The Young and Gifted

34. mercy of the merciless

"Am I the only one who has noticed?" Penelope asked cautiously, applying a dab of foundation to her face. She examined the hall and her eyes landed on Dorian. "The teachers seem on edge."

MG sank on the table took with a heavy sigh, diving into his platter of food and greedily drinking his bottle of blood. "Yeah, they seem more tipped off than usual."

Kaura, Penelope and MG all watched as Emma approached Dorian to whisper to him. Kaura kicked MG's leg and jerked her head towards the duo of adults. "What are they saying?" MG cleared his throat and adjusted his seat, focusing. His face seemed to drop and Kaura narrowed her eyes. "What?"

MG adjusted the collar of his shirt uncomfortably. "I...uh. They're saying that there is another monster on campus."

"What? Why didn't they tell us?" Penelope said abruptly, already on edge.

"I don't know, maybe--" he froze. "Emma said that they captured it and have it locked up in the cellars in the basement."

"We have a basement?" Penelope's eyebrows shot up immediately.

"Yeah, nobody is allowed to go there," Kaura informed, remembering how she got caught wandering down there with curiosity. She was grounded for a couple of days. "They must be doing some research on it right?"

"What type of monster lets itself get locked up? You'd think that it would be shaking the school right now," MG shrugged, sucking on the tube from the packet of blood. His teeth were now tainted scarlet.

Kaura grabbed her tray and pushed back from the table. "I'm about to take a look and find out."

*

Kaura walked with purpose, sneaking through the shadows and corners to try and conceal herself from students wandering down the hall. Until she bumped into Hope. "Hi." They hadn't spoken since Christmas, which was over a week ago. Kaura waved with two fingers and moved to pass her when Hope grabbed her shoulder. "Did I do something wrong? I think that you're mad at me but we haven't talked."

Kaura sighed and turned to her fully. "You didn't do anything wrong. The gift was...nice. Very unique."

"Then what's wrong?"

Kaura averted her gaze, contemplating answering. She found herself saying, "I'm scared I'm going ruin it." Hope's brows raised. "I tend to melt and bend things, especially metal. And it so happens that metal is very sensitive to heat. I can't wear jewelry, it usually ends up burning me."

"Shoot, I did not know that," Hope apologized immediately.

"It's fine, the gift was great. Now I have something to remember them by other than their names," Kaura shrugged. Hope nodded with understanding and gratitude. "The teachers have a monster locked up under the school."

"They what? Why--"

"Didn't they tell us? I'm wondering too. Wanna tag along to find out?"

Hope grinned and grabbed Kaura's arm as she muttered, "Invisel." They both turned invisible.

*

The cellars were cold. Colder than they should have been and it was almost like the air was whispering at them. The instant shift in the mood was so evident, Hope thought the darkness was yelling at them to leave.

"Stillabunt," she muttered and the cloaking spell dropped. Kaura stepped forward into the dark room. There were cells, lined up after each other and her fingers brushed the metal bars. She could feel the metal protest under her heated fingers. "We should hurry before someone shows up."