The Claddagh Academy

Lorcus from the Blood Court

Blaise

            “For the hundredth of times, a Mandrake or Mandragora Officianarum can be used for pretty much everything,” lectured me Karoo while she took a seat next to me at our usual table. The cafeteria was full this morning after all the students who had traveled home for winter break had returned in the earliest morning train. I could feel the general excitement in the air. Tonight was the Winter Ball and everybody and their mother seemed to be giggly about all the possibilities the night could bring. It was also New Year’s Eve and apparently in Faerie that meant the end of a seasonal quarter. I’ve soon learned after my first couple of weeks at Claddagh that Fae didn’t count years by the amount of days but by seasons. We were currently in winter season which meant a period that denoted calmness and stillness. Karoo had mentioned once or twice that nothing remotely interesting ever happened during winter at Faerie apart from the Winter Ball that occurred every end of the seasonal quarter at Claddagh. Little by little I started to understand how big the Winter Ball was for the Fae. Dignitaries, diplomats and even High Lords from every Royal House participated in the celebrations. It wasn’t unheard of one or two Court’s king that has visited occasionally. This year the Unseelie King would be participating of course and that had gathered more guests than usual. Karoo gulped when she looked around the cafeteria and did a mental calculation about the number of Fae in attendance. She looked at me and frowned, “Is it too late to order another roasted pig?”

            “Karoo you already ordered three more pigs after the initial two wild hogs that I personally supervised the cook making for tonight. Can we please return to our conversation about roots that look like crying babies?” I made a point of capturing her chin and making her look at me so she could stop mentally adding people to her guest list. She looked beaten. Done. Dead. Actually I had no words to describe how tired Karoo looked at the moment. There were dark circles underneath her dark circles and a nervous tick in her left eye that made her look like a potential first case of Psychotic Fae.  She nodded and took a drink of her coffee. Not that she needed any more caffeine but she would probably have me cooked with apple juice and brandy if I mentioned something about her caffeine addiction right then. Karoo raised her hand and started numerating all the properties and uses of the Mandrake with her fingers.

 “The roots of a Mandrake can be used as anesthesia, could be also used as hallucinogens, to produce morphic changes, healing when placed in milk and fed drops of blood, poisonous when mixed with unicorn’s tears and rarely but nevertheless are very potent when used to unlock memories and magical locks. See? I told you, Mandrakes are one of the most common ingredients to be used in potions,” she shrugged and looked sadly at her now empty cup of coffee.

            “Kodiak was specifically reading about having Mandrakes for breakfast,” I said thinking back to that strange header I’ve seen him reading at the library. Karoo shrugged again taking my cup of coffee, sipping from it and totally ignoring my groans. Great, now I had to go back to the buffet to get another cup for me. 

            “That’s a usual way to ingest Mandrakes. When used in small doses and diluted in sugar and specific spices a Mandrake root can help to increase magic prowess. Not that Kodiak needs more magic prowess. The beast is already…” she caught herself midsentence and blanched, looking at me with perplexing golden eyes. She had caught herself before saying something important. I knew this. What beast had she been talking about? I tried to open my mouth and ask her what she had been trying to say but in that same moment Kodiak and the rest of his brothers appeared by the entrance of the cafeteria. Today they were all dressed in their official regalia. I had to admit Kodiak looked handsome in his king’s attire. As it was tradition every court dressed in their official color for ceremonies like the Winter Ball. The Unseelie Court colors were black and blacker. The clothes were heavy and intimidating, with fur cloaks made of black werewolves’ mane, leather vests stitched in silver threads and adorned with Boggart’s skulls. Kodiak looked a head taller in his ceremonial cloak, with wide shoulders that had been embellished with troll’s fangs.

            Every Doomhold brother was dressed in the same fashion, although I noted that some brothers carried around more body parts in their cloaks than others. I wondered why was that while I followed them on their way to the buffet at the end of the cafeteria. They moved like a military unit, perfect coordination and intimidation on point. All the other students and guests move out of their way to let them pass. I frowned at their backs, studying the strange arrangements of skulls, bones and talon nails that hanged to their cloaks. I looked back at Karoo, who was dressed in a beautiful black gown threaded with silver wool that had been knitted to create majestic brocades of platinum flowers through her corset and skirt. I noted right away she wasn’t carrying around any cloak and frowned.

            “Why don’t you have a cool cloak like them?” I asked and Karoo blushed a little. It was Kodiak who answered for her when he took a seat next to me. He was only carrying around a cup of coffee. Black like his heart. I smirked at my own thought and Kodiak only rolled his eyes at me.

            “For your information only members of the Unseelie Court who has taken their first kill can wear their Death Cloak. It is a right you have to win no something you borrow,” he said and Talon nodded, showing off his Death Cloak and a bragging smile. I eyed the cloak with a cowl. Talon’s cloak was covered by tiny bones and talon nails. I scowled, crossing my arms and staring at the Doomhold brothers.

            “If I had a Death Cloak it would be covered in more bones than any of yours,” I stated and Kodiak smirked moving his cup of coffee slowly to his lips.

            “Siren, we are only carrying around the bones of our kills for the season. How many enraged beasts have you killed this winter so far?” he asked me with a knowing look and blew the surface of his steaming cup of coffee. None. I hadn’t killed any wildlings this winter because I’d been busy organizing a freaking Ball. A dancing Ball. Uh. If my fellow bounty hunters could see me now they would be embarrassed of me. I followed Kodiak’s movements and surprisingly I felt myself blush when I focused in his lips. He had a nice set of lips. Curved and generous with a penchant to lift a little by their right corner. Strangely enough I seemed to know they were also soft, especially by the middle of his lower lip. I felt myself blush when Kodiak’s golden eyes focused intensely on me. In an act of anxiety I stole his cup of coffee from his hands and took a long gulp of the hot drink. That will serve him for being so arrogant. Also, I wasn’t in the mood to make the line for the coffee section of the buffet. Kodiak stared at me with a half-smile and waved his ringed hand so I could keep the cup. I turned to Karoo and smiled at her.

            “Don’t worry Karoo, we would have all summer to work on your Death Cloak,” I winked at her and Karoo smiled back at me.

            “Would you be staying with us for the summer?” she asked hopefully and in an instant I had all eyes on me. Kodiak stared at me by his peripherals, always calculating, always observing. I sighed and shrugged. Amadeus had alerted me at the beginning of the school year to stay away from the Unseelie King. Now I was not sure his reasons to want me away from Kodiak were well founded anymore. There was a lot more about Kodiak than the rumors circulating about him. Whatever he had killed his father or not was still a matter I didn’t understand completely, but I didn’t know all the facts and so far the Doomhold siblings had been nothing but kind and welcoming towards me. Alas, I wasn’t sure Amadeus would be so understanding to let me spend all the summer with a king that might have or might have not committed regicide and p*******e.

            “I’m not sure that would be the case. Last time I checked my plan for the summer was to hunt down enraged trolls with Amadeus. We tend to camp in Canada in zones around large amount of pine trees since that’s where enraged trolls like to kill and eat their victims,” Karoo opened her eyes and clapped her hands in excitement.

            “That sounds like fun! Kodiak can I go with Blaise to the human realm to hunt down trolls in Canada?” she pronounced Ka-na-duh, dragging every syllable slowly as if each word was a magical conjuring. Kodiak arched an eyebrow at us and then shook his head slowly.

            “You can go if you first manage to kill trolls here in Faerie, with me at your side and surrounded by all our brothers,” it was Karoo’s turn to roll her eyes at Kodiak. She coughed and I could swear that I caught a suspicious sound under her breath that sounded like overprotective. I smirked and took a second sip of Kodiak’s coffee. It tasted different. Like cinnamon and a spicy aftertaste that I couldn’t quite figure out.

            “Hey, did you put something different in the coffee?” I asked and Kodiak smiled slowly. Gods, I hated him so much when he smiled like that. His dimples appeared and his eyes turned heavy lidded, as if you and he were sharing a secret. A girl sighed somewhere at my back and there were two upper year girls that crashed against each other for looking at him. He was handsome, I get it, but girls seemed to turn stupid when they looked at him. He moved closer, then closer, until we were only a breath away. I could smell the danger in his scent. His scent of storm and darkness, ancient and new. We both smelt the air, scenting our skin and recognizing our smells like a pair of beasts guiding themselves by their instincts. Kodiak halted then, his golden eyes blacking out for the fraction of a second before he moved back. Whatever had happened between us was soon placed in the past and ignored. Kodiak ignored my question while his siblings talked about the upcoming ball. I was still trying to calm my erratic heartbeat and fastened breath when Karoo got up from her seat and offered me a hand.

            “C’mon, we need to get you in a ceremonial gown before all the other guests arrive,” I froze in my seat and looked around the table, looking for any form of escape. I begged with the guys to help me escape. I tried to look to all of them in the eyes and conveyed my hatred for gowns and dresses in a look of terror. Totem snickered at my horrified expression and Kodiak laughed under his breath. Me in a gown? Oh hell no. I’ve never even owned a dress. And high heels? No. Just no. Karoo sighed and took me by my arm, pulling me out of my seat while I cursed under my breath and the Doomhold men laughed at my irritation.

            “And why do I need to get in a gown? I’m not even full Fae and I don’t belong to any court. I thought it would be okay for me to wear my uniform,” I tried to reason with Karoo while she guided me out of the cafeteria. My complains were lost to her deaf ears.

            “You can wear white for the Ball since is the winter color and don’t worry, I have enough gowns and shoes to share. I even ordered one especially for you to my personal seamstress,” she said, making me open my eyes like saucers.

            “You have a personal seamstress?

            “Of course I do. And a personal cook, and a personal food taster, and a personal maid and…well, the list goes on and on. You remember I am a princess right?” she asked me with a scowl and I nodded. Sometimes I forgot my friends were princess and princesses of the Unseelie Court. They never acted like royalty. At least they hadn’t until Karoo informed me she had a personal seamstress. She smirked at me and shook her head at my shock, “and you my friend are going to be dressed and adorned like a princess as well. Tonight we feast like Fae of the Unseelie Court.”

                                                                       ~~~~~~~~~

Blaise

                 There were about hundreds of Fae in attendance. I had already checked Karoo’s guest list about three times and by then I was positive there were more people at the Winter Ball than what we estimated initially. They were crowding the banquet hall, and the entrance by the arches made of oak wood and thorns. The dance floor was also crowded by couples dancing. We had adorned it with charmed glitter that glimmered and fake snowflakes that had been enchanted by professor Delacroix to swirl and fall like real ones. The air smelled like pine needles, and ash trees, and the lingering scent of mulled wine and pixie dust bottles that only professors and other adults in attendance were allowed to drink. I’ve been in one or two magical gatherings with Amadeus before, but I have never seen the likes of the decadence and splendor of a Winter Ball before.

                 Redcaps had come to get a glimpse of the Unseelie King and were already surrounding Kodiak with looks of respect and reverence in their beady eyes. The vicious creatures were small but lethal, dressed in oak leaves and iron boots. Rumor has it they were born from their mother’s womb already carrying a pikestaff in their left hand and a red, pointy cap in their heads. I had a look of their feral crimson eyes and controlled a shiver that climbed my back. The Redcaps were notoriously violent creatures and they have gained a certain reputation as dirty fighters. I’ve never fought them but it wasn’t on my top list of things I wanted to do for giggles. To the right of the banquet hall were the Bogies, tall and lean with long arms that ended in talons and grey skins that looked rather dull. At their side were other casts of their same family, Green Orcs with large lower fangs, Boggles, Goblins, Abbey Lubbers, all equally terrifying and malevolent. By the left were High Fae, all beautiful and richly dressed for the night. High Lords and Ladies from all the courts had come to dance and drink among the Claddagh students. I counted High Ladies from the Water Court dressed in blue gowns with water tiaras adorning their long hairs. Earth Fae dressed in green tones and were crowned with wooden tiaras and oak staffs in their hands. Fire Fae dressed in red tones and their clothes were the coolest, enchanted with large capes of flames that didn’t burn but shone like stars in the winter night. Lastly I could see the Air Fae, dressed in white and silver gowns that floated in the air proclaiming the element that powered them.

                 I’ve spend the entire night trying to spot Blood Faes among the crowd. Those were the rarest Faes to see and even if Aella was dressed in a pink gown I refused to believe those were the colors of her Royal House. Blood Faes were notorious reserved, even more hermitic than Fire and Air Faes. Amadeus had also mentioned that they were extremely powerful, as powerful as Unseelie. The hooded stranger who was after me-whoever he was-had to be either a Blood Fae or Unseelie. I’ve hoped tonight would present an opportunity to spy the mannerism of the court that had also birthed my father but so far I could only see Aella with her horrendous pink gown in attendance.

                 Miss Olympus stopped by my side then. She looked stunning tonight, dressed in a white gown and a large silver cape that covered her muscular shoulders and toned arms. Her dark hair had been weaved in a long braid which rested at her back and shined with the enchanted glitter that fell from the dance floor. She looked at me with spark in her eyes and a proud smile.

                 “I have to say, we did an amazing job Mss. Darkholme,” she said, puffing her chest in satisfaction while she looked across the dancing floor at the increasing amount of couples that had joined the quadrille. I moved a step back and inspected the state of the musicians. I’ve already caught a Faunus or two drinking pixie dust while playing the flutes and guitars but after a reprimand from Mss. Olympus they had stopped drinking. A male nymph with horns winked at me while playing the cornet. He was barely dressed, except for a thin loincloth that left little to the imagination. I blushed, looking away from him as fast as I could and returning my eyes to the dancing couples. Mss. Olympus laughed when she spotted professor Cicerone dancing with Ignatia. They made a weird couple considering Ignatia was flying her way through the quadrille and Cicerone needed his staff to keep the pace. Karoo and her brother Orin were leading the march. They look majestic with their black outfits and silver rings that catch the lights of the falling snowflakes.

                 “Why aren’t you dancing Mss. Darkholme?” asked professor Delacroix, stopping by my side. He looked dashing in his Water Court regalia and with her red hair styled back. His aquamarine eyes shined when they collided with Mss. Olympus profile and then he looked away with blushed cheeks. Well, well, well. Look at that. I shrugged and sipped from my apple cider cocktail.

                 “I never learned how to dance and if I’m totally honest I don’t see the appeal on it,” I said and Mss. Olympus gasped, clutching her chest as in astonishment.

                 “How can you say that Mss. Darkholme? The art of dancing is like the art of war! A fight between warriors guided by the tempo of the hearts,” she said and before I could contradict her or make a valid point about how that comparison didn’t make sense at all she turned to professor Delacroix and grabbed him by the arm, “ Let’s teach this stubborn student how we roll Deion!”

                 And roll they did, across the dancing floor. I had to admit they made a good couple and they danced well, fast on their feet and swiftly. Mss. Olympus was the one who lead of course, which made me smile. Delacroix had no chance of ever winning a fight if they ended together. My eyes returned to the darkest corner of the hall, where Kodiak had been meeting dignitaries all night long. There was a line of creatures waiting to see him and if my eyes didn’t trick me I counted more females than males waiting for a turn to play their respects to the Unseelie King. All of them looked beautiful and excited to meet Kodiak. Most of them looked like High Ladies from Faerie, properly educated and elegant enough to be queens. Kodiak’s eyes never looked in my direction. He had been busy the entire night, meeting people and listening to his subjects. He had never looked more like a king. A true king who cared for his people and made time for every each one of them.

                 In contrast I looked like an impostor. I looked down at my white gown with a sigh. It was a beautiful dress, simple but through the corset and skirts the seamstress had weaved pearls and small aquamarines that represented my sea creature side. The long sleeves reached my hands in a lovely brocade and held a loop around my middle finger that made them look more delicate. I refused to wear high heels, but I was positive no one could see my combat boots underneath the long skirts of the dress. Karoo had thrown a fit when I declined her offer to wear any makeup but to make some concessions I’ve let her weave pearls in my loose hair and spray it with unicorn glow. The result was an iridescent mass of auburn curls with pearls hanging from the waves. I refused to lose one single pearl and even if I looked psychotic I’ve spend the majority of the night holding to my hair and looking around the floor in case some of them had rolled away. Yeah, I couldn’t look any less proper and delicate in comparison to the High Ladies in attendance.   

                 I felt more than saw a presence stopping by my side. The air felt cold suddenly, even if the place was crowded and not another soul fit inside the hall. I felt goosebumps covering my arms while I looked up to the newcomer that had positioned by my side. He smelled like ice and blood, like iron and old pennies. One look at his long silver hair and pale skin and I knew this Fae was a High Lord. There was something powerful about him, some sort of undiluted potential that I could feel even from afar. We turned around at the same time and for the first time since I could remember I came face to face with a disfigured Fae. There was a gruesome scar in the left side of his face. Large and deep, as if it had been carved with a scythe or a hook of some sort. I could tell the man would have been beautiful if not for that scar. The other side of his face looked unblemished and perfect. Clear blue eyes, straight nose and full lips. Hell, he would have looked almost feminine delicate if not for that scar. I smiled at him and offered him my hand. Over the years I’ve encountered bounty hunters that had been burned, scarred and maimed. A Fae with a scar in his face didn’t surprise me. The High Fae smirked in an easy way and accepted my hand.

                 “I’m Blaise Darkholme,” I said to him and the male nodded once, inclining his head to the right so his scarred side remained hided in the shadows.

                 “I’m Lorcus, from the Blood Court,” I stilled at his words. My eyes scanned him from head to toes. He was dressed in military simplicity. One look at his dark merlot armor with a two parted cuirass and fingered gauntlets and I knew I was digging the Blood Court dress code. Damn, I wanted an armor like that for myself. It was cool, like the coolest I’ve ever seen, with gothic details like horned elbow caps and pointed sabatons for shoes. I pinched my chin while I studied his two-handed claymore. The sword had to weight at least ten pounds and it looked wicked, well used and sharpened.

                 “You sharpened her recently,” I said pointing at his claymore and Lorcus smiled, unsheathing the sword from his back scabbard and offering it to me so I could have a closer look. I weighted the weapon in my hands and inspected the blade. It was of excellent quality. Perfect balance on the blade and a good leather grip to hold it still. I smiled, running my fingers over the edge in a lower angle to not cut myself, “Man, this is a good blade. The range is good for close combat considering your height. I will love to fight with one of these someday.”

                 “Your height is no right for a claymore. You should try using a one hand sword like a…” I rolled my eyes and give his claymore back to him. Amadeus had drilled the same words inside of my head since I was a toddler and somehow I knew what Lorcus was about to say.

                 “A falchion. I know,” I said, cutting his speech and crossing my arms over my chest, “I like falchions, don’t get me wrong but we both know there’s no better weapon than a claymore to slain trolls.”

                 “Not unless you use a…” I cut him again knowing what he was about to say. It would be the same thing Amadeus would say.

                 “A battle ax,” we both said at the same time and then we laughed. It felt right to talk about weapons and combat with someone for a change. I’d been far away from everything I knew for so long that talking about these matters with someone proved to be recomforting in a way. I missed Amadeus terribly, even if I never let myself admit I missed the old man. Also I didn’t fit in this ball. It didn’t matter how much I tried to blend. I wasn’t a High Lady. I was and always would be a warrior. I looked around the ball and felt like an alien visitor observing a different species. There talking to Lorcus I’ve felt more like myself than dressed in a pretty gown with unicorn glow in my hair.

                 “You know a lot about weapons,” said Lorcus while sheathing his sword and I shrugged.

                 “My godfather taught me a thing or two about the subject. It’s all a girl needs to know to survive,” the High Fae nodded while he regarded me with kind eyes. There for a second I thought I saw a spark of affection crossing his eyes but it was gone right away when a large shadow stepped between us. I scowled at Kodiak’s back and turned around him until I was at his side. For all the moments to step in Kodiak had to interrupt us when I was finally feeling comfortable speaking with someone. A member of the Blood Court in the flesh. Never in my life I thought I’d been so interested about knowing about my father’s court but now that I’ve met Lorcus I knew otherwise. I wanted to know all about the Blood Fae. I wanted to know if they all were as cool as Lorcus, with the exception of Aella of course. She didn’t count. And I wanted to know more about my Fae side, even if that meant knowing more about a father I barely knew.

                 “My King,” said Lorcus and his voice distorted in a mix of respect and utter obedience while he bent the knee and looked down. Kodiak rested his hand on Lorcus’s shoulder and ordered him to raise. Lorcus moved slowly, keeping his eyes downcast in a sign of respect. If a badass like Lorcus respected Kodiak that much I would be forced to acknowledge the marsupial by my side was worthy of my respect too and I was so against it that I could taste my denial in the tip of my tongue. I simply refused to obey and respect Kodiak like that. No, scratch that. I would never obey Kodiak, period. Respecting him or not…the jury was still out on that.

                 Kodiak smirked, staring at me by his peripherals. I flipped him the finger in my mind and cursed him for spying on my mind once again. He smiled while tugging at my hair and making some of the pearls weaved on it fall to the floor. I cursed some more while I bent and picked them. Some of the High Ladies who were around trying to catch Kodiak’s eyes gasped in horror at my insolence to dare and insult a king. I ignored them all and kept picking my pearls. Kodiak turned to Lorcus then and both interchanged some words. I saw Lorcus pass Kodiak a book. I only had a glimpse of a red, battered book that disappeared into thin air once Kodiak touched it with his hands. Both men nodded after the interchange and then Lorcus looked at me. He smiled and gave me a small curtsy.

                 “It was a pleasure meeting you Blaise Darkholme,” he said with a smile in his lips and then he turned around, always keeping the left side of his body turned to the shadows. What a strange man Lorcus was. For such a cool Fae he was terribly aware of his scar. I was only able to follow him a couple of steps with my eyes before Kodiak closed his hand over mine and pull me with him.

                 “Come with me,” he ordered me, tugging me with him and guiding me out of the ball. Once or twice we were intercepted by High Ladies trying to reach us but Kodiak ignored them all and kept leading me away from the mass of magical creatures, monsters and Fae in attendance. Kodiak stopped at the end of the hall and turn left. We passed a large corridor flanked by burning torches and then entered a random classroom that looked spectral and ghostly, illuminated only by the thin moon in the winter sky. Kodiak let go of me then and opened a hand. Invoked by a silent order I saw six thick tomes appear over the front table closer to me. I frowned, moving closer to the books and inspecting their covers.  Kodiak flicked his fingers and a flame appeared over my head, illuminating the titles of the books. I suck in my breath when I realized what I was seeing.

                 “These books…are they what I think they are?” Kodiak nodded, flicking his fingers once again and several flames appeared over us, brightening the entire room. His golden eyes reflected the light of the fire when they focused on me.

                 “You asked me to look around for the catalogues and the census of Nulls population from all the different courts in Faerie. It took me longer than what I expected but I was able to find every single one of them,” he said, stopping by the book that counted the number of Nulls existing in the Water Court. He frowned and then waved a hand. At the silent command all the books opened at the same time and then the little flames floating above us joined, forming a large tongue of fire in the middle of the room. I took a step closer to the table and frowned when I saw that all the books where opened in their middle. At the left I could see that all books reported numbers of Nulls that hadn’t passed their Transition. The dates in all the books varied but all of them seemed to have been written at some point by the end of the last winter season. At the right side of the books I could only see ripped pages. All the books were missing pages. One after one I checked them all and came to the same conclusion.

                 “Kodiak, these books are missing a whole year of reports. There are no records about the number of Nulls that were born this year,” I said and then looked back at Kodiak, who seemed lost in his own thoughts while he inspected one of the books, “what does this mean?”

                 “It means there is somebody out there who is purposely hiding his tracks. Whoever is after you is hiding the amount of Nulls that are in existence from all the other courts,” he said, looking over at me. I tensed and swallowed nervously. Until that moment I thought the worse that could happen was that my enemy had altered the records to hide the real provenance of the Nulls who had attacked me. He could have picked Nulls from all the other courts to hide from which court he originally was. Or he could have picked Nulls from a court that wasn’t his to led us in the wrong direction. But this, this was a lot worse than what I first imagined.   

                 “We don’t know how many Nulls are in Faerie, there could be dozens or there could be millions,” I said in a whisper and Kodiak clenched his jaw, staring at me with a dark look in his golden eyes.

                 “And if your enemy was able to control six he could be able to control more,” he said gravelly and I nodded. Danger. We were all in danger.