Pills And Potions

Luka held the door open for Mr. Samuel, who carefully carried the grunting human girl in his arms. They had come to a shrine, as it was the only place they knew Keisha could get help without raising the suspicion of other supernaturals.

They were breaking several protocols by attempting to save the girl's life; as her knowledge of their true form was a taboo. If any other supernatural creature were to find out that she knew both Mr. Samuel and Luka were vampires, she'd be killed immediately.

The realm of supernaturals depended heavily on secrecy to thrive, and it was paramount that humans remained in the dark about its existence. All mystical creatures – or supernaturals as they called themselves – were sworn to silence, vowing on their lives to keep their existence and that of others like them hidden from all humankind. If ever a human were to find out, immediate and permanent termination was the standard procedure.

There were no exceptions. Ever.

As both men walked down the dark corridor of the shrine, Luka couldn't help but cast curious glances at Keisha, who seemed completely out of it as she moaned in pain, squirming against the dean. Though he knew that he was responsible for her condition, the pureblood struggled to feel guilty. As sadistic as it seemed, Luka quite enjoyed watching the little human suffer; it was a befitting punishment for her idiotic defiance.

What piqued his interest however, was the human girl's abilities. It still amazed him that she was able to resist hypnosis, a feat considered impossible for a human – until now. How was she able to do it, and did she have any other abilities? What exactly was she; perhaps some kind of hybrid human, with mystical blood somewhere in her lineage?

There were far too many unanswered questions about her, and Luka knew that was the only reason they were keeping her alive. She was an anomaly, and she had to be studied. Once they got to the bottom of it, she would unfortunately be killed, as they couldn't wipe her memory with hypnosis and they couldn't risk her letting their secret out.

Pity.

They reached the end of the corridor, arriving before a set of double doors. Taking their shoes off, they pushed the doors open and entered into a dimly lit room. The smell of burning incense immediately filled their lungs, and they coughed loudly, unprepared for the suffocating odour.

"Who dares enter the presence of the Great Oracle!"

The loud and thunderous voice of a woman bellowed, and Mr. Samuel immediately dropped to his knees, bowing his head in reverence. Luka however, audaciously remained standing, casting his guardian a disapproving look. How could he, an immortal vampire, bow to a lowly shaman? It was simply unheard of.

Luka was a firm believer in the hierarchy of beings, and in his eyes, vampires were very high on the chain. He would never be caught dead kneeling to a lesser creature, much less a shaman who wasn't even a supernatural, but just a mere human skilled in mystical arts.

"We come seeking help, Great Oracle. Be gracious to us," Mr. Samuel kept his head bowed as he spoke, only glancing up after he was done talking to find a standing Luka. He shot the younger man a glare and motioned for him to kneel, but Luka only scoffed condescendingly, crossing his arms in defiance.

"Gracious?" The woman answered, still hidden by the darkness of the room. "You dare ask for my mercy when you refuse to bow?"

"I apologize, Great Oracle," Mr. Samuel tugged on Luka's leg, urging him to kneel. The latter yanked his leg away, instead taking a step forward.

"Show yourself, witch!" Luka commanded, unamused by the shaman's behaviour. "Don't waste my time, which unlike your life, is quite precious to me."

"Luka!" Mr. Samuel scolded, but the young vampire only smirked arrogantly, much to his guardian's dismay. Angered, the shaman stepped out of the shadows, her beady eyes filled with rage. She was a petite woman who looked to be in her fifties, draped in a black cloak that hung loosely over her small figure.

"Who do you think you are to defy the voice of the gods, child?! Do you have a death wish?"

"I should be asking you that, witch. And to answer your first question, I am Luka Haydes – yes, that Haydes."

The shaman gasped, her eyes widening in fear, before she immediately bowed her head. "Forgive me, my lords. I did not recognize who you were."

The pureblood merely scoffed, motioning to his kneeling guardian to stand, and the older vampire obliged. Luka wondered why he had bothered kneeling in the first instance, and made a mental note to question him later. For now, they had more pressing issues.

Motioning toward the girl in his hands, Samuel spoke. "Great Oracle, this human has been poisoned by ghoul blood. Her life is important to your lords, and we humbly ask that you heal her."

The shaman slowly approached the girl, who was writhing in the dean's arms, her cries barely audible now as she was growing weak from exhaustion. The black veins had spread across her arms and forehead, a sheen of sweat covering her sickly grey skin. She muttered incoherent rubbish, grunting at the unbearable pain.

Shaking her head slowly, the shaman spoke. "I fear it may be too late, my lords. The poison has already spread through her body, it's a miracle that the girl is still alive up till now. Usually, ghoul blood kills humans in a matter of minutes. Her soul force must be very strong."

"There is no way to save her?" Samuel asked anxiously, not liking the thought of his student dying. He took his role as dean seriously, and it was his duty to protect his students. Keisha was also quite an important to him, as he'd grown quite fond of the human. He'd hoped the shaman could heal her and explain why she couldn't be hypnotized, so that he could find a way to reverse it and wipe her memory instead of killing her.

After she shared her story with him, Samuel felt compassion toward the girl, as he understood what it was like to be at the bottom, with no chance of ever rising above. He was once like that, and wanted to see Keisha overcome it, to watch her become a stronger version of herself, like he did.

In a way, she reminded him of himself, and he wanted to believe in her, because he knew more than anyone what it was like to not have anyone in your corner. He knew it all too well.

"No, not as far as I know," the shaman solemnly replied, reaching out to touch Keisha's forehead. "But place her down on the mat. Let me see what I can do."

Samuel obliged, gently putting Keisha down on a nearby mat. The shaman walked up to her, taking a seat next to her squirming figure and pulling out her instruments of enchantment. Waving them over Keisha, the woman began her incantations, chanting dramatically.

Luka watched in disinterest as the woman did her enchantments, almost amused by her exaggerated movements. Samuel kneeled by the girl, occasionally reaching out to hold her hand when she moaned in pain. It seemed to calm the girl down and Samuel ended up holding her hand for the rest of the procedure.

The pureblood raised a quizzical brow at this, curious as to why his guardian was so interested in the human. Something about the way he was so gently caressing her hand and staring anxiously at her irked him, and he suspected the dean's true relationship with the human.

Why was he so keen on her? Did he have something to do with her abilities? Is that why he was insistent on him befriending the girl, because he knew she couldn't be compelled?

Just what was Samuel up to?

"Incredible!" the shaman screamed, turning to Samuel in awe. "What great power!"

"What is it?" Samuel asked worriedly, gently squeezing Keisha's hand as he spoke, Luka's gaze hardening at the action. The shaman dramatically waved her arms before speaking in a loud voice.

"The gods have smiled upon this young child, my lords. Her soul force is very powerful, and it has kept her alive up to this point. Because of it, the ghoul blood hasn't bonded with her completely, so I can revive the girl."

"Thank goodness," Samuel sighed in relief, while Luka frowned at the shaman's words.

"Soul force?" the pureblood questioned, "Is that why the human was able to resist hypnosis?"

Samuel looked up at the shaman, also curious to know her answer. Was Keisha's soul force that strong? He'd heard of human's whose souls were so powerful that they could battle mighty creatures like dragons and warlocks, was she one of them?

"No. That's a rare side effect of ghoul poisoning."

Samuel perked up at that. "Is it reversible?"

"Yes," the woman spoke, getting up from the floor. "It will require a mind-link, however. If she's able to withstand hypnosis then that means the ghoul poison is already in her brain. It's slowly going to take over her consciousness until it kills her, and while I believe I can stop this, the side effects are trickier to deal with."

"How so?" Luka queried. "Can't you just use one of your incantations."

"Unfortunately, I cannot, my lord. Human minds are very fragile, and have volatile reactions to external forces. Which is why the ghoul blood is dangerous in the first place, because it is forcing its way into her consciousness. If I attempted the same, I fear it would break her."

Samuel sighed deeply, casting a worried glance at Luka, who stood with an unreadable expression on his face. Mind-linking was a dangerous and forbidden act, banned by the Supreme assembly. It involved breaking and entering into a person's mind without their permission through a magical link, and if done incorrectly, could lead to fatal consequences.

Neither vampire was prepared to pull off such a feat, and they shared a cursory glance with each other, before Samuel finally broke the silence. Standing up, he sighed deeply.

"I'll do the mind-link. Just fix the girl."

"As you wish, my lord."

The shaman fell back unto her knees, returning to her incantations as Keisha breathed heavily on the mat which was spread out on the floor. The human looked deathly, her skin an unsightly grey shade as her irises dilated fully, making her appear like a ghost. She was obviously struggling to stay conscious, her cries of agony coming out as nothing more than strained whimpers.

Luka stoically watched the scene before him, his expression unreadable. Suddenly, the pureblood spoke up, his voice void of emotion.

"I'll do it."

Samuel rose a questioning brow. "Do what?"

"The mind-link. I'll do it."

"You can't do it, Luka," the dean refuted, shaking his head. "Mind-linking is dangerous. You're not experienced enough to handle it."

"Neither are you, Bowers," Luka narrowed his eyes at his guardian as he walked to where Keisha lay, convulsing in anguish. Looking down at the whimpering girl, his jaw clenched, his hands fisting as he stared at her writhing figure.

"It's my fault the human is in this mess, so I have to clean it up. You're always nagging me about responsibility, so let me finally own up to my shit."

"But its dangero – "

"Which is why I should do it. I'm a pureblood, I can't die. And as the witch said, human minds are fragile. You have no idea how humans work; you could hurt her. I have a better chance, I used to be one of them."

"That was a century ago, Luka," Samuel sighed in exasperation. "You probably don't even remember what being human is like."

Luka paused at that, the dean's words cutting through him like a two-edged sword. "You don't fucking know that, Bowers," he hissed, shooting him a deadly glare.

Seeing that he'd struck a nerve, Samuel sighed apologetically. "I'm sorry, Luka. I shouldn't have said that. I'm just worried about you."

"Then stop it," Luka spat venomously, glaring daggers at his guardian. "It's my fucking problem, and I don't need you to fucking fix it. I'm mind-linking with the human and that's final."

Letting out a defeated sigh, Samuel nodded. "Alright, Luka. You can do it."