My Mother Immortal

Chapter 21: Class of The Dead

Hanalea, Trixa and Eurayion stood in a line before Giles's door, hardened, determined expressions on their faces, and a sort of quiet resignation. So this is what it all comes down to. At the very least, I want to see him off myself. The man who had a hand in creating my mother who harbors secrets.

Hanalea twisted the doorknob and pushed open the door, prepared to face whatever she was destined to in Giles's office.

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The office was like before, though now Giles's office chair was swiveled around so that its back was to Hanalea.

"So you knew, Hanalea. I congratulate you on actually deceiving me with your flawless acting. But can you do anything to me, dear niece? Seeing as I have your classmate right here." The office chair turned, showing that Giles had been sitting in it all the long, and he had Morris on his lap. His hood had been thrown back, and the sharp point of Giles's knife rested at his neck.

"Yes, I knew." Hanalea grounded out, wanting to reach out and strangle her uncle on the spot. "So this is for my mother." she whipped a knife out of her pocket, sending it flying unerringly towards her mark.

Giles tilted his head, the knife impaling the back of his chair where his neck had been a half a second ago.

"You shouldn't be giving children knives, Trixa." Giles looked past Hanalea at the twins, ignoring Hanalea's presence completely.

"A child of the Enhurst family is no ordinary child." Trixa recited in a flat voice, the very words that her father had said to her all the time when she was young.

Giles frowned. "That may be true, my dearest daughter, but Hanalea's blood has been defiled by outsiders, the blood of a mere citizen of the outside world. The impure must be exterminated. It's a mercy."

Giles caught the second knife Hanalea hurled at him by the blade with his index and thumb, flipped it round in mid-air, sending it flying back towards Hanalea.

Hanalea dodged, though the razor-sharp blade grazed her cheek, drawing a ruler-straight line and a sharp wince from her as blood slowly started to bead out. At the same time, the twins charged towards their father, Trixa leaping onto the desk and wrestling the knife out of his other hand which he had at Morris's throat, Eurayion seizing Morris by his wrist to pull him, half dazed, across the room.

Trixa leapt backwards and in a flash, joined Eurayion near the doorway, still holding Giles's knife when she saw his hand slip with practiced ease into his bulging trouser pocket. Hanalea stared at the barrel of the gun her uncle levelled at her, eyes riveted to it as it slowly moved from her to Eurayion, then Trixa.

Tension crackled in the air, and the twins' hands moved imperceptibly to the various weapons hidden under their clothes. It dispelled with a sigh when Giles lowered the gun and smirked.

"No matter. There are plenty who would love to dispose of all of you, especially you, my dear niece." Giles glanced at the doorway. "Meet Hanalea Gilde's delightful class, Class 3-B." Giles lowered the gun, then with a flick of his wrist, it was aimed at the ceiling. He fired a single shot.

"Hey, Hanalea."

Hanalea turned mechanically. A girl stood at the open office doorway, her auburn hair swept into a high ponytail, eyes that were once lime green now a dark, clear red, twin pairs of blood.

"Alicia." Hanalea's mouth went suddenly dry.

"Long time no see." the girl named Alicia grinned. "Lindy has been dying to meet you. Oh, we are already dead, aren't we? Silly me!"

Another girl stepped into view, this one with the same straight brown shoulder-length hair and sneering mouth Hanalea had seen one too many times. Just like Alicia, her eyes were blood-red.

"Hanalea, I am so glad you came. Let's continue where we left off that day four years ago shall we?" she waved a scrap of paper Hanalea knew all too well.

"Giles, why are they here?!" Hanalea spun around, glaring daggers at her uncle.

"Don't look at me. The rest of your classmates require your attention, my dear niece." Giles was once again looking past her, rather pleased and smug at the same time.

Sure enough, when Hanalea turned back, her entire class was standing before her, save for those who were still alive. With a jolt, she recognised one of them, standing right at the very back.

Shione Mayr.

Just like the rest of Hanalea's class, she had a flat, expressionless face and eyes befitting the bloodhounds of Hell, but besides that, she still looked the same as always- the same neatly plaited blonde hair, sprinkle of freckles and well-pressed uniform.

Eurayion and Trixa had backed away from the doorway, standing so still they seemed to be petrified, reduced to mere statues of themselves, staring at Hanalea's class with identical expressions of horror and feral fear on their faces. Morris had passed clean out, and Hanalea couldn't really blame him.

"Where are the beverages? Hanalea, I thought you were in charge of the beverages."

Hanalea's attention was drawn towards Alicia, who was holding up an empty glass. She made eye contact with her and smiled mischievously, tilting the glass where it caught the light and sparkled.

"If you forgot to bring them, you can just provide them on the spot."

A hot, searing pain sliced into Hanalea's chest, and shocked, she looked downwards, at the crimson stain which was spreading rapidly across her blouse. Alicia was standing before her, a knife in her hand. Smiling widely at her victim, and maintaining eye contact with her all the while, she held the blade over the glass, letting the red which garnished its tip drop into the glass's transparent depths.

"There isn't quite enough." Alicia said thoughtfully. Everyone else haven't got their drinks yet, Hanalea."

In one accord, the entire red-eyed, bloodthirsty horde of undead swarmed round Hanalea, all of them clutching all sorts of bladed weapons.

"Goodbye, Hanalea." Alicia said quietly.

Hanalea just had enough time to see her siblings, freed from their petrified state, rushing towards her before everything subsided into darkness.