angry. He could not recall ever feeling this angry before. Seph could see Rodney, Linda, and Abernathy sprinting towards them as well as Phin and Sarabi.
Grabbing his arms, she shoved her fists down on the crooks of his elbows, weakening his grip on her shirt enough to finally break free, falling to the ground. Others were rushing to intervene, but Seph’s pride had just been hurt. She felt it bubbling deep within her chest. She kicked out at Trey’s legs, breaking both his knees and bringing him to the ground.
He hissed with the pain as she rolled to her feet. He did at the same time though. She had forgotten about his extraordinary healing ability. He charged her, and she turned into mist right before he could grab her. His momentum kept him going, and he crashed hard into the solid wall. She materialized where he had been before the charge, a little smirk on her face. He hissed at her, straightening and charging again.
Quite a crowd had formed now, but Phin and Sarabi managed to shove their way to the front. Just as Trey rushed Seph again, he was suddenly caught by someone and thrown to the ground. Sarabi pinned herself on top of him as he thrashed angrily, screaming and cursing at Seph with his fangs fully elongated.
Meanwhile, Phin had caught up with Seph, and with one giant sweep of his arm, he sent her flying backwards as she ran to attack Trey, even under Sarabi. She flew back, hit the ground, and flipped over, landing resoundingly on her chest. She glared up at him, but he was infuriated, literally trembling with his ferocity. She flipped to her feet just as Phin arrived directly in front of her.
“We do not fight amongst ourselves here, Persephone,” she moved forward towards Trey again, and he snatched her forearm.
We must keep the peace between each other, Persephone. It is hard enough for vampires to live amongst themselves. We cannot have fights breaking out amongst us. It creates too much tension, too much hostility in an already hostile race. You have to understand this, or you cannot stay here. Occasionally, yes, a few fights will break out, such as this, but it cannot be common occurrence between us all. Now, calm down and breathe deeply. I will speak to Trey. He should not have attacked you. He knows better. You should not have provoked him. We do not need that, Seph. I know you feel that you need to defend your pride just as he felt exactly the same way. We are prideful creatures, Phin shook his head in despair for his own race. Swallow your pride. Go to dinner. You can eat if you want. If you do not, you do not need to. Leave. I will deal with Trey because he is a good deal farther gone than you, especially considering his hunger…, then he released her arm and drifted away to help Sarabi restrain the still livid Trey.
Seph straightened up. She rubbed her forearm thoughtfully, massaging away the bruises that his tightening hands had made. They were disappearing already. Trey did have amazing healing skills, but she thought hers were pretty amazing too, compared to her human ones, or lack thereof.
What time was it? She suddenly glanced around, aware now that time had passed as she and Phin had spoken. The majority of the crowd had dispersed. Rodney, Linda, and Abernathy were still waiting for her though. She saw Ruby looking at her as well, with her posse of six: Oglesby, Misty, Yolanda, Kendall, Damian, and Raul. They were all there, watching and observing her. They were calculating her, noting her every weakness and strength. What did they have in mind for her? Were they planning to jump her later on or something?
“Seph?” Rodney’s tentative voice broke through her careening, slightly paranoid, thoughts.
She blinked several times and finally focused on him.
“Rodney,” she said, identifying him.
“Let’s go to dinner, alright, Seph?” Linda was at her side now, taking her by the elbow as Abernathy took her by the other elbow, leading her to the dining hall.
When she stepped through the doors, she shook them off of her. She could walk on her own. She was getting plenty of stares as it was. She did not need to walk in like a cripple. Trey would not get that satisfaction. All of her fellow vampires at least acknowledged her presence to some degree. It was fascinating, very interpretative of these new fellow beings of hers.
Masoko just gave her the onceover, sitting with a group of her chipper friends. She did not approve, but she understood that Seph had her reasons. Roberta would not even meet her eyes. She was not too strong a vampire, although her appearance was at least domineering. Kenji and Capri just glanced at her and then continued on with their conversation about some video game with a group of guys at their table. They didn’t care. They had been in plenty of fights before. It happened. Alistair she could not find, with her eyes or her senses.
She, Rodney, Abernathy, and Linda sat down at their usual table, and immediately Stefan sidled up, sipping some blood, as the others went to get their steaming plates of beef stroganoff once they had dropped off their stuff. Clearly, he had something he wanted to say to her. She remembered walking into Vamp Class, and he and Trey had been having some kind of debated discussion. Was he going to tell her what they had been talking about then? They were bonded by their dislike for Trey, at least at the moment.
“You and Trey get in a fight?” She just gave him a derisive look because everybody in the entire school knew that they had. “Okay, so we all know that you two did. Why?” Well, he was not one for pleasantries, was he?
“We got in a disagreement. Pride came up. He attacked me first. Sure, I provoked it, but what do I care?” She was acting haughty, trying to show a stronger face than she felt because inside, she felt like she had provoked that fight, and she had provoked it for the wrong reasons. Was there ever a good reason to provoke a fight?
“Yes, pride does run in our blood,” he winked at her, laughing lightly at his little pun.
After a moment’s silence, Seph decided to speak again.
“Why were you two arguing before class started?” She asked and watched as he winced a little, not wanting to recall that particular memory.
Instead of saying anything, he moved a little closer to her, difficult as that may be considering he was straddling his chair. He allowed their forearms to brush. He knew about her advanced telepathy. Almost the entire school knew by now but especially all the vampires. This way, they could talk a bit more privately.
Trey and Linda dated, he registered the shock in her eyes. It was about a year ago. Well, a little more than a year ago because me and her have been together a year now. But, a little over a year ago, they had been seein’ each other, and she came to visit him here. He was a first year, and I was a nobody second year. I had seen him in Vamp Class. We had talked some. He was a nice enough guy, a bit prideful, like all of us.
Linda visited him one day here, at the school. One night I should say…, and I was hungry. I was starting to diet my blood intake, and I was so thirsty. I ran into her, immediately recognized that she was a witch, not that she knew it yet, and I hypnotized her. I was about to drink from her but… and at this, he could not look into Seph’s eyes any longer.
She was too beautiful, too peaceful, too innocent-looking. She woke up much earlier than she should have because of her magic. She shoved me away and ran off. But she’d come back to visit Trey… And we would run into each other and… Seph could fe
el in his mind the sparks that had flown between the couple all the way back then.
The entire time he had been relating this story to her, as he reflected on it, she had seen it unfold before her mind’s eye. It was very interesting and very weird. She moved her forearm away from his, not wanting to know everything in his mind like that, all his feelings and memories and thoughts and dreams and nightmares.
“So you two were arguing about what one year later after all of this?” She asked, and Stefan bit his bottom lip, appearing a little embarrassed and a little smug.
“He saw her leave my room the other night at like… three in the afternoon….” Seph quickly translated this to about three in the morning if they were up during the day, and she gave him a very disapproving look. “Ya… so he was talkin’ to me about that. Threatening me. The usual… Me and him try to tolerate each other. As vampires, we’re supposed to all try and get along, not fight, because any fight between us… Your fight with Trey wasn’t that bad. You know what I’m sayin’?” Sadly, she did, and she didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
There was a clattering of trays, catching Seph off guard as Rodney, Abernathy, and Linda set their plates down on the table loudly. They had obviously realized that Stefan and Seph were having a private conversation and were announcing their presence. The two vampires looked up at them expectantly and a little guiltily, although they had not been doing anything wrong necessarily.
“What were you two talking about?” Linda asked, giving Stefan a sidelong glance.
Seph just smiled, peering over her steaming food at her.
“Vampire stuff,” Stefan replied coolly.
Linda clearly did not believe him but slid into the seat beside him anyway. She kept sending them both furtive glances the entire time, knowing full well that she was going to get the truth out of Stefan after this whether he wanted to tell her or not. Rodney was busy cracking a few jokes, Abernathy laughing hilariously at most of them and Seph occasionally laughing along with them. Finally, the non-vampires brought up exactly what was on their minds.
