A Drop Of Haunted Blood

Chapter Ten: An Unexpected Field Trip

Thursday morning, Felix and Arisa barely had time to finish their breakfast before Sebastian showed up, clapping his hands together.

"I got the king's permission to take you kids to Everett," Sebastian announced, as if Felix and Arisa would understand what the big deal was.

"What's in Everett?" Felix asked. The city wasn't far from where he lived, but he had never been except to drive through it.

"The site of a demon killing," Sebastian said. "The demons were weak, but there were two of them, which is unusual."

"Even weak demons are really rare, though." Arisa looked to where Clementine sat on the table. The bear nodded in agreement.

"They're supposed to be." Sebastian rested his arms on the back of one of the table's many empty chairs and leaned forward. "There was actually a more powerful demon just south of Seattle, but the king didn't want us going that far. That one was killed a couple weeks ago, so the site's probably stale, anyway."

"Uh, is this safe?" Felix asked.

"Perfectly safe. The demons are gone," Sebastian said. "All that's left is a trace of their magical energy, and that'll fade over the next few weeks. But this is a great opportunity to learn about handling demons, even if you won't be running into them anytime soon."

"Will we be gone all day?" Arisa asked.

Sebastian shook his head. "There's a party of sorts for the Guardians tonight. We'll come back in the afternoon so that I can get ready for that."

"A party?" Felix asked. "Are we invited?"

"Sorry, it's for graduated Guardians only," Sebastian replied. "We'll be discussing missions and whatnot, anyway. You'd be bored."

"Is it here at the castle?" Arisa asked.

"Nope. A wealthy Guardian's house." Sebastian straightened up. "Guy named Ernest Abernathy. He throws these parties all the time. I think he just likes gossip."

Felix frowned. "Abernathy? As in Eliza Abernathy? From the council?"

"Yeah, she's his cousin. The Abernathys kind of suck as people, but they are rich, so I enjoy stealing their food." Sebastian stretched out his arms. "Anyway, I don't anticipate any trouble today, but bring weapons just in case. Standard protocol. I'll meet you at the front of the castle in half an hour."

Once Sebastian was gone, Arisa leaned forward toward Felix. "Everett is where my parents were last week."

"What were they doing?" Felix picked up his glass of orange juice.

"They were also looking for a demon." Arisa shook her head. "It's weird. Like Seb said, demons are supposed to be really rare. Even the weak ones."

"Hm." Felix finished the last of his juice. "Do you think we should be scared?"

"Not as long as we're with Sebastian. I just feel like there has to be a reason this is happening."

They dropped off their empty trays and went their separate ways to get ready. On his way out of the dining hall, Felix found himself staring at a group of students that passed by him. The kids laughed with each other as they carried their food to their table.

The Bright Academy students tended to steer clear of Felix, or at the very least pretend they didn't see him. He wondered if it was because of his family's deaths, or because of Gideon's soul. He also wondered if under different circumstances, or if he weren't on probation, he'd be friends with any of them.

After picking out a green shirt and changing into his uniform, Felix grabbed Helena's sword, even though he still had little practice with it. He also wore Mom's ring around his neck, as usual, and brought along Gideon's necklace, though he kept that in a plastic bag shoved way down in the bottom of his backpack.