Academy For Vampires, page 5
Not even realizing why, she felt a need to sit next to him. So, she did.
“I know what it’s like to lose everyone you ever loved,” he told her “but you’re safe here with all of us. No one will hurt you here.”
She looked down, and bit her lower lip. If he only knew what he was saying, if he knew who she was… he wouldn’t be so understanding.
“Thank you for saying that,” she suddenly replied.
“I wouldn’t say it, if it wasn’t true.”
“So, you like it here?” she asked, looking all around them as she spoke.
The room was filled with a pleasant, earthy smell, and there was an occasional whiff of some blossoming flowers. It soothed her. For one brief moment, she could forget why she was here, that her brother was missing, that he might even be dead.
“This is the only place where I can think,” he admitted.
“Why don’t you take a walk in the forest?” she mused.
“Outside the school grounds?” he sounded shocked.
“Why, yes,” she didn’t understand what was so shocking about her question.
“It’s forbidden,” he explained. “You can’t go out. If you’re caught, you could get suspended or even expelled.”
“For taking a stroll in the woods?” It sounded ridiculous.
“You don’t know what’s in those woods,” he suddenly said.
“What?”
“You’re new here, so you don’t know… just, stay out of the forest, okay?”
“But, why?” Now, he had gotten her all curious.
“It’s best you never find out.”
“Tell me,” she urged him.
“No, I won’t,” he kept shaking his head and she knew, from the look on his face, that he wouldn’t tell her anything else.
Never mind. She would have to find out on her own, which she preferred to do anyway.
“So, you like to think surrounded by plants, too?” he asked, in an effort to change the topic.
She tilted her head, watching him carefully, trying to decide whether he was worth her trouble or not. She couldn’t tell yet but talking never hurt anyone. It felt pleasant to be here, with him.
“I came to see what kind of plants they had here,” she gave him an honest answer, though only half of it.
“Do you like what you see?” he asked, with a soft smile.
“I wish I could smell those roses in there,” she told him, whispering.
“Do you have a death wish?” he asked, with a frown.
“Don’t worry, we’d be protected.”
“You know we aren’t allowed to have any of those pills and creams here. We should be as we are here, that’s the whole point.”
“Spoil sport,” she frowned, though she was still smiling.
“You like living on the edge, don’t you?”
“Isn’t it boring, otherwise?”
“I’m not a big fan of pain, honestly.”
“Then you don’t know what you’re missing…”
She got so close to him that their noses were almost touching. She could hear him breathe in deeply, then out, loudly. It was like he was wheezing, like it was difficult for him to take a proper breath.
“You don’t have asthma or something like that, do you?” she asked, giggling.
“No, why?” he wondered.
“You’re breathing weirdly.”
“Well… that’s… because you got so close, and I….”
Instead of a reply, she started laughing. He was really cute and clumsy, and probably had a nerdy sounding name but she wanted to find out what it was anyway.
“I’m Lucy, by the way,” she offered him her right hand, all business like.
“Thorne,” he nodded, accepting it.
“Thorne?” she laughed out loud.
“Yeah, yeah, I know…” he rolled his eyes.
“No, seriously…” she couldn’t stop laughing. “It’s a nice name and all…” she kept on giggling, “but, meeting you here, inside the botanical garden, and your name is Thorne…”
“Yeah, yeah, come on…” he sounded annoyed, but she could see that there was a lingering smile on his face, too. “Laugh it out, come on.”
“Just a little more and I’m done, promise…” she was still bent down, her hands pressed against her stomach.
A few seconds later and she was finally able to take a deep breath again.
“My mom is into botany,” he explained. “My older sister’s name is Rose, my younger sister’s name is Lily, and as you already heard, I’m Thorne.”
“That’s sweet,” Mina really meant it.
“She went a little overboard with it but what can you do.”
They both laughed. The sound of their laughter echoed throughout the room, filling it with more than soothing smells of plants and blossoming flowers. For a second, Mina felt like everything was alright with the world. She felt happy. She had forgotten all about Kellam’s disappearance and she could laugh freely, without that heavy burden pressing against her heart.
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?” he asked.
“A brother,” she replied.
“Older?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “He’s my only family.”
“Oh, sorry to hear that but I’m happy that you're not alone. No one should be alone.”
She had no reply to this. There was no reply to this, really. He was right. He had no idea how right he was. She didn’t want to be alone, now or ever. She needed her brother back.
“Is everything okay?” he asked suddenly, seeing the look of sadness on her face.
“Yeah, just… I miss him,” she admitted softly.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he also escape when your clan was…?” he asked, but didn’t finish his question.
“Sorry…” she got up, grabbed her backpack and rushed away from him. “I gotta go.”
She slammed the door shut behind her, leaving Thorne confused, thinking he’d said something wrong. Warm tears were streaming down her face and she was cursing Dante’s name with all the strength of her wounded, little heart.
Chapter 7
The following night, Mina couldn’t fall asleep. Whether it was the new bed, the new place or the fact that her brother was still out there, waiting for her to find him, dead or alive, she couldn’t be sure. It was probably a combination of all those factors which was keeping her awake in the dead of night.
She tossed and turned, trying to make herself comfortable but it was no use. Strange sounds kept coming from outside, from the forest the mansion was surrounded by, sounds Mina had never heard before. First, there was a wailing, as if a woman was crying. Then, it resembled a wolf howling. This was followed by sounds of thunder. Then, it all started again, in the same order.
She tried ignoring them at first. She wished she had some ear plugs on her but they were the last thing on her mind when she was packing for this hellhole. She considered herself lucky that she was able to bring a few of her favorite weapons and potions in a hidden compartment of her backpack. Somehow, no one asked to check her baggage and she didn’t question fate. It was simply how it was meant to be. She felt like she was where she needed to be, fate made sure of that. Only, she had no idea how this journey would end.
A wolf howled in the distance, the sound oozing through the window as if it was wide open. Mina angrily pulled off her covers and stomped over to the window. She pushed the curtains aside and gazed into the darkness. It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the darkness that reigned outside. All she could see were tree tops, darkened bushes, and a mountain peak far away in the distance. Everything was black and grey, just silhouettes of their daytime counterparts. The moon was full, but it didn’t illuminate the earth enough. Mina could only see shadows and outlines, as if she was slowly going blind.
Then, suddenly, she thought she saw something bright red, orange and yellow flickering in the distance. She squinted in an effort to see it better. Quickly, the light disappeared. It was dark again. She looked around but there was nothing. A second later, the light flickered again, only for a brief moment, then it died. The same thing happened a few more times. Now, she was sure that something was happening in the forest, outside school grounds, something mysterious, something manmade.
She quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and an oversized hoodie, and tiptoed out of her room. The hallways were empty. She wondered how she’d be able to explain her going out to the watchman, as every dorm had one, purely for the safety of the students. Though she wasn’t sure what vampires had to be kept safe from. They were the most dangerous creatures here, in her opinion.
She walked down the staircase slowly, glad that she’d opted for her sneakers instead of boots with a leather sole and wooden heel. Those would be echoing throughout the whole dorm. She looked at the entrance. A small lamp was on, in the corner of a little booth. She leaned a little forward and saw the head of the watchman, resting against his elbow on the table. He seemed to be asleep. She wondered if she could tiptoe past him, without him noticing her. The door opened on the inside, it was only locked from the outside. All she had to do was make those few steps and she was in the clear.
She started slowly, one step at a time. All of a sudden, he stirred. His head lifted but she couldn’t see if his eyes were still closed or not. She breathed slowly, quietly, even though it felt like her heart wanted to leap out of her chest. She jumped behind a big pillar to the side. Her heart was racing, though she wasn’t sure why. She probably wasn’t the first one to try to sneak out in the middle of the night. What would the watchman do anyway? Shake his finger at her crossly? Send her back to her room? Tell her not to do it again? She doubted they’d suspend or expel her over this, it wasn’t that big of a transgression of school rules. She could just say she wanted to go out and meet a guy. That sounded plausible enough, it probably happened a million times before. Girls meeting guys, guys meeting girls. It’s an excuse as old as time itself. A small place, lots of teenagers with raging hormones, of course, it happened before. She had nothing to worry about. She kept reminding herself that.
She peeped from behind the pillar. The watchman seemed to be sound asleep. His head was resting even more comfortably on the desk now and there was a small TV to his side, playing an old, black and white movie loudly. She didn’t even need to be all that quiet with that thing shouting in his ear. She boldly continued, not taking her eyes off of him.
Three more steps to the door. Carefully.
Two.
One.
Her hand was already resting on the knob and she pressed it down slowly. The door opened silently. She thanked her lucky stars that someone obviously oiled them recently. She closed the door carefully behind her, then rushed off in the direction of the forest. She wanted to get there before that shiny thing disappeared. She wanted to find out what it was.
There was a high, brick wall all around the school grounds, almost like a miniature version of the Great Wall of China. She had overheard some girls in the bathroom the day before, when they were talking about some hole underneath the wall. Sure, she’d get all dirty and muddy but she had to find out what that light in the forest was. It was too small to be a fire and too contained. Someone was there, making it visible, then hiding it. But why? Were they calling someone? Was it a secret meeting of some sort? Whatever it was, she would find out. She ran in the direction of the forest, trying to avoid open spaces where she could be seen by someone who was unexpectedly there, like she was. She walked past walls, away from the street lamps and finally reached the outer wall.
There was no one around. Only a few lamp lights illuminated the deserted area. Mina bent down and tried looking for anything that might resemble a hole. For the most part, concrete joined in with the heavy wall but then, she found it. It was behind a small bench, all the way close to the wall. The concrete had been broke, and a few loose boards lay over it, in a lousy effort to try and hide it. Mina moved them. It was a perfect fit for a person to go through it and safely get out on the other side.
She managed to squeeze through effortlessly, crawling on her hands and knees. It was almost fun. She got out, cleaned herself a little, even though most of the mud was already caked on her pants and sleeves, then gazed in front of her. The moon was shining bright, illuminating an invisible path she was supposed to follow. Where would it lead and what would she see at the end of it, she wondered? Bravely, she ventured forth, covering her head with her hoodie and squeezing her fingers into fists, as she walked through the forest, not really knowing where exactly she was going or what she was looking for. It was slightly chilly and she praised herself for her choice of clothing. For a second, she wished she was back in her soft, warm bed, instead of stepping through muddied soil in the middle of the night but she knew she was right where she needed to be. Her gut was telling her this loud and clear.
After what seemed an eternity of walking and wondering whether she’d be able to find her way back once this was all done, she started hearing voices. Soft and indistinct, they weren’t recognizable yet. Slowly, those voiced blurred into chanting, not far away from her. She stopped, in an effort to figure out where it was coming from. She pushed aside branches and bushes, all of which seemed to want a piece of her, clawing at her. Finally, she saw a little clearing open up before her but she herself remained behind, in the depths, hidden by a large bush.
Squatting behind it, she could see a fire in the very center of the clearing but it was no ordinary fire. It was red, then, blue, then orange, then green, changing colors every few seconds, as it tried to reach the skies themselves. A group of long haired women danced around it in long white dresses that reached down all the way to their bare feet. Their heads bobbed up then down, then up and down again, as their hair flowed wildly, following the rhythm of their chanting. Mina had no idea what they were singing. It was a language she didn’t speak. She couldn’t understand a word of it. She doubted she had even heard it before. The women held hands, as their bare feet danced on the ground, creating a closed circle around the fire. They seemed to be in a trance, with their eyes closed, but they knew exactly where to move and how to stay away from the blazing flames.
She was too far away to see anything clearly but, for a second, Mina thought she recognized Reeba, as one of the dancing women. The girl was of similar build and her red hair down to her shoulders was easy to pick up on. Mina was sure that she hadn’t seen any other red haired girls at the school but she had to get closer to be sure.
She dared not risk it. She had no idea who these women were or what they were capable of. What if that wasn’t really Reeba, but some completely different girl with nasty intentions towards intruders? Were they vampires or witches, or maybe both? Mina had never fought a witch. There was never a reason to do so. Witches had gone into hiding ages ago and very rarely decided to live in places where there were more humans than witches. Instead, they opted to stay in little villages in the mountains, or in some uninhabited islands, where they were free to practice their magic. Humans weren’t really all that eager to be neighbors with someone who could curse them over a possible disagreement. Mina could totally understand that. So, she decided against getting closer. Instead, she remained where she was, hiding and closely following what was happening.
The fire seemed to dance along to the movement of the women that surrounded it. Suddenly, one of them fell to the ground, as if she was struck by lightning. She appeared to be having a seizure of some sort, her body twitching and bending in most unusual ways but, strangely enough, there was no sound coming from the girl. Mina’s first instinct was to rush over and help but she had to keep herself calm and composed. The others rushed over, but instead of helping her, they were spilling flowery water over the girl’s face. She was still convulsing but much less fervently now. A few seconds later, she was lying motionless on the ground, her hair spread all around her face, with flower blossoms in it. The fire had died down a little. It wasn’t licking the skies any longer. Now, it was small and contained, blazing red in the darkness, pleasantly.
The woman on the ground stirred a little. She lifted her head up first, resting her open palms against the ground. She sat up, holding her head. Mina noticed that the earth was scorched to the ground where she’d placed her palms, as if someone burned all the grass and greenery from that spot with open fire.
The others surrounded her. They were talking to her, but Mina was too far away to hear anything. When they all dispersed, she finally recognized her friend. It was Reeba. They all picked up their clothes and got dressed in silence. Mina made sure not to make a single sound. Suddenly, she heard something behind her, a twig snapping. She quickly turned around but there was nothing. All she could see was darkness. Even the moon seemed to hide away. When Mina turned around again, she realized the women were gone. The fire was the size of a golf ball now. It was dying out on its own. Mina had never seen anything like it.
