Chapter 11-Mordants

She had barely reached the first floor of the block when she slipped on the stairs, bumping into someone as a result. She cursed silently in her heart. Her pace had been hurried making her unable to see the person, so she took a step back and raised her head ready to voice out her sincere apologies.

However, she found herself frozen on the spot when she saw who it was she had run into. Her voice caught in her throat as she found herself staring into a pair of midnight black eyes whose owner was the least happy to see her. It was no other than Derek Gallagher. She stood deeply rooted on the spot, cursing her ill luck. She began to regret not leaving together with Kira.

"Are you going to move?",his gruff voice brought her back to find that she was still blocking the passage.

"I'm - I'm really sorry , I'll just -",she stuttered looking slightly flustered as she stepped aside to allow him passage. He walked past her without sparing her another look. She watched him ascend the stairs, disappearing from the corridors before finally letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding back.

Close one, was what she thought. After the first incident at the Greek class, she had tried to stay low profile, being careful not to cause another scene. The class was a mixture of both first year and fourth year students. Thankfully, they'll be changing classes the next semester. She just had to mind her business for the first half of the year, even if his presence at her back was very unpleasant. Quickly, she left for the dorm.

Back at the school block, Derek made his way to the principals office. He stepped in, not bordering to knock as he shut the door behind him. Odette watched the youngster take a seat, his legs crossed without a care. His eyes twitched at his action.

"You sent for me", Derek said breaking the momentary silence.

"Lauren informed me you've stopped coming for your counseling", Odette said, his arms folded while giving Derek a pointed look.

Derek rolled his eyes, "is that really why I'm here?",he asked with a scoff before his expression reverted back to that of sheer boredom.

The principal let out a sigh of resignation and sat down. Pulling off his glasses, he used a handkerchief to wipe off the sweat that had gathered on the ridges of his nose. He stretched his hand and hauled out a file with the word confidential written on it.

"Here, take a look",he handed it over to Derek trying to gauge his expression. Of course, it was blank but after a while his face contorted.

"That is the reason I called you. No one else knows except Emmett and your brother since they are in charge of the clinic. The victim is a third year student, one of our kind", he paused, waiting for a reaction from Derek.

" It's clearly not a demon attack ", Derek finally withdrew his gaze. He dropped the file on the table and continued, "the two punctured holes on his neck erases that possibility making the suspect a... vampire?",he ended rather with a question.

"Mordant vampire", Odette concluded in a stern voice driving Derek into deep thought.

Asides from the Demons and the ignorant humans, one other race existed in Mourline. Vampires. Three centuries back, a war had broken out in the town of Graven Moore. An ancient town where creatures of the night were rumoured to have thrived. Demons and vampires, not excluding the almost negligible small witch clan...

However, something unexpected occured. The action of the supposedly small witch clan threw Graven Moore into unprecedented chaos. The head of the witch clan, a dark sorcerer had created a deadly poison against vampires. Silkbane. A plant that gradually corrupted the very core of vampires, turning them into beasts without rationality... Mordants.

Following this, vampires made the demons their ally and a full blown massacre of witches had begun. It was a bloody war as witches could use spells and potions. Graven Moore turned into a town filled with gore and blood and houses belonging to witches were burnt down. Even the dark sorcerer was supposedly killed though the cure to the poison was never found.

Nevertheless, there had been very few cases of mordant vampires since the war and none in Mourline, but now...

"The other authorities have not been notified. For the meantime, the woods will be under restrictions",he paused, staring intently at Derek.

" For the new students? "

" For everyone's protection. The test is in two weeks and we wouldn't want any casualties till we get a hold of what is out there". After a few talks of which Derek was evidently unenthusiastic about, he stood up to leave

"you should go and see Lauren. I don't want to get anymore reports of fighting or beating up students. Though I wouldn't mind sending you back to Edward".

Derek pulled up his lips in a devilish smile before leaving. As soon as he shut the door, the smile left his face leaving behind a frown. Graven Moore. He and his brother weren't familiar with the war that forced them out of that place. They were both forced to sleep before the outbreak and were only told the stories on their waking. Something was up. Something connected to that war, but it wasn't time to bring it up.

* * *

The week passed slowly, nearing it's end. There was only a week left for the new students admission test so Natalie spent most of her time reading, especially Greek which she had a bit of a hard time with. She didn't see much of Kira who was having a busy time with her job as a junior paramedic.

After studies, she called her father exchanging half hearted pleasantries with him before ending the call. She didn't bother telling him they would be returning their phones in a week's time. She guessed he must already know. Though they were allowed to use their phones now, uploading things about the school was seriously prohibited,a harmless crime that could lead to being expelled. That explained why the school has been low profile, although gaining a reputation of the best school in the country.

It was evening, few hours to dinner. Natalie thought of taking a short walk. She grabbed her a light sweater and left the dorm. The evening breeze was cool and soothing. She tied her silver hair up like she always did but some strands still managed to fall out. It was almost a month since she came here but the beauty of this place always marvelled her. It was the beginning of spring and the air carried a sweet floral scent that was hard to ignore. Kira told her there was a large lacrosse field,with bleachers a little bit farther from the school block. She wanted to take a look around the woods behind it but that would be another day since it was already getting late.

She didn't realize how far off from the dorm she had come. After a few minutes of walking, she came to stop at a very large sculpture of the founder of the school. The statue looked really old and had lost it's colour.