Page 36 of Cloak of the Vampire
Abe began pacing back and forth at the front of the classroom. “Bloodlust happens when a vampire doesn’t consume enough blood for a few days in a row.” His face seemed set in his usual lecture mood, but there was a hint of something like regret in his eyes. “Similar to when humans become dehydrated, a vampire becomes blood deprived, and when this happens, Bloodlust occurs.”
Whispers broke out throughout the class. Abe stayed quiet, watching the class with a worrying look. It made me wonder if Bloodlust was a common occurrence, and if it was, why weren’t we told about it right at the beginning? True, Margarita had told me to keep to my blood diet, and Abe also mentioned that drinking blood every day was mandatory, but neither had explained about the consequences if we didn’t.
Once the chatter died down, Abe’s face cleared, and he gave us all a hard stare. “Bloodlust can hit you at any moment. One second, you’ll be fine; then the next, you’ll find yourself fangs-deep in your best friend’s neck. Sometimes, there are signs that some may ignore—signs that someone is at risk for Bloodlust.”
The room was silent. I glanced at Jakob. His face was no longer vacant but drawn, with his lips curled, his eyes welling with tears. He let his head fall, tears streaming quietly down his face. Not far from him, Zoey hid her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking from unheard sobs.
“Bloodlust will temporarily enhance your senses, speed, and strength to a point it will take a lot to subdue you,” Abe said gravely. “But it also makes you lose your mind with the need for blood,anyblood, and you become like a depraved animal, latching on to the first thing within reach.”
Cynthia, an unusually quiet girl with rainbow-colored hair, raised her hand. Abe nodded in her direction, and she said, “This is what happened yesterday, isn’t it?”
Abe sighed and nodded. “Yes.” Abe grimaced before continuing. “Augustus was a very promising vampire,” he said sadly. “He was smart and kind, and he will be missed.”
He looked down at his hands before he started pacing again. “I hope that you can learn from this so we won’t lose another vampire to Bloodlust.”
One of the guys, Bryce, hesitantly raised his hand. “Why did our Lord kill him?”
“Because there’s no coming back from Bloodlust,” Abe said, voice loaded. “Unlike humans, who can be treated for dehydration, there is no treatment other than death for Bloodlust.” Abe looked pained and affected. It was clear Gus’s death was weighing on him. “It’s our Lord’s duty to protect us, even at the price of one of his own. Had he let him free, Gus would’ve gone on a killing rampage. Those afflicted with Bloodlust know no bounds, and their hunger is never satiated.”
It was incredibly sad. I might hate his guts, but having to kill someone who hadn’t hurt a fly was not something I wished on anybody, not even Ragnor. I couldn’t help but pity Gus too. What a bad way to go, being remembered as nothing but a mindless mess of a man only because he forgot to drink some blood.
Cynthia raised her hand again—she seemed to be more active in class now that Zoey was silent—and Abe gestured for her to speak. “What happens if we consume too much blood, way above the average recommended levels?”
“Great question,” Abe said, giving Cynthia a small grateful smile that made her smile encouragingly in return. “There is a reason why us vampires have restrictions on many aspects of our existence,” he explained, locking his hands behind his back. “We are a dangerousspecies, and we cannot afford to run amok and expose ourselves to humans. This is why the restrictions exist in the first place.”
He stopped by my table. “To answer your question, Perkins, if you consume too much blood, you will gain a sense of euphoria akin to what human drug addicts feel,” he said, locking eyes with each and every student in class with a warning look. “Most who become addicted to blood eventually render themselves useless to the League and are forced out of the League System, or in certain cases, they’ll be killed.”
And on that positive note, Abe wrapped up the lesson and let us go on a break before gym class.
When we arrived at the gym, Logan was waiting, and he wasn’t alone.
Ragnor was there, and so were his two Lieutenants.
Margarita didn’t look at me; instead, she scanned the crowd with disgust written all over her face. Magnus followed Tansy’s movements with an almost predatory focus that spelledtrouble. Ragnor’s face was impassive, and I realized it was the first time I’d seen him wearing sportswear; he had on sweatpants and a tank top that exposed his biceps and drew attention to his marble-hard chest.
My thighs clenched at the sight, and I lied to myself that it was due to nerves and nothing more. But then my mind turned tothat dream, which, before it turned south, was definitely erotic, and a voice whispered in my head,You’re so full of shit, Aileen.
“We have guest instructors today,” Logan said without preamble, snapping me back to attention. “Our Lord Ragnor Rayne, his Lieutenants, and I are going to take turns sparring with each of you. You have one mission: make each of us use our Gifts—or, in our Lord’s case, his Sacred power.” He paused, gave us a quick reassuring smile, and added, “The point of this is not to set you up to fail but to gauge how you handle yourself in a fight with much older vampires and ones with Gifts and magic, something you, as Common vampires, don’t have.”
“This is bonkers,” Cynthia murmured behind me.
“I don’t want to spar with our Lord,” Bryce whispered back. “He’ll make a pancake out of me. I wouldn’t mind tangling with the woman, though.”
“Get in line,” murmured Kastor, another classmate, which caused all the boys nearby to chuckle.
Logan took a step forward. “Each of us will randomly choose the ones who will fight us, starting with our Lord.”
Ragnor didn’t wait a moment longer. His stare went to me, and he said flatly, “Henderson.”
I got pitying looks as I walked toward him and stopped right next to his towering form.Randomly, my foot.
Magnus was next. It came as no surprise, either, when he chose Tansy, giving her a hungry look when she went to take her place next to him, shaking from head to toe. Margarita picked Bryce, much to his excitement, and Logan got Kastor. In the next round, Zoey was picked by Magnus as well, which, on a normal day, she would’ve been happy about, and Ragnor got Jakob, whose face looked terrified despite him still grieving, and so on it went.
“We’ll start with our first picks,” Logan instructed once everyone was selected. “The rest will sit and wait on the benches.”
Logan gestured for Ragnor, Magnus, Margarita, and their respective prey to take sparring poses throughout the gigantic gym. I faced Ragnor, whose eyes were fixed on mine, and waited for Logan to say start. The moment he did, everyone around us moved, and I tensed up, waiting.
But Ragnor was waiting too. He was as still as a statue, and I tried to decipher what he was trying to do. Was he aiming to intimidate me? Did he want me to attack him first? What was the point of this?
