Page 68 of Elmwood Inclusive Magic Academy
“No, I can’t! You can’t be doing this!”
“You have a choice…”
I hurry down the hall and see Hallie and her Creator standing opposite each other. There’s another vampire with them, the one in a red cloak. Hallie’s coiled locks are disheveled, and her glasses sit crookedly on the end of her nose. She shakes her head furiously.
“This isn’t right! You need to let them all gonow!”
Her Creator sighs, looking at her piteously. “You’re too young, little thing. You don’t understand. The witches weren’t going to give us anyrealpower with the Triple Council, and the Arundel shifters made us a much better deal. I’m sorry I didn’t bring you in sooner, but I didn’t think you would be so upset…”
“Upset?” Hallie splutters. “You captured Elmwood Academy and threw everyone in the dungeon!”
The red-cloaked vampire crosses her arms, raising an eyebrow at Hallie’s Creator. “Honestly, she’s barely vampire yet. You’ve wasted enough time on her, just throw her in the dungeon with the others.”
“Well,” the Creator turns to Hallie. He reaches out to put a hand to her cheek. She pulls away angrily, and his light purple eyes narrow. “If you’re going to be obstinate, I’ll do as she says. Maybe a few weeks without blood will help you change your mind.”
He snaps his fingers. The other vampire smirks and lunges at Hallie, pining her arms behind her. Hallie struggles, shouting and wriggling. Her glasses fall and shatter on the ground. But she can’t win, the other vampire is obviously much older and stronger.
Instinctively, I reach out to her. All three vampires finally notice me.
“Rae!” Hallie gasps, looking at me with wide eyes. “Rae, they’ve got Maggie!”
It takes all of my strength to break her gaze. I turn to her Creator.
“I’m a wolf of the Arundel pack,” I tell him, stone-faced.
“This isn’t shifter business,” he says. “Why don’t you go patrol the grounds?”
I turn to leave. I can hear Hallie struggling as the other vampire drags her down to the dungeon. I remember the look on her face when I was attacked in the woods by the panthers. I remember how she carried me back to my dorm room, how she gave me some of her own blood to revive me.
I shake my head, and then my whole body, trying to calm down.
This has to be what I want…
I linger in the entryway for some time, trying to gather my thoughts. Then I see a sight for sore eyes - Rory, coming up from the dungeon.
“Rae!” their face lights up when they see me. For a moment, everything feels ok. They leap across the entry hallway and pull me into a hug. “I can’t believe it!”
It feels like forever since someone’s hugged me.
“Tala was right for a change,” I say.
“I never thought I would see my father again…”
I pull Rory closer. I remember when they were a little pup. They would follow us around, the youngest, always trying to get us to play wolves and panthers. We would chase each other around the glen, pretend battles full of dramatic deaths and great betrayals.
Before the real battles came.
“You must be so happy to see Finley,” Rory grins, pulling away. Then they look at my face. “What’s wrong?”
“What? Nothing.”
“Don’t saynothing…”
“Rae!”
My name sounds different this time. It’s Finley, coming in from the grounds. He pulls on a shirt as he walks in, hair tousled, fresh from a shift.
He turns to Rory, with a smile like the prodigal son returning. “Hey pup, why don’t you give us a moment?”
