Beastmora- The Golden Six

by Kayley Behler

  “Why?” Valeria asked.

  “You’ll see,” Florence replied before pulling two more books from her bag, “I also have some books on blood magic for you, I’ve annotated them.”

  “You annotated them?” Valeria questioned as she flipped open one of the books titled The History of Blood Magic inside there was a message written in her mother’s delicate script.

  Notes for Valeria, Demetri, and Henrik.

  The only limitations you have are the ones you place upon yourself.

  With love, Mom.

  “Well Emalia was an easy child, and I had spare time during my pregnancy with you and Demetri. I wrote in them with the intention that one day, one of you would pick up my affinity for blood magic,” Florence replied easily and she glanced at her communicator, “Read through these books when you return to the Grey Academy, take some notes and tomorrow night we will try to find your current again.”

  “Is it time to leave already?” Valeria asked in shock, and her mother nodded with a smile.

  “We have been in here for hours, love,” Florence responded, taking the books from Valeria and putting them back in the bag before handing the bag over, “Study tonight, Practice next moon. Do you have any questions before I take you down to the carriage?”

  “What if I can’t find my current?”

  “You will with time, but if you were unable to then you could not practice blood magic. That is highly unlikely since both your father and me have the gift” Florence responded, and Valeria’s eyes widened.

  “Dad can wield blood magic?” Valeria asked in shock, and her mom nodded.

  “Yes and no. Derik lost the ability in the Demon War.”

  “How did he lose it?” Valeria asked.

  “Ask him,” Florence answered, “Actually I would suggest you ask him for advice on how to find your current. You process your emotions in the same way he does, he might bring you an insight that I cannot.”

  “But Dad isn’t going to be at the Grey Academy for the whole summer.”

  “He was called there this night for a meeting.”

  “And he won’t mind?”

  “Of course not. I’ll let him know you’re coming,” Florence conveyed with a smile, “Now do you have any other questions?”

  “Why didn’t we do anything relating to the case today?” Valeria questioned, “Isn’t active, and time is of the essence or something like that?”

  “There is nothing Callan, and I can do at the moment. I’ve processed all the blood, and I can’t find anything off of it that will help,” Florence replied, “The tricky thing with cases is there is only so much you can do on them. Unfortunately, it is unlikely we will be able to figure out the Demon King’s movements so there is not much we can do at this point.”

  “Is there really nothing?”

  “At the moment, yes but all we can do is be ready for him to slip up,” Florence responded.

  “Why do demons do what they do?”

  “Demons feed off the pain and suffering from other beasts, the same way vampires feed on blood. There is something broken and twisted inside them after the infection takes hold, but in truth, we cannot know why they attack certain beings over another,” Florence responded, looking down at her communicator again, “Now we really must get going. Tardiness from a Dracul is unheard of.”

  ◆◆◆

  Upon returning to the Grey Academy with the blood magic books in her hands, she went to her father’s office. Her mother had told her he would be there tonight because of a board meeting. Valeria stopped in front of Secretary Choi, who paused his typing to look at her.

  “You know, normally when I get a call from Princess Florence it-,” The sorcerer was cut off by her father.

  “Thank you, Mr. Choi,” Derik said from the top of the spiral staircase, “Come on up, Valeria.”

  Valeria shot the sorcerer a smile before climbing up the stairs after her father, who had moved inside and was now pouring blood from a porcelain kettle into teacups that had the Grey Academy symbol on them. The room was just as Valeria remembered it from last time she was there, but this time Thoren was sprawled out on the ottoman, snoring softly.

  “I thought we could dine together, I haven’t fed since the start of the evening,” Derik began with a smile as he gestured for her to take a seat in the armchair next to his.

  “What did Secretary Choi mean?” Valeria questioned, and Derik chuckled.

  “Something you probably won’t care for knowing,” Derik responded as he took a sip from his blood, “Now your mom told me you were learning blood magic. How do you like it?”

  “It is a lot more interesting than when Madame Teague taught it,” Valeria responded honestly.

  “I’m glad you think so,” Derik expressed with a smile, “I understand you’re struggling with finding your current but do not fret, every beast does.”

  “Mom said you lost your ability to do blood magic. What happened?”

  “Well, in the last cycle of the Demon War, I was stationed at the barrier of Fae Territory, and we were pushing the demons in. I was attempting to freeze the blood of a demon that was attacking me when another stabbed me through the middle,” Derik said, pressing a finger to the remembered wound and Valeria gasped, “Freezing blood is extremely complicated, and it takes a lot of power, so my blood armor was weak, and it left mine vulnerable to attack. If your core is injured while using blood magic, one of two things will happen. Either your blood bursts and you die, or you lose all ability to wield it.”

  “By the Creator,” Valeria breathed, and her father gave her a small smile, “Did it hurt?”

  “More than anything I’ve ever felt,” Derik responded, but he didn’t seem sad or upset at all. He seemed accepting of what happened, “I’ve lost my ability to feel my current”

  “Do you miss it?” Valeria asked as she took a sip of the blood, and she realized how thirsty she truly was. The blood magic practice must have taken more out of her than she thought.

  “Indefinitely but I’m grateful it happened,” Derik mused, completely unbothered.

  “What? Why?”

  “If I had never nearly died on that field, then I would have never realized my true feelings for your mother,” Derik answered with a warm smile at the memory, “For someone who prides themselves in understanding their emotions, I was rather oblivious to my own”

  “Weren’t you always in love with Mom?”

  “No, but that is a story for another time. You’re here to talk about your current, yes?” Derik replied, and Valeria nodded, “Every flow of aura is different, and every beast finds it differently. I found it through emotion.”

  “Emotion?” Valeria questioned with a confused stare at her father, who just chuckled and nodded.

  “Yes, no matter what I tried I couldn’t seem to find it, but one night I finally got so frustrated that I shouted and through an embarrassing tantrum then there it was,” Derik explained, “After that, I never lost my current again or well until the Demon War.”

  “So you’re saying I have to get really frustrated and act like Henrik when he can’t have a blood popsicle before dinner?” Valeria asked

  “No. I’m saying the extremes of emotion helped me find mine,” Her father responded, “You’re unique, and your flow is unique. You’ll find it.”

  “Dad, how do you...deal with all that?” Valeria asked after a minute of silence, and Derik looked up from his cup of blood at her.

  “Horrors are shackles that restrain me, but I have a mean to escape. I have the key. I have myself,” Derik replied softly.

  ◆◆◆

  When Valeria got back to her dorm, it was to Ji-woo pacing the floor with an angered expression. Valeria had spent another hour with her father before he had to leave to make it back to the manor before dawn. She’d never seen the merperson mad before, weepy and sobbing but never angry. Her other roommates were scattered over the room, either lying in their beds or messing with something from their internship.r />
  “I can’t believe someone would be so disrespectful!” Ji-woo exclaimed.

  “What’s going on?” Valeria asked as she sat on her bed

  “Someone robbed Adella’s grave,” Gita supplied as she watched her partner grumble in anger with amusement.

  “I mean honestly, Adella Hashi is a member of the Golden Six, they saved the species and some piece of vermin has the audacity to rob a grave of such a great warrior!” Ji-woo ranted before she stopped and tears filled her eyes, “Imagine what her family is feeling, all this hard work and-”

  “Ji-woo honestly,” Gita said standing from her spot to pull the merperson next to her, “I’m sure the family is fine, and yeah it sucks, but crying won’t help.”

  “Crying is good for you,” Ji-woo replied, wiping at her eyes and Valeria sighed before crawling into bed. Her mom was right, blood magic was strenuous, and her body felt heavy.

  “V,” Ziana shook her slightly, and Valeria looked at her with a frown.

  “What?” Valeria grumbled, suddenly extremely sleepy and she honestly didn’t want to talk to the grouchy phoenix.

  “Did your mom talk to you about the case?” The phoenix questioned, and Valeria just stared up at her.

  “No, did Callan talk to you about it?” Valeria responded, and the phoenix shook her head

  “Figures,” Ziana replied before looking down at her hands, “Um so I went to the Infirmary wing while you were with the Headmaster.”

  Valeria sat up with wide eyes, remembering Edith, “Is Edith okay? Is she awake?”

  “Yeah, she is,” Ziana replied, and she crossed her arms looking away from Valeria.

  “Okay, why don’t we go see her then?” Valeria asked and made a move to get up, but Ziana stopped her.

  “It’s too late now, and she didn’t want to see me,” Ziana stated, looking away from the vampire, “I know I messed up by pushing her, okay but I don’t do the whole ‘feelings’ thing.”

  “Okay…” Valeria watched the phoenix struggle with words and waited to see what the other woman meant.

  “You’ve done dumb shit before right?” Ziana asked finally

  “I mean I guess,” Valeria responded, slightly offended by the comment but was too tired to argue with the other woman.

  “How did you fix it?” Ziana was looking down at the covers and tugging slightly at the edges. If Valeria didn’t know any better, she would think Ziana was asking for advice.

  “If you want to make it up to Edith, do something nice for her and show her you care,” Valeria responded, and the phoenix groaned

  “I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not exactly nice,” Ziana responded, fixing Valeria with an irritated glare

  “It has not escaped my notice actually,” Valeria replied with a slight twitch of her lips, “Listen just bring her flowers or something.”

  “Flowers?” Ziana mocked with a look of disgust, “What am I a hatchling?”

  “No, you’re an idiot that needs to do some groveling,” Valeria responded, “Now leave me alone. I’m going to bed.”

  “You’re literally laying in bed, Princess,” Ziana remarked, but she moved off Valeria's bed like she’d asked

  “Shut up,” Valeria grumbled before throwing an extra pillow at the laughing phoenix, “And I’m a Duchess.”

  * * *

  Chapter Ten

  The King is on Fire

  Ziana and Valeria tracked down Kamilah the next night to ask about the journal. They had been trying to get the older woman alone for the past two nights and were not lucky until now. They caught her just as she was about to turn into the dining hall.

  “Hello, ladies,” Kamilah said, smiling politely at them, “What can I do for you?”

  “We were wondering if we could have the journal back?” Ziana asked in a much more forceful tone than they’d discussed doing, “Or at least see it one more time?”

  “What journal?” Kamilah asked, looking so genuinely confused that it took Valeria aback. The phoenix seemed like a completely different person today. When the vampire looked into her eyes, she only saw sincerity. Maybe they were wrong about Kamilah.

  “Mia’s journal. You took it away from us last night,” Ziana responded, and Kamilah looked flummoxed.

  “I assure you, I did not take any journal away from you two last night,” The RA responded, but her gaze was muddled with confusion, “I would have remembered that… I have to go. Go to the dining hall before you miss breakfast.”

  Kamilah turned on her heels and swiftly made her way down the hall, either she was an excellent liar, or she sincerely had no idea what they were talking about. Valeria turned towards her partner, “What do you think that was about?”

  “I think she is lying,” Ziana replied and started towards the dining hall with Valeria on her heels, “Of course she remembers, and she thinks if she pretends not to know, then we will give up.”

  “But what exactly can we do if she handed off the journal?” Valeria questioned, easily keeping pace with the phoenix, “We can’t prove that she took it, and she seemed genuinely confused about the whole thing.”

  “It doesn’t matter if she seems genuine or not. We have to find out who took the journal,” Ziana responded, stopping shy of the dining hall and turning towards Valeria, “Her taking it proves that Mia was murdered.”

  “No, it doesn’t,” Valeria countered, “It proves that they don’t want us reading a dead vampire’s journal. Even you can agree that is not very healthy.”

  “There is more to it, and you know it, V,” Ziana said before turning away and making her way into the dining hall. Once they sat down, Ziana took one bite of her food before rounding on Valeria, “You need to go to that party.”

  “What party?” Valeria asked, sipping on her blood and Ziana made an impatient noise.

  “The anniversary party, you mentioned,” Ziana replied, taking another bite from her burnt toast and Valeria scrunched her nose in disgust at the crumbs that flew at her, “The Demon War one.”

  “Uh yeah but it’s not like we can just waltz into that party,” Valeria said as she brushed the crumbs from her sleeve, “You eat like a dragon.”

  “Thank you.”

  “That wasn’t a compliment.”

  “Your parents are invited to that party, ask if you can tag along,” Ziana said as if it was straightforward.

  “But I’ve never wanted to go before. They will get suspicious,” Valeria countered, setting down her chalice of blood, “Why do you want me to go to this party so bad?”

  “I’ve been thinking about what the...thing said in the hallway,” Ziana responded before clearing her throat as if what she had to say next would be difficult, “and I think you’re...you’re right.”

  “Wow, are you okay? It seemed like that was really tough for you,” Valeria snarked a tone of poorly veiled bitterness in her tone.

  “Actually it was, thanks for noticing Princess.”

  “Number one, I am a Duchess, not a Princess and number two, what do you suggest I say to convince my mom, a GSI agent, that I suddenly want to go to this party that I’ve always complained about.”

  “That’s not my problem, just do it,” Ziana said, turning back to her toast. Valeria watched as the black crumbs fell onto the phoenix’s shirt and scrunched her nose in disgust.

  “Do you eat anything but burnt toast?”

  “Do you drink anything but blood?”

  “I am a vampire. We only drink blood,” She exclaimed, running a frustrated hand through her hair.

  “Again, not my problem,” Ziana smirked making Valeria want to throttle her just a little.

  “Why do I even talk to you?”

  “Cause no else will,” Ziana responded, taking a gleeful bite of her toast as Valeria rolled her eyes.

  ◆◆◆

  As the nights passed, Valeria still couldn’t find her current, and every new session proved to be another frustration for her. Instead of practicing blood magic, all she did was lea
rn the history and basic self-defense. The nights spent at the GSI was filled with looking over case files and blood magic sessions with Florence. Even if those sessions taught Valeria a great deal, she grew more and more irritated with her lack of progress.

  “Is this all you do?” Valeria asked as she peered over her mother’s shoulder, upon arriving at the GSI, she had discovered the door in Florence and Callan’s office was actually a blood lab. The lab had black tiled floors and clean grey cabinets lining the white walls. The counters were colored the same as the floors housing several vials and containers neatly organized on top of them. Now Valeria sat watching her mom examine a drop of blood brought in by Team B. A few hours after Ziana, and she had arrived, the Captain of Team B had come up and asked for a favor while they were training.

  “You wanted to learn about blood magic, this pertains to it,” Florence responded as her fingers made circular motions and red wisps formed over the blood, “By first glance it tells me the blood is a day old, it belonged to a female elf about three hundred cycles old and that she was not a royal. By a second glance, it tells me the elf was suffocated and was in pain upon death.”

  “How can you tell that from the blood?” Valeria questioned, staring intently at the couple of drops willing her eyes to see what her mother saw.

  “The blood tells a story, listen to it, Valeria. What is the blood telling you?” Florence responded, “Vampires can hear the past through blood just as phoenixes can hear past through fire or elves through earth or merpeople through the water.”

  Valeria leaned in closer to the liquid, concentrating on her own core before opening her eyes to see the fading mist of magic clinging to the blood, “It’s dying.”

  “Yes,” Florence responded softly, “The magic of the core will dissipate into the planet after three days of the passing. Now listen to what it’s saying.”