The Hunters of Sian

The Tattoos

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Chapter Nineteen

The Tattoos

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When Nell finally dragged himself off to bed, he was greeted by Sallos pulling back the blankets for him. He clambered in and went face first into the pillows, mentally and physically exhausted. Distantly, he heard the demon beside him chuckle quietly before he was swept under by sleep. His trained body woke him at dawn despite his tiredness. He hesitated in the dark. He had no fitness class to go to this morning.

'Sleep a little longer. I will wake you for the morning meal. Then we will go get your exams feedback and tattoo,' Sallos melodic voice murmured from behind him. Nell gave a sleepy noise in reply and closed his eyes. He was glad for the extra couple of hours. When Sallos roused him a while later, he was still tired but at least he felt functional. He stretched, back muscles and shoulders popping. Despite the healing, his knuckles were still bruised on one hand. He shuffled to get dressed and, still yawning, followed his master down the stone steps to the food hall.

Jeremy, looking tired but still smug, greeted them. The atmosphere this morning was cheerful, people reviving over their food and coffee. The boys collected their breakfast and sat at the apprentice table.

'Do you think the tattoos will hurt much?' Marshall asked as he joined them.

'Depends how they apply them. I've heard of them being done using magic which probably wouldn't be so bad but most regular tattoos are done with needle stippling,' Jeremy said thoughtfully. At the mention of the word needle, Marshall's face lost some colour.

'I think there is another method where they inject the ink under the skin into the muscle...' he added.

'Stop!' Marshall squeaked. His white face was starting to go a little green. Jeremy shrugged and took a huge bite of his sausage. Nell was excited to get his tattoo. It would make them official apprentices, obvious to the eye of anyone who saw them. He ate quickly. He wanted to be done with the morning meal already.

He was forced to wait impatiently as everyone finished. Finally, his classmates and their masters and mistresses rose and headed away from the hall. He fell into step beside Sallos, his whole body practically vibrating with excitement. Sallos raised an eyebrow but made no comment as they headed away from the bustling hall to meet with the examiners.

As they entered the library, the same whip thin librarian eyed them suspiciously. Her eyes narrowed as Jeremy sauntered in.

'We're allowed in here,' Jeremy said, completely unable to hide his glee. The demoness raised one very thin eyebrow.

'I can see that,' she said coolly.

Before Jeremy could say anything else, Furcus cuffed him lightly across the back of his head. 'Don't push yer luck brat,' the old hunter grumbled. Jeremy gave Nell a wink. Nell shook his head, amused, and followed Sallos through a massive archway.

'Sit,' Cadric bellowed as the class all shuffled in. The students sat. The demons made a circle around them. It was rather disconcerting, long shadows of horns and tails cast onto them as they got comfortable. Arabella, Vlam and Curt stood beside Cadric at the front.

'First off, I suppose I must issue some form of congratulation as all of you idiots somehow managed to scrape a pass,' Cadric sneered good naturedly. Given his usually abrasive attitude, this was probably the best compliment any of them were going to get. Jeremy grinned.

'You can wipe those smug looks off your faces now because despite your pass, it ain't that simple,' Cadric barked. The smiles on the humans faded a little. Nell felt his nervousness and uncertainty creep back in. What exactly was Cadric trying to say?