Half Blood Rising

My nerves were slowly beginning to get to me. Lachlan's lover kept glaring at me, so I gave her one of my sharpest death stares. Afterwards, she tossed her hair behind her and smiled at Lachlan. Our conversation about my origin earlier on had left me a bit restless. I didn't want him sharing my personal information with that bitch. I looked away-whatever. I wasn't going to allow him to have that sort of effect on me right now. I was stronger than that.

"Come on, sit down," Oldman said. "We are only having an informal chat right now."

Jerry lightly nudged me, and I took a seat next to a girl with short, bright pink hair. She was a shifter. I sensed her energy, and her aura was bright, inviting, and positive. Her inner magical energy was much more defined than anyone I'd ever met before. I'd read in one of the books at the library that they tended to keep within their packs, and they stayed away from humans. She gave me a bright smile; her bottom lip was pierced, and she had several tattoos on her arms.

"I was just showing Miss Jaymin to her room," Jerry said.

"We've only been together a few minutes. I wasn't expecting everyone to arrive so early." Principal Oldman smoothed her skirt and turned to address the room.

"Welcome to Moonlight Academy, everyone, the first school to ever be established in order to educate supernatural young creatures," she began, glancing around the classroom. "In a moment, I will be going around and introducing each of you, but first, I would like to tell you that, each one of you here today are from different backgrounds, different breeds. That doesn't matter, because you are all students here. "Here at Moonlight, we work with everyone, but we aren't the kind of academy you are most likely used to. The high council gives us certain jobs and tasks, and, sometimes these missions can be quite dangerous. Everyone present has just been accepted-you're all new-and you will be assigned together as one team. In exchange for taking part in these 'missions,' you receive a free education, along with room and board. If these jobs are complicated, many times students receive financial rewards."

This sounded too good to be true. We were going to get paid for being students and taking part in missions? There must be a hack somewhere. Others didn't seem too concerned, so I decided to continue on and listen. Oldman was fae with a certain taste and style. She must have been good at her job if she managed to work her way up into this position. After the meeting, I was planning to find the library and do some research on this place.

"Any questions before we start the introductions?" she asked, but no one said a word, so she continued, "Let's start with Karina. She's a shifter from Sweden, and, unfortunately after being exiled from her pack she had to learn how to survive on her own, and, sometimes, in the toughest of environments. Her gifts will be quite useful in this group." Principal Oldman smiled and turned her head. "Then to my right, we have Marco-he's fae. In the past few years, he's been living in London. He earned his living by stealing valuable items. I'm certain I needn't remind you that fae magic can be extremely unpredictable. Marco is quite skilled, and I hope each of you will get on well with him."

I glanced at the dude on my right. He was dark haired, tanned, and a very handsome supernatural. He didn't look like a thief at all. Oldman wasn't prepared to say that the fae were the most powerful creatures amongst all supernaturals, but I sensed what she meant. I suspected that Marco had lived for quite a long time.

They could manipulate the weather, read your mind, and make you go completely mad. These were just a few of their abilities, but most had to learn their skills over years of study under someone's guardianship. Marco winked at me and Karina-he seemed extremely confident.

Oldman paused and sipped a glass of water, then she turned to me. "And here is Jaymin, half-vampire and a rogue. She has been hunting creatures wanted by the council for the past four years-very dangerous fugitives, I might add. Her track record is quite impressive, so be watchful of her. And opposite Jaymin, is Judas, a full-blooded vampire. At some point Judas will tell you his own story, but for now, let's just say he's got his own business on the side."

She turned toward the pretty boy, and I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. "Now, let me introduce you to Lachlan, he's my assistant, but he's also a student here at Moonlight. His family has strong connections to the Elite, but that doesn't mean his place there is secure. Lachlan is also a vampire with large social and economic influences. He secures jobs for the school that are complicated and dangerous, but with huge financial rewards. He can manipulate your mind and make you forget things, so be wary."

Well, well, well. Pretty Boy was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, so I'd been partly right about him. Maybe that was the reason why the mages wanted to get information from him. Lachlan smiled at Oldman, and this time, I did roll my eyes. Lachlan didn't scare me, he only got on my damn nerves, with his self-important attitude. I knew his type: he probably had rich parents or other wealthy family members.

Oldman had called me a rogue, and I was all right with that. Marco winked at me once again when I glanced at him. Damn it. He was probably reading my mind now.

"And last, but certainly not least is Ramona, a pure-blooded vampire with healing abilities and spectacular fighting skills. She grew up in Ukraine in an orphanage, so she can relate to some of you." The principal completed the introductions around the table.

Ukrainian, well, that was unexpected. She just looked Slavic, but she must have been turned when she was young. I was a little taken aback by the fact she could heal people. I'd never heard of a vampire who could do that sort of thing. And on top of that, she was his girlfriend.

It was a decent group to be part of, and it looked like, for now, I was stuck with pretty boy and his top-model vamp. Too bad, but I had to make this work somehow. I wanted this opportunity, and I was willing to do whatever it took.

"Today is orientation day. You can check the subjects we offer and review your schedule. Remember, you're a team, so you will be working together closely. In the afternoon, I'll call upon each one of you to sign an agreement with the school-the contract I mentioned earlier on," Oldman added, and I assumed this was the end of the meeting. "Oh, if you have any questions, now is the time to ask. I always forget about that bit."

"I want to ask about the Elite." Marco went first with one of the most important questions. "I decided to enrol here because I want to get in. Can you tell us about their requirements?" He had a deep voice, and his darker skin shone in the bright morning sunlight.

The room was air conditioned as was the entire school, just another added bonus. Other supernaturals most likely weren't affected by the heat like I was. I was curious about the Elite Academy, too. Many supernaturals had talked about it, but to me, it had always been like a distant dream that would never be fulfilled. And now, I finally had the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to prove myself that I could get accepted if I worked hard enough.

"The missions you are to take part in will prepare you for the trials. Saint Kilda Elite Academy is quite unique and ancient, and we don't have much insight on their specific admissions process. At Moonlight, we believe these trials will require a combination of your abilities, skills, magic, and intelligence. We are going to work together for some time, so you will have a chance to prove yourself," Oldman stated, interlacing her fingers together and giving us a tight smile.

Well, that was a bit of a disappointment. The academy obviously had no idea what to expect; each one of us could only guess. Obviously, that was the main reason why so many students didn't make it to the Elite. I'd heard that they only accepted a handful of students. Well, I didn't have to worry about it right now, anyway.

Marco didn't seem satisfied with her answer, but he didn't say anything else. Then others began to stand from their seats; obviously they didn't have other questions. I didn't know what else to ask, but I did need to find out if she could help me with getting some new clothes. I felt a bit embarrassed that I didn't have anything decent with me. I waited outside the door until everyone was gone.

"Hey, girl. The older warlock said we were going to share a room. I'm Karina, by the way," the shifter with pink hair said, approaching me after I was outside. I was so relieved that I wouldn't have to share a room with some random student. That would have been a disaster. Most of the time, I was a lonely soul.

"Jaymin," I replied, not really knowing what to say to her. Her energy was so addictive, but in a positive way. She seemed bright and bubbly-the complete opposite of me.

"Do you want to go with me, so we can look around the school?" she asked, smiling. I bit my bottom lip, wondering how to tell her nicely to get lost. "Principal Oldman might call us in later, you know, for the contract." This was bloody pathetic. I didn't want her to know I'd come here with nothing to wear, or that I hadn't showered in ages.

"I have to speak to her about something right now... maybe I'll catch you later," I suggested, thinking I really needed to get a grip. This place was huge, and no one cared about the fact I wasn't dressed well. It was only me...

"What's wrong? Come on, you can tell me. I feel like we're going to be besties. I like your energy, even though you're a vamp," she said, lowering her voice. I was never good at making friends, making any kind of connections with other creatures, but this was different. I had to bloody make an effort at least. She seemed like a really nice person.

"I came with nothing, so I wanted to ask the principal if she had any spare clothes," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "I need to shower, too."

Seconds later, Pretty Boy walked out with his armed wrapped around his girlfriend's waist. Ramona narrowed her eyes at me and shot Karina a surprised look, then said something to him, and they laughed like we were the butt of their joke. God, I hoped this wasn't going to be like high school, although I couldn't remember anything from that part of my life. But from what I'd heard, high school drama could be dreadful. Maybe I'd never even gone to school as a human.

"Don't worry, girl, I'll hook you up," Karina said, grabbing my hand. "I have tonnes of clothes, and you look like you're around my size. Come on."

A jolt of electricity moved through my entire body when she touched me, and I jerked my hand away. "Sorry, I've just never been touched by a shifter." I didn't want to say, "I've never touched a shifter I haven't killed." That wouldn't have been the best start to a new friendship, and technically, my main experience had been with werewolves. Something was different about her energy. Probably the fact she was good, and the only other shifters I'd been around were evil.

She instantly laughed. "I have that kind of effect on everyone. My energy is always so wild," she said, rubbing her hands together. We began walking towards the dorms as she started telling me about her wardrobe. She was right; it was strange to say, but I kind of liked her straight away, and I felt we were going to get on well. She was very loud and outspoken about certain things.

"What do you think about the classes and missions Oldman was talking about?" I asked as we walked inside our new room. This was so surreal. I had my own place, and I didn't have to wonder where I would be sleeping the next day.

Deep down I was curious to know why she'd been exiled from her pack. Shifters had always been such a mystery to me, but I knew asking her would be too forward. I'd only just met her.

"They have lectures about potion making, and, apparently one of the teacher's is an ancient warlock. There is a subject on Immortals, which seems pretty cool, and classes where they teach us martial arts, too. Old languages and a few others. Oldman showed me the list when we met. I didn't have to think twice about it." She sighed. "I wanted to be here."

Then I noticed she had two huge suitcases on the bed. She began to unzip the larger of the two. It was still pretty early, and we had the whole day ahead of us. I needed to have a shower before I met up with Oldman. I wanted to sign the contract and be done with it.

"Look, I have these dresses that will look wonderful on you. You have great legs, and it's time to show them off." She threw several outfits at me. They were very short with vibrant colours. I normally wore trousers, so they weren't something I was willing to try on.

"Errrgh ... I don't wear dresses," I mumbled, feeling ungrateful. Heat rushed to my cheeks.

She laughed, shaking her head. "Well, you should. Those old jeans aren't doing anything for your figure, although you have a great arse," she added, winking at me and I had to laugh. Then she threw a few more pairs of shorts and pants at me. Within moments, I was almost sorted with an entire wardrobe.

An hour later, I finally had a chance to shower. The bathroom was shared with other female students. I didn't really care-these conditions were exceptional. It was bliss... to finally feel clean warm water running down my body.

This was going to be my new life as long as I didn't screw anything up. I walked past other students in the corridors. There were vampires, faeries, shifters, and a few others I didn't recognise. Deep inside me, knew I'd made the right decision. I was finally in a place I could call home.☐☐