“Not the exciting kind of night,” I add and watch as the smile falls from Nelson’s face.
“What’s going on, Mariella?” The question comes from Hellen and I think better than to answer it dishonestly.
“We lost two students.” I count my words, saying them slowly, carefully. They don’t feel right on my tongue. But that’s the thing with truths as daunting as those, you’ll never get used to saying it out loud.
“We’re here if you need to talk,” she says, sadness seeping into her voice.
I shake my head. “It’s a long story. Maybe another day?” I collapse onto the chair. Hellen continues to watch me solemnly as she weaves her fingers through Nelson’s hair. When she’s finished with that braid, she snaps a hair band from her wrist and pulls Nelson’s hair back.
Now, all her attention is on me. She pushes her chair back and makes her way over, clasping a hand over mine. I appreciate the fact that she doesn’t push, doesn’t prod me to tell her the full story.
“You look bleak,” she says. “Take as much as you need.” She perches on my lap and I hold her waist to keep her steady as she cranes her neck to give me better access.
Brushing her hair aside, I sink my teeth into her flesh. I’m careful when I drink; careful enough that, even after all these years, I’ve never come close to turning her.
I drink slowly, taking care not to lose myself. I haven’t fed in over a week, the longest I’ve gone in a while though I’m nowhere near starving.
I lick her neck when I’m done, speeding up the healing process. She eases out of my lap and Nelson is quick to scramble over, switching places with me so that I’m on top. Grinning, he extends his neck eagerly. It brings a smile to my face and I brush his own long hair aside and sink my teeth in.
They taste different. They’ve always tasted different. Though they have the same diet, keeping themselves in perfect health for me, I’ll always be able to distinguish Hellen’s blood from her brother’s. I drink just as hungrily, feeling my strength grow by the second.
All that strength seems to evaporate the moment I scent someone who is neither Hellen nor Nelson.
“Mariella.”
Carefully, I pull myself away from Nelson’s neck and turn toward the voice in the doorway.
“Reece.”
A flash of anger, and perhaps jealousy, dance in his eyes, but just as quickly as it had appeared, it’s gone. Nelson shifts away from me, making it easier for me to give Reece my full attention.
“You’re needed back on the campus,” he says, his voice tight.
I wipe the blood from the side of my mouth and lick my finger. Reece watches my every move.
I can’t help the bit of satisfaction at seeing his reaction to me feeding on Nelson. He might have been the one to push me to accept them as my donors, but that doesn’t mean he’s one hundred percent comfortable with it. The fact that Nelson’s bulge is impossible to hide as he walks away, doesn’t lessen the blow.
“They need your blood print to officiate the deaths.”
I get to my feet, feeling a lot more powerful now than I did when I first walked in.
As soon as we’re through the door, Reece is in front of me, anger not only in his eyes, but also on his lips. “You put Joe in charge of making funeral plans?”
“I put Joe in charge of talking to the other students, yes. Not that it’s any of your business.” I’m wrong, of course. All of this is Reece’s business. He’s just as invested in this academy as I am. Just as important to it too.
“This is not a job for students, Mariella! A little bit of professionalism goes a long goddamn way.”
“Why are you mad, Reece? What is it that has you this damn angry?” Deep down, I know that this isn’t about Joe. It’s about my parents. Finding them almost always seems to disturb something in him. He’d never admit it, of course.
Reece shakes his head at me.
“You’re young, Mariella, and so the older vampires will forgive your mistakes because of it. They’ll even still respect you despite it. But eventually, if you keep pulling this shit, they’ll back off. They’ll leave and these students you claim to care so much about, what will they have then?”
His words are harsh and they catch me off guard more than I care to admit. “Pulling what shit exactly? Because you know what, Reece, Joe talking to them is a heck of a lot better than one of us doing it. They’ll throw questions at him they wouldn’t feel comfortable throwing at me. They’ll share their fears and concerns and say whatever the hell they want and they won’t feel awkward doing it. But they also won’t feel like it’s pointless, because they’ll know that I’m not shy about communicating with them. They’ll know that I asked Joe to reach out to them for me.”
He doesn’t say anything to that. And I charge away from him. I hate fighting. Especially with Reece.
“Mariella,” he calls after me.
I spin around and put a hand up. “No, Reece. Not now. Not until you’re ready to actually be honest about why the hell you’re mad. And why the hell it riles you up so damn much that I want to find my parents.”
Chapter Ten
Black.
So much black and so many tears. I sit atop one of the metal chairs positioned at the back of the stage, overlooking the mass of students before me. Student who came from a background similar to mine and students whose backgrounds were so much different, so much more human. Students who all have one thing in common – their need to live a better life, to belong to something whole, to be a part of a community rather than rejected by society.
I feel anger knowing why we’re here. But in between all that, there is pride. The way the reacted to the news about Jessica, the support I felt in between all the fear. It’s hard to deny that sometimes I need them more than I think they need me.
Martha, a friend of Sarah and Jessica takes the stage. Offering a walk down memory lane, she breathes life back into the students we’ve lost. It’s a beautiful testimony and despite the fact that this is a funeral, the students cheer, tears in their eyes and hope in their voices. When Martha leaves, more students take her place. Poems are read, songs are sung and by the time the funeral comes to a close, I fully understand why some refer to something so grim as a celebration of life.
Reece and I step forward, following behind the two students who hold the urns. The progression leads into the crowd, where students form a ruler straight line behind us, walking in silence until we’re at the burial grounds. Sarah and Jessica will be the first ones to break the soil.
Brenda, our nurse, takes one of the urns and lowers it into the earth.
“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” she whispers. Those who wish to do so step forward to sprinkle earth upon the urns. The process is repeated until there’s nothing left to see. Until both girls are safe in the soil and their spots marked with plaques one of the students was nice enough to make. Flowers, enough to fill an entire football field, are set upon the gravesides, adding color to all the darkness that has happened.
When the funeral draws to a close, we move to the auditorium – a large simply decorated room, typically used for showcasing art and hosting social gatherings. Here is where I take the stage and here is where I promise the students that I will find the person responsible for the attack on our Academy. That I will ensure that safety returns to our school. I’m also not naïve about what we’re dealing with and because honesty is important in a situation like this I don’t shy away from letting them know that now is not the time we rest. Now is the time we watch our backs. The time to double up on lessons that will prepare us for an evil we hopefully will never see.
I also tell them that, what I’ve told Reece, that the best way to go into this, is to do it hoping for peace. Revenge will come, but our first step has to be to get answers and to react accordingly to those answers. An attack when we’re in a vulnerable state, is by no means, in our best interest.
There’s alarm from the crowd, of course. But here, in this school, we�
�re surrounded by people who have had to fight their own battles to survive in a world that was neither good nor fair to them. So there’s strength here – both of the mental and the physical kind.
I call forward Joe and Katie. They’re the ones who will be accompanying me on my trip to the Tigerhearts. The students cheer in support as they step forward. Pride. Trust. Community. I can feel it all.
Chapter Eleven
Katie, Joe, Reece and I leave the crowds and disappear into the quietness of my office. That what I’m doing is unconventional is no secret. But then again, the Rogue Academy isn’t old enough to have the kind of memories that most Academies do. And I am nowhere near conventional enough to shy away from the unconventional.
Here, at Rogue Academy, students learn not only how to live in harmony with the humans. They’re not only privy to the kind of education that they wouldn’t have been able to afford for themselves in the outside world. They’re here because they know what it’s like to be the enemy. And when you’re on the wrong side of someone else’s blade, you have two choices. Fight or die. Here, they learn to fight.
“Remember,” I say to them. “We aren’t going in there guns blazing. Our first course of action is always to gather as much information as we can before resorting to violence.” Despite the fact that it’s my lips that such logic is being spilled from, I know that I’m the one who needs the pep talk the most.
Katie nods at that. “They came in and killed one of our own. With all due respect, Mariella, I’m not sure they’re the talking kind.”
“They’ve said enough to let us know that they felt slighted,” Reece cuts in. “So I’d say there’s at least a little hope that they’re not one-hundred percent tight-lipped. Not that I’m opposed to old school retaliation.”
I can’t disagree with that; though, who’s to say the only reason their puppet said anything at all was because he was scared shitless?
“Are we ready?” I ask, squaring my shoulders in preparation for what’s to come.
The look in their eyes tell me all I need to know. They’ve never been more prepared to defend their school.
They nod in unison, Reece included, and fall in step with me as I breeze past. A few vampires had left the auditorium to linger outside. Intently, they watch us as we pass, respect radiating from them, knowing we will not stop until we get to the bottom of things. Until we all know, without a shadow of doubt, that the academy is as safe as it once was.
We don’t rely on our speed to get us to the Tigerhearts. With Reece alongside us – and God knows, pissed as I am at him, I need his level-headedness right now - a car is the better option.
The journey to the Tigerhearts takes us at least forty-five minutes with Reece never letting up on the gas pedal. Once Reece brings the Porsche to a halt, I’m astonished to see what exactly we’re up against. Old warehouses dot what I’m sure was once a rundown farm, wooden fencing creating their boundaries.
Now comes the hard part. I stop at the entrance to the property and everyone stops with me.
“That’s weird,” Reece says. “There’s no one manning the door.”
“Look a bit closer,” Joe says quietly.
Right by the door, enclosed within the shadows, two vampires stand in full black. It takes me a moment to notice them and even when I do, I can’t tell if they’re born or turned.
“Well, don’t just stand there,” I say, “let’s go introduce ourselves.” There’s nothing but venom in my tone and I don’t do a damn thing to mask it.
I make my way to the gate. As soon as my hand touches the wood, they’re before me. One has a hand on my shoulder, keeping me from going any further.
At the touch, both Joe and Katie hiss, gearing up to attack, but I raise a hand to hold them off. I look at the hand slowly, then at the vampire touching me. Both turned vampires. Well, this should be fun.
“State your business,” the taller of the two says.
“I’m here to see your leader.“
“On what grounds?” the other asks.
I look over at him. “What I have to say doesn’t concern lackeys. Take me to your boss or I’ll be forced to find him myself.”
They both bristle at that, pulling themselves taller. “We’re the guards here,” the one who is still touching me says. “If we don’t see it fit to let you in then, you won’t be let in. Leave. Now.”
I gently ease his hand off of me. “I don’t think it’s very wise to turn us away.”
The other steps forward. “Leave.”
The force in his voice is almost admirable, but I want this over and done with quickly and standing out here talking to two self-important idiots isn’t the way to get that done.
I tilt my head — and my men get into action.
Katie grabs the one who touched me, pinning a man half her size to the ground. She has his hand behind his back and a knife to his jugular. Joe tackles the other, and though it’s a bit of a struggle, he has the element of surprise on his side and has him down in no time. Reece doesn’t bother to move, except alongside me.
“I’m free to go now, am I?” I ask them as I step past them.
The inside of the house is as terrible as the outside – worn down furniture, marred walls, tarnished flooring. The foyer is empty, but as we make our way down, a few vampires come into focus. Most watch us go with confusion on their faces. A few step forward to stop us, but are held back by vamps who probably know who we are.
It doesn’t take me long to find out where their leader is. The vampires crowded in front of a chipped wooden door, whispering about the intruders who took out the guards, is more than enough of a clue.
With Joe, Katie and Reece behind me, I step into the room. There are only two vampires inside. The one I assume to be the leader sits behind a desk that is nearly the same size as him, and a female vampire stands behind him.
“You’re the one who gave the order?” I ask without hesitation.
He doesn’t rise to meet me. His bald head shimmers under the light, his hard eyes unwavering. The woman behind looks just as stony.
“It’s rather rude of you to barge into my lair like this, Mariella.”
I grimace a bit at the way he says my name. “Yeah, well, I thought you would appreciate the gesture — seeing that you’re all for giving back what was done to you.”
“I did what had to be done.”
“Killing an innocent vampire should never have to be done. But, I digress. I’m here on peaceful terms. I just want to ask a few questions.” The sneer on his face makes me want to lunge forward and shove his head so far up his ass he wouldn’t even be able to shit it out.
“We won’t be answering any of your questions.” The woman says, her voice sharp and angry. I look up at her to see untampered rage smoldering in her eyes. “We’ve done you enough courtesy by letting you come this far. It’s time for you to leave before we kill you where you stand.”
I stare at her a bit longer, then look away, my focus back on the leader of the Tigerhearts. “What is your name?”
The man continues to watch me, as if he’s contemplating whether or not he should answer. Then, he says, “You can call me Gregor.”
The woman looks shocked by his response, as though she can’t believe he’s entertaining me.
“Alright, Gregor. I think we should have this conversation one on one.”
“Not happening!” the woman exclaims.
I don’t even look at her. Gregor is the one I’m dealing with and from the look on his face, I can tell that he’s not opposed to. He’s also a bigot, no doubt about that. A woman talking in his stead is not something he takes light. Pity the woman beside him is too damn dumb to realize that her opening her mouth is the very thing that irks his nerves.
“Velma, leave.”
Velma audibly gasps at the dismissal. She opens her mouth to protest before thinking better of her actions and snapping her lips shut. She shoots me a glare and, after a very obvious battle running across her face, sh
e marches out of the room. Without me having to say a word, my men follow. The door closes behind them.
“Soundproof walls?” I ask.
“Haven’t invested yet.” Gregor leans forward, cockily. He might not have the money to turn this place into something work walking into, but he’d eat his own tongue before he admits it to me. “What is your purpose for being here, Mariella?”
“It’s pretty simple,” I say with a shrug. “One of your men broke into Rogue Academy and killed one of mine. I hope you liked his head, by the way. I think it looks much better when it isn’t capable of talking.”
His face darkens. “The only thing stopping me from killing you right here is my curiosity, you know. A life for a life.”
“What life did we take, Gregor? Because as far as I know, we’ve had a pretty peaceful run for the past few years.”
Suddenly, Gregor shoots out of his seat. He stalks over to the twin file cabinets sitting in the corner of the room and hunkers down to a stoop, reaching into the very bottom drawers. After searching for a while, he pulls out a thin folder and stalks back over to the desk. He throws the folder down before me.
“Read,” he demands, crashing back into his seat with a huff.
The command nearly makes me leap out of my seat. Clearly, clearly, this man doesn’t know who he’s dealing with. He clearly doesn’t realize that it doesn’t matter that he’s twice my size and age, I’ll push my hand through his fucking throat if he pushes me too far. I hold back, staring at him for a moment longer before I let my eyes fall to the folder and release some of the anger through my nose.
Slowly, I lean forward and pick up the folder. It’s thin, with only a few papers inside. At the very front is an information sheet on a man named Jameson Buillard. A turned vampire. Brown hair, brown eyes before the change. Looking very unassuming. I get the feeling that I’ve seen him before, which makes all of this even more concerning.
I mask the surprise, flipping through the rest of the papers that only show boring background information on the dead vampire. Finally, I close the folder and throw it back on the table. “Don’t know him.”
Rogue Academy: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Academy Romance (Rogue Vampire Academy Book 1) Page 7