Chapter 3

Cuts & Causes

I remembered my first day in the classroom. I remembered Mason's eyes weighed down heavily. It was the first time his twin brother seemed to outdo him. Rio was ready as was several of the others. There was no chalkboard or anything like that but I felt a choking in the air. I didn't know how to describe it really. The thick darkness of my life seemed circle over and over above my head. I could breath it in and clear my throat but there was still a dryness there.

Angelica hadn't cried for quite a time. I had gotten used to her tears and for some reason it felt sometimes that her tears were what made me sane. I felt if she cried that meant I wasn't the scared one.

Genesis Bah circled us. He was a predator feeding on anxiety, emotion and mental unpreparedness. There was a noticeable smirk on his face.

"There's a knife in front of you. I'd like you to cut yourselves."

I sat beside Brandon Ferris. Every time I saw Brandon he seemed to be even more berserk. I could hate him for being so brave.

Brandon took the knife ran it through his palm. He clasped his palm and coolly squeezed it. The blood dribbled down from his pinky and stained the wooden desk beside me. Brandon's eyes followed the blood and then looked back up at Bah, acknowledging once again that he was the first.

I knew then that I would not be the last.

I took the knife and followed Brandon's example. How had he managed to remain so calm? The sharp pain caused my lips to tense up and I bit so hard on myself that I swore I drew blood from someplace else.

"It hurts," Angelica stated.

Melody said something to her. I noticed in the corner of my eye that Melody had taken the blade from her cousin and cut both of them with it. I wondered if Bah had noticed but his back was turned to them. Angelica quickly quieted with whatever Melody said to her.

"Our magic source comes from a witch named Fatima. To appease her ancestors she took to sacrifice but had nothing to offer but blood. Fatima bled for 80 nights and when she could bleed no more she gave birth to a little girl. And when the girl came of***ge Fatima had more to offer and even that Fatima sacrificed to her ancestors."

"She killed her own daughter?" Victor asked.

He looked across the room as though wanting some sort of recognition for his surprise. I was surprised as well but after all I had seen this was the last thing of my worries what some lady did hundreds of years ago.

"The first blood sacrifice of our people and Fatima was rewarded. With the blood you shed just now you have all done your first sacrifice. Do not leave this room until the ancestors accept your sacrifice."

"How the hell would we know something like that?" Mason asked.

"You will be rewarded."

"What do you mean we will be rewarded. Hey—I'm talking to you. How will we know. Where the hell are you going?" Mason asked Bah.

Mr. Bah didn't answer though. I guess he felt like he didn't feel like he had to answer. Mason sighed loudly as Mr. Bah left the room slamming the door after him.

I sat there for ten minutes wondering what the hell would this even meant. I had cut myself probably deeper than I should have. The blood just kept pouring. Was this normal? I didn't understand. I looked across the room at the others. They were all still bleeding as well. I was amused to see Melody Atwood focusing as though she was in some sort of deep meditation. I could almost laugh at the fact though. She was even humming slowly. The other Atwoods followed suit to whatever she was doing and closed their eyes as well. Mason and I watched the Atwoods. We exchanged looks and the peeved expression on his face caused me to break out into a light laughter.

"This is f***king stupid," Mason grunted.

"Absolutely," I agreed. I didn't know why I agreed. Maybe I agreed because it was Mason or maybe it was because we had just made eye contact.

Brandon seemed irritated, "Why don't you leave then?"

I wasn't sure who he was talking to but Mason was the one who answered him back, "Do I look stupid? So that f***king d***khead of a Bah can make me jump off a bridge somewhere? I'll pass. This is probably a setup. I can see him outside of the door right now waiting for us."

I raised my eyebrow at the idea, "Why don't you go see?"

"Why don't you?" Mason sent back to me.

"Can you two please be quiet?" Melody Atwood asked, "Some of us are trying to concentrate."

It was the first time that I hard Melody Atwood talk at length. Her voice was raspy and demanding. She had this negativity about her.

"Yo, did anyone order a b***h?" Mason said.

Rio's eyes darted over at his brother as soon as he said, "Mason..."

Melody didn't even seem to get what Mason was saying though. Her eyes were back to being shut. Mason sighed even louder this time. I found it amusing. Everyone seemed to serious but him. He just seemed like he didn't give a damn about anything going on here and for some reason that mind state put me at ease. I felt better.

"It's done," Brandon stated.

He was the first one to stop and he seemed to be collecting his books.

"What's done?" Mason asked.

Brandon raised his hand. Everyone had turned to him. Even the three Atwoods came out of their trance to see what Brandon was talking about. His hand which had once been cut was completley closed. He had healed!

Brandon had a sense of happiness about him. He didn't say how it was he was able to attain this. No one asked. Maybe it was due to our own pride that we didn't ask him. Maybe it was because a part of us thought he didn't even know how he achieved it. When he walked out of the room I could feel a tinge of jealousy. We all looked around at each other. We now knew our goal.

It was almost an hour later when the next person finished. The next person to finish was Victor Atwood followed by Melody. Victor stayed in the room silently next to his sister urging her on and whispering things to her. The next person to finish was Rio. He looked over at his brother but didn't give him the same sort of encouragement as Victor.

I sat in my seat trying to think of something or anything. It was the feeling of wanting to fall asleep but not knowing how to. No matter how much I strained myself nothing happened. I continued to bleed all over the desk. A part of me wanted to give up.

As I turned to Mason and Angelica I knew that I just didn't want to be the last one remaining in the room. I didn't want to be the failure. It was such a simple request but it seemed to mean so much at that moment. This small task meant the world to me.

Hours had passed in that room. The dim light from outdoors had turned to night. There was a chirping in the darkness and Angelica finally got up. She showed her brother her hand and it was completely dry. Her bleeding had stopped. Victor hugged his sister tightly. There was a bond there that I rarely saw. I envied their closeness. Now it was just me and Mason.

I turned to Mason, "How's it going?"

"I healed a few hours ago," Mason told me.

He lifted up his hand and showed it to me. I couldn't f***king believe it. I was the last one even after Angelica. My face blushed with embarrassment as I looked at my hand and saw it continue to trickle with blood. My hand seemed to be falling asleep. The drips were slow but continuous.

"Why are you still here?"

He shrugged and shook his head, "I don't know. I just figured it'd suck for you to sit here alone. Plus this building seems to be full of crazies. If you get killed off I'd be next probably. You know how it goes."

I raised an eyebrow, "You could also say that we were friends. That would have worked just as easily as your excuse."

"Friends?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"You heard of them?"

He nodded his head, "I sure the hell have. My brother has a ton of them. Rio is famous on the Island. I didn't think I was capable of having any of those though. Why be friends with the d***khead when you could be friends with the nice one? That's the question his friends ask themselves before they ignore my ass for my better half."

"Well right now your better half isn't here with me. You are."

"For my own selfish needs."

"For whatever reason you are here with me," I said.

Mason raises an eyebrow as our eyes connect. He shook his head as though denying whatever form of comfort I was offering him, "Stop getting all soft and s***t. We are supposed to be the big bad witch doctors remember?"

He kept refusing me. I couldn't help but to keep staring at him even as he did it though. There was something about Mason that intrigued the f***k out of me. It was somewhere in the fact that he barely waited for me to finish what I was saying before he had a knee jerk smart ass reaction. It was almost as though he had prepared his life making up these smart comebacks.

"What's that sound?" I asked.

I had said it immediately after I heard the noise. There was a banging on the door. It wasn't a knock. It was a banging. I had jerked to my feet at that moment.

Mason got up at that moment and went to the door. He opened it. I watched as he disappeared into the hallway for a moment. My heart raced for a minute. Why would someone bang on the door like that? I watched as Mason walked back into the room and closed the door behind him.

"No one. The hallway was clear."

"Maybe the person hit the door and run."

"No where to run to. There are no other rooms down the entire hallway," Mason stated and walked over to me, "Give me your hand. Look...you're good. You're healed. Let's get the f***k back to our rooms."

I turned to my hand. I hadn't even noticed but he was right. I was healed. I could tell there was a sense of panic in his voice.

"You ok?"

"It was cold outside."

"So?"

"You don't get it. When I walked into the hallway I felt really cold like all of a sudden I was in ice cold water," Mason stated, "Let's get out of here."

The way he said it I knew that he wasn't joking. I knew that something outside of that door must have spooked him. If it was the temperature then it must have been extreme enough that it caused him to panic a little bit.

I hadn't noticed how late it was in the day. I found myself being a little hungry really. I had spent so long in the room without any food or anything. I wanted to mention it to Mason but he seemed more focused on getting back to our rooms. When he opened the door he stopped me by putting up his hands. He wanted to go first. I allowed him to do it and I quickly followed close behind. The hallway was dark and he was right. The temperature in the hallway was cold.

"S***t it's cold," I found myself saying.

"Micko..."

"I can see my breath," I noticed as I stood in the threshold. A part of me wanted to go back into the classroom where it was warm. I hadn't noticed it being so cold before.

"Micko. Look."

Mason was pulling at my sleeve at that moment. He stood in front of me and as I looked him I saw what he was referring to. At the end of the hallway were dark figures. There were maybe four of them. My mind initially formed no recognizable association with the figures. My eyes adjusted to the light however in the darkness I noticed the four figured were hooded black figures. I couldn't see their eyes. Whatever they were wearing seemed to cover their entire bodies. They stood silently. They didn't say anything.

"Who are they?"

"A few of the Castors. Weren't you paying attention at the assembly?" Mason stated bluntly. His eyes didn't leave them.

"What do they want?"

"Let's not stick around to find out..."

He pulled at me again. He was very aggressive in the way he guided me. He pulled at my sleeve not letting go until I followed the path that he wanted me to. It was small things like this that Mason did that betrayed his hardcore a***e exterior. We turned the other way and kept walking down the hallway. The hallway seemed never ending. There was no where to turn. I hadn't even remembered walking so long this morning.

"Are they following us?" I asked Mason.

I didn't dare look back to see for myself.

"Yes."

"Should we run?"

"No! Just walk faster."

My heart was beating heavier and it wasn't just fear that was doing it. I could feel a cold shiver rise up from the back of my spine. The temperature had to keep dropping. It was getting colder. I grasped my arms over one another. My teeth began to chatter. Something was happening! This wasn't f***king normal.

I could feel my steps growing heavier.

"Mason," I said.

"Shut up. Keep walking. We are almost to the corner."

He scolded me quickly and even in his hard exterior he did something that surprised the f***k out of me. He put his arm over me and pulled me close. His arm stayed hung over me. He pulled me close. I looked at my hands. My fingers were turning blue from the cold. What the f***k was happening to me?

"Mason are they still following us?"

"Yes. Shut the f***k up. Stop being a p***y. Listen to me ok....alright Micko? I'm going to say this s***t once. At the corner we are going to make a right. Keep your cool. As soon as you turn that corner I want you to run. Don't look back. Just run as fast as you can."

How would we know where we were going? I could hear footsteps behind us. They were going faster as well. I had meant to ask that question but nothing came out. It was so cold that it would have hurt to talk. It was taking all my energy now to keep walking away from whoever was following us.

We made it to the corner and we made the right!

I felt Mason tug at me alerting me that it was time to run and just as we turned the corner I started I ran hard and could only make two of three steps before I crashed into something!

I could feel my body falling backwards and my hard hitting the floor hard. I slid almost two feet backwards and felt my neck jerk back.

I looked up getting ready to struggle as best as I could but when my eyes adjusted again I saw that it was Genesis Bah standing there.

"HELP Mr. Bah. Help!" I said clutching onto myself and pointing down the hallway.

I turned down to where the people were following us but no one was there any longer. They had disappeared into thin air.

"Get off the floor. What the hell are the two of you doing wandering around the halls at this hour?" Bah asked.

He was not amused.

"I was with Micko," Mason stated standing next to me, "He just finished the test in the room. His wound healed later than everyone else."

"This late?" Bah asked looking confused "That's pathetic."

His words seemed to stab like a knife a little bit. I looked away.

Thankfully Mason changed the subject, "That's not the point. The temperature dropped. I was...freezing."

"Freezing?" Bah asked.

He seemed confused. It wasn't until then that I realized the temperature in the hallway was completely normal. I didn't feel cold at all any more.

Mason shook his head. I could tell he was irritated by it.

"We were attacked by Four Castors."

"I see..."

"Is that all you have to say?" Mason asked Bah, "That you see? We were attacked!"

I expected Bah to hurt him or something for raising his voice but Bah put his hand on his chin as though contemplating something, "It's strange that they attacked you this early in the process. The other Sacrificial coven has a bad reputation and that somehow has been linked to us. I'd recommend the two of you skip dinner for tonight and get to your rooms."

"That's it?" Mason asked.

"Come on Mason," I said.

Bah exchanged looks at me. I was happy when Mason followed behind me without saying much of anything else. The last thing I wanted was for Bah to think I was the weakest link. I didn't want to be the type to keep running to him every time I ran into trouble. I couldn't help but to think it was too late though. I was already the weak one in his eyes.

That night Mason put the dresser behind our door. I wasn't sure if he truly felt like this protected us more but it seemed to give him a peace of mind because he fell asleep relatively quickly.

The next morning people seemed to know we had been attacked. We had repeated bleeding ourselves but this time it was Catalina instead of Genesis.

Catalina looked distressed as she reported in the morning the reason why she was filling in. "After the attack last night on two of you my nephew made a sacrifice to have our ancestors guard your sleeping quarters. Such a sacrifice takes a toll and Genesis will not be able to make it today."

I was somewhat glad that Genesis wasn't able to make it. I had managed to be the last one to heal once again on the second day. Of course the time difference was a big difference. It only took all of us about an hour.

I was finally able to make dinner for the first time. Mason and I followed behind Brandon and the others. The Atwoods stayed in the room. They wanted help with more practice bleeding themselves. It was Melody's idea. I guess the idea of her finishing after Brandon was just more than she could handle. I could tell how competitive she really was.

Brandon, Rio, Mason and I walked into a crowded cafeteria and I could see the stares immediately.

"Get used to it. It was just like this yesterday," Rio stated.

The cafeteria was the most normal looking place in the building. From all the floors I began to realize that this place was something like a tower. The cafeteria was on the bottom floor. For the most part the cafeteria seemed to be color blocked. The people who wore black sat with other people who black. The Divinations wore white and seemed to somewhat associate with the castors. The purple Talisman students all seemed to speak in a foreign language.

Then in the very rear of the room were the red Sacrificial users.

As I gathered my food from a long line I couldn't take my eyes off of them.

There were very few of them. One was particularly tall. He had dark arched eyebrows and extremely dark pupils.

"Only other goat killer you've seen?"

I didn't even know who was talking to me until I turned behind me. I realized that Mason and the others had somehow managed to get ahead of me on the line while I was looking at the other Sacrificial coven.

It was the boy that I had bumped into the very first time that I came here. He had on black robes. That meant he was a Castor. There were no lack of Castors though. They seemed to be everywhere in the lunchroom. It would have been impossible to know which four of them were responsible for the scare against Mason and I.

"Goat killer?" I asked the boy.

"You sacrificial users. That's what they call you guys. They call you goat killers, baby stranglers and blood drinkers."

He was being quite blunt.

"Tell me how you really feel," I said.

"What?"

"Nevermind. I know you," I stated, "We bumped into one another before."

He nodded, "My name is Corey Vincent of the Salem coven. And you are."

"Micko...oh yeah....of the Moreen Coven."

"Moreen? Never heard of it."

"Maybe that's a good thing," I stated and grabbed a tray of mystery looking meet from the line, "Look...it must be something that my coven sacrificed."

Corey laughed.

"Didn't know you goat killers had a sense of humor."

"Prince..."

I looked around to see what was being called but when I did I found a woman standing there. She was referring to Corey. Corey looked over at her and then at me. It wasn't lost to me that the woman had referred to him as Prince.

"You should come sit with us," I stated.

I looked over at the woman who Corey was with. She didn't seem pleasant at all. I could see the distrust lined out on her face.

"Next time Corey."

I forced a smile trying to seem as pleasant as possible.

I found myself walking back to a table where Mason, Rio and Brandon were sitting. No one else was sitting even at the same table as us. I felt like I was the unpopular kid in high school all over again. When I sat down I could tell by the look on everyone's face that the food was far from appetizing.

"Making friends on line?" Mason asked.

I was surprised that he noticed.

"His name is Corey. I bumped into him."

"You know that is one of the princes right?" Brandon stated, "You missed the first dinner. They lined up all the princes of the last person who won the crown. He was one of them."

"I don't even know what that means."

"It means he comes from a powerful coven," Rio answered.

"Probably the ones that attacked us yesterday," Mason stated.

Mason was giving me a negative look. I wondered what I did to deserve that kind of look from him. I'd just been minding my own business this time.

"I doubt it," I said shaking my head, "He seemed nice enough. Honestly I think a lot of them are probably more scared of us then we are of them. The way they talk about people who use blood magic is deep. It's unsettling."

My eyes wander over at the other blood magic table. They keep to themselves just like we are. They seem as rough and blistering as someone can get. I wondered looking at them what they were capable of. Who was the tall one with the black pupils?

Rio shook his head, "I'm not really concerned about politics. I think we should just worry about getting out of here."

"Politics?" Mason grunted, "We were attacked Rio."

"Well maybe we should try to leave soon that way we won't keep getting attacked."

Brandon shook his head, "Whatever is in that forest is a lot more dangerous then what is in here. Didn't you hear the assembly?"

Rio shook his head.

"I just want to get out of here," he said.

The way he said it was desperate. I could tell he wasn't happy here. There was a disconnect from the boy I met on the bus to the one in front of my face now. I could tell Mason wasn't amused by it. I probably wouldn't have been either. Rio didn't seem to give a damn about the fact that Mason and I were attacked. I understood him not caring much about me because he didn't know me. Mason was his twin brother though.

"You in a rush to get back to all your admirers huh?" Mason asked.

Mason was being combative again. I could see Rio about to say something back but I struggled to change the subject hoping that we'd be able to get through without any blowups.

"It's nice how Genesis set up a barrier huh?" I asked.

"It wasn't a barrier. Catalina said he asked our ancestors to protect us," Mason started up almost immediately, "Big difference. It could be a bunch of bulls***t."

"Are you always an a***e?" Rio asked.

"Just on days that end with a Y."

"Oh good I was beginning to start to worry," Rio said sarcastically right back.

Rio and Mason going back and forth was definitely causing unnecessary drama. A part of me wanted to believe that it was just sibling rivalry or something like that. I questioned that mindstate though. Mason's visage said that there was more to this anger between the two of them. I wasn't sure what it was but I knew that I'd figure it out one day.

"I get what you are saying Micko," Brandon added in, "Genesis sacrificed to protect us. We just don't know how to protect ourselves yet."

Brandon was such a kiss ass when it came to Genesis but I had to admit a little positivity was gong a long way in a time like this.

"Do you think he can make us strong enough to get past that forest?" I asked.

Brandon nodded and smiled, "I believe in him. I believe Genesis is going to be our Moses. He's going to part the sea. He's going to lead us to the promised land. Come to think of it Moses had a staff...not a wand. Maybe the staff was a talisman but hell maybe he made a sacrifice with the lambs blood. Maybe Moses used blood magic..."

I could tell from the expressions on the twins that they weren't so sold on that. I wasn't sold on it either. I just remained though not saying anything. Brandon believed in it with all his heart and that was what was scary. Without even knowing Genesis for so long he had become a follower and seemed to almost worship the man.

I remembered Mason and I both didn't sleep well that night. As if it wasn't enough tossing and turning all night he had turned to me.

I found myself whispering to him in the darkness, "Do you think we will ever get out of here?"

I wasn't sure Mason was even up until I felt his bed squeak.

"From my understanding once a new King is made we will be allowed to leave."

"But we'll have to return again."

"Perhaps."

"When does it end?"

"I don't know these answers. Why don't you get like Rio and ask the people who would know?"

"Mason—"

"What is it Micko?"

"I"m f***king scared we all aren't going to make it out of here."

He sighed.

It was annoyance. I knew he was annoyed but I didn't care. I didn't have anyone else to talk to about these feelings that I was having. I remembered the cold when Mason and I were attacked. I had recalled vehemence itself being fabricated into those hallways.

"I'll make sure we get out of here."

Mason's voice was distant yet held this strong, self-assured confidence. He was gentle as he said it and even though I knew he was just trying to shut me up in the night it made me feel much better. In my mind Mason was this protector who cared when no one else cared and it made all this somewhat bearable.