Dagger

"I don't know," I said and played along. "Hopefully, it won't have to be another onikuma."

The witches all dropped their silverware and stared at me, except for Sweeny, who continued to eat as if I didn't say anything out of the ordinary.

"What do you mean by another onikuma?" Blair demanded, and her silver eyes narrowed. "You expect us to believe you actually killed one?" "Yeah." I nodded and turned my attention back to my meal. "With a rock."

"Troll-shit," Morgana hissed as she tossed back her sleek, blackishbrown hair.

"You can ask Yennefer." I shrugged, since I didn't care one way or the other if they believed me or not.

The women went deadly quiet, and when I looked up, they were simply staring at each other, as if they had lost their appetites.

"Well," Blair finally broke the awkward silence, "I'm going to find something like a werewolf or a wendigo for my sacrifice."

"Good luck with that," Faye laughed. "You'd be lucky to find a rabbit."

"Oh, yeah?" Blair replied with an arched green eyebrow. "Challenge accepted."

"We'll see about that," Faye snorted.

I smiled to myself and was mildly enjoying their little banter, since for once, it wasn't geared toward me.

That is, until Sweeny shot her head in my direction and sneered.

"Don't let today's little fluke make you think you're better than the rest of us, Neon," she hissed, and my name sounded like an insult from her twisted mouth. "You're still nothing … no, scratch that, you're less than nothing."

The girls all smiled, and I just rolled my eyes as I finished my meal.

"Listen," I said before I stood up. I was ready to head back to my own room and do some reading. "How about you just worry about your tasks and let me worry about myself? Deal?"

I flashed them a wink before walking off, and I wondered how I was going to step up my game and prove myself. As far as I could tell, I was already a couple steps ahead of them, and they weren't enjoying one moment of it.

So, I just needed to keep beating these witches at their own game.

And, hopefully, I'd find some answers as to who I was and why I was here along the way.

After hours of reading by candlelight, my vision was becoming blurry, and it was a struggle to keep my eyes open. I'd promised myself I would read as much as possible, but the words were starting to blur together, and I felt like I was reading the same sentence over and over again.

So, I slowly shut the book and sighed. There was only so much I could study right now.

I stretched my legs and then walked over to the stained-glass window in my room. There was nothing to look at except for the artwork on the window. It was a depiction of a witch burning at the stake. It was a disturbing image, something that I didn't want to stare at for too long, and I wished I could have a view of the outside instead of this ominous mosaic.

As I glanced around my lavishly decorated but small room, I felt somewhat trapped in here, with no access to the outside world. I knew I still had plenty of reading to do if I wanted to keep up with everyone in the class, but right now, my brain was mush.

"Shit," I muttered to myself as I glanced back at the book.

It laid on my desk, teasing, taunting, and begging me to open it up and read.

I briefly thought about pushing through my exhaustion, but I'd been studying for at least four hours straight. I needed a goddamn break.

So, I grabbed my cloak and swung it over my shoulders. It was cold in here, which meant it was probably freezing out there in the halls. I had no idea where the hell I was going to go, but all I knew was I needed to get out of here.

I pushed my door open, and it made a long creaking sound as I headed out into the hallway. Then I tiptoed as quietly as possible down the spiral staircase that led into the first corridor.

By the time I reached the second hallway, I felt like someone was watching me. Then I remembered the paintings, and I did my best not to make eye contact with the portraits as I walked down the dimly lit corridors. Headmistress Merlin never explicitly said it was forbidden to walk the halls at night, but it seemed like it was against the rules, since not another soul was wandering around at this time of night.

As I continued to wander through the hallways, I came across a strange-looking door. It was made of iron and wood and had carvings engraved all over it, and I noticed the carvings were similar to the ones on the front door of the castle. However, instead of scorpions, spiders, and snakes, the images were of black paws, a pair of closed eyes, pointed ears, and a snout plastered right in the middle of the door.

I realized the carving was of a sleeping wolf stuck within the wood of the door, and the wolf's eyes remained closed until I neared the door. Then, a pair of vibrant blue orbs flickered open, and the paw prints began to move around. I took a small step forward, and then the snout of the beast curled up and bared its teeth. It snarled at me with a deep, low and threatening growl, as if it was warning me to take a step back.

At first, I debated turning around and heading back to my room, but I was just too damn curious. So, I racked my brain for ideas, and then I remembered the only spell I knew. It was a long shot, but I figured it was worth a try.

"Illuminana," I whispered.

Fire emerged from the palm of my hand and illuminated everything around me. It was startling to see flames coming from my own hand, and my entire body felt as if electricity was shooting through me. My heart pounded with exhilaration, and I neared the door with my flames glowing blue and red.

The wolf seemed to recoil from the fire since its eyes softened and closed, and as I reached out with my palm engulfed in flames, the door let out a slow whine, like a terrified dog. Then the wolf's face slowly dissolved into the door and disappeared from view. When I was sure there was no trace of the creature left, I gently pushed the door open and stepped inside.

And my mouth instantly fell open when I saw what laid before me.

The entire room was made out of stone with one small oval window that let in a ray of white light from the moon. It was an armory, and an old fashioned one at that. What really caught my attention were the rows of weapons that hung against the walls. They were all medieval weapons, from swords to hatchets, to axes, spears, and crossbows. As intriguing as they were, though, I felt myself being drawn to the table at the end of the room that was lined with various sized daggers.

The moment I passed the threshold to get to the table, the door slammed shut behind me with a loud echo, but I ignored it as I made my way to the table and studied the daggers. The moonlight shone on each one as if it was a sign from the outside world, and as I looked closer at them, each hilt was intricately carved and made of a different material. Some looked like they were made out of bone, while others were made out of a hardwood. Thanks to the moonlight, I noticed the blades had markings on them as well, but it took me a second to realize they were names. Names of what I could only guess were previous witches, such as Minerva, Willow, and Winnie. Other blades, however, were branded with words I didn't understand or recognize.

My hand hovered over the daggers, and a strange magnetic force pulled me toward them. Part of me was hesitant to touch them, or rather to pick them up, though, since they seemed as fragile as glass.

I was ready to turn around and leave, but then, one dagger at the end of the table caught my eye, more so than the others. It had a golden hilt with a long, perfectly pointed blade, and the word "vindicta" was engraved into the blade.

I slowly picked the weapon up, and I was half waiting for something to happen as soon as I removed it from its brothers and sisters.

But I stood there, blade in hand … and nothing happened.

I used the moonlight to study the dagger more closely and wondered what "vindicta" meant. Vindicate was the only word I could associate it with. I had a feeling that like other spells, it was derived from Latin, and if I looked it up in the book Yennefer gave me, I was sure I would find the translation.

I was ready to leave the small armory with the blade until I heard a bloodcurdling scream coming from directly outside the window.

Normally I would've ignored it, this is a satanic school for God's sake. I would assume screams of horror is a norm here.

But that scream, it sounded familiar.

I know that voice.