Chapter 2 Σπίτι της νύχτας
A/N Chapter name: House of Night
This House is Haunted – Alice Cooper
"No more singing,
no more laughing,
no more sunny days."
A private jet flight and a fifteen minute motorcycle ride later we had arrived. Razor informed me that the beautiful black and green camo motorcycle was mine to keep while I stayed here. I was overjoyed at the news to say the least, and so far it was the only good thing to come out of moving here. When I looked at the creep-tastic school in front of me I began to think that it would be the last good thing I would get for a while.
I followed Razor up to the entrance. He looked at the gate with a puzzled expression on his face. I came up next to him and saw that the gate was locked.
"How do you suppose we get in?" He asked. I looked at him incredulously. "Without breaking in." He added when he saw my look.
Well, damn. I searched for a call box but didn't see one.
"Maybe we should have called." He muttered.
Suddenly, behind the gates a girl appeared. Being the bad asses that we are, Razor and I only gave a slight jump at the startle.
"Who are you?" She asked. Her voice held a southern accent that I instantly loved.
"I am here to speak with the High Priestess of this House of Night." Razor said, jumping from fun and silly friend to a serious and mature Councilor.
The girl came closer to the gate and I saw a red colored in crescent moon with beautiful designs framing her face and brown eyes. Her curly golden locks swished as she moved. She had on a cute cowgirl outfit that I would be willing to die for.
"Did you call and let her know you were comin' ?" She asked. I almost giggled when I saw Razor's face hold back a grimace.
"No. Our... reason for being here requires a little more delicacy than a conversation on the phone would provide." He said vaguely.
She stared at us for a moment and then made a decision on what to do. "I'll be right back." She said. Five minutes later she was back with a tall muscular man whose head was marked with a filled in blue crescent moon and his face also framed with designs. He opened the gate and walked to us.
He held out his hand to me, and for a moment I didn't understand what he wanted until he pointedly looked at my backpack on my shoulder. Thanking Aether that I had had the bright idea to stick Empyrean (a handgun my father had given to me) in the smaller bag that was still on the motorcycle, I handed my bag over to the man and after a swift look through he gave it back.
He looked at Razor and motioned for us to follow him. The girl wordlessly followed right behind him. With a look back at me Razor put his hand on my back as we followed. Apparently, we looked trustworthy enough not to be patted down. Good thing too, because my pocket knife probably would have denied us entrance.
The grounds were quiet as we walked through. The sun had been below the horizon now for over an hour and I wondered where all the fledglings were as we passed through what was obviously a campus. A chilly wind blew through the dying trees and knocked several hard, dry leaves to the ground.
Winter is coming. I thought, bemusedly. My wolf was itching to stretch its legs in the snow. If I was to go based off of biology class the only time I would have a separate mental state known as my "wolf" would be during the winter, when game would be scarce (it was a survival thing); but because of my ability to be the special kid, my wolf had been here for a good week and a half now.
A low whistle caught my attention and I noticed that the muscled man, cowgirl, and Razor had gotten a few yards ahead. Razor looked at me with worried eyes and, jogging to catch up with them, I smiled apologetically.
"Sorry." I said to our guides. The cowgirl nodded at me with a smile, but the muscled man just began to walk again. When we reach a room at the end of the hall, the man knocked on the door gentler than should be possible for someone of his size.
"Come in." A feminine voice said from the other side. Muscle man opened the door and we all filed in behind him.
An older woman was sitting behind a desk doing paper work and as she lifted her head and I gasped aloud. Her face held the now familiar mark of a Vampyre, but what astounded me was the beautiful horse markings that framed her face.
"Beautiful." I murmured.
"Thank you." She smiled. She looked at Razor and nodded her head. "You wanted to speak with me?" She asked.
"Yes but..." He eyed the cowgirl and muscle man. "It is something that will need to be said with a little more privacy."
"They are here in case you are a threat." The High Priestess stated. "We do not know who you are nor why you have come here. You could be religious activists here to kill me."
"Alright." Razor nodded accepting her explanation. "I guess introductions are in order." He stood straight.
"I am Eugene Razor. Son of the Light God Aether and Councilor of the Canyon National Park, California House of Light. I am here on the behalf of my pup who has been marked by my God as well as your Goddess." He removed his bandana and nodded to me to remove my hat. We had put them on as a precaution to keep away human suspicion.
The high priestess looked at him for a moment studying his mark and then mine. Her expression moved from shock to confusion to anger.
"Who is responsible for this?" She asked angrily to muscle man and cowgirl. Both looked at her with shocked expressions.
"What-?" Cowgirl began.
"No, High Priestess. They had nothing to do with this." Razor said.
"I don't know what kind of a prank you think you are pulling, but you need to leave now." She spat.
Fear shot through me as her words hit me like a bullet. If I left I would have to find another House of Night to go to, but without an adult Vampyre I doubted I would make the trip.
"High Priestess-" Razor began.
"Now." she said. She moved towards us at what was probably a fast walk, but in my scared mind it was way too fast for safety, and my wolf burst from the fringes of my mind. Her growl erupted from my chest as she glared at the High Priestess.
She froze as she caught my glowing eyes. Razor did not move as I tried to gain control of my wolf. My eyes never left the High Priestess but I heard muscle man move closer to us. Razor moved next to me, a deep rumbling growl ripping its way from his throat.
"Don't." He snarled.
I grabbed my talisman, focused on my human side, and pulled myself back together. If muscle man didn't listen to Razor I knew that Razor would kill him thus sending me to an early grave, because I'm sure killing someone is not a way to express how much you want to stay in their home.
"I am Samantha Fin. Daughter of the Light God Aether and Nyx, Goddess of Night. I am both Wolvyn and Vampyre. Previously I went to Canyon National Park, California House of Light, but now I am here asking to join the Tulsa, Oklahoma House of Night. I am the first of my kind and if you send me out I will die." The last part of my speech came out a little desperate.
A hand landed on my shoulder and I look up and see Razor looking at me with proud eyes. We both moved our eyes back to the High Priestess. She was looking at us with a blank face and not knowing what to make of it, I reached for my Talisman again for comfort.
"You say that you are the children of the God... Aether?" she asks.
"Yes." Razor answered. "He is the son of your Goddess."
"I had never known that Nyx had birthed a son, or that he has chosen children."
Razor nodded. "We are a young race. Much younger than yours and we are very cautious on who learns our secret."
"Do you know any of our customs?" She asked.
"Only a few. What we do know we pass along to our pups so that if they ever met a Vampyre they would not be disrespectful."
"Who are these pups you speak of? Are they your children?"
"Yes and no. They are similar to your fledglings only they do not need to be around an adult Wolvyn to survive their change. We call them pups because they are ours to take care of once they move into our houses. Similar to a wolf pack helping take care of another wolf's pups."
The Priestess opened her mouth to ask another question when I began to violently cough.
"Shit." I heard Razor curse as I tilt towards the ground.
"Sam?" His voice called from a tunnel. I had forgotten about the side effects I had gotten whenever I had been marked for Aether. When I had arrived at the House of Light I had been bedridden for a week, suffering from a horrible cough that brought up blood. I guess it made sense that the Goddess' mark would effect me as well.
My chest burned from lack of oxygen and I felt hands roll me to my side and a pounding fist on my back. My eyes watered and I instinctively reached for my throat as if there was something I needed to dislodge.
"Come on Sam, breathe. Breathe God dammit!" Razor shouted from the tunnel. Suddenly air, blessed air, rushed into my suffocating lungs. I was still coughing, mind you, but I was able to take in a breath before it started up again.
"Is she gonna be alright?" I heard cowgirl ask.
"Yes. I think so." Razor said uncertainly. He and I both knew that we did not know the cause of my reaction or if it would ever kill me.
"What happened?" The High Priestess demanded.
"I don't know." Razor said, worry etching into his tone. "The same thing happened when she was marked for Aether and it lasted about a week or so but... this time was worse. It's like she's having some kind of allergic reaction to the marks."
"Let's take her to the infirmary. We might have something that can help her." Razor nodded and lifted me off the ground.
"Today just isn't your day." Razor muttered.
No, it truly wasn't.