A Rune’s Blood Moon (A Rune’s Blood Moon #1)

Chapter 1

One

How old are vampires. . . well, let’s get one thing straight. There’s a difference between vampIRES and vampYR. Vampires are created and vampyr are born. Yes! I said it! The non-aging, bloodsucking, sun-fearing, Dracula-ish creatures can be birthed.

I will not go into detail about how that happens because it’s the same way humans conceive. If you want a detailed description of that, go find Ms. Elaycia. She knows all about – to put it bluntly – sex. I’d be surprised if she didn’t since she is a succubus.

As far as my previous question. . . vampires can be any age. Much like the vampyr, once turned their aging slows. It doesn’t stop all together because of celestials and tied fates and mortality and all that, but it does slow to a near stop.

The oldest recorded vampire lived over ten thousand years. Though in recent times most die off well before they hit a thousand. Especially in this age and realm.

Vampyr are a bit different. For one, only a vampyr can create a vampire, vampires cannot create more vampires.

Next, they technically cannot die naturally, however some do age at different rates.

All vampyr are born as humans – and most other beings – are.

Babies. Unable to protect themselves and dependent on another.

They’re weak, powerless, helpless, useless, insufficient, and ineffective.

At least, that’s what most of the Mage Board Councilmen will tell you, and mages as a race.

In truth, the baby vampyr are actually more dangerous.

Just like scorpions. In addition to most of the stereotypes humans have for regular vampires, vampyr also have inherent magic.

Something most of the Mage Board loathes.

And with only just being born and needing to mature, baby vampyr do not have the capacity to regulate their abilities.

All vampyr are born with a natural gift. That’s their magic. Usually it’s some form of an elemental power. Something of natural origins that you cannot learn.

Then they have the capabilities of an inherent learned magic. Something that is destined for them that they must hone, an ability they only receive after some divine altercation – or something like that.

And lastly, there’s a given or tied magic. Something they can receive if they blood bond themselves to someone else.

It’s all quite intriguing when you think about it. And that’s just the vampyr. You still have mages, shifters, fae, witches, and all the subgroups within them.

It’s all facts I was forced to cram into my mind. So many details to remember because without them I would have failed the entrance exam. And I needed to pass that damned exam.

Six hundred and forty-seven questions, two half page responses, and one three page-long essay.

It took me twenty-two hours. A test that not only questions you on the six beings of moral, but also tests your intelligence and academics.

Considering I never went to school you would think I should have failed that part. But the vampire who fed me the blood and injected me with the venom of a vampyr also transferred a bit of knowledge.

Not that I was ever dumb. I spent the majority of my life in libraries. I’ve taught myself sciences, mathematics, philosophy, literature, arts, politics. But my knowledge held nothing to what was within that test.

I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. It was either take the test and try to pass or die. I was stamped an illegal vampire, and unless you have the paperwork you’re dead.

I don’t know why the vampire fed me that blood and venom, or which vampyr it belonged to, or why he wanted me to pass this test and attend this university, but here I am.

Before me looms the great Syngenia University. Which I feel like is a playoff of ‘syngèneia’ which means ‘blood’ in Greek. Or something along those lines, and I only know that because that’s all the vampire would say after he shoved the few drops of blood down my throat.

Why exactly it’s called that? I don’t really know. What I do know is that Syngenia University does not exist on Earth. It is on a world called Miy that exists in an entirely different universe to Earth.

Students mill around, some of them carrying boxes and bins, others leading as other people do. It’s move in day for the accepted. Move in day for me.

According to the professors and graders who were overseeing the test, no vampire has ever completed the test, let alone passed it.

And not only did I pass it, but I did so without missing a single question.

Which with my status and lack of money, I was granted the only scholarship this school offers.

This is how I gain my so-called ‘citizenship’. How I’m stamped a legal vampire. I need to graduate.

Such bullshit.

Gripping my umbrella tighter, I scan the yard again through my tinted sunglasses.

There’s a slight overcast today, but even that wouldn’t protect a normal vampire.

So I play along with what the Mage Board believes and start walking towards one of the tables where schedules and tablets are handed out.

There’s four tables in total, each one organized by race. There’s one for the mages, the shifters, the fae, and the vampyr. Walking towards the vampyr table, I ignore the shifting eyes and not very subtle whispers.

Another differentiating thing about vampires and vampyr, the vampyr can go out in the sun. So, technically they’re not necessarily sun-fearing.

Wearing non-holed jeans, boots that cover my ankles, a long sleeve turtle neck, a hat, plus the umbrella singles me out. Especially because it’s warm and not even that bright.

There are three guys and two girls sitting on the other side of the table. Each one of them has a murderous expression as I approach. Designations are listed by everyone’s names so I have no doubt they’ve read vampire. Despite the vampyr creating vampires, they hate them.

The unwashed, degenerate copycats of the sophisticated, elegant, ethereal beings. I’ve got five fucking years if I don’t want to risk getting my head detached from my body. This is going to be hell.

The girl sitting in the middle with burgundy hair and cat-like green eyes notches the corner of her lip up. Turning her nose away as if she smells something bad. How unoriginal.

As I finally stop right at the edge of the table, she lets a bit of one of her gleaming fangs show.

Vampyr have retractable fangs, unlike vampires. I slide my tongue over my own but not hard enough to cut. Deciding not to be a major bitch like she is, I refrain from showing off my own.

“Hello,” I drawl. “My name is Mavyn Tsuki. I’m a first year student.”

One of the guys sitting next to the redhead rolls his eyes over me with a cold gaze. “You know most first year students don’t make it to graduation. How tragic would it be if you were one of them.”

“It would not be tragic at all,” I state. Rolling my eyes I hold out my hand right within the edge of the shadow of my umbrella. “Can I have my schedule now?”

He blinks at me, surprised, as if I wouldn’t have a comeback to that. Or maybe it wasn’t that I said anything, but what I said.

It’s not a lie. I highly doubt it would be all that sad for anyone if they ripped my umbrella away and exposed me to the sunlight.

The guy on the other side of the redhead shuffles through some papers with a bored expression and holds up a piece of paper and a kindle-sized tablet.

I take it quickly and then spin on my heels to get out of here. It had gotten significantly quiet as everyone watched the exchange.

They all stay silent as they watch me leave too. Good. I’m exhausted and all I want is my shitty dorm room I know I’m about to get and at least eight hours of no one bothering me.

Classes don’t start until Monday which gives me the rest of today, tomorrow, and Sunday.

Despite being in another universe on another world, most social structures and things like that are the same as Earth.

They don’t have Instagram or iPhones, but I’m sure this tablet is something of a similar format.

Following the map in my head I had memorized when the advisor was bringing me here, I head through several courtyards until I get to the west side of the main building where most of the dorm buildings are.

It’s split into male and female buildings with your grade picking how close to the main building you are or not.

My building, because I’m a first year, is kissing the forest that surrounds the university.

Fine by me.

There’s still more people out. Other’s moving in and the rest moving back. Most of them stop to stare and then quickly turn away to whisper. After I was stamped an illegal vampire I expected to be killed then and there.

I wasn’t closed off to this knowledge that magic existed and whatnot while on Earth, but whoever my parents were either ditched me or are dead.

I was found on the side of a trail by some hikers and brought to the nearest town somewhere in norther New York.

From there I was placed in the foster system, quickly adopted by a couple that liked whips instead of belts, went back into the foster system after they both had abrupt heart attacks, ran from those abusive foster homes, came across a strip club – modern name for what is a brothel – run by a succubus and from there I was sort of kept and looked after by the females.

They kept me safe and taught me and in exchange I helped make little medicines and tonics. Despite not being mortal, magical beings still get hangovers and headaches – surprisingly.

I finally come to the last building with a twisting forest literally hugging the back side of it.

I sometimes wonder if it would have been better for the Mage Board to just kill me when they found me.

They killed the vampire who fed me the blood.

But I guess the enforcer must have said something because after being brought into whatever blacklist site they had, I was simply thrown in a cell.