6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Our supernat classmates filed in. Danny sat to my right, Sidnee to my left with Margi next to her, and Harry, Eben and George behind us in the back row.

Eben always sat at the back, and his posture and expression suggested he’d rather poke out his eyes with needles than waste his time in Marks’ lessons. I guessed you’d find the lessons dull if you were raised supernatural, but for me they were fascinating and the highlight of the course. I loved learning more about magic and the community I’d found myself in.

We’d been learning about the various supernats in the ‘known’ population. Marks had admitted in our first lecture that a lot of the information he had was educated guesswork because each group was so secretive. He told us to take nothing as gospel, not even what he taught us. He said that our most important weapon was our gut instinct and I believed him; my gut certainly spoke to me – and some of the time it said stuff other than ‘feed me’.

In the past nine weeks I’d learned about vampires, magic users and shifters, but I was still amazed by the many different supernats in the world. Today we were examining witches; they got a good amount of billing time because there were so many different types of them. I already knew about elemental and hearth witches from my short time in the Nomo’s office, but they were just the tip of the iceberg. I could undoubtedly learn more if I spoke to my mother, but hey: there’s a reason they say that ignorance is bliss.

What I’d learnt so far was that there was a witch for everything . Weather? Sure. Plants? Yep. Moon? Absolutely. Then there were forest witches and witches who had an affinity for oils and other minerals – the list went on and on. No wonder Liv strutted around Portlock like Billy Big Balls; a lot more people answered to her than I’d realised.

As the sergeant finished writing on the board, I turned to my fellow students. ‘A word to the wise. Make sure you don’t go anywhere alone. Thorsen found me outside and tried to beat me up. He got in a good kick before I saw him.’ Marks paused for a moment before continuing to write.

Danny looked ready to spit nails so I cut him off before he could start. ‘Don’t worry about it. I’m already healed and I’m on the alert. There’s no way he can catch me if I have room to run.’

‘You need to tell Fischer. Thorsen shouldn’t be able to pick on female students,’ Danny growled. For a raven shifter, he sure had predator vibes.

‘ Any student,’ I corrected. ‘Not just female ones.’ I smiled to take away any sting he might have felt from my correction.

Danny blinked. ‘You’re right, of course. He shouldn’t be able to pick on anyone.’

‘I agree. But I also need to complete this course and I don’t want to get into trouble for something that no other witness can corroborate. Thorsen’s goons aren’t going to say anything. They didn’t dirty their hands by touching me, but they stood by and did absolutely nothing.’

I frowned. ‘To be honest all four of them seem to have had issues with me since Day One. I swear I haven’t done anything wrong, but for whatever reason they’ve all been against me. Thorsen is the most vocal of the bunch and the others seem to defer to him. Anyway, don’t worry. The second we have an audience I’ll make sure he is seen putting the boot in.’

Danny nodded reluctantly but the other students looked sombre.

Sergeant Marks turned around and asked pointedly, ‘Any questions about yesterday’s lesson before we start?’

To my surprise, Eben raised his hand. ‘What’s the difference between an elemental witch and an elemental?’

I perked up. I’d never heard of elementals and neither had any of the others by the look of them. I had the ability to call fire, so could I be an elemental rather than an elemental witch? It seemed unlikely but I was happy to grasp at straws if they’d push me further from my mother’s clutches. Besides, my secret hybrid status threw everything into question.

Marks perched on one of the desks and smiled. ‘That’s a very good question, Eben.’ He clearly wanted him to engage more in the class. ‘Elementals, as opposed to elemental witches, have a different source of power. Elementals draw on the actual power from the earth – water, air, fire, and earth – whereas a witch’s power is innate and is drawn from their own essence.

‘Some elemental witches can link to the power of the earth through charms and spells, but it’s difficult except for the very strongest of them. Elementals are more powerful than elemental witches but they were nearly wiped from existence during the Dark Ages, together with other supernats. Although they’re almost immortal, they don’t reproduce quickly. Consequently, they keep to themselves and rarely mix with peds or others from the supernat society.’

I raised my hand and waited until Marks gave me a nod. ‘Sarge, where would you find an elemental? I’d never even heard of them.’

‘Why would you have, Barrington? Your records show you haven’t been a supernat for very long and elementals aren’t well known, even amongst supernats. They prefer a hidden existence. But have you heard of a hag or a nymph? Those are the elementals most supernats have heard about.’

I hadn’t heard of hags in a supernat sense, though I’d heard old women called hags as an insult. My classmates were giving knowing nods, however.

‘Hags generally live underground and are an earth-based elemental,’ Marks continued. ‘They have a largely humanoid appearance with the exception of their metal teeth and nails. Some have twig-like hair – but not all of them.’

I shivered: metal teeth and nails sounded threatening. I wouldn’t want to bump into a hag on a dark night. Or any night, for that matter.

‘Nymph is a general term for water elementals – quite a lot of lore has sprung up around them. If you know any Greek myths, you’ll have heard of various nymphs. Some were even considered gods or god-like. They aren’t quite as humanoid in appearance and most can’t leave water, so they don’t interact as often with humans as hags have in the past.’

I had heard of nymphs, nereids and naiads, so I guessed they’d had better a press than other elementals.

‘Any other questions?’ Marks asked.

I had thousands but I’d asked so many in each class that I let them slide for now. I didn’t want my classmates to get annoyed; no one liked that person.

As Marks was about to continue with our lesson, Lieutenant Fischer burst in. ‘Follow me!’ he said urgently. ‘We have a problem.’