1 CHAPTER 1

"We're here! You're new school!" my aunt Amery says, too excitedly in my opinion.

I look out the window of the passenger seat at my new school. The name 'RED STAR HIGH' is written in bold red letters at the school entrance, faded from the passage of time. 

Even from inside the car, I can sense an ominous energy from the school. In fact, I've had this strange feeling since I first set foot in this town. An indescribable feeling that something is very wrong with this place. Because of it, I stayed at home the entire day yesterday and didn't bother going out anywhere.

A sudden vision attacks my mind as the scenery around me darkens to crimson twilight. In the vision, it is raining heavily and the red sky is decorated with endless lighting bolts accompanied by crackling loud thunder. My heartbeat quickens and it becomes harder to breathe as the severity of the situation creeps up on me when I notice the hoards of human corpses in front of the school, pale white and withered, as if all their blood has been sucked dry out of their body. Screams could be heard in the distance and I look around in panic to find out where they are coming from but to no avail.

"Sweetheart. If you keep staring out the window like that, you're going to be late for school" my aunt's voice brings me back to reality.

"Aunty, we just moved here yesterday. Can't I rest at home today and maybe start school tomorrow or maybe next week?" I say quickly, not wanting to go into that building.

No matter how you look at it, that vision was not a good sign.

"Dawn. I know this move was sudden but we both promised that this was going to be the start of our new life. And in my opinion, the sooner we get into the routines of daily life, the better. Or do you want to break your oath before you even get started?" she asks with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I don't want to break that promise but-"

"Good girl. Now go on, you're going to be late"

With a snap of her fingers, my seat belt unbuckles its self and the car door opens. Without giving me a chance to react, she pushes me out of the car and magically closes the door.

"I'll pick you up after school. Have a good day sweetheart!" and with that, she drives off, leaving me stranded at the school entrance.

Seriously?! What about your promise to be more understanding? You didn't even listen to what I have to say!

I take a deep breath and slowly exhale to calm myself while counting to ten. After taking a few moments to convince myself that I'll be able to get through this day with no major problems, I look down at myself. 

I am wearing a white T-shirt tucked in a pair of fitting blue jeans that shows off my modest hourglass figure including the shape of my slim waist and long legs. In addition, I'm wearing a black baseball jacket that has pink rose patterns on it and a pair of pink sneakers to match as well as a pink wristband on my right hand. Tucked inside my shirt is a ruby pendant that my mother gave me when I was born and I left my back length wavy copper hair loose. 

Once I am certain that I don't look weird, with another deep breath, I turn around to face the school.

I can do this.

Unfortunately, my conviction is instantly shattered when a sudden surge of magical energy in the form of a strong gust of wind rushes past me as soon as I take my first step into the school compound.

Luckily, I'm not wearing a skirt... 

I weakly think to myself in consolation and walk straight into the school building, ignoring everyone and everything around me. On my way, I do not fail to detect the energy of quite a few other wizards but that's not all that I sense. I also manage to pick up the presence of a number of vampires.

With an unsettling feeling in my heart, I open the door to the administration office and enter the cool air conditioned room. 

"Um... Excuse me, ma'am?" I call, making the secretary aware of my  presence. 

She looked to be in her mid 40's with brown hair streaked with grey here and there. She has a friendly face with laugh lines adorning her facial features, indicating that she's had a happy life. What makes me even more comfortable is the fact that she is unmistakably human. 

"Yes darling. How may I help you?" she asks with a smile.

"Well... I'm new and I was told to report here" I say with a smile of my own.

"Of course darling! What's your name?"

"Dawn Xiao" I answered.

She opened a drawer and went through the files slowly, reading out the names of various other students.

"Let's see... Daniel. Denise. Dexter. Donnie. Ah! Found it! Dawn Xiao!"

She took a red file out of the drawer and placed it on her desk in front of me.

"Alright darling! In this file is your schedule, the list of all your teachers, the subject they teach, which room they teach in and everything else you need to know about your classes. Your locker number and combo are in there too" she hands me the file and I put everything in my backpack after taking out my schedule.

"And... this is your student card" she continues, standing up to hang my student card around my neck.

"Thank you" 

"My pleasure darling!"

The secretary spares a glance behind me when the door creaks opens and calls the person who just entered.

"Jenny dear! Come here" 

The human girl has dark skin with short curly black hair. She has a petite frame and is quite short in height with 155 cm but then again, I am taller than most girls and some boys with my 175 cm. Jenny's most striking feature are her rich brown eyes that almost look golden. They're absolutely mesmerizing. 

 "Jenny, could please show Dawn here to her first class?" 

"Sure. I don't mind. Hi, I'm Jenny Woods" she turns to me with her hand outstretched for handshake.

"I'm Dawn Xiao. I'll be in your hands then" I say as I shake her hand.

"And very reliable hands they are. You two should hurry up. The first bell is about ring" the secretary says and ushers us both out of the office.

"Alrighty then. First class every morning is always Homeroom. Who's your head teacher?" Jenny asks me.

"Um... It says here... Mr. Howard?"

"Seriously?! Then you're in my class. That makes things much more easier. Come on" she says and takes my hand in hers, walking in the direction of what I presume is our class.

"Lucky me then" I say, trying to start a conversation as she seems friendly enough to get to know.

"That is very true. Mr. Howwy is one of the best and most hilarious teacher in this school. His classes are always fun. Not to mention, he's really good looking too" she whispers the last part and giggles, getting a small laugh out of me too.

We walk out of the building and head in the direction of another building in the west as she tells me a bit about this school. On our way, we pass a courtyard that is connected with the parking lot where students are milling about, some walking towards their classes and others just hanging around with friends.

Again, I sense the presence of wizards and vampires. I take a chance and look around. When I do, I spot a few students wearing matching sweaters at the parking lot. Magic energy is leaking from them and I instantly identify them as wizards. According to Jenny, the ones wearing red sweaters are part of the 'Illusions Club' and that they sometimes perform magic tricks during school events.

That's interesting...

As I sweep my gaze across the other students, I sense that most of them humans. Then, under the shade of a huge oak tree, I notice a group of students wearing mostly black, a huge contrast to their deathly pale skin. One of them is drinking from a pitch black bottle and I instinctively know that it is filled with blood.

Vampires!

Jenny says that they are pretty much the delinquents of this school. They skip class whenever they feel like it, play pranks on other students and like causing fights but despite that fact, they are really smart. That doesn't surprise me since vampires are immortal. They have a whole lifetime to learn all sorts of things. Who knows how many times they've studied the same syllabus over the years?

And then with a jolt, I suddenly feel someone staring at me. When I turn to see who it is, I notice a tall boy with messy black hair. He looks incredibly handsome with his black jeans, white T-shirt and black leather jacket. He is leaning against the big oak tree with his hands in his pockets. When my light blue eyes lock with his dark blue ones, his eyes flash red for a second before returning to their original color and I feel electricity spark between us, making my heart skip a beat.

Suddenly, my second vision of the day attacks me. I see the vampire and me sitting on a beach facing each other under the night sky that is only illuminated by the light of the moon. We are staring into each others eyes as he takes my right hand in his. Never once taking his eyes off mine, he kisses the inside of my wrist, sending a satisfying warmth throughout my body.

He then gives me a gentle smile which I return without hesitation as I run the fingers of my free hand through his thick soft hair, slowly pulling him closer to me. He rests his forehead against mine, our faces only inches apart and if either of us leans in, our lips will definitely touch but neither of us cross that short distance. Instead we just enjoy the feeling of closeness that fills warmth that I have never felt before inside my heart. After a long moment, he starts to lean in... and the vision ends.

What the hell was that?!

His eyes widen with surprise, telling me that he saw it too. He places his hand on his chest and looks down at it, as if the answer is there, then looks at me again, a confused expression adorning his features. Our eyes stay locked as if we're in a trance and I can practically hear my heartbeat getting louder and louder by the second but I just can't bring myself up to care.

All to sudden, I am brought back to my senses when Jenny waves her hand in front of my face. I instantly look down at her and see her worried face.

"Dawn, are you okay? Your face is pale" 

I place a hand on my chest and take deep breaths to calm my beating heart. At the same time, I internally tell myself to focus on Jenny's face and not look back at that vampire despite the urge.

"I-I'm fine. Don't worry. I actually just moved here yesterday so I'm probably just tired" 

"Are you sure? We can go to the infirmary if you're not feeling well"

"I'm sure. Let's just head to class. Okay?"

With that, I grab her hand and pull her towards the direction we were walking earlier. Luckily, she doesn't push the matter anymore and leads us to our class.

As we walk, even though I tell myself not to, my mind still wanders off to the image of that vampire as I feel a slight burning sensation around my wrist.