Page 12 of Cruel Destinies

No sooner had the scene filled in when a pale-faced vampire woman shot out of the darkness and darted for Celeste. Celeste dodged with hardly any effort at all, merely stepping aside with the grace of a sprite.

Before the vampire could turn around and lunge for another attack, Celeste had pulled a vial of water out of the pocket of her sweatpants, pulled the cork off, and willed the liquid out in an elegant string.

She spun on her heel to face her attacker, who had just turned around and was preparing to dive at her again. The string of water slithered through the air with lightning speed and wrapped itself around the vampire’s head.

The vampire stopped short, eyes bulging and mouth gaping as she tried in vain to breathe through the water. Her fingers clawed, digging through it in an attempt to swipe it away, but the water would not be removed.

The struggle went on for several minutes, with Celeste standing in place, staring at the vampire with unbreakable focus. Celeste hadn’t broken a sweat, and already, thisvampire was half-dead.Well, I guess they’re already dead, I thought distantly as I watched with keen interest.

Finally, the vampire stopped her struggles and collapsed to the floor. The water continued to swirl around and around in a perfect ball for several seconds longer, then uncoiled and slithered back into the vial in Celeste’s hand like an ethereal snake.

I was seriously impressed. Without any physical exertion, Celeste had taken out a vampire! All with meager water manipulation, too.

She looked toward the display wall, and I could almost believe that the mermaid teacher could actually see me through the simulation, her cool gaze effortlessly finding mine.

“The thing about vampires is they’re like cockroaches,” she said. “You think they’re dead, and then they get back up. You see, vampires can drown over and over without actually dying.”

As she spoke, the seemingly dead vampire stirred and began to rise.

“Celeste, look out!” I shouted, forgetting that she couldn’t hear me in the sim.

But Celeste was prepared for it. The vampire shot off the ground, claws bared and ready to strike. Celeste narrowed her eyes on the vampire, and suddenly, the vampire froze in mid-air, floating in place.

I stared in confusion. Had the sim malfunctioned somehow? Was this some kind of glitch?

“What many mers forget is that we can manipulateallliquid, not just water,” Celeste said smoothly, not breaking her focused gaze on the immobile vampire.

I looked closer, almost pressed up against the wall at this point. Upon closer inspection, I could see that the vampire’s eyes were darting from side to side and were filled with fear.

Suddenly I understood, and the realization was earth-shattering. Celeste was manipulating thebloodinside the vampire’s body, essentially making it impossible for the vampire to move at all!

My jaw dropped, anticipation storming in my guts.

“The only way to truly kill a vampire is to sever the heart-brain connection,” Celeste said.

Happening so abruptly that I jumped and squealed with surprise, the vampire’s chest exploded right where the heart was, blood erupting from the blasted cavity like lava from a volcano. Then the now-hollow body fell to the rooftop with athud,and Celeste walked to the door as the sim pixelated away and returned to the empty white room.

She emerged from the room and turned off the display.

“Celeste, that was incredible! I had no idea our power could be so...” I trailed off, unable to find a word to describe the awe I felt.

She smiled and patted my shoulder. “Well, now you know what you’re capable of, and that’s only from the mer part of you. Not all mer can do that, mind you. It takes years of training and hard work. But I believe you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.”

We shared a long look, and I realized what had changed in the nature of our relationship. Celeste was regarding me not as a student but as a peer—an equal.

“I’ll see you tomorrow after Defense class?” she asked, even though it wasn’t a request.

“Yes,” I said.

She nodded and gestured for me to go ahead of her and leave the gym. As we walked together, I still felt uneasy about something, and I felt I had to clear it up before any more time passed.

“Celeste?” I asked, hanging in the doorway.

“Yes?”

“Are you upset that I’m not staying in the mer wing anymore?” The words came out shaky and unconfident because I was afraid of the answer.

Celeste blinked with understanding, then gave me a warm, motherly smile. “No. I know the bullying you’ve endured by the mers. And though I’ve tried my best to put a stop to it, I can’t be everywhere all the time. You’ve found good friends in the avian wing, and you are technically an avian now. I understand why you feel you must stay with them, and I harbor no hurt feelings other than those from my own failure as an instructor and mentor.”

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