by SF Benson
“Ordinarily that would present a problem, but in my classroom, I make the rules. The world is made up of a variety of supernaturals. We must all learn to co-exist. This is the perfect opportunity to cultivate that mentality. Miss Tesarova, please make your selections.”
Naturally, Miss Vamptastic chose members of the Vamp Squad—Maksim and a petite dark vamp in need of a good volumizing shampoo named Sasa Horvath.
“Excellent. Miss Tesarova, shall I assume that you will be for the Conservative party?”
Her green eyes glowed. “Yes.”
“Very well. Miss Martin, you’ll represent the Liberal party. Candidates, please take your teams and meet in the back of the room. The rest of the class will decide their affiliations based on your opening arguments.”
Alistair picked up his notebook and gestured toward the hall. Following behind him, I shut the door and then leaned against a wall.
“I thought we were supposed to do this in the room,” I said.
Milos shook his head. “You don’t want to give Kamila any advantages.”
“Right. Lilith, this is your chance to let everyone know what you stand for. Look at this as an opportunity to formulate your campaign and not simply an assignment.”
“Okay.”
Alistair stood with his pen poised. “Name some things you stand for.”
“Diversity, inclusivity, and fairness.” Those were the tenets of Supes and Humans United.
Milos’s forehead wrinkled. “Aren’t the first two practically the same thing?”
“No. I’m for diversity in every facet of life. It’s a means to achieve the second goal of inclusivity. I’ve always believed in an inclusive educational system.”
Alistair began scribbling.
“What about the third one?” Milos asked. “How would you accomplish that in the Tribunal?”
“Easy. The accused along with the victim will always have a say before the Tribunal. The current system doesn’t work. Anyone can make a claim based solely on dislike and not the facts.”
My campaign manager glances up. “This is good. Let’s go over why someone should vote for you and not your opponent.”
“That’s an easy one too. I have experience. I’m the president of Supes and Humans United. It’s a position that I was elected to. We meet regularly to discuss grievances and decide upon the best course of action. We also look for ways to communicate our tenets without alienating anyone.”
Milos’s dark eyes swept over me with a pleased expression.
“Anything else, Alistair?” I kept my gaze locked on the handsome vampire.
“No. I’ll go in and write up your speech.” He glanced at us. “Are you coming?”
“In a minute,” said Milos. “I’d like to speak to the candidate alone.”
We waited for the door to close behind Alistair. “What did you want?”
“Just to say I’m impressed. You’re definitely a better candidate.” Milos moved closer until I was pinned against the wall. “We should meet tonight. Discuss the campaign.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Now, Mr. Petrovich, you know that’s against the rules.”
“I happen to know that you’re a regular rule breaker. Meet me at the East Quadrant near the Healing Waters pond. Eight o’clock.”
Although I knew it was wrong, I nodded. Sadly, Milos was right about me being a bit of a rebel. At the time I didn’t consider what consequences might arise from my actions. I only knew one thing—a hot vamp was into me.
Milos’s interest in me, however, was going to make my campaign a long and arduous one. If Kamila’s eyes could have truly become daggers, Milos and I would have been a bloody mess. There was so much hatred in her gaze that it had a pulse and even a funk to it.
“I’d like to go first,” Kamila practically begged.
The instructor glanced at me.
“It’s fine.” Actually, I preferred going last. My words would leave an impression.
The female vamp smiled sweetly to our classmates. “As you all know, I’m Kamila Tesarova. I’m a bloodborne vampire who has been on this campus for a number of years. Unlike my opponent, I’ve been here long enough to know all the inner workings of this campus. I know what’s right and what’s wrong. Most importantly, it’s my intention to make sure that nothing upsets the delicate balance we’ve cultivated. Who do you want deciding your disagreements? Someone who knows you or someone who barely knows herself?” She glared at me before taking her seat.
The vampires in the room along with others who supported Kamila clapped.
Alistair offered me the speech he prepared, but I waved him off. I didn’t need some fancy words to take down the vamp. All I had to do was speak honestly, from the heart.
“Hi, I’m Lilith Martin. No, I’m not a fixture on this campus like my opponent. I’m simply a succubus learning the ropes. Want to know what’s so great about that? Fresh eyes, people. Fresh perspective. A hierarchy is good if you plan on staying at Lorelei’s for the rest of your lives. I don’t. I want to be able to thrive in the human world. Let’s face it. That’s everyone’s goal—or at least it should be. You need someone who’ll settle your disagreements with tact and a proven track record. My opponent is highborn, but she hasn’t been tested. I have. Vote for me if you’re ready for diversity in your world. Choose me if you want an inclusive existence. One where you don’t have to keep to your own kind because of some unwritten rule. Elect me if you want fairness. Oh, and by the way, I do know myself exceedingly well.”
My speech brought down the house. Well, at least the classroom. Even Professor Malachi joined in the ovation. The applause, however, did nothing to cover the dark cloud coming from Kamila.
Chapter Eight
The depth of Kamila’s fury bled over into lunch. She wasn’t satisfied setting her scope on me. As I walked toward Amatory Hall, I saw Milos. He lingered behind the Vamp Squad. Each time he drew closer, Kamila prompted her minions to move faster. Eventually, she stopped and chastised Milos. After she had her say, she deserted him.
The hangdog, forlorn look on his face let me know that something was up. Ordinarily, I would have said it was a vamp issue and wouldn’t have bothered, but it was Milos. He gave me his support. The least I could do was return the favor.
“Hey,” I said as I approached. “What’s going on?”
He glanced at me. For a second, a glimmer of sadness flickered in his eyes. Then he blinked, and it was gone. “Just Kamila being her fabulous self.”
Nope. Kamila was being mean because of me. “If helping me ostracizes you, then—”
“No!” he shouted. “I don’t care what she thinks. I have a brain and am entitled to do whatever I want.” Milos’s voice softened. “Besides, I don’t have to eat with them. I can eat anywhere I choose.”
“Oh?” I thought the rule was that everyone had to dine in their respective dorm.
Tapping his sport coat pocket, he said, “One of the many benefits of being a vampire.” He waggled his eyebrows. “My lunch is totally portable.”
“Eeeewwww…” My nose wrinkled. “Are you carrying blood?”
“It’s either that or I dine out.” Milos stared at me for a moment. I knew exactly what he meant about dining out. “Care to join me?”
Shaking my head, I took a step backward. “I eat real food.”
He laughed. “This is real food...for vampires. I was suggesting that you grab a sandwich and have lunch with me, silly.”
“Oh.” My gaze dropped to the ground. Man, I felt stupid. “I could do that.”
“Then, meet me at the library. Second floor study room.”
My head whipped up. “We can access those at lunch time?”
“You’ll soon learn that adults around here become blind for certain students.” Milos gave me a genuine smile. “Bloodbornes are first on the list followed by anyone whose family is a generous donor.”
In other words, pay enough money and the school’s director and her staff wouldn’t reco
gnize bad behavior. After all, it was the reason I was still on campus. Just how much did Mom pay to make that happen?
“Okay. I’ll grab something and be there in, like, fifteen minutes?”
“That’ll work.”
As I rushed through the front door of the dorm, I literally ran into my little sister. We hadn’t spoken since our argument. She’d done a good job of avoiding being alone with me, and I’d done the same.
Cyrena knelt down and reached for her small purse. “I’m sorry, Lilith. I wasn’t—”
“No, sis.” I handed her her backpack. “That was my fault.”
Her smoky gray eyes widened. “You’re, like, apologizing to me?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry about the other night too. I shouldn’t have gotten upset with you.”
Instead of giving me her usual teary-eyed look when I’d hurt her feelings, Cyrena punched my arm and said, “Duh! We’re sisters.”
“I know.”
“And, I love you.”
“Same here.”
Somebody clapped behind us. I turned and saw Alistair.
“Is this a make-up?”
“Yeah,” I admitted, smiling broadly. “She’s my sister. How can I stay mad at her?”
He put his arms around both of us. “Exactly. Let’s go have lunch.”
I ducked from beneath his shoulder. “I can’t. I promised to study with Milos.”
Alistair arched an eyebrow and cocked his head. “You need to eat.”
“I’ll just grab a sandwich.” To Cyrena, I said, “I’ll meet you in History.”
“No discussing the campaign,” Alistair warned.
Had something changed? “What campaign?”
“We’ll talk, love.”
I watched them go into the dining hall and then hurried to the kitchen. The dorm cook was a rotund gremlin with blue skin and frizzy blonde hair. As soon as I crossed the threshold, her yellowish eyes turned toward me.
“Young lady, lunch will be served—”
“I just need something I can grab and go. I’m working on an extra-credit project at the library.”
She muttered something and then pointed to the table. All the fixings for sandwiches—for those who didn’t want the main course—were laid out. I picked up a napkin and quickly tossed together a ham and cheese on wheat bread. Glancing down at my watch, I realized I was going to be late.
§
When I reached the second-floor room, Milos had finished his lunch. The empty blood pouch was on the table.
“You can’t put that in the trash?” I took another bite of my sandwich.
He chuckled. “Does it bother you?”
“A bit. Just the thought of tasting blood turns my stomach.”
Milos tossed the offending item into the wastebasket. He pointed toward my food. “Well, can you hurry up with that?”
I looked down at my half-eaten lunch, wrapped it in the napkin, and tucked it into my backpack. “Does the smell bother you?”
“Yeah.” Milos’s nose wrinkled. “It smells like decay.”
I’d never thought about actual food being offensive to vampires. “Anything else bother you?”
“Different things.” He pushed out the empty chair with his foot, and I sat down. “For instance, most humans and a lot of supernaturals find body odor disgusting.”
“You don’t?”
“It all depends. Sweat can be intoxicating. It smells sweet to us. Unwashed skin is different. I couldn’t imagine sinking my fangs into filth.”
That made me giggle. Then, I thought about what Milos said. “Have you…? Have you bitten anyone?”
“No. My parents said I needed to do it at least once to see what it’s like, but I just can’t wrap my head around the idea.” Milos ran his thumb over his bottom lip as if he was concentrating on something. “Have you come into your power?”
He meant harvesting a human’s life force. We called it their essence. It was a necessity for Lilin. Unlike vampires, we only tapped into that heady elixir to sustain ourselves. Death wasn’t an option.
“Yeah. It happened a year ago.”
Milos’s eyebrows knitted together. “So how do you feed?”
“It won’t become an issue until I hit second maturity.” When I turned eighteen, then I would have to feed on a regular basis.
“Interesting. I never knew.”
“How would you? Have you known a lot of Lilin?”
The vamp stared at me as if I’d grown a second head.
Changing the subject, I asked about what happened between him and the Vamp Squad.
“Don’t worry about it.”
“If you don’t want to talk about it…” I let my voice trail off.
Milos pinched his lips together and tapped his fingers against his leg. He mumbled a swear word before saying, “Kamila is encouraging the others to keep their distance from me. She said that I was disloyal.”
Ridiculous.
The bee with an itch was questioning his friendship with me. That shouldn’t even be a problem for Milos. Honestly, he needed those vampires more than he needed me.
“Listen, I’ll tell Professor Malachi that you’re off my team. I’ll choose someone else.”
Scrubbing a hand over his face, Milos said, “That won’t change things.” He sat forward and rested his arms on his thighs. “Kamila sees my action as a betrayal. Nothing will erase that.”
“Why?”
“Because she hates succubi,” he admitted.
Hate was a strong, ugly word that I disliked immensely. Yeah, I realized that my dislike was hatred in and of itself, but I didn’t direct that emotion at anyone.
Ever.
Even when Cyrena got on my totally last nerve, I never hated her. Despite how nasty Miss Vamptastic could be, I doubted if I could even feel that way about her.
Still…
“What did my kind ever do to Kamila?”
Milos held his head back and stared up at the ceiling. When he finally made eye contact again, there was a seriousness about him that chilled me to the bone.
“You can never tell anyone what I’m about to tell you.”
“I swear.” That went without question. I might be considered a lot of things, but snitch wasn’t one of them.
“You know that we’ve been at Lorelei’s since our freshman year?”
“You mean the Vamp Squad?”
He grimaced. “I see the Lilin Posse is still using that label. Just so you know, it doesn’t endear Lilin to Vampires.”
“Noted.” Calling ourselves a posse made us sound badass.
“Well, when we started out there was this girl.” Milos stared into the distance. “Erica was gorgeous. She was tall with waist-length black hair and eyes as blue as the sky.” He exhaled loudly. “That girl was too gorgeous for someone her age, and Maksim fell for her. Hard.”
“So?”
“Problem was, Kamila and Maksim grew up together. Their families made a match between them. When the couple turned twenty-one, they’re supposed to marry. Erica threatened that agreement.”
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see the issue. “Erica was a succubus.”
Milos nodded. “Maksim was ready to give up his inheritance and suffer the wrath of his family for Erica. They would have succeeded in being the first mixed marriage between a bloodborne vamp and a royal succubus. Both vampires and Lilin liked them together. I think even the headmistress was willing to relax the rules.”
“What happened?”
“Kamila. She went to her family who went to Maksim’s. The Novaks and the Tesarovas went to the administrator. They convinced her that the rules had to be adhered to, so she threatened to expel Maksim and Erica. To save face, both families made huge donations to the school and only Erica was removed. Kamila’s father hired a mage to erase Maksim’s memories of the succubus.”
“So, I pose a threat to Miss Vamptastic? If that’s the case, it doesn’t help that I’m Lilin.”
“Something like
that. The fact that you’re on this campus pisses her off too.”
His words pissed me off. “I’m not the only Lilin here.”
“No, but Kamila is pushing to have all Lilin removed from the school. According to her, your kind shouldn’t be included with supes who scare. She said there’s nothing scary about Lilin.”
Technically, she had a point. We appeared in dreams, but our interactions with humans were always amorous. It was a serious topic of discussion with all supernatural councils. They wanted to reclassify my kind from Night Terrors to Night Dwellers. Neither Kamila nor Milos seemed to be aware that the reclassification could potentially include vampires. Thanks to a multitude of authors writing about supernaturals, the powers that be were reconsidering the roles of vampires and Lilin in the human world.
“I’m assuming she has a plan.”
“She does, but you can’t use it in your campaign. She’ll know that I told you.”
If it was as disruptive as I thought it might be, the students had the right to know. “What is it?” When he seemed reluctant, I pleaded with him. “Milos, you have to tell me. If you care anything about me…”
His shoulders drooped as he stared at the floor. “If she wins the seat on the Tribunal, Kamila is planning to send around a petition requesting the removal of Lilin from LSD.”
“Okay. So, I have to win. When I do, her plan won’t happen.”
“Wrong. If you win, Kamila will use it to prove her point.”
My heartbeat kicked up a notch. “And that is?”
Milos rubbed the back of his neck and gazed up at me. “The supernaturals who scare are discriminatory. They only want what’s best for themselves, and they don’t care about humans. Lilin, however, care about their victims. That’s why your kind don’t kill humans. You seduce them. You show them affection. Not exactly qualifications for students at Lorelei’s.”
True.
“Do you know why Lilin are even accepted into the school?” he asked.
“No.”
“Because years ago Mistress Lorelei fell in love with a human. When she tried to kill herself, it was an incubus who rescued her. Lilin are here simply to recognize that male who helped the headmistress.”