Chapter 13 Sage
Since our schedules differed on Tuesday and Thursday, we always met up in the dining hall and shared what might have found out during the day. Now that Morgana taught us the spell where we wouldn’t be overheard, we didn’t have to rush through dinner.
Liam appeared dragging a tiny, bewildered-looking vampire with him and announced her as his new friend Darian. I hope he asked first and didn’t just grab a random vampire in the hall and decide they were friends because I wouldn’t put it past him to do that.
“So, Darian and her girlfriend are both vampires and strong enough to shift into bats. I asked her if she could help Lucian with his because I figured something out. I warned her you don’t like your arse kissed or being treated like you’re important and to make you feel like every wanker here, it helps to frequently kick you in the kidneys. ”
“I don’t like my arse kissed, but I abhor violence and don’t enjoy being punched, either.”
“Um, so you’re all aware if the Master wanted to, he could break every bone in your body in under two seconds without breaking a sweat. I already told you this, but I want him to know, too,” Darian said.
“Lucian, please. I do need help with my bat, so I’ll take all the help I can get. The only vampire class I have is the remedial class with people who were turned. I belong there since I just became a vampire, but I am also the vampire, so I probably need a tutor if you’re willing.”
“I’d love to if I could get a letter of reference. I want to go into teaching and it would seriously help me.”
“Write her whatever the fuck she wants, mate, because to defeat the Forsaken Ones, you have to become Batman with an even bigger stick up his arse,” Liam said.
“Explain,” Khalid said.
“So, everyone that died told Khalid and Professor Gefn they were surrounded by complete blackness. Once this bastard figures out how to draw his bat out, he’s got echolocation and is the only one of us who is going to be able to find their way through it.
If he decides to choose violence for once, he could probably find and then knock the mess out of them so the rest of us stand a chance. ”
Khalid and I were nodding because that made total sense. Lucian had big opinions about violence and I’d never force him to do anything, but if he could help the rest of us see through the void, we might survive an encounter with the Forsaken Ones.
“Well, that answers it then,” Lucian said.
“Answers what?” I asked.
“Why I’m here. You and Khalid make sense because you both have a connection to the veil. You and Liam have some kind of cosmic past life connection. I never really made sense until Liam explained it like that.”
Did he really feel that way? Because I never questioned him being with us, even that first day when he ate all of our food.
I wasn’t staying up at night detailing their attributes and uses to me.
Being with them just felt right, and it was probably the only gut feeling I had that I trusted right away.
“Mate, you always made sense, even before all that,” Liam said. “Sage needs you and I need you. You might not hit me, but I need someone to trade barbs or I get in trouble. I don’t actually mean any of the shite I throw at you. I actually like you and think you’re brilliant.”
“I can’t believe I’m actually saying this because I’ve never been like this, but I’m pretty sure if you weren’t one of us, my jackal would have forced the shift and bitten you rather than let you share a bed with our mate.”
“I really need to find out if shifters carry rabies,” Lucian muttered.
“Even if you hadn’t been the original vampire and couldn’t help with the Forsaken Ones, I can feel that you’re mine. You’re supposed to be here,” I said.
“Uh, excuse me?” Darian said, raising her hand like she was in class.
“I have no idea what any of that means, but if involves stopping whoever is hurting people, I’m in.
Selene was one of my good friends and she didn’t deserve what happened to her.
Selene had no problem shifting into her bat, so all this plan is going to do is get Lucian killed. ”
So, we had to let Darian in because I didn’t want her to think we were just sending Lucian in to die for us.
“Basically, big fucking snake, friend. His gaze will paralyze someone long enough for him to bite them. His venom has some kind of toxin that neutralizes magic. Anyway, I’m pretty sure the snake doesn’t have a bunch of googly eyes like the time I got ahold of some stickers before a trip to the museum when I was a wee lad and got into trouble. ”
“I have a pet snake named Cabbage. This better not ruin snakes for me,” Darian sighed. “But yeah, if you can keep the snake’s gaze off of Lucian so he doesn’t get frozen and then bitten, he could kill them.”
“They don’t stay dead,” Khalid said. “We don’t actually know how to kill them.”
“Well, gods heal fast, but not as fast as vampires. And even though we heal fast, it takes longer if there is significant damage. Most new vampires have trouble with enhanced speeds and strength. I’m honestly shocked Lucian hasn’t.
You could crush someone’s spine by accident if you weren’t careful.
If you were trying, you could obliterate it long enough to bench them while you figure out how to kill them. ”
“This is why she’s my new friend,” Liam said proudly.
Lucian looked horrified.
“Are you saying I could hurt Sage without trying?”
“I doubt it. If you were going to lose control, you would have by now. I’m a junior, so I won’t be in the trials until next year. The vampires who were out there with you gathered every vampire on our side of the school to tell us you were back.
“There was basically one of us watching you the entire trials. Nothing personal, but they needed to know what we were dealing with. Vlad was violent, but he was also a hero to his mundane people. Some of Vlad’s reincarnations were actually worse.
Vlad the Impaler just wanted the Ottoman empire away from his shit.
Some of his reincarnations were master race people and things got really bad.
“Someone was watching you to make sure that wasn’t going to be a thing again.
They said you seemed to have exceptional control and figured out your abilities pretty quickly.
Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that if you were going to accidentally hurt someone, you would have done it already.
Either during sex or when this one kicks you in the kidneys.
Actually, this one being a menace when you were brand new probably helped. ”
“See? I was being helpful the whole time!”
“Lucian, this could work, but we know you have strong feelings about it. Do you want to do this?” Khalid asked.
“I’m against violence because there are usually always other ways of solving things.
I’ve also never been put in a position where I was facing off against the violent reincarnation of a god and his mate.
My computer skills can help figure out who we’re dealing with but if my vampire magic can help finish it, I’m going to do that.
I’m just going to need a lot of help from the vampires. ”
“Sure, I can put together a team, but we’re really going to want to rope Professor Adamastus into things.”
We could manage that through Morgana. She hadn’t said he was the reluctant member of her group because of the age difference and the fact that he was a professor, but he was kind of shit at hiding it.
Of course, we still had no fucking idea who Lola’s mate was in this life.