Chapter 66: Ch105. Hunter and prey
Kurt raised his broken hand and checked it out.
It bled reasonably, but his constitution helped mitigate the worst part of the damage.
’But it doesn’t change the fact that my bones are badly broken...’
Kurt got up and checked his holowatch, searching for Nikolai and Evellyn’s contact, that they had given him the week after the test.
Beep, he clicked in the video call on the holographic screen.
When Evellyn finally picked up, the holowatch’s camera showed the lobby of the irregulars Indigo dorm.
"... Evellyn?" Kurt called her out.
"Wrong." The headmaster’s voice sounded through the holographic screen. After a moment, she finally appeared in the screen. "It’s me, and like I said before we so... Prematurely broke contact, I have your friends."
She turned the holowatch’s camera back, and there they were.
Evellyn, Nikolai, Cinthia, and Caleb.
They were badly beaten, but awake and alive.
Kurt gritted his teeth, but kept a nonchalant expression.
"And like I told you before, I’m gonna find you, and kill you." His eyes glowed with a black light as he spoke.
"I’m well aware of this threat, but you wouldn’t want to see your friends hurt, would you? Also, I’m quite interested in why my serum just won’t work on you. Would you care to explain it to me?"
She pressed one of her wands against Nikolai’s throat, and immediately his veins started bulging, almost throbbing, and Nikolai grimaced in pain.
"If I knew it, don’t you think I would already be a bit more comfortable about myself and my powers?"
The headmaster tilted her head and rubbed her chin for a moment, taking her wand away from Nikolai’s skin.
"You make a fair point... How about we find out about it together?" Her eyes widened in a manic smile, her eyes shining with greed.
"And why would I believe you? I already know your secret, don’t you remember?" Kurt put his left hand in his pocket. "All I need now is find out which one of them you are, and what is in it for you. Then, all I have to do is kill you, and I’ll have one less problem."
Kurt kept his nonchalance, but inside, he had many questions about everything.
Why was that Ishir doing something like that? Why were they targeting the irregulars? And why after the truce they agreed upon with Kurt’s father, why were they still chasing him?
Didn’t they agree with the fact that he wasn’t a threat until proven otherwise?
The headmaster’s expression suddenly became cold and indifferent.
She pointed one of her wands to Caleb, and a blinding red light hit him.
And Caleb dropped dead almost instantly.
Kurt clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, almost letting his emotions get the best of him.
"You may be right, but you won’t have any friends to share the news. If you keep going after us, I mean." She gave an ice cold smile.
Kurt inhaled and exhaled.
"What are your conditions?" He asked, looking down.
"Come to the Irregulars’ Dorm and swear your loyalty to me. Only then I’ll let your friends go."
"I’ll be there in-"
"You have ten minutes." Acacia smiled, ending the call.
Kurt wanted to scream, to break something, but he knew it would do no good.
"You can stop pretending, now, professor." Kurt called out, and Rodrick got up, dusting his clothes.
"Since when-"
"I heard your breathing getting steady when you woke up. How much of the conversation did you hear?" Kurt glared deadly at the professor.
"Nothing that I wouldn’t already know about. Acacia Sterling is a cunning, sly sack of filth, but her ability does come with its flaws."
Kurt raised his brow, asking a silent question.
"Before I answer that, how about I give you a healing potion? A real one, this time."
Kurt crossed his arms, not breaking eye contact with Rodrick for a single second. The professor went to a bookshelf, and took two flasks.
One red, the other, blue.
"Here, the red one is the healing potion, and the blue one is for your stamina. They work wonders, since I have a personal alchemist working for me to brew these special potions." He gave it a pause as Kurt smelled the content of the flask with the alleged healing potion and drinking from it. "I gotta tell you one thing, kid. Your blows are quite painful!" He laughed. "if we get to fix the power structure and the management here in the academy, what would you think if I offered you a position as combat instructor?"
"Not the time, professor." Kurt answered.
But as he began feeling the effects of the healing potion mending the broken bones in his hand, his mood changed slightly for the better. "But I would surely consider it. Now... If you don’t mind, I gotta get going. Also, can I take three more of these healing potions?"
Rodrick raised his brow.
"What about the stamina potion?"
"I’ll have it on the way. I’ll come have that chat with you once I’m done with the headmaster..."
"Sure, take as many as you need. But Kurt..." Rodrick’s tone was grim and mandatory.
Kurt turned around and looked at Rodrick again.
"Professor?"
"I know we’re not friends or anything. But... Somehow, I feel very familiar with you, so... Take care, and don’t die. The headmaster isn’t what she seems to be."
Kurt smiled, his heart warming after Rodrick’s statement.
"What is the flaw in the Headmaster’s skill?" Kurt asked, immediately remembering that he had to know about it, if he wanted to have the upper hand in something against her.
"While she’s in here..." Rodrick poked his own head. "It’s like we lose all control over our bodies, but we still see what she sees and hear what she hears."
"So... You hear-" Kurt began saying, but Rodrick put a finger to his own lips, shushing the conversation over.
"It’s your secret, and even though I didn’t comprehend a single part of it or why your coma matters so much to them, it’s you secret, and yours alone. If you want to tell me someday, I’ll be all ears. Now get going, kid. Go get her."
Kurt smiled, turned around, took the three healing potions, and left.
Rodrick sat on his armchair and rubbed his bald head.
"You’re way stronger than you look, kid... And you might be just what we need to change things around here..." He smiled, grimacing from the pain in his muscles.
***
Acacia smiled towards the remaining three of Kurt’s friends.
"I want to make a bet. If he comes, you all get out of here alive, and if he runs away... Well... You three are going to become my little human pets. How about it?"
Kurt spat blood and laughed.
"He might come or he might not, but trust me when I say... Sooner or later, he’ll have your ass handed to him on a silver plate."
"Not if I had him his ass first." She chirped.
Her eyes, then, became fully draconic, and she turned around suddenly.
"So, you came to your death..." She chanted, looking at Kurt’s silhouette, approaching the dorm.
