Night School

The air was stale and reeked of the emotions of those around him; fear, nervousness, and anticipation. Nicholas was unconcerned though as he took in the sight of the underground cathedral as if it was the first time. How they had managed to build it was unknown to him; the high ceilings shouldn’t have been able to hold the weight of the earth above them even with the huge stone pillars supporting the structure. However, there were distinct differences between this cathedral which depicted our victories with no sparing of detail in the gore of our past, and one whose stained-glass windows showed religious figures. Nor would they have a torture chamber separated from it by only a thin wall, where the smell of old blood emanating from it only heightened the tension in the air.

Throughout his admiring of the cathedral, Nicholas made sure he could always see the raised dais out of the corner of his eye. Upon it sat three of the Elders of the Council, although the youngest of the Council, they each had at least hundred years on Nicholas. However, he wondered whether he could beat any of them in a fight. Although they wouldn’t go further above ground due to the moisture in the air and for fear of the sun they were far from the extreme frailty of the oldest of the Elders. He had a feeling that they were stronger than they seemed, and Nicholas found the cunning glint in the eldest of the three’s, Aubrey Harper, eye to be unsettling.

Nicholas was nudged by someone. “What is this about?” Looking down he saw it was his flatmate, Eva; a reasonably tall woman with long, blonde hair and the black eyes of our kind.

“It’s the final trial,” he whispered. “If you pass they’ll let you out.”

“Hm. What if I don’t want to live amongst humans? I would much rather just keep them as a food source.”

“Then you just stay. I’ve lost count of how many of these I’ve been through.” He paused as an Elder stood as if to start, but he was only rearranging his cushion. “And they’re still food, you just have to be discreet.” A word that he was unsure that she knew the meaning of.

Eva’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve had to do this many times? Why haven’t I been picked before?” Perhaps because she couldn’t tell a phone from a calculator and refused to even attempt to learn about modern phenomenon such as Twee-ter.

“Remind me of both, how many years older than you I am and how much longer I’ve had control of myself,” he said dryly.

“Well, I have heard of people younger than me being chosen. I’m not that young.” And that only made it worse.

“That’s true, and I’d say that the majority of those here are considerably younger than you,” he said with a sly look, wondering whether she’d notice his jab at her.

Eva crossed her arms, unimpressed with Nicholas’ insult. “This is because I hit that one human who came in when I first arrived, isn’t it?”

Oh yeah he’d forgotten about that. “Wouldn’t surprise me. And don’t get up in arms at me, it’s the Council’s choice as to who can undergo the trial, not mine.” He was beginning to get irritated, they usually didn’t take this long to start. Not only was Eva’s immaturity grating on him but Nicholas swore that Aubrey Harper kept catching his eye.

"I guess so, but it's so much easier to bitch to you rather than the elders."

“Don’t know why you bother either way. Granted I am less likely to kill you.”

“You’re just so easy to bitch to, and about.”

“Less, likely to kill you.”

Before she could respond, a single clap rang out. “Silence,” demanded one of the elders, a woman who looked to have been in her fifties when she had turned. “Now, I know you are wanting to know the reason we have summoned you here. All of you have been selected for a final test which will allow you to be able to leave the approved vampire areas. Many of you know this entails a human enrolling in the school. You are all to converse pleasantly with this human, and if we decide you pass, you can go at the end of the year. This human is not to be made aware she is surrounded by anything other than humans, and cannot be attacked in any form.”

Aubrey Harper took over with a malicious grin. “I am sure that it goes without saying that if the girl is killed there will be,” a scream from the nearby torture chambers rang shrill through the cathedral. All visibly jumped except Nicholas, who knew it was staged. “Consequences.”

Finally, the male Elder spoke. “Eva Montague, this human will be living in your room. Prepare a space for her.” Eva’s bored expression turned sour, but even she wasn’t stupid enough to argue. “You may now all leave.”

Everyone began to follow his instruction, except for the Elders who remained on their dais. “Nicholas Johnson, you must stay.” The pitch was so low that a vampire younger than him wouldn’t have been able to hear.

What on earth could they want with him? Nicholas waited for the others to leave off to the side, trying to blend into the background as best he could so that the crowd wouldn’t notice that he wasn’t following them. However, they were all too excited, and afraid, to see anything outside of themselves. Something that would get them killed outside the vampire grounds.

Eventually Nicholas stood alone before the three Elders, in particular Aubrey Harper and her Cheshire grin. He bowed his head respectfully and hoped this would be over quickly.

“You have passed this test before, and thus have the most experience in dealing with humans than any of the other students. If not for the legal requirements the human politicians set in place,” why they bowed to their wishes Nicholas did not know, “the girl would have been placed in your room.”

Nicholas was now having second thoughts about succumbing to the wishes of humans. “You are to protect this girl to the best of your ability. If she is seriously injured or killed by any of the other students, you will be blamed. Is that understood?” This time Nicholas did flinch, but not from a scream, merely the tone of her voice.

“Yes, madam.”

“Also, you are one of our top students. I have been keeping an eye on you, and believe you could be suitable to join our Council. If you choose to accept, which I advise you do, you will start off learning from me. You will be my assistant when I require you, and I will give you the opportunity to rise in the ranks of the Council. I should remind you this is not something that happens to a vampire of your young age very often.”

Nicholas remained quiet, knowing they would expect him so shocked that he’d need a moment to collect himself. He may have been brash and outspoken but he wasn’t stupid, and he certainly hadn’t lived so long by insulting people who could easily have him killed. “I’m honoured, madam, and humbly accept your generous offer.”

“I will monitor your ability to watch over the human. You will be summoned when you are needed. You may leave.”