Page 9 of After Darkness Falls

Then, realizing she was probably being rude, she winced. "Sorry.You're just…I mean. That's a badass outfit."

Breaking into a smile that made her seem a thousand times more beautiful, the woman said, “Chill. Newbies stare. That's normal. We don’t bite.” Then, she seemed to reconsider. “Most of us don’t, anyway. Unless you ask. Do you like being bitten?”

Something vaguely resembling a laugh escaped Chloe’s throat. That was probably just normal sup humor, right?

She stepped inside the building and found herself apologizing again. “Sorry. How long is the newbie card valid for?”

The woman laughed. “Case-by-case basis. I'd say, for you, we'll reassess in a year or so. All right, so you can just walk through the gates. They're immaterial. Spells to keep out certain…” She hesitated. "People."

Chloe doubted that “people” was the word she wanted to use. Things, maybe.

"Let me go in first so you know I'm not messing with you."

The woman walked forward, as if there was nothing between the two thirty-inch-thick walls, and disappeared in front of Chloe's bewildered eyes.

Working for a vampire and hanging out with shifters didn't mean that she was used to magic. Sups rarely used magic at all among regulars. She hadn't even seen Chelle and her witches perform any spells other than the stuff they did around the carnival of NOLA to entertain tourists.

Clearing her throat and tightening her backpack straps, Chloe whispered, "Here goes nothing," and walked through the gates. Three steps, and that was it, she was on the other side. As she passed through the barrier, she felt a strange coldness, and the air seemed to resist, trying to push back against her. The sensation didn't last, and then she forgot all about it.

She was in the Institute.

Her eyes widened and stayed peeled for a long time.

To her left was a field of green grass where students dressed like the stunning brunette were attempting to gruesomely murder each other. There was no other way to describe their sparring. They had real weapons—swords, daggers, bows, axes—and they were swinging them hard against their opponents. Chloe knew she wouldn't survive more than a couple of minutes against any of them, even those who looked quite young.

To her left, two dozen witches were fighting too, but with fireballs, mini hurricanes, and other terrifying pieces of nature in the palms of their hands.

Chloe wondered if she'd be safer back in NOLA, even with the killers after her.

“You look so stressed out, blondie,” said the brunette. “Let me tell you something. Whatever you’re going to ask, it’s probably a valid question. Most of us don’t get upset by curiosity. Only ignorance and malice put our teeth on edge.”

Teeth. Chloe zeroed in on the woman's. It could just have been the light, her anxiety, or unfounded fear, but they seemed so very white. Bright.

She wouldn’t have been able to tell one day ago, but after Levi, she just knew she was in front of another vampire. It wasn’t uncommon to come across a shifter or a witch from time to time, but vampires were another story. She knew Charles, and that was it. The rest of the NOLA circle remained in the shadows.

"Are we…are we all supposed to fight like that?"

Hopefully not.

The woman laughed. "You wish. Don't worry, you're not the first regular to come through those gates. The Institute demands the best of us, that's it. No one here will ask you to do anything you're not capable of accomplishing. All right, my students are waiting for me. You know where you're going?"

Her students? She looked twenty, if that.

“Do all vampires look so young?”

The words were out of her mouth before she thought better of it. The brunette smiled kindly, letting Chloe know she’d meant it when she said she wouldn’t be offended.

"No, not all of us, although born vampires tend to stop aging in their early twenties. For those who were turned, well, it just depends on how old they were when they became one of us. All right, I have to go. I don't think you'll be in my class, but if you need help, we're all available—any time. Ask for Anika Beaufort."

Chloe felt a little more at ease. "Thank you. Chloe Miller."

There it was, her name. Normally, she saw faces stiffen and eyes narrow when she said it.

But Anika just waved, friendly as ever.

"Have fun, Chloe."

Then she was on her way, moving so fast Chloe's eyes only caught one out of three steps. In no time, she reached the other side of the court and stood in front of a handful of students, who all saluted, hands over their heart.

---