Tainted Love
Part One- Malicious Intent
Author's Note: Damn, this took a long time to post, didn't it? Well, I honestly didn't know where to go from chapter 5….
Chapter Six
Cat slouched a little in her chair, the bar was hazy, smoky, but she didn't mind. Tucking the cigar back into her mouth, she looked down at her cards. Good hand, she smirked, looking across the table at Jimmie. He glared back at her, tapping his cigarette into the ash tray next to him. The crowd of people around cheered her on, she was their hero.
She wouldn't have to go back to lodging house tonight, Cat thought to herself. She would walk the streets, watching the stars, sleeping would be optional. Tomorrow she would play the track with some of the money she won tonight, and all would be well, at least in her mind.
She was Anthony "Racetrack" Higgins, all she knew was gambling…
Cat sat up with a start, regretting it as soon as she did it. Her neck and wrist still hurt, what a way to remember. The sunlight streamed into her room, Monday morning. Monday meant school, the beginning of the week. How could she go to school now? She was a Necromancer, didn't that give her something? All she could do right now was rot random vampires and draw them like flies.
What was with her dream? The one about Racetrack. Well, it wasn't exactly about Racetrack was it? It seemed to be set in an old time, and he was her age. This couldn't be part of her whole Necromancer thing, as far as she knew, Racetrack wasn't a vampire. She had no sense of his aura, so she really couldn't tell. He couldn't…could he?
She curled into the dress shirt she usually wore to bed now. She couldn't help it, it gave her so much comfort. Cat cast a withering glance at the clock, which decided to buzz to life, reminding her that she had to go to school today.
Wonderful.
Gee fixed the little belt that hung around her waist. School uniforms sucked, she knew that, so she, like many other girls, added a little personal touch. Her belt was basically a chain around her waist, with a little charm hanging from it.
A dream catcher, actually. Gee didn't like to say she was obsessed with them, she had them all over her room, had one in her locker, and a few over doorways and windows in her apartment. She thought that they kept unwanted evil spirits away.
Like Spot, her heart thudded painfully in her chest when she thought of him. Jack said that he would behave, and what happened? He got away, and so far, from what she knew, Jack and Racetrack couldn't find him. Wonderful, a psychotic vampire on the loose.
Speaking of psychotic vampires…her thoughts strayed to David and Mush. What was happening to Mush right now? Why did they have to wait till tomorrow night to find out? Poor Mush could be dead at the moment, and Jack, his master, couldn't care less. She couldn't understand that, but who was she to question vampires? She could turn into a wolf whenever she wanted, except for on the full moon, when she had to.
God, if only her parents knew…She stopped by her mirror, running a brush through her dark, blue streaked hair. Gee wanted more than anything to just skip out of school today, but she knew that she had to go. Not only because she needed a decent education, but it was Racetrack's first day.
She, Cat, and the others agreed that it would be a good idea to keep Racetrack, a tie to the "good" vampires, around. It was almost too easy to transfer him from whatever school he was in before.
"Regina!" Gee jumped as her father called her name. She could picture him in his room, packing for his next trip, and then remembering her had a daughter who went to school.
"I'm leaving now Dad!" She called back.
"Are you sure you'll be okay alone for three whole weeks?" His voice called from his bedroom again, Gee flinched as a crashing sound filled the air. Dad must have knocked something over.
"I'll be fine Dad! You have a good time in Milan!" Sure, she envied her father going on business trips around the world like he did, but hey, he kept him out of her business, and what business it was.
"It's not fun! It's business!" Gee smirked to herself,.
"Bye Dad!" She cried. "I love you!"
"I love you too honey!"
Her smile was sad as she walked into the hallway, on her way to the elevator. He didn't know just how much she loved him, and if something would happen to her…
She didn't want to think like that.
With a swift movement, Cat struck her match against the rough brick wall of the school. Holding the lit match to her cigarette, she took a deep breath as soon as it was lit. Ah…this was what she needed. The usual looks of disdain from her fellow students. No one wanting her blood because it was as rare as a fine wine, no lessons in vampire politics. Just a bunch of people believing that she was a psycho killer.
She was a killer, yes, but she wasn't a psycho. Cat exhaled, letting out a stream of smoke. She watched it lazily as it drifted through the air.
This was her idea of normalcy.
Dear God, she was there already. Racetrack could see her leaning against the wall of the school, looking completely comfortable in her sweet school uniform. He could see the chain around her waist, and if he looked close enough, he could see the pentagram. Gee must have put her up to it, Gee knew a lot about witches and things like that. Almost too much.
Racetrack bit his lip, watching her from afar. She didn't know that he was a vampire, he could block his aura from her, thank God. He watched her flick the cigarette away, ready to go into the school. Yeah, he wanted to talk to her, let her know that it was okay that she was…what she was.
He knew she would have a hard time with her powers, which was why they decided she couldn't be the gift to David; accidentally rotting him would NOT be a good idea. Racetrack remembered Crutchy, that old illusion mage, but he was old, almost as old as her was. Magic kept Crutchy alive, and glamours made him look the way he did. To drink the blood of a person with magic is to drink the magic as well, Crutchy would only die.
Who else? He knew of a few people, he could call in a few favors, but why? This would be putting more people on the line; did he really want to do that? Maybe he could talk to Cat about it, but as he began to walk to where she was, he saw that she was gone.
He had missed his chance.
Madeline took another hit off her inhaler, she couldn't help it, school made her so nervous! Sometimes the very thought of it would start her wheezing. She couldn't help being fragile, that was just the way she was.
She smoothed her unruly tawny colored hair, silently wishing that she didn't have such curly hair. Her copper colored eyes darted every which way as she caught odd looks from the students around her.
Yeah, she thought. Look whose back from the hospital. Missed me much? She knew no one missed her, she knew no one would even remember she was there. She didn't care though, after a few months in the hospital for pneumonia, she was just happy to see the sunshine again.
She scrambled into her seat, folding her hands and looking down. She was sitting next to a strange girl with black hair and even stranger blackish purple eyes. The girl next to her shivered as though a cold wind went through her; she looked up to meet Madeline's eyes.
"H-hello," Madeline said. Why did she have to stutter!? The girl's black violet eyes bored through her, and Madeline shivered, there was this strange, cold, deathlike feeling around this girl, and it was hard to explain.
"Hey," the girl replied. The feeling about this girl was too strong, Madeline was forced to take another hit off her inhaler.
"I'm s-s-sorry," Madeline said. "I h-h-have asthma" She bit her lip nervously, why was she boring this girl with her life story? "I'm s-s- sorry," she apologized for no reason at all.
"It's okay," the girl said slowly. "I'm Cat."
Cat, what a strange name for the girl, but oddly fitting.
"M-M-M-Madeline, but you c-c-can c-c-cal me M-Maddy.."
Could this day get any odder? The new girl, who wasn't really new, she just got out of the hospital or something, had an odd, human-but-not feeling to her. She wasn't a vampire, or wereanything, if she wasn't mistaken, this Maddy girl was a mage, kind of like her, but she had a sense of the forest around her, not death. She sighed as the girl took yet another hit from her inhaler.
Racetrack was supposed to be in this class with her, she'd tell him about the feeling, and maybe they could get her over to their side, as the gift for David. Cat knew that it was a little ruthless, just to befriend this girl to hand her over to a psychotic vampire, but they needed a gift badly, and this girl might be it.
Someone slid into the seat on her other side, and Cat looked up eagerly to see Racetrack. His warm brown eyes were happy to see her and a few classmates gave the boy and odd look. Who would be hanging out with the psycho?
"Hey Race," she said quietly. She was happy to see him; he made her think she had friends. Maddy looked at Racetrack and sighed, as though she had lost a great battle. Racetrack looked at the girl, and his eyes widened a fraction.
"I know!" Cat whispered to him, leaning in close. "You feel it too?"
"Yea, shesa mage, but I really can't tell which," he whispered back. "Where did ya find her?"
"She found me!" Cat was getting overexcited. There were more people like her! Well, not exactly, but this Maddy girl was sort of like her, and she didn't feel like that much of a freak.
"Well, people with magic us'lly are 'tracted to each otha," he replied. Suddenly, Cat was very aware of just how close she was to Racetrack, close enough to breath his distinctive, earthy smell that made her heart race (no pun intended), with a snap, she practically fell back in her chair. Instead, she fell against Maddy, both of their auras flaring.
Gee's head snapped up from her math book, trig could wait, she felt something. Someone was doing a spell, and it wasn't Cat, this magic was pure, alive. Cat dealt in death only, this was a spell of life, and it was being done during school hours.
A few of the kids looked up from their books too, she knew they were probably psychic; the derndest people could surprise her like that.
Where was this mage? Gee was trying to figure out its element. Did Cat feel it too? Did Racetrack? She eased her racing heart, trying to ignore the magical energies practically choking the air. Hopefully this spell wasn't dangerous…
Outside, Horace Knightly lit a cigarette. School could blow him for all he cared, he was just trying to get to graduation. Leaning against the cool, rough, brick of the building, he stuck the cigarette in his mouth. Yeah, this is how he could get through school.
Suddenly, he heard a strange sound, like something coming up from the earth beneath him. Looking down, he saw a bunch of thorny vines growing at the base of the school, a few were already growing up his legs. He only had time to get a scream out, before they tangled around him, silencing him.
Cat steadied Maddy, who was having a severe asthma attack from when they knocked into each other. The inhaler was empty, just their luck. The teacher gave Cat and Racetrack permission to escort Maddy to the nurse, and make sure she didn't die along the way. Racetrack ran his handkerchief under one of the water fountains before running back and handing it to Maddy. "Here, breathe through dis." Cat gave him a semi-amused look. "We're not in a fire." "We might be." Maddy herself was panicking, just her luck! Her inhaler ran out, she was having an attack, and two people with death auras were around her. A strange energy had reacted to Cat's death aura as well, and Maddy could only assume that the energy was hers. Could it be? No, she couldn't. This energy felt special, magical. Maddy was just…Maddy. "Madeline-" "M-M-M-Maddy!" "Maddy, do ya feel any weird energy or somethin'? Like right now?" Racetrack tried his best to be kind to her. The hallway was getting darker, which was rather odd. Cat looked over to the window. Her eyes widened, but she said nothing. "I d-d-d-do," Maddy told him. This energy was flowing through her, and it gave her peace.
Cat tugged on Racetrack's sleeve. "Hey Race, can I do that?" She pointed to the window, and Racetrack's eyes followed.
"Holy-" Thorny vines completely covered the school, clogging the windows, blocking the light, and freaking the normal student's out.
Maddy looked at the vines already breaking through the window. "Oh m- my…" she said quietly. Those vines…they were hers, she knew it!
"Earth mage," Racetrack said. Suddenly, a large creaking sound filled the air, and Cat and Racetrack exchanged looks.
"Don't even tell me that the thorny things were constricting the school…"
"I think so," Racetrack replied.
"What's g-g-g-going on!?" Maddy wheezed, surprisingly, breathing through the wet handkerchief was actually making her feel better. Her breathing was slowly becoming even, and she had a feeling that the soothing energy going through her had something to do with it as well.
"Maddy, is this you?" Cat asked. Maddy ran her hand through her tawny hair.
"I th-think so…" Racetrack and Cat exchanged looks.
Gee yawned languidly as the other kids around her screamed. Screaming wasn't going to stop the vines from crushing the school, but if the mage learned control, the vines would stop then.
She raised her hand, the only one still in her seat. Her teacher looked at the girl as though she were crazy.
"May I go to the bathroom?" Gee asked politely.
Maddy watched as the vines began to constrict the school. She wanted more than anything to stop this, she was causing this. It didn't seem possible. Racetrack looked at her as though he had no idea what to do, this wasn't his forte, he needed Gee for this.
Cat was vaguely surprised, another mage in this school? Awesome, she wasn't alone. Okay, so she had Gee, but Gee was trying to hard to be her mother or something. She had one of those….sort of .
"We need Gee, don't we," she said, her voice deadpan.
"Yeah, she knows what tah do."
"What if she can't get out of her class?"
"I don't think the teachers'll care."
"You most certainly cannot!" Her teacher said. Gee's heart fell. The school was going to die or something, and Gee couldn't stop it? What the heck?
"Why not?" Gee asked, straining to maintain her politeness.
The teacher stuck a pencil in her hair, looking defiant.
"You might cut class."
"She's not coming," Cat decided. "She would be all over this by now." Racetrack couldn't stop pacing, and Maddy was on the verge of tears. He only knew of one way to stop the crazy overuse of power like this, and that would sort of be giving his big secret away.
"Cat, yer gunna hafta do dis one by yehself," Racetrack told her. "I don't have any magic a myself ya know, I'm more of a…watcha den anythin' else."
"Me? But I'm a Necromancer…I can't."
"Okay, as a Necromancer, you kin drain de energy-a otha people, kinda like what'cha did wit da vamp at Spot's party, 'Member?"
"Vaguely, you want me to do that now?"
"Jus' don't do too much, okay?"
"Alright," she took his hand, giving it a little squeeze. "Stop me if I get too…crazy."
Something flashed in Racetrack's eyes, remembrance maybe? Cat shrugged, turning to Maddy. "I'm sorry Maddy…"
"W-w-w-w-w-what?" Suddenly, Maddy grasped her chest, something was pulling at her heart, and she dropped to her knees. She was so weak, so sleepy…what was Cat doing? She looked up at her. Cat's hand was outstretched, and to her horror, she could see a green energy wind around her fingers.
Cat wound this energy, this light, around her fingers as she took the energy from Maddy. She glance at Racetrack, who just looked nervous, he couldn't see the magic coming from Maddy, which was sad. It was so beautiful.
The creaking sound stopped, and the vines began to recede. Cat's hand was still outstretched.
"Racetrack…" she said quietly. "Stop me." Racetrack looked at her, the color leaving his face. She couldn't stop herself, she didn't learn control yet. He grabbed her hand, but it didn't seem to snap her out of it. Pushing her against the wall, he buried his face into her neck. Not biting…never biting, but just giving her a small, light kiss on a freckle at the base of her throat.
The familiarity of the kiss startled Cat, and her hand dropped lifelessly to her side. Madeline slumped to the ground, alive, but tired as all hell. Cats around slipped around Racetrack's waist, and he tensed. What was she doing?
Cat felt safe, she didn't know why, but she just wanted to be like this. It wasn't Racetrack, not really, although she was rather happy he was the one to stop her, anyone could have done that, and they would have gotten the same reaction. He was her anchor, and she needed something to hold on to.
Racetrack closed his eyes. This wouldn't exactly last, not really. Most likely Cat was just randomly attracted to the dead aspect of his personality, she didn't mean to, it was the death mage in her, the Necromancer. Maddy moaned, and Racetrack pushed himself away from Cat. He was just attracted to the death mage in her, just as she was to the vampire in him. It wasn't personal, it was magical.
He knelt next to Maddy, helping her up. The girl was dazed, no question, school was a horrible place to manifest one's powers. She seemed rather calm though, as though several answers were finally revealed to her…and they were.
"Maddy, um…vampiyahs, werewolves, and mages exist…" he explained.. Maddy nodded.
"Okay." She couldn't help but feel a little special. She, of all people, was a person with magic. She looked at Cat and Racetrack, a weird smile coming to her face.
"Welcome to the group, Maddy," Cat said, still against the wall. Maddy nodded, kneeling down and picking up her empty inhaler.
"So…this is j-j-j-just l-like Buf-f-fy?"
to be continued! Dun dun dun…
Author's note: I know, I know, not a lot of vampire madness, but it's three o clock in the morning at the moment, I took whatever inspiration I could…
Author's Note: Damn, this took a long time to post, didn't it? Well, I honestly didn't know where to go from chapter 5….
Chapter Six
Cat slouched a little in her chair, the bar was hazy, smoky, but she didn't mind. Tucking the cigar back into her mouth, she looked down at her cards. Good hand, she smirked, looking across the table at Jimmie. He glared back at her, tapping his cigarette into the ash tray next to him. The crowd of people around cheered her on, she was their hero.
She wouldn't have to go back to lodging house tonight, Cat thought to herself. She would walk the streets, watching the stars, sleeping would be optional. Tomorrow she would play the track with some of the money she won tonight, and all would be well, at least in her mind.
She was Anthony "Racetrack" Higgins, all she knew was gambling…
Cat sat up with a start, regretting it as soon as she did it. Her neck and wrist still hurt, what a way to remember. The sunlight streamed into her room, Monday morning. Monday meant school, the beginning of the week. How could she go to school now? She was a Necromancer, didn't that give her something? All she could do right now was rot random vampires and draw them like flies.
What was with her dream? The one about Racetrack. Well, it wasn't exactly about Racetrack was it? It seemed to be set in an old time, and he was her age. This couldn't be part of her whole Necromancer thing, as far as she knew, Racetrack wasn't a vampire. She had no sense of his aura, so she really couldn't tell. He couldn't…could he?
She curled into the dress shirt she usually wore to bed now. She couldn't help it, it gave her so much comfort. Cat cast a withering glance at the clock, which decided to buzz to life, reminding her that she had to go to school today.
Wonderful.
Gee fixed the little belt that hung around her waist. School uniforms sucked, she knew that, so she, like many other girls, added a little personal touch. Her belt was basically a chain around her waist, with a little charm hanging from it.
A dream catcher, actually. Gee didn't like to say she was obsessed with them, she had them all over her room, had one in her locker, and a few over doorways and windows in her apartment. She thought that they kept unwanted evil spirits away.
Like Spot, her heart thudded painfully in her chest when she thought of him. Jack said that he would behave, and what happened? He got away, and so far, from what she knew, Jack and Racetrack couldn't find him. Wonderful, a psychotic vampire on the loose.
Speaking of psychotic vampires…her thoughts strayed to David and Mush. What was happening to Mush right now? Why did they have to wait till tomorrow night to find out? Poor Mush could be dead at the moment, and Jack, his master, couldn't care less. She couldn't understand that, but who was she to question vampires? She could turn into a wolf whenever she wanted, except for on the full moon, when she had to.
God, if only her parents knew…She stopped by her mirror, running a brush through her dark, blue streaked hair. Gee wanted more than anything to just skip out of school today, but she knew that she had to go. Not only because she needed a decent education, but it was Racetrack's first day.
She, Cat, and the others agreed that it would be a good idea to keep Racetrack, a tie to the "good" vampires, around. It was almost too easy to transfer him from whatever school he was in before.
"Regina!" Gee jumped as her father called her name. She could picture him in his room, packing for his next trip, and then remembering her had a daughter who went to school.
"I'm leaving now Dad!" She called back.
"Are you sure you'll be okay alone for three whole weeks?" His voice called from his bedroom again, Gee flinched as a crashing sound filled the air. Dad must have knocked something over.
"I'll be fine Dad! You have a good time in Milan!" Sure, she envied her father going on business trips around the world like he did, but hey, he kept him out of her business, and what business it was.
"It's not fun! It's business!" Gee smirked to herself,.
"Bye Dad!" She cried. "I love you!"
"I love you too honey!"
Her smile was sad as she walked into the hallway, on her way to the elevator. He didn't know just how much she loved him, and if something would happen to her…
She didn't want to think like that.
With a swift movement, Cat struck her match against the rough brick wall of the school. Holding the lit match to her cigarette, she took a deep breath as soon as it was lit. Ah…this was what she needed. The usual looks of disdain from her fellow students. No one wanting her blood because it was as rare as a fine wine, no lessons in vampire politics. Just a bunch of people believing that she was a psycho killer.
She was a killer, yes, but she wasn't a psycho. Cat exhaled, letting out a stream of smoke. She watched it lazily as it drifted through the air.
This was her idea of normalcy.
Dear God, she was there already. Racetrack could see her leaning against the wall of the school, looking completely comfortable in her sweet school uniform. He could see the chain around her waist, and if he looked close enough, he could see the pentagram. Gee must have put her up to it, Gee knew a lot about witches and things like that. Almost too much.
Racetrack bit his lip, watching her from afar. She didn't know that he was a vampire, he could block his aura from her, thank God. He watched her flick the cigarette away, ready to go into the school. Yeah, he wanted to talk to her, let her know that it was okay that she was…what she was.
He knew she would have a hard time with her powers, which was why they decided she couldn't be the gift to David; accidentally rotting him would NOT be a good idea. Racetrack remembered Crutchy, that old illusion mage, but he was old, almost as old as her was. Magic kept Crutchy alive, and glamours made him look the way he did. To drink the blood of a person with magic is to drink the magic as well, Crutchy would only die.
Who else? He knew of a few people, he could call in a few favors, but why? This would be putting more people on the line; did he really want to do that? Maybe he could talk to Cat about it, but as he began to walk to where she was, he saw that she was gone.
He had missed his chance.
Madeline took another hit off her inhaler, she couldn't help it, school made her so nervous! Sometimes the very thought of it would start her wheezing. She couldn't help being fragile, that was just the way she was.
She smoothed her unruly tawny colored hair, silently wishing that she didn't have such curly hair. Her copper colored eyes darted every which way as she caught odd looks from the students around her.
Yeah, she thought. Look whose back from the hospital. Missed me much? She knew no one missed her, she knew no one would even remember she was there. She didn't care though, after a few months in the hospital for pneumonia, she was just happy to see the sunshine again.
She scrambled into her seat, folding her hands and looking down. She was sitting next to a strange girl with black hair and even stranger blackish purple eyes. The girl next to her shivered as though a cold wind went through her; she looked up to meet Madeline's eyes.
"H-hello," Madeline said. Why did she have to stutter!? The girl's black violet eyes bored through her, and Madeline shivered, there was this strange, cold, deathlike feeling around this girl, and it was hard to explain.
"Hey," the girl replied. The feeling about this girl was too strong, Madeline was forced to take another hit off her inhaler.
"I'm s-s-sorry," Madeline said. "I h-h-have asthma" She bit her lip nervously, why was she boring this girl with her life story? "I'm s-s- sorry," she apologized for no reason at all.
"It's okay," the girl said slowly. "I'm Cat."
Cat, what a strange name for the girl, but oddly fitting.
"M-M-M-Madeline, but you c-c-can c-c-cal me M-Maddy.."
Could this day get any odder? The new girl, who wasn't really new, she just got out of the hospital or something, had an odd, human-but-not feeling to her. She wasn't a vampire, or wereanything, if she wasn't mistaken, this Maddy girl was a mage, kind of like her, but she had a sense of the forest around her, not death. She sighed as the girl took yet another hit from her inhaler.
Racetrack was supposed to be in this class with her, she'd tell him about the feeling, and maybe they could get her over to their side, as the gift for David. Cat knew that it was a little ruthless, just to befriend this girl to hand her over to a psychotic vampire, but they needed a gift badly, and this girl might be it.
Someone slid into the seat on her other side, and Cat looked up eagerly to see Racetrack. His warm brown eyes were happy to see her and a few classmates gave the boy and odd look. Who would be hanging out with the psycho?
"Hey Race," she said quietly. She was happy to see him; he made her think she had friends. Maddy looked at Racetrack and sighed, as though she had lost a great battle. Racetrack looked at the girl, and his eyes widened a fraction.
"I know!" Cat whispered to him, leaning in close. "You feel it too?"
"Yea, shesa mage, but I really can't tell which," he whispered back. "Where did ya find her?"
"She found me!" Cat was getting overexcited. There were more people like her! Well, not exactly, but this Maddy girl was sort of like her, and she didn't feel like that much of a freak.
"Well, people with magic us'lly are 'tracted to each otha," he replied. Suddenly, Cat was very aware of just how close she was to Racetrack, close enough to breath his distinctive, earthy smell that made her heart race (no pun intended), with a snap, she practically fell back in her chair. Instead, she fell against Maddy, both of their auras flaring.
Gee's head snapped up from her math book, trig could wait, she felt something. Someone was doing a spell, and it wasn't Cat, this magic was pure, alive. Cat dealt in death only, this was a spell of life, and it was being done during school hours.
A few of the kids looked up from their books too, she knew they were probably psychic; the derndest people could surprise her like that.
Where was this mage? Gee was trying to figure out its element. Did Cat feel it too? Did Racetrack? She eased her racing heart, trying to ignore the magical energies practically choking the air. Hopefully this spell wasn't dangerous…
Outside, Horace Knightly lit a cigarette. School could blow him for all he cared, he was just trying to get to graduation. Leaning against the cool, rough, brick of the building, he stuck the cigarette in his mouth. Yeah, this is how he could get through school.
Suddenly, he heard a strange sound, like something coming up from the earth beneath him. Looking down, he saw a bunch of thorny vines growing at the base of the school, a few were already growing up his legs. He only had time to get a scream out, before they tangled around him, silencing him.
Cat steadied Maddy, who was having a severe asthma attack from when they knocked into each other. The inhaler was empty, just their luck. The teacher gave Cat and Racetrack permission to escort Maddy to the nurse, and make sure she didn't die along the way. Racetrack ran his handkerchief under one of the water fountains before running back and handing it to Maddy. "Here, breathe through dis." Cat gave him a semi-amused look. "We're not in a fire." "We might be." Maddy herself was panicking, just her luck! Her inhaler ran out, she was having an attack, and two people with death auras were around her. A strange energy had reacted to Cat's death aura as well, and Maddy could only assume that the energy was hers. Could it be? No, she couldn't. This energy felt special, magical. Maddy was just…Maddy. "Madeline-" "M-M-M-Maddy!" "Maddy, do ya feel any weird energy or somethin'? Like right now?" Racetrack tried his best to be kind to her. The hallway was getting darker, which was rather odd. Cat looked over to the window. Her eyes widened, but she said nothing. "I d-d-d-do," Maddy told him. This energy was flowing through her, and it gave her peace.
Cat tugged on Racetrack's sleeve. "Hey Race, can I do that?" She pointed to the window, and Racetrack's eyes followed.
"Holy-" Thorny vines completely covered the school, clogging the windows, blocking the light, and freaking the normal student's out.
Maddy looked at the vines already breaking through the window. "Oh m- my…" she said quietly. Those vines…they were hers, she knew it!
"Earth mage," Racetrack said. Suddenly, a large creaking sound filled the air, and Cat and Racetrack exchanged looks.
"Don't even tell me that the thorny things were constricting the school…"
"I think so," Racetrack replied.
"What's g-g-g-going on!?" Maddy wheezed, surprisingly, breathing through the wet handkerchief was actually making her feel better. Her breathing was slowly becoming even, and she had a feeling that the soothing energy going through her had something to do with it as well.
"Maddy, is this you?" Cat asked. Maddy ran her hand through her tawny hair.
"I th-think so…" Racetrack and Cat exchanged looks.
Gee yawned languidly as the other kids around her screamed. Screaming wasn't going to stop the vines from crushing the school, but if the mage learned control, the vines would stop then.
She raised her hand, the only one still in her seat. Her teacher looked at the girl as though she were crazy.
"May I go to the bathroom?" Gee asked politely.
Maddy watched as the vines began to constrict the school. She wanted more than anything to stop this, she was causing this. It didn't seem possible. Racetrack looked at her as though he had no idea what to do, this wasn't his forte, he needed Gee for this.
Cat was vaguely surprised, another mage in this school? Awesome, she wasn't alone. Okay, so she had Gee, but Gee was trying to hard to be her mother or something. She had one of those….sort of .
"We need Gee, don't we," she said, her voice deadpan.
"Yeah, she knows what tah do."
"What if she can't get out of her class?"
"I don't think the teachers'll care."
"You most certainly cannot!" Her teacher said. Gee's heart fell. The school was going to die or something, and Gee couldn't stop it? What the heck?
"Why not?" Gee asked, straining to maintain her politeness.
The teacher stuck a pencil in her hair, looking defiant.
"You might cut class."
"She's not coming," Cat decided. "She would be all over this by now." Racetrack couldn't stop pacing, and Maddy was on the verge of tears. He only knew of one way to stop the crazy overuse of power like this, and that would sort of be giving his big secret away.
"Cat, yer gunna hafta do dis one by yehself," Racetrack told her. "I don't have any magic a myself ya know, I'm more of a…watcha den anythin' else."
"Me? But I'm a Necromancer…I can't."
"Okay, as a Necromancer, you kin drain de energy-a otha people, kinda like what'cha did wit da vamp at Spot's party, 'Member?"
"Vaguely, you want me to do that now?"
"Jus' don't do too much, okay?"
"Alright," she took his hand, giving it a little squeeze. "Stop me if I get too…crazy."
Something flashed in Racetrack's eyes, remembrance maybe? Cat shrugged, turning to Maddy. "I'm sorry Maddy…"
"W-w-w-w-w-what?" Suddenly, Maddy grasped her chest, something was pulling at her heart, and she dropped to her knees. She was so weak, so sleepy…what was Cat doing? She looked up at her. Cat's hand was outstretched, and to her horror, she could see a green energy wind around her fingers.
Cat wound this energy, this light, around her fingers as she took the energy from Maddy. She glance at Racetrack, who just looked nervous, he couldn't see the magic coming from Maddy, which was sad. It was so beautiful.
The creaking sound stopped, and the vines began to recede. Cat's hand was still outstretched.
"Racetrack…" she said quietly. "Stop me." Racetrack looked at her, the color leaving his face. She couldn't stop herself, she didn't learn control yet. He grabbed her hand, but it didn't seem to snap her out of it. Pushing her against the wall, he buried his face into her neck. Not biting…never biting, but just giving her a small, light kiss on a freckle at the base of her throat.
The familiarity of the kiss startled Cat, and her hand dropped lifelessly to her side. Madeline slumped to the ground, alive, but tired as all hell. Cats around slipped around Racetrack's waist, and he tensed. What was she doing?
Cat felt safe, she didn't know why, but she just wanted to be like this. It wasn't Racetrack, not really, although she was rather happy he was the one to stop her, anyone could have done that, and they would have gotten the same reaction. He was her anchor, and she needed something to hold on to.
Racetrack closed his eyes. This wouldn't exactly last, not really. Most likely Cat was just randomly attracted to the dead aspect of his personality, she didn't mean to, it was the death mage in her, the Necromancer. Maddy moaned, and Racetrack pushed himself away from Cat. He was just attracted to the death mage in her, just as she was to the vampire in him. It wasn't personal, it was magical.
He knelt next to Maddy, helping her up. The girl was dazed, no question, school was a horrible place to manifest one's powers. She seemed rather calm though, as though several answers were finally revealed to her…and they were.
"Maddy, um…vampiyahs, werewolves, and mages exist…" he explained.. Maddy nodded.
"Okay." She couldn't help but feel a little special. She, of all people, was a person with magic. She looked at Cat and Racetrack, a weird smile coming to her face.
"Welcome to the group, Maddy," Cat said, still against the wall. Maddy nodded, kneeling down and picking up her empty inhaler.
"So…this is j-j-j-just l-like Buf-f-fy?"
to be continued! Dun dun dun…
Author's note: I know, I know, not a lot of vampire madness, but it's three o clock in the morning at the moment, I took whatever inspiration I could…