and one fecking week away and it’s all ruined,” she said. “How… how and why?”
Gina looked at a loss for words, Jenks was gaping at my aunt, and I couldn’t speak to save my life. A new voice piped up. Katrina, the vampire girl, spoke from atop one of Jenks’ wooden kung-fu training dummys, apparently perched to see the fight or escape the action or both.
“I can tell you. It’s pretty simple really,” she said. “Let me start at the beginning. Jenks here made the soldier girl his assistant, which makes sense as she’s apparently been birthed to know all this crap. The big bully kid who’s currently wearing fur up there on the wall pitched a fit, all butt hurt that he wasn’t the teacher’s pet. Soldier girl beat him up and put him in his place, only in some perverse manner, he became infatuated with her. Started to hit on her, pay attention to her, except she either ignored it or failed to notice it. Personally, I think it went right over her head.
“Anyway, he’s trying to get her attention and it ain’t happening but Declan there is noticing in a big way, so wolfy decides on a new tactic. Push the boy witch until he makes a move, then beat the piss out of him in front of his girl. It’s a wolf thing—impressing the bitch wolf with your strength and power. Instructor Jenks here allowed it, as he seems kind of clueless about how weak and soft regular students are. Soldier girl follows orders instead of interfering as she should have, and now she’s all self-ashamed. Wolfy whispers some trash talk into your nephew’s ear about taking his girl and making him his bitch. Might work with a wolf but frankly I think he misjudged your boy, who’s supposed to be powerless ‘cause of those fancy bracelets Jenks put on him, but apparently has some tricks up his sleeve. He used magic on himself, at least that’s what I think he did, and beat the piss outta the wolf. Just about killed him.
“Jenks makes him Change to heal but can’t control him. Then your boy flicks one hand and smashes him into the wall and just leaves him there. Then you and our esteemed Director show up.”
Ashling studied the vampire for a moment, her jaw clenching. She finally nodded and turned to Gina.
“This is yer idea of teaching witches? I left three of me most powerful healing charms with the boy and I felt all three get used in a matter of days. So I drop everything and rush here to see what had happened. And I find ye allowed a sadist werewolf to beat him up till he snapped and used forbidden magic. There hasn’t been a new, true warlock in almost a hundred years, but now we got one. Congratulations. You humiliated the son of the most powerful witch to ever come out of Ireland, himself more than her equal. Pushed him to use battle magic on himself, to tattoo glyphs that change him forever,” Ashling said.
“Ah, if it helps, I think it’s just henna ink,” Mack said.
“Ah, but it doesn’t matter now, does it? Because once a male witch uses the glyphs, they become permanent, now don’t they?”
Ah, what? That hadn’t been anywhere in mom’s manual. I read the damn thing five times before I even started to sketch the glyphs.
“The boy used magic in my class, Mrs. Velasquez. I want him expelled,” Jenks said.
“Not until a changed werewolf started to attack him. Before that, he just used it on himself. Not part of your rules,” Erika said, which was truly a surprise.
“I told you on Friday, Mr. Jenks, fighting students, especially those with vastly different levels of power was forbidden. And yet two days later, you do it again,” Gina said, trying to get some semblance of control.
“I didn’t allow anything. The witch boy picked a fight,” he replied.
“And almost fecking ended it, too,” Ryanne said. “Ye realize that he could have just hunted ye and Delwood down as soon as he broke your fancy anti-fecking-magic bracelets, don’t ye? Instead, he found another way, he did. It’s what yer always going on about—being prepared. Well, looks like he came to class prepared, but now yer all… what did the vampire call it? Butt hurt? Yer all butt hurt cause he beat up yer pet boy.”
“It’s a good damn thing he didn’t come hunting me or we’d be short one warlock,” Jenks said.
“Oh