“Sorry, beautiful. You aren’t bleeding though, so that’s a plus.”
She nodded and sat up. She blinked her eyes and then looked around. “Why are we in the clock tower?”
“Noor was chasing us, so I drew her outside, but then a couple more vampires started following, so I headed toward the Dusk Knights to have them help. They are dealing with Noor and the others right now, so I slipped in here. I wanted you safe.”
Bethany smiled and leaned toward me, reaching for me and I obliged, pulling her into my lap and kissing her gently.
“I’m glad you are okay.”
She sighed. “Me too.” She set her head on my shoulder and sat for a moment.
“I should check and see if the Dusk Knights have everything under control.”
“Okay,” she murmured and slid off my lap.
I stood up and went to the opening we normally sat on to dangle our feet over the edge and looked out over the campus. The Dusk Knights had the vampires all contained, bound in magical wards. “I think we’re safe.”
“Good, I want to go check on Helen.” Bethany stood up and reached for my hand.
Together we descended the stairs and out to the grounds again.
“I thought I sent you two to Bethany’s Dorm room for safety!”
Chapter 30
Bethany
I sighed as I saw Professor Singh approaching. “We tried to get there, Professor, but we were… well, side tracked.” I gestured to Noor who was writhing and screeching, trying to break the magical bindings the Dusk Knight’s had put on her. “Noor was outside my dorm room, draining Helen. If we hadn’t intervened, she would have killed her.”
Professor Singh huffed. “Well, we’d best go check on her. Unless you were able to see her to the infirmary?”
I shook my head.
“No, sorry Professor Singh, Noor charged us. She knocked Bethany out, and I carried her out here to get help from the Dusk Nights.”
“Good thinking, Mr. Barrett.” Professor Singh nodded.
“Professor… could I try and unravel the spell on Noor? I hate seeing her like that.”
Frowning, Professor Singh looked at the vampire in question. “Very well, go slowly.”
I nodded and moved closer to Noor and the Dusk Knights. I set my fingers into the siphoning position, channeled my magic into my hands and then aimed my fingers at Noor. I could see the three different magical energies within her, hers, the spell affecting her mind, which was an angry red, and the bindings the Dusk Knights had settled over her in blue. I focused on the red energy, tugging different strands of it, slowly.
“That’s it,” James whispered in my ear, just to my left. “She’s getting more frantic, but that is just the spell trying to dig deeper into her mind.”
"Aim at the deepest red threads of the energy, Miss Welch… that’s it. You’ve got it now.”
“It’s loosening, keep going, she’s almost free,” James encouraged me.
I tugged at the last three threads, drawing them into a massive bundle within my magic. Once Noor was free, I adjusted my fingers slightly, turning my hands just a little bit and pointing my pinkies toward the ground. Once I checked that there were no creatures for the spell to go into, no minds for it to reach, I wove a little bit of my light energy into the red, changing it and then sent the now pinkish energy through my little fingers into the earth.
“Oh, well done, Miss Welch,” Professor Singh stated with a smile.
I dropped my hands and sighed, feeling quite exhausted. I looked at Noor to check and see if she was quite all right.
“We cannot let you loose until we have you thoroughly checked over in the infirmary,” the Dusk Knight Captain said.
“But I’m fine,” Noor said, tears falling down her cheeks. “I swear, I’m okay.”
I moved toward her cautiously. “Noor?”
Noor’s gaze turned to me and she sighed in relief. “Bethany, thank goodness, tell them I’m okay. I was asleep and just woke up bound like this! Why am I in their custody? What did I do?”
“I know, we all know that this wasn’t your fault, Noor. You were under a spell that made you frenzied and you…” I took a deep breath, “you attacked a couple people.”
“What? Are they okay?” Noor asked, looking devastated. “Who did I attack?”
“Well, me, and James and—”
Noor’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh my god, I am so sorry! You have to believe me, Bethany, I would never!”
“I know,” I said gently. “And James and I are fine, but Helen, you took a lot of her blood.”
Noor bit her lip. “That’s why I feel so sated,” she said softly. “I feel like I could conquer the world right now.”
“So we need you to go to the infirmary and get checked out, maybe stay under observation for a little while, make sure the spell is actually out of you completely. I did my best to get all of it, but we still don’t know the source.” Well, we do, but she doesn’t need to know that, I thought.
“Okay, yes, please take me to the infirmary,” Noor agreed. “I don’t want to be a threat to anyone.”
As the Dusk Knights led her and the others who were still under the spell into the building, I turned to James and Professor Singh. “Should we go check on Helen now?” I asked.
Professor Singh smiled. “That was very well done, Bethany, not just the spellwork, but how you handled Noor. With understanding and compassion. That is what is needed here. That is why you are such a threat to the Shadow Society. This isn’t the end of the war, this is just one of the battles. Let us see to our wounded and regroup, and then maybe we can shut down this operative together.”
“Yes, Professor.” I nodded and James slipped an arm around my shoulders as we headed back into the building.
“You said you left Helen near your dorm room?” Professor Singh inquired.
“Yes, she was passed out in the hall. I hope someone helped her before another vampire found her.” I would feel horrible if we’d saved her from Noor only to allow her to be killed by another frenzied vampire.
As we started up the stairs, Professor Zin came rushing down the steps toward us. Her hair was standing up all over her head with an electrical charge, as if she was full up on static energy.
“Singh! It’s about time you got here, all hell broke loose in here! Vampires invaded the witch dorms and attacked. We’re going to have to close the school and send the students home—”
“Calm, Zin.” Professor Singh wove a blue spell that looked like waves over her and I noticed the static energy surrounding Professor Zin’s head settle down and return to normal levels.
Professor Zin took a breath and stopped her charge at us, settling about three steps up from us so she actually looked Professor Singh in the eyes. “Thank you. Though I fear we will still have to send the students home. We cannot continue to have them attacked.”
“We have an idea of who is behind this, Zin, and we will put a stop to it. If the parents wish to have their students return home when they hear of this latest attack, we’ll deal with it, but for now, let us focus on ending this particular battle, shall we?”
“Very well, but you will be fielding the calls that are sure to start coming in within the next few hours.”
Professor Singh smiled. “Of course. Now, perhaps you might help us, we are looking for the young healer, Helen? She was attacked outside of Miss Welch’s rooms.”
“Oh yes, she’s been removed to the infirmary. She was quite delusional, poor thing. So much blood loss. She was talking nonsense, so I had the nurse put her in a sedation spell.”
“What nonsense was she saying Professor Zin?” I asked, feeling disturbingly curious.
“She claimed Merriwick was here in the building, but that she wasn’t Merriwick.”
James nodded. “Merriwick was in the building, Professor, I saw her too.”
“That’s odd. I’ve not seen her and there have been no reports of her in the building from anyone else.”
Professor Singh nodded. “I will send a Dusk Knight to her coffee shop and see if she’s there. Perhaps she can help clear this up.”
I bit my lip, keeping my mouth shut until I could speak to Professor Singh alone. I trusted Professor Zin, but she was a bit dismissive at times and I knew Professor Singh would hear me out.
“Good idea, now I had best go to the offices and see if the staff need help speaking to parents.” Professor Zin looked at James and me. “Shouldn’t the two of you be in your own dorms under lockdown at this moment?” She arched her brow at us.
“That’s all right, Zin, they are working with me on a project at the moment. A class assignment.” Professor Singh wore a look of pure innocence as she spoke.
“I see. Well, carry on then.”
“Thank you, Professor,” I murmured as I followed Professor Singh up the rest of the stairs.
“Thank you, Professor,” James repeated, a slight mix of humor in his voice.
I darted my eyes at him and shook my head. We didn’t need Professor Zin stopping us from helping. He just grinned at me and tugged me up the rest of the stairs.
When we were further down the hall and outside of the infirmary, I stopped Professor Singh with a hand on her arm. “Professor?
“Yes, Miss Welch?”
“The first attack happened at Merriwick’s Coffee Shop. And now that I think about it, a lot of the witches and vampires who’ve been affected have been in her coffee shop a lot since the semester started. It’s become a pretty regular hangout for students, especially upper classmen.”
“So you think that Sara De Abrew may have also been in the shop?” she asked.
I bit my lip. “No, Professor,” I looked up at her, my gaze steady, “I think Merriwick is her.”
Professor Singh looked taken aback. “What is your reasoning?”
“Well, James and I have been there pretty frequently, and Merriwick always waits on us. I recalled thinking about the second or third time we were in, that she looked different. It’s her eyes. They changed. And I’ve seen those eyes before. Maroon and bloodshot. Sara De Abrew has maroon bloodshot eyes.”
“Oh,” James muttered. “That would line up with what Helen said too. Merriwick, but not Merriwick.”
I nodded. “Professor, I think you need to send more than one Dusk Knight to Merriwick’s Coffee Shop. Either Merriwick is in on it, being held captive, or she’s dead,” I said softly.
“I see your point, Miss Welch. Very well. I will send an entire unit to check out Merriwick’s.” She nodded. “Since we’re here, let’s check on Helen and see if she has any more information before I send them off.”
Chapter 31
Bethany
James and I entered the infirmary after Professor Singh. When the nurse noticed us she held her arms up and attempted to usher us back out.
“No vampires! What are you thinking, Professor Singh, bringing him in here?” she huffed.
Professor Singh sighed. “Mr. Barrett, would you mind waiting in the hall, I am sure we won’t be a moment.”
I looked at James and frowned, but he simply nodded.
“I’ll just be a call a way, just say my name and I’ll come running,” he promised and kissed my temple.
“Thank you,” I said softly.
“Happy, Nurse Halloway?” Professor Singh arched a brow.
“He isn’t infected, you know,” I said to her.
“I am not stupid, child. I could clearly see that. He cannot be in here because the patients in here have been traumatized by vampires. I don’t want to trigger them into panic attacks.”
I looked down, ashamed at what I’d thought. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think of that.”
“Obviously,” she huffed, hands on her hips. “Now, why are you here?”
“We need to see a patient who was brought in, the young healer, Helen.”
“Yes, a severe case, a great deal of blood loss and raving mad. I had to sedate her, poor thing.”
“She isn’t raving mad, she witnessed something vital and we need to speak to her about it,” Professor Singh replied. “Please show us to her and remove the sedation. If she is panicked, I will settle her with a calming spell.”
“Very well, but this is not good for the patient. She is still healing.” The nurse drew us deeper into the room and moved past three doors before opening the fourth. “Here we are.”
She went about removing the sedation and Helen sat up clearly panicked. Professor Singh performed the same spell she’d used on Professor Zin and Helen relaxed, settling back down and leaning against the pillows the nurse had magically fluffed for her.
“Good evening, Helen.”
“Professor Singh, is everything okay? I didn’t miss class, did I?” she asked.
“No, child. Do you recall the events from earlier today, Helen?”
Helen shuddered. “Yes.” Her voice was small and feeble and she seemed to shrink on the bed.
“I know it wasn’t a very pleasant experience, Helen, dear, but I need you to tell me everything that you remember. If you’d like, I can remove your emotions so that it is less painful for you,” Professor Singh offered.
Helen blinked and looked at me, and then back to Professor Singh. “Will they come back?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“It is possible to remove those feelings permanently, dear child, but that wouldn’t be good for you. You will need them to recover from this event. I can make it so they return to you slowly though, so you are not overwhelmed all at once.”
Helen took a breath, tears in her eyes. “Yes, please.”
Professor Singh nodded. She began to weave white magical energy with green and blue. Then the magic undulated and moved around in Helen’s head. It seemed to be encased in a leaking balloon of magic that would allow the feeling to fully return eventually, but for the moment were hidden from her mind.
“Now, Helen, would you tell us please what happened today?”
“Of course, Professor,” Helen said pleasantly. “I was headed to your room, Bethany. Luci, Porta and I wanted to know if you’d like to go shopping with us this weekend. Though I imagine with everything going on and me in the infirmary, those plans will have to be shelved.”
“Probably so, but thank you for thinking of me,” I said with a smile.
“Yes, well, it was Luci’s idea. You always seem to attract trouble and I’d rather stay far away from you if it’s all the same to you.”
I felt as if I’d been punched in the stomach. I knew she’d felt this way, thought this way, but she’d never voiced it before. I supposed that without all of her emotions there was nothing to stop her from saying everything on her mind. I swallowed hard and nodded, keeping the now fragile smile I was wearing on my face. “I understand.”
“Helen, what happened when you got to Bethany’s door?” Professor Singh asked, drawing her attention back to what we were there for.
“Well, I was knocking on your door, Bethany, and all of a sudden Noor was at my side. We talked for a moment, she wanted to borrow some make-up from you. When we realized you weren’t in, which I don’t know why we were surprised, you’re rarely ever there— anyway, when we realized you weren’t in your room, she turned to leave. The next thing I knew, she was holding her head and screeching. I reached for her, thinking I could heal her headache or whatever was going on and she turned on me. I felt her teeth slide into my neck as she pushed me up against the wall.”
Her voice was monotone, no feeling there at all. As if she were just spouting facts, which I supposed at the moment was true for her. I felt tears welling up in my eyes though and I quickly brushed them away.
“And then what do you remember, Helen?” Professor Singh asked gently.
“She fed on me for a few minutes and I was losing consciousness. Bethany and her vampire showed up about then. They got Noor to stop feeding.” Helen blinked at me. “Thank you for that. I suppose I owe you my life.” She turned back to Professor Singh. “Noor dropped me and I p
assed out as she roared at James. I must have been out for a few minutes, because I came to enough to see Noor throw James across the hallway directly at Bethany and they both went down. I was weak, I think. I couldn’t feel much as I tried to sit up. I saw James pick up Bethany and run with Noor following them.”
“Pretty much the same as what I remember and what James said too,” I murmured.
“Once I couldn’t see them anymore, I managed to push myself up and lean against the wall. I was just trying to stand up when Merriwick came running down the hall. At least I thought it was Merriwick at first.” Helen frowned. “She was Merriwick for a few moments and then she turned into this woman with long dark hair and maroon eyes. She bent down over me, put her fingers to my neck, checking my pulse as my eyes fluttered closed. She cussed, saying a word my mother would kill me if I used. She stood up and walked away, but I could see her fingers working magic. She was standing at the top of the stairs then, and I couldn’t see who she was aiming at.” Helen sighed. “Professor Zin found me after that and I tried to tell her about Merriwick not being Merriwick, but I must have passed out again.”
“That must have been when she sent those other three vampires after us,” I said softly.
“So she’s the one causing all of this?” Helen asked, there was now a slight tone of panic in her voice and I knew the spell to keep her emotions out of her tale was wearing off. The slow leak had begun.
Professor Singh smiled and said, “Rest, child.” She murmured a few more words and brushed her fingers over Helen’s forehead.
Helen closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
“What did you do, Professor?” I asked.
She looked at me. “I wiped her memory of the last ten minutes. It would not do to have her remembering Sara De Abrew. And once her emotions return, she would have been devastated to know she hurt you with her words. She’s kept those thoughts locked up for a reason, it wasn’t fair to make her share them.”
I nodded. “I already knew,” I replied, my voice low. “She tries, and Luci and Porta are good about encouraging her to doing things with us as a group, but I know being around me makes her scared. Not because she’s afraid of me, but because she’s afraid of being attacked because of me. I understand. I don’t like it, but I understand and I don’t blame her. It’s why she’s never moved back into our room.”
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