“Another one of those visions,” whispered Natalie, grabbing my wrist.
“Kat’s there. She’s about to go inside. There’s danger.”
“What kind of danger?” I asked, my voice was hoarse as I gulped at a lump in my throat that wouldn’t go down.
“She wants power. But more than that, she wants blood,” said Valenthia, her own voice was barely above a whisper now.
“Who? Kat?” asked Natalie.
“She doesn’t want to kill her…just yet. She wants to keep her alive long enough so that she can take in all her power. After she has it, she will drink every last drop of her blood.”
“Who will do that, Kat?” asked Natalie, her eyes darted between Val and I. My high from the bottle of blood had fully dulled and I felt exposed again, like I’d done when I couldn’t remember a thing about how I’d ended up in my bed.
“No, Countess Elizabeth Bathory,” said Valenthia, still looking down, “she is luring Kat to her because with every drop of blood, she will get stronger. Eventually, she will steal her magic and her life.” Valenthia exhaled deeply. She lay back and shook herself as the vision dissipated.
“I think I know what all this is about!” I told them about Esmeralda Quartz. And my theory that Valenthia’s vision, especially this latest one, was a mirror image of the story Professor Frewin had shared at Superno. Natalie looked relieved but Valenthia remained quiet.
“I’m not so sure,” she said, “Unless Esmeralda Quartz was your identical twin.”
Chapter 17
“I want to see him,” I said watching Natalie’s eyes go wide.
“Kat, I don’t know – do you think it’s a good idea?” said Natalie as we got dressed to head out to the food hall for some dinner and then to class.
“Why is he being kept down there though? One minute he’s running security for le Boursier inside Tempus Fugit and the next he’s a prisoner?”
“Maybe he did something, like steal or…”
“Or compromise security by failing to catch an invisible student,” I completed her sentence for her, “maybe it’s my fault he’s down there.” Now I had something else to add to my list of things to feel guilty about. It was growing quickly. Life really would have been simpler for so many if I wasn’t a hybrid, wrecking their world with my presence.
“You can’t think like that,” consoled Natalie, glancing at my blooming which glowed thanks to the way I felt.
“But it’s the truth, Nat.” I said, holding myself back from adding that it was only a matter of time before someone else paid the price for my being how I was. For who I was. I grabbed a couple of bottles of blood from the fridge and decided that if I skipped my meal, I could go and see what was going on with the grunch before class, which luckily happened to be Supernatural Combat with Duquette so it wouldn’t be too much distance to cover. “I’m going to find Rugrem – the grunch. If you don’t want to come with me, I totally get it.”
“Those tunnels go on forever. It’ll be quicker if I just show you where he is,” Natalie sighed, rolling her eyes.
“Thank you – you’re the best! And you don’t have to stick around,” I promised.
Fortunately, we didn’t run into Valenthia as we made our way through the dorm and out into the hallway. I knew she’d discourage us from going down there. I wasn’t even sure why I was doing it myself. But since waking up after being in Tempus Fugit, I was being drawn to the tunnels. I suspected it was wanting to check for myself that Winnie wasn’t there, hidden away in some bleak corner. Alone and imprisoned. Although my loyalty was to Ulric, she didn’t deserve to be punished if Lilith and Nyx were out there somewhere being protected for their actions.
“The food hall’s that way,” called Clara, coming over to us as we walked in the opposite direction.
“Thanks, we’ll be right back,” I called to her, telling Natalie to keep walking under my breath. I knew that if we stopped, it would be hard to get rid of her and I could guess what she wanted – an update on whether I’d asked Moldark if he was interested in her.
Thankfully no one else approached us as we slipped into the tunnels. My pulse quickened as we made our way through and past where Duquette’s class was to be held a little later. This was the most primitive part of the academy and sparsely lit with little oil lanterns set into the slim alcoves that had been carved into the dark stone.
“Do you think Val’s visions are for real?” asked Natalie, keeping close to me in the dingey, narrow space.
“What, as in, do I think she’s making them up?”
“No but like, do they apply to you? They could just as easily be recollections from the past – about that other Quartz Witch, right?”
“I don’t know, I really hope so,” I said. “There’s something I don’t understand if they really are about me, though. Elizabeth Bathory hasn’t been seen in hundreds of years. So how is she luring me? I don’t feel lured into anything.”
“I wonder if they’re more like nightmares than visions,” said Natalie, “the blood she had can’t still be in her system. It’s been several weeks.”
“When I went to Superno, the prof there said that witch-blood can change a vampire,” I whispered, “it gives the vampire something similar to the witch’s power. I guess that’s one of the reasons it’s so sought after by vamps and so outlawed by everyone else.”
“But as far as Val’s visions go, isn’t Bathory…you know, dead?” Natalie whispered back.
“No idea,” I said. We both froze on the spot as we heard a soft clanging sound that emanated from somewhere inside the tunnels.
“There,” said Natalie, gesturing with her eyes to one of the four entrances, “that’s the one. He’s in the dungeon – at least he was when we came across him.”
“Why don’t you get back?” I offered, “Val will be wondering where we are.”
“And what do you want me to tell her – that I led you towards that creature we saw in the dungeon and left you there to get some food?” replied Natalie. She sounded peeved.
“I don’t want to place you in any danger.”
“Then shut up and stop drawing attention to us by lingering here and telling me to leave!” whispered Natalie. I hugged her and we continued through the mouth of the adjoining tunnel.
As we drew closer, I saw him. He made a clanging sound, trying repeatedly to butt his head up against the bars that held him inside the damp and tiny cell. He knelt down on the ground like he was trying to do a push-up, elongating his body enough to reach the bars with the top of his head. But it did nothing more than allow him to make that puny sound. The bars themselves were thick and black. I watched him making his fruitless effort, again and again.
“What should we do?” Natalie whispered in my ear. The grunch went completely still, as did we, knowing we’d been heard. He stood up and we jumped as he thrashed at the ground, trying to get free of his chains. He looked up and made a sound between a loud grunt and a roar. “We should go!” urged Natalie but I didn’t move.
I took in a deep breath and summoned my magic. In an instant I could feel his anger and his pain. He was also starving. He’d been down in that dungeon for several days and I quickly realized that they were going to leave him there to starve to death. I took a few steps closer.
“What are you doing?” hissed Natalie making her fear apparent.
“What are you afraid of – he’s chained up, behind bars,” I said, keeping my voice low and steady. The grunch saw me coming and began to paw at the ground, lurching his head like he was trying to buck at me. “Stop it!” I said, taking another step towards him. He froze, observing me intently. It felt odd knowing even the little I did about him having seen him before, when he hadn’t seen me. At least I didn’t think he had. “You’re Rugrem, right?” The creature took a step backwards. “It’s okay, I’m not here to harm you.”
“How do you know my name?” he slowly asked.
“Do you know who I am?” I asked. I could tell that his small
eyes were squinting to try and take me in, in the darkness.
“You’re more than a Sanguine,” he said, sniffing at the air. “I’ve smelt you before. But I have not seen you. You have witch-blood.”
“Yes,” I said, “and I want to help you. I’m Katrina Quartz.”
“The Crystal Witch!” said Rugrem, his eyes lit up.
“Yes.”
“You’re a hot commodity in vamp-town!”
“What do you mean?” I asked, not wanting to know.
“I haven’t eaten in so many days!” moaned Rugrem.
“Would this do?” I asked, remembering the bottles of blood in my bag and withdrawing one.
“Blood! My favourite!” said the grunch, licking his thin lips.
“It’s all yours if you answer a few of my questions,” I said, instantly feeling crappy. The creature was starving and I was indirectly threatening to walk away and leave him to perish unless he did what I asked. In honesty, I would have given him the bottle anyway but I needed to know if he’d seen Winnie and ask what he knew about the charms he’d guarded. I knew he wouldn’t answer a single thing if I just fed him upfront, no strings attached.
“What do you want to ask?” he said, staring entranced at the bottle in my hand.
“Have you seen a werewolf named Winnie?” I asked, “She has a black coat.”
“When?” said the grunch.
“Ever?”
“Yes. I heard her name before I saw her. I smelled her on a small group of first-year vampires who were allowed into Tempus Fugit for a few minutes one night. They later returned on order of my boss, to use the Vol,” replied Rugrem.
I immediately knew who he was talking about. Natalie’s face confirmed that she thought the same. “What were their names – the vampires?” I said.
“Lilith and Nyx. Those were the names given to me to release a charm to them. There was also a young male vampire with long, blond hair.”
Riskel. I looked to Natalie, who was watching the grunch intently. Rugrem was still watching the bottle in my hand. I gave it to him, sliding it through the gap in the bars. As I went closer, his red-lined eyes gleamed in the dim lantern light. There was a flicker of something. A thank you that was felt between us. He grabbed the bottle and ripped off the cap so hard that he almost broke the glass. He then guzzled its’ contents and only when he’d drained the last drop, did he look up.
“This is human blood!” he said, licking his lips for any remnants, “I haven’t had this in years!”
“What’s the Vol?” asked Natalie, taking a few steps closer so she could talk to him properly.
“This is exactly what I needed!” sighed the grunch, looking much more relaxed. He propped himself up lazily on the ground, no longer trying to get as close as possible to the bars. No longer trying desperately to escape.
“Now we need to know what the Vol is,” persisted Natalie.
“How to describe it…” began Rugrem, “I’m not sure what it is. But I know they use it to go to other places.” He sighed as if he was recounting a fond tale. The blood had had a bigger effect than I’d thought.
“And it’s in Tempus Fugit?” asked Natalie. The grunch nodded. “Did you see it?” she whispered to me.
“What does it look like?” I asked.
“Fire. There are flames there. But they walk through it.”
“The fireplace I saw!” I said, no longer caring if le Boursier’s former head of security heard that I’d been there. I just hoped he hadn’t been locked up because of it.
“The three vampires and the werewolf were sent far away in it. Rewarded for taking down some big witch,” said Rugrem.
So, all of our profs were in on it. All of it. I had no idea what value the bullshit charade had that Nadasdy had insisted on. Vampires were the weirdest. I understood them less than before joining Bloodline Academy. But at least that meant Winnie was alive. Although it also meant she was embroiled with the Dark Legion much deeper than Ulric could ever have realized or wanted to believe.
“Are you here because of me?” I asked. I didn’t want to know. But I needed to.
“I’m here because le Boursier messed up and she had to pin it on me to get away,” replied Rugrem.
“How did she mess up?” asked Natalie.
“She has agendas that are different from the Dark Legion. They want you alive and she wants you dead,” said Rugrem looking at me. “She knew what your three vampire friends were up to and she helped them. Then when you helped that Crystal Witch get away, she somehow convinced the rest of them to help protect the vampires involved in the kidnapping.”
“Because by being so ruthless, they showed promise,” said Natalie. “Nadasdy found a way to use them because whatever is coming, they’ll need all the fire power they can get. They didn’t want to waste that.”
“Then there was another breach,” said Rugrem looking at me, “and she knew she’d be discovered. She told them it was my weak security that the charm had left that night.”
“What would that charm have done to me?” I asked, reaching out to hold onto the bars for strength as I suddenly felt my head spin.
“Don’t touch those, they’ll know you were here!” said the grunch, coming close and staring down at me. There was genuine concern in his eyes. I moved backwards and Natalie held onto me. “The charm would have temporarily weakened you, so you wouldn’t have been able to fight back if they attacked,” said Rugrem. Like the other night when I stole that other charm.
“Why?”
“That night, that other witch was a decoy. For le Boursier, you were the eventual target. It never went the way she meant it to. Your friend thought the charm was a present for her from that blond vampire. He went along with it because by then the vampires were consumed by their desire to bleed the other witch dry.” I heard distant voices and knew we had to leave. “Don’t go,” pleaded Rugrem.
“We’ll be back,” I said without thinking.
“They’ll kill me,” Rugrem was distraught again.
“Fine, move back,” I said. Seeing at the desperation in the grunch’s eyes, I summoned some magic to pry the gates apart. Swirls of silver lifted from me and hovered through the gates. I hoped that as long as I didn’t touch them, this would just distort them enough to make it look like he’d escaped. Nothing happened. Rugrem looked more desperate than he had before. Before he’d had the courage to hope to live. Now our presence had given him hope for about two seconds before taking it away again.
“Why isn’t it working?” asked Natalie.
“I don’t know. I guess the dark magic or whatever it is, is too strong,” I said, trying again. Nothing.
“It’s time for class. If we miss it, they’ll know something’s up,” urged Natalie.
“We’ll be back,” I said to Rugrem who sighed in resignation and sat slumped on the ground. “Here, take this for now.” I withdrew my second bottle of blood and handed it to him, careful not to touch the blackened bars. Natalie gave him one of hers too. He took them, wordlessly and bowed.
“Watch yourself,” he said to me.
“I promise I’ll come back,” I said as we left him there. I hoped he’d be alive the next time I saw him.
Chapter 18
“Are the rumours true?” said Moldark, as I circled him, trying to find a weakness in his defense. He was trying the same strategy as last time, where he was up against a wall. One wrong move on his part and I had him. One misjudgement from me, and the tables would be turned in an instant. He looked intense and yet spoke calmly. Like he was catching up on the latest gossip in his spare time.
“What rumours?” I asked, trying hard to copy his stance and not let him distract me.
“About Ulric – the werewolf?”
“What about him?” I asked, completely losing myself to being caught off guard by his question.
In less than a split-second, Moldark had disappeared from my line of sight. I spun around, trying to locate him. A pair of hands grabbed my shoul
ders from behind, pinning my arms to my sides. “I heard you guys used to be a thing. But now he’s missing, so that’s done,” he spoke gently in my ear. His body was right up against mine and he had me in a grip so I couldn’t throw him off or even move. Despite the darkness of our cavernous classroom, I was thankful he wasn’t facing me as he would still have noticed my face burning from the closeness of him. Totally uncalled for.
My instinct told me to straighten things out and tell him to shove it. That Ulric and I were very much still together. Screw what anyone, including my friends, thought about long-distance relationships – not that we were physically that far away from each other. But of course, that was the last thing I could say without putting Ulric in grave danger.
“Yeah, I don’t know where he went,” I said.
“Do you miss him?” whispered Moldark. Still holding onto me tightly, he traced a finger down the side of my neck, sending a wave of both hot and cold through me.
“No, why should I?” I replied, squirming to get free. Of course, I missed him. More at that moment than I could have imagined.
“That’s enough Mr. Whitlock,” said Duquette, coming over and inspecting our positioning, “You’ve got her. We get it. If she were your opponent, I take it your plan would be to either stake her or seduce her. But as this is class, I suggest you let her go.”
Moldark loosened his hold and as I put some distance between us, I actively avoided looking at him. My arm glowed, lighting up the space, as I retreated to a corner of the room.
“Keep practicing!” ordered Duquette.
“Wow, I don’t know whether to admire you or be jealous,” said Clara, coming up to me.
“About what?” I asked getting annoyed. Then I remembered what she was talking about – Moldark.
“The last time we spoke, you were setting me up with Whitlock but things seem to be going in a different direction.”
“Clara,” I said, “I’m so sorry, I’ve had a lot on my plate but I’ll do it soon.” The last thing I needed right now was someone to replace the hatred that Lilith had felt towards me.
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