The Blood Witch

9

Scarlet woke to startling black eyes. Triago stood above her, his eyes intently studying her face. A smile graced his as he took a step back, waiting for her to rise. She knew she was on a couch this time, thank God, and not a hospital bed. Sitting up, she saw she was in his office, on his couch. Scarlet blinked, recalling the bizarre moments before she ended up here. First came the relief that Charlotte was not dead, but then the dread set in. Charlotte was dying, and as of now she was on a clock. How long did she have?

"Not much time," Triago said as he leaned a hip onto the corner of his desk. "Your powers are really uncanny. It's as if you knew, on instinct, that Charlotte had been poisoned."

"Poisoned?" she questioned.

"Yes," He replied. Scarlet watched as a book floated across the room to him. It hovered in front of him, pages turning with invisible fingers as he waited patiently for what he sought. "The man who slit her throat used a rare poison on that blade. It would have killed her no matter how much you healed her. The poison is called botulinum, it kills swiftly and is hard as hell to find. Somehow, it's like you knew that poison was chosen. When you healed her, you placed a shield around you both, but Around Charlotte you placed a second shield. This one is the one keeping her alive. She is literally frozen in time, on the cusp of that death. You froze her until you could save her."

"How is that possible?" She asked, respectfully perplexed. "If I knew how come I didn't know when I woke up, I didn't mention poison, or a freeze. How can you know I did this, when I don't even know."

A book floated over to her. There was no title, just an ancient brown book. "I've been doing some reading on you, Scarlet. You are intriguing. There has not been a new blood witch in over a thousand years. You are an anomaly, especially since your parents were non magic. Your powers, at their highest potential, will be a force of one, with the strength of an army."

Scarlet bypassed all that. She was still thinking of the poison and the freeze. Was it possible that her powers worked automatically. Like auto pilot, were they always going to be uncontrollable? She had so many questions, but first, she wanted to know how to save Charlotte. Scarlet opened her mouth to ask some but hushed up quickly, when another book started floating, directly to her.

She arched an eyebrow, and he said, "We will need to do a fresh blood transfusion and get a rare flower called Middlemist. It's in New Zealand. It will be easy to save her from this poison. Being frozen is the best place for her to be now. It's slowing the poison. A minute is more like five days for her. It will be a few months before it takes its course. Freezing, is not rare for a blood witch, but it usually takes practice. Yet you performed it perfectly your first time."

Scarlett pinched the bridge of her nose and took a breath. She really didn't care how awesome her powers were and, truth be told, she just wanted short, simple answers. About Charlotte, not how much of an anomaly she was, and his mind reading was getting on her nerves.

"I can't turn it off," he said, smiling, "the thoughts of people come to me as if they are speaking them. It has become natural to just answer questions that come to me. I forget sometimes to watch lips to make sure they move. I apologize, for my uncontrollable ability."

"Will my powers be like," Scarlet asked, "uncontrollable?" It was something that bothered her. Her powers worked an awful lot by itself. It nagged at the back of her mind, that her powers were so strong they may control her as well.

"No," he said softly, "You only need practice. With practice, you will do great. However, your natural instincts will sometimes force your powers. If your life is threatened or you feel a powerful enough emotion, you may act instinctively. It's not a curse, Scarlet. Your instincts saved you and charlotte. Once you embrace your witch, you will be okay."

Scarlet nodded, glad to know that she could control this part of herself. "When do we go to New Zealand?"

Triago looked away before she asked. She knew he would not tell her anything good. Just then, a woman wearing volleyball shorts and a tank top came into the room. She looked for a lack of a better word, strong. She held an air of authority and looked as if she lived for a challenge. Her muscles ripped like a wrestler as she brought her arms in front of her and stood at attention.

"You need to understand that you and your powers are one. Only then will you master them." She spoke with a boom to her voice and she looked at Scarlet as if she were weak.

"We can't go to get the flower until we get you ready," Triago said, his tone serious. "You are the only one who can unfreeze her, and we still do not know who is after you. Until then, we help you find your path. Theo will be your trainer, and Carl will be your temporary guardian."

In walked a skinny young man who could not have been a day over eighteen. He had shaggy brown hair, eager eyes. He stood like Theo, at attention with his hands folded before him, except he bowed, and came closer.

"It will be an honor to guard you," he said. his voice strong compared to his frail looking body. He looked like he wouldn't bust a grape in welch's backyard, she thought. Causing Triago to burst out laughing, because of course he heard that.

"Carl is a new guardian," Triago stated. "Looks can be deceiving, as you get stronger, so will he."

"I will guard you with my life." Carl assured, fist to heart.

Scarlet shook her head and took a moment to laugh at her current situation. Which was quickly sliding down the rabbit hole. Here she was with a walking, talking crow, a giant woman for a trainer and a skinny boy for a guard. The only person she trusted was lying in a bed, dying a little more each day. To top it off, everything she thought was bullshit was becoming a reality. These people were all supernatural in some ways. Hell, she was supernatural. This would not go away, they were not going away. They were all looking at her as if waiting for her to fall apart or own her s**t. Falling apart was not an option, so she stopped laughing and squared her shoulders.

"Where do we start?"