chapter 1

In the misty hills where Eldridge met Windsor City, stood Blackwood Hall, a sprawling Gothic manor of weathered stone and ivy-cloaked towers. It was home to the Blackwoods, an upper-class family whose blood ran thick with old money from their history in banking and older secrets. Dark velvet curtains framed leaded windows, and the air hummed with whispers of the occult. At its heart were Vicky Blackwood, the ice queen matriarch; her husband Edward, the shy stay-at-home scholar; and their twins, Luna and Theo, heirs to a legacy of gothic grandeur.

Vicky Blackwood glided through the corridors of Eldridge Academy like a raven in flight. Head of English and the Occult Club, she was infamous for her sassy poise and haughty wit. Pale as moonlight, with raven hair piled in an elegant flowing down style, violet eyes sharp as daggers topped with her personal favorite wayfarer glasses, and lips painted blood-red, gothic styled nails with spider webs matching web styled earrings too black high heel boots a black leather skirt black cardigan and her black dress shirt she embodied the classics she adored. Her wardrobe of black turned heads, but it was her mind that struck fear.

That morning, in her English class, chaos reigned among the uncivalized mutts, those ignorant louts who mocked the arcane."Miss Blackwood,"whined zack, the football captain,"why bother with this dusty old drivel? Shakespeare is dead, innit?"

Vicky's gaze froze him."My dear zack,"she drawled in her posh upper-class lilt, vowels crisp and elongated,"your command of the Queen's English is positively abysmal. 'Innit'? How utterly plebeian. Shakespeare endures because fools like you perish in obscurity. Now, dissectMacbethor face my eternal disdain."

The class tittered. Vicky lived for this, wielding words like spells. Secretly, she cursed the worst offenders. During lunch, she'd slip into the Occult Club room, tarot deck in hand. For the principal who dared question her methods, she drew Death reversed, whispering,"May your ignorance consume you, you pompous git."Parents who complained? The Tower, toppled ambitions. Students who bullied the artsy outsiders? Lovers crossed, hearts shattered.

Yet to true scholars, she softened while maintaining her cool calm quiet professional demeanor, her voice cool yet encouraging."Darling Lilltih,"she'd say to a quiet goth girl,"your essay onWuthering Heightscaptures Heathcliff's torment splendidly. Exquisite."

Her roots shaped her. Daughter of ancient Blackwoods, Vicky had always cherished classics, Bronte, Austen, Shelley. They fueled her sarcasm, her poise. And her family.

Edward Blackwood, her nephew by blood but husband by choice since he came from another prominent family too the walkers a family notorious for chasing of the well aged femme fatales and manipulation and capture for their personal love toys of younger boytoys with a long line of erotic literature and involvement in the fashion and arts industry, was her opposite. Shy, nerdy, autistic, he tended their home library, a vault of grimoires and first editions and if not that he would be indulging in otaku like interests with Vicky taking part in such guilty pleasures. Vicky had been his aunt and English teacher at Eldridge since Elizabeth Vickys sister married Edwards Father Tim and often busy with work Vicky being the one to take care of him, spotting his brilliance amid the stupidity. She treated him like a cherished younger sibling, guiding his studies to the point he was even able to graduate early. Their private union if public would have scandalized some to those on the outside, but in the Walker Blackwood circles, it was destiny. Edward stayed home, immersed in occult research, his routines precise: dawn tea, cataloguing spells, evening readings.

"Victoria, my love,"he'd murmur, spectacles perched on his nose,"this 17th-century grimoire suggests a binding curse for nosy neighbors."

She'd peck his cheek."Brilliant, darling. We'll test it on the vicar."

The twins, Luna and Theo, took after Vicky to the letter, her looks, her wit, her natural born talent magic. Born minutes apart, they shared pale skin, jet hair, violet eyes, and posh drawls. Luna, the spooky goth dark wizard, led with flair and vengeance poetic to the touch. Theo, her mirror, wielded poetic vengeance as well to a true machevelian like being. Both even wear clothing similar to Vicky’s and especially the glasses too and in Luna’s case also her style of nails as well.

One evening, as fog rolled in, the family gathered in the drawing room. Crystal chandelier flickered over velvet sofas. Vicky swept in, shedding her cloak."Children, darlings, what fresh idiocy did Eldridge offer today?"

Luna lounged, fishnet-clad legs draped over an ottoman, pentagram necklace glinting."Mother, that dreadful bully Marcus shoved poor alt kid Silas into a locker. I nearly hexed his boots to knots."

Theo smirked, quill in hand."Sister dear, patience. Verse is deadlier."He recited:"'Thou shallow knave, thy tongue a serpent's hiss / May silence claim thee in abyssal bliss.' Poetic, no?"

Edward chuckled softly, hugging his book."Quite right. But let's study properly."

Vicky beamed, icy facade melting. At home, she was affection incarnate."My perfect progeny."She poked Theo's forehead with her pen."Wit sharp as ever."Then, playful, recreated a romance scene fromPride and Prejudice: hand under Luna's chin, leg teasing up her thigh seductively."Mr. Darcy would approve."

Luna giggled, high-fiving Theo."Mother, you're incorrigible!"Edward blushed but smiled. Their bond was teasing, loving, hugs, pats,bond eternally unbreakable.

But the hyenas encroached. Eldridge brimmed with them, harassing goths, mocking alts and bullying others that don’t fit their norm especially those of schollarly pursuits. The Blackwoods vowed for blood.