Sanguine Spell

by Ahava Trivedi

  “We should get to class,” I breathed, hoping my eyes had gone back to their usual midnight blue rather than the scorching red that I was sure they had become. “Do I look okay, now?”

  “If you mean, more like a Crystal Witch than a Sanguine hottie – then yeah,” smiled Ulric, as he took my hand and we walked out into the hallway and towards the double doors.

  We went back into the Unterlicht Forest and I felt a rush of tension mixed with a very bizarre longing. I was so glad to be there with Ulric, waiting for the rest of our class to join us. And yet, amidst the piney smell of the nearby trees, I tried to sniff out the traces of where Moldark and I had been together a short while ago.

  “How’s it going?” asked Willhelm, bursting through seemingly thin air as the doors we’d come through weren’t visible to the outside world anymore. His platinum hair almost provided its’ own light and his eyes shone equally bright as he gazed in our direction. I took it he was speaking mainly to Ulric.

  “Good, good,” replied Ulric. Sibel materialized next and gave each of us a nod.

  “Hey!” said Xanthe, announcing her presence as she gazed tentatively at the environment.

  “Hi,” I said, feeling happy to have her there but wondering if she ventured outside the academy much.

  “It’s weird to be having this class here,” remarked Glennis as she arrived with Esyn and stood next to us.

  “It’s kind of exciting isn’t it?” said Xanthe, looking about.

  “Do we pair up for this class?” I asked.

  “Yes, but normally one person gets to form a trio as there are always an odd number of us,” replied Glennis, her gorgeous yellow eyes, glowed like those of a tiger making me think she could very well have had some of that particular shifter as part of her heritage. “I guess now that you three are here, that problem will be solved.”

  “But there are four of us,” I said, squeezing Ulric’s hand.

  “I’m not here to participate in the class with you guys,” said Ulric with a bemused look, “I’m here to stand guard.”

  “Oh, I hadn’t realized,” I said feeling stupid at how little I knew about my own boyfriend’s schedule. The rest of the class began to arrive in spurts of two or three students, from the same invisible portal.

  “Yeah, Ulric’s ultra advanced in his training,” mused Rhonen, “but I suspect he’s a natural. If we ever need a substitute teacher, he could do it.”

  A few of our classmates, though I was now unsure who was a guard and who was attending the class, laughed good naturedly and a couple of the guys, including Rhonen high-fived Ulric. Professor Norden turned up and as I was about to question someone if they’d seen Natalie and Valenthia, they materialized as the last students to join the class.

  “Alright then,” said Professor Norden and the chatter died down “By now, most if not all of you have ventured into Unterlicht Forest before.” A few whispers arose from the class. “But obviously, that was during our designated trips outside to explore rather than to engage in full-on training here.”

  “I’ve trained here before,” Willhelm cut in, “with my brother.”

  “Please pair up and we’ll get started,” said Professor Norden, ignoring Willhelm’s comment. Something about the way he carried himself, likely his haughty, better than everyone else manner, reminded me of Moldark. I inwardly scolded myself for thinking about him. Yet again. Ulric and a few other Silver Shadows I hadn’t seen before – probably in other years – took their places in a circle around the rest of us. I counted eight of them in total, including Ulric.

  “I was wondering,” said Xanthe, “would you mind if we paired up?”

  “Not at all,” I smiled, feeling relief coming from her which was interesting as Ulric was the only one I could feel in that way and that was because he’d granted me permission. Glennis asked Natalie to pair up with her and Valenthia stared hard at both of them, as did Sibel who was still unpartnered.

  “Maybe it would be good to mix it up?” said Natalie, trying to avert a conflict.

  “That’s what I thought!” said Glennis, moving a little closer to Natalie. Sibel sighed and moved up to Valenthia who looked anything but impressed.

  As soon as everyone in the class was paired off, I saw our eight guardians’ bodies begin to reverberate with the energy of their shifts from their human to their wolf forms. I was only interested in watching Ulric as he’d said that his shift would be something to look out for since his rebirth as a Silver Shadow. His body vibrated and I wasn’t sure if it was just my anticipation that made it feel like this time, his shift was taking longer than it used to. His gaze was fixed on me but his concentration was far away, like he was looking through me. I watched him in full-blown awe and had the impulse to dip into his mind to feel what he felt at the moment of transformation. I was surprised to find that there were no thoughts there at all but a feeling of utter peace.

  As he shifted into his wolf body, I let out a gasp when I saw him. His formerly glossy black coat was now as stark and yet beautiful as the snow-capped mountains of Europe. His amber eyes were the same but offset by the polar sheen of his new coat in the most-breathtaking way. For a second, I found myself missing the glossy ebony wolf I’d come to know and, well you get the point. Then I reminded myself what he’d told me – that the black coat had all been a smoke and mirrors façade to convince him to turn to the dark side. The one I was beholding in his Silver Shadow form, was the real Ulric. And he was no less gorgeous.

  “I’d like to resume from where we left off, last lesson,” Professor Norden chimed in and I startled out of my reverie, “of course, our three new students will need to be guided so excellent choice, pairing with your Silver Shadow classmates.”

  Sibel raised her coffee-coloured eyebrows in a slight look of superiority and her icy eyes gleamed with a smugness that Valenthia would have scowled at had she seen it. Xanthe smiled at me reassuringly, as she pulled absentmindedly at a blonde curl, straightening it out way past her waist and letting it bounce back to shoulder length again. I was really starting to like her and wondered if in time, we’d all become besties. Well, maybe not Sibel and Esyn and, only if we had that kind of time.

  “How are we supposed to teach when we’re wolves and they’re not?” asked Sibel, sounding genuine in her question.

  “If you remember, the last lesson was about defense tactics so there needn’t be any words involved, only instinct,” replied Professor Norden thoughtfully, “if anything, the three of your cross-species pairings are in an excellent position as you’re getting a more realistic practice.”

  “Good point!” mused Xanthe, Glennis and Natalie nodded too. I couldn’t help but laugh at how stiffly Sibel and Valenthia engaged with one another. I quickly wiped the smirk away as they both turned their attention towards me.

  “Guardians, take your positions please!” instructed Professor Norden, “Students who can shift, please do so now.” There was a flurry of collective activity as each student – barring us three vamps – began to transform into their wolf selves. I watched on, curious to see each of my classmates in their shifted forms. Xanthe transformed into the same stunning, snowy tone that each of the guardians were now sporting. Her eyes watched me with pride, like two beautiful emeralds, sparkling in their unspoken but immense power. Glennis and Sibel had shifted too and when I looked around, we were surrounded by a strong and powerful pack that consisted of our class and the guardians. I felt their protection upon me and I guessed Natalie did too, whereas Valenthia looked a little unsure.

  “Aren’t they stunning?” remarked Natalie, picking up on our friend’s unease. Valenthia nodded silently and I realized that what I’d mistaken for apprehension was actually awe. Her lilac eyes shimmered in the night, taking in each impressive figure that popped out from the dreary and dense backdrop.

  Xanthe gently nuzzled at my hand with her nose and as our professor gave instructions to the werewolves charged with protecting us and laid out the parameter that we cou
ld stage our combat lesson within, everyone began to disperse. Being where we were, in the midst of the rugged terrain gave the scene an edge of realism that Professor Duquette’s classes had lacked on retrospection. It definitely beat being stuck in a musty underground cavern of rocks.

  I followed Xanthe’s lead and she padded into a thicket of trees. She then stopped and gestured with her head for me to keep moving. “Wait, who’s the attacker?” I asked, to which Xanthe appeared to think for a while before she let out a short and gruff bark. It wasn’t aggressive but I recognized that she wanted me to defend myself so I carried on running as she stayed on her spot, allowing us to get some distance before she sought me out.

  I noticed how the wide tree I’d hidden behind was marked up by some sort of rough etching that had been made into it’s tough and gnarled trunk. I sprung back, removing my hands from the wood as it intuitively dawned on me that this was some kind of a symbol of dark magic. Whatever spell it was meant to cast didn’t appear to be active but its’ presence made me more curious than creeped out. I imagined that Safi would have reacted very differently.

  Hearing a howl not too far away, I recognized that it had come from one of my classmates. I sensed that Xanthe was near, about half a dozen trees away, to my right. I crept around the other side of the trunk and made a run for it and within a couple of seconds, so did she. I picked up speed and streamed a loop, back towards the same tree I’d sheltered under and she easily sensed my direction. She was good. I guessed it was better for her to be doing this with someone who wouldn’t attack or defend themselves in exactly the same way as she would. We played our game of cat and mouse for about ten minutes and I was glad to have had the blood from before. Pure Crystal Witches weren’t the best runners and without my Sanguine side to give me this sort of boost, I would have been caught and cornered within less than a minute.

  I was about to close our gap so we could practice our more combative moves when I heard an absolutely hair-raising scream in the distance. My heart began to race and I had so many thoughts running through my mind that it felt like I was being bombarded from every angle. I saw a few of my classmates, their shifted selves burst from their own hiding places around me and stealthily bounded past, trying to locate the source of the disturbing sound. I listened out, centring myself as much as possible before moving. I needed to know what had happened and yet I didn’t.

  My mind stopped having its’ own thoughts and instead, I began to stream. For the moments I was in that state, I felt my own panic and urgency suspend itself as I shot through the air, eluding space and time. Peace fell over me and the only fight within me was the temptation to keep streaming until my body’s reserves were exhausted. But that would have been the easy thing to do. The cowardly thing. The screaming had given way to a low octane wail which was even more unsettling because it wreaked of despair. I felt it in my bones before I saw it. Valenthia was flat out on the ground with Sibel who’d shifted back, leaning over her and crying.

  Chapter 15

  I rushed over to Valenthia who was now convulsing in the dirt. I instinctively pushed Sibel aside and bent down to see what had happened. Natalie too, parted our crowd of classmates who’d gathered and shot me a look of sheer ashen terror. The second I got a proper look at her, I knew she had been mauled. Blood was steadily gushing from the wound on her abdomen and I knew that if I didn’t find a way to stop it, she’d literally turn to rubble right before our eyes.

  “Move away!” screamed Professor Norden, joining my side. He spoke right next to me and yet his voice sounded far away. I could barely hear him. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said, looking around frantically. I wanted to ask him to do something, anything. But I knew that saving dying vampires wasn’t something he’d be even vaguely familiar with. Did vampires even bleed like this when they hadn’t been staked? My own intuition took over and I moved a hand over the gaping wound as I summoned my magic. I knew she needed blood and she needed it fast. My blood had saved Natalie when she had been nothing more than the earth-lined carpet beneath us. But first the bleeding had to be stemmed.

  I began to move my hand in circles, willing my magic to rise up from within me. I closed my eyes both to focus as well as to stop myself from seeing the horrendous injury as it was making me think about who had done this and I didn’t need my magic or energy to be pulled away from Valenthia. I could feel the tingles rising up from my blooming and the heat that ran up and down my body, potently awakened by the blood I’d consumed earlier.

  “We were attacked, it wasn’t me!” cried Sibel in the background, “It was a Black Bane! They came out of nowhere!”

  I concentrated even harder, with the aim of drowning out Sibel’s cries. They were distracting though within a minute, time seemed to come to a standstill and it was as if the whole world had gone on pause. There was no sound or movement from around me. Or at least none that I could perceive. I couldn’t tell whether it had all actually fallen into silence or it was because my magic had elevated me beyond where it mattered. “I need something sharp to cut myself with!” I called out as soon as Valenthia’s convulsions began to decrease. This had to be a two-pronged effort. I needed to start giving her some of my blood at the same time that I was attempting to heal her. Professor Norden passed a small penknife into the hand that I intended to cut. “I need you to do it,” I said, still with my eyes closed.

  “Wait!” screamed a voice and I heard scurried footsteps as he came and crouched down on the other side of me. It was Ulric.

  “We don’t have time!” I hissed, holding my right arm out to Professor Norden and waving it at him.

  “Don’t you remember what happened when you gave Nat your blood?” Ulric argued back, further urgency setting into his voice, “She almost bled out. We needed a powerful warlock to save her!” he conveyed to our professor, “And unless you aren’t telling me something, we don’t have one here.”

  “Is that true?” asked Professor Norden in alarm.

  “Yeah!” Ulric retorted, “And look, Val’s already beginning to heal.” I opened my eyes and plucked up the courage to look at where my hand had been working. Ulric wasn’t wrong. The convulsions had completely stopped and the blood had thankfully stopped pouring out. I stopped my work and Ulric handed me his hoodie so I could use it for a makeshift bandage for the area. Valenthia murmured something inaudible even to my sharp hearing. She was drifting in and out of consciousness.

  “We need to get her inside,” said Professor Norden and I nodded. Once we were back at the academy, I could give her the blood I’d stashed in our bathroom. She’d need it.

  “Should we lift her together?” asked Ulric.

  “I’m err, I think,” said Professor Norden with really no idea how to help an ailing vampire. I wished I had Safi’s power of re-apparition. Instead I sent her a message not sure what to expect but hoping that two witchy heads were better than one.

  “Hello?” I persisted after a long minute of not hearing back. Thanks to the time difference, it wouldn’t have been that late where she was.

  “Lady! How are you?” she asked. But before I could reply and fill her in, I distinctly heard a low growl that resonated in the silence. Apparently, everyone else heard it too as they spun around on high-alert. “Lady?” asked Safi.

  “Something’s gone down, Valenthia’s been attacked,” was all I could manage as fighting broke out between the outside of the tight circle that had formed around us.

  “We need to leave, now!” said Professor Norden, sounding more uncertain by the second. Ulric automatically rose up from where he’d been leaning next to me and rushed towards the mayhem to make sure none of my classmates got caught up in whatever was going on.

  “It’s them! The same ones!” cried Sibel as Natalie and I exchanged looks, trying to discern how to make a move.

  “We can’t stream with her, she’s too fragile,” Natalie whispered to me and I agreed.

  “What can I do to help?” came Safi’s voice in
my head.

  “We’re in class – in the middle of the woods being attacked by Black Banes. Val’s really hurt,” I said, thankful I didn’t have to say the words as tears choked my throat. “we need to get her back to the academy. I don’t know how.”

  “Have you tried doing what you did when you saved Miss Lorna’s behind?” came back the thoughtful and yet frank response.

  “It’s too far for me to carry her – she can’t walk at all.”

  “You’re a vampire. And from what I recall the last time we met, you’re more one now than you were when you had to rescue our former High Priestess, am I correct? Come on, Kat. You’re part fierce, blood-drinking, ass-kicking Sanguine. Don’t you have super strength?”

  “Thanks!” I said aloud to Safi, laughing so hard I almost cried as the adrenalin coursed through me. Of course, I was stronger now than when I’d just about been coming into my power. And of course, it only took my non-vamp bestie to make me to bring my vampire ability to my attention. “Here goes nothing!” I announced for both Natalie and Safi’s benefit. “Nat, can you be my eyes for a moment, I need to focus?”

  “You bet,” said Natalie, looking relieved that I had a plan. I thanked Safi again in my head and told her I’d check back in with her the moment we were safely inside.

  I slowly edged my hands and arms under Valenthia who moaned listlessly. “It’s okay,” I assured her, “we’ll have you back in our room with all the blood you can drink.” As Safi had predicted, I was able to lift Valenthia up easily, cradling her like a baby. I then closed my eyes and concentrated on summoning my magic. It felt strange as this was the first time that I’d used both sides – dark and light – simultaneously. And it felt good. A wave of magic washed over us and Natalie’s blonde hair was swept back from her face as a silver circle reverberated from my core. “Can you lead the way?” I asked Natalie as Professor Norden gave us – or where we’d been – a stunned look and moved away, presumably to help defend the rest of the class from the assault. “Safi, I’ve got to go, I’ll touch base with you later when I have an update.”