Chapter One

The three heroines are introduced and the story begins�

“I hate this! Why do we have to go to school down here, when we can learn everything up there?" Jade questioned as she walked slowly down the street towards her school, her black boots colliding noisily upon the hardened ground. With her long, sharpened black nails, she pulled a few loose strands of her black hair from her darkened eyes, tucking the strands behind her ears.
She was a vampire, and a unique one at that. Black was her basic wardrobe; a black shirt, black pants, black shoes...it didn’t matter. If it was black she wore it. Except, of course, her necklace. It was an all silver chain with a pendent in the shape of a pentacle; its point facing down towards the ground. And her golden bracelet which was clasped around her left wrist; though, it was rarely seen from beneath her long black sleeve. Being the only tame vampire within this holy city, she made sure she was the total opposite of her fellow classmates. She may be seen as the freak to them, but who were they to talk? Most of her classmates were either covered in fur or scales. Compared to them, she was the normal one.
Tygra, taking slow, methodical steps aside of Jade, rolled her eyes at her friend’s previous comment. "It's only for four more years. Besides, you are a vampire. You wouldn‘t last two seconds within the real sun’s light.”
Tygra seemed to be the complete opposite of her friend, Jade. In fact, she would be the perfect candidate for Prom Queen, if she could stomach the bull s**t of her classmates. No, the fake definitely isn't for her. That's the reason she and Jade were able to get along so well, though their differences seemed to increase daily.
Unlike Jade, Tygra was a witch, able to control the natural order of things. It could be as tremendous as an explosion the size of Helonious, or as little as her changing the color of her eyes and hair. This, she did frequently, but for now she settled on having golden-brown eyes, and tiger striped hair. She liked the whole tiger theme so much, that she changed the pupil of her eyes into slits with her magic, instead of their normal circular form, making them appear more feline to those around her. Her skin was a light peach, where Jade's was a pasty white.
And she loved color. Mostly blue. Her shirt, blue of course, was more of a halter top which reached up to her shoulders, tying in a knot at the base of her neck. And around her neck, dangling down to her chest was a small silver chain with a silver pentacle, which lay against the opaque blue of her shirt. She wore short denim shorts, which showed off her lengthy legs. Truly, the two girls were different in many ways, yet they wouldn't have it any other way.
Jade didn’t bother to look to Tygra as she kept her slow pace toward the school. “I’ve told you plenty of times already. I am not like normal vampires.”
“Yes, yes. You are different from them; the touch of the topside light wouldn’t have the slightest effect on you.” Tygra said with a slight smirk. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Hey, wait for me!" A voice called from behind.
Both Tygra and Jade stopped, turning back to see who was calling to them. The only thing they could see was a black cat, running down the sidewalk towards them.
As the cat came closer, the two girls could see it gradually transform into a young girl before their very eyes. No matter how many times they see this happen, the two of them couldn't get passed how amazing the whole process was. But neither of them would ever admit that to the young girl, whom they knew to be, Star.
To her fellow classmen, Star seemed to be a common healer, striving to be something greater. There were not many who know of her shape-shifting ability and she'd rather have it that way. It wasn't that she was shy, or even ashamed of the ability for that matter. It was that no one else seemed to have it and she didn‘t feel like being the only one who did.
She was astonishingly beautiful, favoring Tygra in appearance, wearing a light pink tube top with the same short denim shorts as her friend. Her black, curly hair, highlighted with bright red, was a mess from her run.
She studied her two friends before her suspiciously, her dark ocean blue eyes switching between the two. "Didn't you hear me calling you?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair in an attempt to fix it.
“Sorry, Star, but when we didn't see you this morning, we just figured that you had already left." Tygra said. "Where were you any way?"
The three girls shared a house of their own with Jade for nearly a year. It was a small house, nearly resembling a cottage with its brick walls and small windows. The two girls enjoyed living there with Jade, having the freedom from their parents for the first time.
"Oh, mum asked me for help this morning with breakfast. My Dad’s birthday is today and she wanted me to be there." Star explained with a sigh. "I thought I'd be home before then."
Tygra shook her head. "You get suckered into so many things with your mom even though you no longer live there. But at least your parents still talk to you. Since I moved out, mine don't seem to want anything to do with me anymore."
The three girls began to walk towards the school once again, the building slowly coming into view. Helonious High was the best, by far, school around. The school was more like a university then a high school with three stories compared to the typical two. Each classroom was filled with books, according to the room’s subject. Star loved her Healing Arts Class. Since she was the best student, the teacher had given her a special privilege to take any book she wished to read with her.
“So, are you two ready for school?” Star asked, stopping in front of them.
“No. School is the most idiotic thing I’ve ever had to deal with." Jade snapped at her through clenched teeth before letting out a long sigh. "Why do we have to be here of all places when there are more important things that need to be taken care of?"
"Jade, what’s wrong with you lately? You have been getting very bitchy, more than usual." Tygra asked, looking at her friend with concern in her eyes.
Jade was quiet for a moment before answering her question. "I want to go on an adventure. An adventure to the surface!"
"Oh, that sounds like so much fun!" Exclaimed Star, but she soon looked to her with a doubtful expression. “Too bad it will never happen.”
“That’s only if we don t try. Jade said convincingly.
“But, the only way to get to the surface is through the doorway in Drake's Tower, at least according to the legends…" Tygra said a little doubtful, "And he’s not just going to let us go through."
"Don't worry about it. I'll get us through. Come on." Jade said, hoping that they would agree.
“How are you going to get us through?” Tygra asked with narrowed eyes. “He’s our world’s greatest warlock; we won’t last against someone like that.”
Jade shook her head. “I can figure something out. Trust me.” She watched as the two girls before her gave each other slight glances. “Look, I have the strength, you have the magic, and Star has healing down pack. We’ll be fine.”
“I’m in.” Star said after a moment’s pause, she looked to Tygra. “What about you Tygra? I mean, how bad could this Drake guy really be?"
"Sure, ok." She said finally giving in to her friend‘s request. A low bell rang out from within the school; their first class was about to begin. “Ok. So, we meet after school, right?" Tygra asked looking from Star to Jade.
“Well-" Jade began, but Star cut her off.
“I can't miss another day, Jade. We're going over how healing may actually be harmful if not done correctly. I kind of don’t want to miss it. You never know, we may need it on this trip."
Jade remained silent for some time as she looked between the two girls, thinking hard. "Alright, sounds good to me. We'll meet here after school."
"Got it." Star said, Tygra just agreeing with a nod of her head.
Star then shifted into a blue jay and flew to her first class, while Tygra magically transported herself to hers, both leaving Jade by herself. That was easier than I thought it would be. She took a quick glance up at the sky, looking up into the morning light of their artificial sun, before she continued her slow pace to her first class.