10. An Invitation

10

An Invitation

Morgana

I sit leaning forward on the sticky cafeteria table waiting for Alistair to bring me my food. In the meantime, I nod occasionally pretending to be paying attention to a rambling Sierra who has joined us once more for lunch. I accept the tray of human food I'm forced to depend on when Alistair returns and give a nod in thanks. Observing the glob of sustenance on my plate which I imagine is the mash potatoes the menu board advertises, I find myself lamenting the turn of events. How I miss sipping blood and relishing in the sweet metallic taste.

Pushing around the food on my plate I only end up eating half which I imagine is the source of Alistair's deep frown. He is staring at my plate in discontent and something akin to worry. I ignore this and turn into Sierra complaining about an English book assignment. She has to pick a book for a report but what caught my attention was the topic of the book.

"You picked a book about mythology? I thought you said your brother was into that stuff, not you," my tone accusatory, eyebrow raised as I stare at the girl across the table. Sierra turns red after being caught in her lie from yesterday.

"I just didn't want you to think I'm a nerd that's into magic and stuff like that. A lot of people think it's lame." She trails off and looks away embarrassed.

"Why would I think it's lame? Magic is real," I state in a matter-of-fact tone, since magic is very real and the creator of a lot of things – including my home. She looks at me in surprise most likely due to the fact that she's probably been ridiculed for her interests before.

"That's what I say all the time. There's a lot of proof out there in texts and caves. And some people even practice it here." Her last statement catches me off guard.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh there's people saying they saw a witch doctor in the outskirts of the city. He was trying to summon demons or something like that. Other witnesses say they even saw the demons being summoned and that he had some wicked looking daggers with him," she claims excitedly going back to her cheery animated self now confident I won't judge her for believing in the supernatural. "Well, that's what the rumors claim anyway."

This guy summoning demons and using weird daggers may have something to do with me losing my powers. I have to find out if he's real or just a rumor for mortal's entertainment. Just as I am about to ask her where exactly this witch doctor was seen, I see someone approach me off to my left. I look over and see a tall broad teenager stopping next to me and giving me a wide smile. He has short brown hair and gray, sharp eyes boring into me.

"Hi, I don't think we officially met. I'm Darren, captain of the football team. And you are?" He asks my name while extending his right hand to shake in their customary mortal greeting. Even though I'm annoyed at being interrupted in my search for answers, I take his rough hand in mine and grip it firmly. I have to keep up appearances as per my father's orders.

"Morgana," I respond, sounding terser than intended thanks to my irritation. "And this is Alistair." I point to my lunch companions, assuming he already knows Sierra, but Darren doesn't even look their way, only saying an unmotivated "hello" to them all while never taking his gaze off me. Sierra's enthusiastic greeting is ignored as he lets go of my hand and keeps addressing me directly.

"I like a girl with a firm grip. I knew there was a reason I was interested when I saw you yesterday," he says with confidence coming off him in waves. "I'm sure you heard there's a big Halloween party this weekend." I nod in confirmation, not bothering to comment on his cocky attitude.

"Well, it's my party at my parents' mansion. I thought that you look cool and maybe you would want to go with someone to the party. Do you have a date already?" Darren asks shooting Alistair a quick glance before looking at me again.

"No, I'm not going." I state feeling myself frown at his daring approach.

"Oh, come on. It'll be fun. You can be my special guest and it's a good way to meet everyone, you know. Since you're new and probably don't know a lot of people yet," he insists, leaning sideways on with one hand, facing me and throwing a charming smile my way. It did nothing for me except disgust me. I audibly scoff at his offer and turn away, facing Sierra, already knowing I was going to turn him down. But before I can begin to reject him he pushes on. "This is the place to go Morgana, you won't find a better party in this city. Especially if you want to have fun and you can bet that this party won't be like anyone else's. After all, it's not a party until someone drops dead in fear." His smile turns into a smirk.

I have to say that it piqued my interest. And it doesn't hurt that Darren is handsome, for a mortal . I quickly forget my annoyance as I turn back to him and stare him down. "Alright, I'll go with you if you can make that last statement true," I say, smirking back at him. His grin grows at my answer, and he leans down closer to me.

"Oh, that's a promise, beautiful," a mischievous glint in his eyes. I hear a loud clank of metal hitting the table behind me. I look over and find Alistair's shocked expression, eyes wide in surprise staring back at me. The fork that slipped his grasp in his stunned state lays on the table, bits of food strewn across the surface.