Ascent of the Blood Moon

The air conditioning of Cerulia High didn’t stand a chance against the humid May afternoon, but it sputtered on the best it could. The seniors were all gathered in their usual groups, scattered about the auditorium waiting for instructions. Cordelia sat in the seat reserved for the Valedictorian, going over her speech, again and again, gripping it tightly to stop her hands from shaking. When the principal got up on the stage to direct the students, Cordelia quickly stuffed her speech into her backpack, swapping it for her reference card. She pushed her backpack under her seat to keep it safe, then got up to follow the stream of students backstage. Twenty minutes later, everyone was lined up alphabetically in their sky-blue cap and gown, minus the valedictorian and salutatorian who stood at the back of the line. “Don’t st-st-st-stutter during your speech too much, freak.” Aubreigh Mariner, the salutatorian, said with a sneer. Cordelia didn’t look at her as she responded. “Thank you Aubreigh, I’ll k-keep that in mind.” The line began to move as they all filed into the auditorium to their seats, their families clapping from the balcony. Aubriegh’s speech was first, so she went straight to the stage, waving like a beauty contestant. “Good afternoon, classmates, friends, and family.” The microphone screeched with feedback, making her pause. “My name is Aubriegh Mariner, and I am so blessed and honored to be standing here in front of you all. I spent my freshman and sophomore years of high school in a small school, 124 meters deep in the ocean. Obviously, all of my classmates there were merfolk just like me.” The crowd laughed. “The best part about Cerulia high is our diversity. I have learned so much about all the wonderful species that live here in Ellios, and how they work together in cities like Cerulia. I even got to see werewolves shift for the first time when we lost our first football game my junior year!” One boy, probably the quarterback, howled. Cordelia tuned out the rest, going over her own speech in her head. After the Salutatory came awards, a couple of words from the principal, the presentation of diplomas, and finally it was time for Cordelia’s speech. Cordelia: The guidance counselor, Mrs. Sharp, called out the last few names and gave me a small introduction. “Up next we have a closing statement from our valedictorian, Cordelia Wade.” She clapped along with the audience as I made my way up to the stage, giving myself a pep talk in my head. Deep breaths. You can do this, Cordelia, you made it through four years of speech and debate. My stomach churned, but I mentally pushed it down as I approached the microphone. One more deep breath. I’m not talking in front of a big audience, just a big empty auditorium. Just like practice. “They say that nonverbal communication is twelve and a half times more powerful than your words, but when I asked principal Swan if I could just stand up here and give a thumbs up, she said no.” The audience laughed. “So, instead I will thank you all for being here. Thank you to the school staff for all you do, all of our friends and family for your support, and my classmates for surviving the last four years. If there is one thing I want you all to have as we leave here today, it’s hope. No one fully knows what the future holds, so chase your aspirations without looking back. Have hope, even when you are staring adversity in the face, even when you fail. Tomorrow will come and with it another chance to succeed. So, congratulations class of 20xx, you have made it all the way here to the beginning!” We all threw our caps into the air, and the auditorium erupted into applause and cheers that the ceremony was finally over. My stomach couldn’t hold it anymore. I ran backstage and through the doors that led to the hall, then to the right towards the restrooms and straight into… a werewolf? Oh no. I was expecting the usual werewolf rage of my classmates, but when he spoke he had no anger in his voice. He almost sounded amused. “Woah, sorry. Didn’t mean to run into you.” He had caught me by the elbow to stop me from bouncing off his solid chest and onto the floor. His hand was warm. “Hey, Miss Valedictorian, since I caught you, could you tell me where the—“ time was up. I skirted around him at my full speed to the ladies' room. “… bathroom is?” I could hear him say to the empty space where I used to be. After my stomach finished emptying its contents, I washed my face and hands and re-tied the top half of my hair up my black satin ribbon. My anxiety hadn’t made me sick in quite a while, but I had been pushing myself pretty hard lately. Plus, I didn’t have to speak in front of my entire class for speech and debate meets. I stepped out of the bathroom while sending a text to Rachel telling her to take Hope and head home without me, and bumped into the back of the same werewolf I had run into earlier. How did I keep managing to run into this same guy? It’s not like he was easy to miss. He was probably about six foot four, a whole foot plus an inch taller than me, and had light brown curly hair down to his shoulders. He had it half up with a black hair tie, the masculine version of my hairstyle. He turned around to see who had run into him and met my eyes. “Oh hey, Blondie. That’s twice in one day you ran into me.” He said with a chuckle. “Sorry, I realize now that your face was looking pretty green when I was trying to talk to you earlier… you ok?” Not as green as your eyes, I thought. They were like two lush forests, teeming with life. “I-I’m fine.” I could control my stutter when I had everything I was going to say fully planned out and practiced, but in face-to-face conversations, especially with strangers, I had a hard time stopping it. “Here, this will help.” He held out a mint he grabbed from his pocket, the kind you get from a restaurant. “Oh. Th-thank you.” I said and took from his hand gingerly. “No problem!” He said with a crooked smile, showing off a slight dimple on his right side. I popped the mint into my mouth. The more I looked at him, the more handsome he was. He was wearing a black paisley button-up with dark blue jeans and combat boots. He was my type from head to toe. What is it with me and werewolves? I could tell from his aura he was no ordinary werewolf either. He seemed to be either alpha or an extraordinary beta. “Th-thanks again, bye.” I said and was gone in a flash, feeling thankful for once that I had supernatural speed. I made a quick detour into the now nearly empty auditorium for my backpack, but I didn’t slow down until I saw the big red neon sight that read “Hope’s House” Rachel and Hope were waiting for me at one of the tables in the cafe on the ground floor of our shabby old building. Hope had closed it down for the rest of the day just to come to my graduation, so it was still and quiet. Usually, at this time of day, it was full of the humming and whirring of the espresso machine, the clink and clank of ceramic mugs and plates, and the murmurs of voices of customers chatting over their drinks and pastries. The smell of espresso still lingered in the air though, so I took a deep breath, feeling more relaxed than I had all week. “Have a seat, Cordelia,” Hope said, getting up and pulling a chair out for me. “Would you like some tea?” “Yes please.” I set down my backpack and took a seat. “Cordie you nailed your speech!” Rachel said with a grin, showing off her long, pointed canines. “Thanks, Rachel. You were right about the opening line. I’m glad I asked you for help!” “Maybe I have a future in comedy.” She said with a giggle and a flip of her silky black hair. She wore it in a short bob cut with pointed bangs. Her eyes were blood red, a common color for vampires. Rachel was the closest thing I had to a little sister. Her parents had left her here at Hope’s house 10 years ago, then disappeared without an explanation. At first, she resented Hope, and would often run away looking for her parents. Each time she ran away, I would find her in the alley next to Hope’s House, curled up in a ball. I would just sit next to her until she was ready to come back home. Hope came back to the table with a full tea tray. She passed Rachel her favorite mug, which looked like an owl, then passed me mine, a tall rounded square mug that was white with sprigs of lavender painted all over it. “Which tea did you make?” Rachel sniffed the air. “Ooh, peppermint! With a bit of honey and lemon of course.” Hope smiled and poured each of us some tea before taking a seat. “Congratulations, Cordelia,” Hope said, raising her mug. “Congrats, Cordie!” Rachel did the same and I gave both of them a clink with my mug, a smile spreading across my face. “Thank you, thank you.” I sipped my tea, enjoying the fresh minty flavor until it brought a pair of green eyes, and a warm hand offering a mint to mind. I just had to run into the most handsome werewolf of all time. I tried to bury the memory down deep. After all, I would never see that guy again, so there was no use in letting myself crush on him. I didn’t even know his name. “So, what are your plans for the summer, girls?” Hope said, pulling me from my thoughts. “I am doing a movie club with some of my friends, we are gonna meet up every Friday! That’s the only plan I got.” Rachel said with a shrug. “I’ll have a lot of things to get ready for fall. Swallow Haven will be much colder. They even have snow!” I said with a grin. “I want to work as much as I can so I can get everything I need and maybe even save a little.” “Just make sure you have some time for me too, Cordie! Since you are ditching me to go off to college. Poor me, I’ll be in our room all by myself!” Rachel said melodramatically. She kept going back and forth between being upset I was leaving and being happy she would finally have her own room. Hope’s House was an old, crumbling brick building that had three stories. The first floor was the cafè, the second was a living area with a living room, kitchen, study, and the master bedroom where Hope lived. Above that were four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Rachel and I were the only ones that had to share a room, which we had never really complained about. We were also the closest of all the kids in Hope’s House, even before we had to share a room. Hope inherited this building at the age of sixteen after losing her own parents in a rogue attack while they were traveling the countryside about 100 years ago. Since then, she used it as a house for orphans to give them a safe place to live until they were of age. She also let us work in the cafe once we were 14 so we could earn our own money to help us start our own life when the time came. In my eyes, she was an angel of the moon goddess rather than a witch. Once we were done with our tea, I helped Hope write the schedule for the cafe, while Rachel went upstairs to start dinner for everyone. Everyone was more lively than usual during dinner, glad that the school year was over. High school wasn’t easy when you were an orphaned paranormal. I was glad that Rachel had at least finally found a decent group of vamps that she liked. As for me, I didn’t know if I would ever find a group outside of this house that I could fit into. Even among those at Hope’s House I sometimes felt isolated, not knowing where I would fit into the world once I came of age to leave this place. That’s why I had been so determined to become valedictorian. Cerulia High offered a scholarship to the top of each graduating class to Swallow Haven University. It was like Harvard for paranormals. Many of the leaders of the Kingdom of Ellios had generations of SHU alumni. Due to some of my abilities, I was even enrolled on the list of Extraordinary Gifts and Talents, which gave me access to more courses and a room in the nicest dorm the campus had to offer: Mintaka. The rest of summer passed by in a humid blur. I spent most days working the cafè, carefully perfecting my latte art to increase our tips, and evenings I spent hunting down deals on winter clothes and warm fabric in bargain and second-hand stores or sewing. I made sure to give some time to Rachel and Hope when I could. I was going to miss them so much. Hope: The day came all too soon for Cordelia to leave my house, after thirteen years of watching over her. I thought I had found an angel on my doorstep, seeing her small round face and big blue eyes, complete with blonde ringlets down past the collar of her white dress. Now that she was older, her ringlets had stretched into long waves, as if gravity had slowly taken hold of her. She had grown into a warm and bright young woman, and it was hard to see her go. At first, I was worried sick that she wished to go to a university nearly across the country, and a prestigious one full of students from distinguished families at that. Once she explained that Swallow Haven had an expansive library with books she believed would have clues to her identity, I understood. In all my years of running this house, she was the most talented, but also the most confounding child to come through my doors. Most paranormals, even from mixed parents, were easily identifiable, but not Cordelia. Poor child had such a unique mix of abilities and talents, but none of them gave a clear hint to what she was. I had a friend with The Sight come to read her aura after she had turned twelve, but her strange comments only made things more baffling. A car had been sent by the school to pick her up since she had no transportation of her own. Rachel and I sat on the porch of my house for a while watching it go off into the world.