Witches warming up to me

As soon as I sat down, Yennefer strode into the room, and the door closed right behind her. She was frowning as she stared out over the class, and I could tell the dark-haired beauty was in a foul mood.

Great.

"Class," she began, "turn to page four-hundred-and-eighty-two."

We all started to flip through the pages, and Yennefer huffed in impatience. She flicked her wrist, and instantly, all the pages in all the books flipped on their own, and we all were on the right page.

"Today, we will be looking at bonding weapons," she explained. "Can anyone tell me what that means?"

I raised my hand as I remembered one of the hundred sections I'd read last night.

"Yes, Neon?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It means bonding your blood to a weapon for life," I replied. "Your energy will transfer to the weapon and cause more harm than any ordinary weapon … "

Suddenly, it hit me. The blade I used last night must have been a bonded weapon. It was the only explanation. Why else would the beast crumble into stone from one cut?

"Well done, Neon." Yennefer pursed her lips into a forced, tight smile.

"I see that you've done your reading."

"Yes, ma'am," I answered with a satisfied smirk.

If she wanted to keep underestimating me, I'd prove her wrong.

"Don't be too pleased with yourself," she replied with the same forced grin as if she could read my thoughts. "You still have much to learn … and it's Professor, not ma'am."

"I'm aware," I said, but I wasn't even bothered by her condescending remark. "And apologies, Professor."

"Now, everyone, please pay close attention," Yennefer went on as she tore her eyes away from me. "I'm not in the mood to see a repeat of what happened yesterday."

All the women stayed quiet but nodded their heads in agreement, and a heavy silence filled the air as Yennefer pulled out a cauldron.

"Since you seem to be such an expert, Neon," Yennefer sneered, "why don't you read the incantation aloud for us?"

"Sure," I answered, and I glanced down at the textbook and spotted the spell immediately. "Mo sanguinem vinculum."

A heavy pause filled the room until Yennefer cleared her throat.

"Well done," she muttered, but she was clearly annoyed and surprised at the same time. I could tell by her tone and tight lined lips.

Yennefer spent a few moments quietly gathering her ingredients like she'd done the day before and laid them out on the table.

"Neon." She smiled mischievously. "Can you name these ingredients for me?"

"Cricket, cypress, hollyhock seeds, toadstool, and of course, blood," I recited.

"That's correct." She narrowed her ice blue eyes at me. "Now, for the love of Satan, everyone observe me as I concoct the potion."

"Yes, Professor," everyone replied in unison.

We watched as she measured out the ingredients and took a blade to slice into her own palm. Then she incanted the spell as she cut into her skin, let the droplets fall into the cauldron, stirred her blood into the potion, and used the dagger to mix the contents.

She didn't light the cauldron on fire this time, though, which I already anticipated. I'd read that this incantation didn't require heat, and I smiled to myself for already expecting that.

"Now, the less blood I use, the less powerful the bond will be," Yennefer explained, "so, when you are making your own bonding weapons, be sure to use as much of your blood as possible … without killing yourself, of course."

She then retrieved another plant from her armoire. This time, it was a vibrant sunflower, and it looked so out of place in this dark and dim room when she set it on her desk. Then Yennefer smiled before she sliced a sunshine yellow petal off the flower. It wilted slowly, and a moment later, flames began to devour the entire thing. Within moments, the flower burned and crumpled into ashes before us.

Everyone clapped, and then Rin raised her hand.

"Will we be making our own blood bonds today?" the dark-haired witch asked.

"No." Yennefer frowned. "I need you all to pass the sacrificial test first. By any chance, did anyone manage to collect their blood? The quiz will be held during the next class."

Everyone went deadly quiet, and she knew she had her response.

"Class," Yennefer sighed. "You must retrieve your blood before the next lesson. Did you expect this to be an easy class?"

"No, professor," all the witches replied in unison.

"The devil has no need for weaklings, so do not disappoint me," she said in a low, threatening voice. "I'd hate to see you burn at the stake or die during the exam … well, at least most of you."

She threw a glare in my direction, but I just smirked right back at her.

"It is pertinent that you retrieve the blood," Yennefer added as she tore her gaze from mine.

"We won't disappoint you, Professor," Blair said in a small voice.

"I hope not," Yennefer sighed. "I think that's enough for today. Take your books into the study hall until noon. Class dismissed."

Everyone slammed their books shut and left as quickly as possible, but before I stepped out of the door, Yennefer turned to look at me.

"Just because you're doing better than I expected doesn't mean you should overestimate yourself," she sniffed.

I could tell the professor was vexed by my competence today, and I couldn't help but smirk since I'd thrown her off her game. I quickly schooled my expression back into neutral, though. I wanted her to keep underestimating me. It was too fun showing her up.

"I'm just doing my best," I replied with a shrug. "May I be excused?"

"Yes," she snapped and waved her hand dismissively, "go."

I left and followed the witches, who were already down the hall and walking into a large, spacious room lined with black wooden tables. This was one of the only places that had transparent glass windows instead of stained ones, and the sky was a wash of gray and silver, with rain threatening to pour down at any moment.

I took a seat at a table on my own, and as I was reading, one of the girls threw a feathered pen in my direction.

I glanced up, annoyed, and looked in their direction.

"Neon!" Morgana hissed, and she flicked her long brown hair over her shoulder in irritation. "For Satan's sake, I was trying to get your attention for the past five minutes."

"What is it?" I asked with a frown. "I'm trying to study."

"Is it true?" she questioned, and her blue eyes were wide with reluctant curiosity.

"Is what true?" I echoed and cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Did you kill a centaur last night and save Blair?" she asked. "She told us before class started … I just can't believe it."

"Yeah." I nodded. "Why would she lie about that?"

"Fuck." Faye grinned. "That's somewhat impressive … I mean, for a mortal man."

The redhead quickly tried to backpedal her compliment, but it was too late.

"I think you'll find I'm more than just 'somewhat impressive," I said as I leaned back in my chair and folded my hands behind my head.

Sweeny snorted and lifted her eyeless face to "look" at the other women.

"It was pure dumb luck, most likely," the scarred witch snapped at them. "First of all, Blair, you shouldn't have been out there alone. That was stupid, and I personally would rather die than let someone like him save me, so I don't know why you even bothered to tell the rest of us."

"I'm grateful for the help," Blair said to my surprise. Then she turned to look at me, and she frowned. "But rest assured, Neon, I won't need it again."

"Noted." I nodded and then returned to my book.

We all studied in uncomfortable silence until it was time for lunch. When we entered the banquet hall, the other witches didn't stare at me as much as they did yesterday, so I supposed they were slowly growing accustomed to me.

Or at least they were learning to tolerate me.

When I sat down in the banquet hall, there was a plate of roasted duck, asparagus, and mashed potatoes in front of me. There was also a goblet filled with an orange liquid, and when I took a sip, I realized it was sweetened pumpkin juice.

"So," Blair began after we ate in silence for a good couple of minutes,

"we need to get that blood … tonight."

"Agreed," Morgana replied with her wide, ice-blue eyes. "We should work together, go deep into the wood as a group to hunt down our own creatures. It will be safer and more efficient."

"But what creatures?" Faye asked with a frown. "We each need something extraordinary, but also something that won't get us killed."

"There are gremlins, werewolves, wendigos, and ghouls … take your pick," Blair suggested before she turned to look at me and scowled. "Not that

I care, but I wonder how you'll do on your own."

"Oh, I'm not going alone." I smirked. "I'm coming with you."

"What?" Sweeny shrieked, and her voice had gone up about five octaves and grabbed the attention of a nearby table. "I'm not going if he's going."

"Yeah, who said you were invited?" Morgana scowled.

"Because unlike the rest of you, I actually have protection, unless you've already forgotten about my dagger?" I replied in a low voice. "So, why not let me tag along and keep two eyes on you?"

The witches all curled their lips in disdain, but then Morgana finally shrugged.

"I say let him come, because if he dies tonight, we won't have to put up with him any longer," she sneered and then met my eyes. "But I swear,

Neon, you better not fuck this up for us."

"I won't," I said after a moment. "I can hold my own. Besides, I have an idea. Why don't we just hunt separately, and then meet up at an agreed spot, just in case anyone needs help?"

"Fine," Faye snapped, and her green eyes flared like twin emerald flames, "but if you do happen to mess up, we're going to use you as bait."

If I were being completely honest, the main reason why I wanted to tag along was because I had no clue what kind of creatures lurked in the woods. These witches could at least show me what I was walking into, and there was power in numbers.

The women all eventually nodded their consent, except for Sweeny.

"Then, I'm not going," the scarred witch snapped before she stood up.

"Have fun tonight."

She stormed away, but the rest of the witches shrugged it off and continued with their meals.

When I returned to my room, I decided to lay down for a bit. I needed the rest before our late-night rendezvous to hunt down a creature.

As soon as my head hit the pillow, I drowned in dreamless sleep, but I was woken up to the sound of an impatient knock at my door.

"One moment," I groaned before I sat up and rubbed the exhaustion from my eyes.

When I opened the door, all the witches, aside from Sweeny, were standing there and draped with hooded cloaks.

Time to find a monster to kill.