Until the last feather falls E-Book

Violetta-Valerie Gallee

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Serie: Until the last feather falls
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 629

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

A human... in a school for magicans? That has to be the most hilarious joke, I've ever heard! But dang it, it's true! As Luca makes one step into the Silver Magican High, he probably didn't think that his life would change drastically. But then he meets Velvet: the most respected person in the ENTIRE school! As a fallen angel and the leader of the Fighters, she sure has a reputation. But as Luca and Velvet get closer, he realizes that she is trying to hide something behind those gorgeous ice-blue eyes. And as her health deteriorates and after a contract, her life is near the line of death, will her secret be revealed after she had tried to keep it hidden deep inside of her? And will Luca be able to save her or will he fail miserably?

Leseprobe

I wrote this book for all those who have been left alone, who no one wants to understand, who have been fighting all their life long and who have lost themselves in the expectations of others.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

Pure Creatures

Angels

Fairies

Elves

Mermaids

In-between mermaids

Witches

Elementals

Shapeshifters

Wolves

Dragons

Phoenixes

Ghosts

Wizards

Forbidden/Dangerous Creatures

Dark Angels

Fallen Angels

Humanshifters

Demons

Elves

Sirens

Rooges

Rucons

Vampires

Half Souls

Chapter 1: A new beginning in a magical way

Chapter 2: The Fighters

Chapter 3: Life wasn’t fair, and it never would be

Chapter 4: You could train, but you couldn’t escape the past

Chapter 5: Secrets

Chapter 6: You don’t know

Chapter 7: A family meeting

Chapter 8: Mother and son

Chapter 9: A secret not to be told

Chapter 10: Haunted for a lifetime

Chapter 11: Questions and complications

Chapter 12: Interesting situations

Chapter 13: Confused by you

Chapter 14: Demanding contract

Chapter 15: Unpleasant visitor

Chapter 16: Hope dies last

Chapter 17: Improvising is an art in itself

Chapter 18: Thunder andd rain

Chapter 19: One, two, three…KNIFE!

Chapter 20: Unseen heroine

Chapter 21: Cake and coffee

Chapter 22: Not only you

Chapter 23: Something is off

Chapter 24: One more person to trust

Chapter 25: Birthday party and unnoticed problems

Chapter 26: The darkness and I

Chapter 27: Between life and death

Chapter 28: One last time

Chapter 29: The last hope

Chapter 30: Pain is a big enemy

Chapter 31: You may be a leader, but even the stronngest has a weakness

Chapter 32: Life and living

Chapter 33: You are something else

Chapter 34: Standing up is a fight—you can either win or lose

Chapter 35: A mystery is here to be sollved

Healing Plants

Descrription: Healing Plants

Dangerouss Plants

Description: Dangerous Plants

Profiles of the Characters

Velvet Raven

Luca Grey

Max Knight

Brandon Knight

Chaseleigh Wallace

Kaya Silveren

Anthony Silveren

Nova Lowe

Timothy Porter

Ocie Whiters

Zac Ryder Wyatt

Sophie Ewing

Brian Blackwood

Jaqueline Aceron

INTRODUCTION

Okay, everyone. Before we start this story, I need to set some things straight!

So, you probably think creatures like vampires and fairies don’t exist, right? Well, then I have to tell you that you are wrong! There are so many creatures who look like humans, but they aren’t!

I’m sure you don’t know a lot about them so I wrote a list for you. You have to know that the behaviour of most creatures depends on their species.

All right, I guess we will start with the…

Pure Creatures

Pure Creatures are mostly nice and friendly. They also have powers, but they use them for good things.

Angels

You probably all know these beautiful and good-hearted creatures. Angels are known for their innocence and calm nature. Angels have white-coloured wings; some angels with higher positions have shimmering gold wings and even a halo. They have the power to reveal the truth, to heal and they have the power of light.

The wings of an angel:

Angels, as I already explained, have white wings. These wings are really big, and angels can actually fly with them. But mostly they don’t use them since humans shouldn’t see them. But there are cities for magical creatures and only there do they fly. The chance that you’ll see them walking isn’t too high there.

Healing:

Angels have the ability to heal wounds. Mostly they use their hands for healing. In rare cases, they can even heal bad wounds and insanity. But there aren’t many angels who are able to do that.

Fairies

Fairies are sweet and good-natured, but be careful; they are good thieves. Fairies have some kind of butterfly wings in every colour you can think of. Fairies can bring plants back to life or create them. Another ability they have is the power to make themselves shorter.

Fairies and plants:

Fairies and plants are the perfect match. Fairies love to play with plants and they can even bring them back to life. There are a lot of fairies who are florists, and sometimes they make whole statues made of plants.

Butterfly wings:

We all love the image of fairies. Cute, round-faced, curvy or slim, and with gorgeous butterfly wings in so many colours and variations. No two fairies in this world have the same wings. Yes, similar ones, but not the same.

Elves

Elves always try to be helpful, but they can be pretty sassy. Elves don’t have wings like angels or fairies, but they have pointed little ears. Their main task is to take care of the forests, that’s why they have these pointy ears. Since they have been the guardians of the forests for hundreds of years, their ears started to grow so they could always hear danger coming and warn the animals and other beings. Elves are also linguists, which means they can understand the language of animals, another feature they developed to help.

These pointy ears:

There are so, so many variations of ears, when it comes to elves. They can be long, short, big or small. They can be extra pointy or only a little pointy. It doesn’t matter in the end. The ears of elves are passed down to the next generation. So, you can say that it’s a typical family gene. Elves that work for Santa Clause always wear beautiful golden jewellery for their ears. And yes, Santa Clause exists!

Forms of elfears:

Mermaids

So, the normal mermaid is a human creature with a fishtail. They’ve got swimming skins, fins, scales and gills. Mermaids are able to control the water and the winds. They are beautiful creatures, which gets them a lot of attention. Mermaids, in general, don’t have the skin tones humans have. They mostly have a blue skin tone, which always depends on the water or the sea they were born in. That means if a mermaid has got a green-blue skin tone, the water she was born in was probably in tropical countries.

Mermaid:

Type of ears for mermaids and sirens:

The type of ears a mermaid, in-between mermaid or siren has only tells you if they were born in the depth of the sea or in shallowed waters. The more fins they have and the longer they are the deeper is the water they live in.

In-between mermaids

The in-between mermaid is a human creature, but they’ve got swimming skins, fins, gills and scales. In-between mermaids can always choose between the good side or the bad side, which means that they can decide to act like a mermaid or a siren. They aren’t as common as normal mermaids and mostly they are born in cold water or depth. A big feature of the in-between mermaid is the skill to sing the Siren’s Song. But mostly they are nice, just don’t test their patience.

In-between mermaid:

In-between mermaids and their features:

In-between mermaids normally have a darker blue skin tone. Not like mermaids, they like the cold better than the warmth.

That’s why they aren’t usually seen by sailors or fishermen. They just live too deep down in the seas. Mostly humans don’t know this kind of mermaid because they have just never seen creatures like them.

Other than mermaids in-between mermaids don’t live in groups of families. And it’s also common for them to be a solitary.

Witches

Witches can make potions of any kind and use magic. A feature about witches is that they have a soul animal. Mostly they have a classic black cat or a raven. But it can be any animal. Witches can get pretty old and they can use a broom to fly. There are a lot of kinds of witches, like love witches, forest witches and so on. Sometimes they also have marks like wizards, but that doesn’t happen often.

Potions:

That witches make potions isn‘t a secret. They do it so, so often. There are a lot of witches who only concentrate on one kind of potion. These are called ‘Love witch’ or ‘Illusion witch,’ as examples.

Soulanimals:

Witches have soulanimals. That means that they have an animal that they have a really strong bond to. Of course, there are a lot of witches with a classic black cat. Sometimes even a raven is their choice. But the classic black cat is the image a lot of people go for.

Elementals

Elementals are humans who can control one or more elements. The basic elements are fire, water, earth and air. But there are a lot of variations like ice, nature, light and darkness. Some elementals are extremely powerful and can be dangerous, but mostly they aren’t aggressive.

Fire, Water, Air and Earth:

These are probably the most well-known elements an elemental can have. You should never underestimate an elemental. They are mostly introverted and calm. Pissing them off is the worst thing you could do. But since they mostly don’t lose their cool, they have an enjoyable presence.

Shapeshifters

Shapeshifters are people who can turn themselves into a specific animal. Half of their soul is human, the other one is any kind of animal, that’s why they can shapeshift. They are really friendly, but some of them can be a little aggressive. Shapeshifters also have the ability to only turn a part of themselves into an animal.

Part-Transforming:

Part-transforming is totally typical for shapeshifters. It can be pretty useful, but in situations of stress it isn’t helpful at all. Transforming in a popular place could be damn dangerous.

Exposing themselves isn’t something shapeshifters intend. But shapeshifters are experts in going undercover, and having a claw as a tool is always helpful.

Game of survival:

Shapeshifters aren’t forced to live in the world of humans. They can also live the life of a real animal. That’s what magicans call ‘Game of survival’ .The life of an animal isn’t easy. There are times when you can’t find enough food. Surviving is an art in itself. Magicans are pretty respectful to animals since they fight every day for their lives.

Wolves

Wolves are a kind of shapeshifter. They can turn themselves into wolves, but they have different abilities, like healing or reading minds. They also live in packs that are led by an alpha (the strongest wolf) and a luna (the alpha’s mate). Wolves have mates who are their soulmates. If they complete the matebond, they will live as long as the other—so if one of them dies, the other one dies with him or her. To complete the matebond, they have to cut their hands and press them together. The alpha of each pack also has a beta. A beta is the alpha’s right-hand man and the second-best in rank. Other ranks are omega, delta, etc…

Matebond:

The matebond is really important to wolves. It’s like the only love of their lives. Sometimes they even have two mates, but mostly only one. Every wolf has a mate. And it doesn’t matter if this mate is a wolf or not. They can even be mated to a human. The one who mates wolves is the Moongoddess. She is the most important goddess to wolves.

The wolf inside:

Half of their soul is wolf. That makes it possible for these creatures to change into a wolf. And every wolf has a pack. There aren’t a lot of wolves who don’t have one. And wolves also have their inner wolf, who they can contact any time. But they can also shut them out.

Silver, silver, silver:

Wolves and silver is a complete no-go. Silver is deadly for wolves since they’ll have an allergic reaction to it from the time of their birth. If a wolf ever gets shot by a silver bullet, they likely won’t survive.

Dragons

Dragons are giant creatures armoured with scales and horns that can spew fire, poison or ice. Of course, they can turn into a human, but they can be dangerous even in their human form.

Examples of horns:

Female:

Male:

Thesse Horns:

Dragons have horns with a rough structure. There aren’t any dragons with silk horns. It isn’t in their nature to have silk horns. Another feature of dragons is that some of them have coloured stripes under their eyes. They are coloured in the colour of what type of dragon they are. That means if they are ice dragons, they have blue stripes under their eyes.

Dragonwings:

Dragonwings are HUGE! They are similar to bat wings, but they are more leather-like. Of course, dragons can fly. And they don’t make a secret out of it, but they prefer to fly at night, where humans can’t see them.

Phoenixes

Phoenixes are really rare and originally there was only one phoenix. If this one died, another one would rise out of the other’s ashes. There are about one hundred phoenixes around the whole world. They are a little hot-tempered, but they are normally calm. You all know the typical phoenix bird—a big, beautiful bird with red feathers that can catch fire. And yes, phoenixes have this form too, but they rarely use it.

Aw, how fluffy:

As you can already see, phoenixes have pretty special wings. They aren’t like angel wings. They are mostly red and extremely… FLUFFY! That’s why phoenixes love to sleep with their wings folded over them as if they were a blanket. Most phoenixes also love to cuddle and are pretty overprotective when it comes to their loved ones.

Let’s play with fire:

Fire is something that phoenixes can control. It’s typical for them. And there are two different types of fire; normal fire and blue fire. Phoenixes with blue fire are extremely rare and they have blue feathers. Blue fire is way hotter than any other fire, and that makes it damn dangerous.

Ghosts

Ghosts are people who died already but are stuck in a parallel universe, so they didn’t make it to heaven or hell. They can be invisible and they can go through walls. Most ghosts are people who committed suicide. You are always born with two tickets. One with the date you were born and one with the date you die. If you die, because you killed yourself, you will get stuck in a parallel universe and stay as a ghost until the date of your actual death comes. Another example of why people get to be ghosts is when someone was murdered and someone else gets framed for it, even though he/she is innocent. These people stay ghosts until the actual murderer gets found. You can also choose to be a ghost. It’s pretty rare when someone makes that decision, but it happens.

Unseen, but noticed:

There are these people who say, ‘OMG, I think that place is haunted!’ And there are places that are haunted by ghosts. Most ghosts are near their graves, and if they aren’t they are watching over someone. Sometimes they get bored and knock on doors or pick up random things, which makes it look like the objects are flying. Ghosts normally don’t have bad intentions, but sometimes they want attention. Ghosts can even become touchable and seeable if they concentrate a lot on someone else’s emotions. During a full moon they also become visible. And there are people who fall in love with ghosts. It’s possible to love a ghost, but that is a pretty different love story.

Wizards

Wizards are the male form of witches, but they don’t have the same abilities as witches. For example, wizards don’t make a lot of potions and, of course, they don’t use a broom to get from one location to another. They normally use a horse for that. Pretty old school, isn’t it? You can recognize wizards by the coloured marks on their hands. These show that they can use magic.

Wizards are also known for curses. One of the worst curses is the Black Mark. The Black Mark turns you slowly into stone. Until there is no more life left in you and you are completely made of stone. And then you will fall into ashes.

Curses and one damn dangerous one:

Wizards are known for their curses. But one of them is the Black Mark. You slowly turn to stone if you get hit by it. If that curse hits your heart, your heart turns to stone instantly and you are dead. You can’t escape the curse unless the one who spoke it undoes it.

Wizards and wands:

Wands are typically used by wizards. Wizards mostly use them to increase their magic. These wands are often made out of wood. Metal wands are rare since there aren’t a lot of metals that can hold in a lot of magic.

So, these were the pure creatures. But as you may already know, every good thing has a bad side. And now we will go to creatures who you should be afraid of…

Forbidden/Dangerous Creatures

As the name already says, they are dangerous or not as pleasant to be around. So I would advise you not to piss them off or you might need to run.

Dark Angels

Okay, this might be confusing for some people, because normally angels are the good guys. Well, dark angels have light grey to dark grey coloured wings. They can be in heaven or hell. It’s their choice any time. They have the same powers as normal angels, but they can also use dark magic, which makes them kind of dangerous. They aren’t forbidden, but they aren’t tolerated by everyone.

Interesting coloured wings:

Dark angels have wings which can be in any shade of grey. You recognise them instantly by their coloured wings. Using the dark arts makes their wings a little darker, but not black.

Sometimes dark angels even have different coloured wings, like the example on the right, but that’s a rare case.

Fallen Angels

All right, this is the last sort of angel—I promise. You can’t be born as a fallen angel, but you can become one. For that, you need to break an important rule of the heavens. An example is when a person dies, but because of his/her sins, he/she doesn’t make it to heaven and goes to hell. Now, an angel can give her/his innocence to this person, and this person will go to heaven. But the angel will become a fallen angel because he/she broke a rule. So, fallen angels have black wings and they can use the dark arts. Even though they don’t look harmful, they can do a lot of damage. If you really make them angry, their eye colour will change to black and they will be uncontrollable. They lose control and hurt and destroy everyone and everything that comes near them. They are not forbidden, but their presence is to be enjoyed with caution.

Black and beautiful:

Fallen angels have gorgeous black wings. They love to fly at night since they aren’t seen with their dark wings. To become a fallen angel you have to break a rule of heaven. There are twelve rules that you shouldn’t break. And as soon as you break a rule of heaven the wings of an angel will turn black. And from then on you will be a creature of hell.

RUN:

Fallen angels are normally calm, but as soon as both of their eyes change black, you should run. In their uncontrollable state, they can destroy a whole city.

Humanshifters

Humanshifters are creatures that are forbidden. The thing is, they can turn into any human they have seen before. That makes them extremely dangerous. The reason for this ability is that half of their soul is human and the other one is also human, but an empty human shell. This human shell can change its image from one human to another. Most of them are manipulative and uncontrollable. Don’t mess with them, because taking revenge is one of their best skills.

A dangerous creature to play with:

NEVER, ever underestimate a humanshifter! Please don’t do that, unless you want to get framed. Humanshifters are normally not pleasant to be around. They can turn into any human they have seen. And that is something dangerous to play with. Taking revenge is their best skill, and they know what to do to make your life a living hell. So, just don’t mess with them, all right darling?

Demons

I’m sure you already know what demons are. But there are two types of demons; the humanly demon and the inner demon.

Humanly demons are sassy, aggressive, and uncontrollable, to mention only a few traits. They are fully demon, but of course, they look human. An inner demon is a form of demon, but the being is only half-demon. You can contact the inner demon and talk with him/her, but he/she will only come out when you can’t control your emotions anymore. Demons have wings, a tail and horns. But they can also look like they are formed out of lava and stone. The leader of the demons is the Devil or Lucifer—whichever you want to call him.

Wings, here we go again:

Demons also have wings. Their wings are bat-like but these are way too small to fly with. Most demons have two pairs of wings. These are usually different in size, but they can also be the same.

Types of Horns:

Female

Male:

Demons and their horns:

Demons also have horns, but these are silky in texture.

That’s mainly how you differentiate demons from dragons.

Elves

Dark elves are pretty neutral creatures, but they can use a form of the dark arts. They can hypnotise people to obey them. That can be dangerous, especially when they hypnotise strong creatures or other dangerous creatures. A common feature among dark elves is a birthmark in the shape of a leaf. Dark elves are also known for their talent in fighting. They are in the group Assassin Class.

This spiral in their eyes:

Ah, yes, the thing with the hypnotising. Dark elves can do that if they want to, you only have to look into their eyes. This could be a massive disaster if they hypnotise strong creatures to do bad things. But they can also use this ability to help people with anxiety or trauma.

Birthmark:

That’s probably the only feature where you can figure out if an elf or a dark elf stands in front of you. Every dark elf has a birthmark somewhere on their body. These are shaped like leaves. The leaf they have on their cheek will depend on the country they live in.

Sirens

These ones are probably one of the most dangerous creatures—besides hybrids—that exist in this world. They look as beautiful as mermaids, and to tell the difference between a siren and a mermaid is so difficult, you won’t know until it’s too late. Their most deadly weapon is the Siren’s Song! In magical languages, it’s called Desichery, which means deadly kiss. It’s a melody that can hypnotise people and let them follow the siren's voice. When they are close enough, the siren grabs their victim and drags them to the ground of the ocean. There they let them drown. Mostly they sing for revenge, but they can make up any reason to use that song. And that’s why this species is forbidden.

Made for the water:

Mermaids and sirens are very difficult to differentiate. They look completely alike. They all have swimming skins and gills, which make them perfect for living in the sea. They have scales all over their bodies. Their ears also have skins, but these are to hear better underwater.

The siren’s song:

I’m sure this is the deadliest song you will ever hear. So beautiful and lovely that there is no way to resist. Never follow a siren into the water if you hear them calling your name. There is also a song you can sing so you don’t get hypnotised by their call, but it’s very difficult to learn.

Rooges

Rooges are a forbidden species. Why you may ask? So, the thing about rooges is that they are creatures gone mad. That’s why they have yellow to red eyes. They mostly live in dark forests and kill everyone near them. Everyone is allowed to capture or kill a rooge.

Rooges are especially dangerous for wolfpacks because they often have silver with them. And silver can kill a wolf in seconds.

Another thing you really need to know is; Rogues and rooges AREN’T the same! Rogue is another word for lone wolf. Lone wolfs are not part of a pack and are allowed to be killed or tortured IF they are harmful to a pack or coven. But as long as they live on neutral territory, no pack, coven or being is allowed to harm them.

Silver:

A lot of rooges replace their nails or claws with silver. Silver is the most effective weapon against wolves, which are the creatures they attack the most.

Insanity:

Rooges are creatures who went insane. They have yellow to red eyes, which confirms that they are insane. Killing rooges is a challenge since you do not always know which creature is in front of you.

Rucons

Rucons are some kind of zombie. They are hard to kill and unpredictable. They have mostly grey skin and long fangs. They have red or black eyes and they are slaves from the Devil himself.

Rucons are created beings. That means that they aren’t born like other creatures but created. In hell, they are made out of the pieces of shattered souls. Only the Devil can create those monsters, that’s why sometimes souls aren’t reborn as humans or beings.

If you don’t want to get involved with those creatures, you should always avoid dark forests at night. Rucons are only active at night, it’s rare if they come out at daylight.

Rucons and their image:

Rucons look awful. But these aren’t normal creatures. They are created from parts of a human or magican soul, which makes them look weird and creepy. Over the years they mostly end up looking like a monster in a horror movie.

Vampires

Vampires have red eyes and long fangs. They are sometimes hot-tempered and they drink blood. They need to drink blood as it boosts their energy. Vampires can get to be a few hundred years old and they are creatures of the night. The myth that vampires turn into ashes when they go outside isn’t true, and that makes them really flexible. But you can kill a vampire with a wooden stake, which you put through their heart. And you can weaken them with rosemary. The first vampire was Dracula, and he is one of five original vampires. Some important features of vampires include their strength, their speed and their ability to teleport.

Vampires and their weaknesses:

Rosemary is a typical plant that can weaken a vampire. Not killing, but you can weaken them with that. Vampires mostly act like they are drunk when they eat rosemary, but they can even faint if they aren’t prepared for it. Vampires can look into the mirror and see themselves, so it’s also just a myth that they can’t see themselves in a mirror. To kill a vampire, you can use a wooden staken. You can make those out of any wood, but you have to stab them right in their heart. But I wouldn’t do that, honestly, since vampires aren’t always bad.

Damn, these teeth:

Every vampire has sharp teeth—there isn’t any vampire without these, even though they don’t use them often. Vampires normally drink blood from blood bags, not human blood. They drink animal blood. Human blood is tastier, of course, but they wouldn’t want to stop if they started drinking it. When vampires smell blood, their eyes turn red. They can also do that automatically to scare people away.

Half Souls

Half souls are like the name suggests; people with only half of their soul. Kids who are born with half a soul mostly don’t survive. Some people give a part of their soul away, but that only works when you love that person so much that you would die for her/him. But in that case, you will become a half soul yourself. Half souls are dangerous because they can produce their own power or they can steal the power from other creatures. Not for long, but still.

Torn apart:

Half souls are impressive creatures. But sometimes they’re even more miserable than other people. They lost half of their soul, which is really hard for them. Babies that are born as half souls mostly don’t survive. They just don’t have the strength. Never judge a half soul. Do me the favour, will ya! They lost a part of themselves, which is pretty hard to accept. They can produce their own power, which is energy-draining, but it works. And they can steal half of your soul if they want to, even though they don’t do that a lot.

Phew, I hope you understand all the species. As you might ask now, ‘What about a mix of two different species?’ Well, there is a pretty good answer to that. Hybrids are a mix of two different species. They are much stronger than general creatures. But no one really knows much about them. And for anyone who doesn’t know what forbidden means… Forbidden means they are allowed to live, but if they do anything wrong, they will be neutralized. Now that we have that settled, let’s jump right into the story, shall we?

Chapter 1

A new beginning in a magical way

Luca

I looked up at the school gates of Silver Magican High, nervously taking one step after another. That’s gonna be interesting, I thought. This school, I was about to enter, wasn’t just a normal school. It was a school for magical creatures. I, personally, was human. A human in a magican school? Yeah, sounded insane, and it was. But my parents were both magicans. My father was a wolf and my mother was an elf. Yes, magicans could have a human child.

After all, all magicans were part human. My parents wanted me to attend a magican school so I would learn how to live in a world dominated by magical creatures. It wasn’t a bad idea, I had to admit. The only thing that made me nervous was that everyone in this school was stronger than me. They all had different abilities, which a human couldn’t keep up with. And I wasn’t sure if they would accept me for being human. I was a perfect victim for getting teased. But there was only one way to find out how they would react to me.

I opened the door of the school and looked around with big, wide eyes. There were all kinds of creatures inside. Wolves, elves, angels, mermaids and so on. Some were hiding their original form, while others were running as a wolf or walking around with horns. There were so many different creatures. I could see dragons, and there was an aquarium, where a mermaid swam around. It looked absolutely amazing.

Now I only needed to find someone who could tell me where the principal’s office was. I searched the hall for someone who looked nice and not too dangerous. A short girl with freckles and chestnut-brown hair tied in a bun caught my attention. She had a curvy figure and big, curious eyes. She seemed welcoming, maybe a bit energetic, but that didn’t stop me from walking in her direction.

‘Excuse me,’ I said and tapped her on her shoulder. ‘Could you show me where the principal’s office is, please?’

The girl turned on her heel and looked at me confused. ‘No offence, dude, but I think you might be in the wrong school!’ she smiled and furrowed her eyebrows at me. She had sensed immediately that I wasn’t her kind.

‘No, don’t worry about it! I come from a magican family,’ I explained to her.

She scrutinized me from head to toe before a big grin played on her lips. ‘Well, in that case, sure, I can walk you there! What’s your name, new boy?’ she wanted to know as her eyes glittered in curiosity.

‘The name is Luca! What about you?’ I questioned.

‘Mine is Sophie. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lu,’ she said. ‘I hope you don’t mind me calling you that!.

‘No, I don’t mind,’ I laughed. ‘Now, will you escort me to the principal’s office, shorty?’

Sophie punched my arm when she heard the nickname I’d given her. ‘I’m not that short!’ she scolded in a strict voice.

‘Whatever makes you sleep at night, shorty!’ I countered. She rolled her eyes at me but eventually began to laugh.

I tried to figure out what kind of magican she was. She didn’t seem dangerous, or at least I didn’t think so. Soon enough, I gave up and asked, ‘So what magican am I dealing with?’

She raised an eyebrow at me. ‘You can’t figure it out?’

‘Sorry, no I can’t,’ I mumbled. She grinned at me and let her ears grow. Seconds later she stood in front of me as an elf. ‘All right, I guess you are an elf then?’ I guessed, amused.

She nodded. ‘Yeah, you got that right! And now I’ll bring you to the principal.’

I thought we would have to go a long way, through a lot of halls, but Sophie just grabbed my arm and pushed me to the other side of the hall. I looked at her confused, but she signalled for me to turn around. And I stood in front of the principal’s office. I turned back to her and gave a thumbs up. She just grinned at me. I waved at her as if to say ‘See you later,’ before I knocked on the door.

It didn’t take long before a ‘Please, step in’ permitted me to enter. I opened the door and saw a young man in a suit sitting in front of a wooden desk. That had to be Mr Avans.

‘Luca Grey, right?’ the man guessed in a deep calm voice.

‘Yes, that would be right,’ I answered him.

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you, Luca! I’m Mr Avans, the principal,’ he introduced himself and shook my hand.

‘The pleasure is all mine,’ I assured him politely.

‘Please take a seat,’ he commanded and pointed at the chair in front of him.

I did as he said, and then he began his question round. ‘So, Luca, you are fully human if I understood your parents correctly.’

‘Yes, that’s correct,’ I confirmed. He looked at me for a long time.

‘You are the first human in this school. Are you aware of that?’ he interrogated.

‘I am,’ I assured him.

‘And you are aware that some of the students are dangerous creatures?’ Lincoln Avans asked. I nodded as a response. ‘Good, good…’ he said. ‘Now, I’m asking you… Do you want protection from some of the magicans here?’

I thought about his question. Did I want protection? Maybe it was useful, but did I need that? It would have benefits, which were maybe even unnecessary. ‘I don’t need protection, thank you!’ I rejected his offer.

‘Very well,’ he smiled. ‘That’s your dorm key. You will share one dorm with another magican. The number is written on the key,’ he explained, then handed me a small key with the number 125. I thanked him and he gave me the schedule for my classes. When he was finished, he said, ‘That’s all! I will bring you to your class now. If there are any problems with other students, feel free to tell me.’

‘I will keep that in mind,’ I promised him. We both stood up, and he walked me to my class.

The school was huge! I had no idea how I would be able to find my way around here alone. We walked through a lot of halls, which I tried to remember. Just in case. The décor was decorated lovely.

They had used a lot of wood to build the school. Every kind of plant and animal was engraved into the wood, which made the school seem so alive. Every door was unique. There wasn’t one that looked like the other. We stopped in front of a wooden door. There were animals, teeth, scales and fins engraved on it. This had to be a Transformation room. 7C was written next to the door.

‘This is your class, Luca. Have a nice day!’ the principal wished me well and began to walk away.

‘Thank you and goodbye, Mr Avans!’ I shouted after him. Nervously, I looked up at the door. This would be my first time around so many magicans. So many different species. I took a deep breath and then got the courage to knock.

‘Come in!’ a bright voice permitted me to step in. I opened the door and stared at a big group of students in front of me. They weren’t transformed yet, so I could only guess which creature each of them was. The teacher was a woman with a tall stature and a round-shaped face. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and her hazel brown eyes glimmered in a friendly way.

‘You must be the new student!’ she laughed and shook my hand. ‘I’m Colette Payne, your teacher in English and Transformation!’ she introduced herself. ‘Maybe you could tell us some things about yourself. Name, age, family, hobbies, for example.’

I nodded and took a look at the other students again. Some faces were shocked while others seemed to be confused. It seemed like they had no idea that a new student, aka me, would come today.

‘Sure! I’m Luca. Luca Grey. I’m seventeen years old and I have three brothers. My hobbies are horse riding and playing the guitar,’ I introduced myself to my new class. Yes, I could ride a horse. I even had one. Her name was Duchess. She was a beautiful Shire mare with white fur.

I noticed that Miss Payne looked at me confused. ‘So, Luca…what creature are you?’ she wanted to know.

I knew that question would pop up. ‘I’m human,’ I answered her. Her eyes widened and a gasping sound made its way through the students.

‘O-oh, isn’t that nice!’ she stuttered but found her confidence pretty quickly again. ‘Please take a seat next to Brian! Brian, raise your hand, please!’ A boy with caramel skin and pitch-black hair raised his hand. I approached him while I tried to figure out what creature he was.

‘Hey, dude! Nice to meet you, I’m Brian Blackwood. I’m a wolf,’ he introduced himself.

I sat down next to him and smiled. ‘Nice to meet you, Brian. I’m Luca, as you already know. You are from the Blackwoodpack, right?’

Brian looked at me impressed. ‘Where do you know that from?’ he questioned.

‘Your pack is one of the neighbouring packs to mine! I’m from the Evenclawpack. My father is the beta,’ I chuckled.

Brian’s eyes got even bigger. ‘Damn, you are the son of Trevor Grey, one of the best betas in the country,’ he exclaimed. ‘How come I never saw you when I visited?’

‘I was probably somewhere else at that time?’ I laughed.

As soon as the bell rang at the end of class, I packed my stuff and waited outside. Brian came after me and asked, ‘What class do we have now?’

I took a look at my schedule. ‘We have Healing now. And then we have lunch,’ I explained to him.

He scratched his head in embarrassment. ‘Right…I should know the schedule by now,’ he mumbled.

We walked down the hall and up the stairs. Then we turned to the left and opened a door. The room was filled with shelves that held a lot of small bottles. In them were all kinds of herbs. More than you could imagine. From the usual ones, which humans also used, to the magical ones. A tall man dressed in a suit, with a long beard that reached his hips, came into the classroom. He watched as the classroom filled with students. His name was Derion Whitebeard, which totally fit him. He was a wizard and he was teaching Healing, Surviving and Music.

‘All right, everyone! Open your books to page → and read it, please,’ he commanded us. ‘I will explain everything you don’t understand later.’ I didn’t have the book yet, but Brian did. It was about certain rare herbs that cost a fortune. I recognized one instantly. Cerphylis. My mother had that plant. It looked like a tiger lily, but it had a really strong effect. You could heal inner wounds with it, even broken bones, but you needed to take a high dose of it.

We read the text about the different herbs. Oh, man…you had to believe me when I said that there were a lot of herbs I didn’t know about. I would never have guessed that there were plants that could eat you from the inside out. Creepy. We listened to the questions of our classmates and our teacher’s explanations. It was funny to watch him explain certain things. He had an interesting way of talking. He rolled the R sharply. And he looked as if he was seven hundred years old. I was sure that he even knew Dracula, the leader of the vampires. Mr Whitebeard looked like a damn fossil.

And then we had lunch. The canteen was on the second floor.

And damn, there were like five hundred students in the canteen.

They were all chatting, laughing and fooling around. I tried to find a free table but it seemed hopeless. There were so many people that I couldn’t find one. But then I spotted Sophie in this sea of students.

Thank the Moongoddess, at least one person I knew. And there were two free seats next to her. I approached her. ‘Nice to see you again, shorty! Are these two seats available or reserved?’

She turned her head to me and giggled. ‘Hello there, Lu! I was about to look for you, but you found me already. Sure, sit down.

Brian you too, will you!’ I watched as Brian got a little flustered as he took his seat next to her. Oh damn…I could tell he had at least a small crush on her. I grinned at him. As soon as he noticed, he gave me a ‘don’t you dare embarrass me or you are dead’ look. I got the message instantly and took a look at the other two people at our table.

A boy and a girl. The girl had fawn-coloured hair and big curious eyes. She reminded me of Sophie, but she looked a little younger. Her ears were also pointed but not as long as Sophie’s. I was still trying to figure out if she was an elf or a dark elf. Some dark elves covered their birthmark with make-up. I knew that from my own experience. The boy next to her was well-built, with wavy blonde hair that was cut short at the sides and the back. He was a stylish guy with wide shoulders, which made him look threatening.

Sophie saw what I was trying to figure out and introduced these two to me. ‘So, Lu, these two are Chaseleigh, my cousin, and Brandon, her boyfriend!’

‘Sweet,’ I grinned.

‘Have you finally figured out what creatures we are?’ Chaseleigh questioned. Her voice was low and sweet.

‘I think you are an elf,’ I guessed, then looked to Brandon. ‘But I can’t figure out what you are, Brandon.’

Brandon decided that he would show me what creature he was. He smirked at me so I could see his long sharp fangs. ‘Oh, you are a vampire!’ I looked at him, amazed.

‘At your service!’ Brandon laughed and made a bow-like gesture.

Chaseleigh scrutinized me for a bit until she asked, ‘And with what creature do we have to deal with?’

‘Human,’ I answered her, hoping they wouldn’t turn me down as a friend. Chaseleigh’s eyes got as big as plates, and Brandon spitted a bit of his blood drink at my sudden answer.

‘A what?!’ they both yelled at me so I fell from my chair.

‘Hey, you can’t shout me from my chair like that!’ I scolded them.

‘Sorry…’ they both apologized.

Brandon turned his head to Chaseleigh and kissed her on her forehead. ‘Do you know when the Fighters are coming back?’ he wanted to know, a little nervous.

‘Sorry, babe! I don’t know when they are coming back. Maybe there is a problem or something.’ Chaseleigh tried to calm him.

‘Velvet is protecting them!’

I looked at them confused. ‘Who are the Fighters?’ I interrogated.

‘The Fighters are a group of students who go to packs, covens, towns and villages to make sure everyone is safe and sound. They are also the protectors of the school,’ Chaseleigh explained to me.

‘And who is Velvet?’ I wondered.

‘She is the leader of the Fighters. The biggest protector of the school. Velvet is good at what she does, but sometimes things don’t go as planned and they come home with injuries,’ Brian informed me.

I thought about that for a while. Now, that was interesting. Maybe I would meet that protector once. ‘I understand…’ I smiled.

‘Are there any groups other than the Fighters?’

They seemed to think about that question. ‘Of course. There are the Healers and the Crafters. The Healers are there to heal injured students. The Crafters make armour and weapons!’ Sophie replied.

I nodded and began to eat my fish and chips again. The others did the same. As I was about to get my dessert, a boy suddenly kicked open the canteen doors. Every conversation turned quiet and everyone stared at him, including me. The boy took some time to catch his breath and shouted, ‘The Fighters are back and they are injured! We need help! Healers, come on! It looks bad to me!’

Chapter 2

The Fighters

Velvet

I was tumbling as I felt the blood dripping out of the wound on my right arm. Goddamn it! I should have been more careful. I got shot, but the bullet had only grazed me. I looked at Max, who I supported. He was all covered in blood and sweat, and he snorted and struggled for air. He was already at his limit. Zac was walking next to me, not making a single sound. You could see in his eyes that he was replaying the situation we’d got ourselves into. I saw Zac’s hands shaking. He was afraid.

We had walked through the gate during lunch. The crowd gasped at us as I already saw a boy of a lower class running to get help. We stood there on the campus; taking another step seemed impossible right now. I felt my strength beginning to drain. But I couldn’t fall now. If I did, Max and I would be on the ground. He had his arm around my shoulders. Max had a bad cut on his chest. How could I let that happen? This wasn’t going according to plan. I should have looked out more. Zac had already sat down on the ground, his face pale and sweaty.

‘MAX!’ a male voice echoed over the campus. I looked up to the entrance as I saw Brandon running at us. Thank the heavens! That was the support that I needed right now. Brandon instantly took Max from me, who collapsed immediately to his knees. Brandon also got down on his knees as he hugged Max tight. ‘Velvet! What happened?’ he shouted at me. I took a deep breath as I supported myself with my hands on my thighs. It took me a few seconds before I could answer him.

‘We were on patrol, a village on the east side of town, and we heard a gunshot. Two groups of teenagers were fighting against each other while a boy lay on the ground. He got shot. So, o-of course, we interfered, but we didn’t know that there were also some other weapons in the game. After some time we ended the fight, but then some rucons came along and we had to fight them off too!’ I explained to him, still breathing heavily.

Brandon looked down at Max as he saw the wound on his chest, which had ripped his shirt too. ‘Knife,’ he gasped. I nodded as I tried to catch my breath. Damn, I needed to think my fight techniques through. I already saw the Healers running at us, Chaseleigh with them. She was the headhealer. She could help.

‘Velvet! Are you all right?’ I heard my fight teacher, Mr Hunter shout as he came running towards us.

‘Doesn’t matter! I’m gonna be fine!’ I told him and pointed at Zac and Max. ‘Help the others first!’ An order was an order.

Chaseleigh kneeled next to Max and Brandon. She took Max and laid him on his back on the ground. ‘Oh, by the woods!’ she gulped and took a knife that she always had hidden in her shoe.

With it, she cut Max’s shirt to have a better look at the wound.

‘Someone get me asnaisy! And some osmon too while you are at it!’ she shouted to a girl of a higher class.

‘Got it!’ the girl shouted back to her, then brought Chaseleigh some groomed blooms and leaves. Asnaisy was a flower that grew in the north and was a painkiller, especially when it came to open wounds. Osmon, on the other hand, was a plant that grew in the near rainforests. It didn’t have any flowers, but its leaves were a great healing plant. Healing a big wound wasn’t a problem at all with these.

Chaseleigh opened a small bottle, which she wore like a necklace around her neck, and mixed the water that was in it with the plants. Now she had a salve, which she began to anoint on Max’s chest. ‘Th-that hurts…’ he whined as he put his hand on his forehead.

‘Sorry, Max! It’s gonna get better soon,’ Chaseleigh assured him, then sat him up so she could wrap some bandages around him.

My eyes shifted to Zac. Timothy was taking care of him already. Timothy was also a great healer—a wizard on top of that.

He gave Zac a liquid to swallow, probably to calm him down, as he began to take care of his wounds. Zac also had a lot of bruises and cuts. His arms looked especially bad. Man, I shouldn’t have let them go without looking at what weapons the teenagers had first. This was a disaster. This shouldn’t have happened.

A maze had built itself up in front of us, the whole school watching us. They were all familiar, but then my eyes caught a boy. A boy I had never seen before. And I knew everyone in this school.

He had dark brown hair, which he wore longer than other guys. It didn’t reach his shoulders as Max’s hair did, but still, it was longer.

His hair was messy and he was also pretty tall. Taller than me, but that wasn’t difficult. He watched us too, his eyes wandering to everyone in front of him. His eyes were brown and looked friendly, but worried.

Something irritated me about this boy. It seemed like he wasn’t a magican. But why would this school take a human in? If he was one, of course. Not that I had anything against humans—we were all a part human after all—but still, it confused me.

My eyes shifted back to Max, who was laid on a stretcher by another two healers. Zac was able to get up again, and we all began to walk to the nurse’s office. I took a last look at the boy I had spotted. I would find out what was going on here. Didn’t matter if I talked to the principal or him. I would find out.

The nurse’s office wasn’t far away from the entrance of the school. Third door on the right. I was glad when I could sit down on a chair. I watched as Max was laid on the bed next to me. A blanket covered him to his shoulders. The warmth was really important. Zac was also laid on a bed. He was still pale as he covered himself with a blanket. Brandon sat down next to Max on the bed since Max was blacked out because of energy loss.

Chaseleigh came to me and began to patch me up. ‘Damn it, Velvet! You need to be more careful. Getting shot isn’t something to take lightly’ she scolded me.

‘Yeah, ye— Ouch! That hurt!’ I complained as she put some herbs on my arm.

‘Sorry, Vel! But that needs to be done,’ she apologized and continued to bandage my arm. I couldn’t blame her though. I knew that getting shot wasn’t something to take lightly. I’d got shot multiple times. It didn’t matter if it was a bullet or an arrow. Then she looked at my face. ‘By my pointed ears, what happened with your cheek?’ she questioned with big eyes.

‘Got a punch, nothing too serious,’ I brushed it off, something I did often.

‘Nothing serious? You are a good one to talk to! It could have broken your cheekbone,’ she told me off.

‘Whatever you say, healer lady!’ I chuckled as Chaseleigh plastered my cheek with herbs and a big plaster.

‘All right, that should be doing it! I have a meeting with the Healers now. Just don’t do anything stupid!’ she let me know. She walked to Brandon and kissed him and then she walked out of the door. Brandon stared at Max. He was hurting, you could see that in his eyes. Brandon and Max were from the same family after all.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The boy, who I saw earlier, stuck his head through the door. ‘I’m sorry, I don’t want to disturb,’ he apologized for his sudden appearance.

‘Nothing to apologize for. Come in!’ I smiled at him and watched as he walked up to Brandon.

‘Hey, you all right, Brandon?’ he asked in a low voice. Hmm, he must know Brandon already.

‘I’m fine, don’t worry!’ Brandon answered him, but I could sense the fear and worry in his voice. Brandon was a pretty sweet guy, and he sure was sensitive when it came to his family and his girlfriend.

‘Should I stay with you?’ the unknown boy questioned. Brandon just shook his head. He nodded and hugged Brandon from behind before he turned to leave.

‘And you are leaving without introducing yourself?’ I guessed and watched as he turned around to me.

‘I don’t wanna be a burden…’ the boy explained to me.

I shook my head. ‘You aren’t! Take a seat!’ He did as I said and sat down next to me. ‘I haven’t seen you here before, and I know, like, everyone in this school! Wanna tell me who you are?’ I wanted to know.

‘Um, sure. I’m Luca! Luca Grey,’ he told me a little bit about himself.

‘Well, Luca, how old are you?’ I asked him curiously.

‘Oh, I turned seventeen some months ago,’ he replied, smiling.

‘That’s nice to hear. Grey, you say? Are you the son of the Beta Trevor Grey?’ I let my nosiness take over.

‘I sure am—the third born, to be exact!’ he laughed and rubbed his head.

‘That’s interesting. I met him once at a fighting competition. He sure is an amazing beta,’ I acknowledged. I stared at him as the thought of him being human kicked in again. I couldn’t sense any other smell except wolf, but that was only very faint. I could see how he got uncomfortable under my intense stare.

‘Um, can I help you somehow?’ he asked me, still a little uncomfortable.

I stopped staring at him and said, ‘You know, you kinda look like a pure human to me. Is that correct?’

He looked at me, surprised at first, but then smiled. ‘Yeah, I’m fully human, but my parents wanted me to visit a magican school so I would learn how to live in the world of magical creatures!’

I nodded. ‘Well, that would explain it!’ He then looked at me with a confused facial expression. I raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Why are you looking at me like that?’ I wanted to know.

‘Well, I kinda have no idea who you are,’ he chuckled. That was when I realized that I hadn’t introduced myself to him.

‘How rude of me! Well, to fill that lack, I’m Velvet Raven, at your service, and I’m also seventeen years old!’ I introduced myself to him.

Luca seemed like he wanted to ask me something, but he got interrupted by a faint moan.

‘Ugh…what the hell happened?’ Max’s voice carried to my ear. I turned around to see Brandon hugging Max tight.

‘You are such an idiot, Max! How could you scare me like that?’ Brandon scolded.

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry…’ Max apologized, still a little fuzzy.

I stood up and walked to the left side of his bed. I ruffled Max’s hair with my hand and asked, ‘How are you, best friend?’

He sighed. ‘It hurts in my chest… O-other than that, I’m fine…’

I exhaled in relief. ‘You know, you scared me back there,’ I let him know.

A small smile appeared on his face. ‘You are one to talk. I lost it when you got shot,’ he smiled a little weakly.

I shook my head at him. ‘How often do I have to tell you that it doesn’t matter if something happens to me…’ I sighed.

‘And how often do I have to tell you that you are my best friend, and I can’t let anything happen to you too?’ he countered.

‘Well, it’s always good to know that I’ve still got you as my best friend,’ I giggled. ‘But Max, I’m being serious. Don’t do that again. Such a wound can do much more damage if it’s deeper,’ I told him in a strict tone.

‘I know, I know!’ he assured me and looked to Brandon. ‘Oh come here, Brandon! I’m okay.’ Max smiled and opened his arms for Brandon. Brandon didn’t even hesitate and buried his head in Max’s shoulder.

‘You…are so stupid,’ Brandon whispered as he wrapped his arms tightly around Max.

‘I know, Brandon! I’m gonna be more careful next time,’ Max promised.

Luca also came closer to us and leaned his weight against the bed. ‘Who is that?’ Max questioned and pointed at Luca.

‘Luca Grey, I hope you get better soon,’ Luca introduced himself and shook Max’s hand.

‘Thanks, man,’ Max replied.

I heard the bell ringing. The next lesson had begun. And…the classroom was at the other end of the school. ‘Max, Brandon. Luca and I will go now to the next lesson. I will excuse you two, all right?’ I told them, and they both nodded. ‘That’s great, I’m coming over later again. See you!’ I said goodbye and walked with Luca out the door.

‘It’s my first day and I’m already late,’ Luca moaned as he walked next to me.

‘Don’t worry about it. Miss Cox is usually really nice when it comes to new students. But she doesn’t like it when it’s often the case,’ I calmed him as we walked to the next lesson.