Once upon a Midnight | BOOK I

Nineteen

It wasn't until dinner that I realised how much our numbers had dwindled. The first night, we were fourteen in number, now, we were nine. Mikoto and Nicolas didn't show up at the dining room, and it made me worried. I sat with Khalil who was busy telling me about an encounter of his with a night fairy. He spoke on while stuffing his mouth with loads of an unknown delicacy.

"Aren't you hungry?" the shapeshifter asked I noticed that he'd made his cheekbones higher and his lips fuller this time around. He pointed at the plate before me. I'd barely touched my plate of fish and chips. And no, it wasn't because Morgana called me fat. I might have a generous behind and a rather curvy hip, but I wasn't fat.

"Have you seen Nicolas at all?" I ate a chip and pushed the plate away. All day, I've been thinking about more possibilities of sealing the shadow queen forever. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me. I scanned my grimoire for some binding spells, and even made an enquiry about binding spells in the library. I figured that with the celestial magic I now had, the chances of sealing my grandmother had increased. But I needed fresh eyes on the matter. I needed Nicolas.

"Oh, I see... Boyfriend problem," Khalil mused, a small smile playing around his lips.

"No it isn't a–"

"I completely understand." He winked. "I haven't seen him since this afternoon. I think he went to earth to do something. He should be in his room now though."

"His room? This castle is like a maze. How will I ever find his room?" I sighed.

"I don't know the map accurately, but I can lead you to his room." Khalil muttered something and placed a palm on my forehead. Immediately, a map leading to Nicolas' room popped up in my head.

"Thanks, mate," I said as I got up.

"And, Kim," he called out behind me. "If you need any drugs to make things more fun, I've got you covered." He winked again.

"Thanks but, no, thanks," I hissed before leaving. I passed through a series of hallways and rooms with my only company being the floating balls of light that littered the entire castle. I imagined what the school would have looked like during a buzzing school section. It definitely wouldn't be as eerie as it was now. After a little while, the map brought me to a stop at the room at the end of a hallway.

There, I heard the most melodious violining I've ever heard. It was so beautiful, I decided to take a minute to listen to the melody. A moment later, the beautiful melody was accompanied by a sirenic voice. The music suddenly didn't feel melodious to me anymore, it chilled my bones and there was only one thought in my head; someone was using siren magic on Nicolas. I didn't wait for another breath before I barged into the room yelling, "Nicolas." My embarrassment knew no bounds when I saw Mikoto in the room.

One word to describe the room? Fiery. The general features were just like my room's, but Mikoto stood in front of the window, looking at the full moon like a nymph straight out of fire. As she stroke the violin with her stick, strands of fire would be created and would join the other strands of fire that littered the room. There was a nine-tailed fox sitting on the windowsill, and Mikoto was surrounded by a line of fire that circled round her slowly. As she sang I noticed the teardrops that slid down her eyes and I could feel the pain that seeped into the air around her.

She turned around and all the music and magick stopped. The fire around her and the fiery strands dissolved into nothing, and the kitsune transformed back to its false face and leapt off the windowsill. In a flash, Mikoto had her katana at my throat.

"You're dead," she said, tilting her head to one side.

"What?" I moved backwards immediately while thinking of a quick defense spell.