Music Recommendation: Look at this - Marc Streitenfeld [Slight trigger warning]

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  Previous night…


  Griffin stood in a room that was mostly dark except for the light that came from the fireplace. The warm fiery orangish-red glow touched the room's floor as well as the person who sat in front of the fireplace on a plush chair.

  "Evans told me what you have been doing," said Luciano, sitting with his legs crossed on one over the other and his hands interlinking together. "It's purely disappointing, but more than that pathetic to find out that you have been doing nothing but wasting your time. Not one remarkable thing since you have been up from your casket."

  "Elder Luciano, I—"

  "Who gave you permission to speak?" Luciano's head turned to the side, where the younger vampire stood in the room a couple of steps behind the chair. The Elder vampire took a deep breath before releasing the air through his lips. "All I heard from Dante were praises to the boy who Donovan has turned. And here you are. Not top in your year, or games of strength. And what is this about the contamination that the boy was speaking about?"

  Griffin's eyes slightly widened, and if he had a beating heart, it would have skipped a beat right now. But catching if a vampire was lying or not was a hard thing to know.

  "Roman is always trying to frame and spoil my name. If you may ask, I think it is his own ploy. I would never do something like that," replied Griffin, his head slightly bowed, even though the Elder couldn't see him.

  "It better not be you, boy. I heard it didn't reach the pipeline of the chambers where we Elders were resting," remarked Luciano with a hint of glare. "Trying to disrupt the affairs of Veteris by having Silverwater run in the human blood, it won't end well."

  Griffin bowed his head again and then said, "There is something I would like to inform you about, Elder Luciano."

  "What is it?" demanded the Elder, who was displeased with his apprentice, whom he had taken under his wing.

  "Recently, Moltenore has been too attached to a human. A student, who is studying here, and he hasn't taken—"

  "I have no time for these silly child talk, Griffin. Grow up. If that is all, you can leave and probably practice for tomorrow's match. I am looking forward to seeing you win and not lose against one of the Edler's boy. Show me your skills and tell me how much it means to win," came the stern words from Luciano, his red eyes looking brighter than the burning fire in front of him.

  "I won't disappoint you!" Griffin sputtered, and Luciano waved his hand to dismiss him from the room. Griffin wanted to stay and receive more guidance and time from the Elder, but he could tell that the Elder was in a bad mood.

  When Griffin returned near the boys Dormitorium, he met up with one of his friends, Mateo Jackson. Most of the vampires, who had earlier stepped out of the building, had returned to their beds after seeing the Elders from a far distance.

  "It looks like only the elite vampires, who have a little Elder's blood in their body were invited to have dinner with the oldies," commented Mateo. He then asked, "How did it go?"

  "Luciano expects us to win tomorrow's match. He wants to defeat Donovan through it," stated Griffin. Pulling out a cigar, he lit the end before taking a drag. He twisted his lips for the smoke to pass through the corner of his lips.

  "That wouldn't be a problem. Tomorrow is going to be our win, especially when we have picked the best players in the university," said Mateo, but Griffin shook his head.

  "I was thinking of something better. It is time to use our triumph card against Moltenore," Griffin pulled the cigar away from his mouth and looked in a certain direction. He said, "He is going to be busy with Donovan tomorrow. It is the perfect time to lure the mouse into its trap. You can have your revenge too."

  Hearing this, Mateo's eyebrows raised before a smirk appeared on his lips, "Finally, I have been waiting after what the human did on the stage."

  Mateo had been enraged because the human girl had dared to stamp his foot and had gotten away from it. He wanted to crush her for repeatedly humiliating him. He felt the bubbling excitement in his body.

  Griffin said in a low voice, "It won't be difficult to lure her, and Moltenore won't be there to protect her. Even if he comes on time to rescue her, the damage would have already been done. And if he doesn't find her, he will probably keep looking for her and miss the chance to be on the field."

  "I like that idea. I would like to personally deal with the girl," smiled Mateo, and Griffin gave him a nod along with a laugh.

  "She's all yours. Make sure it's a memorable one for her," replied Griffin, already smelling the victory of his team on the football field.

  Back in the present, where it was noon, Julie entered the Blue Block to meet Ms. Piper, where the woman could always be found.

  Next to her walked Caleb. He had insisted on accompanying her.

  "What did you tell your friends?" Julie looked at him curiously. It was strange to have him hanging out with her as they had never done it before.

  "They think I am hitting on you, and have a bet that Moltenore is going to send me to the infirmary," replied Caleb, looking at the deserted building. As the classes had been put on pause, the students and the teachers had not used this building since the start of the Fall Annual celebration. "It is better than losing my image that I have turned into a babysitter."

  "What were you doing in the tree that day?" asked Julie.

  "I was looking at the grounds, to have a better look by sitting on the branch to see if there was any ongoing bonfire," answered Caleb, but Julie knew it was a lie.

  As he knew he was aware about her ability, it only meant he was a vampire. But at the same time, Caleb looked less like a vampire and more like a human. It was because of his little fears of height or Roman.

  When they reached the staff room, which was on the ground floor, the room was empty. The windows were closed, with the fan turned off.

  "What do you think Ms. Piper wants from you? Are you starring in another play?" questioned Caleb while Julie took a peek at Ms. Piper's table. The books were still there, but where was the woman?

  "Julianne Winters?" She heard someone call her name, and both Julie and Caleb stepped out of the staff room. They found a girl who looked at Julie and asked, "Is that you?"

  "That's me," replied Julie.

  "Ms. Piper is on the second floor and is having girls try out the gowns. Follow me," informed the girl, who was carrying books in her hand. When Caleb started to walk with them, the girl said, "It's girls changing clothes, not for boys."

  Caleb narrowed his eyes and said, "It's not like I wanted to take a peek at them." He then turned to look at Julie and said, "I will be right here."

  Julie followed the girl, climbing up the stairs.

  Climbing the flight of stairs, Julie asked the girl, "Do you know why we have been asked to try the gowns? I heard that there was some sort of costume being displayed from the historical period."

  "I don't know. I was only asked to bring you here," the girl didn't look at Julie and continued to walk, and it made Julie wonder if the girl was in a hurry to go somewhere else.

  Julie couldn't hear any noise coming from the second floor, and she wondered which classroom they were walking towards. In the back of her mind, she questioned why Ms. Piper was gathering the girls to try out the gowns in this building when there were other rooms.

  "That's the room at the far end of the left side," said the girl, pointing towards the room.

  "Thanks," replied Julie and saw the girl leave through the stairs.

  Julie started to head towards the room, but before she could make it to the far end, someone pulled her arm. The person dragged her inside the classroom next to where she was walking. She was pushed to the ground, and she felt the palms of her hands burn because of the friction.

  "Look who we have here," came a gruff voice, and Julie looked up and noticed Porcupine standing a few steps in front of her. "I have been waiting to catch you alone, by yourself. And today seems to be the day."

  Julie quickly stood up, and when she turned around, she noticed he wasn't alone. There were two friends of his, the same people who had chased her. One of the boys stood in front of the door with a smile on his lips. She saw him place his hand on the knob of the door and lock it.

  "I don't know what you people have on your mind, but step away from the door so that I can leave," said Julie, her voice firm.

  "Tough luck with that ugly duckling," said the boy who stood at the door. "Did you know she was pretty, Jackson?"

  "I didn't, but it seems yesterday she turned into a fine doll in the play," Porcupine snickered. "You had some nerve to think I would overlook what you did yesterday, not to mention how you decided to tattletale about me to your boyfriend."

  Julie clenched her hands into tight fists, wondering if she should scream for help. But with the music blaring from the speakers and the number of students outside making noise, her scream would be lost before it could leave this building.

  "What do you want from me?" Julie directly asked him, without beating around the bush.

  The smirk on Porcupine's face widened, and he said, "So many things. Grab her boys!"

  Julie could feel the spike of panic in her body and mind, and for a moment, she froze. She stepped away from the two boys. She looked at the windows as if she was going to jump, but that was equal to suicide.

  Looking around her, she picked up the wooden duster. She raised it in her hand, looking at the two boys, while Porcupine stood with his hands in his pocket.

  "Don't you think ganging up against a girl with three is to one ratio is unfair," said Julie, feeling a drop of sweat trickle down from her neck that moved down her spine. "I have already apologized to you, yet you keep trying to pick on me."

  Julie knew the kind these boys belonged to. Bullies who lacked self-esteem and felt like they had to be validated by bullying people who were weaker than them. But she was not weak, said Julie to herself. She wasn't going down without a fight. And as much as she tried to encourage herself, she knew it wasn't possible to overpower all of them. She was at a great disadvantage, and she was in a sticky condition.

  The two lackeys of Porcupine were big, and when they got closer, Julie sneaked between the gap, heading straight for the door. She successfully turned the knob of the door, but one of the boys caught hold of her leg and pulled her away from the door.

  Pulling out the bobby pin from her hair, she pushed it into one of the arms of the boy, who had turned her around and pushed her on the ground.

  "ARGH! You fucking bitch!" the boys cursed her, whose face contorted in pain. Julie pushed the pin far too deep into his arm, where drops of blood trickled from his arm.

  Another boy came to catch hold of Julie's hands so that she wouldn't try to cause any more harm. The one who had gotten stabbed by her bobby pin raised his hand and slapped her across her face with the back of his hand.

  Julie felt the sharp sting. One side of her face burned because of the impact. She tried to get out of the boy's hold.

  "I think more than Moltenore, first she needs to be taught how to behave with us," said the boy while trying to pull out the hairpin from his arm. He then looked at Julie and said, "It is time to teach you that this place is run by us, and if you stand against us, you will receive what you deserve."

  "Bastards, get off of me!" Julie screamed, feeling the boy in the front hold both her legs down. They were too strong for her to get away. She did the best she could and dug her fingernails right into the person's face when he had leaned near her, but it was only for a short moment.

  "She fights back!"

  "She will get tired of it," spat another person.

  "Remember this day, Julianne Winters. We will make sure that you never forget this day," stated Porcupine, walking around the place where Julie had been held against the ground. He pushed the desks and the chair to the side to make more room. Julie caught sight of Mateo pulling out a pair of scissors from his pocket, and he scissored it in his hand.

  Julie screamed her lungs out for help, but her words turned deaf. She didn't want to go through this. She hadn't done anything to hurt anyone, and she didn't deserve it.

  Porcupine sat down next to Julie, and he brought the scissors near her face and said,

  "You have been humiliating me time and time again in public. But now I know it was on Roman's words. Do you think he will be hurt to know that the girl whom he claimed to be his? That she was humiliated mentally and physically?" He ran the cold metal near her cheek as if to scissor it, and Julie's heart squeezed, ready to feel the skin sliced.

  "Please let me go, you don't have to do this!" Julie pleaded in panic. When she heard the snipping sound of the scissor, her body turned rigid. Porcupine was playing with her, eliciting fear, and she wondered how she would be able to get out of this situation.

  She tried to take a deep breath, and she stopped struggling. The boys who gripped her hands and legs, their hold subtly loosened on her.

  "I didn't want to, but you have stepped on my nerves. Do you know how Moltenore had beaten me up in the Dormitorium? As if he was mighty?" demanded Porcupine. "With all the fish in the pond, I hear you are precious to him. Like a goldfish. So let me see what happens if I put this goldfish out of water. He's busy with other things, and even if he finds out, he knows well that he cannot do much about it."

  Mateo then brought the scissor near to her blouse, which was when Julie heard the snipping sound. He had moved the scissor near her blouse, slowly snipping it with an evil glint in his eyes.

  The fear in her increased, seeing how the boys were not budging or joking, and they were looking to violate and shame her today!

  "Looks like you are finally listening to us. Let us see what's so special about you," chuckled the boy who was in front of her. "Good that you left the boy there on the ground floor."

  "That's fine. The boy has already been taken care of by one of our boys and is probably locked in one of the rooms," replied Porcupine.

  Porcupine moved his hand from one side of her shoulder to another shoulder, cutting her blouse in a U shape right below her collarbones. Julie's eyes started to prickle, and she tried to keep calm.

  But fear was quickly slithering through her body.

  Julie questioned if Reese had been compelled to lie to her about Ms. Piper asked her to meet her, and she had been the easiest person for Julie and the others to believe without a doubt.

  "I want to hear her scream. Scream some more!" said one of them, and when Julie didn't comply, the boy slapped her face once again. This time, the impact felt less because she had already received one earlier, but she felt the burn, before tasting blood in her mouth.

  "Let us cut it further down now before pulling it open, shall we?" said Porcupine wanting to torture her.

  The boy, who had been holding her legs down, slowly moved his hand upwards. Feeling the grip on her hands by the boy loosen, and Porcupine, who had moved his hand away from her, she took the opportunity. She spat on the boy's eyes, whose hands had moved up her knees. Pulling one of her hands, she pushed the scissor into Porcupine's leg.

  Julie quickly rolled to the side and went to the door. But before she could leave, one of them tried to get a hold of her, she punched straight into the boy's face. She ran from there while feeling pain burst in her knuckles. She climbed down the stairs before her eyes frantically looked at the walls. She pulled open the similar secret janitor's door where Roman had once pulled her to escape from the teacher's eyes.

  Julie quickly stepped inside and locked the door from inside.

  Her heart continued to thud against her ribcage, and she tried to calm it down. Stepping away from the door, she moved further inside the tiny room. She covered her mouth and nose with her hand.

  "Where did she go?!" she heard Porcupine's voice echoing in the corridor.

  "She must be right in these classrooms, I don't hear her footsteps!" said the boy, who hadn't expected Julie to spit on his face.

  "Find her! We aren't going to stop until we punish her!" ordered Porcupine, and Julie heard the footsteps and the doors hitting on the walls when they were pushed open.

  Julie cursed herself and then the boys who wanted to settle their score with her and Roman. With the celebration in the university, for a moment, she had forgotten that this place was not safe just because it consisted of vampires, but the people in here were vile.

  She stood for a long time, and then she sat down. The closed space made her feel dizzy, and her breathing started to turn shallow. She dug her fingernails into the palms of her hand.

  A few minutes later, when the sounds of the footsteps had disappeared, she finally moved towards the door to take a peek outside through the thin gap of the door. Suddenly Porcupine appeared, and Julie's hands tightened.

  "She must have run away from here. See if you can find her near the girl's Dormitorium!" ordered Porcupine before adding, "Compel and bring her to me."

  Shit thought Julie in her mind. This meant she couldn't get back to her dorm right now to change her clothes.

  "What do you plan to do with her, Jackson? I think we have already scared her enough," said one of Porcupine's lackeys.

  "He's going to be pissed anyways. The point is to make him so angry, that he will lose his shit in front of the Elders and then they can send him to the dungeon. Now go get her!"

  Julie heard the receding sounds of the footsteps, leaving the place quiet except for the music playing outside.

  She waited for a while before she decided to push the latch on the door and opened it. Treading carefully, Julie made her way to the below floor while looking for Caleb. They had mentioned something about the storage room, and she looked until she finally found the boy on the ground floor in one of the rooms.

  He looked like he was dreaming, staring at the ceiling.

  "Caleb! Wake up!" Julie whispered.

  "What happened to you?" both Julie and Caleb asked each other.

  Caleb replied, "I think it was the chloroform… Half of it spilt on the floor and the other half was inhaled… by me. I think Moltenore is going to kill some of them today. A day to remember," his voice felt as if he was using all his energy to speak.

  Julie tried lifting Caleb on his feet, putting his hand around her shoulder, "Do you want me to take you to the infirmary?"

  "No. Trees," he answered, and Julie nodded her head and carefully, they left the building without anyone's notice.

  They went to the back side of the building and the forest, before Julie let go of Caleb helping him lean against the tree. After she iterated on who was behind on what just happened, Caleb cursed Mateo Jackson.

  "He's trying to irk Moltenore so that he can get into trouble before the match starts," Caleb frowned in thought. "Well, that's going to happen now or later, once he sees you in this condition."

  Julie didn't want that to happen. The way everyone kept bringing up the football match made it feel like it was important.

  "Don't tell him anything. I will tell him myself," Julie's eyes met Caleb, who gave her a nod.

  They spent some time in the forest, where Caleb was still trying to get out of his drowsiness, and stayed there. If it weren't for her and Roman, Caleb wouldn't have been in this state.

  As if talking to himself, Caleb muttered, "What do you know, I had to be rescued by the girl and not the other way round."

  "Can I ask you a favour?" asked Julie and Caleb turned his head to the side and asked,

  "What?"

  "I need a shirt, or maybe a sweater or even a coat will do." Julie wanted to cover her torn blouse that was too obvious that someone had ripped it apart.

  "I will go and see what I find," Caleb nodded.

  Julie stayed at the same spot, while Caleb left.

  She brought her hand up to her neck, running her fingers across the place where it had been cut.

  Julie couldn't believe that she had hoodwinked three senior year boys. And even though they weren't near right now, the trickle of fear didn't leave her. She had stabbed them not once but twice and had punched one of them.

  Julie closed her eyes, letting herself lean against a tree, when she heard the snapping sound of twigs. Her eyes flew open, and she noticed it was the creature in the cloak.

  "I am not in the mood to play treasure hunt with you now," sighed Julie, looking back at the building and around the place to make sure there was no one except for the two of them.

  The Corvin made its way towards her, and Julie continued to hear the snapping of the twigs until the creature stopped walking.

  'It is not safe here.'

  Julie lost her balance out of shock and stumbled to the side, while catching hold of the bark of the tree for support. Her eyes narrowed at the creature, and she gave it an accusing look, "You can speak!"

  'Sometimes,' the Corvin's voice was a whisper that held a rasp at the end.

  "Why didn't you speak before when I questioned you? Were you there earlier, when I was in the building?" She gave it a wary look while trying to wrap her head around that the creature knew how to speak English!

  'No.'

  "You pointlessly made me walk yesterday. What do you want?" questioned Julie, and the creature stared at her, at least she believed it to be staring because it was standing in front of her. "Who are you?"

  'Corvin.'

  It looked like it wasn't much of a chitchatter, thought Julie in her mind. She then heard it say, 'You should leave from here.'

  "Why? Is that what you were trying to do with me? To make me leave?" asked Julie, but the creature didn't respond to it. "I won't know if you won't tell me."

  'Witches have never been safe. You let the boy know.'

  The boy? "You mean Roman? Thanks to you, we traded each other's secrets." It was the Corvin, who was responsible for it.

  'It isn't late, leave everything behind lest you want to die.'

  Julie's hands clenched into fists one more time, but the earlier punch she had given to one of the boys, now sent a sliver of pain through the back of her hand and she let it go. "My father is looking for me outside Veteris, I cannot leave. I don't want to leave. Do you know where my father is?"

  'No,' it answered her.

  For a good few seconds, both Julie as well as the Corvin stared at each other without uttering a word. After some time, the creature stepped forward, and startled her by picking up her hand. She watched it move its twig like fingers across her hand. When it let go of her hand, she felt no more pain in her hand.

  "You can heal," murmured Julie in surprise.

  'No. Reduce pain,' came the creature's raspy voice. It touched her cheek, running its fingers that lightly poked her skin before bringing its hand back to its side, hiding its hand behind its long cloaked sleeve.

  "Thank you for… that," said Julie checking her knuckles that felt all new without a pinch of pain in it. Before she could ask more, the creature disappeared with a blink of her eyes.

  "Corvin?" She called the creature, but received no response.

  When Caleb returned, he saw Julie standing there with her back facing him. He looked around but saw no one and then said, "I got a jacket. I took it from the practice room. See if it fits."

  Taking hold of it, she wore it and nodded her head. Even though it was loose, it did the work of hiding the cut that had been made on her blouse. "Thank you, Caleb," Julie thanked him.

  "They are not going to stop and will wait to find you alone. And I don't think I can do this babysitting job anymore. It is risky because I bruise like a peach," complained Caleb, and he looked at the bruise on the corner of Julie's lips that seemed to have reduced.

  "I will talk to Roman about it, so that he doesn't have you do that. I guess it's a good thing that some of the troublesome students are graduating this year," replied Julie, running her tongue at the corner of her lips and tasting the metallic taste on her tongue.

  "Tell me about it," said Caleb, just happy that it was true. Unless the students decided to fail the year.

  If she was right, Roman was still busy with the Elder until the time of the match. The last thing she needed was him going hulk and being disqualified from playing on the field. She had noticed the way his eyes had subtly lit up while speaking about the game, the same expression when he was done beating up people.

  Julie decided not to show her face to Roman right now…… At least not until later tonight.