Moon Academy - Catherine Banks Page 0,34
breath. The moon was almost full, so I could see a bit in the night.
A buck peeked around a tree, saw me, and fled.
I exhaled.
Turning back to my paper, I used the small pocket knife I had brought and cut my arm just enough to get a good drop of blood. Then, I smeared the blood on my paper.
“Activate,” I said loudly.
A magic wave knocked me over as it spread from the paper outward in a blue ring.
I sat up and brushed leaves out of my hair. “Okay.”
The circle glowed bright blue and then a fox trotted out of the trees and sat on the opposite side of the paper.
“You require a familiar?” it asked telepathically.
I nodded.
The fox examined me with eyes too intelligent for a regular fox. “I accept.”
Pressing its paw to the center of the paper, it smeared the blood into its paw print, and the magic disappeared.
The fox held up its paw. “Come.”
I moved closer.
It pressed the paw to my arm over the spot I had cut and magic rippled through me.
I felt our connection form and then my wound healed.
“What do I call you?” I asked.
“Chelle,” the fox said.
“Nice to meet you, Chelle. I’m Sarah,” I replied and smiled.
A chill swept over me and Chelle spun around. “We need to go,” she yipped.
I grabbed the paper and shoved it into my pocket.
“What is it?” I asked and backed up.
“Vampires,” she growled and snarled.
From the trees, three vampires dropped down in front of us.
“Run!”
I turned and ran, Chelle at my side.
The vampires chased after us.
Dammit. Why had I come so far from the mansion?
A cold hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me to a stop.
I spun, kicked their shin, and Chelle bit their leg.
The vampire let me go with a yelp.
We turned and started running again.
A vampire jumped in front of me, blocking my path. Two more appeared on each side, surrounding me.
Another hand grabbed me, but this one was warm.
I prepared to hit them but looked up to find the jerk from the hallway.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Saving you, obviously,” he growled.
“Just give us the girl,” one of the vampires said.
“No can do,” the jerk said. “I’ve got plans for her.”
Plans? What the crap did that mean?
Two of the vampires rushed forward and the jerk drew a dagger and in two quick movements around me had decapitated them.
I blinked hard.
His hair moved, and I saw his pointed ears.
Fae.
He circled me, keeping his back to mine while watching the vampires who circled us.
“You don’t need to die,” one of the vampires said.
“You do,” jerk growled and lunged forward.
The vampire he faced didn’t go down as easily as the first two, putting up quite a fight.
Distracted by their battle, I didn’t notice the second vampire move until he grabbed me by the throat.
He choked me, and I kicked and punched him, trying to make him loosen his grip.
Chelle attacked him, but he kicked her to the side and her body slid into the dark forest out of my sight.
“Chelle,” I called weakly.
The jerk had killed the other vampire, but when he turned, the cockiness was gone. “Let her go,” he snapped.
“You’re in no place to give orders,” the vampire said. He squeezed harder, completely cutting off my air supply.
“Stop,” the jerk yelled. “What do you want?”
The vampire loosened his hold and I gasped for air.
“You two are coming with us,” the vampire said.
Us?
Over his shoulder, I saw more vampires approaching.
“Triune,” I cried out in my mind as loud as I could.
The jerk from the hallway, whose name I needed to learn, dropped his weapons and raised his hands. “Okay. Just stop hurting her.”
He actually cared? No. It had to be a front.
My body began to warm, my fire growing within me.
“Run,” I rasped to the jerk
He scowled. “What? No. I’m not leaving you.”
“Run!”
His eyes widened and he turned and ran.
The vampire laughed. “Pathetic.”
The heat within me exploded and the vampires and trees in a ten-foot radius disintegrated.
I fell to the ground and Chelle limped out of the darkness to lick my face.
“I get them all?” I asked.
She smiled and wagged her tail. “You did.”
I closed my eyes and groaned. “Good, because I cannot do that a second time.”
Warm arms picked me up. “That would have been useful earlier,” the jerk said.
I opened my eyes and grimaced. “I burned you.”
He smirked and then winced when the burned skin on his cheek moved. “I’ll be fine in an hour.”
“Why?” I asked him.
“Fast healing,” he said.
“No, why help me?”
“I’ve