The Black Raven

Secrets Unfold

He screamed for what seems like hours, the sound resonating within his room, but blocked from the outside hall, by the thick stonewalls. Eventually I get up off his bed and walk over to the corner where I left him as he changes. I'm sick of his screaming, it began as music to my ears, but then he kept going, growing more and more pathetic.

"Tacticus." I say putting my finger to his lips.

I pull away and then his eyes snap open and he spits at me. I put my hand up to my cheek and wipe the spit away; his screams have turned to silence.

"Fine, I'll just come back tonight." I narrow my eyes. "You'll be finished by then."

I turn my back on him and walk out the door, flicking my hand as I exit to lock it. Not to keep him in, I know he'll barely be able to stand for at least the next 6 hours, but to keep others out and prevent them from finding him. I quickly walk to my dorm where I change into a different out fit and go off to training to create and alibi for myself.

*

I go back to Eric's room straight after training. I flick my fingers to the side, unlock the door and step inside, quickly closing and locking it behind me, before I'm thrown against the door by Eric, now fully conscious and functioning. His eyes are wide and I know that he must be shocked. A smile plays on my lips and then I turn him around and throw his back against the wall. I lean into his ear and whisper, "Still a newfang." And then I let him push me off him. He puts his head in his hands and his fingers at claw at his hair. His head snaps up again and he sets his gaze on me.

"You killed me!" He whispers.

"I gave you life!" I argue.

"No, you took it from me!" He yells back.

"What are you going to do? Kill me? Cause you can't. You're still as weak as you were when you were some stupid human. And you can't stay here, you have to leave, there's no where for you." I repeat what Jessie told me when I woke up.

Eric looks me dead in the eyes. "You're dead to me." He states calmly and then he walks out the door and away from me, making sure that no one sees him as he leaves the only home he's ever had, leaving me.

*

I go back to my room after Eric has left and sit on my bed instead, unfazed by his abrupt departure, to be honest I thought he might have stayed with me a bit, I could have played with him, done thing I wouldn't do to Jessie, but his leaving me wasn't that big of a deal. I pull a file out of my draw and start filing my blood red nails into perfect claw like shapes. I hear foot steps echo down the hall and I know that they must be coming for me, but I don't do anything I just stay on my bed waiting for them, it's about time they found out the truth, I'm done playing games. The footsteps stop outside my door and then it swings open, letting Alwood and two slayers come in.

"Where is he?" She asks.

I keep my calm expression and look at her blandly, "Where's who?" I say innocently, returning to my nails.

"Eric." She says annoyance starting to creep into her voice. "He hasn't been seen for three days and when we went to inspect his room we found blood on his bed and floor. It's no secret that you two sometimes have a fling."

I raise my eyebrows, still not looking at her.

"Of course I know Raven, as if I wouldn't, but I was lenient with you. So you are the one who will most likely know where he is. So, where is Eric?"

I keep my eyes on my nails as I file them. "Oh, him. Yeah, he had to take a trip." I look at her. "He's not coming back."

"Where did he go, Raven?"

"Oh, I can't tell you that, now can I? It will ruin the surprise."

Alwood's eyes are huge and I think that I finally broke her. "I've had enough from you, Raven. I've treated you with kindness, bent the rules for you even kept your little fling with Eric a secret from the law, but this is it." She juts her chin to me and the guards walk forwards to grab my wrists, I don't struggle I just calmly place my file on the bed beside me, stand up and turn around for them to grab my wrists.

"Until you learn to co-operate or tell us where Eric is, you will be kept in chains, showing you just how much I have protected you from, merely because of your talents."

I keep my face expressionless as I am taken out of my room. As I'm lead down the hall, other trainee's doors open and come out to stare as I walk past. I merely grin at them and silently chuckle.

Soon they'll all be dead. I'm not sure who thinks it, me, or Jessie, but no matter what this place is going down.

*

They throw me to the ground in the interrogation room and the guards exit, leaving me on the ground, my hair matted in my face, just Alwood and me. Alwood crouches down in front of me, her lady like manner forgotten, returning to her old ways before she became head of the academy. She reaches for my arms and I willingly give her them, still playing the game. She reaches behind me and I hear the rattle of chains and then I feel something be clipped onto my wrists. As soon as the metal touches my skin, a burning agony rips through my body, almost worse then when Jessie bit me. It feels like my hands are being sawed off with a blunt but red-hot butter knife and I fall to my side an animal growl escaping my lips. I clench my eyes tight and try not to move, the pain easing the less and less I move. It's still there but not crippling. I lie on my side and open my eyes, looking across the room at the opposite wall where Alwood is against the wall, her face shocked and mortified. She used the chains meant for vampires by accident, she didn't know, but now she does. I realize.

"Hello, Alwood," I grin.

I let my spells melt off once again, showing my true self to her.

"Do you like the new? Courtesy of one very handsome vampire." I look into her eyes and my memories of being turned flash across her mind, showing what I did.

"Where's Eric?" She asks stiffly.

I roll my eyes. "Dead." I state. "He was a useless git anyway." Then she turns and leaves through the door. "Hey! Come back!" I shout after her. "Don't you want to play?"

Moments later three slayers come into the room, each holding a silver enchanted dagger in each hand, enchanted the same way as the chains I am in.

"Oh come on guys, can't we have some fun."

They slayers look at each other and a couple of seconds later all three of them charge at me.

"Of course." I say to myself.

One of the slayers is in front of the other two and I fix my gaze on his weapons. Suddenly both stakes flies out of his hands and stick to the ceiling, long out of his reach. The boy looks at me, suddenly defenseless, looking like a deer trapped in the headlights of a car about to hit him. I smile at him and then he is thrown against the wall just as hard as if he was hit by a car. The other two look at him laying on the ground a tiny stream of blood trickling down his temple and then they both charge at me, running in sync. I swing myself to the side and fling my legs out, ignoring the burning in my wrists, and knock them over.

"Amateurs." I laugh under my breath as the lie there, recollecting themselves. "dolum ex lucem."

They push themselves up still trying to kill me but when they see their partner the stop and draw their weapons. Then they both charge at each other trying to land a fatal hit on what they think is me.

"venite clamvem." A key slips out of the slayers pocket lying against the far wall and floats over to me. "recludam." The key goes behind me and then I hear a clicking sound.

The chains fall and I pull my wrists in front ofme, rubbing them. They're raw and have a bright red burn all the way around. Isigh and then I stand up and grab the remaining two slayers and snap theirnecks. I can't have loose ends now can I, and then I skip to the door and allthe way out down the hall. Ready to finally bring this place to its knees.