The Vampire's Blood Mage

Discovery

The night before seemed like a nightmare, but it was my reality. After Jimmy's head exploded, I stood there in complete shock. I still didn't understand how part of my dream became a weird reality. Blood it's everywhere, kept ringing in my head. I finally gained enough conscience to call the police. Once they arrived, I told them everything that had happened. From the attempted assault, my attempt to fight back and then his head suddenly exploding. I didn't understand it. They didn't seem to understand it either.

I overhead the coroner saying maybe spontaneous human combustion, but he didn't seem sure about that either. I had a strange feeling that I had somehow caused his demise. I wasn't upset that he died, it was a relief honestly. But the thought of me being able to do that made me feel insane.

Of course, I had to tell Izzy and Hailey about the incident. Izzy suggested I take time off of work, but that was honestly the last thing I needed. I wanted to stay focused and ignore, hell, even forget that it happened. The one thing I couldn't ignore though was the possibility of having killed him. I needed to know what I was feeling and thinking wasn't insane. So I looked up local witch shops. I never believed in this stuff before, but the feeling of power that now resides in me is tugging at me to dig deep and find out what it is.

I found a witch shop a block from my house. They seemed to specialize in ancient magic. At least that's what it said on the website. I figured what the hell, what harm could it do just by stopping by and asking a few questions. I popped into the shop and was greeted with an intense smell of incense. I didn't know where to begin. Finding someone who worked here was probably my best bet. I headed straight for the counter where there was a very thin, long-haired woman.

She greeted me with a kind smile, "Can I help you with something?" she asked. I nodded, "Do you by chance practice witchcraft?" The woman laughed. "Well, of course, why else would I own a witchcraft store?" I gave a laugh as a sign of relief. "Have you ever heard of a witch being able to dream of something before it happens, or heal a cut, or even cause a head to explode?" I said the last part in a whisper I wasn't sure if she had heard me. "Come with me to the back honey, I'll answer your questions, just too many prying eyes on the sales floor."

She began to walk through a beaded curtain and motioned for me to follow. I moved hastily around the counter and into the back. "I casted a spell back here for private discussions. No one will be able to hear us." I folded my arms nervously. "Why does our conversation need to be private?"she gave a long sigh. "Premonitions among witches are normal, healing can also be normal, exploding heads is of a darker magic. Tell me more about what happened.

I gave her the run down of everything that happened that day, from my nightmare, to the cut that healed up, and down to the moment of Jim's head exploding. "A reoccurring theme throughout your day yesterday was blood." I shrugged my shoulders, "I guess so." I replied unsure of what she was about to say next.

"For witches, we often see, hear, or find things throughout our days that we connect to the most. For instance, I constantly see lavender flowers. I have the strongest connection to that particular flower or color. The potions I create with that specific flower are much stronger. If I wear the color, I'm able to cast a stronger spell. You connect most with blood, which is very rare and dangerous." I gulped, "Dangerous?" I questioned, hoping she'd continue on.

"If my assumption is correct, then you're a blood mage. Blood mages are very powerful as you're able to control blood, which is obviously vital to human life." I placed my hands over my face in disbelief of what I was hearing, "Your life could also be in danger, you're the first blood mage in almost 100 years." I looked up at her scared of what she was about to say next, "Vampires have hunted down and used blood mages as their slaves for centuries they even tried breeding with them, however blood mages didn't always produce another blood mage. As time went on, there became fewer and fewer of them. Basically, they're the dying breed. That's why you're rare. If I were you, I'd start training. Get your powers in check." I didn't know what to say.

"This doesn't seem real." Was all I could muster. "What's your name?" I looked over at the woman, almost forgetting she was there. "Skarlet, and yours?" she giggled, "Mauve, it's funny how our parents always name us close to the color or thing we connect most to." I smiled at her, "That is pretty strange." I gave a slight laugh.

"If you want, I can give you some free books that might help you to learn about your abilities." I shook my head, "I can pay for them, just point me in the direction of where to look." Mauve led me out of the back and onto the sales floor. She grabbed some reading materials and a few other things to help me practice my magic.

"I'm giving you a discount and my personal phone number. Call if you have any questions or need any help." She said while ringing me up. "Thank you Mauve, I appreciate all you've done for me today. I'm glad I came here. I honestly didn't expect to find answers so soon. "No problem! Good luck and stay safe." she said as she handed me my bags.

When I got home, I decided to give my parents a call. "Hey Skarlet, what's going on?" My mom answered. "Not much, just the usual. Hey, I've got a question. Do you by chance know anything at all about my real parents?" I heard my mom sigh over the phone, "Ya know me and dad have no idea,we've been honest with you always. Is something bothering you? You haven't asked that question since you were a teenager." I sighed, "No, nothing is bothering me." I lied. "I've just been curious about my heritage, is all." My mom clicked her tongue, "Why don't you try one of those kits where you spit in a tube? It might help you find the answers you're looking for. Or it'll at least give you some kind of idea."

I heard the door slam on the other end of the phone, "Hi honey, I'm home." I heard my dad call out on my mom's end. "Hi hon, I'm in the kitchen Skar's on the phone.You wanna talk to dad?" my mom asked. "Yeah put him on." I answered. "Hey how's my little pumpkin?" I laughed, "Are you ever gonna stop calling me little pumpkin?" my dad gave a hearty chuckle, "Never gonna happen."

I talked to my parents over the phone for at least an hour. It brought me back down to reality. I sometimes forget how much I miss them. Although I was adopted, they always gave me so much love and support. The honesty, kindness and love they radiate is something I'll always cherish about them. I just wish they knew more about my real parents, especially now that I'm some kind of witch or blood mage. I'm sure my real mother or father would be able to give me the answers I'm looking for.

I began sorting through the bags of items from Mauve's store. I pulled the books out and began reading up on the history of magic. The books Mauve supplied me with were filled with information on blood mages. One thing that stood out to me is that my magic is the easiest to learn and get control of. In one of the books it stated," Blood magic comes naturally. Just like breathing." I moved onto to and began reading up on everyday practices to help enhance control over my power.

I decided now was good as ever to start trying. I grabbed the athame Mauve supplied me with and made a tiny slit on the palm of my hand. The next step is to concentrate on the blood. I watched the blood slide down my hand and hit the floor. The last step is to picture what I want to do with it. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to fall into a meditative state. I pictured the blood forming into a sphere. I held onto the image for a few minutes.

I felt like nothing was happening so I decided to open my eyes. When I did, I could hardly believe my eyes. I had a tiny blood sphere floating in my hand. I didn't know how to stop it so I closed it in my hand, which instantly became drenched in blood. I wondered if I could clean my bloodied hand by putting the blood back into my body. I took a moment to focus, eyes open this time. Sure as s**t, the blood started to disappear from my hand and back into the open wound I had created. Before I knew it, I had a clean hand and a closed-up wound. How is any of this real? I kept thinking.

Yesterday I would've thought this kind of s**t was insane and complete fantasy, but here I am today casting blood spheres and believing in magic. That brought me to my next thought. Vampires, they're real too then. Mauve said I would be in danger, that they'd hunt me down. I wondered if Mauve had any books on vampires. Maybe if I knew more about them I could avoid them or kill them myself. A sudden wave of exhaustion came over me. My last thought before allowing sleep to take over was making another visit to Mauve in the morning.

I awoke feeling like I was hung over, my eyes were heavy and my head was pounding. When I got to my feet, I almost fell over. A sudden wave of nausea took over and I found myself sprinting to the bathroom despite the dizziness that consumed me. I had barely made it to the bathroom when vomit started spewing out of my mouth. Did I do something to make this happen? I thought to myself. Another round of vomit was making its way out of me. I spent nearly 30 minutes hurling up last night's dinner. Perhaps food poisoning? I had that meat in the fridge for awhile.

I spent another 10 minutes sitting on the floor, head buried in my knees. I finally felt stable enough to get up and rinse my mouth out with water first, then some mouth wash to remove the lingering taste in my mouth. I looked at myself in the mirror and found a bit of vomit made its way into my hair. I sighed while removing my clothes and then hopped into the shower to clean myself up. After I thoroughly cleaned myself, I quickly brushed my teeth then made my way out into my bedroom. I looked at the clock, it was five to 10am. I needed to get to Mauve's before work at 11.

I decided to put my work uniform on so I didn't have to go home and change. I felt another wave of dizziness come over me. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, holding my position. The dizziness passed and I was able to finish getting ready. I grabbed a granola bar and water on my way out the door, knowing I'd need to restore my energy. Forgot to lock my door again, I said to myself as I exited my apartment building.

I made it to Mauve's by 10:35. Work was about a 20 minute walk from here, so I'd needed to leave here in 10 minutes if I wanted to make it on time. Although I'm sure Izzy wouldn't be too upset since I had such a rough night the other day. I rushed to the counter where I spotted Mauve lazily flipping through a magazine. "Hi Mauve," I said with a smile. She shifted her focus from the magazine to me. "Hey Skarlet! I'm assuming you're here with questions?" I nodded my head, "

A few actually. Do you by chance carry books on vampires? I'd like to read up on them in hopes of avoiding or killing if needed." she nodded her head, "Of course, follow me. What's your other question?" she started making her way to the book section of the store and I followed closely behind, "Well I woke up this morning pretty sick, not sure if it's because I tried out my magic last night or if it's food poisoning." she giggled, "Could be both, but more than likely you over-exherted yourself. Performing magic can take a lot out of a person, especially a beginner like yourself. The more you practice, the less effects performing magic will have on you. What did you practice doing last night?" she asked while looking through a shelf full of books.

I went on to explain my practices last night, while she started grabbing books off of the shelves. "Geez no wonder why your so ill this morning. That's pretty advanced magic. Healing is one thing, but making the blood go back into your body is another. Try drinking tea, that usually helps me restore some of my magic. Although I have heard of blood mages drinking blood to help regenerate faster." I made a face of disgust. "You've got to be kidding me." she shook her head, "Unfortunately, I'm not." she said back with a giggle.

I watched her pull one more book off the shelf, totaling 3 medium-sized books in her arms. "These will give you all the information you need on vampires. These should give details about their history, their abilities, what wards them away and how to kill them." she handed the books to me, "Great, let's get them rung up." I said as I started making my way up to the counter. "Those ones are on the house. It's the least I could do for a fellow mage!" she smiled at me. "Are you sure?" she nodded, "Yes, please take them as a gift from me." I stuffed the books into my bag and then walked over to Mauve and hugged her. "I don't know why you're being so kind to me but I appreciate it."

She gave a sigh, "Well, to be honest, Skarlet, you remind me of my mother. She had ginger hair just like you, even your eye color is similar. I've never seen gray eyes on anyone but my mother. But here you stand, red hair and gray eyes, just like her." I pulled away from our hug, "Had? You lost your mother?" I said out loud before thinking. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to." she shook her head, "She died 2 weeks ago, I'm still grieving her loss even though I know she would tell me to put that energy somewhere else. It's just hard letting go, everything I know is because of her. Everything I am is because of her." I patted her on the shoulder, "I am very sorry for your loss, I can't imagine the pain you must be in." I said honestly, if either of my parents died my heart would be shattered.

"It has been very hard. But when you walked in yesterday, I thought a younger version of my mom had just walked in. I felt a little better providing you with the knowledge and materials my mother gave to me. It's like I'm carrying on a tradition." A few tears managed to fall from her eyes. I gave her a hug once more to console her. "Sorry to dump that on you like that," she said while pulling away to wipe the tears from her eyes. "That's quite alright, I mean I did ask after all." I reassured her with a smile. I looked at the clock hanging on the wall behind the counter. Five minutes to 11, "s**t, I'd love to stay and talk more but I'm already running late for work." I said to Mauve. "That's alright, maybe we can go out for tea one of these days." she yelled out after me. "Defineitly." I said making my way out the door.

I made it to work at 11:20 and Izzy didn't say one thing to me. Hailey was out on the floor getting the place ready for a busy night so I made my way out to help her. "Is Izzy mad at me?" I asked Hailey. She shook her head, "No, we both understand you went through something traumatic the other night, we're surprised you even wanted to come in to work." she placed her hands on her hips. I knew what her posture meant.

Whenever I was going through a rough time, Hailey would instantly stand a certain way, letting me know she was there if I needed to talk. She never pushed or pried her way in, she always allowed me time to process things before I unloaded my thoughts and feelings onto her. "Still haven't processed what happened, been focusing my time and energy on other things." I usually avoided my issues. It was easier to bury them until I couldn't anymore. I always felt better after unleashing the build up of problems. A good cry and I was back to normal. "I know you've always kept things in, until you couldn't anymore, but Skar, I don't think you should with this. I mean you were assaulted for god's sake. That isn't something you can just sweep under the rug."

I was surprised by what she said. It honestly caught me offguard. "Hail's, I'm just not ready to process it. A lot's been going on and I have to deal with things privately for the time being," I said, reassuring her. She gave me a slight nod before moving on to a new task. I was finishing up filling the pepper shaker at the last table when I heard the door open. "Sit anywhere you like." I called out to the patron that had just entered. "Well, I was looking for a phone call rather than a seat, but I guess that would do." the voice seemed familiar. I turned to see Jameson.

"I meant to call," I said with a blushing face. "I actually came here to apologize, I thought maybe my forwardness was too much." I shook my head, "No I've just been busy, the past few days have been kind of crazy. I really did mean to call." I could feel my face heating up. "I'm glad I didn't scare you off. I feel like some people are intimidated by me. I've been told in the past that I'm too forward. It seems that's a trait I will never get rid of."

I gave a small laugh, "You know, I've been told the same thing." he laughed right back. "So you wouldn't mind if I asked you out again?" Butterflies started swirling around in my stomach, "Like on a date?" I just managed to stumble the words out. He must've caught my stumbling words because he gave an innocent laugh. "You're cute when you're nervous, yes, like on a date." he flashed me with an irresistible smile, there was no way I was turning a date with him down. I mean I was originally going to say yes before I cut my finger the other day. "When,?"as soon as the words left my mouth, more butterflies filled my stomach. "What time do you get off tonight?"