Blood and Beasts (19 page)

Abernathy held them up, pausing to
stroke Silo one last time.

“We
’
ll be back soon,” she whispered to him, and he snorted
pleasurably, little tongues of flame erupting from his mouth.

“Let
’
s go,” Francesca whispered, and they headed out.

They each arrived at their dorms
uneventfully. They parted with Rodney at the base of their stairway, and then
the girls had their long trek all the way up the six flights of stairs. Seph
panted for a moment at the top, eyes dark, dark grey now, but Francesca kept
pulling her along. They needed to get inside and out of sight quickly. They
did, and Seph instantly headed for her bed, pulling the curtains around her.

She made herself go to sleep. She
tried very hard. She heard Francesca ambling around, clearly wanting to talk,
but she couldn
’
t. She didn
’
t want Francesca to know that she could hear her heart
beating a little faster than usual, like all werewolves. She could smell her
blood, practically taste the wild B positive in her mouth, slightly different
than Rodney
’
s, a sweeter taste to it for some
reason. The difference between male and female blood perhaps? The difference
between everybody
’
s individual blood? Who knew?
Eventually, sleep did ensnare her, pulling her into its undertow…

At breakfast that night, they all
looked more than a little haggard. Seph had arrived to breakfast early,
grabbing a bottle quickly and chugging its contents down, not completely full
afterwards but satisfied. She didn
’
t want to ask for more though. It
might call attention to themselves, something they didn
’
t need with their already suspicious appearances. They
might wonder why she was so hungry, and they didn
’
t to delve much deeper to figure out the source. They
all sat at their usual table, zombie-like expressions on their faces. Stefan
sidled up to them, not catching on to their tired mood.

“What
’
s up?
” He asked, moving towards Linda, who instantly scooted
away.

Stefan moved to put his arm around
her shoulder, and she shoved him away. She sent him a very cold glare. He
looked to the others angrily, as though he were blaming them for Linda
’
s sudden change in behavior. They
just gave him blank looks back.

“Where were you yesterday?” She
demanded, and he just blinked at her, confused. “Where were you yesterday?” She
repeated. “Or should I say earlier today, like at noon?” She asked him, and
then he started to look guilty, very guilty.

“You usually come by earlier when
you wanna stay-” He started, but she cut him off swiftly.

“Where were you, Stefan? We really
needed your help. I really needed your help,” she emphasized, and he just
stared at her helplessly before looking to the others for assistance.

“Oh, nu-uh, Stefan. You are on your
own here, man. We had a tough time last night, and we could
’
ve used your help,” Rodney scooted a
little away from him too.

“What happened?” He asked, but
Linda
’
s glare clearly told him that he was
not about to find out without an explanation of his whereabouts, and nobody
defied Linda.

“Okay… it was a vampire thing-”
again, she cut him off succinctly.

“Seph
’
s a vampire,” she replied curtly, and he rolled his
eyes in exasperation.

“Ya, well, the meeting was about
Seph, so that
’
s why she wasn
’
t there,” Seph
’
s
eyes snapped up to his, dry and stinging with lack of sleep.

“About me?” She asked quietly, and
he sighed deeply, clearing not intending to ever have to tell her about the
meeting.

“Ya, a few of us held a little
meetin
’
about ya. You
’
re really powerful, Seph, and it
’
s a bit… unnerving,” he stopped at that, and her eyes
narrowed as she waited for him to say more.

“And? Your point? What? Do you all
not want to train me because of how powerful I am… could be?” She demanded, and
his silence was all the answer that she needed. “And do you think that in the
centuries that I
’
ll be alive, I won
’
t ever learn how to manage my own
powers? And do you think then that I would view you all as friends or
adversaries?” Her eyes flashed dangerously at him, darkening to a medium-grey.

“I…
I dunno
… We didn
’
t think that far… It was just a meeting, Seph! Fo real!
We wouldn
’
t really withhold your training from
ya. If not because we like you, because it
’
s safer to be your friend than your enemy,” he
concluded, and Linda huffed at him as Seph rose unsteadily to her tired feet.

“What is it? Am I some type of
monster?” She demanded of him, hissing quietly.

“You look like one,” a familiar
voice called in passing.

“
Shut up, Ruby,
” she snapped viciously, turning
back to Stefan in time to not catch the rude symbol Ruby flashed at her.

“Hey!” Francesca started, rising,
and Ruby gave her a bored stare.

“You look bad too, Francesca. What
have you all been up to?” She asked, sauntering back over to their table.

“Are you really asking us that,
Ruby? Hate to know what you
’
ve been up to,” Abernathy snapped
back, and everyone stared at the usually pleasant girl.

“You guys aren
’
t worth my time,” she finally replied after gaping for
several moments.

She spun on her heel and stalked
away, head held high.

“I can
’
t stand her,” Abernathy muttered as Francesca and Seph
settled back down in their seats, and everybody stared at her. “What? I get
crabby when I don
’
t sleep. I
’
m not happy all the time,” she
responded, and, again, they stared in disbelief.

“You all look tired. Interesting
night?” Phin asked, sidling up to them and leaning over Seph
’s chair.

Leaning her head back, she shot him
a very mean glare. He smiled curtly, catching onto her bad mood, and quickly
disappeared. Seph straightened up to glance at Stefan, eyes completely
dispassionate.

“I think I
’m done,
” she said smoothly. “Linda, wanna
head to HU?” She asked crisply, and the girl nodded, rising quickly.

“Sounds good to me,” Linda glared
at Stefan as well before flouncing away with Seph.

“I
’
m thinkin
’
I made a mistake,”
Stefan mused, and Francesca nodded at him with a superior smile on her face as
Rodney stood up too.

“We
’
re still your friends, Stefan,” he commented drily.
“Even if you were secretly plotting against one of us last night,” he finished,
throwing away his tray of pancake crumbs and messy syrup.

“Time for class,” Francesca
remarked tiredly, rising just as the warning bell rang.

“Time to run,” Abernathy replied
just as tiredly, getting up also.

Gobbledegook was particularly hard
to pay attention in that day. Seph was hungry, really hungry. Sir Sanzio had
gestured towards the hidden bottle of blood beneath his desk at one point, but
she just shook her head at him discreetly. She wanted to learn to control this.
She needed to learn to control this. Meanwhile, she needed to answer the
question he had just asked her.

“
Blede-gobblegobble ookook-de-gob-dede
ookde-ble-gob-dookble gobde-blede-gobde dede-de-ble ookook-gob-dookble
gobbledegook-ookgob dede-de-ble ble-ook-ble-dookble-gob-gobble-gobde
de-gob-bleble-bleble-ble-gobblegobble?
”
She struggled with the question, thinking hard to translate it.

“Um…
Gobbledegook-gobblegobble-ble,
ookgob-blede-bledeblede-ble, dede-ookook-gobbledegook,
dede-ookook-gobbledegook?
”
She ventured, and after a few moments, he nodded, staring at her with mild
curiosity.

She started to scan his mind to
pick at his thoughts but stopped herself. Firstly, he would know what she was
doing. Secondly, he would block her. Thirdly, she was too hungry. However, it
was a happy realization that she was probably just as hungry as she had been
her first day, and she was controlling it better. It helped that no one was
currently bleeding, but never mind that…

The ending bell rang, and she
bolted out the door, not even bothering to catch up with Francesca. She was
headed to the Main Hall, and she would ask for a little extra this time. She
needed to replenish her stores. However, Abernathy intercepted her before she
could reach the dining hall, desperation shining in her brown eyes.

“
I need help. I
’
m gonna do awful in my monologue today. Help me
practice?” Seph
’
s eyes darted from her to the Main
Hall, her to the Main Hall, before staying on her.

“Alright, Abernathy,” she finally
conceded, and they rushed off to the Room.

For the next hour of lunch, they
practiced the girl
’
s monologue. Seph didn
’
t even have time to grab any blood
from the refrigerator because they were so rushed. However, it was a great
distraction from Seph
’
s growing hunger, but she was hungry
all the same. Maybe she would have time to grab a quick bottle before heading
to Hieroglyphs with Sir Rey. Abernathy was finally grasping the monologue in
its entirety. Her lines were now memorized, and she was speaking the part of
Cleopatra with true conviction.

“Remember, you
’
re dying because your love has been killed. You would
rather die than live another day without him. You have to put all that passion
into this one monologue, Abernathy,” she stated as Silo happily marched around
the room, fire twirling around him in his telekinetic sphere.

Squeak!
They both turned to see a mouse
scamper by, and Silo was hot on its trail. Eyes wide, they watched as he caught
it in his teeth neatly and swallowed it in one gulp. Their eyes locked with one
another
’
s.

“That was pleasant,” Seph commented
wryly, and Abernathy
’
s face twisted in a grimace.

“I
’
ll just try the monologue one more time…” the beginning
bell for sixth period trilled, and she sighed wearily. “I guess that
’
s the best it
’
s gonna get,” she stated resignedly, and Seph hugged
her shoulders reassuringly.

“It
’
s okay, Abs. You
’
ll
do just fine,” she cheered her up as they walked out of the Room, heading down
the ravine and up into the courtyard, taking a few minutes.

“Thanks. I hate the nickname Abs
though. It
’
s Abernathy, Persephone,” she
insisted, beginning to drift away to head to her separate class with just a few
minutes to spare.

“And I hate the name Persephone. It
’
s Seph,” she replied, and they both
laughed when the warning bell rang. “
Gotta fly,
”
Seph said in farewell, darting off in one direction as Abernathy went the other
way.

She skidded into Sir Rey
’
s room just in the nick of time.

“Nearly late, Miss Black,” he
remarked coolly as she found her seat in the back beside Rodney.

“One tries,” she responded
endearingly, sitting down in her seat.

Her back became ramrod straight.
Her entire body went rigid. Sir Rey had commenced class, and Rodney was leaning
over to whisper to her, but that didn
’
t
matter. What mattered were the hearts. They were beating. They were resonating.
She looked to her left and then to her right. All she saw were the pulses, the
veins, jumping and leaping beneath fragile skin. Rodney tried to whisper to her
again, but she just shook her head. She ducked her head down, not wanting
anyone to see her eyes, black gemstones, or her fangs, for that matter, which
were hanging over her lip fiercely. She ducked her head and tried to block out
the hearts, the hunger, the blood. She tried to focus on other students
’
thoughts for once.

Ten minutes had gone by, and she
had not jumped anyone. She would definitely be heading to the Main Hall after
this, to beg Hazel or Myrtle or that other sister, Heather, for some blood, any
blood. Rodney suddenly nudged her. What did he want? She searched his mind
swiftly, ignoring his thrumming heart. Why did werewolves
’
hearts have to beat so fast? Sir Rey had asked her a
question. Something about a cartouche… something… she could grasp the thought…
it was right there… she was so hungry!

“
I don’
t know,” she called out, head still down, her words
muffled.

“Can you lift your head up from the
desk, Miss Black? I don
’
t like sleeping-” she lifted her
head up, and his talking stopped abruptly.

Sir Rey, always so together, lost
his composure briefly. He recovered it swiftly though, straightening up. What
on earth must she look like?

“Mr. Steele, please escort Miss Black
to the Main Hall,” he remarked brusquely, and Rodney looked at Seph
’
s eyes, noting the seriousness of
the situation.

“Yes, sir,” he replied, standing
quickly and pulling the hungry Seph to her feet with him. “C
’
mon, Seph,” he urged her out the
room before too many students stared and before she attacked any of them. “
Vampires can’
t skip meals, Seph,” he stated to
her matter-of-factly. “
You
just can’
t. Always
drink something,” he gently chided her, and she rolled her eyes at him, red
eating away at the corners of her vision.