*****

Standing at the head of the classroom is Master Veronica Liu, a beautiful, but intense woman whose petite size belies her fierce nature.

Her raven black hair is swept up into a tight, perfect bun, accentuating her wide intelligent eyes and her high, sculpted cheekbones.

"I expect your first few days here at the Academy have been fruitful?" she asks as she begins to pace before the lectern, watching the kids settle into their seats.

Sebastian, who's slouched down in his desk chair, quips, "Well, I wouldn't say it's been fruitful... more like shocking and mildly disturbing."

There are groans from the other kids, but Master Liu's lips twitch up, just a little bit. She refuses to smile outright, though, because she doesn't want to encourage more snark from her students. From the dossiers Headmaster Pierce drew up for each of the kids, she suspected Sebastian was going to be a handful; and if true, he's off to a fantastic start.

"At the very least," Master Liu says, "I presume Master Achebe has put you through your paces?" After a beat, she smiles in response to the kids' silent nods. "Good. Good. Well, my name is Master Veronica Liu, and I will be your Contemporary History and your Logistics Professor."

Aidan's hand shoots up into the air.

"Yes, Mr. O'Brien." Master Liu acknowledges him.

"Now, what precisely do you mean by the term 'logistics.'" He inquires. "What exactly does this entail--if you don't mind me asking?" He adds quickly. He's laying on his Irish accent a bit thicker than usual because he finds that, with adults, he can get away with far more cheek and attitude before he finds himself in a whole mess of trouble.

"Well, Aidan. I'm glad you asked. I happen to be a specialist in Infiltration and Espionage And that is what I'll be teaching you."

Aidan's eyes go wide. He turns to Cameron, leans over, and whispers, "Did you hear that? Did you hear that, Cam? Espionage... Infiltration... By the gods! This shite's gettin' real." He cracks a wide, goofy grin.

Cameron just gives Aidan the side-eye, not quite sure how to react to his somewhat inappropriately giddy response. Truth be told, he doesn't know Aidan all that well since, back at the Enchanted Academy, they ran in entirely different circles. And while he does, on occasion, find Aidan kind of funny; he also finds him profoundly odd.

"So, as Headmaster Pierce mentioned earlier," Master Liu begins, "the goal of the academy is to cross-train you in the fighting styles of each race so that you can learn, through this tri-racial collaboration, how we can best defeat the demons in the Otherworlder realm. But we also want you to help us with another very important mission that until now has not been disclosed nor discussed." Master Liu looks around the room, her expression resolute. "Who here finished reading the history briefing from your orientation packet?" Only Inez, Ava, Fiona, and Farid raise their hands.

Master Liu purses her lips in disappointment. Her eyes narrow. "Next time, when I give you an assignment, it's completed long before class, understood?"

The kids respond in unison, "Understood."

"All right, then." She blows out a breath. "For those who did not manage to read the orientation packet," Master Liu's gaze rests on the other students gathered in her class, "had you completed the assignment, you would have learned that, by working closely with the High Council, we believe we've found a way to encapsulate The Fury and trap them for a very long time. But this time, they will not be encased in ice, and we'll be using a very rare and powerful binding spell."

Inez raises her hand.

"Yes, Miss Hidalgo."

"Has the spell been used before?" Inez asks.

"Actually, only once, and it was a long, long time ago. It's a rather challenging spell, from what I understand," Master Liu replies. "You see the only complete record of this spell exists on a tablet that--in order to ensure that no single community could leverage its power to harm the others--was broken up into six different pieces, each piece fiercely guarded by a different village spread across the Shapeshifter, Enchanted, and Vampyr realms."

Master Liu pauses for a moment, her eyes scanning the room, looking for any signs of uncertainty or discomfort amongst the students. If she can't convince them, one hundred percent, that they're capable of accomplishing this mission, then she'll have to send the doubters home now, before the true training begins.

Scanning the room a second time, she's please to see that the kids still seem very interested in remaining a part of the project. So, she continues.

"The mission we're asking you to embark upon is to go into these communities and capture high resolution images of the tablet fragment that each community is guarding. You'll then send these images to Master Achebe who will virtually reassemble the tablet and interpret the spell. And in order to capture these images, we'll be sending you to these communities as junior ambassadors, representing the High Council and being tasked with communicating the benefits of the first ever integrated academy. But of course, you'll in fact be locating, accessing, and capturing a photo of the artifact to send to Master Achebe.

Cameron, who's sitting in the back of the room, asks skeptically, "You really think we can pull this off?"

"I do. I do." Master Liu replies with a nod. "You see as teenagers, we feel that you're old enough to use the training and skills we provide to you to accomplish the task. And at the same time, being so young, as compared to other guests and emissaries, you're far less likely to attract the kind of scrutiny that adults would, say, if they were discovered in a prohibited area or caught taking pictures of some random artifact that just happened to be misplaced in a library, a temple, or an archive. We feel confident the cover we've invented for you will allow you the freedom you need to get the task done."

Nodding, Aidan leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest. "Good plan. Good plan," he remarks sagely. "It's elegant, you know? It's clever and yet understated, relying on adults' instinctive tendency to underestimate us, chalking up our potentially odd behavior to mere teenage stupidity. I like it. I like it! This mission has real legs, Master Liu!"

"Well, I'm delighted we have your approval, Mr. O'Brien." Master Liu replies, doing her best to repress another smile.

"And these communities," Inez raises her hand and inquires, "are they likely to believe any cover story we give them?"

Master Liu pauses for a moment before responding. "Look," she says. "I'm not going to lie to you. Even with The Accords in place, this mission won't be easy. There's still a lot of mistrust between the races, and even though you'll be going in under the auspices of the High Council, you won't necessarily be welcomed with open arms."

"So, how are we supposed to get at these artifacts?" Fiona asks.

"Well, you'll most likely be brokering, cajoling, and in rare cases, bribing your way to wherever these artifacts are kept," Master Liu answers honestly. "And on rare occasions, you may have to use the skills we've taught you to quietly infiltrate or, if necessary, forcefully penetrate any barriers keeping you from accessing the artifact and getting that photo."

"Will we ever have to steal the artifacts themselves?" Farid asks.

"Only for a short time and only as a last resort." Master Liu replies.

"Oh, great!" Sebastian throws his hands up. "First you ask us to be warriors, and now you want us to be thieves."

"Well, Sebastian," Master Liu retorts, "with the fate of our people and our entire world hanging in the balance, there's practically no technique that will be off limits. We simply ask that you not torture, kidnap, seduce, or kill anyone in order to complete your mission. All other tactics..." She shrugs. "Are negotiable."

*****

As the kids pile out of Master Liu's class, she holds up a hand, indicating for Fiona, Sebastian, and Farid to stay behind. They settle into desks in the front row while she leans back and sits on the corner of her desk.

"So..." Master Liu clasps her hands before her. "After this morning's performance on Master Achebe's obstacle course, the faculty reached out to the High Council, and they've approved live feeding for the three of you in order to build up your stamina."

Sebastian perks up at this news. "Seriously?"

Farid clears his throat. "Um... Does this mean that we'll be feeding off humans? I mean, that's a high crime, isn't it?" He's confused by this recent edict that goes against decades of law laid down as a result of The Accords.

"No, honey. You'll actually be feeding off of Otherworlders," Master Liu reveals. Reacting to the kids' stunned expressions, she continues, "I know, I know. It's a practice that's been banned for nearly 78 years, but the High Council felt that we really had to do something to enhance your abilities and get you better prepared."

Fiona, visibly disturbed by the news, quietly admits, "I've never fed off of anything--or anyone--that was alive before. I've only ever consumed synthetic blood." She wraps her arms around her stomach and tries to keep from hurling at the very idea of a live feed.

"I understand that this change might feel unsettling to you," Master Liu says with compassion. "And in the beginning, it will most likely be very uncomfortable. But you have to remember, this is how our ancestors used to sustain themselves, long before the end of the Shadow Wars. Granted," she shrugs, "they went about it in a slightly more ruthless fashion, but still..."

Fiona stands and walks over to the window. She stares out into the courtyard for a long time, then turns back to Master Liu.

"Does this mean that we'll have to," she swallows hard, "hunt for our meals from now on?" She can't help but grimace at the thought.

"Oh, goodness no!" Master Liu walks over and wraps an arm around Fiona's shoulders to comfort her. "Arrangements have been made to bring in volunteers. They've been educated, and screened, and they will be very well compensated for their time. For now, it'll just be Shifters that you feed off of since we know that will increase your strength and your ability to regenerate. Enchanteds, however, still remain off-limits."

"That's too bad." Sebastian murmurs. "I hear feeding off an Enchanted is a real high."

Farid shoots Sebastian a look of pure death.

"What?" Sebastian shrugs with a smirk. "I mean, why do Enchanteds get to miss out on all the fun?" He chuckles.

Master Liu, also not amused by Sebastian's grim humor, throws him a chastising look, then returns to her desk."Feeding off of any Otherworlder is not only illegal, but very unpredictable. However, with Enchanteds there are too many variables, too many elements, that we can't control. We just don't know enough about the consequences. This is strictly confidential, but The High Council has been conducting experiments on the practice of feeding off of Enchanteds and from what I hear, it did not go well. At least, with Shifters, we know the potential risks and how to mitigate them.

Sebastian straightens in his chair, concerned. "Risks? From a live feed? I thought it was all political. I didn't know there could be physical consequences."

"Yes, yes, but look," Master Liu waves the thought away. "This is clearly a lot for you all to take in because, of course, you've never fed live before; and certainly never off of an Enchanted or a Shifter."

Sebastian and Farid exchange furtive glances.

"But trust me," Master Liu assures them, "this is something that will be a crucial part of your conditioning, so we'll have to make it as comfortable for you as we can. We'll start out slowly. I promise."

Master Liu bites her bottom lip and looks out the window, before turning back to the kids. "It's very important that you not speak about this to any of the other students. Because of our history" she sighs, "and some of the unfortunate events that occurred during the Shadow Wars, it's still a very sensitive topic. And if they know what you're doing, well, they're likely to be offended and we may lose them from the team." Master Liu leans forward on her desk. "Master Achebe, Headmaster Pierce, and I are working on a plan to educate the rest of the students to help better acclimate them to this practice. Which means," she looks each of the Vampyr kids in the eye, "for now, this stays just between us. Agreed?"

The kids look at each other, then...

"Agreed." They say in unison. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N - In this chapter, you get a deeper insight into the various cultures, especially the Vampyrs. 

For an author, how to handle living off of blood, in any story, is a tricky thing. And I had to think long and hard about how the V-kids would handle it. 

As the story unfolds, you'll see this custom come into play, in both a good and bad way.

I don't know. I'm not sure I could be a Vampyr/Vampire, no matter how much you sanitized it.

Anyway, more coming your way next Friday.

And a reader DM'd me about this so I thought I'd put it here too. She asked about how Farid's name was pronounced. It's pronounced /fareed/, but you don't draw out the "reed" in a long, American drawl. :-D  

As I understand it, you can spell it either way, with the double-e being more common, I think. But "Farid" just clicked with me (and it means "unique"), so I went with it.

Naming your character can be tricky and/or painful, especially if you want the meaning of the name to match the character. Don't you think?