A Sanguinary Rose

Sanguine Power

I THREW UP on his rug.

When I regained motor conscience, my knees buckled and I fell on my fours, the reflex at the back of my throat kicking in, too late to stop the acid creeping up and burning my esophagus.

"You have to be kidding me!" Principal Luther said to Mandala. He bounded from the swiveling chair to his feet. "Mind being more careful next time? That smell will be a bitch to scrub off." He turned to me. "What's the matter, Scarlett? Skipping school at the mall?"

"There will be no need for detention. Scarlett's been very cooperative," Mandala said. He had to duck to avoid hitting his head with the door's lintel.

"She's in for detention just for wearing that. C'mon, did you forget the scarlet letter somewhere?" My inner vampire had receded to whatever pit of my psyche it liked to crawl out of, so my frail, human self was back, and his jape pierced right through me. The Principal's bald head gleamed with the fluorescent bars of light. The vein on his forehead threatening to pop became my focal point of staring to calm my temper as he loomed over me with his arms crossed.

A huge hand closed around my arm and yanked me to my feet. "I cannot take her home." Mandala's deep voice said behind me. "She's your problem now."

Principal Luther slid the telephone across his desk. "Call your parents."

"Glad that's settled." There was a rush of air, a flash of light reflected against the glass in the portrait frames and the windows, and the warlock was gone.

The weight of his presence immediately tapered off in the overall mood, and I could tell the Principal became at ease because he sighed and sank back in his chair. "Somebody fetch the janitor. I'm about to get ill."

How would I explain this to my parents? I reached for the phone's handset.

Dad got out to work earlier than all of us in the morning, so it was Mom's turn to freak out when she found my bedroom empty and her daughter nowhere to be found when she called me for breakfast. Thankfully, I rang before it spiraled into cataclysmic proportions. Mom had just hung up after asking Anja on my whereabouts.

I had to make up a flimsy story about how I had to come to school earlier for an economics course.

"Still, why are you not picking up, baby?"

"Um, I was in class."

"Why not text me then?"

"I don't know, Mom. I phased out, okay? Can you please help me out here? I'm about to get detention for being 'improper.' So please don't forget to bring my hoodie, and my sunglasses, too. Uh, and my cellphone, please?"

"Your cellphone? What teenager forgets her cellphone?" I heard a tiny scoff across the line. "All right, but next time leave a message. I had to give my boss a teary-eyed phone call and now I'm gonna have to walk in there pretending to be all relieved. See you in a minute."

"Sorry about that. See ya." I hung up.

Principal Luther stared at me with a smug expression. "What a bad liar you are."

***

By the time I had changed into the clothes I favored taking to school—tubed black jeans, my new anti-UV hoodie, hiking boots—my block period was halfway through its fifty minute mark.

Mr. Royce gave me a passing glance as I stalked along the aisle and took my usual seat next to Anja in the fourth row, and continued his lecture on wendigo conflicts with explorers in the 19th century.

"Where were you? Your mom called me moments ago," Anja said in a conspicuous whisper.

"I'll tell you about it later." I raised my eyebrows at her long blue sleeves of velvet. "How's your... you know?"