P Cast: Dragon's Oath

“I, too, like your honesty,” the High Priestess said to Anastasia between sips of her own wine, which seemed not to affect her at all. “It was one of the reasons we chose you to fill our professorial vacancy, even though you have only had two years of formal training in spells and rituals. You should know that you came very highly recommended from the Pennsylvania House of Night.”

“My mentor was kind, Priestess,” Anastasia said, setting her goblet back on the table.

“I also recall she said you are closely allied with the element earth,” Pandeia said. “Which is another reason I felt you would be a good fit at our House of Night. This really is the gateway to the west. Here the mystery and majesty of the wonderful, untamed earth spreads in eager invitation before us-something I thought you would appreciate and find compelling.”

“I do, but I do not claim to have an actual earth affinity,” Anastasia explained. “I allow that I feel a strong connection to the land and, sometimes, when I am especially fortunate, the earth lends me some of her power.”

Pandeia nodded and continued to sip her wine. “You do know that many priestesses do not discover they have a true affinity for one of the elements until they have served the Goddess for many decades. You may yet find that the earth has, indeed, been gifted to you with a full-fledged affinity; you are still very young, Anastasia.”

“Please do not take offense at my question, but exactly what is your true age? You look barely old enough to have been Marked, let alone to have gone through the Change,” Diana said, tempering her rather harsh question with a smile.

“Diana!” Pandeia’s voice was gentle, but her look was tinged with disapproval as she frowned at her strikingly beautiful mate. “I did not invite Anastasia here to interrogate her.”

“No, I do not mind the question, Priestess. Actually, I am becoming used to it,” she said to Pandeia. Then she turned her gaze to Diana. Anastasia lifted her chin just a little. “I am twenty-two years old. My mentor priestess in Pennsylvania told me she believed me to be the youngest vampyre in America to be made a full professor. It is an honor I will try to live up to by being diligent and serious about my classroom and my students.”

“Daughter, I have no doubt you are diligent and serious, but what I would like you to be is earthsome as well,” Pandeia said.

“Earthsome? Forgive me, Priestess, I do not know that word.”

“To be earthsome is to take on the characteristics of the earth. Be vibrant like a cluster of wildflowers, fertile like a field of wheat, sensual as an orchard of ripe peaches. Do not simply feel connected to the land; let it infuse you with its wonders.”

“And remember that you are a vampyre priestess and professor. There is no need for you to dress like an oppressed human schoolmarm,” Diana added.

“I-I do not want to appear frivolous,” Anastasia admitted hesitantly, glancing down at the high-necked, unadorned bodice and straight, long skirt she’d worn-and loathed-since she’d joined the Tower Grove House of Night and begun teaching two weeks ago. “I am so close in age to my students that it is sometimes difficult for them to remember I am a professor.”

Pandeia nodded in understanding. “But the simple truth is that you are close to the age of many of our fledglings. My advice is to make that a strength rather than something against which you battle.”

“I agree,” Diana said. “Use your youth as an asset instead of trying to hide it behind clothes any of your elders who have decent taste would never think of wearing-” She paused and gestured first at the flowing Grecian-styled gown she wore, and then at the high-waisted Spanish-style gauchos and the plunging neckline of the white lace blouse her mate wore.

“Anastasia, what Diana is trying to convey to you is that there is nothing wrong with being young,” Pandeia picked up the thread of the conversation. “I am quite sure the female fledglings feel comfortable coming to you with concerns they would not have the courage to mention to any of the rest of us.”

Anastasia sighed in relief, having been given the perfect opportunity to speak of what was foremost on her mind. “Yes, that has already proven true. It is, actually, why I sought you out this night.”

Pandeia frowned. “Is there is a problem among the students I should be made aware of?”

“You mean one other than Jesse Biddle?” Diana said the name as if just speaking it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Biddle is a problem for all of us, vampyres and students alike, especially since the misguided humans of St. Louis made him their sheriff,” Pandeia said. Then her gaze narrowed as she studied Anastasia. “Has he been harassing our fledglings?”

“No, not that I know of.” Anastasia paused, and swallowed past the dryness in her throat, trying to order her thoughts so that her High Priestess would find value in her words. “The fledglings do not like Sherriff Biddle, but he is not the focus of their conversations. Someone else is, and in my opinion, he is creating quite a problem within the House of Night itself.”

“Who has you so worried?”

“The fledgling they call Dragon Lankford,” Anastasia said.

Both vampyres were silent for too many beats of Anastasia’s heart. Then it appeared as if Diana tried to conceal a smile by taking a long drink of her wine while Pandeia cocked an eyebrow at Anastasia and said, “Dragon Lankford? But he has been away from Tower Grove competing in the Vampyre Games for the past two weeks. You and he have not even met, yet you say he is somehow creating a problem for you?”

“No, not for me. Well, yes, I suppose the problem does have to do with me, though it isn’t technically mine.” Anastasia rubbed her forehead. “Wait, I’ll start again. You asked if there was a problem among the students I know of because I am close enough in age to the fledglings that they feel comfortable talking with me. My answer is yes, I do know of a problem, and it has been created by what I can only call an obsession with this fifth former the students call Dragon.”

Diana didn’t try to hide her smile any longer. “He is dynamic, and very popular, especially with the female fledglings.”

Pandeia nodded in agreement. “Case in point-he just bested all of his opponents, fledgling and vampyre alike, to win the coveted title of Sword Master at the Vampyre Games. It is almost unheard of in our history for a fledgling to have won such a title.”

“Yes, I know of his victory. It is all the girls could talk of today,” Anastasia said wryly.

“And you see this as a problem? Dragon’s swordsmanship is impressive already, and he has yet to have completed the Change,” Diana said.

“Though it would not surprise me to see his adult tattoos appear very soon,” Pandeia added. “I agree with Diana-there is nothing unusual about the girls being distracted by Dragon.” The High Priestess smiled. “When you meet him you, too, may understand their distraction.”

“It is not simple distraction that concerns me,” Anastasia explained quickly. “It is the fact that as of close of school this night a total of fifteen fledglings, thirteen girls and two boys, have come to me, one at a time, begging me for love spells with which to ensnare Dragon Lankford.”

Anastasia was relieved that this time the silence of the two women was filled with expressions of shock and surprise instead of amusement.

Finally Pandeia spoke. “This news is disappointing, but not tragically so. The fledglings are aware of my policy on love spells-they are foolish and can be dangerous. Love cannot be bespelled or coerced.” The High Priestess shook her head, obviously annoyed at the fledglings. “Diana, I would like you to teach a lesson in the coming week on what happens when obsession is mistaken for love.”