Half Blood Rising novel Chapter 10

Ripley’s magic was affecting me, and in a way, it was similar to how the werewolf’s energy had slipped under my skin that first night when I’d taken his life. It was dark, twisted, and somehow, positive, too, but it triggered my anxiety. I tried to keep my breathing calm and even, taking a few deep breaths at a time.

He took a few steps away from the dog, ordering Mally to stay, and then he started speaking words in an old Fae language. I flipped the page, staring at the formula that was translated into English. Everyone around seemed completely absorbed in what was going on. My hands started tingling, the energy rippling through me as I stared at the dog. For some reason, I didn’t want to witness this, I didn’t want to see him hurt. The dog was pure and innocent. It didn’t deserve to be a test subject. That word was stuck inside my head from my memory.

A light smoke began wisping from Ripley’s hands. A few shimmers spread throughout the class. Then the dog started howling, arching his back. The animal was in pain, and my stomach twisted with unease. I was lucky enough that I didn’t remember what had happened to me during my transformation into a half-vampire.

I’d killed ruthless human murderers, supernaturals who enjoyed inflicting pain on others. I’d never shown mercy, but I couldn’t watch this. Moments later, something started happening to me. My chest cracked open and nausea rolled through my stomach. The dog yelped, twisting his body in a strange angle and shaking all over. It was almost like Ripley was trying to kill him.

I covered my face with my palms, trying to breathe and blocking out all the voices around me. I suspected that the other students wanted him to end this quickly. The temperature in my body was dropping. I was shivering with cold, trying to remember the healing spell I’d read once in one of the charm books. It was as if I wasn’t myself. I was aware, yet my mind was in havoc. I had no idea what was going on.

“Save him, save him and make the darkness go away,” I repeated in Latin inside my head, seeing the words on the page. The nausea was finally easing up and the dog seemed calmer, too.

Ripley must have stopped what he was doing. The silence in the classroom was immediate. I finally lifted my eyes towards Ripley, realising that he was staring back at me with an expression of outrage and something else, admiration perhaps? I couldn’t tell. His face was red, and his eyes were nearly popping out of his head. My symptoms were slowly fading away, and the dog was wagging his tale.

“Class dismissed,” Ripley roared, and I nearly jumped out of my chair as so many other students startled.

Karina nudged me; she didn’t look too good herself, her face had paled. “Look, that girl’s throwing up in the corner.” Her voice was uneven and shaky as she spoke.

She was right; one of the students was helping the other girl, but Ripley seemed oblivious to it. We were all adults, but this was intense, even for me.

I spotted Lachlan; he was helping Ramona out of her seat. Everyone must have been affected by Ripley’s magic. I looked at Mally, who was lying by the steps and staring at the professor.

“This was odd. What do we have next?” I asked Karina, feeling more and more like myself again. I just wanted to get out of this class.

“Miss Donovan, I need a word.” Ripley’s voice echoed throughout the classroom. Karina rose a brow in question, then mouthed something that looked like “see you later.” My fangs extended, and I covered my mouth with my hand. This wasn’t something that happened to me often. The dog stood, walked up to me, and then started sniffing my hand.

“How can I help you, professor?” I asked, trying not to sound too annoyed that he’d stopped me from leaving.

“You interfered during the lesson. Your defensive charm, it affected my experiment,” he snapped at me, coming so close that I could see my reflection in his cobalt eyes. His fae energy swirled around me.

I shook my head in confusion. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, professor. This was my first charms lesson.”

“The Chimera charm is extremely complex. Each time, I perfect it. Everything was going smoothly until your magic severed the link between me and the dog. What are you, Miss Donovan?”

Why the hell did everyone keep asking me the same question? Only Oldman, Lachlan, and Marco knew I couldn’t remember anything from my past, but I was fed up. I didn’t want to keep repeating my story to everyone at the academy.

“I haven’t done anything, professor. I can fight and slaughter bad guys, but charms aren’t my strong suit, so I have no idea what you’re insinuating,” I told him, searching for my knife, but I must have forgotten it.

His eyes narrowed further, and the silence became uncomfortable, tension rose between us. Ripley was not happy, his anger channelled through me, but I didn’t care.

Fae magic was strong and unpredictable. Their mind games were dangerous enough to cause harm. Once, a female convict had almost made me jump off a bridge. Her magic had affected me so much, she’d broken my wards, and gotten inside my head.

“You interfered with my magic, and that isn’t something any other first-year student can do,” he said quietly. I felt his energy once again, trying to break through, get inside my head. I felt the same dull pain inside my chest again. Then it was gone quickly, and I took a slow, deep breath. “If I catch you causing problems during one of my lessons again, the consequences will be severe.”

I wanted to come back with some sort of snarky remark, but then thought better of it. Ripley could easily say something to Oldman, and I was trying hard to comply by the rules. I bit my tongue and left the class. My knees were weak.

Once outside, I took several long breaths, telling myself I had nothing to worry about.

“What the hell was that about? What did he want from you?” Karina’s curious voice startled me, and when she touched me, I saw a flashback from a few months ago—when I killed a were. He had just been released from prison, and he’d raped the human woman who tried to help him. As I’d been draining him, his memories showed me that this wasn’t the only thing he “specialised” in. He also liked killing stray dogs and cats, especially the ones that weren’t expecting it. I quickly shook that horrific image out of my head.

“He told me to keep my nose out of his business,” I said, looking around. “Apparently, I interfered with his charm.” Our group was standing by the pillar, and they appeared to be discussing something. Judas was talking to Marco. Lachlan and Ramona were there, too.

Karina made a strange sound, then bit her bottom lip. “What? No one can stop a charm like that.” She scoffed. “Besides, he must have messed something up, because the dog resisted it for as long as he could. Apparently, when this charm is performed on a person, he or she can be damaged permanently.