I had never seen the Ultara Academy at night before. The forest that had always surrounded the school disappeared into the haunting darkness. It was as if the trees shifted in place and buildings appeared much taller and darker. I had to pause and absorb the whole layout of the school in detail. There were lights glowing out of every room inside the mansions. Probably the lights in the Ultara Academy had never been turned off. In the hard stone walls, those young geniuses would stay overnight to study like hundreds of years ago.

I couldn't stop moving until I reached the main entrance, but as I pushed the massive iron gate, it didn't give way. Locked, I assumed. I forgot this heavy door was scheduled by an automatic open-shut system from the computer program.

Now I had to find another way in. Walking to the east side of the mansion, I didn't even dare to break my pace, squinting through the cold night to spot Cammie and Alyssa's suite. I knew they both shared the room together.

It literally took me just a few minutes to get there. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw their light was still on. But the windows of their room were too high above the ground. The only way I could get inside was to climb. Fortunately, there was a huge oak tree not far away from the mansion wall. One of its branches stretched close to their windows.

"Perfect," I murmured to myself.

With a loud exhale, I stepped back and then ran toward the tree. Kicking the trunk to push myself upward, I finally hooked my hands and clung to the nearest branch. Then I did this ninja-move, hopping from one branch to the other until I reached the one closer to the window. It was way easier than I had thought, almost effortless. Sometimes, being a half-vampire helps.

From where I stood, light beaming through the window glass. Then I heard muffled noises came from the inside. But what I saw almost made me fall off the tree. Cammie was on the bed with another girl having sex. They both were sitting up, wrapping in each other's arms lovingly. I had heard that after our fight, Cammie had been coping by sleeping with more girls than usual, but I didn't expect to actually witness her doing it tonight.

Note to self: Ask Mom for some eye drop when I get home.

I could only see the other girl's back. Her heart-shaped bum was rocking rhythmically against Cammie's lower half. Her hands entangled my best friend's hair, gasping and moaning animalistic lust in each other's ears. Cammie's tonearms tightened around her bed-mate as they moaned louder, ready to reach the climax. I know I should wait until they were done, but I had something far more important than to wait for their tango kissing tongues and humping to be over.

I crept on the branch and reached my hand out to open the unlatched window.

"Cammie?!" I said as I dropped onto my feet inside their bedroom. When Cammie looked up and saw me, she let out a startled shriek, knocking the girl off of her. They both immediately covered their nakedness under the blanket.

"Oh my gosh! What are you doing here?" Cammie exclaimed with her eyes widened in surprise.

"Sorry to interrupt your 'bed' time," I said with an air quote. "But we need to talk."

"How did you get in here?" Cammie asked, her hands were still gripping onto the cover over her chest. The girl lying next to her didn't even bother to hide her naked self. She kept staring at me with her smoky gray eyes shining. Then she winked. Whoa...I'm not in for a threesome, lady!

"I climbed the tree," I said instead.

"You climbed that tree?" Cammie said as if it was the most shocking thing ever. "How could you do that? The tree is too high..."

"I don't climb trees because I like it, Cammie," I said to her. "I have something important. Can we talk?"

Cammie looked at me as if I'd just dropped from the moon. Then she shifted over to her girl and whispered something in her ear in Arabic. Then they kissed before the Arabian girl wrapped herself in a towel and got off the bed. Her long wavy dark hair flew over her slender shoulders. Her sexy small back had scratched marks left from Cammie's fingernails. I had to admit my best friend was hardcore in bed. After the girl walked out of the bedroom, Cammie turned to me.

"Cammie-" I started to speak, but Cammie cut me off.

"What brings you here?" she asked with a tone. I know she was still mad at me.

"Listen, Cam, I don't have much time for this," I quickly said, "I need to tell you something."

"What else do you want to accuse me?" Cammie's face turned hard like a stone. She crossed her arms over her chest. "This time, I'm not holding any responsibility for your emotional dissatisfaction-"

"No, Cammie," I broke her off, "I don't come here to blame you anything."

"Then what?"

"I want you and Alyssa to stop hanging out with Jacques," I told her straightforwardly, but Cammie just burst out laughing like I was a stand-up comedian.

"What is that?" She asked, shaking her head, "First you told us to stop hanging out with you, and now you want us to stop hanging out with someone else?"

"You can hang out with anyone, but not Jacques! She's not what you think she is," I tried to tell her.

"Why not? What's wrong with her?"

"Because she's not...normal," I said, "She's a...a..." I just wanted to spill the beans, but the words 'psychic vampire' stuck in my throat. I didn't seem to know how to make it sound less stupid to Cammie.

"She's what?" Cammie demanded, sitting up straight.

"She's a freak!" I said at last. Cammie laughed again even louder, throwing her head back.

"So is everyone here," She reminded me with a casual shrug.

"No Cam, she's not just a genius freak," I said sternly. "She's more like an evil freak..!"

"Vivienne, listen to yourself. If you come here just to tell me something nonsense like that, you better go home."

"Cam-" I was about to say something more but then I noticed the quiet room and realized that Cammie was totally alone. "Where's Alyssa?"

"Out," she shrugged.

"Oh please, Cammie," I said.

"Alright, she's gone on a date,"

"With who?"

"I'll let you guess," Cammie beamed meaningfully. My heart felt like a heavy rock when I heard this.

"Oh no, this is not happening."

"What?" Cammie asked, noticing my anxious face, "What's wrong?"

"Cammie, I need to find Alyssa," I just told her briefly. "Tell me how long has she left the suite?"

"Just a while ago," she said. "to the West Mansion,"

I quickly rushed toward the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Cammie called after me,

"I'll explain it later," I said and then I was already on my way down the hall.

Passing through empty corridors, my eyes were scanning every corner of the mansion looking for Alyssa. I turned to the west part of the building where the school laboratories opened 24 hours a day. Maybe she stayed with the other Einstein nerds there. Occasionally I saw a few students walking back to their own suites, but no sight of Alyssa.

As I walked past another hall, my nose caught a whiff of recognizable scent. I followed its lead. Then I spotted Alyssa walking along the corridor, holding a load of thick books. Was she on a date with those books? Nerd.

I sent a quick prayer of thanks. Maybe I was too hasty. I walked toward her. But her steps were purposeful like she really had someplace to go, or someone to meet? Then Alyssa turned to the right aisle without seeing me. I started running after her, with my vampire speed.

Everything ceased to exist for a second and the next moment I was able to grab Alyssa's fragile body from behind. One of my hands clasped over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. I quickly dragged her into a corner with me. In a sheer mortal panic, Alyssa struggled against me but it was impossible to break away from my iron grip.

"Sssh! Sssh! Alyssa, stop!" I tried to quiet her. Then her body seemed to freeze in recognition, I loosened my hands and turned her around to face me.

"It's just me."

"Oh my god, Vivienne! You give me a fright!" She gasped, putting her hands over her chest to stop her heart from pounding like crazy. I pretended not to hear it. "What are you doing here at night?" She asked.

"Where do you think you're going, Alyssa?" I asked her back, but this clearly set her off and the light in her eyes shifted.

"Since when did you care?" Alyssa snapped.

"I have to care because you're going somewhere unsafe!" I said in a firm voice.

"What are you talking about? I've been around here for ages," she said. "Besides I'm just going to meet Jacques," she added as if this piece of information would please me.

"Jacques is a bad influence on you, Alyssa,"

"How could you say that? You don't even know her."

"Whatever she is, I want you to go back to your room- now!" I commanded.

"Why do I have to listen to you?" Alyssa spat back stubbornly.

"Because I am your best friend!"

"Ha! That's funny, Viv. I wish you could hear yourself," Alyssa scoffed, shaking her head at me. "Best friends don't bail on each other for a girlfriend."

"I don't have a girlfriend," I said the last word with difficulty.

"Oh yeah, right, like that's real," Alyssa said. "If you wanted to be with Octavia, you could tell us. We didn't make you choose or anything!"

"She has nothing to do with this!" I hissed back. "I chose it by myself."

"Alright!" Alyssa said. "So we assume you just hate us, that's all."

"No! I don't hate-"

"Enough, Vivienne," she cut me off. "Maybe, you're right. I'm just a lousy best friend to you."

I wanted to say something to stop her misunderstanding but no word came out of my mouth. This wasn't what I had planned. Alyssa gave me one last disappointing look before turning her back to walk away. The only thing I could do was staring after her in silence.

For a moment, I couldn't seem to breathe. I wondered if I had a real heart attack. One part of me wanted to go back home and forget all about it, another part of me wanted to explain everything to my best friends and end all the miseries. What should I do now?

But I really had to warn her about Jacques, no matter what. I stepped into the hallway again and darted out toward where Alyssa was heading. But she was gone. How did I lose her so fast?

The Ultara Academy has huge and sprawling mansions that divided by halls and corridors. It seemed just perfect for hidden rooms and secret passageways, but it shouldn't be a problem if you have extraordinary senses, yet now there was no trace of Alyssa, not even her scent or sound of any sort.

Then I heard a strangled cry echoed from the ground floor. I strained my ears to listen harder, trying to detect its location, but the sound faded slowly. I kept chasing it through the hallway until I reached the staircase. As the sound started to ebb, I paused to sniff the air. A whiff of pleasant scent seemed to drift out from the Ancient Hall, but there was also another new scent I didn't quite recognize. Alyssa wasn't alone after all.

I descended the grand spiral stairs like a whirlwind.

It was slightly dark in the Ancient Hall. I inspected the place with my predatory night vision. Suddenly I was gripped with an unexpected terror.

My eyes widened to a bizarre sight. Alyssa was pushed against the wall by a shadowy figure. Her books clustered on the floor. The presence of someone standing with Alyssa got my lips glued together. Jacques had her hands around her collar shirt. She was kissing Alyssa deep and hard. I could see her tongue shoving around my best friend's mouth. Their thighs intertwined with each other, grinding themselves against the wall. For some reason, Alyssa seemed to be so willing. She just let Jacques do what she was doing. But I could feel something wrong about their make-out session.

I managed to scream. "Stop!"

Jacques didn't move. She didn't seem to hear me either. Her face looked dangerous with a goofy cold grin as she kissed. Wickedness filled up her glittering black eyes as if she was enjoying something.

"Let her go!" I rushed forward, attempting to separate her from Alyssa, but when I got closer to Jacques, something knocked me backward. It seemed as though I was running headlong into a glass wall. I was thrown on the floor ten feet away. There was something between our space that prevented me from getting through.

This time, Jacques broke the kiss.

Alyssa's eyes met mine, I saw her lips were moving but unable to make a sound. Jacques started to inhale in a very creepy way. And when she did that, I swear I could see something glowing in a faint orange color. It floated ghostly in a line of bright molecules and traveled from Alyssa's mouth into Jacques's. My eyes widened as I sat on the floor with too much shock.

It lasted only a minute, but my best friend's face had turned chalk white. Jacques released Alyssa at last, letting her sink to the floor like a pile of old clothes. My best friend was unconscious and completely drained out of energy.

For the first time in my life, I got to see a psychic vampire, a freaking succubus. Fear was replaced by a rash of anger in my pulse. After recovering from my panic attack, I got to my feet again and sprinted toward Jacque, charging out to smash her invisible shield.

Jacques turned herself to me with a strangely focused look, and when I almost got her, the same force repelled me like we were two magnets with the same poles. With this moment of advantage, Jacques grasped me by the throat and twirled me around, slamming my back against the concrete wall. Suddenly, I was unable to move, let alone break any part of her body. Frustration was burning inside my head as I stared at her.

Jacques spoke with a voice of control to me, "You have seen too much."

She drew her face closer like the way she did with Alyssa and then she kissed me on the mouth. I struggled to move but my body didn't obey. As Jacques's soft electrifying lips wrapped around mine, I could feel my energy being sucked out of every atom of my body. This psychic vampire was feeding off my life force. I was getting weak all of a sudden, but with all my last strength, I pushed her back against the opposite wall. This time, I gripped her by the throat harder than she did.

"What have you just done to Alyssa?" I hissed, pulling my lips over my teeth. My fangs extended out as I spoke. Jacques's eyes almost bugged out of their sockets. She tried to pry my hands off of her, looking as if she had never seen anything more nightmarish than herself.

"What are you?" she cried in a choking panic. Jacques had no idea of what I was. Too late, now my dagger-sharp teeth were perfectly on guard. The girl's pulse was beating in my ears. My stomach was rumbling. I couldn't stop this powerful temptation anymore. There was the part of me that wanted it. The warm blood in her veins was calling me like a siren. Now I was ready, ready to feed off her.

But before I could strike, Jacques shoved me so hard, I went flying through the window. It seemed like this psychic vampire didn't just use only her physical strength. I fell far away on the cold hard ground, rolling myself over broken glasses. Something sharp burst through my skin.

The security device that attached to the school windows turned on an ear-splitting alarm. I propped myself up and pulled a big shard of glass out of my bleeding arm. Red hot blood started flowing angrily from my gash.

I winced, not to the pain but the smell of my own blood. It had a surprisingly sweet, maddening scent I never thought was possible. For a moment, I just wanted to feed on myself, and that was a disgusting thought. A second later, my long deep cut patched itself up and the skin surface finally morphed and healed back to normal. No more bleeding, not even a scar. I blinked with astonishment.

But then I remember Alyssa and that crazy succubus. There was no time to linger around. I had to get back at Jacques and make her pay for what she had done to my best friend. Staggering to my feet again, I swiftly jumped over the broken window and back into the building.

Alyssa was still lying on the floor, but Jacques was already gone. I hurried to her side and lifted her up, resting her head on my shoulder.

"Alyssa!" I called her name and shook her body. "Alyssa, wake up!" I didn't know whether the siren had deafened my ears or there was simply no response from her. Tears streamed down my cheeks. "Please Alyssa, don't sleep."