Page 46 of Midnight Reign
“What the hell is going on?” I mutter, running a hand through my blood-matted hair. The metallic scent of my blood still lingers in the air, a grim reminder of how close I came to... to what? Dying? Giving in to Crimson Shadow?
It’s all so unclear, it’s beyond ridiculous at this point.
I push myself off the wall and stumble upstairs to the bathroom, desperate to wash away the blood and clear my head. As I catch sight of my reflection in the mirror and strip off, knowing I need to be quick to be present for the headcount, I barely recognise myself. Pale, blood-smeared, with a wild look in my eyes that definitely wasn’t there before I came here and turned into a fucking vampire.
You seriously couldn’t make this shit up.
As I jump in the shower, I feel her stirring in the back of my mind. Crimson Shadow, the ancient vampire whoseconsciousness is intertwined with mine. She’s quiet now, but I can sense her presence, like a predator waiting to pounce.
“Not now,” I growl. “I won’t let you win.”
But even as I say the words, I feel a flicker of doubt. She came so close to taking control, to ending it all. And part of me... part of me almost welcomes it. The thought sends a chill down to my soul. Would it be so bad to let her take over? It would stop the constant push and pull, the ache in my head and my heart.
The alarm suddenly cuts off, leaving a deafening silence in its wake.
“Those aren’t my thoughts!” I do what Corvus did and smash my fist into the shower tile.
All I do is hurt my hand. Not so great for this powerful, whatever the fuck vampire I am.
Turning off the shower with tears in my eyes, I wrap a towel around myself and hurry downstairs, throwing what is left of my clean clothes on to wait for whoever is doing the headcount.
My eyes go to the shattered window. How am I going to explain this? The cool night air drifts in, carrying with it the scent of magick and fear.
Orby hovers near me, his surface swirling with patterns I can’t quite decipher. “What do you know about all this?” I ask it, not really expecting an answer. To my surprise, it bobs in the air, almost as if nodding, before zooming to the window.
I follow it, peering out into the darkness. At first, I see nothing unusual. Then, movement catches my eye. Shadows, deeper than the night itself, are moving across the grounds. They flow like water, seeping into every crack and crevice of MistHallow.
“What the hell?” I breathe, pressing closer to the window. As I watch, one of the shadows solidifies, taking on a vaguely humanoid shape. It turns, and for a moment, I swear I see glowing red eyes staring directly at me.
I stumble back, my heart racing. “Orby, what are those things?”
The orb pulses rapidly, his light dimming and brightening in a pattern that seems almost frantic. I wish, not for the first time, that I could understand what he’s trying to tell me.
The shadow creature lifts off the ground and floats up towards me, those glowing red eyes fixing on me. For a moment, we’re locked in a silent standoff. Then, faster than I can blink, it surges towards me.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I mutter, frantically looking around for something, anything I can use as a weapon.
My eyes fall on the knife, still stained with my blood. I hesitate for a split second before snatching it up. It feels wrong in my hand, a reminder of my moment of weakness, but it’s better than nothing.
The window shudders when the creature slams into it from the other side but can’t get in. “The wards,” I breathe out. “The guys are connected to me. They can get in. You fucking can’t.” But I back away anyway, knife held out in front of me.
The creature hovers, feeling for a way in.
“Come in, my pet.”
I blink. Did I just say that? Yes, I did!
“Fuck!”
The wards splinter and the shadow creature pours into the room like living darkness.
To my surprise, I can feel a connection to it, a delicate strand of dark energy.
I reach out, knowing that whatever this thing is, it belongs to Crimson.
The creature lets out an unearthly shriek as its form begins to unravel. Orby zooms around the beast, his light pulsing rapidly. He drifts in and out of the shadow, tearing it apart until there is nothing left but me and the dancing orb of light.
I breathe out heavily, the reality of the situation crashes back over me. MistHallow is under attack. These things are taking over. Students are disappearing. That’s why the staff want to do a head count.
