Nail in the Coffin

Hot for Teacher

With a flick of of Enzo's wrist, Matteo is summoned. The black winged bat familiar rests on his shoulder.

He fetches out a bag of papaya chunks from his pocket and feeds one to him. "Officer, say hello again to Matteo."

The bat raises a wing to greet her. She waves back.

"First....wait...third lesson is to summon your familiar aka your magical helper. They help you channel your magic to bend the rules of reality to your wishes. The more you take care of them, the more they will protect you with their life," while he continues to feed him.

Matteo crosses a wing over himself before a little bow.

Imani's mind brings back how the dirty blonde vampire's ice dome over Jack Taylor, the Hunter's poisonous form, and Enzo's shadow magic.

"Stomping my right foot brings it out, right?"

The king of vampire nods. "But you must impart your emotions onto it. It needs to understand besides protection what you need it to do."

"How?"

His index finger gently rubs Matteo's head. His familiar relaxes its lower jaw as a reaction. "When I first summoned him, I wanted a friend. I didn't even know the meaning of that word...but I wanted one."

Imani's eyes almost tear up but keeps herself steady.

He motions her to step inside the inner circle. "This first circle is about your elemental type. But it must be fire based on what I heard. And it's possible for your element to be blended with another."

"And the second circle determines the type of animal? Could I choose one?"

He sighs with regret. "You were hoping for a phoenix? I'm sorry, but the familiar chooses you not the other way around."

"Is there someone who has that?"

His gloved hands clench together as if crushing a stone. Darkness begins to foam around his body before he pulls it back in.

Imani stops her next question. It has to be either the witch or Van Helsing.

Her lips almost tremble from the disappointment, but she steadies herself. Her feet enter the inner circle.

To her surprise, Enzo opens the door for him and Lars to leave.

"Text me when it's summoned. Close your eyes, give it your feelings, and make noise with that stomp! I want to hear it from wherever I am!"

The cabin is now occupied by two.

The Cajun officer closes her eyes while holding onto that amulet. Okay, Imani. Tracasse-toi pas (Don't worry). I can do this.

She pictures her father who's lying in the hospital bed. The urge to rid him of his cancer so he can relax with his loved ones. Her parents laughing again with little Zoe playing with her grandpa. Her initial goal to become a detective real-

A black body bag landing near her feet cuts through her aspirations. Breaths as brittle as glass leave her lips. Her heart wishes to run far away from the bag marked "Property of Baton Rouge Police Department".

Ziiiiiiiiip.

The zipper pulls down enough to reveal a pale man in an orange jumpsuit. Through the long brown hair that covers half of his face, his dead eyes stare right through her.

His blue lips open with shivering breaths. "Why didn't you save me?"

Her feet are frozen by his words. "I-I didn't-I-I"