Beastmora- The Golden Six

by Kayley Behler

  “Callan, they are going to be late,” Florence called just as Ziana swung a flaming fist in the wolf’s direction and he turned to look at them. The flames engulfed Callan’s shirt, and he quickly tore it off with a snarl as it turned to ash.

  “Really, Florence?” Callan growled, “You saw that Z had her flames out.”

  “Oh did I,” Her mother mused picking at her blue fingernails. Valeria couldn’t help but stare at Callan as all his tattoos came into view. On the front of his left arm, there was a phoenix going from his wrist to his elbow, on the back was a wolf with piercing blue eyes. At his elbow, the wolf and phoenix transitioned into two wolves circling each other. His right arm had a snake with red eyes twisting around his wrist. Interwoven with the snake’s tail was an owl. On either side of the owl were two dragons, one small one that had its head tilted to the side and another one with two heads. The most beautiful one was the wolf nestled around his mate mark shrouded in flowers.

  “Wow, those are so cool,” Ziana whispered, stepping closer to her mentor, her eyes flickering over the ink, “I’ve only ever heard of Wolfish tattoos. Yours are amazing.”

  Wolfish tattoos are a right of passage for Wolves when they turn a century. There is a ceremony where the wolf has a needle placed on their wrist where ink will go around their body and draw a symbol of their pack into their skin. As the cycles pass, the tattoos will change and be added onto depending on the importance of the people in the wolf’s life. Valeria had seen the phoenix and snake but never the rest of them. She did have to admit that they did look pretty cool.

  “See Florence, more than one person likes my art,” Callan snickered turning his nose up at her mother who scoffed in response.

  “Who do they represent?” Ziana questioned her eyes alight with curiosity.

  “The phoenix is Xander, the wolf connected to it represents my Uncle Lance. The two wolves are my folks,” He said pointing to the respective tattoos, “The snake is Florence, obviously, the owl is Derik, the smaller dragon is my brother in law Henrik, the two-headed dragon is Demetri and V. My favorite is Em’s wolf in the center though.”

  “In-laws? You are not married to my daughter, yet,” Florence retorted, “and I still resent being symbolized by a snake.”

  “You consider me part of your pack?” Valeria asked, stopping Callan from his retort. She and Callan had never been particularly close. He always got along better with her brothers, those two she understood but why her?

  “Of course. Just because I don’t like you, doesn’t mean you aren’t pack to me.”

  “I think that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Valeria laughed, looking at the wolf with a teasing smile.

  “Don’t let it get to your head kid, if it gets any bigger you might tumble down the building.”

  * * *

  Chapter Eleven

  The Grey Rebellion

  Before Valeria knew it, was the night before the anniversary party and she was buzzing with anticipation. She was curious as to what was to come at the party and whether or not it correlated with what the voices said. She was also feeling incredibly guilty for not speaking up, but every time she felt the urge to blurt it out, Ziana was there to silence her.

  “Can you please show me how to manifest blood weapons?” Valeria asked eagerly as they started their training session that night, “I’ve read all the books you gave me.”

  “Why are you so eager?” Florence questioned as she raised an eyebrow at her daughter, “Going to battle anytime soon?”

  “Mom, can’t you just do it without questioning my every motive?” Valeria responded, “Do you not trust me?”

  “Are you giving me a reason not too?” Florence countered, her lips quirked up at the sides.

  “I don’t want to be perceived as weak. I want to be admired like a warrior instead of just being your daughter,” Valeria explained, pushing her hair behind her pointed ear, “I’ll never be as smart as Emalia or cute as Henrik or clever as Demetri. This is the only thing I have going against them.”

  “Ah, sibling rivalry. I should have expected it sooner,” Florence joked, but her expression became serious and she touched Valeria’s cheek lightly, “You all are unique in your own way and shine in your own lights. Comparing yourself to other people will only make you unhappy.”

  “Does that mean you aren’t going to teach it to me?” Valeria inquired, and Florence sighed before flicking her nose.

  “Insolent child,” Florence jested, and Valeria cracked a smile at her, “I will teach it to you, but only because you’ll try it behind my back if I don’t.”

  Valeria beamed at her mother who just sighed again before closing her eyes and finding her sight again, “Alright, what do I have to do?”

  “You have not absorbed any blood from battle or from gift so blood armor and blood weapons will be impossible unless through your own,” Florence responded, cutting her palm and taking Valeria’s hand, letting it drop into her palm. Valeria had read about this in the History of Blood Magic, it was typical for parents to gift their children with their blood as a blessing, and Valeria couldn’t believe her mom was offering her own. When she spoke again, it was in Old Vampiric this time, “I offer the gift of my blood to protect and defend you in battle. My blood is with you, my daughter.”

  “I accept and thank you,” Valeria responded in kind, following the tradition she had read about and watched as the blood soaked into her skin before disappearing, leaving her palm clean.

  “Call it to the surface now,” Florence instructed, releasing Valeria’s hand, “call upon your current to carry it.”

  Valeria did as her mother asked, at first she couldn’t feel anything different, but then she felt the new addition just under her skin. It was a velvety, cool power that tingled below the surface, and when she pressed closer, she felt the blood stir. At her call, it rose to the surface of her palm, still liquid in nature but not to the point that it would fall out of her palm.

  “Well done,” Florence praised, looking down at her palm and Valeria grinned up at her, “Now try to harden it to a solid.”

  Despite Valeria’s best attempts, it simply would not harden or change shape in any way. It was unlike the blood she had moved before, it was resilient against her and didn’t conform so easily. After several tries, she allowed the blood to seep back under her skin and huffed in frustration.

  “Is it supposed to be that hard?” Valeria grumbled, rubbing the spot where the liquid was only moments before.

  “Yes, This is one of the most difficult practices. The idea is calling upon blood that is not your own to protect you. The blood gift is much easier to tame than the blood of an enemy,” Florence replied, closing her own hands over Valeria’s, “It will come with time and practice but-”

  “Be patient. I know,” Valeria grumbled, and Florence raised an eyebrow at her. Her mother began to say something else, but Callan burst in with Xander and Ziana following behind him.

  “You will not believe what I just heard,” Callan exclaimed marching into the room.

  “Sorry to interrupt but I have news,” Xander said as he walked over to where they stood in the training room. By the look on their faces, the news couldn’t be good.

  “We were just finishing up regardless,” Florence responded, releasing Valeria’s hands and turning her attention to the other members in the room “What is it?”

  “Fang and the council has decided to the Destroyer’s domain with the case!” Callan complained, throwing his hands in the air, “We are meant to just give up, they won’t even let us continue to search!”

  “Callan. As I am the Captain of the team, I believe it is my duty to explain the situation,” Xander corrected with a sigh, giving Callan a firm look but the wolf only stuck his tongue out at the older beast, “But he is right. The Demon King case has officially been marked inactive. It is deemed a waste of resources to continue. Team A, as well as the interns, will be given two nights of a break before resuming work.�
��

  “Wait, what?” Valeria said, her eyes wide in disbelief.

  “A waste of resources my ass!” Callan retorted, his arms crossed and Valeria was reminded how young he really was, “People are dying, and we are meant to accept the verdict. Florence, can’t you use your silver tongue to convince them otherwise.”

  “At least they have given us more time than last,” Florence responded calmly, but Valeria could tell she was irritated. Whether it was about the decision or Callan’s choice of words, she wasn’t sure. Her mom had always been hard to read.

  “Yeah, that was twelve cycles ago,” Callan countered, “You got us more time last time.”

  “I will attempt to speak with them, but I doubt they will be inclined to extend the investigation anymore than they already have” Florence answered, “Bethal will be occupied until the anniversary. The conversation will have to wait until then.”

  “Bethal as in the oldest beast in Beastmora? You know her?” Ziana asked in shock, and the older beasts all nodded. Valeria wasn’t surprised that her mother knew the oldest elf in the world. She knew everyone or knew of them. From what Emalia had told her, it most likely had to do with the whole slithers thing.

  “Yes, we have a history with the entire council,” Xander said exchanging glances she couldn’t decipher with Callan and her mother.

  “Then we wait to see what happens after the anniversary party?” Callan scoffed obviously displeased with the decision. Valeria couldn’t exactly blame him, she felt the same way.

  “Be patient. I know that’ll be hard for some of you,” Florence teased giving Callan a pointed look causing a round of bickering to ensue between them.

  ◆◆◆

  “What are you going to do if you hear the voices again tonight?” Ziana asked as they sat down with their breakfast. Valeria was going to be picked up by her father soon. They were going to head back to the Grey Manor and get ready for the party since Valeria hadn’t brought any formal wear with her to the academy.

  “I don’t know, what do you think I should do? It’s not like I have a lot to go on” Valeria replied her mind occupied with the party itself. She hoped she was wrong about this being what the voices meant, but a much larger part told her that it was exactly what she thought it was. The only problem was that Valeria didn’t know what she was even looking for. Hearing some voices talk about being ready for an anniversary didn’t give her much to go off of.

  “We know what they sound like, keep an ear open and talk to some people, preferably people who have a connection to the Academy or Mia.”

  “How would I know who’s connected to the academy or if they knew Mia?” She scoffed, becoming irritated with how demanding the phoenix was being. Valeria was stressed out enough about the entire thing. She had a hard time sleeping that day, plagued with the echoing whisper of Edith’s voice saying, ‘the king is on fire.’

  “By mingling, you vampires are usually pretty sneaky right. Use some of that,” Ziana shrugged once again eating that disgusting burnt toast. Valeria chose not to comment on the stereotypical comment about vampires but couldn’t stand the sight of the recurring burnt toast.

  “By the Creator, would you eat something else? The cafeteria will literally make you whatever you want,” Valeria exclaimed, pointing angrily at the phoenix’s meal.

  “It’s my favorite dusk time meal,” The phoenix said not at all bothered by Valeria’s outburst, “Look, I know you’re freaked out about tonight, but it’s going to be fine. All the members of the Six will be there and some of the greatest warriors of our generation. If the Demon King tries something, they will stop him.”

  “Remind me again why we aren’t telling someone then,” Valeria questioned, raising her eyebrows at her friend.

  “Because it’s too damn late now and we are going to figure this out,” Ziana snapped, “Chill out. It’ll all work out.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” She mumbled downing the rest of her blood as her communicator beeped with a message from Derik, “I’ve got to go through. Dad’s here to pick me up.”

  “See ya, Princess. Good luck!” Ziana waved, causing Valeria to whip back around.

  “I’m not a Princess,” She called before turning back around to make her way to the lobby. When she got there, Derik was handing back the sign-out sheet to Neferna.

  “I’ll have her back in two nights,” He said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, “You have a good night, Neferna.”

  When they walked outside, the Grey carriage was waiting for them, “Where’s Thoren?”

  “Your mother got a call from Emalia an hour before dusk and left with Thoren once the sunset,” Derik explained, giving her a hand up into the carriage.

  “What did Emalia need?” Valeria asked, making herself comfortable in the plush gray seat. The ride from Kalissa to the Grey Manor would be longer than riding on a dragon.

  “I don’t know, but she was quite upset on the communicator, something about a dress. I try not to get too involved in those things,” Derik replied with a shrug of his shoulders, “She should be home by the time we get there, though.”

  “So... the other night, the Captain of team B, Desdemona came to the floor,” Valeria prompted, and Derik’s lips twitched downward for a second.

  “Yes, Florence told me about that,” Her father responded, turning away to avoid her gaze, which just made Valeria want to know about it more.

  “What is up between them?” Valeria questioned, and Derik sighed deeply.

  “It’s kind of a long story,” He replied, scratching his jaw, “Plus, you are much too young to despise society, so I’m not gonna tell you. How about that?”

  “So essentially, it’s a ‘story for another time’?” Valeria said with an irritated sigh, getting tired of hearing that phrase.

  “But does Desdemona deserve the treatment she gets from your mother and Callan, the answer is yes. Very much so. While your brother in law is not the friendliest individual, he never treats people so callously without reason” Derik gave her a smile before they lapsed into a lighter conversation about how she liked the academy and how her blood magic training was coming along.

  Finally, they passed through the gates of Grey Manor, and the familiar wards made Valeria feel giddy. She hadn’t been home in weeks, and she had never been so grateful to see the elegantly sculpted archways again.

  “I missed home,” Valeria mused with a smile as the carriage pulled to a stop at the entrance and Derik smiled at her before he climbed out with Valeria on his heels. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and relishing in the fresh air and cooler weather. Kalissa was lovely, but it didn’t compare to the cold climate and crisp air of VT. Henrik rushed out of the front door, his fanged teeth gleaming in the moonlight as he beamed at his sister and rushed into her arms.

  “Welcome Home, V!” As she wrapped her arms around her little brother, she realized how much she had missed him. Looking at Henrik made her miss Demetri, in fact, it made her miss both of them.

  “Hey Henrik,” Valeria greeted with a wide smile at the curly haired vampire who returned her smile with his own.

  “You’ve been gone forever,” Henrik said as he released her and hugged their father, “Hi Dad.”

  “Hi son,” Derik responded, “Is your mom back yet?”

  “No but my slither has been playing chess with me,” Henrik answered, Valeria looked up, and there was a woman with blue hair clad in all black, leaning against the doorway, but in a blink, she was gone.

  “Well, did you win?” Derik asked as they all made their way into the manor.

  “Of course, Blue isn’t very good at chess,” Henrik mused, “but she is really good at hide and seek. I can never find her.”

  “You aren’t meant to,” Florence said as she passed through the doorway to them, Nebby on her shoulder and Thoren trotting by her feet.

  “But, Em always knows where Bunnywolf is,” Henrik protested before jumping into their mother’s arms who caught her
with a grunt and she settled him on her hip.

  “Emalia is a lot more observant than you, my love,” Florence stated booping Henrik’s nose who giggled in response.

  “Speaking of Emalia, crisis averted?” Derik asked, pressing a kiss to Florence’s cheek who rolled her eyes.

  “Yes, thank the Creator it could be fixed with some meat skewers and a new dress.”

  “Did something happen to Emalia’s dress?” Valeria questioned.

  “Yes, she got paint on it. Again. I keep telling that wolf to be mindful of her apparel while painting, but you know how she gets when she’s inspired” Florence said, adjusting Henrik on her hip, “Anyway, enough about that. We need to get ready for the party.”

  “Can I go to the party?” Henrik cut in, his tiny arms looping around Florence’s neck and he tilted his head just so.

  “No,” Florence answered, not even looking at him.

  “Please, Mom, I’ll be really good and stay by your side all night,” He crooned, smiling widely up at his mother.

  “There won’t be any beast your age there, dear,” Florence responded, finally looking at her son, “You’ll be very bored.”

  “I don’t care, I wanna go with you. V gets to go, so why can’t I?” He said with the biggest pout Valeria had ever seen on the fledgling’s face, “Don’t you want to spend time with me? You’ve been spending all your nights at the GSI for V.”

  Florence made an affronted noise before looking at Derik who shrugged, “Alright, but you have to be on your best behavior and remember our rules.”

  “Always stay in the line of sight, avoid your family, be polite, no tantrums, and always stay by someone you and Dad trust,” Henrik answered, giving her a dazzling smile that showed all his pearly white teeth.

  “And who do Daddy and I trust?”

  “Uncle Xander, V, Metri, Emalia and Callan,” Henrik stated as he counted out the people on his little fingers.