Violet Blood

by Sophia Stafford

  She clenched her jaw. “Is that why someone from the Cure told Perry to keep quiet? Because you’re worried what people will think? That’s crazy.”

  Benedict shook his head. “No, what’s crazy is talking about monsters. Why not just tell them that unicorns flew in too, huh?”

  Jaycen smiled smugly. “Well, if that’s what happened; I don’t believe in lying.”

  Benedict’s eyes narrowed at her. “You’re not funny.”

  She was, but that wasn’t the point. “Okay, so what about the homeless guy; what about him? Was he hallucinating too?” She crossed her arms, raising her eyebrows. How could they dismiss that?

  “From what I heard from Thornton, the man was clearly deranged. Poor mental health, in fear for his life, we can’t take what he said seriously. We just can’t.”

  Jaycen opened her mouth to protest when Benedict continued, “While we are on the subject, the next time you think you have a theory, or that you’ve seen something that I might have missed. You. Tell. Me.” He stared down at her, his face a stone wall of seriousness. “Do you understand me?”

  She closed her mouth; clearly, he was not kidding around.

  “I was just trying to help.” She shrugged, a little uneasy as she slouched down in her chair. “Don’t worry though; I won’t bother next time I see that the police or you have missed some serious information. Even though, I did tell everyone about it. I mean, the knife could have solved this entire case, but that’s fine, I won’t mention it again. Don’t worry about that.”

  “Mmm, I want that folder back that you stole, too.”

  “The folder was a mistake,” she corrected quickly, “an honest, complete mistake.”

  Benedict didn’t look convinced. “Just make sure this mistake doesn’t happen again, okay?”

  She nodded.

  “Now that is out of the way, you both need to go and pack. We’ll be gone a day, two at the most.”

  Thornton finally spoke. “Are you sure we can’t do this over the phone?”

  Jaycen shot him a blank look. He didn’t even look at her, just kept his head pointed straight at Benedict’s desk.

  “Yeah, I’ve literally just been allowed to use magic. I don’t think taking a break now would be a good idea.” She lifted her hand, pointing it at the book shelf. “Come.” Again, the book flew into her hand. Oh yeah, she was definitely getting good at this. How could she take a break now?

  “I’ll speak to your teachers, Jaycen, and make sure you don’t fall behind. They need to do the interview in person. After all you’ve seen, the Cure wants your testimony to be on record and part of the official investigation.”

  “Right, when do we leave?” Thornton stood, making his way to the door.

  “The car will be ready in an hour; let’s meet in the courtyard.”

  Only giving a nod to indicate that he had heard, Thornton left the office. Just like that. Maybe, it was just her, but it kind of felt like he was mad at her. At her. Why, she had no idea; he had been the one who had gone behind her back to talk to Benedict. She should be mad at him!

  “You better get going, too; we don’t have much time.” Benedict smiled, not so subtly hinting for her to leave.

  She took the hint, stood, and went to her dorm, taking out her phone on the way and shooting Gemma a quick message.

  I need to take a trip into the city, will be gone a day or two. I’ll be back before you start class again.

  She had made it back to her room when she heard her phone buzz. She pulled it out to see Gemma’s name on the screen.

  Into the city? Why?

  She started throwing clothing into her bag. What did you wear when you went to visit the government? She dug out a pair of simple black trousers. She could pair them with anything, so she packed a few top choices. It was definitely better to over pack than under pack. She was shoving her toiletries into a smaller bag when she thought about Thornton. She was willing to bet he wasn’t worked up at all about going to the Cure. She bet that he went there every other day, to drink tea with his dad’s friends while they all played tennis or something. She had no idea why the Cure looked like a holiday resort in her head, but it did, complete with swimming pools.

  Long story. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back, she quickly typed back, her mind still on Thornton, who, just like Benedict, always wore black. She flipped through a pile of her clothes, hearing her phone buzz on her bed. She pulled out a plain black shirt; it was simple and perfect.

  Throwing the shirt in her bag, Jaycen grabbed her coat, and headed for the door, reading Gemma’s text as she walked.

  The same long story about how you know Thornton Krull?

  She smiled as she read it, leaving the building, and seeing the car waiting. It was the end of class now and students were starting to show.

  Thornton was leaning next to the sleek, black Mercedes, looking like something from a movie. Benedict was seated in the front, phone in hand. He looked up as she approached but didn’t smile.

  Thornton eyed her bag as she walked up. "You sure you have everything?"

  She nodded, "Yep."

  He looked sceptical, and Jaycen had no idea why. She wasn’t the kind of girl who spent hours in front of the mirror every day, doing her makeup, and making sure her hair was perfect. She kind of wished she was that kind of girl, the type who always had her nails done, but sadly she just wasn't.

  "Hey guys, why aren’t I invited on this road trip?"

  Jaycen turned as José waved and walked towards them, his face and shirt dripping with sweat.

  "Are you always working out?" Jaycen called, opening the car door and throwing her bag inside.

  "Seems like it lately. Drake’s been kicking my ass." He lifted his chin in a manly greeting to Thornton, who had so far not even greeted his friend. It kind of made her feel a bit better knowing that Thornton was rude to everyone, and not just her.

  "It’s because you’re falling behind in all of your classes," Thornton said.

  Even though he didn't say it in the nicest of ways, José didn’t look bothered as he shrugged, still beaming. "What can I say? I've got a busy life. No time to train and study."

  Thornton smiled, shaking his head. "Yeah, well, now he's making you work twice as hard just to pass."

  The driver’s side window rolled down and Benedict stuck his head out. "We need to get on the road, guys."

  Jaycen was getting in the car when José grabbed her arm. "Hey, how about when you get back we go out sometime? For a drink or something?"

  She blinked a few times at the sudden turn in the conversation; she hadn't been expecting that. This wasn't the first time a boy had asked her out; in fact for some reason, she attracted a guy's attention at every school she had been to. Every guy wanted to be the first to get in with the new girl at school, like a new shiny toy. She quickly learned that her newness faded fast.

  "From the sound of it, you don’t have time to date."

  Thornton laughed, getting into the back of the car. José was still beaming—could anything wipe that smile off his face? Jaycen hoped not; she liked his smile. It was boyish.

  "Alright, alright. After finals. We're going out." He winked, stepping back before she had a chance to disagree. "Safe trip." He turned and ran off. Even as she tried to hide it, Jaycen couldn’t wipe the smile off her face.

  She turned to look at Thornton who was sitting next to her. “Your moods change very quickly.”

  Thornton looked at her for a beat, a slow and very sexy smile gracing his lips. “Does that bother you?”

  She thought about it for a moment, and then answered honestly, “I don’t know yet.”

  “Well, let me know when you do.”

  Chapter 13

  "Take pictures of everything; I want to feel like I'm there with you," her mother squealed down the phone line. Jaycen had thought about not telling her mom about her trip to New York, but in the end, she couldn't hold back her excitement. They’d been to the state before, bu
t never the city.

  "Not sure I'm going to be sightseeing that much," she pointed out, picking up the black shirt from her bag and putting it on.

  "Some kind of school, though, taking you to trips to New York and stuff." Her mom sounded wistful, like a small child daydreaming. She could go to New York any time she wanted; Jaycen wondered sometimes if her mother forgot that.

  "You have no idea." Jaycen picked up her phone and leant against the cold glass of her window. She couldn’t see much of the city, just the tall buildings that surrounded her. But she’d gotten a good look as they drove up, and Jaycen loved it. She could also hear the chants from the protesters below.

  “Keep it pure, keep it right. Keep it pure, keep it right.” With the occasional, “Say no to magical mixing,” thrown in there for good measure. This stuff really means a lot to them, doesn’t it?

  She’d seen the protestors when they first arrived at the Cure, all holding their signs and angrily shouting at the building that was being guarded by two well-dressed guards.

  “Ignore them, they’re just troublemakers spewing hate. They won’t be able to get in,” Benedict had told her, much like Gemma had at the school. Their loud shouting was mixed with the noise of the traffic. This was one of the reasons Jaycen loved cities and had always felt at home in them, loving the hustle and bustle, the noise and smell. No matter how bad something might seem, the noise of a city could drown it out. Plus, there was just something comforting about being surrounded by so many people. One day, when she left school, she was going to settle in a big city.

  A loud knock sounded at the door pulling her back to the present. The person knocking did not wait for her to respond before they opened the door.

  Thornton stuck his head around the door, his eyes searching the room until they landed on her. "Benedict's waiting for you."

  "Who was that? Was it a boy? It sounded like a boy?" her mother called down the phone; Jaycen fumbled with it, switching out of speakerphone mode, and turning away from Thornton.

  "Yeah, I've got to go. I'll call you again soon," she promised.

  "Of course, of course, but who was that? He sounded cute.”

  Why her mother was whispering Jaycen didn’t know. Thornton couldn’t hear her.

  "How can someone sound…?" She shook her head, aware that Thornton was still standing in her doorway. "You know what? Never mind. I'll call you soon, yeah? Love you."

  She disconnected quickly, before her mother could say anything else, and turned back to Thornton. "Okay, I'm ready."

  Thornton wasn't scowling at her, nor was he smiling, but there was a warmness to his eyes that she hadn't seen before, and it remained there as he led the way down the corridor.

  "Is this the first time that you've been away from your mom?" Thornton opened a door, letting her go first.

  "Oh, yeah." She straightened her black shirt, liking how much they looked alike. A few people passed them as they walked by, all of them nodding and saying hi to Thornton, none of them looking at Jaycen. "She seems to be doing okay though, by herself. I mean, the house hasn't burned down yet, so that’s a plus."

  He gave her a funny look but didn't comment, as they carried on walking down the white hall. Everything was so new and clean. From the outside it just looked like any other stone building, a little old and run down, maybe. Inside was a whole other story. Everything was white and glass, a few rooms closed off with four solid walls, but most weren't. It reminded her a lot of the school building, because as they walked farther and farther into it, the decor became older and older. It was a perfect mix. It was busy. How many of them worked there and how many of them were just visiting? She didn't know.

  “I can’t believe how busy it is here.”

  “Yeah, there’s about to be a big election. Everyone’s gearing up for it,” Thornton informed her, holding open a door and letting her go first.

  “That’s kind of interesting. Who’s running?” Did they have political parties? Politics had never really been her thing, but magical politics? Now, that could be something.

  “We don’t know yet. There’s a whole selection process. There are a few weeks of people putting themselves forward, and then they have to be checked to make sure they fit the criteria. Trust me, it’s a long, drawn out process. It’ll last about a year or so.”

  “Oh, so no one I’ve heard of is running?”

  “They want Benedict to, but he won’t. We haven’t had a leader for about five years; the last one turned bad. Like really bad. Then, everyone turned to Benedict for answers. He stood in as leader for about a year or so until the school opened. Then, he stepped down.”

  Jaycen found that really interesting. Benedict was so badass that an entire group of magical people wanted him to be their leader. That was amazing.

  “People here are so desperate for a Ravensmith to be in charge that they even turned to his brother,” he chuckled.

  “Caleb?” She had no idea why that was so funny—Caleb seemed great. Well, judging from that one time she’d met him anyway.

  “Yeah, he’s never been the leader type. Or, the serious type. The only reason he’s even at the school is because Benedict asked him to be; he and his girlfriend, Iris, travel around the world a lot. He hates staying in one place for too long.”

  Well, damn, Thornton liked to gossip, and she was all for it. She giggled a little—really, who knew?

  They walked in silence, with Jaycen unsure how to follow up the last conversation. She started with, “So, what made you tell Benedict about the monster and Perry and everything?” It was a question that had been plaguing her thoughts all day. This could be the only chance she would have to ask him, so she took it.

  Thornton’s smiled dipped. “I’m just trying to do what’s right. I keep making bad decisions when you’re around and it’s—” He stopped, as if he was searching for the right word. “It’s not acceptable. It’s not right. I’m older; I should be protecting you.”

  She snickered. “Yeah, I don’t need protecting.”

  “I know that. I’m just trying to make the right decisions. Do the right thing.”

  They both fell into a comfortable silence.

  “So, any idea what these guys want? What are they going to ask me?” Jaycen finally asked.

  "Try not to worry too much about the hearing. They'll ask you a few questions, most of them you've probably already answered. It’s just so they have it on official record. Mine was painless, and kind of pointless.”

  She nodded; she hadn’t really been bothered about it, more curious than anything else. She was about to meet the people who ran this magical world. How crazy was that? Even though the space and people around her all looked normal, she kind of expected everything to look more magical. She was talking big pointy hats and cloaks.

  Finally, Thornton stopped in front of two large, wooden, double doors, both beautifully carved.

  “This is it. Deep breaths.”

  She did as he said, inhaling long and deep before releasing the breath, her hands getting sweatier and sweatier.

  “Right, let’s do this.” He pushed open the doors, revealing a room full of men and women, all talking above each other. None of them turned to look as they entered. Thornton pointed to a single chair in the middle of the room, placing a strong hand at the bottom of her back as he guided her to it. Then he left, taking a seat somewhere else. Leaving her completely alone.

  The room rattled as three loud bangs went off. She couldn’t help but cover her ears and shy away from the noise, even as the others didn’t look fazed.

  It was then that she saw Benedict, sitting just to the right, his head bent as he spoke to another man. A very beautiful man. She knew beautiful wasn’t normally what you would call a guy. But that was what he was. Beautiful and strong all at once. Damn, who the hell is that?

  “Attention, everyone, attention.” An elderly man entered the room, his long black cloak magically floating behind him, as if an invisible man was wearing it. As was a
large book. He stopped walking, the cloak, and book also stopping behind him. He put on the cloak and took hold of the book before sitting down in a dark wooden chair, raised higher than everyone else’s. This was the kind of magic that Jaycen wanted to see—the guy could have carried the cape and book himself, but why would he when magic could do it for him?

  “We are here today to hear the testimony of a,” he lifted a piece of paper to his face, his eyes squinting to read the name, “Jaycen Reece.” He lifted his head to look at her. “Is that you?”

  She nodded, should she speak? Call him your honour? She had no idea.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Were you attacked by two unnamed individuals on Sunday, the nineth of November?”

  She nodded, “Yes, I was.”

  He seemed to think about her answer, “You’ve just discovered your powers, at the age of seventeen. Odd, very odd.”

  He wasn’t speaking to her, mainly to himself, so Jaycen stayed quiet.

  “Your mother has no magical abilities, is that correct?”

  Her foot started to nervously tap on the ground. Why were they asking about her mother? What did that have to do with anything?

  “No, my mom isn’t magical.” She looked at Benedict out of the corner of her eye; he and his new hot friend were listening intently, as was the rest of the room. If her eyes were closed it would have been like she was alone with the older man asking his questions.

  “Odd, very odd.” He looked down at Jaycen as if just looking at her left a bad taste in his mouth. “And you, who just so happened to have never used magic intentionally before fought them off, is that correct?” His voice held a hint of accusation.

  Frowning slightly and shifting in her chair, Jaycen thought about her next words, realising just how much they would be under scrutiny. “I didn’t exactly fight them off. They tried to attack me; I managed to stop it, but they pushed me into a car. If it was a fight, it was a very one-sided one.”