A Drop Of Haunted Blood [REMOVING FOR PUBLICATION DEC 1] [WATTYS WINNTER 2023]

Chapter Seventeen: Jack's Gang

"You fought zombies?" Mason asked at breakfast the next morning.

"Not zombies, apparently." Felix pressed his hands to the back of his head and leaned back in his chair. "But yeah, I torched some undead."

"Could you maybe try torching my toast?" Arisa held up a piece of bread. "I think the toaster's broken again." Clementine, who sat on Arisa's shoulder, folded her tiny bear arms.

"Can't they fix it with magic?" Mason asked.

Felix took the piece of bread from Arisa, but she was barely paying attention. "No one uses that kind of magic around here," she explained. "We've got our abilities, and we've got sigils for healing, killing, and keeping out monsters. That's about it."

Blue fire consumed the piece of bread. As quickly as it appeared, Felix extinguished it. Arisa stared at the blackened bread left in his hand.

"You used too much," Mason said. He reached toward Felix's tray. "Here, hand me a piece."

Felix swatted Mason's hand away. "Use your own bread!"

"Fine." Mason picked up the bread off the tray in front of him and held it a few inches above his palm. Purple hellfire came to life in his hand.

"It's bread, not a marshmallow," Felix said.

"If it works, it works." Mason closed his fist. Felix had to admit, his toast looked pretty good. He lowered his gaze back to the burnt bread in front of him.

"Sure, but now some Guardians are giving you dirty looks." Arisa's gaze darted around the room.

Mason shrugged and held out the piece of toast to her. "Isn't it good if they see me use my powers for nonviolent purposes?"

"I guess." Arisa accepted the toast.

"That's not all that happened last night." Felix glanced around the dining hall and lowered his voice. "Kendra started telling me about the leader of the Guardian Uprising."

Arisa's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"The hell is that?" Mason asked.

"Us students aren't supposed to know about it," Arisa told him. "I barely know anything besides the name. I was nine when it happened."

"Sebastian mentioned that the Guardians who left have started calling themselves the Last Army," Felix said.

Arisa snorted. "Army? That's a little ambitious. I don't think there were that many of them." She bit off a piece of her toast.

"What do we know about them?" Mason asked.

"Not much, besides that," Felix said. "Kendra wouldn't even tell me the leader's name. All I know is that Gideon and this necromancer guy work for her."

"We could try asking Sebastian about it," Arisa suggested. "If anyone were going to give us secret information, it would be him."

"Sebastian did start telling me about Gideon's boss my second day here, but he didn't seem interested in saying much," Felix said. "He said he was trying not to overwhelm me. Now that I think about it, though, he was acting a little dodgy."

"Wasn't his family involved in the Uprising?" Arisa asked. "That could have something to do with it."

"Change the subject," Mason muttered. "Sebastian's walking this way."

A few seconds later, Sebastian stopped next to their table. "Whatcha kids talking about?"

"Uh, tennis," Felix blurted, at the same moment Arisa said, "Zombies." Mason buried his face in one of his hands.