Blood Trials

Ridley found herself leaving the dining hall and wondering about her school. Finals were almost over and there was an excitement among the grade twelves to finally have their matric farewell dreams come true. The conversations were laced with final shopping sprees, trips to the hair salon, makeup tutorials and hysteria over dates. The Source scoffed, knowing that Dominique and Ryan would be shrieking like sirens in her ear if they were ever together for such a momentous and overhyped occasion. It just unleashed a familiar hurt; matric farewell was something Ryan once treated like the core of her existence.

It just made Ridley think, what would Ryan have worn? How would she have worn her head of identical sleek, straight, black hair? Who would she have gotten to do her makeup? Would Alex have told her she looks beautiful? What perfume would she have worn? Most canon of all, where would Ryan have hidden her guns? Guns were Ryan’s specialty and, yes, she habitually wore a standard holster at the hip but she could hide them as well as Ridley could hide her knives. It once scared Esmeralda just how good they were; they put Clarke to shame.

The Source paused then looked over her shoulder to the office. She spun on her heel and made that way, instead. More teachers were gathered there than anywhere else in the school. Both sun teachers and moon teachers were about the office. Most were genuinely stunned to see Ridley yet a few of them nodded their welcoming. Mrs Auths, the sun math teacher, was leaning against the water dispenser with Ms Yi, the moon teacher for foreign languages.

Once Ridley was both a moon student and a sun student so they both recognised her. She gave square nods to them, meandering right passed them. The administrative block was just passed them. At her desk, Milicent looked up from her monitor to see Ridley strut right by. Too startled for words, the sweet old secretary could only watch the principal’s daughter let herself into his office.

Ridley shut the door behind her, as quiet as a mouse, then turn to see Clarke’s back facing her as he paged through documents. “Milicent, whatever it is,” he began dejectedly, “I’m sure it can wait. I think I have a lead on those missing twins. Can you get me hospital records on all of them?”

“I thought Milicent could do anything,” Ridley voiced.

Clarke went stiff in the shoulders and stood straight. Ridley tilted her head to see him looking at her reflection in the gold plate-shaped trophy on the shelf behind his chair. Clarke spun around and all but sprinted to her. He pressed the back of her head into his chest, sobbing softly with his chin over her crown. Ridley also wrapped her arms around his broad frame with her index fingers barely linking together.

He pulled her back to take in the young face between his meaty hands. Ridley gave a small smile when Clarke ran his hands over her face and arms. He took her hand, burying it in both of his. He looked down to her wrist and the healed Marksmanship gradus she had for archery. Clarke scoffed, shaking his tear-streaked head. He looked back at Ridley, firmly holding her wrist. He snapped it!

The Source’s screech was paired with Clarke flung through his office’s closed door. The door burst off its hinges while the glass set in it shattered. Ridley knelt, groaning against the throbbing in her hand as her wrist popped back in place. She looked across the way towards her father shaking off the impact. She walked over to him offering her hand to pull him to his feet. She sighed before hugging him again. He hugged her back, squeezing her tighter.

“Know why I did that?”

Ridley nodded into his shoulder, squeezing his arm and taking in the musk of his cigarettes and the cologne Ryan and Esmarelda bought him for Father’s Day, last year. “I put you and Esmeralda through Hell.” He nestled into her temple. “I missed you, papa.”

“‘P-papa’?” He combed through her hair, feeling she was real. “Ridley’s never called me that.” She only nodded into his shoulder. “Tell me something only Ridley would know.” Ridley’s dark eyes looked up to his. “I’ve seen an eldritch take on the face of others. She took on Ridley’s face.” Ridley gasped, feeling a knife pressed against her navel. “Tell me something only Ridley would know,” he persisted.

Ridley searched the hereditary eyes taking her in and the familiar scowl Clarke usually wore. “You have an L-shaped scar on your chest, right here.” Her black nails traced the scar that ran over his ribs. “You used to tell people it was from a bar fight because you were embarrassed.” Clarke grabbed her hand, clenching around her wrist. “Embarrassed because I gave you that scar when I was seven. We were doing drills with knives and you left yourself open. Only you, me and Ryan ever knew how you got that scar. I don’t think you ever told Esmeralda about it.”

Clarke combed through Ridley’s loose hair that trailed down to her breasts. “I never told Esmeralda,” he chuckled. “It was a great strike for a seven-year-old who’s never held a drop point knife before. The doctor told me you just missed the bones. I was so proud.” Ridley nestled into his hold even more. “God in heaven, Ridley Dominique, you scared me to death.”

She nodded then rested her hands over his arms and shut her eyes, taking in his scent. “I know, papa. I know, and I’m really sorry.” She stood to meet his sleep-deprived face. The sag in his eyes warmed up to see her in one peace. “We’ll only be here briefly and I’ll keep you updated on our travel plans as they-”

“Absolutely not! You’re going to stay in town, and we’re scheduling some time for you to catch up, and you’re going to write finals, and...”

“I had this conversation with Esmeralda, I’m not having it again. My life is in France, now. Dominique, Tomás, Sebastian, they’re my family too. And don’t think I don’t know how Ennui has kept you in the loop while I was at the hunter hostel. I’m sure he’s told you everything.”

“He told me you were brought back, wounded and unconscious multiple times. You drank way too much blood and way too much alcohol.” Ridley sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t care who these low lives you’ve met are, they’re not...”

“Renee’s family,” she cut in. “That means my family. My aunt, my namesake aunt. And my brother.” Clarke stepped back, startled by what he heard. “I lost Ryan, papa, I lost Aimée, I almost lost Ankh and now...” She shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably. “We can help you find those missing twins; that’s part of why we’re here. But, papa, after that; I am going back to France. Nothing you say or do will change that. Nothing anyone says will.”

Clarke folded his arms and sighed, seeing the unmistaken resolve on his remaining daughter’s face. “I want updates as they surface, Ridley. No matter how minute; you decide to pack an extra pair of twin swords, I want to know about it. Understood?” She nodded squarely. Clarke hated the idea but there was no stopping her, not now. “Milicent,” the principal sighed, without looking away from his daughter, “get me the medical records of all those missing twins.” Ridley shook out her freshly healed wrist. “What can you tell me about them?”

“There’s a seriously grim conversation we need to have about that.”

You better not!

Ninsun, have you met Ms Axel? Though I don’t approve of this anymore than you, this is her choice.

This girl will be the end of secrecy for us all, Onuris voiced. You forget your place, girl!

Ridley rolled her eyes at the voices in her head then helped Clarke set the door back on its hinges. What good was its privacy when the glass was still shattered, hidden behind the pulled-down blinds. Behind it, Ridley explained everything. There was a vivid denial on the chief hunter’s face at the tale too tall to believe. The Source, with the past ones roaring protests, told him everything.

It was the nature of all hunters to need evidence before believing much, especially a story like that. One of history’s greatest mysteries; the Source. Ridley pursed her lips but shut her eyes, feeling for Esmeralda, to see what she was doing. Still in the headmaster’s residence, she was tending to Rowan Clarke Axel Junior, in his pale blue nursery, with Dominique. The matriarch of house du Luq was gliding around the room on a monologue of her own thoughts.

“... so you see my dear, dear niece will return with us to France after this nasty bit of business. Our sweet little raven has made quite the home for herself in Nice. Plenty of friends, a loving family. Especially a loving family.” Dominique swung around the cot, behind Esmeralda, purring to herself. “My nephew and I have deduced that love is not a common practice in this... lamentable excuse of a home,” she added, dusting her hands from touching the wall. She groaned to herself in disgust. “I suppose loveless parents can only stem from...” Dominique sized up Esmeralda and Rowan in her arms “... a loveless marriage.”

Esmeralda scoffed while wiping off Rowan’s drool. “You realise I could shoot you in the face and Ridley would never be the wiser?”

“Oh, I beg to differ, little girl,” Dominique countered. “You see, my dearest has acquired a lovely set of new powers. Ones that would luminate your masquerade as the artifice it is.”

Dominique gave a hollow laugh before going more serious than Ridley have ever seen her. “Ridley is my daughter! I raised her, and your sister tried to kill her. Where were those sentiments when-”

“Here me now, uncanny woman of the night, you have done a subpar job at your duties as Ridley’s governess. Nonetheless, my family and I thank you for your protection to one of our own. Your devotion to family, admirable. Your failure, understandable. Ridley is a wild horse at heart, I do not envy any man who tries to conquer her,” Dominique whispered aside. “You may step aside, now. Her real family will take charge of her upbringing.”

“I am her real family. I took care of her and Ryan for ten years before you or your nephew ever...”

“This generation, such poor manners,” Tomás stated. He strolled into the nursery with his head tilted. “Young lady, when I first my sister, she had nothing but coldness, bitterness and self-loathing in her heart. I will never say you have not done your best, I’m sure you tried. My sister’s birthright is the du Luq line and she will take up that mantle.”

Ridley sighed then shook off her capabilities, to be back with Clarke in his office. She relayed what she witnessed and Clarke, without missing a beat, dialled Esmeralda for the truth. The shock on both her parents’ face was faintly gratifying but mostly unnerving; discomfort, confusion, awe even fear were not expressions they readily wore especially not in front of Ridley and Ryan. Esmeralda was holding Rowan firmly against her chest, getting him to settle for the afternoon, while Dominique and Tomás were all but basking in her unease.

The Source shrugged at her father when he finally accepted what was presented in front of him. Ridley sat at one of the dark blue sofa chairs, and Clarke - rattled, despite trying to keep his cool - sat next to her. They spent a better part of the afternoon comparing notes on what they knew about the missing twins and Ridley, shamelessly, admitted the truth about Viggo Wolfensøn’s involvement.

Viggo Elliot Wolfensøn, son of Viggo Elliot Wolfensøn - the wolfen Viking chieftain - and the father to Viggo Elliot Wolfensøn - the hunter, commonly known as Dane Sorensen. Jakob, Dane’s maternal uncle, fled Østerbro with his nephew. The reason being, Alexa (Jakob’s sister and Dane’s mother) was having an affair with Viggo. Embla, his wife, went after Alexa and Dane only to turn Alexa feral. Jakob not only killed Embla but also had to end his own sister. Viggo had been vengeful ever since.

He vowed to end both Jakob and Dane and in hand with that, the entire Sorensen family; one of Denmark’s oldest hunting families. Even before his death - at the hands of Renee - Jakob already voiced that the Sorensen family line had died with his grandfather, Christian Sorensen. It was never made clear why he said that. Jakob and Dane had been in the sanctuary of Dunon Town, since. Clarke personally made sure nobody in town knew what Dane’s government name was. Jakob, after all, was always more than a comrade; he was a friend.

The evenings in Dunon, especially in the summer, were always so serene. Crickets chirping; abyssal darkness where nightmares hide; hunters on patrol, waiting to maim and slaughter whatever threats await them; beams of silver moonlight illuminating the blades of knives and arrows at the ready, along with the shafts of guns that are fully loaded and waiting on shoot-to-kill orders. Canine units thirsty for blood with their low growls filling the ears of the rindless men with them. Such a tranquil time.

Although, in the main parts of the school, moon students were sweating profusely from the finals papers they were writing. Dane, Sayeed and Markus, among others, were at their desks, scribbling answers that they parroted throughout the school year. The halls were quiet but only until exams were concluded for the evening. The trauma registering on the ampyra students’ faces was something worth laughing about, Sayeed’s especially when he was walking up the cobblestone path.

He was packing away his protractor and compass that still had his pencil in it. His eyes were still wide from the math paper he endured. Dane too looked like he got off the most horrifying rollercoaster imaginable, at Sayeed’s side. The two hunters were making their way up the stiff-with-awkwardness filled remnants of the fort-turned-home. The air was thick and dead quiet. Mariska saw the two hunters come in and gave them both weak grins as she beckoned them to the dining hall.

There, Esmeralda and Ridley were setting the table - as if nothing had changed - while Clarke was occupying Rowan in his arms. Dominique was already sitting at the table, expecting a fine service. Tomás and Sebastian too. Mariska only shook her head at the guests before helping to set the pots on the table while Sayeed went with her while Dane went to fetch the pitcher of blood. All the while drowning in the discomforting silence. Dane, however, wasn’t very bothered from it.

For the first time - in the ten years he had known her - he saw Ridley in a dress for the very first time. I was a simple black dress that showed off the figure she hides under A-line clothes. Ridley set the tray of garlic butter fish at the heart of the long table. The pitch black hair was let down but pushed behind her ears, revealing the barely visible scar from the time Dane stabbed her in the head.

Rowan’s cooing filled the voided house as they all sat down, glowering at each other. Sayeed and Dane were looking between each other and Ridley from the inconvenient air. Esmeralda, not one for silences, cleared her throat then forced a smile at Ridley. “So, y-you’re wearing a dress?”

Dominique rested her hands on her niece’s shoulders with a low purr. “Yes, doesn’t she look ravishing? The image of pure du Luq beauty.”

“I-it was Dominique’s idea,” Ridley began timidly. “I would never have-”

“She never would have dared put it on if she didn’t have someone who truly loved her,” Dominique cut in. “Someone to show her to take pride in her appearance.”

“You look great,” Dane commented, spooning some of the salad.

Clarke cleared his throat at him and Sayeed, while giving Rowan his bottle. Tomás patted her shoulder too. Ridley looked down at her empty plate while the rest of her family - the ones who weren’t goldbloods, at least - were dishing for themselves. Sebastian too invested in Esmeralda and Mariska’s cooking. Ridley sat with her hands in her lap and her eyes on them and the knife strapped just underneath the dress’ skirt.

Mariska hummed at her mouthful of fish then looked to see Esmeralda glaring at Dominique and Ridley. The goldblood was still combing through the Source’s hair, like a prized pet cat. “Aren’t you hungry? You must be starving after not eating all day,” Esmeralda began. “I made your favourite,” she added, pointing to her extra creamy fettuccine alfredo.

“I brought your favourite,” Dominique countered and reached for the pitcher. She poured out a glass of the blood for Ridley. “Oxygenated O,” the blue-eyed aunt cheered.

“I’m sorry,” Sayeed cut in, “you drink oxygenated blood? Firstly, gross. Secondly, why?”

“Oxygenated blood has more nutrients; glucose, amino acids, and vitamins. Deoxygenated blood is rich in metabolic wastes, from urea to carbon dioxide,” Dane answered. “That being said, I agree with Sayeed; it is gross.”

“You may as well drink sparkling water.”

Ridley rolled her eyes but still drank the red blood, in place of the deep purple type Esmeralda was sipping on. Esmeralda shifted in her seat. “Um, Ridley, h-have you committed to a blood-heavy diet?”

“Oh, Dominique wishes,” Ankh voiced, walking into the dining room in her human form. “Crazy rich aunties are a different breed. No offense, Dominique.” Dominique hummed, shaking her head. “So, everyone here has officially been caught up?” Ridley nodded but she was staring at the blood in the stemmed glass in front of her. “Okay,” Ankh sighed. “So, you all know nobody can ever find out about any of this, ever, right?”

“We’re hunters, Ankh, not amateurs,” Sayeed voiced.

“Ankh,” Dane bellowed. “So... the werewolf thing was true?”

“Sister, are you sure this one is of Viggo? Intelligence must not be hereditary."

"Enough," Ridley jeered coolly. "All of you. I don't expect you to get along but you will work together. Viggo is out there, right now, experimenting on children. As far as I can tell, there are six set of twins being pumped with me and Ankh's blood, and one little boy whose twin sister is dead in a cell. They're scared, in pain, and isolated."

"Have you found the location," Sebastian asked.

Ridley shook her head. "I know it can't be far from here, but I can detect a great body of water; either the beach or huge lake." Ridley closed her eyes to focus. "Viggo's office has a view of it but he's leaving..."

Ridley saw him with Margrethe and they were deep in conversation on progress. Ridley followed them through the compound and towards a corridor with grown therianthropes; men and women alike. Held against their will; foxen, wolven, jackalen and hyenian, confined with leashes and muzzles. Ridley moaned feeling the set of twin girls not far from him. They were handcuffed to each other and dragged by a leash. Viggo sized them up curiously with a hum.

"And," he asked Margrethe.

Margrethe took out a dog whistle and gave a hearty blow. Ridley groaned with the twin girls that doubled over. Their ginger hair grew thicker, spreading. Yowling, grunts, screams; completely unbearable sounds of agony. One morphed to a fox, cowering her ears under her pawns. One bled from her eyes. Her skin started tearing and she screamed until her skull split in half. Margrethe sighed then twirled the whistle. "So far, we only have two successful transformations."

"Two? Out of eighteen, Margrethe, is nothing."

Margrethe nodded her defeat then blew the whistle again, making the little fox whimper. Her snout dislodged before she also cried blood and splattered. Margrethe looked away weakly. "One successful transformation," Margrethe corrected. "The configurations you gave us..." she shook her head. "The genome this Edwyn Grey spoke about...? I-I'm afraid it's just too rare. The blood of the Source and the blood of a wolfen aren't enough. We would need the blood of a biological ampyra-therianthrope hybrid. I've looked at the math; your blood is not compatible at all."

"My father was a wolfen, my mother was a goldblood; how am I not a viable donor!"

"Y-you're a goldblood. From a donor's standpoint, a blackblood hybrid would..." Viggo looked to her coldly. "Blood is red because of the hemoglobin in red blood cells. Hemoglobin is a protein that forms a complex with iron molecules and together they transport oxygen molecules throughout the body. A blackblood has a lot more iron. Those nutrients would be a lot more viable for test subjects," Margrethe whispered.

Ridley groaned then turned away from Viggo and Margrethe, shaking her head. And you just happen to be enjoying a meal with one of those, aren't you, Ninsun jeered.

"He's right," Ankh pointed out and looked to her brother. "Sayeed is a blackblood hybrid."

Ridley looked around the table. "Your blood is what he needs," she stated to Sayeed. "Eighteen children, out there, right now are on death row. One of them, for the time being, is a successful therianthrope. I don't know who it is, but I can't feel them anymore. I can..." Ridley shook her head then ran her hands through her hair. "There's eighteen little ampyras but I can't feel one of them anymore."

"There's about a dozen therianthropes too; adults, it looks like," Ankh stated. "He's got them muzzled. We have to nip this in the bud, while we still can."

"Where do we start, sister?"

"We found a colony north of here. Ankh, Sayeed and I will check it out. du Luqs, keep an ear to the ground on anymore twins that go missing. Look into where they went missing and what information the police will have. Hunters, I need recon on any possible hospital or abandoned medical facilities that may have been newly purchased by a goldblood over four hundred-years-old. Try the names-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, where do you get to give out orders in this house? You only recently made hunt," Esmeralda countered. "Not to mention, you have school to catch up on; exams to write; punishment to take for running away, after we explicitly said no to France!"

"This is my operation, I delegate." Ridley whipped her hair aside, not flinching in her expression. "If you don't like it, I'll form a new unit. As for school, I'll finish high school. In France. Where I live. After Viggo is either dead at my feet or in a maximum-security prison, as some non-ampyra gangster's bitch. No offense, Dane."

"Well," Clarke countered. "Sayeed has his chemistry exam tomorrow night, and trips into town during exam season must be authorised by the principal."

Ridley rolled her eyes as she asked, "principal Axel, I have an operation I'm running off-books from The Hunt Association. I need one of your student hunters, who happens to older than you, for this assignment because of his knowledge and experience in the line of therianthropy. Can we please be off campus tomorrow?"

"No."

Ridley shook her head then stood up to leave. "And you wonder why I won't stay," she spat.

"Ridley, you need to understand..."

"Oh, bite me!" Ridley sighed then marched out of the dining room. "Congratulations on your consolation child. Maybe he'll kill me, when he's old enough."

"Ridley Dominique Axel!"