Midnight Academy. Born at midnight

I even dared to touch one.

Having gone up to the second floor, we just as easily found ourselves in another room. It was almost no different from the previous one, but what is most striking is that we were greeted by the same Gray Lady with a face that did not express any emotions at all.

There were two options: either I had gone crazy, or my mother had gone crazy. However, it could not be ruled out that we had both been out of our minds for a long time.

Questions, questions, questions… Biting my tongue, I kept expecting that we would now meet with someone from the top of this mental hospital. With someone who will quickly and succinctly insert all the necessary information into my head, and then we will go on a new trip. Somewhere where the maniac who was pursuing us will definitely not get to.

But reality, as always, did not agree with the fantasies.

Silently nodding to the librarian, my mother took out a dagger with large red stones in the hilt from her jacket and suddenly turned to me. More precisely, to the door behind me, and therefore I had to actively step aside.

I watched, feeling confused, as she inserted the blade into the gap between the door and the floor. Repeating the outline of the doorway with its point, the mother straightened up and opened the door, turning the round gilded handle.

She let me go ahead.

I went down with caution. So far nothing has changed in the surroundings. The same staircase, the same walls and tops. Even the hall on the first floor is still the same. And the Gray Lady is the same. Stands there, doesn't blink.

Looking at my mother, I received a warm, indulgent smile. And it was a no-brainer that she knew something that I had no idea about yet. But the longer I had to wait for the explosion, the more terrible the pictures of my near future became.

And yet I was the first to go out onto the porch. She went out, looked around and almost counted the steps. The parent caught me by the shoulders literally at the last moment.

Her gaze again expressed understanding. She seemed to know how much confusion was in me now and what feelings and doubts were overwhelming me.

Now I was going down much slower. Firstly, because it finally dawned on me: instead of bright day, we were greeted by night. Secondly, the street was radically different from Ashwool Street. Instead of sprawling construction projects and brand new townhouses, there were long Victorian-style houses with white trim, carved corners and low railings around the balconies.

Two horses harnessed to a dark carriage rushed past us. Here and there there were passers-by who seemed to have stepped out of the pages of a history textbook or the frames of a pseudo-historical film.

“You will study here,” my mother said, as soon as we stopped at the gates of the academy, behind which stood a gloomy tall building with spiers and ugly gargoyles on the ledges.

“I’ve already graduated from school,” I reminded, forcing myself to stay in place by an effort of will.

It was simply unbearable to want to take even a couple of steps back.

– This is not a school, Sally. This is an academy for Midnighters.

Taking a large burgundy rectangular map from the inside pocket of her jacket, she placed it directly into the open mouth of the stone bat. The mouth instantly closed and opened with a click, leaving two impressive holes on the card. Then the gate next to the gate creaked open.

I was in no hurry to go inside.

“But you yourself said that I’m not like that.” What will I learn here then?

– Everything that I didn’t tell you about, because I recklessly believed that this side would never touch you. But she touched, which means you must be prepared for the fact that our world is not as simple as it seems at first glance. And he won’t find you here,” she was the first to go through the gate.

Without doubting for a moment, I immediately followed her, hoping to finally get an answer to the main question. Clenching my fingers into fists, I felt that the solution was already close.

– Who, mom? Who have we been hiding from all this time?

Silently continuing our way past the working fountain, on which stood an ugly stone gargoyle, she nevertheless responded dully, as soon as we reached the steps of the main building:

– From the Hunter.

But it didn’t become one gram clearer.

“Hey, you seem to be lost in thought,” Nirel touched my hand, pulling me out of recent memories.

Catching the attentive gaze of his green eyes, I directly and unvarnishedly blurted out what I knew about the Midnighters. There were only two theses: for some reason they do not sleep at night and maintain order in the world on both sides.

“Very generalized, of course,” he drawled slightly dissatisfied. – That is, you don’t know anything at all about where you ended up.

“Actually,” I confirmed dully. – We entered the library from one side and left from the other. I thought I had lost my mind.

Having carefully examined me from head to toe, the student made an unexpected conclusion:

– So you are one of the Coming Ones. – But, probably catching the misunderstanding on my face, he added: – From those who came from the world of people. And I’m wondering why your clothes and shoes are so strange. Okay, then let's start with the main thing. Our ancestors were not people.

“Of course, not people,” I agreed, suspecting that we would now plunge somewhere much deeper than the Stone Age. – Everyone knows that we descended from monkeys.

Nirel did not deny this fact:

– Once upon a time – perhaps. But then our ancestors chose a different path. They, Sally, became vampires.

Chapter 4. Secrets of the Midnighters

I tried to digest this information. I honestly tried, but even after what I had already learned and seen, I didn’t expect to hear something like that.

Simply because vampires are not superheroes at all. This is a pale, bony likeness of a person, living in a crypt, sleeping in a coffin and not knowing what toothpaste, solarium and manicure are.

“My mother is not a vampire,” I objected, having recovered from the first shock.

Smiling indulgently, Nirel corrected me:

– Not such a vampire as you used to think. Almost none of us have fangs anymore, because the need to drink blood has simply disappeared over the centuries. They don't grow anymore, see? – He showed me his even white teeth. – Now we take away unnecessary emotions from people in a different way.

– Do you take away unnecessary emotions? How? For what? – she asked, even more amazed.

So far everything has only become more confusing. Vampires without fangs and the need to drink blood are some kind of toothless vegetarians.

– It’s simple: people with an unstable psyche have moments in life when emotions take over them so much that they lose reason. Then they do things that affect the rest of the world. With their emotions they change the lives of other people, and mostly exclusively for the bad. For example, they commit a crime or become the cause of a series of accidents that lead to someone’s death. We – vampires – take away these “extra” emotions from them, thereby maintaining balance in the human world. Moreover, various emotions may turn out to be “superfluous” – even happiness.

– And before this you had to drink blood? – I clarified, grimacing.

My imagination quickly painted the entire procedure in the most vivid colors, including the nasty taste of metal in my mouth. I definitely wouldn’t agree to such an abomination, because…

What if a person is sick with something? Or haven't washed for a week?

I shuddered with disgust.

“It happened, but not for the last three generations,” Nirel confirmed. – Now, fortunately, this is not required. We have learned to do without this procedure. Now we take away dangerous emotions with the help of touch. Prolonged touch and slight hypnosis. If such emotions are not drawn out, then a skew will constantly occur, first in one direction, then in the other. Of course, problems happen despite the existing protocol of actions, but it’s better to do at least something than to do nothing, right?