Bloodline Legacy: A Young Adult Urban Fantasy Academy Novel (Bloodline Academy Book 4), стр. 35
I balled my fists under the table. My emotions were riotous. On the one hand, he had conjured the demon Behemoth and had almost gotten Kai and me killed. On the other hand, he had been my friend. It must be hell being the only human in a supernatural prison. It made me wonder how he managed to get himself this gig.
Fred followed along behind as the mage pushed his prisoner to the front of the room. For his part, the prisoner didn’t move an inch. He was in a magical cryostasis. It didn’t take a genius to recognise that he was a vampire. The pallid, greenish-tinged skin and sharp-tipped nails were a dead giveaway.
The professor signalled for us to clear an area. We got up off our seats and pushed the tables and chairs toward the back of the room. The mage settled the vampire in front of the professor’s desk.
“Unleash him,” the professor said. The mage retracted the purple bubble from around the vampire’s head. Slowly, the dull listlessness in the vampire’s eyes became awareness. No matter how many times I’d seen this happen, it still filled me with dread. It was like when you were dreaming and you knew something horrifying was coming but your arms and legs refused to budge. Sleep paralysis it was called. Well, I had supernatural paralysis.
The mage leaned down close to the vampire. “You remember the deal,” the mage said. “Cooperate and your sentence will be reduced. Try anything and you will be burned to a crisp.”
That explained Fred’s presence. As a light mage, he possessed the ability to mimic the effects of the sun’s rays. In another lifetime, he could be a lean, mean, vampire-hunting machine. Instead, he’d almost been afraid of his own shadow. There was that pang of sympathy again. I shook myself.
“The Dominion guards have kindly organised for a demonstration,” the professor said. “I want each of you to square off against the vampire. He will try to compel you. I want you to show us how well you can resist.”
He walked a couple of paces away from the direct line of the vampire and drew a cross with some yellow chalk on the concrete. Then he drew a straight line in the centre distance between the vamp and the cross. “If you walk past this line, you failed.”
There was a rush to the front of the room. I gladly conceded to their enthusiasm. The first one up was a Dominion Academy girl. When the vampire locked eyes with her, I expected nothing to happen. After all, she should have been training for this her entire life. At first, she remained standing with her arms crossed over her chest. I was surprised when I saw her grit her jaw. Her brows furrowed. She took a step forward, halted, and then the other foot joined the first. A soft hum of red light licked around her form. It cemented her in place.
The professor clapped his hands. “Very good, Brea,” he said. “In that amount of time you could have counteracted.”
Brea let out a breath and smiled wide. Her classmates clapped her on the back when she stepped away from the centre of the room. As more and more students tested themselves to varying results, sweat gathered down my back.
I had to clear my throat a couple of times when it was Chanelle’s turn. She’d traded in her dress for a pair of dark blue jeans that looked painted on her. Her blouse was poppy red with a ruffle on the collar. If that wasn’t an enticement for a vampire, I didn’t know what was.
When the vamp turned on his compulsion, she immediately walked almost up to the point of the line. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was only when she got close that something snapped inside of her. Strands of green-and-yellow angelfire wrapped around her body. I squinted as I watched something else, something foreign suppress the yellow light until she glowed a forest green.
She took another step forward. The professor twitched. Fred raised his hand close to the vampire’s forehead. Timing was everything with supernaturals. They were so quick that a single mistake could cost everything.
“I think that’s enough, Miss Laurent,” the professor said. There was a soft murmur of distress from her friends as Chanelle returned to them. They flocked around her like she was a delicate princess, not a sea witch in disguise.
Evan and I were the only ones left. He peered at me with slight concern. “You go,” I said, trying to buy time.
Evan didn’t move an inch against the compulsion. In fact, at the very end, he took a step back. I hadn’t expected any less. I’d seen him conjure fire and throw it around like confetti. That didn’t make it any better when it came time for me to humiliate myself.
“If this morning was anything to go by, this should be interesting,” Chanelle muttered. Thanks to supernatural hearing, everyone heard her. She hadn’t done very well but she still had the nerve to goad me.
“Try your best,” the professor said. “Humans are naturally more susceptible to compulsion. But you can learn to give yourself a couple of seconds’ grace.”
A few seconds to either haul ass or pull something else out of my bag of small tricks. I blew out a breath and planted my feet on the cross. We weren’t supposed to use ancillary powers. As much as I itched to draw a circle, I kept my arms plastered to my side. I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination, but the vampire’s head suddenly leaned forward in the gurney. Fred took a step closer to him.
Our eyes met over the vampire’s shoulder. Still no acknowledgement. When the vampire grinned, I