The Blood Witch

10

Two weeks later and Scarlet was rethinking her options. Her head hurt, she was sweaty, and her legs hurt and her ears rang with ear piercing heavy metal music blasting through the speakers. This had become a daily thing over the last few days. Theo called it meditating, Scarlet called it torture. Sitting cross legged in a steamy hot room, with heavy metal music blaring from some far off place, was not relaxing. It was anything but to Scarlet.

Usually she only had to endure this for an hour, however, today Theo was determined to make her have an out-of-body experience or some crap like that. So for four hours she had sat cross legged in this room that was more like a closet. Some i***t was kept pouring water on the steaming rocks, making it hotter and hotter. The ear piercing music changed to a screeching, nails on a chalkboard sound and Scarlet jumped.

"Focus," Theo boomed, as only she could.

"Kind of hard to focus when my ears are bleeding. I thought meditating was supposed to be relaxing and tranquil." Scarlet said, shoulders slumped.

Carl, the ever attentive guardian, came forth, bearing a towel and cool bottle of water, Which Scarlet devoured. Carl had been the best part about being here so far. He was her guardian, but more like a caretaker. He was sweet and basically took care of her. He made sure she ate, and that she was hydrated. He stepped in if anyone pushed her too hard. He brushed her hair and helped her pick out clothes. Carl was an all-around great guy.

Too bad she was not the least bit attracted to him. One day he was going to make some luck girl very happy. Just not her. He was the first person she saw in the morning and the last person she saw every night. They went on walks and ate together. He had basically been by her side for the last two weeks non stop. Scarlet was thinking maybe people were hoping they got together. Thiago had asked if there was any chemistry, and she had let him know that there was not a drop. He had seemed disappointed, and asked if she wanted a new guardian.

Scarlet had promptly declined. She didn't have romantic feelings for him, but he had quickly become like a little brother. He her meet his wolf, which apparently was a rare thing. It was huge, with brown shaggy hair, much like his own. The first time she had narrowly resisted the urge to run. He had strongly advised against it, but having a seven foot tall wolf sniff your ankles had been horrifying at first. Now, it was like a natural thing to see and she knew even in wolf form it was still Carl.

Not to mention he made her feel safe. This place had all levels of creepy and f****d up. When he had given her tour of the Hall she was met with open interest, hostilities, and weird advice. Scarlet had met other witches, who had all given their regards to Charlotte. They ad been welcoming and eager to share stories about her grandma. The warlocks had immediately tried to get into her pants. They were all full of compliments and invites. The wolves had been kind, mostly. There were some who were apparently still sore about their old beef with witches. There were mystical creatures flying all over the dining hall. Carl had said they were fairies, but none of them looked like tinkerbell.

The fairies here, or rather the real fairies, looked like small cats with wings and large black eyes. They were small enough to fit in your palm and had legs like spiders and soft fur. They were pretty to look at but Carl said they got enormous as they age, and won't hesitate to eat anyone in their path. Most of these being looked like regular people, but there were tell signs according to Carl.

Like the large men with horns were not demons like Scarlet had thought, they were minotaur. The beautiful women who looked scared of their own shadows were Banshee. The women with the large teeth, alluring eyes, and green skin were sirens. This place where she lived was a melting pot of supernatural. You never what you would get or what you would see. It was also a maze. The Castle that they called a hall was a maze of a place, that she got lost in more than she cared to admit. Colobria or what Scarlet liked to the call the island, because that's exactly what this hall sat on. It was small and you could see the ocean from everywhere.

Surrounding the hall was a row of medium-sized houses, surrounding those houses were smaller houses and so on, until you got to tents that sat on the beach. In the daytime, many of those tents turned into shops that sold every spice you can imagine and some that you can't. You could find fabric and books, animals and flowers. There were also farmers and fishermen, selling food and other tents sold sweets and vegetables. It was a wondrous place, but Scarlet missed home and her friends and Charlotte.

"How is it possible that she can ignore me?" Theo was asking Carl, "No one ignores me. I'm a naturally loud person. My voice scares grown men. How is she doing that?"

"Just give her a moment," Carl huffed. "Maybe we should call it a day."

"I'm fine," Scarlet mumbled. Although, in the back of her mind, she was still not sure. She had to have an epiphany, whatever that meant. She was determined to help Charlotte as soon as possible and, according to the experts, this was the way. "Let's continue, but can you please play something more my speed?"

She frowned and tutted, "The only way to get you as deep as you need to go is for nothing to distract you. When you can block out every distraction in this room, you will be ready."

Scarlet rolled her eyes and took one more drink of water before passing it to Carl. "Let's do this." Scarlet closed her eyes and began to hum a tune that Charlotte used to hum. Every breath she hummed felt like a release of extra weight. Soon she became light headed, and she felt her world tip on its axle. She felt dizzy, even though she was sitting down. The incense smelled stronger, and she felt a fresh wave of heat hit her face. She flinched, waiting for the pop of the hot rocks.

It never came. Next were the thoughts of where was that horrible music. Eyes closed, she asked, "Who turned off the music? I'm not complaining, just wondering what it took to make it stop."

There was no answer.

"I don't think this is working," She said. Her eyes popped open, and she froze. "Carl? Theo?"

There was nothing. Nothing for miles and miles. Only darkness. With a sinking feeling of dread, Scarlet realised that the final meditation session had worked, and she had ended up in the sunken place.