Nightshade Academy Episode 2: Bloodlust

by Kestra Pingree

  Weird.

  After glancing out at the darkness showing through the large windows lining the east wall, I find my seat next to… Patty, I think is her name. I set down my black insulated bottle, kick the plant at my feet—unintentionally—and take out a pen and notebook for actual notetaking today. Since drawing is all I could do in that dungeon, I’m pretty tired of it. After that hunter attack and almost killing Kian, I should probably pay attention anyway. I’m not going to get out of here otherwise. I don’t want to risk hurting anyone again or running into more hunters.

  I wonder what would have happened if Nightshade’s benefactor and the giant with her hadn’t been there in Barrow to save us. It was a lucky coincidence.

  An all-encompassing shudder takes my body when I think about Mom and how she would react if I attacked her the same way I did Kian. It’s enough to make my stomach flop, to bring back that sick feeling. I grab my bottle and take a sip of my “blood cocktail.” Immediately, my stomach quiets.

  A hand painted with swirling reds smacks my portion of the curved table. “Scoot over.”

  Oskar.

  Instead of looking up at him, I continue to stare at his hand. Maybe if I don’t react, he’ll go away.

  “New blood,” he says. “Scoot over.”

  I pinch my pen between my fingers and clench my jaw. “No. This is my seat.”

  “Make room where you can,” Zanza calls out above the din. “We’re squeezing in all of Nightshade Academy’s vampire students today. Due to recent circumstances, we need to talk about blood fixation and dependence and how to avoid them. Though I’ve mentioned these things before, we’re going into detail tonight.”

  “See?” Oskar says. “Move it.”

  I seethe. “But I’m already sitting here. Go take an empty seat.” My fingers itch for my phone in my pocket. I haven’t gotten a good picture of Oskar. He always ducks out of the way when I have my phone out as if he’s expecting me to snap a picture of him and would rather die before letting me do it. All I have is that picture where he’s partially hidden and scowling behind Kian back at orientation.

  His hair is golden blond, short but long enough to reveal its precise waves. His eyes are amber, I think—the picture made them look sort of red. He has fair skin that doesn’t freckle. He’s bulky and boxy like the biggest, baddest bully you’ve ever seen. He seems to like to pick fights, but his nose looks insanely straight in that picture, so I doubt he’s ever broken it.

  He’s always got these creases inside his eyebrows and on the bridge of his nose. They’re so deep his Color can’t mask them.

  “Please scoot over,” a little voice says. “I like the end.” All the L’s sounds like W’s, but it’s a pretty proper-sounding request otherwise.

  I inch forward to see past Oskar. A tiny kid wearing a sparkling rainbow dress and a winged backpack is standing right next to him and holding on to his pant leg. Her Color is a dreamy blue. Little blots of purple spring up here and there like violets blooming in a cloudless sky. Is this kid old enough to be in school?

  “This is Billie,” Oskar says. “Zanza’s daughter.”

  “I’m a fairy!” Billie corrects.

  “Zanza’s fairy, then. Are you really going to say no to that face, new blood?”

  Her face doesn’t give me any trouble. Her Color, however, kind of does. It’s so carefree and happy.

  “Fine,” I say. “Whatever.”

  I pick up my things, intending to leave. Despite what Oskar says, I can’t exactly “scoot over.” I’d be on top of Patty. But, when I look, Patty’s already packed up and leaving with some girls who called her over. I freeze. Does this mean I have to scoot over now? Do I have to sit by Oskar?

  “Just scoot an inch or two,” Oskar says. “Billie is small.”

  Oskar dashes away, and I’m dumbfounded. He grabs an extra chair and sits Billie on top of it, squeezing her in next to me. Oskar takes Patty’s seat. He doesn’t have anything with him. Since he was only Zanza’s aid for that first day of class, I was sure he had to be with the students today. Guess not. But why else would he be sitting up here with us?

  “Everyone, take your seats,” Zanza says.

  It’s too bad the Primary Colors didn’t find a new place to sit. They don’t seem to be that interested in screwing with me today, though. They’ve mellowed out since that first day, and today—tonight—they’re looking away from me. I’m pretty sure Oskar scares them shitless.

  I can understand that.

  “You all know the number one rule about drinking blood, yes?” Zanza asks.

  Patty raises her hand and says, “Never drink it directly from another living thing. Humans especially.”

  “That is correct. Why is that the number one rule?”

  “If we drink blood directly, our more monstrous nature rears its head.”

  “Also correct, Patty. These things vary from vampire to vampire and generation to generation, but fixating on a certain ‘victim’ until they’ve been bled dry is not at all uncommon. Likewise, drinking blood straight from another human will often make it very difficult to stomach stored blood, like what we drink here. Our bodies react violently and reject it.” Zanza’s eyes dart to me. “Some worse than others.”

  My pen slips out of my grasp.

  Yeah, okay. I get it already. I’m a hot mess.

  I duck my head, stare at my notebook, and scramble to pick up my pen. Right before my fingers get there, Oskar steals it and my notebook, sliding them over to his portion of the table. I shoot him a death glare just as Billie’s foot kicks my thigh. She’s swinging her legs. I try to ignore her, but she does it again. So I turn to her instead.

  She has her winged backpack open with crayons and a coloring book spread across the table. Unsurprisingly, the coloring book is full of fairy line art. This kid is obsessed. She holds up one of the pictures to my face and points. “What color?”

  “Pink,” I say.

  Billie nods sagely, grabs a pink crayon, and smashes it into the paper so hard I’m shocked when it doesn’t tear.

  Okay…

  I whip back around to face Oskar, to steal my stuff back, but he’s already returned it. With a note scribbled on my previously pristine paper. I see the name Kian and stop. Just seeing his name makes my heart flicker again, like it’s reenacting the memory of when I took Kian’s hand.

  Was that his heart’s reaction or mine?

  Hell no. Forget this.

  I’ve never passed notes, and I’m not starting with Oskar.

  I tear the page out of the notebook as savagely as I can manage, crumple it up, and toss it into the trash several feet away. To my utter amazement, it goes in. It doesn’t bounce off the rim or anything. Slam-fucking-dunk.

  “Nova,” Zanza says.

  “Yes?”

  “Please stand up and walk to throw away your trash.”

  “Sure thing, Zanza.”

  It feels weird saying a teacher’s name like that. Zanza must really hate gendering. To be honest, Zanza’s kid kind of surprises me because of that. She is the epitome of fairy princess.

  When Zanza starts talking again, I slowly turn my eyes to Oskar. He’s facing me, and though I can’t see his eyes all that clearly, I can feel them boring holes into my flesh. He tries to take my notebook again, but I’ve got it pressed to the table underneath both of my arms.

  After trying and failing a couple more times, Oskar raises his hand.

  “Yes, Oskar?” Zanza says.

  “We’re all talking about this today because of Nova. She broke the number one rule with another student.”

  “That’s correct.”

  Chairs screech, heads turn, and suddenly all eyes must be glued to me; the heat they radiate makes my skin prickle. I try to shrink away into nothing, but it doesn’t work.

  “Are fairies boys or girls?” Billie asks, cutting through the silence with an innocent obliviousness I wish I had.

  “Neither,” Zanza answers. “Though, most would call
them females based on their shapes alone.”

  Oskar continues, “I want to know why Nova gets special treatment.”

  “How do you mean?” Zanza says with a flat tone that’s either bored or annoyed.

  “Instead of cutting her off, making her go through the withdrawals she’s brought on herself, she’s drinking Kian’s blood.” He jabs my black insulated bottle, and students gasp. Kian’s name gets whispered over and over until it becomes an endless chant that rattles my skull. Clearly, he’s as popular as I thought.

  “Kian volunteered,” Zanza informs. “Nova has an extreme blood sensitivity and fixation problem. She would have withered away, being cut off harshly like that. That means Kian saved her life.”

  I wish they’d stop talking about me like I’m not here. I wish Kian’s smell didn’t make me salivate. I wish he wasn’t always on my mind and that he wasn’t the only thing I draw anymore.

  “Kian’s such a nice guy,” Oskar remarks.

  Zanza’s fingers snap. “Indeed. And we’re being careful about this. No one is going to get hurt. Again. That’s the important part. We look out for each other here. Now, let’s get back on task, shall we? Believe it or not, this concerns all of you, not just Nova.”

  “This fairy is wearing a rainbow dress like me,” Billie tells me.

  I ignore her, or try to. She shoves the picture into my face so the paper is physically touching my nose. I can’t see much of it, though, as Billie hastily slams it back onto the table and continues murdering crayons. That pink one she was using has already transformed into a stubbly little stump.

  Oskar takes my distraction as an opportunity to steal my notebook again.

  I think I might actually stab him with this pen. My grip grows so tight the thing cracks. Luckily, I didn’t hit ink; it isn’t splattered all over me. I’d better throw it away to be on the safe side. Emery would never let me hear the end of it if I spilled ink on my uniform.

  Oskar borrows a pen from his other neighbor, scrawls another message in my notebook, and slides it back to me. I’m tempted to ignore it, but it’s a few simple words, so short and sweet I can’t help but read them.

  Kill him, and I’ll kill you.

  CHAPTER 4

  The first time I attended PE at Nightshade Academy, it was a combined class to test us newbies. Today it’s combined again. It’s been two weeks and we’re being assessed again already. I guess I’ve learned some combat, self-defense specifically, but I was also out of class for a few days because I was lying on a dungeon floor while my body tore itself apart.

  I drag my feet as everyone else starts their run around the gym. The chandelier overhead is as bright as ever and makes weird splotches on the black wood floor. I hadn’t realized how much it looks like a weird gothic dance floor, especially with everyone’s shadows cutting into it as they move. If this were a different class, and if I had it, I’d probably whip out my sketchbook to record the pattern. It kind of reminds me of certain Colors I’ve seen before.

  “Nova,” the Crow says with his arms folded, “you’re supposed to be running.”

  “Can I sit out today?” I ask.

  He unfolds his arms, suddenly tense. His feathers even bristle out farther from the bleeding turquoise of his silhouette. He’s wearing a tank top today, and I kind of wish he’d spread out his arms so I could figure out how his wings work.

  “Are you sick?” he asks.

  I contemplate saying yes, but then I note the way his turquoise darkens and turns bluer. Right. If I say I’m sick, it’ll backfire. He’ll assume I’m out for Kian again, but I’ve been okay so far.

  I tilt my head when Kian runs by, though, a reflex to catch as much of his honey-spicy-minty scent as I can. It’s heavenly. I can appreciate how his heartbeat somehow soothes my ears since my stomach isn’t tearing itself apart. Is this Bloodlust, or is it something else? Everyone else’s smells are the same as they were before—basically, they’re gross—but like with Kian, they aren’t bothering me so much anymore.

  “Nova.” The Crow places his hand on my shoulder. I’m wearing a tank top today too, so his feathers register as slick and soft against my skin. I’m noticing more subtleties in more detail than when I first got here. Being bloodlust-free is amazing.

  Maybe I’ll get to leave soon. I’ll go home, and I’ll find Mom.

  Maybe.

  If she doesn’t want to be found, she isn’t going to be; she’ll keep her ears to the ground and keep moving to make sure of it. But I don’t want to believe it. Not until I can see it with my own eyes.

  Don’t trust anyone, Nova.

  Does that mean you too, Mom?

  “Nova, are you in there?” The Crow gently shakes my shoulder.

  “What? Yeah. Of course. I don’t feel sick. I just want to get out of PE.”

  “At least you’re honest.” The Crow turns me around and gives my back a little shove. “Better get running. You’ll want to be warmed up for the sparring assessment.”

  I sigh and get going. Emery joins me immediately. “It’s not so bad,” she says. “But I understand. Sometimes I don’t feel like getting all gross and sweaty either. But, hey, what if you get paired with Kian? Wouldn’t that make the assessment so worth it?”

  “I don’t like Kian,” I say.

  “You obviously do.”

  “No. Oskar does, and maybe those fairies.” Those rainbow Colors are fluttering around Kian’s head again while he tries to wave them away. “Why do they do that?”

  “Just to set the record straight, Kian and Oskar are not a thing. Everyone thinks they are. Heck, I thought they were, and then I accidentally said something thoughtless, and Kian set me straight. He said he didn’t mind the misunderstanding, but that it was, in fact, a misunderstanding. What a weirdo, right? As for the fairies, I have no idea. I’ve never seen them cluster around anyone the way they do him.”

  That is kind of weird.

  After warm-ups, the Crow has us line up in two separate groups so he can number us off into pairs for the assessment. Somehow, I end up with Primary Yellow on my left, who gets paired with Oskar.

  When the Crow gets to me, he says, “You’re six, Nova.” I look over to see who my partner is, even though I already know, and Kian waves. “Or not,” the Crow amends. “Is this going to be a problem for you?”

  “No problems here,” Kian calls from down his line. He also grabs Oskar’s hand when he tries to raise it and shoves it back down at his side.

  “Patty, you’re seven,” the Crows says.

  “Meaning I get Emery.”

  I open my mouth to add to Kian’s thought, to protest like I think Oskar was trying to, but nothing comes out.

  “How’d you know how the Crow would number us off?” Primary Yellow interrupts my thoughts.

  “I didn’t.”

  “Right.”

  Emery rushes over to my side when the Crow is finished. She places her hands on my shoulders and shakes me. Sunny orange and lotus pink blur together with the force of it. “Did you plan this or are you really that lucky?”

  Why is she asking me that too?

  She points me toward Kian and walks me forward. “Have fun.”

  By then, everyone else is walking off with their partners, and I’m left staring down Kian. Why couldn’t I spit the words out? I don’t want to be anywhere near Kian. This is a really bad idea.

  “Hi, Nova,” Kian says simply.

  I duck my head to stare at his shoes instead of his chartreuse, but he’s wearing shorts, so I see it above his sneakers. “Hi.”

  “You ready?”

  No. Definitely not. How can he stand to be around me after what I did to him anyway? Is there no other way to apologize other than saying it?

  “Kian.”

  “Yeah?”

  I keep my eyes glued to his sneakers. They’re black, silver, and white. The rest of his outfit is all black, matching his hair color. “I’m… I’m really sorry.”

  “I’m not.”


  My head jerks. “I must have heard you wrong.”

  “I said, ‘I’m not.’ You’re bright, Nova.”

  Bright. That sounds like something I might say about him. Before. Since I tried to suck him dry, his Color has become dimmer than everyone else’s. “What are you talking about?”

  “C’mon, slackers,” the Crow shouts. “Get going.”

  “There’s something different about you,” Kian says and takes a step back. “That’s all.” Suddenly, his chartreuse flares, lighter, yellower in his face. His legs get darker, a mossier green. “Your move. I’ll assess what you’ve learned about offense first.”

  I think the Crow should do this himself, but I guess he really trusts the veteran students like Kian. Whatever. “You know I wasn’t in class for, like, three or four days or whatever.” I’m a bit foggy on the actual timing of it all.

  “Yeah. Don’t worry about it.” Kian wiggles his fingers, inviting me forward.

  Well, great. Here goes nothing.

  CHAPTER 5

  I dash forward, intending on taking Kian down. We haven’t learned any violent offensive moves. It’s more about immobilizing, even if just for a moment, whoever might be attacking us so we can get away. The life of a changed human is like being a fugitive, but instead of the police, you’ve got these shady (and probably illegal) monster hunters to worry about. And they’re no joke.

  My neck and spine have phantom pains just thinking about it.

  Kian’s gone.

  I skid to a stop and look around me. I let my mind wander for one second and he’s disappeared into thin air. “What the hell,” I mutter under my breath.

  Hot breath coils around the back of my neck and the shell of my ear. “Pay attention, Nova.”

  Goosebumps sprout up across my body. I inwardly shudder, reflexively lean forward and try to curl up into a ball. “Holy shit,” I say after sinking to the ground. I’ve become a pile of goo.

  Kian laughs his warm laugh. “Did I startle you?”

  “You probably took ten years off my life.”

  “C’mon. Go again. Pay attention this time.”

  My legs shake as I stand up straight again. Kian lazily holds his hands out to his sides, waiting. Speed. I need to knock him down, sweep his feet out from under him, or lock him in a chokehold at the worst, to allow myself enough time to escape.