HISTORY - The Order - Vera Stone

You're Human, Xander: Part I

One Week Later

"WAIT WHAT!? You're kidding, the Salem witch trials? The hunts, it's all true and now I have a rogue practitioner after me because of you!?"

Xander was pacing, he looked at Vera with something he had long since held back, anger. He looked like rage personified as if the true power behind him had been unleashed for the moment. 

He reined himself in, deciding that losing his temper would do him no good, not right now. 

"Not me, you. The teachings in your class, they warped her mind and now she believes you are one of us. That you are one of us and now she believes herself a crusader, the one to remove our order as a threat to society."'

Vera nursed herself with a glass of bourbon, she looked over the rim of the glass, her eyes twinkling in feigned amusement. In truth, she was worried about what this would mean if Edward Coventry got word of what was to come with this crusader. 

"My teachings? I've done nothing of the sort-"

A mocking snicker escaped Vera. She could see he was confused, maybe he truly didn't know what was happening here.

"History, it made her think and it turned her attention onto us. The reason you were attacked was because of me, due to that, I've decided to place you under the protection of the Belgrave order. You'll be accompanied by one or two of us, we will make sure that she does get you again."

Raising a brow, the classic look that had him suspicious of her, witches? vendettas? What the fuck was this!? It was meant to be university and learning, not Xander Grey and The Revenge of The Rogue Witch! 

"She tried to get me, when? I don't recall, everything is blank for me...what happened?"

Vera leaned forward, closing her eyes as she recalled what happened to the history professor. She knew something must have happened to his memory, considering he did not regard her with anger or suspicion, most mortals did when faced with a witch of her calibre. 

"You were finishing up History...."

- 

One Week Earlier

"Yes, I'm hearing you correctly, Melissa. Only you'll need something other than your mother to research, something that has you tied to another part of your life, another part of your history. It is not simply one thing, it can spread and someone can have a hand in events that take place years after they're gone from this place we call earth."

He shot her an easygoing smile and she gave one in return that did not seem to reach her eyes, the rest of the class had noticed the way Melissa tensed, smiling at her professor. It was all too forced and then there was a gleam in her eyes.

The bell rang, assigning them to find a piece of history that impacted society for the next century or five decades. There were many things to choose from, wars, death, plagues, and crusades. Something that seemed to be calling to one of his students, which is why she hung back. 

He finally turned around, giving her another smile as he neatly placed some of the completed assignments in a pile. 

"Miss Ramirez, you're not usually one to stick behind. So tell me, what do you wish for and how can I be of assistance?"

"I think you can finally admit to yourself that you are working with those....witches."

Xander could not believe his ears, he turned around, facing her with a concerned gaze in his eyes. He wondered for that moment what had gone through her head to make her think of that...fantasy. 

"Excuse me-"

"You are excused professor, I'm going to cleanse you.....it is for a noble cause, I never thought she would get to you as well."

Shooting her that same incredulous gaze, all he could do was mutter to himself before he saw Alyssa Drake muttering under her breath and Melissa was pushed to the side by some unknown force. 

Xander sat there speechless, his eyes wide and his jaw dropped for the slightest of moments before looking at Alyssa. He finally gained the courage to speak but all he heard was Alyssa utter one word... 

"somnum"

After that, his world went dark and little did the history professor know, his world, his entire existence had changed.

-

"You were put to sleep and brought here, she spoke as if she wished to put you to rest. Kill you, to be frank. Usually, something like that is regarded as another day. Only I took that interest to protect you because you have a certain way of teaching your students that gives us an insight into what Melissa Ramirez is planning, I may have fanned the flame so to speak Xander but you, gave that girl the spark to go through with her plan."

Xander sat there quietly throughout the entire tale, it seems like Melissa had been quite busy, during his first week, she had started her crusade. His words had meant something to her, maybe, maybe he could do something about this, he could convince her to turn herself in...maybe this could be all forgotten. 

Xander did not wish to have the blood of an intelligent young woman on his hands. She was someone that had valued him as a guide and she was using it as a way to hunt people down. To get revenge but for what? It was the answer that everyone wished for. 

"I'm not going to give you my speeches or what I do to inspire them, Stone. If killing someone, even a professor, a student is simply seen as another day, another way to get rid and keep your secret then I want no part of it! I'm going to talk with Miss Ramirez, see if I can't speak with her and get her to drop this act before it gets us all killed..."

Vera leaned forward, her eyes soon turned steely instead of the persuasive calm that it held before. Like a dime, she flipped and that is what scared Xander at that moment, what had she been through to make her so desensitized to killing? 

"You're human, Xander. You're thinking this way because you believe there is something to be saved, that girl planned to kill you and if it were not for the efforts of Alyssa Drake and the Blue Rose, she would have succeeded. Simply because I spoke to you, she wishes to kill you, there is no middle ground with her. See that or you will end up dead, and there will be no witches to help you then."

Xander glared at Vera, his eyes narrowing and she simply gave him a sad smile that gave way to the truth of their situation. One that the History Professor did not wish to see, he would save Melissa, no one was too far from saving, he knew that much.

He stormed out of her offices, intending to head back to campus and talk with his wayward student. To bring her back to the correct path and not one of vengeance, he just hoped he could get through to her.