The Seventh Secret

Chapter 18: Touring the Hidden School

Yictocy and Ararenus led Poppy, Nevyn, and Hunter out the room. They went down a long flight of stairs leading to another part of the building. That part of the building was built into the mountains.

In short, they were going to where the vampires and werewolves lived and attended Greywyn Academy.

Poppy shivered as she noticed the air was getting colder. She said, "Why is it so cold down there?"

"Because this area receives no sunlight," said Yictocy. "The witches who built this place had secretly kept and tormented many vampires and werewolves during their reign. The vampire and werewolf clans have not forgotten the torment; many of them were responsible for killing many surviving witches as they fled from the purges."

"So, is it true what they say about vampires?" said Nevyn. "Do they burst into flames when they stand in the sunlight?"

"No, but the sunlight irritates them," said Yictocy. "Also, most of them rarely leave this part of the school for safety reasons. Vanessa Morvant is one of the few vampires who can travel safely throughout the school."

"And werewolves live in the dark because..." Nevyn continued.

"They fear the full moon," said Yictocy. "They fear that once they step outside during a full moon, they will lose control of themselves and maul as many students as they possibly can. Although nothing of the sort has happened here, we can't be too careful. This is why they also stay here."

Soon, they reached the door to the school in the mountains. A vampire stood by the door. He had green eyes, a fair complexion, and braided curly blond hair. He wore a pair of trousers, a shirt with mid-length sleeves, and a pair of leather shoes. He also wore a feathered hat and a mid-length cloak. He said to them, "I take it you're bringing the new guardians here?"

"Indeed I am," said Yictocy. "They're to meet the teachers and students who live here."

"They may pass, if you would keep an eye on the little cat-boy here," said Uriah Montague. "He has caused more than enough trouble the last time he was here and Vanessa claims that he has been in confrontation with Trovald."

"Oh, I can control myself well enough," said Ararenus, "only if you promise to do the same."

"Silly cat-boy," said Uriah as he banged on the door. The door swung open and Poppy gasped as the interior revealed itself. The place seemed more like an ancient castle than a school. The entire place was filled with paintings and priceless treasures. Several huge hallways led to the classrooms, dorms, and a huge hall where the students gathered for meals.

Nevyn said, "Does the headmaster know about this place?"

"He most certainly does," said Uriah, "and he has requested that no student be allowed to come here, unless they're the guardians, of course. But we haven't had anyone bitten...yet."

"Still, have any regular students been down here?" said Nevyn. "What do you do when this happens?"

"The guardians are notified and they escort the student back to their dorm," said Uriah. "Now, that's happened before."

"So do they join the other students in Greywyn for meals?" said Poppy as she tried to swallow her apparent fear of vampires.

"Only on special occasions," said Uriah, "and those are indeed rare. The vampires and werewolves must be kept away from the general population of the school, lest something disastrous were to happen. Not that we've had any disasters, of course. Still, as guardians, you must know how to handle situations such as these."

He led them to the hall, where the children saw a huge gathering of young vampires and werewolves sitting everywhere. Most of them were chatting and took no notice of the guardians. That was, until Uriah rang a gong and the entire place quieted down.