Sanguine Spell

by Ahava Trivedi

  “Hi,” I stepped back to give myself more room to breathe. I fought back the feeling that I felt the same way – and yet it had only been a few days since our last meeting.

  “I’ve got the goods,” Moldark smirked, indicating at his own backpack and leaning on the ground to show me the bottles of blood. I opened up the backpack that he’d handed me last time and showed him the empty bottles it now held.

  “Do you want this back?” I asked.

  “Yeah, why don’t we swap?” he replied and took my bag. Before handing me the full one, he rooted through it and produced a bottle, “Here.”

  “Oh, thanks,” I said, “I’ll keep it for later, I think.” I reached out for the backpack of blood.

  “Actually,” said Moldark, hesitating to give me the bag, “this is a special one, just for you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I know you’re sharing the blood with your friends when you get back to base.” Moldark met my gaze, “It’s okay, I’m not saying you shouldn’t.”

  “And?” I said, feeling a pang of discomfort from within as he continued to withhold the bag from me. It occurred to me that he’d suddenly attach some condition to providing us with blood and that it likely hadn’t been easy to sneak away what he had.

  “Here, but don’t put your bottle with the rest because it’s not marked that obviously,” said Moldark, finally offering me the bag.

  “Why, what’s different about it?” I asked, beginning to feel very uneasy as I recalled that even the last time we’d met, he’d handpicked the bottle I’d drunk from.

  “Nothing much,” said Moldark, with a slight tone of defensiveness.

  “But there must be something if you’ve reserved it only for me,” I pushed. Moldark broke away his gaze from the constant eye-contact that he’d maintained since his appearance.

  “It’s nothing, it’s just…” It was the first time ever I’d seen him lack the arrogance that I’d come define him by. If anything, he seemed completely unsure.

  “What?” I asked.

  “No, it’s kind of embarrassing, that’s all,” he said, actually looking shy.

  “Try me,” I said, equally unsure if I wanted to know what he had to say, feeling only too aware that no matter which way one cut it, he was an attractive guy. And his vulnerability made him more so.

  “I got it specially for you. It’s a higher grade specimen like the kind we had in that blood bar we once went to,” Moldark said, “it would mean a lot to me if I knew you were the one who enjoyed it.”

  What could I say to that? “Thanks,” I said, turning away as I felt my cheeks flush and the conflict that had been silently growing, since the non-date at the blood bar, began to break through in full flourish. Moldark said nothing and I found myself needing to fill the silence, “was the one I had that day a handpicked one too?”

  “Something like that,” replied Moldark.

  “Oh,” I said, cracking open the bottle and taking a sizeable sip. It eased the tension, at least from my side. It wasn’t because I needed it to be in Moldark’s company but because the Combat class would be physically gruelling.

  “I’ve been looking into setting up a meeting for you with someone pretty notable in the Sanguine Guild – don’t worry, the profs at Cachtice Academy are clueless,” said Moldark after a few moments of quiet while I finished up my bottle of blood. It was exquisite and I wanted details. What was it? Where was it from and was it possible to get more. It was the same as the one before but this time I wasn’t starving so I could really taste the complex notes.

  “Wow, thank you!” I replied, licking the last remnants of blood from the corners of my mouth. I wanted to know how he knew vamps so high up in the Guild. Maybe it was a trap and the so-called notable member was someone that wanted me dead. I wanted so much to trust Moldark. He’d done nothing to make me question him, other than being a full-blooded Sanguine with connections. And even that was something he appeared to be using to help me catch Kellum Bathory.

  “I’ll let you know more as I do the next time we meet,” said Moldark and before he could ask me to stream with him, which I felt that he would, the same way I could feel Ulric’s emotions, I said:

  “I better get going, I have a class I can’t miss.” I flinched, realizing I had given away far too much about my own refuge and I couldn’t get over how easily it had happened. I hoped Silverstone Academy or its’ location weren’t known to any vampires other than Natalie and Valenthia.

  “Nice to see you’re continuing your education too,” was all Moldark said and in a way that was worse. If he’d have questioned me, at least I could have done somewhat of a salvage job. That he didn’t poke and prod gave me absolutely nothing to go on about whether my admission was something he would take back with him. I anxiously waved him off as he left without any more said. Well that fell completely on its’ face with no warning. The blood had loosened my tongue and I decided that I wouldn’t take a drink again in front of Moldark or anyone else I didn’t share a dorm room with. Not while there was so much at stake.

  I streamed to the large tree that allowed me re-entry into Silverstone Academy, all the while feeling like I’d committed a corporate crime. Did the Dark Legion know about the academy or had I taken less than thirty seconds to betray a secret that had been so well-kept for hundreds of years? And there I had been feeling Valenthia was the one who’d been risking life and limb to quench her blood thirst. I was so much worse because where she may have risked herself, I’d just put the entire Silver Shadow student population at risk. There was no way around it, I’d have to inform Principal Silverstone of my slip-up. And if there were consequences, so be it.

  Chapter 14

  Inside, the academy felt calm and peaceful compared to the forest. I headed straight for our room where because we didn’t have a fridge, I filled the bathtub with ice cold water as I’d done before and let the bottles float free. Of course, this was largely inconvenient as one of us had to replace the water every couple of hours as it warmed up and now that Natalie and Valenthia were back to being out cold during the day, that task fell squarely to me in those hours. I imagined it was what having a newborn baby must have been like, needing attention every few hours. But it wasn’t like we had a choice. As it turned out, all three of us needed nourishment and unlike what Natalie had first told me, I guessed to ease me into the world of drinking blood, food alone really didn’t cut it. I tried taming a few wild strands of hair in the bathroom mirror but soon gave up. From what I could tell from the portrait, Esmeralda Quartz too had had the same hair I did. Only on her it looked regal instead of out of control. I headed back outside as I checked the time and realized it was almost the start of class.

  I peeked into the huge marbled room with the fountain where I’d spotted Esyn and Willhelm the other day, looking for Natalie and Valenthia. Not seeing them, I assumed they were finishing up their other class and would head out straight from there. What I didn’t bargain for, was bumping straight into Ulric as I turned around.

  “Hey,” said Ulric in that awkward way that he always did after we’d had an argument.

  “Hi,” I replied, wanting to walk away but staying put. The first thought that went through my head was that I was glad I’d already hidden the bottles of blood in our room. Whatever Natalie and Valenthia would say about my sneaking off and meeting up with Moldark, I knew we’d be cool once they had some blood. Ulric wouldn’t understand. He couldn’t because he wasn’t like us. He didn’t need blood to feel truly alive.

  “How’s it going?” he asked.

  “Great, you?” As much as I cared for him, I felt my resentment mounting towards his sister. She was always the one that managed to come between us, no matter where we were at.

  “I’m okay. Are you going to the Combat lesson that’s now being held outside?” asked Ulric, tousling his hair.

  “Yeah,” I pretended not to notice how warm and inviting his eyes were, despite our not being on the up and up recent
ly. He was completely the opposite of Moldark. And there was no part of me that wished I was anywhere else – it wasn’t like that. When I thought about it, I struggled to explain exactly what I had been feeling towards Moldark. I suspected it was a combination of feeling indebted to him for helping me out as well as that – and I really hated to admit this – he was the most popular guy in any school he went to. I had never had the most popular guy notice that I existed let alone lavish the kind of attention on me that Moldark did. I was the perpetual wallflower of our now defunct coven. And at Bloodline Academy, well I was just constantly trying to stay alive there. Not that popularity meant much but it was like it was a fascinating spectacle in itself. I caught up with my own train of thought and stopped it immediately. Here I was, standing next to my boyfriend whom I hadn’t spoken to in days and yet I was thinking about Moldark. Again.

  “Mind if I walk you?” asked Ulric, briefly locking his amber eyes with mine before looking away.

  “Sure,” I said as we proceeded through the ballroom and past the resplendent fountain. I’d hoped he wouldn’t be attending the class but apparently that was too much to ask for.

  “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” remarked Ulric, gazing at the fountain.

  “It’s perfect,” I agreed, watching the wolf and the woman gaze out at the world, having declared their love and by doing so, saving an entire supernatural species from extinction.

  “Quite a departure from what I learned about my heritage as a werewolf – our heritage.”

  I knew immediately that he was including Winnie. “I’m sorry,” was all I could say.

  “If only she’d stayed true to who we are. And always were,” said Ulric in a contemplative and regretful tone.

  “It’s not your fault!” I stopped and grabbed his arm to make sure he knew I meant every word. My blooming began to tingle and even before the silver swirls began to rise from it, Ulric instinctively shot a glance at my arm and smiled.

  “I know I way overreacted about seeing you with that creep,” said Ulric as his only way to acknowledge my comment.

  “Principal Silverstone wants me to make contact with the Sanguine Guild – and she wants me to do it without getting myself killed,” I reiterated, “that’s a tough order.”

  “I know that too,” said Ulric, “but he makes my skin crawl. I don’t trust him and neither should you.”

  That was something we could both agree on. Even before I’d met up with Moldark for the first time, I had had an intangible sense of something that had made me feel uncomfortable. And continued to do so. “I don’t,” I replied, “but I need to give him a reason to trust me.”

  “Hmm,” was Ulric’s response. “When we were kids – Winnie and I – I was too young when we ended up being recruited by the Black Banes who would eventually lead us to Bloodline Academy.”

  “How old were you?” I asked, realizing that I didn’t even know about Ulric’s childhood. I’d told him bits and pieces of mine, especially as I made better sense of it since that short time that my own mom, Sophie-Anne, had re-entered my life. But Ulric had always listened and never offered up anything about his own life so I’d never pushed him. I knew there must have been a lot he remembered but figured it was too painful to talk about.

  “I was three, I think. Winnie was about six. She’s at least three years older than me. But the truth is, we don’t really know. It’s give or take a couple of years. We became orphaned over night. Much like you thought you were.”

  “They didn’t even tell you how old you are?” I couldn’t believe the cruelty or bear to think about the conditions they must have been kept in.

  “The only thing of consequence as far as the Dark Legion was concerned was that we be groomed as Black Banes. Nothing else mattered. That’s why I don’t have a surname either.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I said tearing up. The gentle whooshing of the water from the fountain made my voice almost inaudible. It brought an ironic sense of peace to a situation that stirred up so much sorrow.

  “Being a bit older, Winnie’s memory was a lot better than mine. Because of what she’d seen and experienced, she always took the stance that our parents and pack should have protected us.”

  “But you felt differently,” I knew he did.

  “It was more an instinct than anything concrete. We were always treated like we were nothing unless we helped take down light magic. But at the core of myself I knew from the time I can remember, that it was wrong.”

  “That’s because there’s a light inside of you,” I said, taking Ulric’s hand, “you’re a good person, wolf – you know what I mean.”

  “Thanks,” Ulric laughed, “but when I was taken in by these Silver Shadows – the real supernatural pack, not the one being pushed in and around Superno by Pearl, Principal Silverstone showed me something I never knew about our history, Winnie’s and mine.”

  “What?” I asked, feeling comforted that we were back to ourselves again.

  “She did this thing with me. I guess it was a magical way of testing my true lineage,” said Ulric, “like to see whether I was a true Black Bane or from a completely different pack originally.”

  “What did she find?” I asked feeling Ulric’s excitement before he said anything.

  “We were part of the bloodline of original Silver Shadows that settled in New Orleans. Not the honorary ones but the real deal from here that left and resettled in Louisiana.”

  “Wow, but your coat…” I said, thinking of the glossy ebony coat that I’d come to know him by. The coat that to everyone else defined a Black Bane but to me, felt safe and offset his eyes which were the color of the richest honey.

  “Yep, it looked like I had always been a Black Bane, right?” mused Ulric as I nodded. “You’ll see in a few minutes!” he announced. “Turned out I was never a Black Bane, it was a dark magic that had been put on me – Winnie too and many others from various packs around the area so no one questioned it.”

  “A charm?” I asked aghast.

  “Yes, and here’s the interesting thing – witches and warlocks have the ability to see us for who we really are. There’s some spell that can be done to reveal our true nature,” said Ulric passionately.

  “The Veritable Spell!” I cried out, immediately grateful that we were alone as my voice echoed off the smooth, light walls.

  “You know it?” asked Ulric.

  “I’m not an incantation witch so I only know of it. Lorna was a huge fan of theory but not practice.”

  “Well, guess what? The spell is only ever conjured if a witch suspects the other to be presenting themselves as something they’re not.”

  “So, no one ever tried it!” I said.

  “Exactly!” confirmed Ulric, “Because every time we’ve been seen by witches and warlocks, the expectation was that we were dark and evil. Not even Professor Frewin, who’s been so accepting of me, even thought in that direction.”

  “Wow, this is big!” I exclaimed.

  “Not that I blame him – I mean, my own sister has always assumed we were meant to bring darkness.”

  “But maybe what it’s helped me to see is that Winnie made the choice she made, through how she best made sense of the world, being raised on fear and hopelessness,” said Ulric and for once since his sister had gone missing, I felt a peace exuding from him. “If I had been in her shoes, I would have made exactly the same choice as her.” I nodded, not mentioning how he too had been raised in exactly the same environment and yet was as different from her as they came. Quite literally like night and day. But I was no one to take away the little comfort that Ulric had allowed himself. And for that reason, I refrained from sharing Safi’s latest revelation – that Winnie and the Black Banes had suddenly disappeared from hunting Superno students.

  Ulric put an arm gently around my waist and pulled me close in a hug. I hadn’t known I’d been missing it so much until I was wrapped in his warm embrace. As silver swirls of my magic enveloped us, I found myself hesitating t
o even move a muscle. We’d finally found that ease between ourselves that had sorely lacked of late and I wanted to hold onto it for as long as possible. I closed my eyes and pictured us somewhere far away from all of the chaos, madness and impending sense of doom, although I couldn’t really imagine where that might be.

  As he held me closer, I felt the jarring sensation of my gums beginning to itch. I tentatively brushed my tongue over my front teeth and there they were. Two pointed fangs, like needles poised and waiting to extract some unsuspecting soul’s life essence. What the hell? Well, that was my bliss ruined. My heart beat like a drum in my ears as I roughly pulled away from him and turned around so he couldn’t see.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Ulric, startled by the force with which I’d pushed us apart.

  “Nothing,” I mumbled, clapping a hand to my mouth so no one else would catch a glimpse. What I found really strange, was that this had never happened while drinking blood. The only other time had been with that human when we’d been in the Louisianan forest and I’d been so charged with the blood Valenthia had given me and my own rage. And the last thing I’d wanted to do was to attack or feed from Ulric. The thought hadn’t even entered my mind.

  “Woah!” remarked Ulric circling around to face me.

  “I have no idea why that happened…I’m so embarrassed!” I turned another semi-circle away from him. Much to my annoyance, he followed me again.

  “It’s okay,” he grinned.

  “It’s not,” I admitted, “you’ve been tormented by vampires all your life and your girlfriend is…” I didn’t know how to finish my sentence. Of course, Ulric knew I was a vampire the day he met me. But I guess it had only struck me that there were parts of me that I wasn’t proud of. Or maybe proud wasn’t the best word, I guess it was about being ready. I wasn’t ready to have fangs pop out like that with zero control.

  “My girlfriend is amazing,” said Ulric, looking into my eyes and I knew he meant it. I took some deep breaths and tried to feel grounded, despite the hot, headiness of the blood that coursed through my veins. The blood Ulric knew nothing about and wouldn’t have thought me so amazing if he did. And yet it was part of who I was. The pointed tips that protruded, grazing my bottom lip, began to recede. Again, I wished I knew what had tamed them.