Chapter 6 Revised Nora Blackwell

In the morning, I went into the hall to get some food and caffeine. Halfway to the drink bar, Bethany ran over to me, grabbed my shoulders, screaming, “What was I thinking?”

“Stop!” i screamed, pushing her away, feeling myself shaking. She reminded me of Charlotte, and I could feel hatred filling me.

“No, you need to understand he's a monster!” she screamed, grabbing at me again so I could look at her.

“Stop.” I snapped, turning away to show her I didn’t want to talk to her anymore.

“No!” she screamed in a shrill voice, grabbing my wrist, which hurt. I jerked it away and pulled my hand toward my chest to see that it was bruised, probably from Matthew holding on to me so tightly.

In that moment, the pain and anger filled me, and I felt a tug at my chest. When I looked at Bethany, she was still screaming, but I saw a ghostly woman in a floor-length gown walking across the room, right toward us.

“Stop!” the maid demanded, causing both of us to freeze and look at her.

“Nora, follow us!” the maid demanded. Bethany opened her mouth to say something, but a glare from the maid froze her.

I followed her through the castle, freaking out. I asked them where we were going, but no one answered.

“It appears we are heading toward the master of the castle.” A voice stated in my head, causing me trip over thin air. Once I stood up and dusted off my clothes, I looked around and saw the woman following us.

“You can respond to me in your mind,” the voice explained.

“Who are you?” I asked nervously. Was she the Grim Reaper?

“No, my lady, I’m your servant. You called for me when you were dealing with that lady earlier.”

“I’m sorry, I think there’s a mistake. I didn’t call you.”

“When you were wishing you were out of that situation is when you called me,” she explained.

“Ms. Nora Blackwell, please keep moving?” the maid asked, and I didn’t realize I stopped moving. I apologized and started following her again. I walked in silence, my mind spinning. The ghost would answer my questions, but that would just send me even more.

I just couldn’t understand what was going on or if the voices in my head were mine or hers.

As we walked to wherever we were going, it was eerie—the only sound was my shoes on the castle floor. Why wasn’t the maid making any noise? I tried not to think about it too much. Thankfully, there were windows. The blue sky, green fields, and the forest made me less anxious. If it were dark, I think I would be freaking out more than I am now.

“We're here,” the maid said, stopping abruptly, which made me almost run into them.

Looking around, we were in the middle of a long hall, standing outside a regular-looking door. I looked at them to see if they were making fun of me, but it didn't seem like it, so I knocked on the door and waited until a small voice said, “Come in.”

I was expecting a magical-looking office with portraits of people dressed like witches, floating things in the air and in jars, and all the other stuff u see in the movies or read in books.

What I got was a man who looked like a regular guy, sitting behind a desk in a regular-looking office. There were motivational posters on the wall and normal-looking books on a bookshelf, but nothing crazy or magical.

“Hello, Miss. Nora Blackwell.” The man behind the desk said, catching my attention. He was in his late 30s, early 40s, with brown hair and silver eyes. He didn't wear a cloak but a dress shirt.

“Um, hello,” I replied, trying to keep the nervousness out of my voice, but failed.

“You can call me Shawn, please sit down,” he said, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. I sat down, putting my hands in my lap and bouncing my leg.

"No need to be nervous,” he smiled, which of course didn’t calm me down at all.

“Why am I here?” I asked, looking into his silver eyes.

“You summoned a ghost,” he stated flatly, pointing toward the ghost who was in the corner. I didn't need to glance; I could feel the presence of the ghost like a sonar finding its beacon. I closed my eyes to take deep breaths so as not to have an anxiety attack, only to be able to see the room from her eyes. I opened my eyes quickly.

“Necromancers are rare, but they can only bring the recently dead back and are in the presence of the dead who look like those from medieval times. Giving your last name and what you did, I assume you’re a dead walker.” He said, letting that hang in the air like I was supposed to know what it meant.

“I have no idea what that even means,” I replied, staring at him blankly.

“Oh yeah, you're from the branch of the family that doesn't have anything to do with this world. They just send one every generation or so. Anyway, you have the ability to summon and control the dead of any kind. We know for sure you are a dead walker because you summoned and are still controlling a ghost.” He explained as if it were common knowledge. I just stared at him. He just dropped too much information on me about my horrible family and me. How many other family members have they sent here to die without knowing what they were getting into? I will change this and this shitty family, but first.

“What is this power?” I asked.

“I just told you. Are you a bit slow?” He asked, searching my face for the answer.

“I understand that, but I’m asking about everything that this power does? Can I still use other magic, too?” I asked.

“Yes, of course. You can use any magic, but your particular talent is dealing with the dead.”

“That's good to hear. So why can't others use this power?”

“Some of us are gifted from the start, and some of us have to work to achieve what comes easily to others. We all can do that, but we would really have to study and practice. People wasted years of their lives trying to become a dead walker, only to be able to hear or summon a ghost, only for it to disappear after five minutes. You need the talent for some things, and Dead Walker is one of them.” He explained.

“So why are you telling me all of this?” I asked because there was no reason for this meeting; someone could have just mentioned it to me or handed me a note.

“I'm warning you. People will want your power. You can contact the dead at any time, and dead men tell no tales unless you're there. Some people will want to keep their secrets.” He explained, and his words felt like a huge weight just fallen on my shoulders.

He didn’t say anything else and excused me. I left the room, following the maid back to the hall. I walked back in a daze.

When we got back to the hall, everyone was already gone, so I just headed toward my room.

“I'm sorry, Nora Blackwell.” The maid apologized.

“I can take her,” Arthur suggested, appearing out of nowhere, which made me turn around.

“Are you sure?” The maid asked, to which Arthur grinned widely, showing his sharp teeth.

“Yeah, I'm sure.”

“I barely know him, so I think I'll pass on this outing.” I smiled back, giving him the finger when the maid turned back to him.

“We can't force Nora Blackwell to go, so thank you for your selfless act, Arthur Temples.” The maid said, bowing.

“I think she should go since she needs to get her supplies for her room and classes.” He replied, sticking his tongue out at me when she turned back to me.

“He is right, dear, the shops will be closed tomorrow.” The maid sighed as if trying to figure something out, a problem, while Arthur still had his tongue out like a child.

“Ma, after everything that I was just told, I feel like I can't trust anyone,” I stated with tears falling as I silently thanked my two years of theatre in middle school. The maid and Arthur both froze, and I started crying even harder.

“Nora Blackwell, it will be fine. I will call Paula to let her know the situation. Please excuse me,” the maid bowed, hurrying off.

“I know you’re faking.” He stated when the maid was out of earshot.

“You rip out a woman’s throat in front of us,” I replied starting right into his red eyes.

“But yet you’re not freaking out right now or trying to get away from me. You're even looking me in the eye like you're not scared of me. Also, last night you even walked towards me.” He replied, getting close to me, and I could feel his breath.

“I was stressed out that day and confused, that's all.”

“What about now?” He asked.

“Why do you care so much about a human. I thought vampires and other creatures looked down on us.” I replied, which made him grin.

“Only in the movies, dear.” He replied, leaning forward. I could feel his breath on my cheek. I didn't know what to say.

“You know my venom is an aphrodisiac.” He whispered into my ear, and I felt his teeth brush my ear.

“Back the fuck up!” I screamed, rage building in me, slapping him as hard as I could, which made him back away.

“I don't know who you think I am, but I'm not that type of woman,” I screamed, storming off toward my room.

“I didn't mean anything by it, just having fun,” Arthur assured, grabbing my wrist, swinging me towards him. I raised my other hand to hit him, but he grabbed it to stop me.

“Let me go!” I demand trying to shake my hands free. He tightened his grip, but I decided to kick him and found gold. I guess he didn’t expect that.

He let go of me as he fell to the ground holding his family jewels.

I headed to my room, slamming the door behind me and locking it.

I wanted to go back out there and cuss him out or maybe kick him a few more times. I took a shower and cried a little bit more.

When I got out, I sat down at the desk, reading through all the paperwork, trying to take my mind off of what just happened, and doing my best not go back out there and kick him a few more times.

After a few hours, a knock came at the door. I hesitate to open it, but I did. Paula was there holding a bunch of bags. I stepped to the side to let her in.

“I got you everything you should need. If I missed something, let me know. I'll get someone to run out and get it.” Paula said putting everything on my bed.

“Thank you,” I said, my voice not sounding like itself.

“You ok, dear?” Paula asked, shutting the door, then turned to me.

“Do you know about me?”

“Yes, dear,” she smiled, trying to reassure me.

“It's a lot to take in.” I started feeling overwhelmed. Too much had happened today, but I wasn't about to tell her about what happened with Arthur. I'll pay him back later. Paula smiled and gave me a hug, which I wish my mom hadn’t given me up, and I lost it. I cried into her shoulder, letting everything go. Paula rubbed my back, holding me close while telling me everything would be ok.

Once I ran out of tears, I apologized, but Paula just rubbed my head, telling me it was a lot.

She said she would bring me some food and that I should rest, then left.

I took a deep breath, then started to go through the bags. Pink fluffy towel, notebooks of every color, and everything in between that I could need.

I put everything away, then lay down.

A knock came a few minutes later, and I told them to come in. Elain walked in holding a tray, looking sheepish.

“Hey.” I smiled, truly happy to see her.

“We need to talk, “she stated, looking at me seriously.