Chapter 3- 24 Hours of Peace

POV- Josie

Today was a weird day, even for the Salvatore school, getting two new students on the same day was rare. Finding out that supernatural beings other than the three we have at our school exist was even weirder. When Lizzy and I heard that there were boys being brought here, we took a look at Dad's reports on them. While Landon was a bit fragile looking, the other two were so handsome, especially Dominic, with his tussled hair and bright blue eyes that almost seemed to glow in the image.

Offering our services as 'tour guides' to give us the first shot at them and build a relationship, we were disappointed to find out only Rafael would be joining us. Lizzy was all over him, and while it would have been nice to be friends with him, I wasn't going to ruin Lizzy's chance with a boy.

Unfortunately, the boy in question was extremely reactive and mixed with Lizzy's less-than-subtle attempts to flirt, he left her in tears on the bench, leaving me with a possible breakdown to take care of. Just as I was about to get up and go hug her, Dominic and Milton showed up, and the sexy boy we both were disappointed we wouldn't be taking on the tour walked straight over and consoled the teary-eyed Lizzy, patting her head as she held onto his legs.

Milton had walked over to me seeming disappointed and jealous, 'The poor boy was so infatuated with Lizzy that he couldn't see that she didn't even notice him, not as a male at least.' "Do you think he'll go for her?"

"They usually do," I reply, but suddenly Dominic turns towards me and waves. 'But maybe not.' Taking Milton with me over to the two, I blurt out my surprise at his appearance, "I thought you'd be…" Trying desperately not to say mindwiped or hypnotised, I instead let the sentence hang.

"Human again?" he finishes, with a smile that matched even Hope's in beauty. "Nope, still a monster, claws and tail."

Lizzy asks the question we all had, "Tail?" When he unfurled the sharp, pointed tail with a smooth, exceptionally flexible shaft I couldn't help but think about some of the artwork I'd seen online about demons, though they were succubi, sleep demons often portrayed in porn. 'Is it weird that I associate a trait with porn? I'm just glad no one can mind-read.'

After learning that his friend was being held in the wolf transition spaces, he became so concerned for his friend. Unlike Rafael, who hadn't asked about Landon the entire tour, Dominic asked to see him and came out looking somewhat confused and glad.

When he brought up the fight Lizzy had with Rafael, I was worried that he'd defend his friend, apparently having been foster brothers for the last 7 months, but instead, he was calm, and supportive, in perfect contrast to his background history and deviant rap sheet. So, when I asked if he was damaged, he chuckled, giving an almost poetic response, and his last bit stuck with me, echoing in my head.

"Being damaged gives a person character, the experiences shape us into who we are." When he said it though he wasn't looking at Lizzy, but at me, causing a shiver to run up my spine.

POV- Dominic

The twins led me to an old, wooden building, long since abandoned, surrounded by forest and lit only by the roaring flames of a fire and the fairy lights that seemed to have been strung everywhere around the building to provide lighting. Dozens of teenagers were drinking, dancing, making out and using magic, probably drunk, for entertainment. I spot Raf over by some wolves and call out to him.

"Dom, thank God. I was worried because I hadn't seen you all day. Where's Landon?"

"Currently he's sleeping, my powers apparently include inducing sleep on people. So you can relax until tomorrow, he's fine." The tenseness of his shoulders relaxed as he let out a heavy sigh.

"So what are you then, a vampire or a witch?"

"Neither, I'm…something. Anyway, which way to the drinks?" As I leave I nudge Liz, prompting her to follow through with the plan to apologise for her words earlier. Reaching the cooler boxes I grab a couple of beers, not my drink of choice, but they'll do.

"So, you're the fresh meat that's been hanging around Josie and Lizzy?" The speaker had a somewhat aggressive stance, and her annoyance was apparent in her voice, though she tried to mask it. With Asian features and long brown hair, the muscular girl in front of me was probably one of the hottest girls in the school.

"One of them, at least. There's Raf too."

"Ah yes, the one that made Lizzy cry, I should send him a gift," she said with a smirk on her face as if hoping her words would aggravate me.

"He always was temperamental; would you be Josie's ex?"

Surprised that I knew who she was, she leaned back slightly, "Did Josie tell you?"

"No, but you seemed hostile at my supposed closeness to her, and the look of fear on her face right now was a pretty good tell."

"Oh," she said, appearing a little bit less fiery. "Yeah, I'm Penelope Park, her ex."

"Lovely to meet you, Dominic Beaufort. I take it you're still in love with her?" I utter turning quiet at the end, causing her to look up in a panic that she quickly cools. "Interesting. Anyway, I'll see you around. As I got back to the twins who had just been left alone by Raf as he joined the dog squad again, I'm almost ambushed by questions from the twins.

"What did she want?"

"Did she say anything rude?"

"Of course, she did Josie. Dom, did she try anything on you?"

I stop them with raised hands, "I'm fine, all she did was introduce herself, nothing sinister."

Liz grabs my sleeve, "You don't get it, she's pure evil. Everything she does is designed to hurt others."

Josie looked towards the now empty space where Penelope had been and I refute Liz again, "She seemed nice enough, so maybe she just doesn't like you two?"

"Whatever," Josie interrupts, grabbing one of my beers and taking a sip. "We didn't come here to talk about my ex, come on let's go hang with the witches. After a slightly overzealous welcome from the drunk and perhaps stoned witches, the party continued, with music blasting from the wooden shack, or barn, I couldn't tell. Taking the two buzzed witches back to their room I notice an issue.

"Umm…Josie, I haven't been allocated a room yet."

"Well then there's a simple solution," she says, "I share with Liz and you take my bed." Instead of trying to argue with the truly selfless girl I instead take off my jacket, roll it into a pillow, and nab one of the three blankets on Liz's bed.

"Hey!"

Taking a spot on the floor between them I muse, "If you guys just had one giant bed this wouldn't be an issue." Liz scoffs lightly and tosses a pillow at me with pinpoint accuracy.

"Don't try anything, mister. We've heard all the twin jokes you can imagine."

"Well, seeing as I haven't slept in a bed the last two days, I was more interested in actual sleep," I explain, causing Josie to giggle at Liz's stunned face, having gone from annoyed to pitying in an instant. "Though now I'm not sure I'll be able to get that image out of my head." Copping another pillow to the face I turn up to the roof and close my eyes, hoping tomorrow would be as stress-free as today, and that my room had a wicked bed. 'A concrete alley, the backseat of a car, and the hardwood floor of a girl's bedroom. At this point, I'd even take an inflatable mattress.'

~~

Waking up still on the floor, having avoided the temptation of sneaking into their beds, if only in fear of whatever magic the girls have access to, I can see the sunlight beaming through the window and reflecting from the roof into my eyes. A check of my watch tells me it's only 6:30, so I sneak out as quietly as I can, hoping to stumble upon either Alaric, Hope or a gym, either one. Finding a gym in this labyrinth of a school was my first achievement, and so I spent the next hour or so enjoying their gym, and by that, I mean playing around with my somewhat enhanced strength, speed, and stamina as well as testing the tail.

The treadmill was saying I was running at over 50 kilometres an hour, but I held the speed for 15 minutes before realising that I wasn't going to get tired within the hour. 'Faster than Usain Bolt's top speed, and seemingly endless stamina, nice.' Performing some of the balanced dips that I struggled with before, I now found them effortless, my own body weight now too easy to manoeuvre. Wrapping my tail around the pull-up bar, I managed to lift myself with the tail alone, demonstrating that the tail was definitely more lethal than I had imagined from the thin, smooth, whip-like appendage. 'This kinda ruins the fun in exercising.'

Another 10 minutes of roaming the halls led me to Alaric's office, where he'd seemingly just gotten in, his coffee still steaming in his mug. "Mr Beaufort, how can I help you?"

"I was wondering whether I was allocated a room yet, and also came to watch Landon get re-tested."

Though he was looking at me sceptically when I mentioned I hadn't been given a room, perhaps wondering where I'd spent the night, he gave me a key and a map, something I really could have used earlier. "We'll be re-performing the compulsion in about an hour or so, so go grab some food and I'll get Milton to bring you with him, okay? But I have to ask, is there anything that's happened to Landon that could tell us if he is supernatural because we can't take in people who simply have a dormant trait."

"Unfortunately, no, so unless you want to kill him or watch him kill, he will remain human. That compulsion, could it make him have a better life, be more confident?"

"Perhaps, if it works in the first place."

Headed to the food hall I slump next to Josie, a plate of eggs and grilled tomato on my plate. Not because I'm a vegetarian, but I hate bacon, it's oily, and either burnt to hell or like chewing plastic. The twins were relieved that I hadn't vanished off to Raf with the wolves, and were surprised with the room I'd been given.

"That's the room down the end of our hallway, bordering the men's and women's dorms. The view from there is amazing, and as we promised, a single room," Lizzie explained excitedly. 'For someone who 'only thinks about herself,' she seems pretty happy to have helped me out.'

"If you want we can enlarge the bed in there, I don't think you'll fit in the regular double beds, considering you sleep like you're in a coffin."

"That's only because I was on the floor," I deny, "But I'd really appreciate the help with the bed. Wait, if you can do that, why are your beds so small?"

"Because our dad comes into our room and the idea of us needing a double bed makes him freak."

"He does realise that your room has at least 6 surfaces to have fun on excluding the beds?"

Josie looks into her food unblinkingly, cheeks now scarlet, while Liz was staring at me like a beast, mere moments from leaping over the table and pouncing on me.

"Dominic, it's time for the compulsion test," Milton says quickly, having seemingly appeared out of nowhere, looking worriedly at Liz, who was still staring at me.

The walk back to the transformation rooms was carried out in silence, but I could almost see the concern and worry in Milton, similar to how synaesthesia is often described. Looking at the shades of grey and green which I imagine are jealousy, I start taking mental notes. 'Is this new ability because I was trying to understand his emotions? I need to create a key for reading the colours so that I can read people quicker.'

Putting the thoughts aside I jog up to Landon, "Hey, how're you feeling?"

"Fine. Did you intentionally knock me unconscious?" He asked somewhat guarded and tense.

"What? No, I wanted you to relax and hoped you'd get some sleep while in the cage, you know...because of your claustrophobia." Landon relaxed at my explanation.

"So, where's Raf?"

"I don't know, probably with the wolves. You ready to be vamped again?"

"Please don't call it that," Milton says from behind me.

Alaric gives the nod to Milton and he attempts to use his compulsion. "Yeah, that's still not working, which means you're definitely supernatural, just not triggered yet.

"Does that mean I can stay?" 'How does he always look like a lost, abandoned puppy?'

Alaric put a hand on his shoulder in what would probably have been a comforting gesture had he not opened his mouth. "I'm sorry Landon, but the school is for those with the awakened supernatural genes, most of the classes would provide you with nothing, and between the vampires and werewolves, it's not safe for normal humans."

"But what if I sign a consent form?" the curly-haired, bad musician pleads.

"I'm not willing to put you in danger, even if you choose to do it. Rafael is a danger to those around him, and Dominic is… an unknown threat. I wanted you to have no memories of this place so you could live a normal life."

"You could ask the witches to do a spell on him. Do a quick memory wipe of the past 3 days and poof, problem sorted," Milton provided, and to be honest, I had to agree. 'If I knew this place existed, and that I had a dormant trait, I would be desperate to try and trigger it.' I place my arm around his shoulder in a hug and quickly catch him as I force him to sleep again, though only for an hour or so.

"I'll just put him back there while you sort out the spell."

"Setting it up could take a few hours," Alaric explains.

"Then leave him here, because if he isn't in there, he will badger you incessantly." 'Just like the time he first came home after seeing Hope the first time. God, he spent like 30 minutes just talking about her hair.' "Can one of you tell Raf? I don't want to deal with his clingy overprotective self right now."

Walking to where the lake was if I was reading the map right, I take off my shirt, knowing damn well that the torment that came from being prayed at, rather than for, had somehow affected my upper back like I could feel something there, but not see what was the cause. No one was there and I let out a relieved sigh, as I far prefer swimming nude to swimming in trunks. 'They're not that bad in the water but they chafe like hell once you get back out.'

I pull out my phone, now on its last legs of battery, and listen to some music as I relax on the pier, legs in the water and enjoying the peace, back flat on the wood and facing the sky. I relax and close my eyes, enjoying the calm. For years I've sought distractions to escape equally chaotic home situations, girls, drugs, booze, and yet…this lake makes me feel so much better than I have for a while. I get up to the sound of my phone's dead battery alert, and as I look up at the sky, more time has passed than I thought. 'Note to self, don't have three-hour naps outside, right next to a large body of water.'

Stripping down I take a quick glance down at myself properly for the first time since I awakened whatever genes I have. Some of the excess body fat I had was now gone, making my body look stronger, and as I take off my trunks I'm yet again mystified by the supernatural. 'My dick looks like something from a porno,' somewhat girthier than it was before. I should ask Raf if his changed as well, as weird as that sounds, just in case it's another clue. Personal humiliation and awkwardness in exchange for potential information on my race…fair trade I guess.'

jumping into the cool lake, just enough to be relaxing without making my body want to turtle back up inside itself. Playing around with my enhanced strength and flexibility, which allowed me to generate enough forward motion to launch me into the air like a dolphin, I couldn't understand why the vamps and wolves aren't doing this all the time. 'The witches too, I mean, aren't there spells that can make swimming fun, or is the magic of Harry Potter too advanced? I suppose Rowling's magic was pretty much reality manipulation so it might be a little unrealistic, but at least they don't need wands. Or at least, Hope didn't.'

After spending over an hour in the lake, swimming, diving, launching and floating along the surface, letting my tail push me around, I head back to the pier. Hopping out as no one was at the dock I turn to grab my clothes and hear someone shouting.

"HeyyAHHH SORRY DUDE, FUCK!" they say panicking. In an instinctive, knee-jerk reaction to cover myself, I feel the burning sensation in my back again, followed by the appearance of giant purple wings, leathery like a bat's but with sharp, curved horns at the joints. Realising it was Milton I'd been hearing, probably sent to fetch me for something I call out.

"Umm, I'll be dressed in a minute, can you describe the outside of the wings while I do?"

The vamp was so desperately embarrassed, a cloud of pink covered him mixed with hints of a royal blue, perhaps curiosity? 'I seriously need to get better at reading people's emotions.' "S-Sure. They're…kinda like dragon wings, without scales, sorta like demon wings. Dude, I don't think you can deny it any more. Between the tail and the wings, you're definitely a demon."

"Well, I don't have horns yet, I think. And if I'm a legit demon, does that mean God exists?"

"That's really gonna rub some of the other students the wrong way."

"What about me? I'm an atheist! Was an atheist. Fuck this is confusing."

Stretching out the wings now my pants are on, they extend out easily 10 feet on either side and with a mental gesture to furl them away, they curl towards me and vanish, leaving nothing behind on my back, at least, according to Milton who was awestruck.

"So why are you here?" I ask, pulling him out of his reverence.

Suddenly panicking he grabs me, "Landon vanished, and he took a relic as he left. I'm bringing you along." Pulling me along as he ran was like being on a rollercoaster, that was operating on nitrous while tripping out. As he stopped, I nearly collapsed from the nausea, leaning against the wall while I let the room stop spinning. "Sorry," he said, unsurprised at my reaction. 'For werewolves that must be torture, with their enhanced senses and all.'

"Dominic, I need to ask you about Landon," Alaric said, tense and professional.

"Sure, but I don't know where he is, and until Milton told me, I didn't know he'd gotten out of the cage."

"Is this normal behaviour?" He asked but Hope answered for me.

"Of course it is, he's a thief and a liar."

"Unless he was lying to make you pity or adore him, no. Landon is a terrible liar, and in the 7 months I've been living with him, I've never known him to be a thief."

"Thank you, Dominic," Alaric said, glaring briefly at Hope.

"How did he get out?" I ask, genuinely curious as to how the twig got through the metal bars.

"He was part of a summoning spell, and then he talked to Hope and then left, with an ancient relic," the headmaster replied.

"So, we track him down with some voodoo and take it back. The witches can do that right?" Hope nods, then leaves, heading God knows where.

"So, he's never done this before?" Alaric asks again.

"Not that I know of. He's desperate for affection and can be a bit cagey or flighty, but he's a coward, so stealing magical relics seems unlikely for him." As he nods in understanding, the headmaster gets a call from a sheriff, which causes his face to pale and grip to tighten around the handset, the plastic creaking under the pressure."

Hanging up he looks at me with a small cloud of dark red surrounding him, though his face is nearly expressionless. 'He's pissed.' "Well, now your friend left a bus completely burnt to a crisp, killing 4 passengers and the driver."

Hope and Josie burst into the room, "He drew the dagger, it was glowing a bright red inside a bus."

"So Landon's got a dagger that incinerates those around him and has vanished with it. We need to get it back," Alaric says, looking at Hope and me he asks, "Are you both willing to hunt him down?"

"Definitely," says Hope with a similar cloud of dark red forming. 'Just what did he do to piss her off so quickly.'

"I'll help retrieve the magic death knife, but if the fire was an accident, I don't feel comfortable killing Landon, considering every werewolf here is a killer themselves." Hope flinches at my words, but Alaric accepts my comment.

"If he's innocent we will progress with the ritual, but if he knew…"

"Then you do what you have to," I manage to get out. 'Landon, please don't be a deranged arsonist.'