I had managed to get Safi to meet me in St. Louis Cemetery. It had taken some convincing as she’d been quite pissed and was still mad at me about the crystal incident, but I’d managed to communicate enough to her that she knew it was something big.
I’d also tuned into Ulric’s mind a couple of times since Nadasdy had called the entire school together. It felt weird just going in like that and checking up on him. Like I was sneaking into someone’s house while they were out and going through their private possessions. I’d only done it because I wanted to make sure he was okay and to see if he had any news that I wasn’t aware of. Besides, he’d technically given me permission. Kind of. I had no idea why he hadn’t severed our connection but until he did, I could use all the information I could get, although I hadn’t told him I was going again, to see Safi. All I’d gotten was that he’d been off campus training somewhere out of the city with his alpha and most of the extended pack. That and, he’d thought of me a couple of times too. Each time I’d caught him forming a thought about me, I’d promptly withdrawn from him. Enough people disliked me. I didn’t need to go out of my way to find out exactly what he thought when he wasn’t obliged to be semi-polite to my face.
My blooming began to tingle as I approached the cemetery. I had picked a time much earlier in the day this time, and had left our room before Natalie went to sleep so she could lock the door herself. She still hadn’t asked me any questions and had accepted my rather lame explanation. I’d told her that I wanted to go down to the cave and catch up on some of the moves Duquette had been instructing the rest of the class in, that I hadn’t really had the chance to practice due to my lack of basic skills so far.
I saw her inside as I walked on Basin street. Even from her silhouette so faraway, I could tell, I had my work cut out. I immediately noticed that I was much more receptive to the magic that surrounded me the moment I got closer to the gates. I felt an intense rush throughout my body and the blooming glowed so sharply that I couldn’t look directly at it.
What wasn’t immediately obvious to me, was whether it was my magic that had grown since I’d last been to the cemetery or was it that the magic Safi and intertwined with the strands of old voodoo magic that had existed there long before, had become even stronger off their own accord. I summoned up the intention to open up and pass through the metal rails between us and the structure became molten and fluid. A doorway tore itself from the rest of the gated parameter and bent to let me through.
“You came alone?” asked Safi, looking behind me and then giving me a hug, albeit a begrudging one, “Why didn’t you bring him with you?”
“I didn’t want to put him in any danger,” I said filling her in on the revelations at the academy.
“This is bad.”
“You don’t say,” I nodded.
“It’s worse than I thought.”
“Which part?” I asked, “The bit where I was dumb enough to get the crystal stolen by the girl who’s basically my arch enemy? Or the part where you’ve woven some out-of-control, powerful magic that’s put the vamps at Bloodline on high-alert – enough for them to want to come after the coven?”
“Well, both,” she said, never one to admit fault completely. I looked at her sceptical. “I see this as a good thing.”
“How?”
“Because I’m going to let my mom know so she can inform the rest of the S.L.A., that crystal magic is an actual threat. If anything, this is a breakthrough!”
“Sure, that’s true but the price to pay for this breakthrough is that Crystal Witches are now marked with a target on their back. Is that really what Lorna and Babette are looking for right now, considering how averse they are to any kind of threat?”
“You’re right. Hell, they’ll probably expel me if they get wind of any of this,” she gestured at the magic that to my eyes, looked like a beacon. A lighthouse calling all near and far. Even if they couldn’t come close, every supernatural being in the city could probably see it. “I’ll be exactly where you are – apart from being sent to Bloodline of course.”
“Is that what you want?” I asked, beginning to wonder if it was.
“Nah. Not what I want but let’s face it, speaking of aversion to threats, I don’t think you’re the only one Lorna felt…outdone by.”
“What do you mean? They sent me here because I’m a freak.”
“Only you’re not, are you? Your magic seems to be coming in fine, from what I can tell and it’s not like you’re out drinking blood,” Safi’s forest green eyes smiled, her anger at me finally dissolving away.
“Right,” I couldn’t help but stifle a cringe as she said the last part. I may not have been out but I had certainly consumed some bottled blood since we’d last met.
“I can stream, now,” I said testing the waters, “like what other vamps and werewolves do.”
“That’s what I’m saying. You possess the rarity of light and dark within you. If our High Priestesses wanted to, they could have guided you in the finest form of crystal magic. They could have helped you channel the darkness into our magic, making you one powerful witch. And yet, they chose to let you go. Think about that.”
I had. Too many times to count. “Do you like being a member of the Circle of Quartz?” I asked.
“Honestly, for the first few years, I thought it was great. Our High Priestesses seemed to be some of the most potent and loving mentors in the supernatural world. They were nurturing. Not a soft touch or anything but being there was a freeing experience. I did think though that the coven was a more temporary stopover for me. I really had my heart set on Superno. Aviar’s there and he raves about the place.”
“Me too,” I admitted, for the first time to my best friend. And to myself.
“Right? And after what happened with you, it just really put me off. I mean, the S.L.A., is a big organization. It expects covens to look after their own. Had Lorna and Babette expressed a desire to keep you at the coven, the S.L.A., would have supported them. My mom was surprised by the way things went.”
“We need to find a way to contain this magic,” I said changing the subject. I got it. I was unwanted. I didn’t need to let that fact hog our entire topic of conversation. Not with more pressing matters.
“Do we?”
“Yes! It’s a threat to the vampires. And whatever they view as a threat, they will attack.”
“Good point but let me alert my mom about it. Besides, it seems to have gotten more potent. We might need a whole coven to dissolve it,” said Safi, as usual, unconcerned.
“Awesome,” I replied. “Just know that our – your – coven isn’t safe anymore.” I felt so confused. Was it still my coven or not? I had no idea. “They want blood. Crystal Witch blood,” I added.
“Got it,” said Safi, “in that case, you better find a way of retrieving that crystal and soon.”
***
I spent the remaining hours of sunlight, outside the academy, enjoying the day. I’d forgotten how much I’d missed being out and about at this time. It was the first time ever that I’d walked around, exploring for myself without a chaperone of some sort. It was freeing. There was a part of me that still wondered what would happen if I just disappeared, never to be seen again.
As I neared St. Erzsebet’s, I remembered what Ulric had said about how no one ever left the academy behind. It was as creepy as it had been the first time, I’d heard it. I reached the gates and remembered something else. I’d need to smear a sample of my blood to get back in. How could I have been so stupid to forget something as basic as that?
I was about to make an even stupider mistake, by trying to pick the entrance magically but I stopped myself. If there was one way to alert the academy’s security that I’d been outside it was that. I paced up and down for a few minutes, trying to think. Just as I was close to giving in and providing a blood sample to unlock the gates, I saw someone, no something, come and brush up against the gate from the other side. I jerked back and as the creature came clos
e, I realized it was one of the most majestic and beautiful wolves I’d ever seen. It wasn’t large but its’ body had a vitality about it that was reflected by the strides it took and the glossy black coat that covered it. As its frosty grey eyes met mine, I knew instantly who it was.
“Winnie!” I said, happy to see her, despite how rocky our first encounter had been. The wolf stopped dead in her tracks, so still that I was sure she would have considered pouncing on me but for the gates between us. “Can you help me? I need to get in,” I tried.
Winnie carried on watching me for at least a solid minute, maybe trying to decide what to do with my request. She eventually made her decision and for a brief second her eyes glowed like the moon before she sauntered off. How had I expected any different? I’d deal with le Boursier’s questions later. I was just about to do the inevitable and draw some blood so I could enter as Ulric walked up to the gate.
“I didn’t know, you’d been outside,” he said, like it was something I should have run by him.
“It was fine,” I said, “nothing happened,” I added, truly surprised Winnie had come through.
“Did you go back again?” he asked, sighing.
“Look, I’m really grateful to Winnie for getting you, can you let me in?”
Ulric sized me up, “Maybe,” he said, looking as reserved as any of my professors. Once again, I couldn’t help but imagine what he must have looked like in his full werewolf form.
“Seriously? Because if it’s not a yes, I’m just going to let myself in,” I’d already had enough of his attitude. I withdrew my silver sucking thing I’d been issues and as I took the lid off, he began to pull open the gate.
“Come in, jeez, don’t do that, they’ll know you were gone,” he said, pulling open the gate. “So, what’s been going on? Is everything okay?” he asked as we walked to the entrance of the building.
“I think it is – for now.”
“That’s some magic, you Crystal Witches have,” said Ulric, running a hand through his hair. The guy seemed particularly good at evading wearing a uniform as he was dressed in his usual dark jeans and a snug-fitting white t-shirt. He was a volley of attractive and arrogant without trying.
“Have you heard anything?” I asked.
“Something’s been simmering since before you came here. Now it’s just been way more accelerated because of the whole crystal magic thing,” he was thinking hard. It took all I had not to dip into whatever stream of consciousness he was censoring before giving me a more detailed answer.
“Whatever you know, it would really help if you shared it,” I urged, “Lilith, that girl who taunted you the night we came to the academy, she has it in for me and my coven.”
“Oh, that gothic chick? She’s hardly the only one now, though.”
“Exactly,” I said, not mentioning that Goth Girl was of real interest because she had my crystal and if she figured out how to use it in any capacity, she could cause harm to the coven. “Have you heard anything else about my coven since all this shit has hit the fan?”
“Shh,” said Ulric, knitting his brows together.
“What are you two nattering about? Miss Quartz, what are you doing out and about at this time? And, you, Ulric – what are you doing loitering, yet again? As a third year, you simply ought to know better!” said le Boursier who had crept up out of nowhere, making me jump. I hadn’t picked up on Ulric’s silencing me seconds before like I should have.
“Yes, ma’am’” replied Ulric staring down. Le Boursier scrutinized the two of us, trying hard to see if she could pick up on what had been going on.
“Miss. Quartz, don’t let me catch you up and about so early,” her beady little eyes pierced into me. “And I see you didn’t give a sample to enter?”
“That’s because she was right here, ma’am’,” replied Ulric before I could be flustered enough into putting my own foot in my mouth.
“Good! She might have Crystal Witch blood,” said le Boursier, her eyes coming alive, “but she’s one of us now. Go on then, Miss Quartz, run along to your dorm, your roommate’s probably looking for you anyway.”
I streamed all the way into the common area between the Sanguine and Novus dorms, hoping that had been the end of it for Ulric. It didn’t take long before Natalie came into the common area to find me. “I didn’t want to keep you locked out in case you were done with your practice,” she said. That’s right, I had told her I was in the cave the whole day.
“Thanks,” I said.
“Are you tired?”
“A little,” I said though being around the crystal magic in the cemetery had made me more charged up than any amount of sleep could.
“Why don’t you go back to our room and rest for a while? We’ve got History of Vampires with Devin first today and I’m going to get some breakfast before. I could get you some if you’d like?” Natalie offered.
“That would be great,” I said. I headed back to our room and sat down on my bed. I couldn’t help it. As I took some much-needed downtime, I found myself thinking of Ulric. What had he been trying to tell me, when le Boursier had come along? I closed my eyes and called his thoughts to merge with mine so I could read them. He came in loud and clear. He was pushing against it but he felt scared. He was in the middle of an argument with Kane and Winnie who were warning him to stop helping me as if I was one of their own. I couldn’t tell what was being said, either by him or by them, but his revolving thoughts, which were unadulterated were enough to tell me that he was being threatened by them for getting involved with me beyond the task he’d been given, which was to drop me at the academy and then distance himself. There was a burden of guilt he was carrying for letting his pack down but also something else mixed in. A threat he was feeling, issued by his own pack. By going into his mind, I had walked into a conversation that was fully about me. I sensed repulsion from him, which at first, I assumed was at me. After all, he was in trouble because of me. I couldn’t help but continue to listen in and as I did, I realized his feelings were towards Kane, who very much saw me as a witch about two steps away from being hunted by the Dark Legion. That didn’t surprise me, given how I’d been received by some of the vamps at Bloodline Academy. What surprised me was the ferocity with which Ulric had to fight against Kane and Winnie trying to convince him that they worked for the vampires and were there to serve them and not some two-bit witch. For some reason, despite all I’d heard about the Black Banes, I’d thought they were all like Ulric. Forced into servitude to vampires but sidestepping rules, whenever they could, in a game that was rigged against them to begin with.
“Here, I got you a continental breakfast and some of this,” said Natalie coming and standing by the bed, pulling me instantly away from Ulric. I didn’t even look at the continental breakfast, instead my eyes went straight to the juice-box of blood.
“Thanks,” I said grabbing a croissant and turning so I didn’t have to glimpse at the blood.
“I know it doesn’t come easily, but it’s like Val says, you have to keep your strength up,” said Natalie, offering me the tray with the rest of its’ contents.
“Since I tasted it, I didn’t enjoy it but…” I faltered.
“It’s been calling to you. Some part of you, on some level,” said Natalie.
“I think so. I don’t know. Ugh, and I don’t want to know. Unlike you and everyone else here. Or anywhere else, I have a choice. I’m a witch too. Blood’s not the only way,” I insisted.
“Sure, so control any urges you have but use it like a supernatural pick-me-up. And, only drink bottled or boxed, never straight up from the source,” Natalie smiled. She never looked like a vampire. There was a softness to her that just didn’t suit the image. Even when she referred to people’s necks as the source. “Easy!”
I hesitated but took the juice box from the tray and stowed it away in my bag. Hopefully she’d forget about it. Hopefully, we both would. I wolfed down the rest of my breakfast and we made our way to Devin’s class.
Everyone was already in their seats and taking notes. I couldn’t help but feel for Valenthia who had sacrificed any hope of being popular with her fellow Sanguines thanks to having chosen to hang out with us. Luckily her roommate, Raelinn, wasn’t one of Goth Girl’s crew as she was a second-year student who was away most of the time. She had only been forced to share with a first-year because she only lived on campus for part of the time and in another distant vampire academy the rest of the term. “How’s it going?”
“Okay,” I said.
“Kat’s been practicing all the maneuvers from Duquette’s class,” said Natalie, enthusiastically.
“Wow, that early? You must both be exhausted,” said Valenthia.
“We’re okay,” replied Natalie which made me realize how stupid my lie to her had been. Of course, most of the moves, had I really been practicing them, required a partner to practice with. So, Natalie knew I was lying and yet she chose, not only to keep my secret from Valenthia but also to never call me out about it. Having grown extremely fond of her, I still couldn’t help but wonder what was up with Natalie’s behaviour.
“As I was explaining, Miss Quartz and Miss Summers, today’s lesson is about propaganda,” said Professor Devin. He didn’t appear peeved by our slight lateness but more impassioned, wanting to make sure we didn’t miss a word of his lecture. “The Supernatural Light Alliance has always maintained that without their vampire monitoring division, which has also doubled up as a vampire hunting division too many times in history, that it’s existence is hinged on out of control power hungry vampires. They maintain a powerful message that vampires are evil and must be stopped for the greater good. We’re going to use one of their most powerful smear campaigns in history as a case study.”
“Let me guess, Vlad the Impaler?” asked Moldark on top form for questioning, with an air of authority that would have been misplaced in anyone but him.
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