The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 83

[Echo]

During first period, I went to Mr. Moxon's office. There was another man there who he introduced as Lincoln McChesney. He left me with Mr. McChesney, who insisted I call him Link. I told him my story. Beginning to end. He listened and wrote notes. It took nearly the

entire period for the abridged version and answer some of his questions.

Link was a nice man. He was tall and thick with salt and pepper hair and a full beard. He looked like someone who would've frightened me before, but I trusted people from Gray's pack. Link told me to practice the exercises Mr. Moxon gave me until we could meet again next week.

I didn't have the same problem I did in history class, and I was able to turn in a lot of my work. I still had a pile to finish, but I was confident I would manage it in the next few days. I'd asked Amy if I could hold off on training so I could get my work done. She agreed. Now I was set to do homework until dinner, then train with Marius and do more homework until bedtime.

-

At lunch, I went to my locker to get my food. There were some folded pieces of paper on my lunch box. I didn't remember leaving them there. I picked one up and opened it. Printed in red, was the word 'LEECH'. I was confused and picked up another. 'Get out of our school, vampire bitch. One page called me a 'bloodsucking undead whore'.

There were at least six pieces of paper that called me names or told me to leave, or both. Gray came up behind me as I was reading the last one. He took it from me as I tearfully read the horrible words on it. His face turned red with anger and he sniffed the paper, then took the other pieces and sniffed them as well.

"I'll kill them." He growled.

"Maybe I shouldn't be in school. I didn't know I was making so many people uncomfortable." I sniffled.

"This isn't about you, it's about them. You never did anything to them and they decided to attack you. I'll tell Harmony. She can take care of the girls. Val, Cam, and I will take care of the guys." Gray said in a deadly sounding voice. "Please don't, Gray. I don't want this to be a fight. Maybe I can talk to them."

He got a look on his face, followed by a strange smile. "I figured out something better. These are all from fae students. We can go talk to their leader. If she meets you, she'll know what a nice girl you are. They would be ordered not to harass you again." "Shouldn't I talk to them first?" I asked.

"They wouldn't listen. Unfortunately, I know a few of these kids. It's in their nature to be assholes. Literally part of what they are. Those were the ones who wrote the meanest things. I can maneuver talking to the fae, but you can't and an adult fae would be more lenient with the tricky aspects." He told me. "Come on, let's go eat lunch."

Gray guided me to the cafeteria. We went to sit at the table with Harmony and Val. When we got there, Gray showed the notes to my sister and brother before anyone else got to the table. Harmony sniffed the notes, like Gray had, and then sniffed the air. She turned and looked at a table of kids that was near us. There were at least ten of them.

Harmony got up from the table and went to theirs. She leaned over the table and spoke quietly. Whatever she said made a couple girls turn pale. There were about four of them who looked really happy with whatever was going on. She turned and came back to us. "Eat your food, Echo. You're still healing. Victor will be mad if you don't eat." Harmony said and took a bite of her lunch.

I smiled a little. Victor would be mad if I wasn't eating. He wanted me to be healthy. A big part of me was thrilled that Harmony was actually thinking of him.

"What did you say to them?" I asked as I picked through my food.

"Just that the juniors who were hoping to take over once we left would have a hard time being popular with the things I was planning to spread about them if they didn't back off." She shrugged.

"That must be why the big ones are smiling. They don't care about popularity and are amused it was the worst thing you could think of for revenge. This won't stop them. I just got a text from Trent with the information for the leader of the fae in the area. We're going to see her after school." Gray said.

I focused on eating. I needed to get through this day. Soon, I'd be back home and safe again. I was starting to really not like the world outside of my house. It made me think that going to school was a bad idea. I should have worked harder to get Victor to let me stay home.

-

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly, but there were more notes in my locker at the end of the day telling me to keep my lapdog on a shorter leash and calling Harmony my werebitch. Gray made sure Harmony didn't see them. The peace between the fae and the werewolves wasn't set in stone.

Gray took me from the school to his truck. I could tell he was angry. I rubbed his arm when he got in the truck, after closing my door. He gave me a tight smile.

We drove out to a neighborhood that was surrounded by trees. It was like its own little world, cut off from everything else by the dense forest and small two lane road, which seemed barely big enough for Gray's truck. I had never seen anything like it before. Gray pulled over and looked at his phone for a while. He set it aside and drove forward. I wasn't used to quiet Gray. It always made me nervous when he stopped talking. "Are you sure we should do this?" I asked.

"More than sure. It's better we try this ourselves. I don't know that the leader of the fae would want to listen to a full vampire. Victor would be pissed about these notes. Let's take care of it, and you can tell Victor later. I bet he'll be proud of you for resolving it so well." Gray said with a smile.

We drove until we reached a house that was covered in ivy. The forest seemed to be right up next to the back of the house. It was a nice traditional looking house. Wild flowers grew in the yard. I noticed that most of the yards in the neighborhood were the same, covered in wild flowers. Some had water features. It was beautiful.

"Remember to say 'I appreciate it' not 'thank you. If they ask for your name, tell them they may not have your name, but they may call you Echo. We need to be very polite and respectful. I know I don't need to tell you that, it's mostly to remind myself. Insulting a fae in their own territory is dangerous." Gray warned before getting out of the truck and running around to help me out.

I straightened out my skirt and grabbed the letters which were laying on the seat of the truck. We walked up the stone path.

As Gray walked past, he stepped on the stem of a flower that was growing over the path. I stopped and looked down at the, now broken, flower. Kneeling down, I gently picked it up.

It almost felt like pain radiated from the flower. I'd always loved flowers and plants. Val and I spent most weekends in the gardens at home. I'd even made the garden at Victor's house so I could spend time with flowers.

"Shh. You're going to be okay." I whispered.

I learned this trick a long time ago. Gently I stroked the stem and thought of it being whole and healthy. Stronger than it had been before. I kept murmuring gentle assurances to the flower. The stem started filling out and, soon, it sprang up. I smiled and stood. "Who are you?" A tall, thin woman stood at the end of the path watching us.

"I'm Echo Nightshade." I replied, automatically.

"You speak the language of plants and you hold the magic of my people. Come closer." She commanded.

Carefully, we walked forward. She wrinkled her nose when I got close to her.

"Vampire. That's not possible. Vampires can't hold plant magic." The woman said.

"I'm not a vampire. I'm a dhampyr. My brother is a witch. He has plant magic." I explained.

"And you?" She said to Gray.

"I'm Grayson Padua. My brother is Alpha Trent Padua of the Hallowed Moon Pack." He replied.

"I am Maeve. Please come in." She said opening her door.

"Th-" I started and Gray put his hand over my mouth.

"We appreciate it." He said with a smile.

"Oh. Those of us who have chosen to live among humans have long learned that thanking is not meant as an insult or a recognition of debt. Those who choose to live apart from humans are still functioning on old beliefs and rules. You can eat food offered here, thank people, and give your name to us if we ask to have it without fearing any repercussions." Maeve assured us.

She led us into her home and asked us to have a seat. Maeve sat across from us. She was really beautiful. Her hair looked like it was a very dark green and her skin was the color of pale wood. She was like a human and a tree combined.

"You said you have a brother with plant magic? That means you have some fae blood. That's so strange. Fae usually stay away from vampires. We don't exactly have the best history with them. I don't know how a dhampyr and a witch came from the same line." She said.

"And a werewolf. My sister is a werewolf." I replied.

"How on earth did that happen? And you're all full siblings? You obviously have plant magic. Could it be a witch with a wandering eye? Are these older or younger children? What's your age difference?" She asked.

"We're triplets. Our father was a werewolf, our mother was a witch." I explained.

"A supernatural triad." Maeve gasped.

"Yes." I answered.

"Amazing. A triad like this has never existed, simply because of the general dislike everyone has of vampires." She said.

"I'm aware of the dislike. It's why we're here." I told her. "There have been some mean notes left in my locker by some of the fae kids at school."

"Do you have them?"

I handed her the stack of notes. She looked at each of them with a stern and serious look on her face. When she was done she set them aside.

"I see. I can find the children who did this and tell them to leave you alone. First, I need to test something." Maeve stated, pulling a folding knife from her pocket.

Gray stood quickly in front of me and growled. She looked mildly amused. I tugged him down onto the couch. I didn't feel like she was threatening me.

"I'm sorry about him. He's my mate. They get overprotective." I said.

"Werewolves are like that about their females. I understand." She replied and sliced a little cut in her hand.

The blood swelled up out of her skin. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pack of tissues. I had been crying a lot and had decided to carry some with me.

I pulled out a tissue and knelt on the floor, taking her hand and applying pressure. Her blood soaked through the tissue and felt like chlorophyll from a plant when it touched my skin. I stroked the skin beside the cut, like I had the plant earlier. The wound stitched back together like the broken stem had healed.

When I looked up at her, Maeve actually appeared shocked. She touched the skin where the wound had been. And looked back at me.

"You healed me? I was testing to see if you were as drawn to fae blood as vampires. Instead, you did something you weren't supposed to be able to do. You don't just have plant magic. You have fae magic. No other magic works on us. At least, not well." She murmured.

"Do you know anything about the curse on this territory? Does it work on you?" I asked.

"Yes, I was the leader of the fae when it happened. It does affect my people. We were once able to hide. Fenton Aimes accused us of hiding instead of helping him against the werewolves and vampires. We can only use our glamour for about eight hours a day. Then it fades. When the spell was cast, we lost the ability to use it altogether. Then the Master of the territory sent me a letter. I still have it. Give me a moment." Maeve said, standing.

She left the room and Gray helped me back to the couch. I leaned against him briefly. I didn't know why I was so tired.

"How did you know to heal her like that?" He asked.

"I didn't. I just wanted the blood to stop and, when I touched her, she felt like a plant. So I tried to heal her like I did the flower you stepped on." I replied.

"Have you always been able to heal plants?"

"I can talk to them, too. That was how I convinced the flowers we planted to bloom on the first night, even though they were still shocked from being moved." I smiled.

"You're finding new ways to surprise me every day." He chuckled.

"Here it is." Maeve said as she reentered the room.

The paper was old and a little frayed. I opened it and read the careful lettering on it.

Mistress Maeve,

I know we have not met, but I have heard that you were affected by Fenton's spell. I have heard from a reliable source that it has not cemented. There is still hope for all our peoples.

In the morning, I intend to meet the sun. With luck, that will break the spell and your people will once again be 'the hidden ones'.

Please accept my sincerest apologies for causing this issue. Your people did not deserve to be pulled into the dispute between Fenton and I.

I ask only one favor. Please find my flower, if she still exists, let her know that I died loving her and I would do it again for the chance to have those precious two months with her once more. Sincerely, Master Grigori Drozdov

I could feel the tears in my eyes. His flower, like Victor called me his princess. Someone had loved him before he died. It reminded me that Victor could die. I managed to hold myself together. "Did you ever find her?" I asked.

"No. We couldn't find her, not even some of our best trackers could find her. He gave his life to try and free us all from Fenton's curse. It was the least we could do." She replied.

"What was her name?" Gray asked.

"That was the thing, the reason we didn't get involved. It was Grace Aimes. She was his- Oh!" Maeve grasped her chest in pain. "I've said too much. The pain really is spectacular. I won't say more, but I will let you have the letter. We have ears everywhere. We know the new Master is trying to break the curse. And we know that his name is Nightshade. I assume you're connected with him. Let us know how we can help. I'll take care of these children. You are not a vampire and don't deserve this treatment."

"Thank you very much. We're going to do our best to take care of this, I promise. I know Victor would like to negotiate a peace with you. The fae here shouldn't have to worry about vampires." I said.

"Tell Master Nightshade, that you have gained our favor and we will agree to a peaceful alliance if he can break this curse. We will give all we can to your efforts. Until the curse is broken and the alliance secured, we will only speak with you, Echo. The name of a nymph, the magic of a fae, and the innocence of a child. You are unique and I would like to get to know you better." She smiled.

"We'll be going now. Echo has a lot of work to do and Victor will be up soon. We'll tell him everything. Thank you." Gray said as he stood and helped me up.