On the 31st of October, during an unsanctioned event held in the hunting lodge, Professor Sven Gustavsson attacked a human student. The student suffered only minor injuries, but the Vampiric Council is conducting a thorough investigation into this issue. We take the safety ofallour students, human or otherwise, extremely seriously, and will ensure that this remains an isolated blemish on this university’s mission of coexistence.
If any of you had any inappropriate experiences with Professor Gustavsson, or any other member of faculty, please report it to campus securityhere. Those of you who were attending the Vampire Tradition in Music (U-34) will have a new professor by the end of November.
We apologise profusely for any distress this news may have caused.
Attentively,
Faust Nocth, Dean of Night and Humanities
“Comein,” a voice calls from within the office, three full minutes after I knocked. Nocth has been swamped this past week, especially after a dozen humans demanded a refund of their tuition and left campus. I can’t blame them for wanting to leave. The possibility of getting attacked by a professor was certainly not mentioned in the acceptance letter.
I walk in, the door creaking closed behind me. Faust Nocth glances up at me from his leather chair. He seems a little paler than usual, his black hair dishevelled. “I was waiting for you, Rebecca.”
I stare him down. My nails hurt. A bizarre side effect of heartbreak, perhaps.
“Why have you been waiting for me?” I ask.
“I’d been hoping you’d have come by sooner, considering what happened at that little Halloween party.”
I can picture Elia’s face hearing someone call her Halloween Balllittle.She might strangle Nocth for the offense. I blink at him, tilting my head to the side ever so slightly. “The only thing I did at the Halloween party was get rid of the Familiar’s mark.”
“And how did you do that?”
There’s a stillness in his expression, as though a part of him doesn’t want to know the answer. “By eating a vampire’s heart. Wasn’t particularly tasty, though.”
“I see,” he says. If he’s disgusted by the mark’s remedy, he doesn’t show it. “You’re free to leave Tynahine now, if you wish, Miss Charity. I’m certain Callisto will have a new mission for you already.” I bite my lip. I haven’t told anyone, except Elia, that I’ve left the hunters.
At least in my heart. Because now that I know they were behind my parents’ murders, I can’t walk away. I will hunt down every lastStakeof Callisto, anyone who had a say in my recruitment. Penny included.
“What happened to me beinguseful?” I ask.
“You uncovered a Vassal,” he says.
“Whoyouhired.”
“I did,” he concedes. “I first met Sven shortly before my cousin sired him. He was a different man back then.”
“By different, you mean human.”
“Yes, Rebecca.” He sighs, leaning back in his chair before changing the subject. “You’re free to study with us until the end of the semester. Penny did pay for four months of tuition, after all.”
I shouldn’t want to stay. Now that I finally have a target, a gateway to my revenge, I shouldn’t hesitate. But Iamhesitating. Elia, Julia, Ife, and Stephan are making me hesitate. I’ve never felt like I could grow roots anywhere, at least not in the last four years, and they’ve changed that. And if Aliz was still here, I wouldn’t think twice.
She vanished on All Saints’ Day, before I could apologise again or ask if that bloodstained kiss had been genuine. I texted her as soon as I realised she was gone.I’m sorry. I can explain.But she never replied, and whenever I look at our chat, she’s always offline. I tried calling, too, and I let it ring for a whole minute, until I finally gaveup.
“I’ll stay,” I whisper before I can fully think it through. Who knows where I’ll get the money once the semester is up. But that’s a problem for Future Rebecca. Then I think back to the email. To the little link to campus security. “Why don’t you hire me?” I ask. “Who better to keep an eye on your vampires than a hunter?”
“If I were to hire you, Rebecca, I would have to reveal your identity,” he says. “And then, how do you think my vampire students would feel about the fact that one of Callisto’s murderers has been walking amongst them?”
I rest a palm on his desk, leaning closer. “I’m just aCross-ranked hunter. Couldn’t hurt a fly.” I think about what he just said. Revealing my identity means admitting I lied to my friends. And once they know, they’ll never look at me the same again. “But I suppose I’ll stick to studying for now.”
Tynarrich’s dining hallis busy, but they’ve saved a seat for me. The sofa is old, warm leather ripped by a cat that used to hunt mice in the halls two decades ago. I plant myself next to Julia, while Ife and Stephan sit across fromus.
On Julia’s lap, as always, is her sketchbook. She’s working on another landscape, and this time it’s one I recognise. A forest with a footpath, bridges, old lampposts, and seagulls perched on branches. “Ness Islands?” I ask.
Her pencil stills, and she turns to stare atme.
“This is a real place?” she whispers. I look at the drawing a little closer.
