C11 Safety Measures

"Try not to move around too much," he instructed and focused magic on his hand. A light ash-hued aura surrounded it before traveling rapidly up Elena's arm and through her body. She jolted out of his grasp in surprise and watched as the aura faded away from her form. Suddenly she felt a severe sensation of emptiness that had her swaying until Whitney caught her. The white haired girl glowered at Michael as she held Elena close.

"What did you do?" she all but hissed.

Michael did not bother to look at her when he moved back to his seat. "I erased all the magic in her body. The curse had attached itself to her magic. When I removed the magic, the curse went with it as well. Get her to a bed so she'll rest. Her powers will return overtime."

"I fail to see my place in all of this," Veronica spoke up from her seat.

"The skinwalkers are not exactly big fans of vampires," Vincent said to her.

"They abhor your kind. Your existence is an annoyance to them so you'll have to warn the others to be a bit more careful in their activities."

The vampire princess rose fluidly from her chair and gave them an uncaring look. "You cannot dictate the way we act. We may have agreed to this but that doesn't mean we necessarily have to do anything with you."

She had turned to leave when Vincent called her back. "Hold it. We still have to talk about the other arrangement-"

Veronica rounded on him, her eyes flashing a dangerous crimson as she glared at the man. "That deal was between you and my father! If the witch needs a caretaker, she can have him! I will not be belittled to that level!"

With that, she spun around and stomped out of the room, her guards right behind her.

The room fell silent and Vincent rubbed his forehead tiredly, muttering something along the lines of 'stupid kids'.

Looking up at Michael, he sighed, "I hope this doesn't affect your stance on the matter."

"No, it does not," he answered and Vincent relaxed somewhat. "However, I will not force my protection on her. If she does not want it, so be it. She's the one who would be dying after all."

Jade glanced at the door and scoffed, "Arrogant bat."

"I'm sorry, what was that about her dying?" Mia inquired. "What arrangement was made and why was she looking at me like that?"

Vincent leaned back on his armchair and explained to the witches the request the Arcane Circle had made in conjunction with the peace treaty. By the end of it, their reactions varied a bit differently although fear was a common factor in all three. Elena feared for her friend's safety, having witnessed firsthand what a Hunter could do. But she was also a bit relieved, knowing that should there really be dangerous people after Mia, there was no safer place for her to be.

The girl in question was absolutely terrified of the prospect of having to hang around the leader of the Hunters indefinitely. Still there was no hiding the nervous excitement that came with the thought. She had only been recently introduced to the supernatural world and now she would be able to associate with people considered legends of said world.

Whitney was the only one whose fear was not because of the Hunters.

"Why was this deal proposed?" she asked angrily. "Did I displease the Circle in anyway-"

Diana raised a slender hand to stop her mid-rant. "You have done nothing wrong Whitney. Your leaders merely felt it would be safer to have additional protection for the same of your friend. Rest assured, they all have utmost faith in your abilities which is why you will continue to be her primary guardian until further notice."

"Due to recent developments, I have to take an impromptu journey," Michael announced suddenly. "Which means I will not be able to watch after you for a while in the school. Jade, have you finished that project?"

The dark haired girl leaned over to give him two circular pieces of wood small enough to fit in a matchbox. There was an odd rune inscribed on the surfaces of both items. It looked like a diamond surrounded on all sides by four bold lines.

Michael handed one of the items to Mia. She took it from him and examined it closely. As soon as she focused on it, the rune flashed with a burst of bright violet light before dimming to a nearly unnoticeable glow of purple. There was a tiny hole at the top of the object seemingly meant for a thread to pass through.

"Um, am I supposed to wear this?" she asked.

"Yes. That amulet is how you'll keep out of trouble whenever I'm not with you," Michael replied.

Whitney bristled with indignation on her friend's behalf. "Keep out of trouble? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means she'll won't die if you ditch her and she's attacked," Lee taunted with a small smirk on his face.

She glared heatedly at him and the temperature in the room began to rise rapidly. "Care to explain that?"

Lee quirked a snow white eyebrow in surprise. "Oh, you're a fire witch? It's been a long time since I've dealt with one of those. Nice trick by the way. Keep it up and we won't be needing the heater for the winter."

Whitney's eyes glowed brightly as her glare intensified alongside the room temperature. "You little-"

"Stop it Whitney," Mia interrupted her.

She looked like she was about to protest when a hand touched her shoulder. Whitney turned her head and the fire in her eyes died immediately at the look on Elena's face. The brunette had her lip between her teeth and her eyes, filled with reminiscent fear, darted between Whitney and Lee hastily.

"Whitney, don't," she murmured pleadingly.

The witch let out an angry hum but backed down all the same. Her dull yellow eyes fell on Lee and she felt the urge to burn the smirk off his stupid face. He was looking at Elena who was still unable to look him in the eye for some reason.

Whitney frowned at this. Elena may not be too outgoing but she had never been this shy or nervous around someone. She almost looked scared of the Hunter opposite her. Almost as scared as she had been when Whitney found her the previous night. Elena had only told her of the skinwalker attack and that the Hunter rescued her and nothing else. So why then was she so terrified of him?

"How does this work?" Mia's voice broke Whitney out of her thoughts.

"The amulet monitor your surroundings at all times," Jade explained. "Whenever you get threatened, the rune will start to glow. If one of the bars light up, the threat is minimal. Two bars means an increased risk level but you should be able to deal with it. Three bars flash and you know you're in big trouble. If it ever gets to four, you do whatever you can to get the hell out of there or you're dead."

Mia nodded slowly as she contemplated what the female Hunter had said. Then she noticed the diamond symbol on the amulet was not glowing at all. "Hey what of this one in the middle?"

Jade grinned. "That's your get-outta-jail-for-free card."

The girl blinked twice. "What?"

"If that rune lights up, that means you're in danger of sudden death, one which you have no possibility of escaping," Michael said and looked straight into her eyes. "In such a scenario, the amulet will utilize Jade's Space-Time Manipulation magic to open a one-way portal for me to get to wherever you are.

"Her magic is absolute. No barrier, charm or ward can stop it. No matter where you are, if that rune goes off, I'll find you."

Mia was speechless for several moments as the information settled down on her. When she regained her voice again, she went on to thank the Hunters for their gift before Whitney led her and Elena back to their rooms.

Jade simply smiled at her. "I spent a lot of time and effort to make that thing. Try not to lose it, okay?"

"Of course," Mia promised and entered the door that led to the witches' section of the floor.

"I think I'm gonna like that kid," Jade mused quietly and turned to Michael. "Anyway, where did you say you were going again?"

"The skinwalkers are going to start acting up soon," he replied. "I might be able to erase the curses now but I can't keep doing it over and over. I'm going to visit an old friend that can help us."

"Are you certain this person will be able to help with this situation?" Diana queried.

Michael have her a small smile. "Trust me, for a case like this, there's no better person to call. We just have to pay I can get him to come."