“How are we supposed to know that when you haven’t taught us?” challenged Moldark.
“And teach you, I will try,” said the professor going around the room and handing each of us out, a small, old, red book that could fit easily into my blazer pocket. “These, hold the translation, as well as the antidote to the most basic vampire hexes and charms. The hex I’ve put on the piece of chalk, can be broken by looking on the second page.”
“But if only a quarter of us will ever be able to do dark magic, won’t only two or three of us here be able to break the spell?” asked Moldark. I presumed he was even more emboldened because he was pissed off.
“No! You need the dark magical ability to be able to hex the object to give life to what you’re doing but you only need incantations to break the spell. Even mere mortals could break charms and hexes, if they only knew how,” Professor Varga grinned ruthlessly, “But then again, they are at somewhat of a disadvantage because by the time they encounter dark magic, they’re usually under vampire compulsion – which they certainly cannot break.”
“Why use both?” asked Moldark, as he placed his hands behind his head and leaned back in his hair.
“Why not? It makes distinguishing where compulsion ends and dark magic begins, virtually impossible.”
We looked through our books and I stared at the etchings on page two. They were similar to the golden symbols on the wall of Tempus Fugit but had some words in unfamiliar but readable characters scrolled underneath.
“Professor, does this book show us how to work with charms?” asked Valenthia, leafing through her copy.
“I see we’re back to the charms, Miss. Lauden. How curious.”
“I was just wondering,” said Valenthia.
“A charm, is nothing more than an object that has been incanted with dark magic to influence the vampire or mortal it comes into contact with. Usually this is something that can be worn or carried on the person.
“However, charms are much more advanced and only taught to those that carry the dark magic in their blood and that too, much later in your academic career. I suggest for now, you turn your attention to the piece of chalk and see if you can break a simple hex before getting too ahead of yourself,” instructed Varga as Valenthia nodded in disappointment. I wished she hadn’t raised the topic for a second time. It made me uncomfortable that Varga’s eyes lingered on her for a split-second too long, before he turned and walked away.
Not surprisingly, Moldark was the first to break the hex on the chalk. “There – easy,” he said, as he wrote his name in big letters on the board.
“Well done,” said Professor Varga, “as I mentioned before, this doesn’t necessarily mean you have dark magic, just that once you know what to do, you can dissipate it.”
“Understood,” replied Moldark, unimpressed.
Chapter 7
“You made it too obvious!” said Natalie, looking worriedly at Valenthia, as we sat sprawled in our suite, on the overstuffed chairs in the living area.
“No, telling him I was set up with a charm that forced me to drink witch-blood would have been obvious. I was just being a good student,” pouted Valenthia, “although now we know, the visions probably mean that I have dark magic abilities.”
“I wonder what was with that question Clara asked about the Dark Sparkle, was it?” said Natalie.
“Dark Spark,” I smiled. “I wish there was one professor in this place we could trust. But Varga’s not it,” I said as Natalie nodded. “And as for finding out more about the charms, you didn’t have to ask him, I sort of have an idea.”
“What?” asked Natalie and Valenthia in unison.
“When I rescued Lorna, I was able to summon my magic in a way that I managed to work a shield spell. I was able to be invisible for a short time.”
“You’re thinking you could do it to sneak into the library?” Natalie’s eyes lit up.
“Yes. Only, it wasn’t something I knew I could do until I’d done it. I’m not sure how to make it happen but if I could, it would let me go into that Tempus Fugit section. Even if there was heavy security through that wall, there’s a better chance I wouldn’t get caught if they couldn’t see me, right?”
“That’s a brilliant idea! What can I do to help?” said Valenthia.
“Me too?” said Natalie.
“Nothing,” I said, too quickly.
“Come on, you saved my life,” said Natalie, indignant. “In fact, you gave it back to me. The least I can do is pay it forward.”
“No! You don’t owe me anything, Nat,” I said. That she’d died at all, had been totally my fault.
“And, this isn’t even for you. It’s to see if Valenthia really was charmed like she’s so convinced she was. And, if she was, to find a way to stop it from happening to any of us again.” If it hadn’t been before, it seemed obvious after Varga’s lesson, that vampire charms were a tried and tested thing at Bloodline Academy.
“I know,” I said thinking hard. What I wanted to do was risky but it had to be done. What if one of us was next? Could they charm me into attacking someone say, Safi? Or even someone else? “Why don’t you and Valenthia go there to study again and I’ll try and do whatever magic I did that day with Lorna that gave me invisibility. You guys can be my lookout and tell me that my shield is working.”
“You’re going to go into that Tempus wall thing, le Boursier went into, alone?” Natalie looked uncomfortable.
“It’ll be fine. As long as I’m invisible, they won’t catch me,” I said. I hoped.
***
The night had been strenuous to say the least. After a short break following Varga’s class, we’d had Devin and Duquette’s lessons back-to-back. I was exhausted and on edge. Both professors had stared me out incessantly during each class. Willing me. Showing me that I had no choice but to do to Safi, as had been decided. Neither had said it this time but they hadn’t had to. It wasn’t exactly telepathy like I had with Safi and Ulric but something more subtle that had nonetheless, conveyed the message just as potently. Like a knowing, without being told. I felt sick and tired. This hadn’t been the first time since my birthday a few months ago – no, an entire lifetime ago – that decisions completely concerning me had been made without me in mind. In that way, witches and vampires had a lot in common.
My mind wandered to thoughts of my so-called biological parents. I hadn’t thought about them, or rather the concept of them in many years. Not really. Not since Lorna and Babette had given me a home. But what had Nadasdy meant? Did he really know who my dad was? Or had been? Was he alive? And if he was, had he been happy to just give me up like he had? Cast me away like an unwanted weight? Maybe it was all a ploy to get me to do what they wanted. It likely was. Nothing would ever make me curious enough or dumb enough to go after a man who had abandoned me if he was alive. And that too, by compromising one of the truest friendships I’d ever known. Safi wasn’t just my friend. We were family who had chosen each other. The same way, I was beginning to feel about Natalie.
“Okay, I need to say it if you won’t,” said Natalie, as we walked to the food hall.
“Yes, I admit it, I need a long shot of blood, again,” I sighed, thinking aloud. I pulled back my brunette hair, no longer bothering to tame the volume but instead settling for having it off my face.
“Not that, silly!” exclaimed Natalie excitedly, looking around and then back at me. Valenthia nodded vigorously. “Although I agree, we all need a nice hit of the red stuff.”
“She’s talking about Moldark!” whispered Valenthia as we went through to the hall where the steamy aromas of all the different foods beckoned.
“I know! Where does he get off being so full of himself?” I said, eyeing up the refrigerator of blood.
“Wow, you don’t look stupid so maybe you’re just coy!” announced a voice from behind us. Clara. What was wrong with that girl?
“Hey, we weren’t talking for your benefit,” said Valenthia, visibly irritated.
“No but obviously Katrina is the one to watch. I mean we’d all literally die for a chance with Moldark Whitlock!”
“Speak for yourself. And go for it,” replied Valenthia. Clara did an eyeroll and moved off into the hall where she quickly found and got chatting to Luc and Darius.
“I’ll get the blood, then spill what’s really going on,” stated Valenthia as we found an empty table.
“Not this again,” I said sighing, “first it was Ulric and now this.”
“Ulric really liked you too!” said Natalie sincerely as I cringed and not just at her use of the past tense.
“Yeah and we know how that turned out,” I groaned.
“I think he still likes you. The stuff with his sister just seems to have messed him up. Plus, I heard that the Black Banes are going through major infighting and upheaval right now.”
“They are,” I said. It made sense. Ulric’s pack had been quite fragmented since the day I’d met him. It couldn’t have been easy. Still, there was no need to be a royal jerk to me about it.
“But, moving on, what’s going on between you and Moldark?” said Natalie, brightly.
“I told you to wait for me!” protested Valenthia, coming back with three big, dark bottles.
“We did,” said Natalie, inspecting her bottle before gratefully putting it to her lips and taking a long sip, prompting me to do the same.
“And?” pushed Valenthia.
“And the honest answer is, we’ve all got more important things to worry about than a pompous-ass vampire who’s slammed me into the cold, hard floor of the cave, more times than I care to count,” I said, irritated with both of them and their incessant focus on seeing things that didn’t exist.
“You guys are definitely great sparring partners,” said Valenthia. Her and Natalie both smirked.
“Yes, and do you know what I think about Moldark Whitlock?” I said, feeling the familiar, mellow buzz as the blood began to take effect.
“What?”
“Nothing! What I do think though is that you were ruthlessly killed last semester,” I said, looking at Natalie, “and you, Val, betrayed us because you allege you were charmed.” Valenthia looked offended. “Which leads me to believe that there’s so much more that went on under our noses and probably still is and we need to find out.” What I didn’t say was that I still had feelings for Ulric. Feelings which were now thoroughly confused. I was mad at him because he more than deserved it. But there were parts of me that ached to be near him again. Which only made me madder at him.
“But,” started Natalie.
“Do you want to know something interesting?” I said, feeling bolder as I always did after an admittedly restorative drink of blood, “at my hearing, they forced me to relive the events of the night. They actually put me under a spell where they could watch everything that happened, through my eyes.”
“Everything?” asked Natalie, immediately looking pallid.
“Yep. Nat, they all saw how dead you were and that I brought you back. And Val, they saw you stumble out to us, drunk on Lorna’s blood. They know everything. The witches, Duquette and Devin.”
“Shit,” said Valenthia.
“Yep, so excuse me, if I want to get to the bottom of why things went down the way they did.” I withheld the latest development where Nadasdy and his A-Team had commanded me to make a witch-vamp out of Safi. Or rather, to kill her trying.
“What did they…say?” asked Valenthia after a while.
“About you?”
“Yes,” she nodded, unable to meet my gaze, “and obviously the rest of it too.”
“They acted like you were completely working from free will. At no point did any of them indicate that there might have been a vampire spell making you do what you did. I don’t even think witches know about dark magic. Babette and Lorna never mentioned it.”
“Oh,” said Valenthia, looking reprimanded like she’d had a run in with Professor Duquette.
“Which doesn’t mean there wasn’t any dark magic,” I added, feeling guilty about my harshness towards her, “it means we need to focus on what’s important.” They both nodded and for about a minute, I felt like at least we had our priorities straight and things were back under control on the topic of my non-existent love life. Until Moldark walked up to our table and stopped in front of me, sending Natalie and Valenthia back into a frenzy of smirks and eye gestures.
“How’s it going?” said Moldark, looking straight into me with his charcoal eyes.
“Great, apart from the fact that you wiped the floor with me in class more times than I did with you,” I replied, mildly resentful that he really did seem to maintain the upper hand when it came to us duking it out.
“Maybe you just go easy on me,” he smiled, a slightly crooked smile, that caused my stomach to feel a rush, like I’d just plummeted from the top of a cliff. It was as scary as it was thrilling. What was going on? I shot my friends an accusing look – this was all their fault. If they hadn’t drawn my attention to the possibility that there might be something there with uppity vamp boy, I wouldn’t have looked at him that way. Or would I? “What?” asked Moldark. His smile deepened into a smirk.
“Nothing,” I said with unnatural speed, “we have to go.” I looked at Natalie and Valenthia and downed my bottle of blood, getting ready to leave. The two of them eyed the food that was plentifully laid out along the edges of the vast dining hall and then me, with disapproval.
“Fine then,” said Moldark picking up on my attempt to ditch him. I was only half-trying to do that. We really did need to get to the library and with the blood coursing through me, I didn’t want to waste the power that came so easily to me when I was well-fed. Food may have filled my stomach but I was increasingly finding that blood was what actually satiated me.
“I just want you to know that if tonight is foiled, it’ll probably be because my stomach growled loud enough that the school’s security team came to investigate assuming there was a rabid werewolf hiding in the library,” pouted Valenthia as the three of us walked out into the hallway.
“Apart from le Boursier, I have to admit I haven’t seen anyone else,” said Natalie, thoughtfully, “do you think she’s a one-woman show, when it comes to patrolling?”
“No, silly!” said Valenthia crabbily, “tell her, Kat.”
“To be honest, I was thinking exactly the same thing as her all this time,” I said. Even during the holidays, I’d never seen anyone. The halls had remained completely empty.
“Wow, how do the two of you manage to get as far as you do around here?” said Valenthia.
“Go on then?” said Natalie “Tell us.”
“She doesn’t need obvious security. A large proportion of the humans who work here have been turned into mindless zombies. She compels them to be her lookouts. The Black Banes are meant to keep her apprised too. And if that fails, which it obviously does, because there are werewolves like Ulric around, then Riskel told me that there’s some vampire spell that picks up on outside interferences,” said Valenthia. “Not to mention, le Boursier is a bloodhound herself. She can probably sense certain things as that’s what she’s accustomed to doing.”
“What do they do with intruders or if someone’s up to no good?” asked Natalie, looking to me and Valenthia.
“The tunnels underneath have dungeons,” said Valenthia.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Riskel showed me one. But most are too well-hidden for students to find them by mistake. Unless you know about them.”
“Was that before or after he charmed you?” I blurted, instantly regretting it. Valenthia hadn’t known what would happen for dating him – for all of one night. She didn’t deserve to be penalized for sharing what she’d learned that night. And yet, I realized I still bore some resentment towards her.
“Do you think they might be down there?” asked Natalie, widening her eyes, “Riskel and Lilith and Nyx?”
“No idea,” said Valenthia, “I real
ly don’t think that’s our problem right now.” I agreed with her. Unless one of the dungeons holding them, had a secret passageway straight up to our rooms, we didn’t need to meddle in more things that could only lead to trouble. My gut told me they weren’t on the premises.
“Hey, do you have a moment?” said Ulric’s voice as I spun around, so quickly that he jerked back.
“What now?” I asked. He was the last person I wanted to see. His deep golden eyes crinkled in surprise. How could he be surprised that I didn’t want to see him, after the total tool he’d been to me?
“I was wondering…”
“If you could talk to me again? Sorry, I have stuff to do. Unless this is another visit on behalf of Nadasdy or one of the profs, I don’t need to hear it,” I replied. Natalie and Valenthia both played it coy by looking everywhere but directly at me.
“It’s not but…” began Ulric.
“Then save it.”
“It’s about my sister.”
Great. The one topic that I’d look like the jerk for shutting down, no matter how he’d acted with me recently. “I’ll catch you up,” I said turning to Natalie and Valenthia, “make it quick, I really have something I need to do,” I said to Ulric, once my friends had taken off in the direction of the library.
“Can we go outside?” asked Ulric, ignoring my comment.
We walked into the courtyard and the air felt chilly, for the first time since the heat of the summer had hit. Not that I was complaining as it helped balance out the heat from the anger I felt. And it wasn’t entirely because of how juvenile Ulric had acted towards me since his sister had disappeared. Sure, it had stung that he’d really appeared to care about me and then had suddenly cooled it to such an extent that I thought I’d read too much into what wasn’t actually special between us. But now even that seemed like old news since I’d basically been requested by Nadasdy to commit a capital crime against my own best friend.
Dark Spark: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 2) Page 7
