Chapter 66: The compelling spell
Kaelric’s POV
"Since you don’t want to tell me the truth, maybe we will try another method that doesn’t involve me asking you questions, but me getting my answers.
"Please don’t!" She yelled, shaking the chair on which she sat violently.
"It would be best for you if you stay calm, because it’s less painful when you are calm, but if you decide to continue like this, either way, I’ll still go on with the process," I said, laying my hands on her head.
She screamed, groaned, and even started convulsing at some point, causing the chair to move uncontrollably in a violent manner.
"Take it easy, she might not just pass out like the others. She might die," the headmistress said, furrowing her eyebrow in concern.
"She wouldn’t die. Now let me concentrate on solving this," I retorted, and she moved back a little bit.
I closed my eyes as usual, and I saw her.
She had been going to the casino weeks before the election campaign announcement.
She usually passed through her window and then scaled the Academy’s fence, into the woods and then into the blind camera spot on the streets and then into the alleys before arriving at the casino.
I’m guessing she was a little bit careless on the day of Aria’s abduction, that she forgot to go through the blind spots.
Or maybe she discovered that secret outlet, unknown to her, there was a mini cybersecurity camera there.
After the announcement of the election campaign, she had seen that as an opportunity to get rid of both Aria, her major competitor for Zade’s attention and Tracy, the school’s queen bee, who was quite ambitious.
She had introduced herself as Tracy to the vampires and promised them easy infiltration into the academy if they helped her carry out her plan.
Of course, what would vampires enjoy more than being able to attack the heart of the kingdom, a group of young teenage wolves, in a secluded institution called an academy, where they will have their fill until they have wiped out the entire kingdom.
They offered to help her carry out the plan. She pointed them to Lucas and watched them walk over to Lucas, who was drunk at the moment.
The next day, she also went over to the casino earlier than the previous night, and she watched from the shadows as they made the deal.
She also stalked Aria, watching her movements, and trying to know when it was suitable for her to strike.
The opportunity presented itself on the day she had a fight with Tracy.
She had already discovered that Aven and the other two successors were aware, having overheard their conversation, so she decided to act quickly.
She went over to the casino to ask him if he was still carrying out the business. Meanwhile, earlier on, Lucas had tried bribing her to monitor Aria’s affairs; he had attempted to buy her over to Tracy’s team, unaware that Tracy wasn’t the perpetrator but rather Larissa.
Lucas informs her that Wayne had dropped out of the mission, and he also finds it difficult to continue, as it is very risky at this point.
She tries to convince him, but sees that it isn’t working. She asks him to find another person to replace him, as he might be prey to the vampires who don’t play by their own rules; moreover, Lucas owes them a tremendous amount of money.
She also decided to employ another male student to replace Wayne, since Wayne wasn’t so bad a debtor as Lucas.
Wait, I’m missing something. I held her head and concentrated harder, and there it was.
She meets with Tracy and convinces her that she was by her side, and that there was something she had that could help her win the favour of other students, without doing much campaigning, but she would still win the election.
Tracy was intrigued and fell into a set-up. She invites Tracy to the casino, where she promises to give her a spell that would help her win the elections.
She also liaises with the vampires to obtain a replica spell similar to their compelling ability, which they agreed to provide in exchange for their own part of the bargain: being able to infiltrate the academy with ease once Larissa becomes student council president.
She tells Tracy about a body language code that she can use when she arrives at the casino, and that she doesn’t really need to enter the casino; she would be given the spell immediately by gesturing.
Tracy, being overly ambitious and clueless, follows Larissa’s instructions, bribes the security personnel and goes to the casino for the special spell.
That was the night before she had that fight with Aria; no wonder she dared to say the words she said to Aria.
What a clueless she-wolf, but her spell seems to be working, because she isn’t campaigning, but the other students seem to be chanting her name all over.
And that should be stopped, even if she wasn’t the perpetrator. Using strange magic, especially from vampires, is illegal; therefore, she has to be disqualified from contesting for the elections.
"Tracy cheated; she should be disqualified from the elections immediately," I blurted out, all of a sudden, making the headmistress look at me with a confused expression.
"Is she the one behind the attack on Becca and Aria?, Is that why?" she asked, looking at my face for some sort of clarification, which of course I’ll give to her.
"Not that she is the perpetrator, but she took some spell from Tracy, a compelling spell. Making everyone in the school vote for her against their own will because they are under an illusion," I explained, still focusing on Larissa.
Larissa’s pulse was getting weak, and she was about to pass out. I’m even surprised she survived this long.
"So she is not the perpetrator?" she asked, more in a tone desperate to know that Tracy was free of the blame rather than in a tone wanting to know who was the culprit.
"Are you interested in knowing who the culprit is, or are you interested in vindicating Tracy?" I asked her, just to make her uneasy a bit, knowing she was already under the spell’s influence, and that spell ought to be found and removed, if not something terrible could happen.
Besides, Tracy worked with this traitor; therefore, she might be loyal to her, especially if this spell enables her to win this election.
The headmistress is already under the spell; therefore, it might be hard to talk her into disqualifying Tracy if the spell is not gotten rid of.
"I know Tracy was innocent, of course. So who is behind all these, and who tried to frame Tracy?" She was agitated, her body fidgeting as if she would kill the culprit if she were told who.
I almost laughed at her choice of words. Innocent? Tracy, innocent? Perhaps she hadn’t laid claws on Aria, but to say she was free of fault would be the biggest lie yet.
The spell has taken over her, and anyone not under the spell could sense it.
If the spell was this effective on someone like her, who had years of discipline and mental training, then it was clear most of the students didn’t even stand a chance. I just hoped it had not spread all over the academy.
I exhaled, still holding onto Larissa’s mind as her body jerked faintly under my grip. "Don’t be deceived by that word, ’innocent’. She is far from it. She made a deal with the vampires, Headmistress. That alone is enough to have her expelled and disqualified."
The Headmistress shook her head slowly, as though resisting something, her pupils dilating unnaturally before returning to normal. "But... if she only wanted to win the election," she stammered, trying to find a way to defend her.
"Stop justifying her." My tone was colder than intended, but it had to be. "Do you even hear yourself? Aligning with vampires? Using their magic? That is treason, even if she herself didn’t plan the abduction," I paused to let myself breathe as I was already getting very agitated.
"Tracy may not have wanted blood spilt, but she was eager enough to cheat her way to the council. If you continue down this path of denial, you will drag this entire academy into the pit she is digging," I continued.
The Headmistress fell silent. Her lips pressed tight, as though she was contemplating her following words.
"You are already under the same spell as we speak, but you seem unaware, and that’s surprising, knowing that you are supposed to be more mentally fortified than the rest. I wonder what’s going on with the students by now," I snapped.
"That’s not possible," she retorted, "I’m just stating the obvious, Tracy is innocent, and she was obviously framed."
"It’s quite obvious that you are still making spell-struck defense for her or even yourself", I fired back at her.
Redirecting my focus to Larissa. Her pulse was unsteady now, her breathing shallow and rapid. She wouldn’t hold much longer.