Smoldered Flames: Part I of the Edonia Series
Chapter 10

Valeri

Become a servant to High-borns? To have someone look down on me as I clean after them all day? No thanks. And yet…

“What the hell is a custodian?” I blurt out, realizing my mistake too late. Oh well, I couldn't take them back if I wanted to.

Chancellor Barati doesn’t scold me, instead the corners of his mouth perk up. “Language, Miss. Valeri. You would do well to respect your elders,” he advised.

“Right… Soooo, what is a custodian?” I repeat.

He places one leg on the other with his fingers crossed in prayer fashion. “I won’t disclose that information. You have not yet earned that right.”

My curiosity would get me in trouble, I know.

Fuck it

“I guess I'll go with option two.” I say.

Chancellor Barati whirls his chair around towards the far side of his desk and opens a drawer. Rustling sounds before he pulls out old parchment paper. He slides the piece of parchment towards me and words start to appear. Except, they weren’t words of the common tongue. Murky ink swirled along the old paper like mini dust storms. Black squares and swirls boldly fill the parchment. Small dots sprinkled in between each boxy symbol held my attention.

The steady sound of shink resonates within the office, and looking up, I see the Chancellor holding up an old knife. The weapon is small in size, with a wide, atramentous blade. The handle gleamed silver in the sun’s light, complimenting the sharp weapon. He reaches over and hands it to me.

He must be crazy to think I'd take this wicked lookin' blade.

Chancellor Barati looks expectedly at me while still holding the weapon. “If this is truly your choice, we must seal the deal.”

“What is this, a devil’s contract?” I question speculatively. I chuckle lightly to dampen the otherwise somber setting.

He sighs. “Consider it your protection.”

That gave me pause. “Protection from what? The other students? I’m sure I could handle myself with a bunch of know-it-alls.”

The Chancellor chuckles lightly. “They don’t take kindly to those that are different, shall I say.”

“What do you mean “different”? ”

“Considering the actual reason for your presence, and the fact that you, my dear, are an anomaly,” he concludes.

I sit back to ponder what this meant.

“If not, I can just have one of the lead servants take you to the kitchens. Lunch rush is rather exuberant,” he adds.

I avoid showing an inkling of emotion. Not wanting to give out any indication that I’m making an irrational decision. Hell, for all I know, a custodian is just as bad as a servant…

“What do you mean “anomaly”?” I inquired.

“The information gathered while you enjoyed your stay in the Medic ward concluded that you are a hybrid with vampiric origins.” is all he says.

Okay, his little cliffhangers are becoming a nuisance. “And? What’s the other half?”

Crossing his hands again, he answers. “We believe you are part human-part vampire. Which would explain your resistance to sunlight.”

“What do you think?”

“I answered that question already, or do you have short term memory loss as well?” he retorted lightly before continuing. “Since you’ve chosen this path, you must take the first step.”

He waves his hand in an indication towards the dark blade.

“Let me guess, you want me to cut open my flesh and sign in blood, correct?” I questioned wearily.

“Just a drop will do.”

Here goes nothing.

Not wanting to leave room for regrets, I hurriedly slice the palm of my left hand. I expected magical sparks to surround me, or even smoke while I sliced open my palm. I experienced nothing but the chill-to-the-bone feel of the sharp blade as I barely pierced my skin. Dark ichor surfaces and drips onto the old parchment. Silence ensues. Meeting the eyes of the Chancellor, I witness a glimpse of approval, maybe even a little hope, in his jovial gaze before he takes the blood contract from my hands.

I give him a skeptical look. “Do I not get a copy?”

Chancellor Barati waved his fingers in a compelling way. The letter turns into an origami-esque animal before it disappears. He then returns his gaze to me. “No.”

My mouth flies open. “What do you mean, no?” I air quote “no”.

“As I said, no.” the Chancellor responds, his eyes twinkle humorously before continuing. “Now if you don’t mind, I have other things on my to-do list or Provost Ritenour will have my head.”

The door opens and in walks a gorgeous woman. She is about my height and her long black hair pulled back in a braid. Her attire consisted of white leather from head to toe. An extension of the outfit curled around her like a saree. Tan lines crisscrossed in a disarray-esque fashion matched her beautiful sandy-toned skin.

“You summoned me, Chancellor Zuka?” her melodic voice asked.

Chancellor Zuka? Why is everyone else referring to him on a first name basis?

“Yes, Miss Biswas. I would like for you to meet your new shadow. Miss Valeri, this is Tanni Biswas. She will be your guide for the remainder of your stay.” Chancellor Barati begins the introduction.

“With pleasure, sir.” Tanni answers, before turning to me. “If you’ll please follow me.”

“Oh, and Miss Valeri!” The Chancellor shouts before we exit the office.

“Yes?”

His face is stern as he continues. “Yes sir, is what you meant. Your schedule will appear on your bed once you’ve settled in. Unfortunately, you arrive at a time while students are in the middle of the semester. I suggest you replace study buddies; or whatever you young ones call it nowadays; and catch up.”

Feeling the silent dismissal in the air, we finally leave the office. Standing a few feet from the doorway stands Cassius… standing with him is that male embodiment of sex from the prison cell. Cassius’ fists are balled at his side, shaking.

Oh, nice. Barely here five minutes and I've managed to piss someone off with my presence.

He storms up to the Chancellor’s office, violently brushing my shoulder in the process.

“Move it halfbreed.” he says, but it wasn’t aloud. It was like I could hear his voice in my mind.

I whirled around. “What the fuck did you just say?!”

“Don’t pay any attention to the mutt. Someone pissed in his Cheerios.” a warm, honeyed voice says from behind me.

My body wounds taut at each syllable of that sentence. My heart palpitates at the crispness of his voice. I whirl around to replace a pair of equally honeyed eyes staring down at me.

“Um… hi..?” I answer stupidly. My voice grows husky the more I take in his presence. His forbidden scent tickles my nose, making my lower regions heat up.

“Stop flirting with the hybrids and get your hide in here!” Cassius growls.

“Jealous much?” the mystery man asks.

Cassius sneers. “There’s nothing to be jealous of. Mongrels are lucky to be in the presence of something pure and lay eyes on those that are unattainable.” His ice blue eyes meet my single brown one at the last part of his statement.

Do not show weakness, says the dark temptress.

I upturn my nose with a simple “Hmph.” before walking down the lengthy corridor. It’s less filled with students than before. Class must be in session.

“You better tread carefully with those two.” says someone from behind me.

Ah, I forgot about her. Whirling around again, Tanni has her arms crossed. Her face is full of motherly energy.

“Why?” I queried.

She walks up to me, eyes level with mine. “If you know what’s best, you’d do well to make sure that’s the last interaction you have with any of the four Princes at SU.”

“Who are the four princes, and why are they labelled as such?”

She sighs. “Well you’ve already met Cassius Conrad and Eros Lamius. The others include Daxter Masterson and Kamau Adeyemi.”

“And they are soooo important because?”

“I’m sure you’ve met the Executives already?”

I nod my head in agreement.

“Well they are in relation to four of those Executives.” she concludes. She looks at me expectantly.

“That matters to me because?” I ask, my patience thinning again.

“The Executives are the ones who decided your fate.”

“The idiots who sent me here?!” I beseeched.

Tanni hurriedly covers my mouth. “Shhh!! Do you want to paint an even bigger target on your back?!”

Someone clears their throat. “I will take la peste out of your hands, Tanni.”

I pivot around and see a blonde bombshell. “What did you just call me?”

Her beauty was too perfect. From her cat-like eyes to her blonde curtain bangs that aligned perfectly, to the way her chic pink uniform made her eyes pop. I didn’t trust her as much as I could throw her.

Tanni quickly gives an excuse before dashing off to god knows where. Well that’s just great.

“Follow me.” she commanded.

The sound of her adenoidal voice irritated my soul, but still I followed. She’s a tall beauty, I'll give her that. Her long lithe legs blessed the corridors’ floors like her own runway.

Rows of stairs line the outer corridor. Each staircase seems to lead to an open floor with closed doors. Each door held its own color of the rainbow, matching the corridor’s vaulted ceiling. A small doorway is centered in between a set of stairs. I follow the blonde model through the doorway.

“After you,” she volunteers.

She shoves me into the room before I had a chance to cause a fuss. Kindred laughter and shouting dies down as I make my entrance. Something soft hits the left side of my head before falling on the floor. My head snaps to the sound of a giggle before that too, dies down. A kid. A literal child threw a tomato at me. More food lands on my person as I open my mouth to say something.

I try to escape, but my feet slip on some liquid. Ew. looking up I see the beautiful angel for what she was; a she-demon. A spawn of Satan's ass crack. I knew something was up with her. I’ve met my first bully. She gives me a crude smile as everyone falls into hysterical laughter over my humiliation. Anger sparks through me. So I do the only thing anyone would do. I yanked the bitch off balance and let her join the floor buffet.

The bitch yells indignantly. “How dare you?!”

“How dare I? How dare you?!” I respond before decking her in the eye.

Shocked gasps echoed in the cafeteria. I finally regain my balance and attempt to exit. Cold liquid is dumped on my head. It grossly slides down my back.

“That’ll teach you.” someone smugly says from behind me.

An average heighted gingerhead holds a container with a milk symbol. Great another bully.

“ENOUGH!” someone else barks.

Whirling around again, Provost Ritenour stands at the doorway, her face a dark shade of pissed.

“What is the meaning of this?” she demanded.

“She-”

“She punched me-”

“They started-”

We all try to speak first, the rest of the students are silent of course.

Provost Ritenour raises her hand in silence. Directing her anger to me she says. “Young lady, might I remind you that your stay here is very short. I don’t care who started it, I will end this now.”

Pointing at me she says, “You. Come with me.”

Having no other choice, I trudge after the Provost again. We leave the cafeteria and head up a staircase. I tried to put each turn to memory, but I eventually got lost. We end up at an old part of the school. An antique chandelier hangs on by its cords. Cobwebs hang loosely in the corners of the dim hallway. Doors on either side of the long hallway hung loose on the hinges or not at all. Loud music blares from down a few doors on the left.

Provost Ritenour bangs on the door from where the music sounds. “Turn that music down! You know the rules!” she yells.

The music goes down for a little while until we walk off. She leads me towards the end of the hallway.

“This room was reserved for another student but they failed to show. You will stay here for the remainder of your time. As the Chancellor stated, your schedule will appear once you settle in. The door will only respond to your touch.”

“What do you mean “appear” ?” I ask.

“Surely, even you are not that bright,” she responds. Wrinkling her nose she adds, “Clean up and prepare for your new schedule.”

With that I’m alone… again. Sighing, I walk in the room. It wasn’t anything special. Like the hallway outside, it needed maintenance. It was still liveable. Dust accumulates in the room. A full-sized oak bed is against the right side of the wall. A chest of drawers stands in the middle of the wall beside an arched window. A built in bookcase with desk lines alongside the same wall as the door. Another door leads to a small bathroom. No complaints considering this is the first bathroom I’ve had since waking up.

The bathroom, like the rest of the university, was built in black stone. Shedding myself of clothes and my necklace, I jump in the shower. Mountain cold water streams down my face and body. There’s an unused bar of soap in the soap holder. I lather my body until the remnants of today's episode go down the drain. I scrub my skin to rid myself of Cassius' violent touch and awesome sex. I rub raw my skin from the roughness of Kamau’s manhold, of the cold shackles seizing my body.

Stepping out of the shower, I see my reflection for the first time. My body is covered in old scars that crisscross in every direction. A tattoo faintly lines my torso. But what really made my pause was what sat atop my head. Two short black horns curve backwards from the front of the head.

What the fuck am I?