Violet Blood

by Sophia Stafford

  A muscle twitched in his jaw. “This means everything to everyone.” His answer took her aback, not just at his honesty but the look in his eyes. Not only did his colour matter to him, but now hers did to. She stared at the wooden crate, the contents of which were supposedly able to give her answers to questions that she hadn’t even dared ask. Who was she? Where did she come from? The answers wouldn’t be direct, but they’d be answers in some way. This was it. She held her hand over the settled liquid, her heart pounding and her other hand getting sweaty. She was about to open her hand and let the liquid do its magic when a light shone in her face.

  “Oh shit, it’s Benedict,” someone shouted. The group of people surrounding her and Stephen scattered. Even Stephen’s two friends bolted—loyalty really meant nothing to these guys, did it?

  “Jaycen, drop that knife,” Benedict ordered, his flashlight mainly on the students running. He didn’t seem too bothered about catching any of them.

  Thornton wasn’t far behind him, as was Caleb.

  Jaycen opened her hands, the knife dropping to the ground and her blood dripping into the blood drop.

  Stephen tried to run; Benedict’s light was on him in an instant.

  “Not so fast there, Stephen,” he said, calm and steady as he walked up to them.

  “I didn’t steal it, I swear. It was all her.” He pointed at Jaycen.

  She shot him an are you serious look, before looking back at Benedict.

  “That just isn’t true,” she said, shaking the blood off her hand.

  “I know it isn’t; we do have CCTV in the weapons vault. Maybe, you should have thought about that before you and your two friends broke in.” He looked pointedly at Stephen, who looked like he was trying to think of something else to say but was clearly not coming up with anything.

  Thornton walked over to her. “We need to get you a bandage for your hand.” He didn’t offer anything else, just shook his head in disapproval. Great, just when I thought we were making headway.

  “Yeah, you’re busted, Stephen.” Caleb smiled, walking over to them and peering into the drop. “But on the plus side, at least you didn’t take it out of the crate. What the…” He shot up, holding his flashlight up to Jaycen’s face. “Have you just used this?”

  The harshness in his voice made her jump. “Why?” There was no way she was admitting to using it if it was broken.

  “Benedict, get over here,” Caleb shouted, the light still shining on her face. “Jaycen, look at me. Did you just use it?”

  She nodded, stepping back as Benedict ran over.

  “This can’t be right,” Benedict said, looking into the drop, shaking his head.

  Stephen, who was still close enough, peered over. “Oh hell no,” he snorted.

  Caleb shot him a quick look. “Yeah, you might want to step back.”

  Stephen looked worriedly at the drop. “Why? Do you think it’s dangerous?”

  “The drop?” Caleb shook his head. “No, I just don’t want you standing that close to me.”

  Stephen looked offended but took a step back.

  “Pack this up. Thorn, take Jaycen to my office now.” Benedict turned to Stephen as he barked out his orders. “Don’t talk about this to anyone. Go straight to your dorm, do you understand? I’ll deal with you later.”

  “That was wrong,” Stephen said instead, laughing. “It has to be.”

  “You’re not moving,” Caleb called, already closing the box.

  Stephen gave Jaycen one more look, before he turned and walked out of the woods.

  Leaving just the four of them.

  Now, Benedict looked at Jaycen. He didn’t seem angry or disappointed, just curious.

  “Come on, Jaycen.” Thornton lightly took hold of her arm and was leading her towards the school.

  “What did it show?” she called back to Benedict, her eyes bouncing between the two brothers.

  “Go to my office and keep your hand bleeding, do that and you’ll find out.”

  He turned his back to her then, helping Caleb to close the box as Thornton led her away. While Jaycen made sure her hand was still bleeding as much as she could.

  Chapter 24

  “You don’t have to squeeze your hand like that,” Thornton told her once they were in Benedict’s office.

  “Yeah, I do, I need to keep it bleeding,” Jaycen said, not even daring to sit, what if she sat and her bleeding hand dried up instantly? Did that make sense? No, but it was how her head was working at that moment. “So, what do you think it showed?” she asked, trying to put an end to the crazy monologue in her head.

  Thornton sat down in one of Benedict’s large leather chairs. “I don’t know. I really have no idea.” He leant forward, twisting his gold ring, then saying, “So, who’s Luke?”

  “Gemma’s boyfriend.” She stopped talking, were they officially dating? “Or her friend? I don’t know what they are, it’s him anyway. You don’t know him?”

  Thornton slowly shook his head. “Why would I know him?”

  That was a very good question. “Yeah, you’re right. To be fair, I don’t really know him either.”

  Now, Thornton’s back straightened. “So, why would you go with two strangers to save another stranger? That makes no sense?”

  She pursed her lips. “Well, he’s not a complete stranger. We’re just not friends. Does that make sense? He’s a friend of a friend who I’ve spoken to now and then.”

  Thornton didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t need to be, Jaycen thought, turning away to look at her bleeding hand. If she wanted to go and save a stranger then she could, she could do whatever the hell she wanted. Their earlier kiss replayed in her head like a movie. It had been great, wonderful, amazing even, but it also didn’t mean that he could tell her what to do.

  The door opened and both Benedict and Caleb walked in, both holding on to the crate containing the blood drop.

  “I’m still bleeding,” she shouted, holding her hand up as Thornton stood and moved the chairs aside, making room.

  “Check you out, all prepared.” Caleb grinned, putting the box down and started opening it. “Iris is coming, if that’s alright? She’s never seen a blood drop before, she’s kind of excited.”

  That’s two of us then, Jaycen thought, flexing her hand. “I don’t mind.”

  Caleb turned to her, his grin somehow even bigger than before. “Well, thanks. I was talking to Benedict, his office and all, but thank you for your input.”

  “Oh.” Because really, what more could she say?

  “It’s fine. Just help me get this set up. If we’re going to do this then it’s going to be done right,” Benedict said, wiping his brow and staring down at the wooden box. His eyes assessed the room before he moved the two chairs out of the way, making space. “Jaycen, you come and stand here, right here.” He pointed to a space on the floor, he then took a step to the left. “No, stand here. Right here.”

  “Okay.” She stood exactly where he pointed. A soft knock came from the door.

  “Come in,” Benedict called as he pulled the blood drop free and letting Jaycen get her first real look at it in the light. It was beautiful and gold, but not shiny. No, it was dirty and worn. Small figures were carved into the side, five figures to be precise, and those same five figures were copied again and again, encircling the base. It was beautiful, but more than that, it was fascinating. She leant forward and traced the pattern with her hand.

  Iris, the librarian, opened the door and stuck her head inside. “Hey.”

  Caleb stood, his hands on his hips. “Hey babe, come in, take a seat, let us bask in this historic moment together.”

  Iris closed the door behind her, eyeing the room. Jaycen now stood in the middle, her hand dripping with blood. Thornton and Caleb were standing towards the back of the room with the two discarded chairs. Benedict was still prowling the room, moving the drop just slightly, making sure everything was perfect. He looked very intense.

  “Hey,” Jaycen whispe
red, waving as Iris slipped into the room and walked over to Caleb, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

  Benedict looked up. “Are you ready for this, Jaycen? Not just for the drop but for what will come after this?”

  She gave a firm nod, not really sure at all.

  “Good.” Gently, but firmly, Benedict took her arm and guided it over the drop. The room was now deadly silent. “Open your hand, whenever you’re ready.” He took a step back, giving her space.

  Jaycen stretched out her hand, flexing her fingers and letting her blood drip into the odd liquid below. “How long do I have to stand here for?” She wanted to make sure she did it right this time.

  “That’s enough, you’re good.” She stepped back, while everyone else in the room stepped forward and peered into the drop.

  “Is that even possible?” Thornton was the only one to speak, his eyes no longer on the drop but on Jaycen.

  “Is it completely clear?” she asked, nervously rubbing her neck as everyone else fell into silence.

  Without saying a word Benedict reached over to her without looking up, took hold of her arm, and pulled her to look into the drop, looking inside all she could see was the deepest, darkest purple she had ever seen.

  “Oh, that’s… that’s a pretty colour.” It was like someone had punched her in the stomach. This was good, right? Because no one was speaking, and she was definitely starting to freak out. Was it too violet? Was it bluer than purple? Was her blood that weird that it showed a completely different colour? A colour that should not be there?

  “This is violet, Jaycen,” Benedict told her, stepping back and rubbing his chin. “Not just violet but violet. I need to make a few calls.” He left the room quickly, pulling his phone from his pocket as he went.

  Iris was in front of her then, holding her arms out and pulling Jaycen into a tight hug.

  “Congratulations. I’m so happy for you.”

  “Oh thanks, I think.” Her blood was violet. She said it a few more times in her head, just testing out how it sounded before she said it out loud. Her blood was violet. It sounded great. “My blood is violet. I’m violet.” It sounded great both ways.

  Iris clapped her hands. “Yeah, you are. Yay!”

  Caleb walked over to them and pulled Iris to him by snaking his arm around her waist. “Iris has no idea what violet blood means.”

  “Nope, but I know it’s important to everyone here. So, yay you.” She clapped again and looked genuinely pleased.

  “I’ll go and check on Benedict, see if he needs anything.” Caleb winked at her as they left the room, leaving Thornton and Jaycen, and a whole lot of silence.

  “So, this is good, right? That colour? It was a good colour, right?”

  Thornton didn’t say anything, just twisted the gold ring on his pinky finger. “This is good news.”

  She let out her breath in a loud exhale and started to fan her face. “Thank god, because to me it looked more blue than purple and I thought I was some kind of mutant. Benedict just bolted without really saying anything, which is worrying. Iris said yay, but she didn’t really understand it so what does that mean?” She only stopped talking because she had to take a deep breath; it was either that or pass out.

  It took a minute, but Thornton smiled and walked over to her, placing both of his hands on her shoulders. “It’s good.”

  “You don’t look happy.” He looked like he was in pain, a lot of pain.

  “Did you see the colour?”

  She nodded.

  “Did you see the richness of it? Did you see its depth?”

  Well, she wasn’t sure if she had seen that.

  “You’re not just violet, Jaycen, you’re the deepest violet I have ever seen. That’s huge, I just don’t understand how?”

  “How? What do you mean how? How what?”

  “That kind of colour isn’t possible now. That kind of colour died off long ago.”

  “Oh my god.” Realisation started to dawn. “I really am kickass.”

  Thornton clamped his mouth shut, an unspoken really in his expression.

  Just then, the door opened, and Benedict strode back in the room. “Jaycen, pack your bags. We’ve got to go tonight.”

  “I’m coming too,” Thornton announced, and that must have been okay because Benedict didn’t disagree, instead he kept his head bent as he typed on his phone.

  “Where are we going this time?”

  Now, Benedict looked up. “To see your mother, she has a lot of explaining to do.”

  Chapter 25

  “My mom doesn’t know about any of this, the magic, or this school. She has no idea. She thinks it’s just boarding school,” Jaycen stressed, nervously tapping her leg as they pulled up in front of her mother’s new house. It had taken five hours on a private plane, and then another hour by car, but they had finally arrived, and Jaycen was petrified. She looked out of the window, she wasn’t even sure which house was her mom’s, but the neighbourhood looked nice. All of the neighbourhoods her mom picked were nice.

  “Don’t worry, Jaycen, I just have a few questions for your mom. We just need to wait for my friend before we go in.” Just as he said it, a car pulled up behind them. “Here we go.” Benedict got out of the car, leaving Jaycen and Thornton alone.

  “Benedict has friends?” She snorted, looking over her shoulder at Benedict talking to a funky looking woman. She looked great, her hair was piled at the top of her head and long green earrings dangled from her ears. “Oh, she looks cool. I love her jewellery.”

  “Her name’s Zena, I’ve met her once or twice.” Thornton twisted to look out the window. “She’s a little out there, if you get me.”

  Jaycen raised her eyebrows. “Out there? What are you? Ninety?”

  He laughed. “Whatever.”

  There was a loud knock on the window. They both jumped.

  “Oh holy mother of… my mother.” Jaycen stared out the window at her beaming mother. The door opened, and she leant across Thornton, planting a loud kiss on top off Jaycen’s head.

  “Baby? How are you here? I’ve missed you. Do you like the house?” She didn’t seem to mind being sprawled across a very uncomfortable looking Thornton as she fired off her questions.

  “Mom, sit up. You’re all over Thornton.”

  “What’s a Thornton?”

  “I’m Thornton, Ms Reece. It’s uh, it’s nice to meet you.” He tried not to look down at her mom’s bottom that currently lay right in the middle of his lap. This was not how Jaycen had imagined her mother and Thornton meeting.

  “Oh, there’s a boy here, I didn’t even see you.” She tried to shuffle out, twisting both of her legs and landing an elbow right in Thornton’s groin. She didn’t see him? She’d thrown herself over him, how was that even possible?

  “Ow, your elbow, that hurts. That really hurts.”

  Jaycen had never seen anyone’s face turn so purple so fast.

  “Sorry, nearly out.”

  “Mom, please be careful.”

  “I’m out, I’m out.” She brushed her hair down. “So, what are you doing here? Why didn’t you call?”

  Jaycen was unbuckled and out of the car, reaching her mom just as Benedict and his friend did. Thornton stayed in the car, taking long deep breaths.

  “Ms. Reece, we should have called; I’m sorry. But there are things we need to talk about,” Benedict told her. “Could you spare us a minute of your time?”

  She nervously looked over at Jaycen, linking their arms. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, mom. I promise everything is fine. Let’s go inside.”

  “Oh okay, come this way. You can all have a cup of tea out of my new china, I got it at this great little shop around the corner.” Her mother led the way to her house, still talking about her china.

  Jaycen stayed back and leant against the car, looking down at a still deep breathing Thornton. “You okay there, champ?”

  “Yeah, just give me a second.” H
e pressed his lips together, still clearly in a lot of pain. “Okay, okay. Now I’m good.”

  They both walked into the house the others had just disappeared into. They found everyone seated in the living room.

  “Everyone just take a seat, I’ll get the tea on. I have blue tea cups and I have pink, which do you prefer?” her mother called from the kitchen.

  “It really doesn’t matter, Ms. Reece,” Benedict called back, rocking back and forth on his heels. Zena was standing next to him, eyeing the new house and unopened boxes.

  Her mother hadn’t unpacked yet and the already small room was crowded with boxes. If the other hundreds of times they had moved were anything to go by, everything would stay in boxes for at least another two months.

  “Here, you can sit on these.” Jaycen pulled out boxes. “At one house, boxes were our chairs for the entire six months we were living there.”

  “That sounds… nice,” Benedict said as he tested his weight on the box.

  Her mom walked into the room just then, holding out a tray. “Everyone take a cup and make yourself at home.”

  “Thank you for your hospitality, Ms. Reece. I know we should have called ahead, but there are a few things we need to talk about.”

  Everyone sipped their tea, watching Benedict speak and her mother moved about the room. “Oh, really? About what?”

  “Jaycen’s father.”

  The tray smashed onto the floor, liquid spilling everywhere, and her mother’s new china breaking into a thousand pieces.

  Jaycen was on her knees in an instant, helping her pick up the broken pieces. Her mother stood as still as a statue, a faraway look crossing her eyes. “He was the love of my life, but he left. He’s coming back though. Someday.”

  Jaycen couldn’t even count how many times she had heard those words. It had been her mother’s mantra over the years. He left but he’s coming back. Maybe she believed that if she said it enough it might actually happen.

  “We just need the basics really. His name, where he’s from, that kind of thing,” Benedict carried on, as though there wasn’t a flood of tea on the floor.