Chapter 10
“Quickly now!” Vanessa bellowed as we hurried after her. “We can’t waste a precious second, so move it!”
“Do we dare ask why we’ve been summoned again?” Akira whispered as quietly as possible.
“I don’t think that would be wise,” Vesta purred as we followed the ill-tempered professor.
“She terrifies me,” Circe added in a dramatic whisper. “More than the men who tortured me in rank dungeons and cut bits and pieces off my body and then subjected me to holy crosses and priests.”
“That’s certainly saying something,” I mumbled.
But I wasn’t totally surprised.
“Keep up, for hell’s sake!” Vanessa growled, even though we were right behind her heels.
“If we edge any closer, we’ll literally be kissing her ass,” Akira grunted with a deep frown.
“What was that, Miss Akira?” Vanessa snapped without turning around.
“Err… nothing, Professor,” the black-eyed witch mumbled in an awkward tone.
No one dared to say another word as we headed back to our common room. My mind was whirling with possibilities, but I refused to say anything, even when we slipped into the living room of our shared quarters.
Once we were inside, Vanessa looked coldly around the room and then back at us.
“Retrieve your blood crafted blades and be quick about it,” the dark-haired professor ordered. “You’ll be needing them.”
“Err, Professor?” Beatrix squeaked in a small voice. “My blade is safely stowed away in my room---”
“And I don’t even have one,” Circe added with a small shrug. “Mine was lost years ago… or I traded it for some very rare poisonous pearls… I can’t recall which.”
“Then perhaps you two should just stay here--” Vanessa began, but I cut her off.
“No, they come, too,” I interjected. “I want them by my side.”
“Well… I suppose it doesn’t matter,” Vanessa huffed with an impatient sigh. “The coven’s blades will have to do… and Cole, you will do well to not speak to me in such a manner.”
“Apologies, Vanessa,” I answered with a cool glare.
An awkward moment hung in the air as she glowered at me, but she quickly clapped her hands and then glared at the women.
“Did I fucking stutter?” she snapped at them. “Get your damn blades!”
We quickly parted ways before she could snap at us again, and when I rushed to my bedroom, I wasn’t surprised to see Alexander curled up on my bed in a ball of black fur. As I yanked open my drawer, the sound caused my familiar’s head to shoot up and stare at me with half-hooded eyes.
Silvia? his sleep-filled voice resonated inside my head. Is that you?
“No,” I chuckled before I pulled out my silver and leather hilted blade. “I know the resemblance between us is uncanny, so I can understand the confusion.”
Oh, it’s just you, Cole, he groaned. Sorry… Silvia and I fought, so I thought it was her… coming here to admit she was wrong.
I couldn’t help but wonder what an oversized flying wolverine and a fat furry bear could possibly argue about, but I chose to keep that question to myself.
“Sorry, Alexander,” I said before I finally turned around to face him. “It’s just me.”
Hmmm, he purred. Now, where are you going off to with your precious blade? Off to another one of your secret and deadly missions?
“I’m not sure yet,” I admitted, “but I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Can I come with you? he asked. I’m so fucking bored. Plus, I kind of want to make Silvia worry about me… and then be all impressed when I return with a kick ass story to tell her, you know? Pleeeeeeease, take me with you!
“Not this time, buddy,” I replied in an apologetic tone. “You’re going to have to sit this one out, I’m afraid… something tells me if Vanessa wanted you to come along, she would have made that clear.”
Damn, he pouted. I miss our adventures… I’m a wild animal, man, I need to fight and drink blood and fuck. Rats aren’t exactly cutting it. I mean, they are for the fighting and eating, not the fucking bit.
“I’ll do my best to bring you to the next mission or task… or whatever,” I answered as I stuffed the blade into my waistband. “Satan’s word.”
Pfft… I’ll believe it when I see it, he said before he closed his eyes again. Good luck, though… please don’t die. I’d be bummed out if you never came back. I love you and all that.
“I’ll try not to die, then,” I chuckled before I raced out of my bedroom and down the stairs.
Vanessa was waiting by the threshold with her arms crossed over her chest and a small scowl on her beautiful face when I came down. She was also tapping her foot against the floorboards and huffing under her breath.
Circe and Beatrix were quietly seated on the sofa, and they both fumbled with their hands and stared into the flames with blank expressions on their faces.
“About damn time,” Vanessa growled as she glowered at me from head to toe. “Now… where are the others?”
“We might be a coven,” I answered, “but I’m not constantly aware of their whereabouts… I’m sure they’re just grabbing their blades as you asked.”
As I stared at the beautiful, but ill-tempered professor, I couldn’t help but wonder why she was snappier than usual. She was always on edge, but today it seemed like something had crawled up her ass and refused to budge.
“Once again, Cole,” Vanessa hissed and narrowed her ice-blue eyes. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are to speak to me in such a manner, but by Satan, I promise you I will not tolerate it.”
“Isn’t he one of the most powerful, if not most powerful, Wiccas in the entire academy?” Circe asked in a soft, innocent voice.
“Excuse me?” Vanessa snapped as she turned to glare at the blonde-haired witch.
“Well, you just said, ‘I don’t know who you think you are,’” Circe clarified. “So… I was just reminding you.”
The stern-faced professor looked utterly taken aback for a moment, and I was worried for Circe’s sake. No one spoke to Vanessa like that, but before all hell could break loose, the other women clambered down the stairs and nearly tripped as they ran toward Vanessa.
“We’re here!” Morgana cried out as she waved the blade in her hands.
“Yes, I can see that, Miss Morgana.” Vanessa rolled her blue eyes. “Come on now, you’ve all wasted enough time.”
Again, she didn’t grant us the courtesy of telling us what she had in mind, but we had no other choice but to follow her out the door and down the corridors.
As we wove through the hallways, we had to dodge the crowds because it was supper time, and the halls were filled with students making their way to the Great Hall.
“Satan, I’m hungry,” Beatrix muttered under her breath. “I can practically smell the roasted quail and mashed pumpkins from here.”
“Don’t let Vanessa hear you,” Circe warned in a quiet voice. “She might eat you instead. She’s probably starving… I bet that’s why she’s so mean.”
“What?” Akira chuckled. “Circe… you’re a bit fucking odd, aren’t you?”
“I suppose it depends on who you ask,” the blonde witch replied with a small shrug.
“Stop talking!” Vanessa hissed as we turned a sharp corner. “Keep up!”
We followed the hot-headed professor down another series of corridors until we finally reached her empty classroom.
When we stepped inside, the room was dark, cold, and devoid of any other students, but without a word, Vanessa pulled out her wand and then flicked her wrist.
“Illuminana,” the impatient professor snapped.
In seconds, the room lit up, and a warm, comforting glow surrounded us as the air grew less chilly. The walls were painted deep red, and the floor was made of sleek ebony wood. A dozen bookcases were plastered against the back wall filled with books and other small artifacts, like a golden clock and a silver wolf. There was also another row of identical armoires against the other side of the room, and each one had a heavy gold lock around the door handles.
However, unlike the other classrooms, this one didn’t have a single desk or table. In fact, the middle of the room was completely empty, and I knew it had to mean something. I knew the others were thinking the same damn thing, too, but no one dared to speak up about it.
So, instead, we quietly watched as Vanessa strolled over to her massive mahogany desk, pulled open one of her drawers, and then retrieved a heavy, familiar book. She brought the giant book up to her nose and silently but furiously flipped through the pages until she found whatever page she was searching for.
“Here we go,” she muttered to herself.
“Professor?” Morgana murmured as she shot her hand up into the air. “I’m sorry… I really did my best not to ask any questions… b-but I’m afraid I can’t hold my tongue any longer.”
“What is it, Miss Morgana?” Vanessa questioned without lifting her eyes away from the page.
“What exactly are we doing here?” the bookish brunette asked in a tiny, timid voice.
“We’re here because Headmistress Theodora specifically asked me to bring you here,” the professor said in an ominous tone.
“But what for?” Morgana pushed.
Finally, Vanessa lifted her eyes to meet Morgana’s, and to our surprise, a small smile crept across her face.
“Well, I don’t know if your master has informed you yet,” Vanessa began, “but Theodora warned him we would need to expand our Scholomance academy. We need more warrior Wiccas to join our ranks, and she believed this was the best way to achieve her goal.”
“What way is that?” I asked with an arched eyebrow.
“She wants mystical beings to be transformed into females fit for Satan’s Academy,” Vanessa answered with a straight face.
“Wait… we can do that?” I questioned with raised eyebrows.
“Of course.” Vanessa shrugged, like we were discussing something as simple as brewing a cup of spiced coffee.
“Why does Headmistress Theodora think this is the best course of action to take?” I pushed. “I’ve never heard of this being done before.”
“Well, by Satan, of course, you haven’t!” Circe gasped before she placed a hand over her chest. “That hasn’t been done in decades… no, wait… centuries!”
“Exactly.” Vanessa nodded. “Theodora knows this decision is a rash one, but it is also a necessary one. We need to expand Scholomance, and this is one of the ways in which we will accomplish this… which is precisely why I need you all to shut up and pay attention… now… what do you know about sirens?”
No one said a word for a long moment, until Morgana began to squirm, cough, and tilt her head back like she was in physical pain.
“Miss Morgana,” Vanessa sighed. “I know you know the answer, so speak up, for hell’s sake!”
“But, Professor,” the brunette said in a faint voice. “You just said to shut up.”
Vanessa coolly regarded the clever witch before she rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“No one likes a smart ass, Morgana,” she snapped. “Just tell us what you know. Pretend this is class, and I’m going to grade you on the quality of your response.”
“Err, well, in that case,” Morgana gushed as her blue eyes flashed with excitement. “A siren can take a number of various forms… are we talking about land, sky, or sea sirens?”
“Sea sirens,” Vanessa answered with a dead-pan expression on her face.
“Ah, well,” Morgana continued as she pressed a finger against her temple. “Sea Sirens are probably the most cunning of all three types. They swim in groups, or rather pools, and they are remarkably beautiful monsters. They obviously cannot survive above the surface, and they thrive only at night. They sleep during the day, but they have been known to lure men into sea storms with their heavenly voices and angelic demeanors during the darkness of night. Sometimes, but not always, one male king rules over a pod of sirens, and he would rather die than part with any of his women. He is known to harbor extraordinary power, and unlike the women, he can walk on land whenever he desires.”
“Sounds eerily familiar,” Vanessa remarked in a sardonic tone as she glanced at each woman and then at me. “Anyway, yes, well done, as always, Miss Morgana.”
“Well, aren’t you a walking library, huh?” Circe remarked with a broad smile. “I don’t think I ever met a witch who could recite so much information so quickly… it was like you were reading off a page!”
“I mean…” Morgana blushed. “I just read a lot… it’s no big deal.”
“Yes, we all know this, Miss Morgana,” Vanessa huffed as she dismissively waved her hand in the air. “Anyway, you’re all here because I will be teaching you an ancient blood spell that will morph these exquisite female creatures into one of ours. It has not been practiced since the first dawn, and of course, it is considered highly dangerous and potentially deadly.”
“We understand, Professor.” I nodded. “We’ll do whatever it takes to protect Scholomance.”
“Yes, I know,” Vanessa grumbled without meeting my eyes. “You have plenty of faults, including being born a male, but I will admit you’ve gone beyond our expectations to protect the academy. All of you have.”
“Thank you, Professor,” Vesta purred with glittering silver eyes. “We appreciate that.”
“Yeah,” the older, dark-haired witch awkwardly coughed. “Anyway, let’s continue, shall we? As Morgana mentioned, these sirens only thrive at night, and while this particular realm is quite far away, it also happens to share the same sun and moon as us, so we need to hurry since the sun is already setting… oh, it’s also fairly cold where you’re going, but there’s no time to change clothes, so when you get there, I suggest you act quickly.”
“Yes, Professor,” we answered without missing a beat.
“Now, let us begin with the blood sacrifice required for the spell,” Vanessa said before she placed the open book down on her desk. “Hos parere imperio!”
A giant cloud of purple smoke erupted in the center of the classroom, and suddenly, there in the middle of the room, tied to a wooden chair, was a warlock with deep blue hair and glassy, red-rimmed brown eyes. He was wearing the standard Mors white tuxedo, but it was stained with blood and other bodily fluids. The man was gagged, and thick droplets of sweat trickled down his forehead as he uselessly rocked his starved body back and forth. He was also sobbing uncontrollably, and we looked at him with disgust and hatred as snot bubbles blew from his flared nostrils and tears streamed down his sallow, filthy face.
“A Mors bastard,” Akira observed through gritted teeth. “Satan… please tell me that’s what the blades are for, Professor. I’m aching to spill some traitor blood.”
“Yes, but patience first, Miss Akira,” Vanessa reminded the edgy black-eyed witch. “All in good time.”
Akira nodded, and the rest of us waited as Vanessa turned to look back down at the open book. Her pale blue eyes darted across the text, and her red lips were fluttering as she read incoherently under her breath.
“Alright… in many of these ancient sacrifices,” Vanessa read aloud, “Wiccas were used as the blood sacrifice because of their magical blood, however, considering what we are facing, we will not be killing any of our own kind since we need every able-bodied witch we can. Thankfully, we still have plenty of traitor warlocks to spare, so this pitiful asshole will have to do.”
Then we watched as Vanessa slowly stepped away from the book and moved toward the confined sobbing warlock. She glared coldly at him, and then she gently pulled a small shimmering dagger out from underneath her dress. It was secured by a leather strap around her upper thigh, and it was difficult not to marvel at her beautiful, creamy white skin as she let the fabric of her gown fall back over her long, lean leg.
“I hope you know you deserve this,” the dark-haired professor hissed with venomous, pale blue eyes. “You deserve this and much more. I doubt Satan will have mercy on your soul… and be sure… that will be a conversation you’ll have shortly.”
The warlock wailed through his gag as he feebly tried to untie himself. It was a pathetic struggle, and we all knew he was done for.
The thought sent a pleasant shiver up my spine as I tightened my grip on my blade.
“When can we stab him, professor?” Circe asked in an eager voice. “Oh, wait… I don’t have a blade… how disappointing. I suppose I’ll just watch. Be sure to stab him as deeply as possible. Puncture those organs as best you can now.”
“Do not worry,” Vanessa replied without looking at the blonde serpentine witch. “It will be an unforgettable show… now, everyone, raise your blades, prepare to sink them into this worthless bastard’s flesh, and then repeat after me… hoc volo perficere sanguine infuso magicenque.”
We surrounded the confined warlock and formed a perfect circle around him with our blades raised up high in the air. Circe and Beatrix watched with wide, curious eyes as they stood outside our formation, and I could hear them panting with bloodthirsty anticipation as we prepared to make our sacrifice.
“Now!” Vanessa bellowed in a fierce and commanding voice.
“Hoc volo perficere sanguine infuso magicenque!” we shouted.
As the spell left our lips, we plunged our blades into the warlock and stabbed him over and over again. My dagger slipped in and out of his flesh like a knife cutting through butter, and as specs of blood splattered over my face and uniform, I only grew more determined to slash and cut the fucker into bloody ribbons.
“Hell, yeah!” Circe cackled in glee. “Keep going!”
The dying warlock barely made a sound as we gouged him with all our force and fervor, and soon, a dark pool of blood began to spread at our feet. The warlock died only after a minute or two, but that didn’t stop us from plunging our sacred weapons into his body again and again.
“Enough,” Vanessa panted when his skin was covered in deep red holes.
When we took a step back, the warlock’s eyes were missing, and he was bleeding from every crevice. As we stood there and marveled at our work, the room quickly darkened, and a resounding echo reverberated through the classroom. The candles flickered as a chill swept through the room, but the icy sensation only lasted for mere seconds.
“It worked,” Vanessa breathed with relief. “Now, one of you… fetch me a vial from my desk drawer and be quick about it!”
Morgana was the first to react, and she spun on her heels and then ran toward the professor’s desk. The brunette pulled open a drawer, rummaged through the professor’s belongings, and then came back with a medium-sized flask in her hands.
“Will this do, Professor?” Morgana asked with eager blue eyes.
“Yes,” Vanessa answered as she snatched the glass from her fingers.
We watched as Vanessa roughly snatched the limp head of the warlock and tilted his head downward. Thick dark blood dripped from his eye sockets and seeped into the vial until it was filled to the brim.
Once the professor collected the blood, she closed the vial with a cork and handed it to me.
“Keep it safe,” she ordered as she looked deeply into my eyes. “If you lose it, you’re all as good as dead.”
“Understood.” I nodded as I tucked it into my pocket.
“Once you have gained the sirens’ trust, you must have them drink it,” the dark-haired professor explained.
“But how will we do that?” Akira demanded as she narrowed her eyes sharply in Vanessa’s direction. “I mean no disrespect, Professor, but that’s a lot of pressure to put on us suddenly. We didn’t even have time to come up with a plan!”
“That is for you to figure out, Miss Akira,” Vanessa answered in a tactful voice. “I’m sure Miss Morgana or perhaps Miss Faye will be able to think of something, but as I said, time is of the essence, and I must send you now… are you ready?”
She posed it as a question, but we all knew it wasn’t really up to us. So, we simply nodded and held tightly onto our bloody blades before she raised her hand up into the air and wrapped us up in a thick cloud of purple smoke.
My body twisted and turned as we passed through realms, and even though we’d been through shadow porting countless times before, this was one hell of a trip. The sensation was rougher, faster, and quicker than usual, and I couldn’t help but wonder if that meant something terrible was awaiting us.
When we finally came to an abrupt stop, I ended up slamming into something unbearably cold and numbing. I hit my head so hard that bile rose up into my throat, and the world was spinning even before I opened my eyes.
“Satan,” I heard one of the women breathe. “Where the hell are we?”
I forced myself to open my eyes, and when I did, I sucked in a sharp breath of air and took in the white wonderland around us.
We were surrounded by white glistening snow, a raven-black sky filled with twinkling starlight, and light shimmering snowfall. There were no trees, mountains, or hills, and the only sound we could hear was the piercing howl of the bitter wind. The ground was covered in a thick white blanket, and off in the distance, I thought I could make out a glittering pool of deep black water.
“Welcome to our haunted domain,” a chorus of hauntingly beautiful voices echoed. “If death is what you seek… then you have come to the right place.”
A choir of shrill giggles echoed through the frigid and bitter winter air, and for a moment, I wondered if we’d made a fatal mistake.