Emotionless: (Prototype: Zero book 1)

by Shaina Anastasi

  I wonder what type of plant this is.

  Veins throbbed white, and I murmured, “Defence two, activate,” while I dragged a finger down the list.

  This plant at least looks carnivorous as it gnawed on my defence repeatedly. I suppose it expected to break it and possibly try to eat me alive.

  There’s a description on the list, which makes it particularly easier. Unusually large teeth, no, not really. It has small pointy teeth and not in any order, sort of mismatched in a way as well as no leaf arms or extensions on the vines with a single large vine that was going up with a large round head, with no eyes and no sense of direction in the least. Must go off scent or sound, similar to the herbivore grasset that’s described as close to one foot. Except this plant isn’t that small, so it has to be the carnivorous babysnatcher.

  Doesn’t that sound like an appealing name?

  Writing it down on the label, I grabbed the small crystal that was next to the pot and waved my hand in front of me, where the plant was eating my shield. The crystal was created to disclose any resonating plant magic that are in pots. I waved it around a few times, the plant wilted and as it withered, that lovely green colour of the plant turned brown and rotted into mulch.

  Taking the bottle, I stuck the label on and placed it back on the rack to grab another and repeat the process.

  It was well after lunch when the door opened from behind me. Not bothering to turn around, I heard the subtle footsteps, and when the blurred vision of Lawliet moved past, I looked up. With brows knitted, he sat on the opposite side of the table and looked over for a second to grab a pot and glass bottle. I noticed the swollen blotchy redness along his eye before he cast his head down and started working on the bottle. He was labelling some without using the pot.

  I wouldn’t deny and say I wasn’t interested because I was. After hearing from Lollie and Kent and seeing with my own eyes how Lowborn mages treat him poorly, it was an obvious guess that someone other than himself done that to him and on purpose.

  “I’m hungry, did you bring it?” he asked after half an hour. He went into his pocket and took out a squished sandwich. “The next one will be better,” he muttered. “Now uphold yours.”

  The dilemma from before struck, and I grabbed the bag that was leaning next to the door and came over to space where Lawliet was and dumped the content. His eyes widened the slightest, and it made me glare down at my feet as I kicked my boot against the metal leg.

  The reason it was a dilemma is that Hopper doesn’t get one of a kind. When someone asks for lollypops, and there is more than one flavour, he will get them all. I stood at the lolly jar all morning and stared at the lollypops. I was expecting to choose one but ended up reaching for the jar and getting every flavour possible. At least 30 were on the table, different characters, some disturbingly vivid with a description that doesn’t sound as if it would quench a sweet tooth. More savoury.

  “Why so many?” he asked.

  Shrugging, I placed my bag down near my seat and started on the bottles again. I wrote down their name after I checked the description of this furry flower that resembles a very fluffy shaggy puppy. After that, it was a needle flower with spikes that dripped with poison to cause severe seizures that last for three days. It was interesting, being assigned this, knowing various plants that would never be in the o-d-h world. Head Mage probably assigned us this so we didn’t only do rune work but other different magic elements the regular classes have to go through daily.

  Hours passed, more times than I expected and we weren’t halfway through when the bell that ended for a day of school to end. The thing was that the letter on the stacks of bottles specifically said that the two of us have to have this done by tomorrow morning. Meaning, we have to sit here all night and work on them and work on them fast.

  Yawning, I grabbed another bottle after I waved the plant away with the crystal, tired. Lawliet dribbled liquid in the pot and seeping streams of silver and gold light illuminated the room. The light green and blue orbs shined brightly, and everything was blinding for a blinking moment. At the table, when the dimming silver and gold released, a Phrelale flower, rarest of the plant kind appeared. Its leaves shine similar to newborn mage crystals broken from their stone. The green stem and leaves supported a small flower, its petals, a beautiful silver twisted clockwise, closed.

  The rumour with Phrelale flowers is that it only opens when it has a deep bond with the mage. It won’t open unless it accepts me as theirs. That and if it opens when I’m with another, it is to grant eternal youth, luck and a strong love line as well as give me back what was once lost. One-mage, centuries ago, was accepted by the Phrelale plant. As petals slowly opened, the pollen inside is a metallic gold, and it oozed down the stem. It was described to be the top majestic thing he has seen through his years as a mage explorer and refused to explain it further or what he had to do to make it open. To have one before I made me breathless as I stared at the closed petals. Touch it while closed would send me into a coma, so I have to be cautious. Any threat towards it sends out a puff of smoke, silver and toxic, and I will be knocked out for a week.

  “Eileen,” Lawliet snapped, and I looked away from the flower only to realise I was leaning a little too far on his side of the table to look at the Phrelale. "Take it.”

  “No,” I murmured, leant back and sat down on my seat.

  I watched with pity as he waved a white crystal and the Phrelale wilted in front of me. Puffing cheeks, I tucked legs up to my chest and started on another bottle. My mood dropped increasingly.

  The moon casts an ominous glow into the classroom, however, with tiredness, my eyes blurred with the scenery around me. I couldn’t see how milky white the moon was, and how the shadows climbed along walls and essence of magic that suffocates the crisp winter air. It was all a dull throbbing blur of senses and sights. I wasn’t too sure when I started nodding off, but I do remember the light touch of someone who roused me from my slumber. Lifting head up, I noticed it must be well past midnight and I am in no shape to be staying in the classroom any longer. Lawliet standing over the top of me, lollipop stick hanging out of his mouth, he glanced at the table, and I noticed the stacks of bottles were neatly in place and everything clean from soil that used to litter the table.

  “We should head back to our rooms to sleep,” he said, and I nodded.

  Pushing the door open, he didn’t necessarily walk with me, more like ahead. He was alert, and it was confirming my theory about him, as his sleeping patterns became clearer.

  I walked down the spiral staircase and went through hallways that ranged in the opposite direction. They look for something similar to one of those horror movies my brothers always pressure me to watch on Friday movie nights. Just because we have moved, doesn’t mean they won’t persist in previous film sessions I blatantly don’t enjoy. If I have seen horror movies, the hallway wouldn’t be as scarier as a mage coming down and killing Highborn for sport.

  It made me recall some years ago. I remember a noble master mage persisted into a documentary on the betrayal. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in releasing his published script and the length and depth of knowledge that should have made it to the public about what happened on that day, where so many of my kind slaughtered disappeared along with him. Grandfather said most of the slaughter was near the cafeteria stairs. I wonder if this was one of the hallways that were painted red like my Grandfathers picture books. They all look the same.

  Rubbing eyes, I looked away from the empty hallway. The only beings are the blobbing lights that move in misdirection to one another. The cafeteria is worse as I looked at the sill tables. Fluorescent lights above are off, and the only light is the dimly lit blue and green lanterns that move strangely. I noticed it in the hallway, and when we first got here how they run in no particular order, I just haven’t thought of the reason as to why.

  Puffing cheeks, I weaved around tables and chairs when Lawliet did the opposite. He was loud. Jumping on a table, it must h
ave jolted the table awake because it vibrated and wobbled. The magic rune underneath lit up and then quickly diminished when he stepped off it and jumped on another.

  The noise echoed eardrums. It was annoying, and it nauseated me. He could wake the dead with that much noise. Even worse are the Lowborn mages that have a grudge.

  I was glad when we reached the end of the cafeteria. I turned for a second to look at the runes fade under tables, and a strange thing happened. I noticed a greyish blur move through the wall. The essence of magic climbed it and faded as well as the grey blur. Narrowing eyes, the slightest, I turned, and Lawliet was there, his eyes closed, and veins were throbbing the brightest white imaginable. He senses a threat. However, I don’t. That grey blur could have been me imagining things, and as long as I have that thought in my head, I would have to focus energy to bring my veins to life.

  “Of course, he is a stalker,” he muttered. Lawliet dropped golden eyes down to me, and his lips thinned into a white line. “We should go before we get trapped.”

  Trapped? Looking back and rubbing eyes, there was a strange presence. Greying blurs of essence floated around the cafeteria and swirled with one another in a strange dance. I felt my veins heighten and shine with Lawliet’s at the possible threat of various floating grey lights that danced in the cafeteria.

  I have never seen such a thing like it nor heard of anything that could be similar to this.

  “I will leave you here.”

  “Ok,” I responded.

  It is a pity Hopper wouldn’t give me my grandfather’s book this morning because of the number of lollipops I stuffed in my bag. He believes I am not getting enough nutrition after him and Isilies heard that I didn’t cooperate with the cafeteria woman when she wanted to scan my eye. I didn’t know at the time that the flashlight she had was telling me how much nutrition we need to sustain and what we were lacking. I somewhat promised that I wouldn't refuse their judgment on what I should be in taking on daily life.

  “Come on,” his warm hand grabbed my arm, and my eyes tore away from the cafeteria with displeasure. His hand held onto my arm as we walked down the hallway and to the staircase that leads up to my home. He released his grip when I couldn’t see the cafeteria again.

  “Did you know what they were?” he casually asked as we walked.

  I was as alert as he is now after seeing that. Shaking my head, he heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes but didn’t speak a word of it and I was hoping he would. Again, I seem to be disappointed with our lack of communication. It’s strange. I never seemed to feel like this when my brothers or anyone else doesn’t elaborate or answer questions.

  It doesn’t feel right.

  “Night, morning . . . later,” he said, the confusion was growing deeper and deeper.

  I grabbed the handle, pushed the door that is unlocked open and turned to see Lawliet walk down the stairs and not to his apartment. He could be part vampire. I think there is some of those around these parts that haven’t set sail for darker places. I would then understand why he has a sweet tooth and sleeps during the day. It would be humorous because his nickname is a dragon and we all know vampires dislike fire. Except he has high blood circulation, his hands are warm, and there is certainly no hint of red in his eyes, like every vampire, even half-bloods. They’re a bright, glorious warm gold.

  I must be reading too much into this. I suppose the tiredness and lack of sleep would be the cause of this.

  Confirming the cause of my haywire thoughts, I completely shut down when I closed the front door and went to my room.

  Chapter 10.

  Eileen – angry dragon.

  I often wonder as to why people want friends. They are loud, noisy, sometimes even over the top and dramatic, or, randomly show up in your home uninvited. To step out of the steaming shower and hear her voice already made me nauseated. Dressing quickly, I flicked the strands of hair away from the necklace and puffed cheeks.

  Cautiously opening the door, her laughter grew louder through the crack I was peering through. Opening it wider, I was even more dissatisfied with the annoying chuckles of Donte and Nixon. To make it even more annoying, Hopper poked his head through the other side of the gap. His butler suit was smelling smoky from the ironing.

  “My Mistress, what are you doing?” he asked from above me.

  “Hiding,” I whispered.

  “Would you like something to eat while you hide, my Mistress?”

  “Dragon scrambled eggs and bacon strips . . . oh, Lollypop's too.”

  “Mistress, I must advise healthier options instead of all these sweet foods all the time. They may taste delicious but soon enough, your body will expand, and I would have to carry you to all these places you want to go to. NOT LIKE I DISLIKE THE NOTION!” he blurted the last part loudly and turned a bright shade of red. The laughter in the kitchen diminished, and two identical heads popped around the corner with mischievous grins plastered on their faces. “Forgive me.”

  “The sweets aren’t for me,” I replied dully, opened the door wider, reached for Hopper and slipped my hand into his suit. I felt the natural leather and took my grandfather’s book out. “Thank you.”

  Out past the kitchen, living area and small entrance, I nearly had my shoes on when Charlie spoke.

  “She has gotten worse with the rumours,” she said, her voice softer but I could still hear her.

  “Rebecca again?” Nixon scoffed. “I made her male minion friends stop, but unfortunately we can’t threaten girls.”

  “One of our stupid rules we made up when we were eight.”

  “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to break one,” Charlie instigated.

  “Dude, if Donte broke rule hundred and thirty-seven, I would be pissed off.”

  “What is rule hundred and thirty-seven?”

  Rendering the conversation useless, I opened the door and walked out.

  When I went into the cafeteria, my eyes darted left to right as I looked for those grey blurs from last night. There was nothing but the sounds of teenage murmurs and average cafeteria clutter of plates, utensils and whatnot. I was starving and went to line up. Taking a dish from the stacks, I stood behind a group of people that didn’t necessarily move in a straight formal line. They were clumped together into a messed-up ball of social skills.

  Tugging at the sleeve of my top down, I hid my runes and averted eyes. The patience for food makes me want to have those sandwiches even more that Lawliet makes.

  “Oh, both of the double D’s are here,” snickered a girl that stood in the cluster before me.

  “Shhh, she is behind you,” whispered another girl. The humour in her voice as plain as day.

  I am a double D. I suppose this is the new rumour Charlie was talking about but evidently were sidetracked because she cannot hold a stable conversation. Exactly like my brothers. Nonetheless, I rather figured the other D would have to be Lawliet.

  He walked in with that look of apparent dissatisfaction and stood four mages behind me. With the cluster-dispersing in front of me, it didn’t stop the hushed voices. They didn’t die out unlike the group of young teenage mages in front of me. The seconds ticked by and the voices grew louder and louder in my ear to the extent that when it was my time to get food, I handed the woman my plate and quickly walked out and away from the vibration of sound that nauseated me.

  In the end, as I walked up the staircase, I didn’t get to find out what Double D represented besides the fact that Lawliet was known as the Dragon. I on the other hand. Well, I suppose they could call me anything to satisfy the double D name.

  Pushing the door open, I suddenly remembered today was Friday, and Head Mage said he was going to stop by and see how we were going. I understand that he is old on the inside, but one mage as robust and capable as he should not be swinging his legs from off the table he was seated on. I doubt he could look any less childish at this given moment.

  “Little doll,” he smiled at me.

  He seems playful. A personality tra
it I am not overly fond or used to with the Head Mage. On the first day with the newbies to Mage Academy, he was firm, cold and with a little humour mingled into his voice. Determined would sum up everything he said. However, it changed when he spoke to Lawliet. He was mocking, rude, funny and most certainly childish. I wouldn’t say it was another persona. The answer I can think up of is that they’re very close. Either because they’re both Highborn, or have known each other for a long time to have that bond. I cannot say.

  “I have two things to speak to you about, but I will wait for Lawliet with one. The other has to do with roaming around after night. It isn’t as if it is uncommon, but, if you’re going to the kitchen, can you make loud noises please.”

  “Ok?”

  “Good, now that that settled, I wonder where Lawliet is.”

  It isn’t settled. In fact, I wanted to know more, but I have a bad habit of placing an answer with a question. As odd as it seems, my family figured it out a long time ago, and Lawliet often elaborates if I say it. Unfortunately, the strongest master mage in this academy and probably surroundings cannot be the smartest as well. Such a pity.

  “Ugh, what’re you doing here?” Lawliet muttered.

  “To try and bribe you to go on that excursion.”

  “Not going to happen.”

  He slouched into a chair, plonked his head on the table, and closed those eyes. He didn’t seem to have any food with him. I wonder if he left because of the noise as well.

  “You’re so annoying. All right, let me change it. Either you both go, or, none of you will.”

  “Sounds good to me,” he yawned.

  “Eileen, little doll. This excursion has an exclusive little shop filled with rare runes you can’t find or get anywhere else. If you and Lawliet agree, you two can do whatever you like. You do not need the special pamphlet and map I spent days on, handwritten I must say, for all the students to read and learn.” He pushed two forms forward on the table and grinned wickedly. “I need an answer by Monday. Have fun and Lawliet.”