My immortal heart thumps loudly in my ears as I try to comprehend what I am being told. Am I being given a chance to live? Part of me thinks that no matter what they offer, I already know the answer. Why would I choose death over anything they can give me as an alternative?
“I appreciate the opportunity, though I do not feel I deserve it. I was foolish in my attendance of such a party without any experience.” I lower my neck, showing my fealty to them in this way.
“Nevertheless, we would like to offer you the chance to come and hone your new skills as an immortal at Paranormal Hunter Academy, under our close supervision. Upon successful graduation, we would put you out in the field as a hunter.”
To a lot of witches, what they are offering me would be a great honor. Being a hunter is just about the most respected job you can have as an adult witch, but I know better. It isn't that I don’t think the offer is still possibly better than death, but becoming a hunter could be a death sentence. My father died in the field, and he was young with a son on the way and a young daughter. I am not dumb enough to believe this is mercy. This is a chance to use me, now a powerful Blood Witch, as a pawn for the Magistrate. My life would be dedicated to their every beck and call until the day I die.
“So, what do you say, Miss Graywood?”
Chapter 4
I walk out of the room in a daze, finding my uncle waiting for me. This is not the news I expect to be giving him, and from the look on his face, he didn’t expect to see me again either. “Riley?” he asks as if I might melt and become someone else before his eyes.
“The Magistrate has decided to grant me leniency under certain conditions,” I tell him, feeling the need to be formal with the woman who brought me in still watching me. And who knows what the Magistrate can hear? “I am to enroll at the academy and become a hunter,” I tell him.
“A hunter … Riley, are you sure about this?”
“I am sure I am not going to choose to die today.” And it's the truth; the best answer I can offer and mean it. There's no room for being sure or not.
“I hate to cut this short, but there is a lot to do,” the woman interjects, inserting her hand in front of my uncle. “I am Eva Brown, and I will be getting Riley all ready to start at the academy. The magistrate would like her to enroll immediately.”
My uncle takes her hand and shakes it slowly. “Immediately?”
“Yes. The semester has already started, so it is important that she gets caught up as soon as possible. I am sorry there isn't more time for goodbyes, but they offered to take you in the car with her if you’d like.” Eva looks between us with that same broad grin she had before. Her teeth are gleaming so bright they could easily blend in with the white marble downstairs.
“Umm..” he looks at me, and I know his problem. He doesn't want to leave Vivi stranded, but he wants to talk with me.
“We’ll have Yule,” I tell him. He has been there for me and reassured me for years. It so happens to be my turn now. “Just go home with Vivi. I’ll be fine.” I am surprised by the fact that I actually feel a calmness settle over me with my words. I don’t feel as frightened as I thought I would. In fact, I feel empowered.
I have always wanted to live up to my parents’ legacy, and even though this is practically a slave contract, it would be crazy of me not to see the silver lining in getting to train with the other hunters. Finally, my magic might be up to par.
I wrap my arms around his neck and squeeze my eyes closed as I take in his minty scent for what will be the last time for a couple of months. It will be strange not waking up to him every morning. “I’ll miss you.”
“Please, be careful, Riley.” His voice is husky, and as I pull away I half expect to see tears in his eyes. “Can she take a familiar?” he asks, his eyes landing on Eva instead. I can’t believe he would think of taking Jinx away from Vivi like that, but he must be truly worried for my safety. Maybe he thinks Jinx will keep me out of any further trouble that might get me killed.
“Yes, of course. As long as it is a family familiar, she is welcome to it.”
“Yes, we have a small cat that has been in the family for a while. He is with her cousin, downstairs.”
“Let's go collect the little critter then and be on our way.” Her cheery disposition grates on my nerves, and I wonder why she feels the need to be so over the top. I say nothing, though, as we take the elevator back down to the lobby, ready to give Vivi and the scared secretaries the shock of their lives when they see I am walking and breathing still.
When we come out of the elevator, Jinx leaps from Vivi’s arms and jumps straight into my bag, making me laugh. I pat him on the head.
“See, there, I knew you and I could be friends.”
“What's happening?” Vivi asks, her eyes darting back and forth between me and my uncle.
“Looks like Jinx and your cousin are headed to the academy,” my uncle tells her with a sigh. “And we're going home.”
“The academy?” Vivi asks, almost choking on the words. I can't tell if it is confusion or jealousy; perhaps it is some of both.
“The Magistrate has offered Riley an opportunity to become a hunter.” My uncle gives her a pointed look as he says it, and she backs off if the subject for now.
“Take good care of Jinx.”
I nod at her, a little sorry that I have to separate them like this, but there must be an advantage to coming into the academy with a familiar. And Heaven knows I need all the advantages I can get.
We all go outside where I watch them leave before getting inside a silver car with darkened windows. They might even be an illegal level tint, but it might be necessary as the sun is now high in the sky and would scorch me. I don’t exactly want to show up with third degree burns on my first day.
It is just Eva, one guard, and myself as we ride out to the school, which sits in the mountains of western Utah. She blasts the heat as we drive up the narrow roadway, and I try not to pay too much attention to how close to the edge of the drop we get on some turns. Instead, I listen to her drone on about all the things that will happen once I make it to Paranormal Hunter Academy.
“I’ll make sure to tell them when you get there to get you a potion so you won’t be hindered by the sun at all. Some of the classes are outside, and you’ll want to experience them all if you’re going to be as good a hunter as your father.”
I almost cringe at another mention of my father, Samuel. I might have to get used it, though, as he is well known in this world. Witch society is going to be curious about me and what I can do.
“I hope I don’t disappoint you,” I whisper to myself.
“It’s so nice that you don’t have to bring a bunch of baggage with you. They’ll give you a small allowance, and they provide food and uniforms. You don’t really need much else. And for school uniforms, they are actually pretty nice,” Eva continues, speeding around a corner that has me hanging onto the ‘oh shit’ bar for dear life. Maybe I will be dying today, after all.
I dare a glance out the window and see as we ascend that there are a few patches of ice and snow left over from spring, which is practically nonexistent here. I remember when my mother died it was late September, and they were just getting triple digits for the summer after having a big snow two weeks before. Even though New Mexico was elevated, the weather was much more stable. It would take getting used to.
It’s strange when the school comes into sight. One moment there is nothing, and the next, I see a sprawling campus with two large buildings. It looks colonial in era but pristine, obviously maintained by magic rather than by human means. Even with modern technology, humans can't seem to maintain a building so well.
“Isn’t it lovely?” Eva asks in a sing-songy voice as we pull into the drive.
I step out and am handed un umbrella by the guard. “To protect you from the sun,” he says mechanically.
“Thanks.”
Eva is already taking off ahead of me, her long legs, muscular from wearing heels al
l the time, carrying her across through the gate much faster. Before I catch up, she has entered some kind of code, and it is swinging open to let us enter.
“You’ll be given your own code to get in and out if you need to, but you won't need to for a while. Students don’t leave campus alone their first year, so even if you needed to get something in town, you would be accompanied by someone who has a code.”
“So, it is a fancy prison,” I mutter to myself inaudibly. I don’t need to anger anyone right now.
I follow her into a white door that leads to a small, self-contained space with offices. I am guessing this is where I get enrolled.
There is an elderly woman manning a desk in front of us, half-moon glasses sliding down her pointy nose. “How may I help you?”
“I am here to enroll Riley Graywood. You should have received some information about her from the Magistrate,” Eva tells the lady.
“Oh, yes, Graywood,” the old lady mutters, pulling out a filing draw by her right knee and pulling out a clear file folder. “Just sign these papers while I get her schedule printed out and her measurements taken.” She snaps her fingers, and from the back of the office saunters a gigantic panther. Once it reaches me, though, it suddenly grows into the form of a woman with a measuring tape in her hands. It must be the old woman’s familiar.
I hold still as the panther turned human worries over my bust and waist sizes for what I assume is an order of uniforms; something I am not looking forward to. You would think I would want to fit in with everyone right away and enjoy the anonymity, but it makes me uncomfortable. I am better at hiding in my own clothing. Hopefully, we have free dress on weekends at least.
It isn't long before I am passed a slip of paper with names of classes and times on it. “You will start in two days. You should have your uniform by then.” The old woman does not even look at me when she says it. So, while I wait on Eva, I look at what my schedule will be like.
History of Magical Species Room 411 8:00
Forbidden Talents Basement 9:00
Psychic Magic Room 432 11:00
Lunch Cafeteria 12:30
Demonology Room 802 14:00
Hunter Athletics Field 3 15:00
“Alright, let's go find your room!” Eva’s voice breaks me out of my thoughts, and I have to speed walk to keep up with her as she walks back out the door and to the other side of campus – which I guess is the living quarters.
“Demonology?” I question her.
“Shhh,” she says, looking around to see who might have heard, “you are not to talk of the dark arts classes you must take to hone your skills with anyone who is not a teacher or a similar student.”
“Got it.”
My legs ache as she takes me quickly up several flights of stairs to what I believe is the top floor of the building and then to the third door on the left. She knocks for good measure before barging in and points inside. “This is where I leave you. Good luck!”
I blink, unsure why I was expecting a little more than ‘good luck’ before I tentatively peek into the room. There are two beds, but the room is empty of anyone else. I guess my roommate must be in classes still or just around campus.
I sigh and sit on the bed that isn't surrounded by personal items, not knowing what to do with myself.
Everything about my life has changed in just a few days, and I have no idea who I will become when I am through here.
Chapter 5
Lucky for me, my first class of the day had been easy to find. The rooms labeled as 400 were on the fourth floor; the second highest floor in the school building. Which already has me confused about where Demonology might take place, but I will have to find someone to help me with that without breaking the rule of keeping it a secret. Good luck, right?
Now, I am taking the lesser used staircase at the east end of the building, apparently mostly for janitorial and cafeteria staff to come and go as needed. But it is the only way down into the basement where I will be taking my second class; Forbidden Talents.
This is the class that makes me the most excited because it means learning new tricks; using magic. That’s not something I have gotten to do often and why my talents have gone by the wayside and stayed weak throughout my life. My uncle is much more skilled with numbers and facts than he is with his actual spells, though he can defend against almost anything when needed. He never took much time to practice with me, and I think it has been to prevent this very occurrence now – being at the academy and becoming a hunter.
I have no choice anymore, though. Not unless I want to be six feet under before the word teen is removed from my age.
For a school with so much money and so many staff members, the basement is just as musty as you would expect such a place to be in any building. The smell of mildew makes my nose tingle uncomfortably as I search the dingy concrete space for the door I am needing.
I turn down a hallway that is similar to the ones above and find there are a few doors down this hall. I wonder what other classes might be conducted down here.
On each blue-grey door is simply a letter or up to three letters, possibly signifying the name of the class that it stands for. All the way at the end of the hall I find one with the letters F& T printed on it and make the assumption that this is the class that I was supposed to be in; Forbidden Talents. I push the door open and find a fully-equipped classroom just like those above, and luckily, inside is not as dusty as the outside, I assume because the actual classroom gets some use. I
am one of only three students in the room, but maybe everyone else is searching for the room or simply fashionably late. I don't exactly know what the etiquette is like here or how the cliques work. I didn't spend much time socializing while I was holed up waiting for my uniform for that first two days, nor did I want to. I was so afraid that somebody would be able to tell what I was, and it would make me an instant pariah, the last thing I need right now when I'm trying to redeem my family name by becoming a good hunter. And saving my own ass, for that matter.
I take a seat dead middle. I don't want to be one of the teacher's pets at the front, nor do I need to be distracted by being at the back. Blending in is the name of the game. Eventually, more students show up, but the seats are not full by any means. Then, a perfect looking woman with bright red hair, shining Amber eyes, and a figure hugging purple t-shirt dress and a matching belt steps before us. This must be the teacher, though I can't recall ever seeing a teacher that looks like this. “I see a couple of new faces in here this year. It is rare that we get new students, but it is always fun to see what they have to offer. I am Madame Michelle, but you may call me Michelle, Chelle, or just Professor for all I care. I've been teaching at Paranormal Hunter Academy for around 50 years now.“ She pauses as if to wait for the gasps from those of us who don't know her.
I don't want to draw attention to myself, so I put my hand to my mouth and pretend I'm having a yawn. I am assuming she must be some kind of forbidden species or simply a witch very gifted in illusion magic, because she doesn't look a day over twenty-five.
She walks past my desk and taps on it before walking behind me to tap me on a desk at the back where another girl sits. She looks younger than me, her eyes darting around the room like a scared little animal. I wonder what her story is. I don’t get to think much more on it because Madame Michelle continues her diatribe. “Yes, that is right. By now it must have sunk in that I don't look like I could possibly be 50, much less having been teaching here for 50 years. That is because I am a vampire. It is true that in the past vampires have not been allies with witches and have often not been seen on campus or anywhere else positive in the witch world. However, there are those of us who disagree with those who have made us what we are and were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. If we have such talents we can often use them to help the Magistrate at Paranormal Hunter Academy like I do. Inside this room there will be no stigma about vampires or anything else that walks through these doors that is not purebred wit
ch. I want you to understand that because outside of these doors, he may find something quite different. But I don't approve of such things in my classroom.”
Interestingly enough, we spend the rest of class discussing blood and what it does when it shifts and changes due to contact with a demonic source. Most of it focuses on vampire blood, which is a watered-down version of demon blood. Vampires do not maintain their witch abilities once the vampire blood takes over, much like a virus. But they have their own magic to use, in particular, glamour which is the term I have heard once or twice. It encompasses their use of projecting their thoughts and wishes onto people, one of the reasons that they are seen as evil. It will be interesting to see how they reconcile that use of power in this class with something useful.
The one part of the class that I hate, though is when they have us all get in front of everyone and tell our stories of how we became what we are. The one saving grace is that we don't have to reveal exactly what we are. I am assuming that I am the only Blood Witch here, but I can't be 100% sure because the stories left the part out of what exactly had turned these students. In fact, there is one student, a boy named Jake, who was born the way that he is. I'm looking forward to learning how that is possible because I've never heard of such a thing.
I leave the class feeling strange and drained, having a hard time mingling back with the rest of the school who is none the wiser. I am starving by the time lunch comes around, not used to the early start to the day. My uncle does not keep a strict schedule on us at home and never has. I don't know if I'm grateful to him for this for all the years I got to sleep in or if I'm a little frustrated that he hasn't prepared me at all for life as an adult witch. But then again he never wanted me at Paranormal Hunter Academy to begin with, and I didn't exactly see myself ending up here either.
Blood Witch (Paranormal Hunter Academy Book 1) Page 3