Chapter 2

Tala Hill

I was silently staring out the window of the director's car. I watched the passing cars. The old town of Rome still prefers cars on land, now people often use the moving cars that are powered by electricity. Despite the appearance of supernatural beings in the world, that still did not stop the development of technology.

It only made people strive to create innovative devices. Maybe they think that that’s the only thing they can use to fight against the unique strength of vampires, the magic of witches and wizards, and the glamor of fairies. But if people really had something to be proud of, that was their intelligence and their uncanny ability to survive.

It was only a matter of time before we were at the hospital but I still could not think of a way to escape the director. I would just make excuses along the way. It looks like she will believe whatever I say. After all, I was the top student of the academy and I had nine years of being responsible and trustworthy, so I knew she would listen to me.

“It's been a few months since your aunt came to school. Is she busy now?” the director suddenly asked.

I turned to her and smiled. “Yes. She is now traveling around the world,” I lied again.

I can't tell her that the girl who goes to school isn't really our aunt. She is a friend of our aunt who lives in Rome. She was only asked by our aunt to pretend to be our guardian. Aunt Kyndra is a rogue witch and to be known by the Headmistress of St. Marco is not good.

Because when that happens, the Headmistress will definitely know me and Maya's true identity. And the House of Hecate would surely take both of us into custody.

I once asked our aunt that, if that's the case, why did she send us into St. Marco? Wouldn't it be better if the three of us were together?

She explained that we wouldn't be safe if we were with her. She said that it is also important for us to have anonymity and to live a normal life. That's why Aunt Kydra brought us to St. Marco, despite the situation, because she thought that was the safest place for me and Mayari. Because no one would go against the Headmistress, Simone Russo, one of the four Grand Mages. The Grand Mages were the strongest witches and wizards and they could act independently from the Grand Meister of the House Hecate.

“But she’s coming for you and your sister’s graduation, right?” It will be a few months from now and they will graduate from high school and they will be out of the safe compounds of St. Marco Academy.

“Of course, she wouldn't miss it for the world,” I said, blatantly lying. Even if that is unlikely to happen. Because Aunt Kyndra’s friend, the one pretending to be our guardian, already migrated to Africa a few months ago. It's the reason why she cannot visit the school. It used to be Aunt Kyndra's friend who brought the packages she sent for us.

Our aunt became our legal guardian ten years ago when our father died. Aunt Kyndra was the only sister of our mother. Our mother died of childbirth and our father had no other living relatives. So Aunt Kyndra is our only relative left. It was really hard at first because I was still traumatized by what happened to our father. Then suddenly, we have to go with a woman we barely know.

After a month, Aunt Kyndra immediately took us to Italy, straight into St. Marco Academy.

Me and Maya had a hard time adjusting. We were barely ten back then and we were suddenly thrust into a place we knew nothing about. We don't even know the language spoken in the area. The only language we knew was English, because we grew up in the countryside of California. It took years before we learned the Italian language. It was for us to be safe. It was hard, but we endured it all. Because that's the only way for us to survive.

“We're here,” I heard Miss Romanova say.

I peeked out of the passenger's seat and saw that we were already in the hospital. We both got out of the car when the director parked it in the parking lot. As we entered, a hologram of a woman greeted us. The woman tells the do’s and don’ts inside the hospital. Now, the problem I will think of is how can I escape from Miss Romanova. We were just only getting in when suddenly, someone called the name of the director. We both turned and saw one elderly man sitting in a wheelchair. One

those levitating chairs used by those who can't walk.

“Marshall, how are you?” Miss Romanova is excited to say hello to the man

"It's fine, Clarita. What are you doing here?”

“I accompanied a student. Oh, right.” Miss Romanova turned at me. “We need to go to the emergency room,” she said.

Because when the old man arrived, he thought of a reason to get away from the director without him becoming suspicious. “I will be the only one to go, Ma’am. Looks like you have a lot of catching up to do with your friend here,” I said. Because of the old man, he had given me a reason to get away from the director without her becoming suspicious.

“Well, it's true. Marshall and I haven't seen each other for a long time. But are you sure you can be alone?” asked the director. She was still thinking about whether to let me go alone or not.

“Yes, Ma’am. Don't worry, I can handle myself,” I said.

She sighed. “Then, I'll just wait for you here.”

I nodded. I couldn't stop myself from smiling.

The two turned away and started walking. I was thanking the old guy in my mind. When I was far from their line of vision, I hurriedly boarded the elevator. No one was inside it.

“May I know what floor you are going down to?” asked the machine's voice in Italian.

“Top floor, please,” I answered.

When I reached the seventh floor, I went straight to the roof deck. After making sure that there was no one there, I took the paper charm and stuck it to the door. I put my hand there and whispered, “Kyndra Fox.”

The wind blew, then a large pentagram appeared, and then a screen-like circle appeared. In it, a woman is shown sleeping in a messy room. She was snoring and only wearing a shirt. I smiled seeing my Aunt's face. “Ciao, zia Kyndra.”

“Aunt Kyndra!” I shouted loudly.

She was startled. In a hurry to get up, she fell on the bed. “Fuck,” she groaned. Aunt Kyndra looked around and when she saw me, her eyebrows immediately raised in confusion. “Tala?” She stood up and sat on the bed, looking like she had completely woken up after seeing me. “Where are you?”

“Don't worry, I'm outside the academy,” I said.

With her short black hair and hazel eyes, she just looks like a woman in her mid-twenties. But that was far from the truth, because she knew she was more than a hundred years old. Another perk of being a witch.

She sighed. “Then this better be important. Do you know what time it is here? It's freaking midnight! I'm not on the same continent as you, you know.” I knew that because in Aunt Kyndra's last letter, she said that she was currently in some part of Africa. “So, what's the problem?” she asked in a worried face.

I sighed. “I can not sleep, it's been a few days. The flax seeds do not work anymore. I need something stronger. I—” I clenched my hand. “I can't relive that night over and over again. I might go crazy if this continues.”

Aunt Kyndra stared at me intently. “It's because you are turning eighteen next month. You know what that means, right?” I bit my lower lip and nodded slowly. “Soon, even that bracelet won't have any effect.”

I grabbed the bracelet that I was wearing. That was another thing that scares me. Aunt Kyndra took a satchel from her bag and from then on took out a small vial.

“Put a drop of this in your tea before you go to sleep.” She whispered some spell and a few seconds later the vial was in my hand. “It's only a temporary solution, Tala. Don't you think it's time to face your fear?” she asked. I shook my head in surrender. “I can't. I'm still too weak, Aunt Kyndra,” I mumbled with a sad smile on my lips.

Aunt Kyndra gave me an understanding look. She smiled at me. “You were never weak, Tala. If only you knew the extent of your power, the extent of your magic. You will be amazed,” she said.

I tightened my grip on the vial because what she said was a truth I couldn't deny. A fact that I would like to forget if I could.

The truth is that she, too, is a witch.

“Magic that I can't control," I said sarcastically. I looked down on my shoes.

I heard her sighed. “Don't worry, I'll be back before you and Maya’s eighteenth birthday. It's time to get you out of that academy.” I was surprised by what she said. But before I could ask Aunt Kyndra about what she meant, she immediately spoke. “Tell Maya that I miss her and of course I missed you, too, Tala. Goodbye!” She flicked her fingers and the screen suddenly disappeared. The paper charm turned into dust.

Getting annoyed and disgusted, I put the vial I was holding in my bag. “That Aunt Kyndra, always doing whatever she wanted.”

I remembered what my aunt had said, that it was time for us to leave the academy. Did that mean that she will finally take us? But what about the House of Hecate? Has Aunt Kyndra come up with a way to stop them from taking us? There were so many more questions in my mind. But I was really worried about only one thing. Me and Mayari’s eighteenth birthday.

Eighteen was the age when witches and wizards entered immortality. Before a witch or wizard turned eighteen, they were as vulnerable as any human. They may die of disease or a serious accident. But even if they become immortal, they will continue to age, until their body reaches its full maturity. And then the aging process will stop. Their body will forever remain in that state. Forever young, never aging. But that's not all, once a witch becomes eighteen, her magic will reach its full potential. And that's what scares me the most.

Because, like what I said to Aunt Kyndra, I cannot control my magic. That was why I had this bracelet, to stop the non-stop flow of magic in my body. And soon, it would not be enough. It's something that still remains a mystery to me. Because when I was still young, I could still control my magic. But after our father died, I lost my ability to even control the magic.

Was I really that traumatized from that event? Of course I was. Any creature can be traumatized by what I have witnessed. Except if one was an unfeeling vampire.

I took a deep breath. I had to get back to Miss Romanova, she might be wondering where I was now. But before that, hlI had to find a bandage to bandage my left arm. I still needed to sell my lie.

I was about to open the door to the rooftop when I heard a sudden thud. As if something heavy had fallen from the sky. I quickly turned around and I almost gasped when I saw a man standing in the middle of the roof deck.

He was big, almost six feet tall if I wasn't mistaken in my estimate because his muscular body was covered in a T-shirt. The man's black hair was messy as if a comb had never gone through it. It was hanging over his face but I could still see a straight nose and a set of squared jaw with a night's worth of stubbles. Although I am not familiar with men because I had only met women in the past years, I would say with confidence that this guy was someone that others would consider handsome.

I shook my head. This is not the time for me to think about the man's appearance. I should have been thinking, where the heck did he come from? I am sure that I was the only person here on the roof deck. I thoroughly checked the area before I contacted Aunt Kyndra. The only way to the roof deck was the door behind me. And as far as I was concerned, no one else had entered here since earlier when I went up.

If so, where did he come from?

I immediately racked my brain for an answer, but I couldn't think of a sensible answer. The only thing that came to my mind is he is a supernatural being, a vampire to be exact. So, it's like vampires teleporting from one place to another as long as they had been to that place. But I also immediately realized the error of that theory when I looked at the bright sun. If there was one thing true about the vampire folklore, that is their aversion to the sun. Because sunlight could burn them alive.

I stopped when the man suddenly started walking, or if you could even call it walking. He walked as if stalking a prey. And it seems like I am that “Prey”. Even though I couldn't see the man's eyes, I could feel his gaze. It gnaws at my entire being. I suddenly felt nervous.

What if this guy was really here for me?

Before I could think, I turned the lock on the door. Then I went the hell out of here. When I heard the following footsteps of the man, I started running. When I got to the elevator, I immediately pressed it. When it opened, I quickly stepped inside. But the elevator door hasn't closed yet, someone suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me out. I was forcefully turned around and came face to face with a startling pair of eyes. Eyes as dark as the night sky.

It was the man from the rooftop. He was even bigger up close, his biceps and muscular chest rippling. I ignored the feeling of trepidation and kept my voice steady. No matter who or what it is, I will never let the man do anything to me.

“Lasciami andare,” I said softly but firmly in Italian, telling him to let me go.

The man didn't seem to hear me because instead of letting me go, he closed my face in his hands. The man observed every part of my face, as if searching for something. Even if I didn't want him to touch me, I couldn't stop my cheeks from heating up. And I couldn't stop the strong beating of my heart. It was a foreign feeling for me.

And I didn't like it.

Not one bit.

“As I’ve said—”

I could not continue what I was going to say because the man suddenly hugged me. Now my heart didn't just gonewild, it exploded! Our bodies were touching each other, my body perfectly fitting the contours of his hard planes. I could feel his arm around my waist, his breath on my neck. He is slowly hyperventilating.

If the man doesn't let me go, my heart will literally explode! I felt the repeated breathing of him on my neck. Then suddenly, I realized something. The darn guy was freaking sniffing me! That finally woke me up from my puzzlement. “Let go of me!” I pushed him with all my might, but it was like pushing a stone wall. The man didn't even budge.

“Don't move,” he said in English. It lacked the usual accent that people in this country had. But I didn't pay much attention to that because my attention was focused on his voice. It was such a deep baritone that just reverberated throughout my whole being.

I secretly scolded myself. What is happening to me? I was locked in an embrace by this . . . this—whatever he was. I was captured and had the audacity thinking about his deep voice! I was captured and captivated. I clenched my hands that were resting on his broad chest. I tried to calm myself down because that was the only way I could control what I was planning to do. Then, I did the last thing I would have wanted to do.

I used my magic.

In an instant, the man suddenly jumped away from me. I looked at my hands. I willed myself to stop the flow of magic and it looks like it was one of my lucky days because it followed me. I raised my face to look at the man, I was slightly surprised to see where he was. He flew a foot away from me. There was a look of utter surprise and disbelief plastered on his face.

“What are you?” he asked, almost in a whisper.

It didn't escape my attention that the man used “what” instead of “who”. It should be me to ask that question but instead, I hurriedly entered the elevator before he's on his feet again and attacked me. My heart was still beating very fast until the elevator got down to the ground floor. As soon as I came out, I immediately blocked a nurse and asked for a bandage.

“Can I ask where you're going to use it?” the nurse asked in an utter shock. She was minding her own business when I blocked her path.

I wanted to get frustrated. Why does the nurse have to ask, why couldn't she just give it to me? I sighed. “I just really need it, please?” I said in a pleading tone.

It looks like she bought my lie. “Follow me.” I nodded. I first looked around and then I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't see the man. But I couldn't help but feel that the man was around and watching me. I shivered at the thought.

I really need to get out of this hospital.