Black veins rippled beneath their skin. They snarled and shook the bars, trying to break free.
“What the hell happened here?” Manlius asked, stepping closer. His presence seemed to agitate them further. Theyslammed their heads against the cages, white foam gathering at the corners of their mouths. They were behaving like mindless beasts, just like Alexander.
“Did Alexander’s blood do this?” Boaz asked, moving closer to one of the cages.
A hand shot through the bars, reaching for him, claws slicing through the air.
“Be careful,” Brett said. “They’re strong. One swipe of their talons and you’re dead.”
“How could this happen?” Manlius asked, sounding stunned.
“It was an accident. There was an explosion in the lab while I was testing the blood. Everything in there went airborne. They must have ingested some of it in the chaos. We contained it, but the damage was already done. I asked for more blood to confirm what happened and to try to find a cure, but I couldn’t find anything. So I’ve been waiting to see if they can heal themselves like His Majesty did.”
Boaz stared at the witches. They looked so young.
“Do you think they can heal themselves?” Boaz asked.
“I don’t know,” Brett said quietly. He didn’t sound hopeful. And from the way the witches were behaving, Boaz didn’t think they would either. Alexander was a born vampire, far stronger than most creatures Boaz had ever seen.
“Fuck,” Manlius muttered, pacing in front of the cages, running a hand through his hair. “Are you sure you contained it? There’s no one else out there who’s infected?”
“No. I’m running spells as we speak. We check every student every hour.”
“Good. We should put them to sleep so they don’t suffer,” Manlius said, finally focusing on the three in the cages.
“Yes, of course,” Brett said, moving closer to him.
Boaz watched as the two of them stepped into position and began to chant. The air in the room warmed and began to vibrate, leaving goosebumps along his skin.
Boaz held his breath as the young witches slumped to the ground one by one. The chanting slowly ebbed, until there was only silence.
They stared at the three bodies, the pain on their faces breaking Boaz’s heart.
This shouldn’t have happened. They should have been more careful.
“Do you have somewhere they can sleep comfortably?” Manlius asked.
“Yes,” Brett said. “The infirmary. The healers can watch over them there.”
He walked to the cages and unlocked them. Inside, he carefully lifted the first witch and handed her to Manlius, then the second one to Boaz. He picked up the third himself.
With their burdens, they made their way to the infirmary, which looked more like a small hospital to Boaz. Beds lined the walls, and high-tech medical equipment stood beside each one. The room was empty for now, but it was clearly built for constant use.
Maybe witches get hurt a lot, Boaz thought as he adjusted the weight in his arms.
“Let’s put them down on the beds in the far corner. No one will disturb them there,” Brett said.
They followed him. Carefully, they laid the witches down and covered them with light blankets.
Manlius stepped forward and ran his fingers over each witch’s forehead, chanting softly.
When he was done, he stepped back and stared down at them.
“I’m going to have to inform their families,” Brett said.
This is not going to go down well, especially after what Alexander did. Boaz closed his eyes for a second, his heart beating fast. He felt Manlius glance at him. He opened his eyes and tried his best to steady his emotions.
“You should do that,” Manlius said. “Boaz, let’s go.”