Rimholm University: Clandestine

Chapter 18

"Why Salem is not paired up with one of us? Is she's---"

"Like I care. I prefer to be alone than getting stuck with your so-nice a**." Salem deadpans while looking at Hailey. Her worried expression turned into a bitter one and looked away before leaving with Freddy. Lady Selene looked at her like she ripped off the fairy's wings.

"Stop being a meanie to everyone." She said before sitting beside Salem and admired her long braided her underneath her short her that she let down, "Then make them stop acting nice even they aren't." Lady Selene can't help but heave a problematic sigh. On Salem's mind, she's asking, 'Why can't they just leave me alone? I want is peace, not their noisy mouths.' but that question cannot get any answer.

"Zachary is making a nice pun. He has a familiar but keeps acting like he doesn't. We have an easy way to call our familiar but I just let them find their ways." She looked at Salem, "I'm wondering how Marionette handles you. Well, I don't know why Lady Marionette let you in my class for a week but I know you never wished that in the first place." After receiving no response from her, the teacher giggled then tapped the younger's shoulder. One of the physical contacts that Salem hates the most. Zachary's older sister is not aware that Salem doesn't have any intentions to heed.

"The Lutheran games are coming, Julius is on the line, we're still looking for the remaining four." Lady Selene gives Salem a meaningful look, Lady Selene and Zachary are share the same blood and flesh.

"I'm sure Lady Marionette will add the names of the strongest hybrid and shifter on the line." She hits her shoulder playfully.

"Can I go now?" Salem asked her without any energy.

"We should do this since Lutheran games are coming," Zachary said as we keep on wandering around. The boy looking around, scanning the whole place.

"Why Lady Selene pair me up with you? I can handle myself even if I got paired up with anyone in our class." The wolf beside her laughed then cling his arm on her shoulder, "Actually, Salem lied to you after telling that my rut is coming. It is supposed to become last month but there are some changes after you used your magic. I'm sure it comes any time this month."

"What's the connect? To be honest you're a disgusting one," Mira commented and walked away from him as far as she can. She's quite sensitive about that topic.

"I'm spitting the fact. I got locked up in a room at the dungeon so I won't harm anyone using my magic. Salem got locked in the room on the deeper part." Zachary explained while clasping both of his hands on his back.

"What's your magic by the way?" He stopped walking and looked at Mira with a grin, "Salem and I are polar opposite." The ice crystals grow on his side and turned the moiren--a horned beetle rushing towards us with an act of violence into a frozen one. As soon as the moment got prevented by the ice pillars it's just a nice figure that shattered like broken glass on the forest floor when the icicle that attaches the insect from the pillars got cut into two.

Mira is silently amused by the wolf's ability. She somehow envied some of the supernaturals around her.

"But your personalities are opposite. She's an icicle and you're a warm person."

"Am I? My sister used to call me rude."

"You doesn't seem like to be one." Mira just shrugged off. They continued their walk inside the majestic forest. Both of them talked about the games and random things.

"Zach!" Mira called the wolf beside her and tried to help him but Zachary pushed her away and started to spread the ice all over the place.

"Get away from here!"

"So far, what's the worst thing that someone did to you?" Julius asked Mattheo who's silently walking beside him. They agreed to find Mattheo's familiar first.

"Threatened me, and break some of my bones." The vampire grimaced, "That's awful man. But not far from what I've expected. But good thing you're fine now."

"You're from the human world, right?"

"Yes." Julius clings his arm on Mattheo's shoulder like they're very close friends even they just talk before the activity starts.

"You wanted to go back?" The shifter shook his head, "I don't have any reason to do that so." Julius tapped his shoulder, "You're fun to talk with, let's hang out later after we found out familiars." The more they took steps, the air formed into a cloud-like character, and the trees are shaking. They both stop after sensing something wrong with the air. Mattheo covered his ears after a creature makes a deafening screeching sound. A sound that only affects shifters around the area.

"Erin?!" Keiro called his best friend who got separated from him when the haze started to spread. He keeps on searching until he bumped into someone.

"Freddy? Hailey?" The pair looked at him but they aimed their weapons at him, "Woah, Woah. Hang in there. Did you see Erin?"

The whole class gets more scattered throughout the woods and has no clues about how and where each other are.

"Where am I?" Erin said while trying to figure out where he is. He almost falls from the ground in shock when the bush near him moves. The supernatural keeps on chasing his breath after a long run. Erin got separated from Keiro and now he doesn't have any clues what part of the Collie nan sithichean he was.

"You found me!"

"I beg you pardon?" The bush moves again and causing Erin to pull his dagger out of its sheath. Erin can't fully see the surroundings due to the mist but he got distracted by the insects flying around. Insects glided in his direction and result in a wound on the back of his palm. He winced in pain but instead of whining about it, Erin rise his guard again then let them feel the surrounding, waiting for the next happenings with a dagger in his hand.

"Help me, they never let me go." His head started to throb and it makes him wanted to throw up due to nausea. The insects produce buzzing sounds before making their way towards him. He cursed mentally after his gaze catches a hooded entity standing beside the tree, showing its teeth have the same size and sharp as his dagger.

"ል ዕሠልዪቻ. ጎክ ፕዘቿ ጠጎዕዕረቿ ዐቻ ፕዘቿ ሠዐዐዕነ" The entity said, its teeth creates a shrieking sound when they hit each other's surfaces. Erin doesn't understand what the creature is saying since the way it speaks is distorted and even shifters' ears might not handle the sound that the entity creates. He remained his eyes clamped shut and keep on enduring the pain in his ears.

"I'm just here." The voice sounds like the creature who speaks on him is just nearby. More like beside him.

"ሃዐሁ ጠሁነፕጌቿ ጌቿ ርልጠቿ ቻዪዐጠ ፕዘቿ ሁክጎሀቿዪነጎፕሃ, ልዪቿ ሃዐሁ?"

"S-Stop-" Erin opened his eyes and meet the creature who's looking down at him. The creature is almost tall as half of the tree and has gray skin that seems rotten due to its color and it attaches to the creature's whole body but some parts are only bones. The bones are not attached yet some chains attach the arms from the shoulders while its eye sockets are just hallowed. The words that Erin can describe the entity is corpse--nothing but a hooded corpse.

"Your blood calls me."