Chapter 181: 181-The dangerous blood
The blood archives were unusually busy that morning. Students moved through the grand halls carrying their donation cards while attendants directed volunteers toward the collection rooms.
The scent of blood lingered faintly in the air, mingling with the sterile smell of disinfectant and the ancient magic woven into the building.
Maisa, unaware that her aunt was no more, stood in line, turning her donation card between her fingers.
She had volunteered to donate blood before, but something about the process still made her nervous. Perhaps it was the needles or it was the thought of having her own blood collected and stored for others to use or maybe it was the memory of what had happened in the forest.
The blood moon, the werewolf and the strange hunger that had taken hold of her when she’d smelled fresh blood.
She shook her head. There was no point thinking about it now. She had come to donate, and that was what she intended to do because she was hungry and needed to get blood from the archives to drink.
"Next!"
Maisa stepped forward. An attendant in a white uniform sat behind the counter, scanning the information on her card.
"Name?"
"Maisa Loven."
The attendant waited to confirm her name in the system. "Maisa Loven. Redblood."
The moment the name appeared on the screen, the attendant’s fingers paused. She glanced up. "Loven?"
Maisa frowned. "Yes. Is there a problem?"
"No. Nothing," the woman looked back at the screen and continued typing.
A small device was brought forward. The attendant pricked Maisa’s finger and collected a drop of blood, placing it on a glass testing plate.
The plate glowed faintly green and then turned yellow and just as she was about to direct Maisa to the next room, the colour changed to an alarming shade of red.
The attendant’s smile disappeared. She leaned closer to the screen and checked threat level.
Maisa shifted impatiently. "Is something wrong with my blood?" She questioned.
She had donated many times before and found no issues but after Felor and knowing that her blood was poisonous enough to kill plants, she was so confident.
"Please remain still," the attendant directed.
The woman ran the test again and the result was the same. A sharp chime rang out. The testing plate flashed red, and a message appeared across the screen.
UNCLASSIFIED BLOOD SIGNATURE.
A second line appeared beneath it.
POTENTIAL BIOLOGICAL HAZARD.
The attendant went pale. She immediately pressed a button beneath the counter.
Maisa stared at her. "What does that mean?"
"Please step away from the counter."
"Why?" Maisa’s heart started beating frantically.
"Miss, I need you to cooperate," the attendant’s voice had become strained.
She was no longer looking at Maisa as though she were an ordinary student. She was looking at her as though she were something dangerous.
A door opened behind the counter and two guards entered. One carried a containment case, while the other wore a dark uniform bearing the insignia of the Blood Archives’ security division.
"Is this the donor?" the first guard asked.
The attendant nodded. "Her blood triggered a hazard alert."
Maisa’s stomach dropped. "Wait. What is happening?" She was confused and a little scared.
Neither guard answered her. The second guard stepped toward her. "Maisa Loven, you are required to accompany us for further testing."
"Further testing? For what?"
"Your blood has been flagged as potentially dangerous."
The words seemed to echo inside her head. Dangerous? Her blood? That was impossible but she also couldn’t be one hundred percent sure that were wrong.
She was a vampire. She drank blood. She had been told that her blood could be collected and used by other vampires just like everyone else’s. So why was the Archives treating her like a threat?
"I haven’t done anything wrong," she protested.
"This is a precautionary measure," the first security guard let out. "Cooperate with us. I’m certain that everything will be just fine."
"Then why do you need guards?"
The first guard reached for her arm and Maisa pulled away. "Don’t touch me!"
The room went silent and several students turned to look. The guards exchanged a glance and came to a unified understanding.
"Miss Loven," one said firmly, "do not make this difficult."
Maisa’s heart began to pound. She could feel their suspicion pressing in on her, and for one terrifying moment, she wondered whether the strange medicines she had been taking had changed her more than she believed.
Had the werewolf’s venom affected her? Was that why her blood was dangerous? Was it the medication her benefactor gave her? Or had something else happened beneath the blood moon?
She didn’t know and the people surrounding her clearly didn’t intend to explain.
The guards escorted her through a side corridor and into a small containment room. The walls were reinforced with silver-veined stone, and a circular seal had been carved into the floor.
Maisa stopped at the threshold. "You’re putting me in a cell?"
"For your protection and ours," the guard explained to her.
"That’s ridiculous!" She complained. Her mind racing with what the future held for her if she were to be branded a threat.
The door closed behind her. A heavy lock clicked into place.
Maisa stood in the middle of the room, staring at the sealed door. She had come to donate blood and now she was being detained as a potential threat.
Outside, the guards began speaking in low voices. "Send the results to the senior examiner."
"Already done."
"And the princess?"
"We haven’t informed her," the other guard hesitated. "We’re waiting for Regina to issue the next directives."
Maisa’s head snapped up. Regina? Who was that and why was she being involved in this?
She rushed toward the door. "Hey! I can hear you!"
The guards didn’t respond. They just shook their head and ignored her.
Maisa pressed her palms against the cold surface. "Someone needs to explain what’s happening!"
Silence answered her, after the guards took their post on each side of the door, they said nothing further.
She stepped back, anger beginning to replace her fear. Whatever was happening, she wouldn’t allow them to keep her locked away without an explanation.
But as she looked down at her hands, another thought crept into her mind. Her blood had triggered an alert before anyone had even taken a proper sample.
An unclassified blood signature, a potential biological hazard and suddenly, she remembered the warning Taratoya gave her.
Her mind raced to the invisible force that had torn her away from the werewolf, the burning venom that had entered her veins and the strange hunger that had consumed her.
Maisa swallowed hard. "What happened to me that night?"
She had no answer because she had donated blood in the days she was taking the medicines and she was never flagged so why now?
Outside the containment room, an alarm sounded again. The guards immediately straightened as a message had arrived from the senior examiner.
SUBJECT TO REMAIN IN CUSTODY UNTIL REGINA’S DIRECTIVES ARE RECEIVED.
Maisa stared at the sealed door. She didn’t know that Evelyn had died trying to warn her. She didn’t know that Freya was being approached with an offer from the Master and she had no idea that the Everhearts and Siselis were preparing to hunt the Flower of Fate, her.
All she knew was that something inside her blood had frightened the blood archives and somewhere beyond those reinforced walls, someone was about to decide what should be done with her.
For the first time since entering Veris Academy, Maisa felt truly trapped. The blood moon had changed everything and the worst part was that she still had no idea why.