Chapter 25
The door started to close but stopped as Cora and Wulf stepped out. Cora shrugged. “We aren’t needed for any of that.”
“And I smell bacon,” I said. The door opened again and Declan stepped out.
“Vesta, can I borrow Craig for a second?”
“Ah, sure, Dad,” she said, looking slightly unsure.
“It’ll just be a moment or two,” he reassured her. She nodded, kissed my cheek, and caught up to the twins.
“Sir?” I asked as they moved farther away. I’m sure all three could hear every word we said.
“I just wanted to let you know that while I can’t know exactly how you are feeling, I can tell you I had to make similar decisions at an age pretty close to yours.
The deaths I’m responsible for were spread out over a number of years, but the numbers ended up similar.
It isn’t easy, yet in some ways, it is. Taking a life is horrifying.
Allowing a loved one or friend to die because that decision couldn’t be made is even worse.
You saved two of your classmates, kids you haven’t always gotten along with.
For what it is worth, I would have done the same thing if I could have.
I have vast power, much greater on the whole than anyone else, yet I don’t think I could have stopped eight vampires moving for a kill in that timeframe from a dead sleep.
Your skills are unique and while you might prefer healing or something else, they are valuable in their own right. ”
I paused to soak that in. “Thank you, sir. I’m not sure it has fully hit me yet because I’ve been more worried about my control.
But Miss Nika’s words were helpful with that, and yours are extremely helpful too.
Odd, that I’m going through some stuff that you went through twenty years ago. Maybe everything is a cycle after all.”
“It is odd, but I’ve learned that odd are hallmarks of my life. I think odd might be a hallmark of yours too. If you ever want to talk, just call.”
“Thank you,” I said. He turned and went back into the classroom, and I headed to the stairs.
The other three were still on the top landing.
“You’re dad’s very cool, Vee,” I said. She nodded but stayed silent as we all headed down to the cafeteria.
Inside, the buffet line was empty of food, but the smells coming from the kitchen told me we didn’t have long to wait.
The room was pretty much packed with the entirety of College Arcane, and it was a pretty quiet bunch.
It got downright silent when we entered.
Everyone looked worried, some scared, all confused—except at our table, where Freia was waving at us, smiling hugely.
We moved over to her, sitting with Taylah, Reagan, and Geniveve. Freia patted the spot next to her, looking at me with a huge smile. Danger, Craig Blackmore! Danger!
I sat down next to her, Vesta sat next to me and then, shockingly, Cora and Wulf sat down next to her. They had never sat with us before. More danger, Craig Blackmore.
“What a day,” Freia said happily, patting my shoulder like we were buddies. No one had informed me that we were buddies. Necessary associates, sure. Buddies, not so much.
“Are you feeling better, Craig? You looked pretty upset when I saw you earlier,” Freia asked.
I had a flash of memory. Standing in the girls’ hall, Cora holding me with gravity, Vesta approaching rapidly, and a wide-eyed Freia leaning out of the doorway of her and Vesta’s room.
“Yeah. Ah, you seemed a bit…” I trailed off, not sure what word to use.
“Manic,” Vesta supplied.
“Sure,” Freia agreed. “My vision? The one from last September? It was of today. I didn’t know the context or details. I do now,” she said happily.
“Ah. The bloody hallways and my bloody beloved,” Vesta said.
“What now?” I asked.
“She told me the barest minimum about that vision she had at the beginning of the school year,” Vesta said. “Said blood in the halls and you covered in blood.”
“Um, it was just my feet.”
“Yup, and I never mentioned you were mostly naked, either,” Freia said. “When you don’t know the full story, it’s often best to hold back. At least, so my mom says.”
“Attention students,” Gina suddenly called from across the room. Toni, Agent Jensen, and another agent I had seen before were with her. Agent Mahar, I think her name was. Tall, Mediterranean coloring, and intense dark eyes that seemed to see everything.
I also noticed that all four magic teachers were in the room, moving from table to table, as well as Mr. Jenks and Mal.
“Thank you all for your patience and for following instruction so well. We have all had a truly shocking start to the day,” Gina said.
“So what happened?” a student asked in a familiar French accent. Jacques Armond.
“I’m getting to that, Jacques,” Gina said, giving him a little frown. Jenks drifted along the wall behind Armond’s table, coming to a stop directly behind him.
I felt someone moving along the wall by us and glanced over my shoulder. Erika Boklund was leaning against the wall, watching Gina, but her eyes flicked my way and she nodded slightly. I smiled and turned back to the front.
“Here are the facts,” Gina said. “This school was attacked this morning by eight individuals intent upon bringing harm to some of us. They were all neutralized before completing their agenda. The building is secure, and we are all safe. Agent Jensen and the FBI’s entire STRT team is here investigating the incident, and we are immediately implementing security changes to harden our facility. ”
“How did they get in?” an older student asked.
“Two of our security personnel, both of whom came to us with law enforcement backgrounds, broke protocol when they perceived someone needing aid. It was against procedure, but a lifetime of training in protecting and serving the public is sometimes hard to overcome. When they reached out to help, they were both attacked viciously and the facility was left open. Both are okay and are being reassigned to the University’s police force.
“Going forward, we will only hire security who are primarily ex-military or supernatural security trained.”
“How did they all get their heads chopped off?” another student asked. Kiley Price, who was so involved in the rhinocodium studies.
Gina paused, frowning, clearly deciding how to answer. A voice spoke up from right next to me.
“Really, Kiley? You don’t know?” Freia asked. “I don’t mean to be snide, but isn’t it obvious?”
“No Freia, it isn’t,” Kiley shot back.
“If you consider the walls of Arcane like a fence, built to keep things out, and consider all of us a flock, and if some pack of toothy apex predators breached that fence to attack us and yet all died in a handful of seconds, would you have to wonder who killed them?” Freia asked.
“ I mean, it happened on Church Street last semester, right?”
Then she patted me on the shoulder again… in front of the whole school. Kiley was staring at me, eyes wide. So was her whole table. So were all the tables.
“Awesome,” I muttered.
“I mean, you came out of your room like everyone else on the sixth floor and saw him standing there, right? Oh, I have a few pictures by the way. I’m not about guys, but even I can recognize what some might see in that. I’ll take Wytchwar mods in trade.”
“But their heads were all gone,” a werewolf said.
“The birds on Church Street had stuff put in their heads; these vamps just lost theirs,” Freia said. “Similar.”
“Vamps?” a witch asked. “They were vampires?”
Gina was focused on Freia, a frown on her face. “Yes, in fact they were. How did you know that fact, Freia?”
“I had a vision last semester. Bloody halls in the night, heads rolling, at least one a vampire, and our friend here, half-naked,” Freia said, patting my shoulder again.
“I’ve been struggling with worry and anxiety for months as I didn’t know the particulars, just Craig and headless, bloody bodies. I’m so relieved.”
“I’m sure you are,” Gina mused, turning to look at Agent Jensen, who was also extremely interested in this revelation.
“Any other pertinent details to add, Freia?” Jensen asked.
“Hmm. Well, it’s all much clearer now that it’s over. They were all vampires, they were here for Cora and Wulf, and they had no idea we have a warlock.”
“This is absurd,” Jacques said suddenly. “There is no way this weak boy witch could kill vampires.”
“Moron said what?” Freia asked him, speaking fast.
“What?” Jacques asked, confused.
“Exactly,” Freia shot back. “Listen, champ. I hear your daddy is a hotshot on Whiskey Tango, but here on Earth, he’s nothing and you seem to know nothing.”
“Bitch,” he said back.
“No, witch,” Freia said with a smile. “You don’t understand werewolf beloveds and yet you’re supposed to be a hotshot werewolf. I think you bought some wolf kid’s slot to Arcane and you don’t have the foggiest idea about actual packs. You also don’t savvy what a warlock is.”
“Freia, that’s enough,” Gina said.
“Gina, I thought a warlock was just a male witch,” another werewolf from Jacques’ table asked.
“No, Don, they’re not. People use the word incorrectly. Now, let’s get this back on track.”
“But what is a warlock? What is he?” a young witch who was a freshman like us asked.
Gina sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
“A warlock is a male witch who has been modified by witchcraft to focus their magic on those specialized skills and attributes that are required for war,” Agent Jensen said. “Strength, speed, endurance, anything that might make for a better fighter.”
The witch’s mouth formed into a silent oh. The rest of the school was now staring at me. I focused on my mug.
“Now, we could spend the rest of the day answering questions,” Agent Jensen said, “or trying to, but we don’t have all those answers yet.
As Director Velasquez indicated, this building is secure.
New procedures are already in effect to enhance that security.
Our investigation continues, and the building has been cleaned of carnage.
Food will be coming out shortly, I believe, and my team will be here for the near future, under the leadership of Agent Mahar.
I have a detached mission to undertake but will be back in several days’ time. ”
“As you can see, the teaching staff is here today and will be available along with myself, Toni, and the rest of the faculty to talk about how you are all feeling,” Gina said.
“We won’t really have more answers on the attack for some time but when we do, we will update you all.
Now, here comes the food. Can I have some witches help distribute it? ”
The kitchen doors opened and the staff pushed carts ladened with platters and bowls out into the room.
Instantly, a group of witches who had signed up for just these sorts of family-style meals started to TK the dishes of food to each of the tables.
Eggs, bacon, fruit, toast, hash browns, and waffles all floated through the air to land on each table.
“I’m having eggs today,” Freia said brightly. I looked at her. “What? I’m vegetarian, not vegan.”
I shrugged and pushed the egg platter closer to her.
“Are you not hungry?” Taylah asked me.
“Sorta. Sorta unsettled too,” I said.
“Well, using that much magic burns calories,” Freia said but a hand descended on her shoulder. Erika stood behind her, but her eyes were on me.
“Unsettled is fine, Craig,” she said to me. “Normal, even.”
“Yes ma’am,” I said, but then reached for the next closest platter. “But… bacon.”
“Hmm. Sure, Craig. Cora, Wulf, how are you doing?” Erika asked.
Cora stayed quiet and it was Wulf who spoke up. “Unsettled doesn’t begin to cover it. But suddenly I’m really hungry,” he said, grabbing some toast.
“Hunger is one of the body’s ways of dealing with violent shock,” Erika said, her eyes straying to me.
“Yer not gonna sick up, now are ye?” Reagan asked me.
“No,” I said, finally reaching for the egg platter. “I’m just not as hungry as usual.”
We all ate for a few moments, then Reagan lifted her head and looked at me. “So, jest how did ye chop off their sally noggins?”
Vesta’s fork rang off her plate as she dropped it to stare at the Irish witch.
“What? I can’t be the only curious one here, now can I?” Reagan responded.
“Let’s leave Craig alone for the moment, shall we?” Erika asked.
“Aren’t you guys going to eat too?” Vesta asked our teacher.
“Well…” she began but she was eyeing the still bountiful food on the table.
Almost as one, Vesta and I hitched our chairs sideways a bit, sliding our plates over.
Freia took the hint and moved closer to Reagan while Wulf leaned back and grabbed a plate and silverware bundle from the self-wait station against the wall.
“Sure; why not,” Erika said, grabbing a chair and sitting down between me and Freia.
“Are we really safe?” Gabrielle asked.
“Daylight is not far away. The building has been hardened and is crawling with armed federal agents,” Erika said.
“And Craig is here,” Freia said.
Erika looked at her for moment, then sighed. “Yes, Craig is here and I’m hoping he can pass me the bacon.”
I could and I did.