Fangs of Corruption

Chapter 8

I lie under my bedsheets, half asleep. I can hear the voices and chatter of Christian and Raven. I block out their voices, slowly drifting back into my slumber. Then I feel my bedsheets being pulled from me. The morning light pours in, jolting me awake. Christian is staring down at me, a cigarette in his hand. "Morning sunshine." He says wryly. I groan. "I was sleeping, thanks a lot." I say irritatedly. Raven chimes in from the sofa. "Just because there's no classes today, doesn't mean you get to rot in bed all day." Christian nods. "Exactly. Now get up, you've slept long enough." I scoff. "It's early in the morning! I haven't been asleep that long." I retort.
Raven laughs. "Babe, it's 2pm."
My sleepy eyes widen. "What! How did I sleep for that long!" I jump up from my bed, grabbing a pair of jeans from the floor. I rush over to my wardrobe, taking one of my many floral tops that my Mom bought for me. " We really need to work on your wardrobe options, all the flowery outfits don't match your vibe." Raven says as she assesses my messy closet. "I know, but I don't even have time to think about that." I say as I pull the blouse over my head. "The ball last night must've really worn me out, I can't believe I slept in for so long." I say. Christian sits down on my bed. "Why are you in such a hurry? The bonfire starts at seven." Christian asks as he inhales from his cigarette. "What bonfire?" I ask
Raven frowns. "Sorry I thought I told you, theres a bonfire party going on tonight. Everyone's going." Raven states.
"Oh, sounds painful." I say.
"Yeah, I don't want go either but Ravens making me go." Christian replies.
Raven rolls her eyes. "It will be fun, plus I need a distraction from Tom. He keeps texting me." Christian's jaw ticks. "I don't like that guy, if he bothers you again you tell me." Christian says sincerely.
"I appreciate you going all caveman on us, but It's fine. He's harmless." Raven says. Christian and I exchange worried glances. "Anyways tonight will be fun. Ivy feel free to take something from my closet." Raven says. I nod gratefully. "Thanks. Anyways I need to go, see you later!" I say as I open the door. Christian looks up suspiciously. "You never told us where you were going." I sigh. "I'm going to Ben's dorm, I haven't seen him and I'm worried." I say. Raven raises an eyebrow. "How would Cain feel if he knew you were going to his little brothers dorm?" Raven asks suspiciously. I shake my head. "It's not like that. Ben is my friend." I reply. Christian chimes in. "Then why aren't you telling Cain about this newfound friendship with his brother?" I cock my head. "Firstly, I don't want to complicate things with Cain. We're only in the early stages." I raise my voice. "And secondly, you guys are supposed to be on my team, why are you so worried about Cain!" Christian laughs. "You're right, we're team Ivy all the way." I smirk. "Good, now I'll see you later." I say, shutting the door behind me.
I walk down the dimly-lit corridor speedily. I really am worried about Ben, whatever's going on with Zayne is really affecting him. I just hope he's alright. Suddenly I bump into someone. I look up. I'm met with the cold glare of a tall blonde girl, a vampire. She's that girl that Zayne was with in the forest the other week. I think her name was Christa. She scoffs with disgust. "Watch where you're going, bitch!" Christa says. I furrow my brows. "There's no need to be rude." I say with confusion. She steps forward. "You're that little freak that's been drooling over Zayne." She says. My jaw drops. "Are you serious? I don't drool over guys, that's your specialty." I say angrily. She was the one practically clinging onto Zayne like some baby monkey in the forest.
She sneers. "Watch your back. I'm a vampire and you're a pathetic little fairy. I can snap you like a twig." Christa threatens. "Your threats don't scare me." I reply. She smiles. "Everyone's saying you don't even have your elemental powers yet. Even more pathetic, I wouldn't be so confident if I were you." She says as she takes a step back. "You're basically powerless." She says as she laughs wickedly. She struts away, out of the corridor. I look down at the floor. She's right, I still don't even have an element. I'm the weakest person in this school.
I shake off her insults. Now is not the time to feel sorry for myself, Ben's got it much worse. I knock on his door loudly. "Ben! You in there?" I yell. Silence. I pound on his door. "Ben!" I continue. Where the hell is he? Then I feel a light tap on my shoulder. "Ivy?" I turn around. Cain is staring down at me with confusion. "Oh, hey." I say exhaustedly. "Why are you knocking on Ben's door?" He asks. "Oh I just-." I pause.
I don't want to lie to him anymore than I already have. "Well honestly I was worried, I just came to check up on him." I say.  Cain's brows furrow. "Oh, I didn't realise you guys were close." He says. I bite my lip. "Well, we have the same classes, and he's your brother. I just wanted to make sure he was alright." I say. Cain relaxes. "Oh, that's nice of you." He fishes a key from his jean pocket. "I came to check on him too. He gave me this spare key." He says as he reaches past me to unlock the door. The door jolts open and we enter together. "Ben? You here?" Cain calls out. Ben's dorm is a mess, clothes and cigarettes are scattered on the floor. His bed is the only exception, it's neat and hasn't been slept in. "He's not here." Cain states. He doesn't seem concerned. "Aren't you worried about him? He obviously didn't come back last night." I ask. Cain shrugs. "He does this a lot. Ben likes his time alone. He probably just went hunting or something." Cain says. I nod apprehensively. "If you say so." Cain takes my hand, guiding me out of the room and locking the door behind us. We stand in the empty corridor. He smiles down at me. "I had fun last night." He says. My eyes light up. "I'm glad." I reply. "We should do it again sometime." He says. I nod. "Definitely." He leans in and kisses me. His hand tangles in my hair. A sweet and captivating kiss. It's not the same as the kiss I shared with Zayne, it's different in a good way. Wait, why am I comparing him to Zayne? What is wrong with me? I pull back. "Are you going to the bonfire tonight?" I ask. "I wasn't going to go but if your going then I'll be there." He says as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. I smile. "Thank god. Raven's making me go." I say. "I'll pick you up from your dorm." He says. "You don't have to do that. I can just meet you there." He shakes his head. "I want to. I'll come by at seven." He says. I smile. Suddenly the sound of the intercom fills the corridor.
'Ivy Thorne report to the principals office please, Ivy Thorne!' I sigh. "What do they want from me now?" I say. "Seems we have a little delinquent on our hands." Cain teases. I frown. "I'm not a delinquent!" I say frustratedly. Cain laughs. "I know you're not. I'm sure they just want to know how your progressing here, you're still pretty new to the school." Cain laughs. I shrug. "Yeah, you're probably right." I say. Cain plants a kiss on my forehead. "I'll see you later." He says. "Bye." I say as I walk down to the teachers wing.
I knock on the door and I am greeted by the head mistresses assistant. "Headmistress Crowley will see you now." She says, gesturing for me to come in. I offer her a curt smile and hesitantly walk in. Headmistress Crowley sits at her desk. She's reading some kind of a spell book. "Please, have a seat Ivy." She closes the book briskly, shifting her entire attention to me. I sit down slowly. Why does she want to speak to me? I haven't been getting into any trouble lately. "You're not in any trouble, I simply want to speak with you about a few things." She says, almost as if she read my mind. "So what is it you need to speak with me about?" I ask. She sighs deeply. " I worry about how you're progressing here." She announces. I raise an eyebrow. "I'm doing fine. I have friends and I- ." She cuts me off mid sentence. "I know that you're settling in well with other students, I have no doubt that you've made a few friends." She pauses. "But I'm more worried about how you're progressing in terms of finding your element." She leans forward. "Your parents sent you here so you could find out what kind of fairy you are, and frankly I'm not seeing any changes." She says.
I bite my lip. "I know. Trust me I want to know what I am so badly. People talk, they think that I'm weak." I admit. She nods knowingly. "I've been informed by a few teachers about the rumours and gossip. Any students whom engage in any ill-conversation will be reprimanded." She assures me. "We just want to help you, Ivy. You're here to grow and learn about yourself." She looks past me, the door creaks open. "Which is why I have asked Professor Bennett to help." She says. A small, older man approaches. He has curly grey hair and he wears a thick pair of glasses. He's no younger than seventy-two. He offers me a warm smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ivy." Headmistress Crowley speaks. "Professor Bennett is the head of Magical Combat And Enchantments." She smiles at Professor Bennett in acknowledgment. "You two will do private sessions each week, which will hopefully help you in accessing your elemental powers." Professor Bennett chimes in. " I'm the oldest faculty member at this school. I've seen a lot of things in this school throughout my years of being here, I'm confident that I can help you." He assures. I smile. "When do we start?" I ask. "Tomorrow morning, bright and early in the training room." He says.
. . .
I walk back to my dorm after the meeting. I can't say I'm against the idea of doing training sessions with Professor Bennett. I really do want to find out my element, and if that means having to train every week with some old guy, so be it. I open the door to see a nervous Christian. He's attempting to braid Raven's hair. "I just want you to do a simple braid, I can't reach the back of my head." Raven says. Christian let's go of her hair and sighs in defeat. "I don't know how to do this. I'm a dude, what do you expect from me." Christian says. Raven snatches the hairbrush from his hand with frustration. "It's not rocket science." Raven says. "Why can't you use your magic to do it?" Christian asks. "I tried to do a spell on my hair when I was twelve and I fried my hair off, I had to wear bangs for three years." Raven says.
I walk over and take the hairbrush. "It's alright, Christian. I'll take it from here." I say. Christian sighs with relief and walks over to his bed. I quickly and easily braid her hair. I tie it with a black ribbon and set the hairbrush down on the table. "All done." I say. "Thanks, Ivy. At least someone here has a brain." Raven says. Christian throws his hands up in defence. "Hey! I'm very smart! I'm sorry I don't spend my time braiding hair and painting nails." He retorts. Raven laughs. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." She replies. Her attention returns to me. "How did your meeting go with Headmistress Crowley? We heard you get called in on the intercom." Raven asks. I start to apply a red lipstick. "It was actually fine. Headmistress Crowley just wanted to assign me some individual classes with Professor Bennett." I say.
Christian snorts. "Professor Bennett is ancient, good luck with that!" Raven laughs. "Yeah, he's like 100 years old." Raven adds. I roll my eyes. "Come on he's not that old. I'm sure he's a great teacher." I reply. Christian takes of his shirt. "Yeah, maybe you're right." He says as he looks for a fresh shirt in the drawer. Raven gasps. "Since when did you have a six-pack?" She asks. He smirks. "Since always. You were just too distracted by my charm." He replies. Raven snorts. "Please, more like I was distracted by your annoying presence." She replies. "He is pretty annoying." I say. Christian gasps as he pulls on a fresh shirt. "Woah, I'm feeling really ganged up right now." He says sarcastically. "Oh shut up, you know we love you." Raven replies.
We all pause when we hear a knock on the door. I put the rouge lipstick down on the desk. "That would be Cain, I'm going with him to the bonfire." I say. Raven gasps dramatically. "Are you ditching us for Cain tonight?" She says. I roll my eyes. "I'm not ditching you, he just insisted that we go together." I reply. Christian sighs. "Cain's stealing you from us." I groan in frustration. "You two are so dramatic. I'll literally see you there." Raven laughs. "We're only messing with you. Go have some fun with Cain!" Raven says. I smile. "I'll see you guys later." I say as I rush to the door. I open the door to see Cain standing in the hallway. He flashes a charming smile "Hey. You look beautiful." He says. I smile shyly. "Thanks." I reply.
"Get a room!" Christian yells from the sofa. My eyes widen with embarrassment
"That was smooth though, Cain!" Raven adds. I quickly turn around, Christian and Raven are in a fit of laughter. I glare at them and shut the door. "Sorry. They're children." I say. Cain laughs. "Come on, let's go." We walk down a long spiralling staircase. Then we walk through a stone archway leading into the forest. As we walk through the trees the sound of music becomes louder. "Why is this party so deep in the forest?" I ask. Cain takes my hand as he guides me down a narrow path. "It's just a precaution so that the professors don't find out." He says. "They'd shut it down and give everyone detention within a heartbeat." He adds. I nod. "Makes sense."
Soon we reach a large clearing in the forest. There's a vast bonfire in the centre of the clearing, students surrounding it with paper cups in their hands, talking to one another. Cain guides me over to a cluster of benches surrounding the fire. We sit down beside each other. Cain wraps an arm around my waist. I smile. "I'm glad you came with me tonight." I say. He leans in and kisses me softly. "So am I." He says as his dazzling chocolate eyes stare into mine. Suddenly I feel a wave of cold air wash over me. I shiver from the chilling sensation. Cain looks at me with concern. "Are you cold?" He asks. I bite my lip. "Yeah, did you feel that too?" I ask. He shrugs off his leather jacket, he then proceeds to wrap it around my frame. "Cain, I'm sure you're cold too." I protest. Cain smirks. "Werewolves don't get cold, it's not a problem." I smile gratefully. "Oh, well thanks." I say. I inhale the scent of leather and earth from his jacket. The blanket of warmth keeping the cold shift in the air at bay. I look up to see Zayne sitting across from us, glaring at me. I frown.
"I'm going to go find Christian and Raven. I'll be back in a minute." I say urgently. Cain's eyes widen with concern. "You okay? You look flustered." He says. I gulp. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just want to make sure Raven and Christian are enjoying themselves." I say quickly Cain nods hesitantly, concern still prominent in his face. "Alright, see you in a minute." He says. I smile back at him as I scurry away. I can't be near Zayne tonight. I haven't even processed the fact that I kissed him yet. A wave of guilt crashes into me. How would Cain feel if he knew? I kissed the guy he hates most at the ball while being his date. I don't know if Cain would ever forgive me. I sit down on an empty bench. The impact of my realisation sinking in. This doesn't just affect me, this affects Cain too. I'm a liar and a hypocrite. Suddenly I see a tall figure stalking towards me in my peripheral vision. I look up to see Zayne approaching angrily.
I jump up from the bench quickly. I'm in no mood to deal with Zayne right now, especially after what happened last night. He's just a reminder of what I've done. I bolt off into the forest, away from the party. Hopefully Zayne will get a clue and leave me alone. Suddenly I hear loud footsteps behind me. I quicken my pace, running faster when two iron arms wrap around me. Zayne spins me around, pulling me towards him. I push at his chest angrily, hitting him desperately. "Don't touch me!" I yell. I continue to fight against his steel-grip. Hitting his chest and clawing at his arms. "You done?" He says coldly. It's no use, he's not letting go of me no matter what I do. I breathe heavily, huffing in defeat. "What do you want?" I say furiously. He stares down at me darkly. "Why are you avoiding me?" He asks.
"Sorry I don't want to be around you're sunshine of a personality every waking second!" I retort.
His eyes darken. "Don't give me that bullshit." He says. "Why are you here with him?" He asks. I scoff loudly. "Are you serious?" I yell. His grip loosens and I avail myself of the opportunity to slip out of his grasp. I back away from him furiously. "You don't have some sort of claim on me now just because we kissed!" I yell. I storm off indignantly. But he continues to follow me. His steps eating up mine. "Leave me alone!" I say fiercely. "No." He replies bluntly as he continues to walk alongside me nonchalantly. I quicken my pace, desperate to get away from him when suddenly I feel something beneath me. My knees buckle as I look down at him. I fall to the ground, gasping for air. Ben's pale body is covered in leaves and dirt. A look of immense fear and terror still on his face. He's gone, the life drained from his body. My piercing screams fill the forest. Suddenly I see students all around me, faces filled with horror.
I look around, Zayne has disappeared. I feel sick to my stomach. Cain pushes through the crowd of students. His entire being changes when he sees Ben. The colour drains from his face. I look around desperately as I sit beside Ben's body. "Raven!" I scream. "Raven! You can do a spell! It's not too late!"I cry out desperately. I feel Christian's arms wrap around me. He's pulling me away from Ben. "No!" I scream. Christian whispers. "Come on. It's okay." He says soothingly. I fight against his grip. "No! Someone do something!" I scream. Why isn't anybody doing anything? Christian picks me up, pulling me into his chest . He's saying things that I can't hear, trying to calm me down. I drown out everything. Thinking of Cain and Ben and all of the anguish and sorrow. Then I feel my consciousness slip away. Everything goes black.