Cassian Legacy: The Vampire Prince
Chapter 16

Ms. Ingram was preparing for theday when I walked in. From the windows facing the parking lot I spotted severalcars pull into the empty spaces. Other students and teachers arrived. Busesstopped at the curb, and people filed out clutching bags, books, and theirlunches while talking excitedly to their neighbors about the weekend. Thechatter already had my mind spinning. I turned away and focused my thoughts onthe steady drip of a leaky faucet.

I set my bag down beside the tableI usually sat at and faced her. “What do you need?”

She sighed heavily, still emptyingthe box onto her desk. “Found anything yet?”

I shook my head. “I haven’t had thetime to go sniffing.”

She nearly laughed but caughtherself. “Well, I’ve been making my own inquiries. Hopefully I’ll have evidenceto back up any information you dig up from the students. You should reallymingle with the others and not pay so much attention to Mr. Tierney.”

So she noticed that. “I have otherfriends here, Seth, Krista, Mallory and Nate. I sit with them often,” Ireminded her.

Her eyes briefly flickered up andmet mine. “That wasn’t what I meant.”

Out of all the people I talked withthe most, Finn being the least until recently, she noticed the one that I aimedto keep out of her range of vision. “I’m sorry I’m not like the other humanshere. I am what I am.”

She frowned. “You are what you werecreated.”

This time I rolled my eyes andchuckled a bit. If only she knew. “Are you going to chastise my life that youknow nothing about or do you have any news for me?” I harshly reprimanded her.That topic wasn’t allowed for discussion at her leisure. My past was not apiece of information I wanted her to know much less dish out clues that wouldsend her on a search for the answer to my ecliptic life. If all she wanted todo was lecture me on topics that didn’t concern her, some that she had nobusiness in meddling with, then I might have to make a harsh decision and endher life before she harmed innocent people. I only made a deal with her becauseI am the stronger of us both, plus I wanted to help her particular situation,but our deal would end the moment I felt her threaten my existence.

She flinched and stopped unpackingthe box. “You know what I am. No secrets you keep will be safe from me. I replaceout the truth of things from those that try and hide them. You should know thatby now.” She finished going through the box and set it on the ground. “Don’tworry about me. I’ll keep our little deal, but I was serious about the results.I’ve been doing my own searching, actually for years now even before you camealong. But most of my research derives upon Mr. Tierney and his family.”

She leaned against the white boardand crossed her arms, looking at me like I knew what she was talking about. “Ihaven’t exactly pinpointed the minute detail that makes me leery regarding himand his friends. My research has been going on for a few years, and I knowthere’s something different about the three of them compared to the rest of thestudents. When I discovered you talking with them this morning, I thought Ishould warn you, though it seems that you two have become friends like you didwith Seth and the others. If you plan on spending so much time with him, maybeyou can tell me about his family. I’ve never met his parents and I would liketo know more about them.”

I didn’t like the fact that shealready had a hunch about Finn’s uniqueness. This wasn’t good. I must replace away to keep her from figuring it out, which is why I started with basic truthsthat everyone would know. “He’s rich, comes from a long line of Tierney’s andowns half the west side of the city.”

“I know all this. In the three yearsI’ve been teaching here, I have yet to meet his parents or converse with them.I’ve met everyone else’s parents, but not his, and I replace that odd. I know he’sstill an adolescent, but he acts like a spoiled brat. Plus he has this charmingallure that disturbs me. Nearly every person inside this building wishes hewould pay them attention, but he doesn’t. And the principal nearly swoons everytime she spots him in the hallway. Other than you, he has no true friends.”

I nearly gave her credit for thatcomment. She observed more than the average person. In fact she got nearly allthe details right, except a few, though it wouldn’t be too long before shefigured the truth out. “Well what about Emery and Thalia?” I suggestedwondering what she thought of his supposed friends.

“Those two are dating, that I amaware of. But even then, they don’t bother him much, not in the way that truefriendships do.”

This wasn’t a good sign. Finnneeded human friends so she wouldn’t be so suspicious of him. Only I could arrangethat. My friends will become his friends.

A few students walked into theroom. I glanced up at the clock. The minute hand was shy of two minutes to thestart of class. We were out of time. I approached her desk and lowered myvoice.

“Look, I don’t think Finn is whatyou’re looking for. I’ll replace what information I can for you, but I don’t thinkthat the evidence will lead to Finn and his family. Finn’s interests areparticular, just like those of a spoiled rich kid. He’s a loner which is why hedoesn’t have many friends. All of your work researching his family might be invain once you replace out that he’s as normal as any other student here. And ifthere are vampires hunting students in the school, I’ll replace them, that I canguarantee you. But know this, so far I’ve yet to see proof that they’re usingthis building as hunting grounds,” I whispered. Thankfully the students whooccupied the room were seated in the back otherwise I wouldn’t have saidanything. “I don’t think you have to worry about anyone in the school preyingon the children.”

Her smile wavered. She exercised alarge amount of control keeping her true feelings in check. “But what aboutSeth? That was a compulsion attack. Too many have used their abilities on him.I’ve seen it before. All the signs are there.”

I didn’t need to tell her that Iwas a part of the ones who used compulsion on him. We both knew that it was myhand that cracked his mind, but how was I to know that others had purposefullyerased his memories before the incident in class? “I don’t think those actswere performed here. I’m slowly discovering the hangouts of the teenagersbecause I believe that is where they’re preyed upon. The school is too public,too open. There’s a reason why vampires like dark alleys, even when it iscliché. Eventually I’ll dig out the source of the compulsion, but for now youneed to wait. This task takes time.”

The first bell rang. Several morestudents hurried in through the door.

She nodded once. “Alright. I canwait a bit longer. I’ve waited all my life for this.”

I returned to my seat, though herwords haunted me especially the last statement. Throughout the rest of herclass, I thought about what it was I was doing. I had promised her I’d replace avampire that she could hunt. She had wanted this, plus she seemed capableenough to accomplish it on her own. Her reflexes were quick, and she hadsupplies at her disposal. But it was idiotic to think that she would surviveagainst a created vampire. With the new knowledge of born vampires living in theculture where I thought only one kind could exist, I realized I couldn’t sendher after the ones who had been born - especially Finn.

I was at an impasse with myself,not only for the decisions I made previously but also the ones I would have toface in the future. I didn’t want Finn’s family to be harmed, especially Finnhimself, so in order for me to keep her at bay and away from figuring out whathe was, I would use my intellect in coordinating events where her suspicioncouldn’t be confirmed. Starting today, my friends would become his. In orderfor this to happen though, I would need to lie and create more lies so shedidn’t poke her nose where it didn’t belong. I had promised to help her, andhelp her I would as long as Finn stayed out of it.

Ms. Ingram was becoming a problem,as much as I hated to admit it. I wondered why Finn hadn’t bothered to use hiscompulsion on her like he had with the others. Her warlock blood probablyblocked the magic. There was a chance her blood had the power to repel magicfrom other sources. If that was the case no wonder the others were afraid ofher. If they had tried using their powers of persuasion on her in the past andshe ignored it blatantly, then they would naturally be scared of her. But shedidn’t know about Finn and the others yet, she only speculated. Even if theyhad used some form of compulsion on her she obviously didn’t remember it.

I wondered if my compulsion wouldwork on her. I could try, and see if it did. I obviously could compel othervampires, including born ones. I hadn’t known about that ability before, but itseemed to work better on creatures with magical blood in their body rather thanhumans. If it did work, I would make her forget about Finn’s heritage andprotect his family once more. If my magic didn’t work, then I would know abouther resistance. Either way, it was a win-win situation.

I resolved to try this later, andnot now. There were too many people in here - too many that would know therewas something not right about me. And if it went badly, then I could be inserious trouble.

Once the next bell rang afterclass, I headed off for German, passing Emery and Thalia in the hall for thefirst time. They both smiled at me while a flock of boys nearly gaped at usopenly in the hallway. Their faces followed Thalia, and I realized then thatthey wished she would look at them the way she did for Emery and me. The focuswasn’t completely directed toward Finn at this school like I had surmised froma few weeks ago. The other two were equally surprising and shy, gainingonlookers and wannabe friends just as much as Finn’s personality did.

Calculus came and went. I got an Aon my test, lifting a weight off my shoulders. I had freaked out when I learnedI missed the derivative lesson, but it paid off to study the text. The book wasincredibly easy to understand, as if some guy had written it for people like mewho didn’t understand geek-speak.

I walked out of that class merrilyand headed for English. But my happiness was short lived for what awaited me inthere. We were getting our essays back today, and my stomach was in knotsalready. I sat down in my chair and eagerly awaited my paper. He passed it outquickly, before the bell rang, giving me a bright wide smile.

I stared down at the crisp whitepaper, where my eyes instantly found what I needed. My stomach unclenched, andI took a breath of relief.