Obscure

forty three

SOPHIE SHOOK her head. She skimmed through her memories of Eli. All she remembered was that he had gone over a brief history of supernatural creatures, like with the extinct fairies and whatnot. There was no mention of a war.

Wolfe had mentioned a war, however.

The Headmaster examined her thoroughly, his expression placid. His gaze was hard and calculating. "That comes as a bit of a surprise," he murmured under his breath. "I assumed that he had told you everything about it. Do you have any idea about the war?"

She shook her head again, staying silent. She didn't want to divulge into her mind link with Wolfe. A small voice in the back of her mind said that the Headmaster wouldn't be fond of that kind of knowledge.

"Figures," he said with a sigh and leaned back in his chair. "Humans are so blind. So naïve."

Her fingers twitched. She clasped her hands together and continued to stare at him, attempting to look lost and confused. He stared at her for a moment longer. His eyes disturbed her; there was an ancient, endless depth to them. When she looked into his eyes, she felt centuries pass.

"The war started ages ago," the Headmaster said, and his ancient eyes glowed. "Vampires have always been the strongest of the supernatural world, and the most prosperous. In the middle ages, we ruled."

Sophie pressed her lips together. She didn't remember reading about vampire kings in any of her history classes.

"Our kind attempted to spread our wealth and power to the other supernatural beings as well. We wanted them to be just as prosperous. It was also hoped that the separate species could come together under one rule, as one empire."

Then he sighed and his expression became cynical. "Then the mangy mutts decided to rebel."

"You mean werewolves?" Sophie asked.

"Well yes, that would be the technical term for those creatures," the Headmaster said shortly. His arms crossed in front of him on the desk, his hands clenched into tight fists. "According to them, our kind has tried to suppress their kind. Our kindhearted attempts at uniting the supernatural world were nothing but attempts to restrain their kind. And with their defiance, most of the other supernatural creatures seemed to follow suit."

Sophie stared at the desk. It was filled with the simple essentials: pencils, pens, a calendar, and a bland lamp. It was bare, and devoid of any personal items. "What does that mean?" she asked.

His eyes hardened. "It means that we are alone, my dear Sophie. It's us against a world full of enemies, and it is my job to protect you –you and all the other fledglings."

Sophie felt her eyebrow twitch upward.

"That's why I started this academy," the Headmaster continued. He seemed to ignore the slight fluctuation in her expression. He clasped his hands together and continued to stare at her with steely eyes. "The night class consists of fledgling vampires, such as yourself. It is intended to help you not only adjust to this new lifestyle, but also to teach you how to protect yourself. The attacks against poor Eli and various other students on this campus weren't just random."

At that she straightened. "You mean Alex wasn't the first one murdered here?"

The Headmaster's gaze narrowed. He shook his head and his jaw clenched. "No, Alex was not the first. There have been quite a few others that have either gone missing or were murdered on property. These kind of incidents have become more frequent over the last semester or so. We have tightened security, and I have increased the level of training the fledgling classes receive."

Then he paused. The emotion that seemed to flood his features scared her. He turned his ancient eyes toward his hands and said, "Eli was my most prolific fighter." His voice shook with anger. "And since he was outdone so...easily."

"He fought," Sophie whispered. The memory flashed across her mind's eye, and she grimaced before she could stop herself. "He fought trying to protect me," she continued. It was her fault that he had died. He was so concerned with her; he had been distracted.

"He had a weakness," the Headmaster said. The anger had vanished, and that ice cold demeanor had returned. "And I refuse to allow that to happen again."

Sophie didn't understand what he meant by that. He couldn't force someone not to have feelings for someone, or not to be distracted. But before she could say anything, he continued.

"Your classes will start tonight. You'll find that while the sunlight won't kill you, it will make you uncomfortable."

"Wait," Sophie said, and shook her head. "Tonight? Classes are already back in session? What happened to the games? What about Eli?"

The Headmaster regarded her with a level look. "Consistency is important in a school environment, Sophie. Especially for humans. This academy may be intended for vampire fledglings, but are still human students that attend this school. I can't just ignore that."

"But that can't just not know that Eli was murdered." The words were like spikes in her mouth. She swallowed hard, and fought the urge to shudder. "He was very...active in the Day class as well. The students would definitely notice his absence."

The Headmaster nodded. "Indeed they would. I suppose I am to blame for Eli being so involved in the Day Class. The Day Class students are aware of his death, and a ceremony is scheduled in several days to allow them to mourn. Several vigils have already been held; I've learned that humans require much more time to recover from a situation like this."

"And the games?"

"Have been ended for this year. There were no winners. The death of two students have taken priority over a silly little competition."

Sophie didn't know how to respond. She felt it was ridiculous that she was expected to just attend classes tonight, without any time to really recover from what had happened. Her humanity had been stripped from her and someone very close to her was murdered. She hadn't had any time to really process that.

And now she was expected to do math?

The Headmaster seemed to read her mind. "You'll find that your new classes are very different from the ones that you have had previously," he said. He reached over and collected a stack of papers.

"What's this?" she asked as he handed a piece of paper to her. Her eyes skimmed over it. It was another schedule, filled with classes that she didn't recognize.

He smiled at her and passed her a key as well. His ancient eyes glowed. "I believe you will be able to locate your new dorm room on your own. You'll need this to get inside."

Sophie picked up the key. It looked like any ordinary old house key. "But I..."

The Headmaster quickly cut her off, and dismissed her. "I'm sure you'll find that the Night Class is very different from the Day Class. Dorms included. We can continue to talk once things have settled down. Enjoy your classes, my dear."