Eternal Fire

Chapter 8

Azazel's POV

I left her room quietly. It was funny how one woman brought so much light to my life. I hate that she was hurting this way. I went down to the common room and Batair approached me. "Time for my interrogation, " I asked him, and he nodded. I shoved my hands into my pockets and followed after him to the underground interrogation room. Gin was already there waiting on me.

"Where were you coming from? Your roommates hadn't seen you since the announcement, " Batair asked as he sat down next to Gin. Gin was a walking lie detector test, a perfect sit-in when it came to interrogations. "I changed out of my training clothes then went to go see Cleo, " I replied as I sat down. "Cleo? You two close, " He asked me. I nodded, "She's my friend." "Doesn't she hate vampires, " Gin asked me. "She has kept an open mind, " I said while crossing my arms. "Why did you go see her, " Batair asked me. "She found four dead bodies, " I told him. "There is no way I was going to let her be alone after that." "What about Reginald or Kylen, aren't they her friends, " Batair asked me. I scoffed, "They've grown apart. They'll probably tell you it's because of me, but the reality of it is, they just wanted to be popular for knowing the first female warrior." "So did you two talk, " Batair asked me. His accent was barely there when he was so serious, it was a little nerve-wracking.

"Yeah. She told me what she found. She told me how the bodies were crucified, their hearts and tongues missing. She noted there wasn't any blood pooling beneath the bodies despite how horrid it was. She let me bite her, so now she is asleep. Will be for a while, " I explained. Batair looked at Gin and nodded signifying I was telling the truth. Batair sighed, "Good to know the lass is sleeping." Gin nodded, "It'll be hard to sleep after seeing that."

"Besides the elite, what else are we to expect to happen, " I asked them. "We don't know. The council needs to appoint a new High Priest or Priestess to run the school and we need a new Captain, " Gin answered with a sigh. "Best believe the rank will be a-changin' once they get here, " Batair added in. I was able to relax a little easier with his accent being present. "Can I go now, " I asked them.

"Just answer this, " Gin said. "Where were you before the murders were found?" "With Limpert training, " I answered. He nodded and I was free to go. I made my way back up the stairs and saw the common room was nearly deserted.

I made my way up the stairs to my room where my three roommates were already there, talking about what happened, their theories. "The cursed child is back and goes free it seems, " Ashton said from his bed. I rolled my eyes and plopped down on my bed. "So where were you during the murders, " Nicholas asked me. "With my mentor, " I grumbled. "Leave the prince of doom and gloom alone. If Gin was able to see he was telling the truth then he didn't do it, " Dexter grumbled. I rolled over so my back was to them, to get some sleep.

The next morning Jocelyn sat down at the table for breakfast, "Where is Cleo? Is she okay? I heard about her finding the bodies and I wanted to talk to her but she hasn't answered any of my calls. I asked Kylen and Reggie but they didn't know, " Jocelyn said in a rush. "They don't know, because they didn't go check on her last night. I did. She handled what she found in a very healthy way by crying and talking. I then bit her so she would get some sleep without being plagued by nightmares, and yes, I asked her first before doing it, " I told her.

Her shoulders slumped in relief, "That's good to hear. I'm glad she has at least one person in the House of Warriors that actually cares about her." She threw a glare at Reggie and Kylen as they walked by. Reggie stopped and turned to face our table, "He doesn't care. He just wants to get in her pants." I went to stand but Jocelyn caught my arm. "You're an idiot Reginald. You're just jealous you lost your chance to get in her pants. I can tell you, you never had a chance."

Reggie glared but continued walking. I sighed, letting it go. "So when do the Elite warriors get here, " Jocelyn asked me. "Tonight, " I answered. None of us were looking forward to it. I prayed to Andrus that the warriors were simply exaggerating.

I was walking back to the House of Warriors when I saw Cleo leaving. Her hair was in a messy bun, purple sweats, and a black tank top. Her hot pink bra straps stuck out brightly beside the straps of her tank top. "You okay, " I asked her with a raised eyebrow. "Need coffee, " She grumbled. I decided to follow her, "How did you sleep?" "Like a rock, " She said while rubbing her eye. She was a petite woman, so her enhanced strength comes as a great surprise. "So when do those elite people get here, " she asked as she stretched her arms while we walked.

"Tonight, " I replied. "How are you doing?" She sighed and looked down at the ground, "Not as bad as yesterday, but it's still spine chilling. Whoever, or whatever, was able to get the drop on them so easily without getting caught during passing period. Not to mention a warrior walking on patrol didn't see anything either. It had to have taken time to do what was done." She seemed to pale a little but her eyes held a look of stubbornness. She wasn't going to let what happened, deter her in her training.

When she got her coffee we went back to the House of Warriors. The common room was silent, and everyone was beginning to gather. A man stood next to Batair. His eyes were pitch dark thanks to the ability Andrus had given him. His bald head seemed to go shine in the light. He glared when he saw Cleo. "Women aren't allowed in the House of Warriors, " He said. "That's Cleo Norse, " Batair told him. "The first female warrior sir." The man looked at Batair before looking at Cleo once more. "I see, " The man said. I watched Cleo's jaw clench, the same way it did when Captain Roark was being a sexist pig. She was preparing to stand her ground.

"I thought it was a joke, " he said. "You're a small thing." She gave him a smirk, "Even dynamite comes in small packages." The man nodded, "Point taken. Line up." We went and stood with the others.

"I am Vollen Pert, the second in command of the Elite Battalion. I was sent on ahead to inform you all that tomorrow morning be prepared to show each of your special abilities so we know where to rank you, " he said. He then held up a file, "Captain Roark did a horrible job at keeping notes so we need to fix that. These notes will allow us to track your progress, and if you master your gift then it'll allow the council to place you where you're best suited. Everyone meet on the training field at six in the morning. You are dismissed. Except for you girl."

She gave me a reassuring nudge with her hip before she walked over to them. I didn't know if the reassurance was that she was fine or if it was because if she promised not to kill him if he insults her. Either way, it still wasn't that reassuring.