Obliterate

thirteen

SOPHIE WALKED QUICKLY through the halls of the academy, following the distinct smell of her mother. It wasn't exactly hard to pinpoint her location, as it was the middle of a school day and Aelia could always be found within the headmaster's office. It had been a while since she'd gone to the office. Usually, she tried to avoid it when she could. There were too many weird memories that surfaced there. It also kind of spooked her. When they'd fought against the old Headmaster, he did something to Sophie's neck. Some sort of crazy, weird magic crap with his blood. She wasn't sure what that entailed --just that it had left its mark on her. It made her uneasy to spend time in the room that she'd interacted most with him.

Sophie knocked against the door to Aelia's office. After a moment, she heard the slight rustle of paper and her mother's voice through the door. "Come in, Sophie."

She quietly opened the door and stepped inside. Aelia sat behind her desk --a new, more elaborately designed desk than the one that had existed before it. There was a small stack of papers atop the desk, neatly organized into a slender pile.

Aelia met Sophie's gaze, her expression curious. "You don't usually visit me during school hours," she remarked. Her arms folded across the top of the desk and her head tilted."You usually wait until weekends. Or breaks."

Sophie made her way to the pair of chairs situated just in front of Aelia's desk. "So I've talked to Aubrey and Eli," she announced. "And we kind of have an idea."

Aelia's brow quirked. "Alright. Tell me about it."

Sophie quickly went through a somewhat vague explanation as to how Aubrey felt there might be some sort of information concerning the creatures on the old server. "Aubrey mentioned that the only two computers with the ability to access the old server are locked away," Sophie said. "I was wondering if I could take one of them to Aubrey. If these creatures are the cause of this mess, we need to know as much about them as possible."

The expression on Aelia's face remained the same --it was still stoic, yet warm and inquisitive. Her eyes, however, were filled with uneasiness and hesitation. "There might be some information on the server," Aelia said. "Though I'd much rather that server remained untouched.I feel that, if the creatures were a problem before, there's bound to be some sort of internet article or book out there that mentions about them. I'd like to exhaust all other options before touching that server."

Sophie frowned. "Why?"

"That server has a lot of information on it. Potentially dangerous information. My brother fancied himself as quite the scientist, carrying out a lot of horrible experiments --both on vampires and other creatures. All of his notes, his findings; it's all on that server. If it manages to get into the wrong hands, it could further damage the relationship that's formed between all races." Aelia rested her cheek within her palm. "The last thing that we need is another fight. We've just entered this period of peace. I am hoping to make it last."

Sophie pressed her lips into a firm line. She understood her mother's worries. Another battle was the last thing that anybody needed. But, if there was information about the creatures in the server, it could potentially stop any more disappearances from happening. "I'll talk to Aubrey," she said. "We'll try to find something on the internet or in the library about the creatures. If we don't find what we need to stop these creatures, we'll have to use the server."

Aelia's lips wrinkled and she nodded.

Then she blinked and straightened slightly. "Oh," she said, under her breath. "I almost forgot to tell you. I've discussed the situation with an old friend of mine. He's a very old vampire, like myself, and has traveled the world. There's a chance that he might have come across creatures like these before. He should hopefully be here within the next few days."

"I only know two old vampires," Sophie told her mother dryly. "You and the old Headmaster. As long as this guy is nothing like the latter, then we'll be good. I can't handle any more crazy people."

Aelia pursed her lips. "I'm fairly certain that he's still sane."

Sophie's eyes widened. "Mom. You can't bring an insane, ancient vampire around human students."

"Relax," Aelia said with a smile. "I was just joking with you. He's perfectly sane, and is actually a really good teacher. I'm secretly hoping that I'll be able to hire him on after his visit."

"Oh," Sophie said. "Will he take over for the teacher that was attacked?"

Aelia's expression turned somber. "If I can convince him to join."

Sophie nodded. She glanced down at her watch --she'd taken a personal day so that she could help Aubrey out. "I really need to get back to Aubrey," she told her mother. "I need to take her a laptop. I mainly just wanted to come talk to you about the server."

A glimmer of sadness crept into Aelia's gaze. "Sure," she said, leaning back in her seat. "Do me a favor and take Aubrey some food. She needs to eat."

Sophie stood and smiled at her mother. "That was the plan."

Aelia smiled and nodded. There was a small moment of awkward silence, and Aelia seemed to hesitate. "Also, come visit me more often," she added quietly. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," Sophie said back. She did her best not to shift around awkwardly. "I'll try to come visit you. Or maybe you can come have dinner with Eli and I soon."

Aelia seemed content with that.

Sophie stepped out into the hallway, quietly shutting the door to Aelia's office behind her. A small surge of disappointment flickered through her. She wasn't able to get access to the server --even though Aubrey had been convinced that Sophie would be able to get her mother on board. But like Aelia said, there was still a chance that some information could be found through the library or the internet in general. First, she'd have to get Aubrey a laptop --one that she could hold on to, even through school hours. Sophie had contemplated just letting Aubrey borrow hers, but if the search took longer than a day or two, it just wouldn't work with Sophie's job as a teacher. All of her lesson plans were on it.

Which meant Sophie had to go to the computer lab, where all students and teachers could get laptops or get their laptops fixed. It was a nifty place, located right beside the dining hall --which made it even more convenient for Sophie.

As she made her way down the hall, a teasing voice called out, "Oh, so you're going to completely ignore me now?"