Pride X Familiar ReVamp (Pride X ReVamp Book 1)

by Albert Ruckholdt

  “And I’m truly happy for them.” I smiled at her. “I keep them in my top drawer.”

  The utensils in her hands trembled, though her face was perfectly under control. “If you ever tell anyone about them, I swear I’ll stick another knife into you.”

  “Then you’ll have to compensate me with another pair of your racy black panties.”

  Caprice exhaled loudly. It sounded like an angry whoosh. Amazingly, she was still expressionless. Well, she’d had plenty of practice being around me for the last seven months.

  I gave her my customary cheery smile. “Someday, you’ll have to wear those panties for me again. Until then, I’m keeping them safe and sound.”

  “You’re incorrigible.”

  The sound of crashing metal on the ground below made me look over the edge of the balcony railing we were sitting beside.

  On the first floor of the cafeteria, a girl had a dropped her food tray on the ground. It didn’t look like an accident to me since five other girls faced in a crescent. They wore the white uniforms of third year seniors. The girl was wearing the midnight blue uniform of a second year student.

  Midnight blue, just like mine.

  I narrowed my eyes and focused on the pins hanging off her jacket’s left breast.

  A Familiar of the Sora Pride.

  I watched her squat down and patiently pick up the contents of her tray.

  Some of the food she could recover, while others she couldn’t.

  Her cup had spilled liquid all over the floor between the tray and one of the angry, white uniformed seniors. The senior shouted at the girl, demanding to know how the girl was going to compensate her for her stained uniform.

  “Who is that?” I asked. “The girl they’re bothering.”

  “Nobody,” Caprice answered. She went back to eating.

  I swept my gaze over the students seated at the first level. Most of them were looking away. Nobody was looking to intervene. It was much the same story on the second and third levels.

  I said, “She’s a Familiar like us.”

  “And she’s new here, just like you.”

  “So you do know who she is.”

  Caprice stopped eating. “Her name is Maya Khayman afil Sora. That means she belongs to the Sora Pride. She’s a second year student in Class Two Bee.”

  “If she’s new, does that mean she was only recently identified as a Familiar?”

  Caprice was quiet for a moment. “No, not really.”

  “Oh?” I murmured. I shifted my attention. “So who’s the witch in white that’s harassing her? I have to say she does look familiar.”

  My eyes widened as I realized who she was.

  It’s her—it’s really her. Holy Smokes! I forgot she attended this Academy.

  Caprice was peering at me. “She’s nobody you want to get involved with.”

  “Maybe I do—no, I definitely do! I can’t let this opportunity slip by.”

  I pushed my chair back and stood up.

  Caprice looked worried as I walked away. “Caelum, don’t do it. You don’t need the trouble.”

  I ignored her and half ran to the spiral stairs leading down to the first level. After descending the steps two at a time, I walked up to the girl called Maya. Because I approached the white uniformed female students from behind, I was certain they wouldn’t see me until the moment I stepped between them.

  Maya finished picking up her tray. The angry girl reached out to slap the tray out of Maya’s hands.

  I slipped through the standing girls, interposed myself between Maya and her opponent, and barely succeeded in diverting the girl’s hand.

  I asked, “Don’t you think you’re being a little unfair? It is five against one.”

  The girl looked stunned, then focused a look of disgust upon me.

  Was I a maggot that had crawled out of the wrong refuse pit?

  Was she going to reach for a can of insecticide?

  Was she going to step on me?

  With the short skirt of her uniform, that was something to look forward too.

  I gave her a sunny smile.

  Her disgusted look deepened. “Who the Hell are you?”

  “Someone who doesn’t like seeing beautiful girls fight.”

  “Oh, that’s lame.” She couldn’t possibly look any more disgusted.

  I kept smiling. “No, I mean it. You could crawl a mile through mud and still look picture perfect to me.”

  “Ugh—”

  “Abuse me, kick me, you’ll still shine like a radiant sun before me.”

  “Eh—?”

  “Your hair is like finely spun gold, truly that of a goddess amongst the stars.”

  “Huh—?”

  “Not to mention your three sizes are out of this world.”

  “What—?”

  “Ninety three, fifty five, eighty. Am I close?”

  She scowled as she leaned forward. “How the Hell do you know that?”

  “Don’t you know? You’re ranked number seventeen on the Girls of Island Three Billboard. Personally I’d rate you much higher than that. You’re definitely top ten material.”

  “What? I never heard of that!”

  I frowned dramatically. I could tell she was lying. “Really? How can that be? Every girl knows about the Billboards. There’s one for every Island of Pharos, and they’re categorized into two groups—high school girls and college girls.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “You really don’t know about the billboards? The authorities have been trying to shut them down for years.”

  Her gaze darted about, then she stepped up to me.

  She whispered angrily, “I never gave them my dimensions. How the Hell do you know them?”

  “Back in my old school I used to have friends in high places…or should I say low places?”

  At that moment I happened to look down.

  Oh my. Did I just see what I just saw?

  I studied intently what I could see on the ground.

  She raised a fist between us, blocking my view but I’d seen enough.

  “Even so,” she hissed, “you had no right blurting them out.”

  “But was I wrong or was I right?”

  “Wrong—it’s ninety five, fifty five, eighty!”

  My eyes widened in amazement. “Wow…they’re even bigger this year! I have to buy that calendar they put out. Will you autograph it for me?”

  She crossed her arms protectively over her chest. “You foul lecher. I’ll have you reported to the Student Council—”

  “Veronica’s Secret.”

  She blinked. “Huh?”

  “They’re from the summer range right? Even though there’s no summer here on Pharos since the colony is just a bunch of rocks, they still advertise them as the summer range.”

  I watched her face tinge with a pink hue. “Wh—what?”

  I searched my memory. “Part of the young adult line. What is it called again?” I snapped my fingers. “Celestial Girl! That’s it.”

  I saw the penny drop behind her eyes.

  Then she turned bright red.

  She stuttered and trembled. “How—how—how do you know—?”

  “The water on the floor. I saw them reflected in the puddle you’re standing on.”

  Her neck bent down so fast her golden hair billowed upwards like a fountain.

  Then she shrieked and stepped back.

  “How dare you!”

  I waved at her. “No need to praise me. It’s just a special talent I have. I really do approve. White suits you really well, though I believe black is more your color.”

  She screamed and slapped me so hard I actually flew sideways before hitting the ground.

  Damn she was strong for an Aventis.

  I slowly rolled onto my back, then aimed my gaze at her skirt.

  She slapped her hands down around her legs and pressed her thighs together.

  She scowled. “I’m reporting you to the Student Council. I’ll have you publicly reprimanded.”
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  I raised a hand toward her.

  “Please,” I begged her. “One more peek. If it’s one more I’ll happily bear a public hanging.”

  I wasn’t prepared for what she did next.

  Even overclocking wouldn’t have saved me.

  The pain of her heel on my crotch bent me in half.

  I thought I would spout bile as she ground her shoe into my jewels.

  Why the Hell is she wearing high heels and not sensible shoes like every other girl in this school?

  Her skirt fluttered up, but even the sight of her high cut, white silk panties wasn’t enough to warrant this much pain.

  Even so, I made sure to save and file away the memory as adeptly as I could for future reference.

  She cried out with tears in her eyes, “I’ll have you expelled.”

  Damn, I made her cry. I truly am wretched.

  She finally stopped grounding my jewels and stomped off. Correction, she ran off.

  Her four companions ran after her.

  I rolled around on the floor for a bit.

  Regardless of being a Familiar, pain is still pain.

  Even if I could handle it better than a Regular, but not as well as an Aventis, it hurt like Hell. My manhood felt crushed beyond repair.

  I’d have to inspect the damage later.

  Then I saw a pair of slender, shapely legs in black silk stockings step up to me.

  For a moment I forgot the pain burning away the lower half of my body.

  The girl was holding a tray, peering down at me with a winter’s gaze.

  She was pretty, and I’d noticed from before that she was sporting some winning curves.

  But right now her chilling visage was taking center stage in my mind.

  That and her gorgeous legs.

  “Hello,” I muttered weakly, still bearing the brunt of the vicious assault on my lower extremities. “You must be Lady Maya. We haven’t been formally introduced.”

  I raised a trembling hand toward her.

  “My name’s Caelum—”

  I stopped when I saw her raise the tray high over her head.

  I gasped when I saw her fling it down.

  I glimpsed a pair of violet, high cut panties with cute little bows tied at her hips.

  Ah, the majestic design of Celestial Girl Aurora – from last year’s spring range.

  I took the image with me as the tray slammed into my face and knocked me into darkness.

  Reflections – 2.

  The Prides called them Artifacts.

  To the people of Pharos and the colonized systems under the control of the Prides, these Artifacts were powerful and mysterious devices found decades after the Cataclysm had torn our little corner of the galaxy apart. That is indeed true, since the Artifacts were fished out of the thick cloud of the Hurakan Nebula by numerous starships built for this kind of salvage.

  Artifacts were also referred to as Fragments.

  This is because Artifacts came in two packages.

  An Artifact could be referred to as a Fragment if it was incomplete, that is, it was missing pieces that denied it becoming a full armor, a weapon, or some other category of device.

  An Artifact could also be referred to as a Fragment if it was locked down, and this affected those Artifacts that possessed a Core.

  Either way, Fragments and Artifacts were powerful enough to be nearly unstoppable by conventional means. For that reason, the Prides chose to keep them many of them locked away in secret vaults throughout the asteroid colony of Pharos, and probably elsewhere at covert installations deep within the Hurakan Nebula.

  Another reason was that the Prides didn’t trust us Familiars, and we Familiars were the only ones that could operate a Fragment.

  That being the case, what were Familiars? What made us so special?

  Genetically we were almost identical to humans but there were differences, and those differences were what the Fragments reacted to. However, before Arisa’s blood triggered my awakening as a Familiar, my genetic sequencing looked unremarkably Regular.

  During the bi-annual medical examination conducted at the school, I had recorded negative values when it came to deciding my compatibility to one of the eight Symbiotic strains. What I didn’t know was that there were two tests, one for deeming eligibility to a Pride, and one for deeming eligibility as a Familiar.

  Two days before Caprice stabbed me on the rooftop, my impending Awakening as a Familiar became known to the Prides.

  Two of those Prides moved to acquire me – the Raynars and the Lanfears.

  What resulted was a skirmish that led many to believe the Raynars wanted me dead.

  The truth was a little different, but I won’t spoil the fun at this point.

  Because I was ‘bonded’ or ‘branded’ to the Lanfear Symbiote my abilities wouldn’t fully manifest unless I absorbed the blood of a Lanfear Aventis. If I drank the blood of other Prides, I wouldn’t power up to the same degree.

  I did say drink the blood of other Prides.

  The truth is we Familiars have one trait we share with fictional vampires.

  We can drink blood and draw nutrients from it.

  At first the thought of drinking human blood turned my stomach. The thought of drinking Aventis blood made me want to slit my wrists.

  But I guess things changed, or rather, I changed.

  Little by little, I stopped hating the Aventis as much as I did.

  But I digress.

  That wasn’t what I wanted to talk about.

  I was talking about the drinking of Aventis blood.

  Specifically, I was talking about drinking the blood of Arisa Imreh Lanfear.

  My Awakening had triggered genetic and physiological changes. One of those was my ability to extend and retract my canines. I have to admit that was the creepiest change of all, and it made my skin crawl the one time I drew them in and out while watching myself in a mirror.

  There were a handful of occasions when I made use of this new ability. I plunged my canines into Arisa’s tender flesh, and drank her warm blood as it flowed into my mouth. However, most of the time Arisa’s blood was injected into me whenever the Lanfear researchers wanted to test out the abilities of my Fragment with my body fully boosted by her blood.

  I’ve mentioned Arisa a handful of times already.

  Who is she?

  She is an Aventis, and the niece of the Lanfear Pride’s Primogen, Yolanda Imreh Lanfear.

  Yet she is someone who shares my pain.

  She is someone I can connect with, even if only on one level.

  That’s because Arisa lost her parents in the explosion that took the lives of my parents and hundreds of others.

  They had been on the dock awaiting the arrival of the super freighter.

  I was ten at the time, close to turning eleven.

  She was seventeen, close to turning eighteen.

  The moment the bomb on that freighter exploded, the red string of fate tied us together.

  Chapter 2.

  (Haruka)

  Caelum didn’t return to class until the second lecture after lunch break.

  By then I’d heard about his violent altercation with the Princess of the Third Years – Prissila Ventiss Avenir.

  I had met Prissila shortly after I transferred.

  As a fellow Avenir, she felt it prudent to introduce herself.

  I didn’t think of her as a bad person.

  She acted like a princess, and everyone treated her like royalty, but that was to be expected of the eldest daughter of the Ventiss Family.

  Did I mention she was rich?

  Filthy rich.

  I envied her.

  Well, only her money.

  So, needless to say, I was completely dumbfounded when I heard Caelum had sent the Princess running away in tears before a packed cafeteria audience.

  I was even more shocked to find out he was recuperating in the infirmary.

  Familiars heal quickly, though not as quickly as Aventis
.

  But his injuries must have been severe for him to be brought to the infirmary.

  However, what really stunned me was how he went about getting injured while offending the Princess.

  When Siobhan told me what she’d witnessed, I slammed my forehead into my smart desk.

  “I can’t believe he did that,” I whined. “What a truly horrible thing to do.”

  Siobhan giggled then laughed wildly.

  I looked up to see my friend hugging herself like a strait jacket.

  “Ah Haruka, you should have seen the Princess’s face. It was priceless.”

  I thought Siobhan was being overly dramatic, but my friend disliked Prissila with a passion. However, Siobhan’s laughter was cut short when the bell for the resumption of class chimed throughout the school.

  Caelum returned to class after being absent for a lesson.

  He had a bandage over his nose and his face was visibly bruised.

  He gave the teacher the slip the nurse had written out for him, bowed politely, then walked to the rear of the classroom and sat down at his smart desk.

  I didn’t miss the wry look Caprice gave him as if to say, ‘you reap what you sow’.

  Neither did I miss the smile of victory Caelum gave her in return.

  I tried putting the matter out of mind, and barely succeeded.

  But when classes ended for the day – a day which felt like it had been stretched to breaking point – there was another surprise in store for us.

  A Student Council announcement was made.

  Caelum Desanto, and two others were called to the Student Council’s chambers.

  I peeked at him over my shoulder and caught the look of surprise on his face.

  Then Caprice touched his arm, and gave him an unreadable look.

  Well, it was unreadable to me, but Caelum appeared to read meaning in it.

  He nodded faintly and stood up after collecting his school issued carry-bag.

  I watched him walk out of the classroom on his way to face the Student Council.

  #

  (Caelum)

  I followed the map on my palm-slate and arrived at the Student Council’s office after a five minute walk.

  Galatea was a big school.

  Very big.

  In fact, Galatea sat on the equivalent of an entire district block.