Preparing for my first Satanic Ritual

I arrived to class before anyone else. I wanted to get there as early as possible, not only to prepare, but also because I wanted to get a little bit of reading done before the quiz.

As soon as I walked inside, I noticed there was very little daylight pooling into the classroom. I could hear the rain beating against the window, and again, it was another gloomy day.

I sat at my desk and flipped through my textbook as I waited for Yennefer and the others to arrive. I wanted to read more about blood bonded weapons since I still had many questions. Like why did the blade cause the wendigo and the centaur to turn to stone? That didn't happen when Blair used it … and I'd been wondering about that all night.

When I came across the chapter I was looking for, my eyes scanned the pages until I found an interesting passage.

"A blood-bonded weapon may carry the soul of its master once they have passed onto the next stage of life," I muttered aloud. "While the master of a blood-bonded weapon is living, she alone may utilize the power harnessed within."

I furrowed my brow. If that were true, then why did the blade exhibit extraordinary abilities when I used it? I wasn't its owner.

I continued reading the text, and then I found my answer.

The power contained in blood-bonded weapons may only be used by a select few once the weapon's owner is no longer in the living world.

So, the only logical explanation was I was considered to be one of the selected few … but why? I still had so many questions roaming through my head, and I was about to read more until a low growl broke me away from my train of thought.

I snapped my head up and saw Yennefer standing in the doorway with a feral black wolf by her side. The beast's fur was the color of night, and it had a pair of sharp, ice blue eyes that were both alert and threatening at the same time. I should have been startled, but the sight didn't faze me, not after everything I'd already seen.

"Good morning, Professor." I grinned.

Today, Yennefer was wearing a black ebony gown with a white lace collar that reached her ears. Her dark hair was pulled up into a tight bun, and her pretty face was contorted into a scowl.

"Using the classroom to do some extra reading, I see," she said as her eyes darted to the open book on my desk.

"Well, no one was here," I replied. "So, what's the harm?"

I tried to maintain eye contact with her, but it was difficult not to stare at the wolf by her side. I could feel its gaze on me, so I made eye contact with it, and it continued to stare me down. Then it growled deeply and bared its fangs in my direction.

"Easy there, Isobel." Yennefer smiled. "He's no threat to us."

"Who is Isobel--" I started to ask, but then she raised her hand to cut me off.

"This is my familiar, a bonded creature," she replied. "And if you pass the final exam, then you will receive one, too. No use wasting familiars on weak preschoolers, after all."

"Will I get a wolf, too?" I asked as my eyes widened eagerly.

"No," Yennefer sighed with impatience. "You'll start off with something smaller, like a mouse or a chipmunk. Then, as you progress with your magic, it will evolve into whatever you desire."

"I see." I tapped my finger thoughtfully against the desk and smiled to myself.

A familiar of my own would be fucking awesome.

As I daydreamed about my own animal buddy, Yennefer marched over to her desk and pulled open a drawer. Then she rummaged through it with her brow furrowed until she finally found whatever it was she was looking for. "Here," she said as she walked over to me with a book in hand.

She slammed it down on top of my own open book, and this one looked to be in better condition than the textbook she initially gave me. This tome was quite beautiful. It had a sage green cover and a crimson spine with golden letters carved into it.

"In Libro Bestiae," I read aloud from the cover.

"The Book of Beasts," she translated. "Study it and learn the name of every creature in that book and what power they carry. It will come in handy one day. That is, if you actually take the time to study the material."

"Thank you," I said as I set the book aside, smiled smugly at her, and crossed my arms. "I'll be sure to do that."

"We shall see," Yennefer snorted, and then took a seat behind her desk.

"I've gotten this far, haven't I?" I smiled.

"True, but you should heed my warning," she said as she met my eyes.

"Which particular warning?" I asked with an arched eyebrow.

There had already been so many insults and warnings from her that I was losing track.

"The one where you shouldn't overestimate yourself," she sneered. "It might get you killed."

"We'll see about that," I answered in the same icy tone.

She furrowed her eyes at me and was clearly irritated. The wolf must have sensed her anger because it curled up at her feet and rubbed at her ankles, and Yennefer slowly petted Isobel as the other preschool witches began to pour into the classroom.

When I glanced up to watch them, Blair shot me a look before she sat behind me. I couldn't read her expression clearly, but if I had to guess, it was a mixture of worry and jealousy.

Rin slammed herself down on the chair beside me a moment later, and when I turned to look at her, I noticed bruised colored shadows under her black eyes. Her short dark hair was also disheveled, and her clothes were all wrinkled.

"Rin," I whispered. "No offense, but you look like shit. You alright?"

"Well, that's none of your business," she snapped with her head down, and she refused to meet my eyes.

"Fine," I said with my hands raised up in defense. "Forget I asked." She huffed in silence and then turned to face me.

"Fine, if you must know," she sneered, "I went back out into the woods after everyone went to sleep."

"What?" I hissed. "What the hell possessed you to do that?"

"Nothing possessed me," she replied, and her hostile voice was suddenly laced with confusion. "Why would you think I was possessed?"

"It's just an expression," I sighed. "What I meant to say is, why the hell would you go out into the woods alone after what almost happened to

Blair?"

"I could protect myself," the dark-haired witch answered with a defensive snarl.

"Well, even so," I grumbled. "It was stupid."

"Whatever," she snapped and rolled her coal black eyes.

We sat in silence for a moment, while everyone waited for Sweeny to arrive, since she was the only witch not in her seat.

"Did you manage to actually hunt something else down?" I asked after a long moment.

I couldn't help it, I was curious.

"No," Rin sighed and sunk in her seat. "I only managed to find fairies, gremlins, and pixies."

"Well, I'm sure the gnome blood will do fine," I reassured her, but I couldn't stop my lips from twitching upward.

"It's not fair, though," she snapped as she whirled on me. "How did you manage to find a fucking wendigo? And kill a centaur? I just don't understand how you find them."

"Honestly," I replied, "it's more like they find me."

"Whatever." She shook her head. "It's so unfair."

We all continued to wait in silence until Yennefer glanced at the ghastly grandfather clock by her desk and huffed impatiently.

"Does anyone know where Sweeny is?" she asked. "Class is about to officially start in two minutes."

"Maybe she couldn't kill anything," Morgana whispered as she tucked a dark curl of brown hair behind her ear. "Stubborn witch that she is, it wouldn't surprise me."

"What was that, Morgana?" Yennefer called out.

"Nothing, Professor," Morgana replied in a louder voice, "just thinking out loud."

"Well, if she doesn't show up, it's not going to go well for her--" Yennefer started to say until there was a crash at the door.

Sweeny stood there with a vial in her hand, and her already scarred face had fresh new cuts in different places. Her long auburn hair was tangled with leaves sticking out of it, and her skin was shiny with sweat and blood.

"Apologies, professor," she panted. "I'm not late, am I?

Her voice quivered at the last question, and I realized it was the first time I'd ever heard the witch sound afraid.

"No, but you were cutting it dangerously close," Yennefer said with a frown. "Please take a seat."

Sweeny nodded and collapsed into a chair behind me.

"What happens if we're late to a quiz?" I asked Rin in a whisper.

"You're dead." She shrugged. "Literally. Burned at the stake, because if you don't show up, it's taken as a sign of weakness and defeat."

"Will you two shut up?" Sweeny hissed from behind us. "I can hear everything."

"We're not even talking to you," I snapped back.

I was done with her constant bullshit.

"You impudent, unintelligent, mortal piece of--" she started to say, but then Yennefer cut her off.

"Silence," the professor demanded with a raised hand. "The quiz is about to begin."

Everyone, including myself, pulled out their blood vials as Yennefer started to walk around the room with her arms folded behind her back. Then she glanced down at Rin's vial, and her face remained stoic as stone.

"Gnome blood." She nodded. "Not terrible."

She ignored me and headed toward Faye and Morgana's table instead, but when she looked at their blood, her face remained neutral. She was clearly not impressed.

"Blood of leprechaun and fairy," she sighed. "Alright, better than nothing."

She then turned her attention toward Blair and Sweeny.

"Imp and gremlin blood," she mused. "A little more impressive, but not by much."

Finally, Yennefer headed back in my direction, and her stiletto heels clicked against the marble floor. When she looked down at my vial, though, her expression swiftly changed from neutral to shocked. Her full mouth slightly parted open when she picked the vial up. Then she held the glass tube up to the candlelight, and her eyes fixated on the bubbling blue blood.

"Wendigo blood," she whispered. "How did you--?"

"What?" I asked when she couldn't finish her sentence. "Is there a problem with it?"

I smirked to myself, since I knew I'd knocked it out of the goddamn park.

"This is … impressive," Yennefer replied in a low voice. "I-I can't believe this."

"I just did what I was supposed to." I shrugged. "Wasn't that the objective? To hunt down and kill something?"

Her eyes darted back to me, and deep resentment shone in her icy blue orbs. I knew it was killing her to see me not only succeed, but to prevail as well. I was going far and beyond at this point, and she hated every moment of it, which brought me some strange satisfaction.

I smiled as she set the vial down and then cleared her throat.

"Now for the sacrifice," Yennefer muttered without further comment.

"Let's begin."