Chasing Sapphire

14. SHIFT

"Would you be fine on your own?" he asked, looking anxious to leave. I knew I wasn't a morning person, specially not the morning after a day like yesterday. I felt sorry for not being appreciative of him staying to keep an eye on me but right now, it was better for him to leave.

"Yes," I answered. "I would ask you to stop for breakfast but well, I am not exactly in a state of cooking something." I said, massaging my head.

"I understand." he smiled and I felt heat creeping up my neck. There was something so warm about him that I couldn't help but feel warmth inside me as well.

After he left, I took a shower to wash all the mud out of my hair. Once I was comfortable with my cleanliness state, I walked out of the shower, dressed in a cardigan and jeans.

While I was drying my hair with the towel, I heard noise of utensils coming from the kitchen. I walked out of my room, only to find Bella making what smelled like herbal tea on the stove.

"Hi," she smiled, as if everything was normal, as if she hadn't done something really weird yesterday.

"About yesterday, what was that Bella?" I asked, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"What are you talking about?" she asked innocently.

"You said something and the wolf shifted into a man." I said and she looked as if I had grown two heads.

"What are you talking about? I found you lying on the ground, unconscious. I think you must be hallucinating." she said in a defensive tone, dismissing the idea completely.

"Don't lie to me Bella. Please," I screamed in frustration. "I don't know what's the deal of this town but I am literally going crazy."

"Sapphire, just take some rest." she said, looking worried for me.

"No, I don't want to take rest. Just tell me, what's going on. I know I didn't hallucinate and I know my parents were hiding something from me. I know Samantha's death was not a coincidence and I know something attacked me the day I moved into the hotel. This all can't be a coincidence. For God's sake, tell me before I go bat-shit crazy and harm myself."

By the time I stopped, I was breathing hard. I was tired, tired of not being sure what was true; tired of being stuck in impossible conditions; tired of not knowing the truth about everything happening around me.

Bella nodded and then turned off the stove. She walked towards me and then gripped my wrist, taking me along with her into her study.

"Truth can sometimes be dangerous. Do you really want to know?" she asked and I nodded, afraid of the look in her eyes.

She motioned me to sit on a chair and I did the same. She looked in the bookshelf for a book and then placed the heavy book on the table in front of me, sitting in front of me.

"Do you want to know how I did what I did?" she asked and I nodded.

She motioned towards the book and I read the title, The guide to witchcraft.

Dipping my eyebrows, I looked back at her. "So you perform magic?" I asked.

"I am not a magician Sapphire." she said, looking slightly offended. "I am a witch."

"Witch?" I asked, a hint of amusement in my voice. "Don't tell me you're an old woman in disguise, with white long hair, scary nails and wrinkled skin."

She didn't say anything. Instead, spoke some words in that unfamiliar language again and the book suddenly opened up. My eyes bulged out of sockets as I watched the book's pages turn, until it rested on a particular page. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach and I felt nauseous all of sudden.

"Shit," I gasped in fright, staring at the book in horror.

"Those were stories, this is reality. Witches exist. Witches that were born with the power to mess with the balance of nature." she said in a serious tone.

I was sitting still, having no idea what to say. A part of me wanted to believe her but another part of me was still stuck at how that was even possible.

"How can I believe anything you tell me when you're yourself a myth? A witch? I mean, that's impossible. What if you're evil?" I said, staring into her grey eyes.

"Witches aren't evil." she said and propped her elbows on the table. "We don't hurt people, specially not one of our kinds."

"One of our kind?" I asked, shifting in my seat uncomfortably.

She once again pointed towards the book. I looked down and read the title of the chapter 'A brief history of witchcraft in America'. I gave a brief read to the first paragraph and when nothing made sense, I turned the page. There were stories about centuries old wizards and witches. I continued turning the pages and stopped when a familiar name appeared in front of my eyes.

Denver Witches.

This was my mother's surname, her family name. I lifted my head in confusion and found Bella already observing me.

"What does this mean?" I asked, not wanting to say the words I have read aloud.

"You belong to the most powerful family of witches of Raven Hills. The Denver witches." she said.

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