The Five Cursed Witches: Volume 2 - Crimson, the Witch of Night

Chapter 55 Sleepless night

Lamech

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I woke up feeling much calmer than I had before. Sleep really was a wonderful thing in that way. It cleared everything and I hoped that Crimson had also gotten enough sleep so that she would have calmed down to allow to me explain.

But I didn't go and see her, even though that was what I wanted most of all. I was still worried about how the conversation with her would turn out and felt it better to first see her again in a room full of people. In a room where she couldn't voice it, even if she was still upset with me.

I let Alair know to get her for the meeting and then settled in for a rare moment of not doing anything. It wasn't often that I found time for that, or maybe the issue was more that I didn't often give myself those moments. I tended to always keep myself busy, one way or another.

But I brought out a book and settled myself in to read it. The book wasn't anything particularly good. Just some adventure romance, but it was a welcomed numbing read.

I had just closed it to get myself to the meeting room and set everything up when Alair opened my door.

"Why aren't you getting Crimson?" I asked and frowned.

"You wouldn't happen to know where she is?" he asked back. "She's not in her room."

Cold dread washed over me. My immediate thought was that she had left in the middle of the night. I tried to calm myself with that it was unlikely she would have managed that without anyone noticing and that even if she had, it was all for the best. It meant that she was safe from me. But again, I was reminded about the fact that I wasn't able to let her go anymore, even if that would be the right choice.

"Where have you looked?" I asked and got to my feet.

"Only her bedroom and the kitchen above so far," Alair told me.

"Keep searching. Ask Stuart and Olivier to search as well."

We split up and started looking around. I went straight to Aideen's room, as it was one of few places I could come up with where she might be.

Aideen opened immediately and looked startled at seeing me.

"What's happened?" she asked.

"Is Crimson here?" I asked without answering her question.

"No. Has something happened?"

I shook my head. "I just made a stupid mistake yesterday."

"Ah, well, the both of you seem to have a talent for that."

It wasn't until then that I realized that Crimson hadn't had the opportunity to talk to Aideen since, by association, having called her a monster.

"I'll have her eat lunch in the dining hall on the first floor. Please go talk to her," I told her, knowing fully well that both of them would be happy to reconcile.

"Why would I go and talk to her?" Aideen snapped and crossed her arms.

"Vampires killed her parents."

Aideen's mouth became an o before she nodded. "Well, that explains things."

I gave Aideen a weak smile before turning to leave. I vaguely thought of checking my office when Stuart's voice came in my head.

"Found her. She's in the gym. I'll bring her to the meeting."

At first, his words calmed me, but then a new worry came on. Night and early morning was when most would train, so there was a high possibility that there were vampires there as well. I didn't believe that they would attack her for no reason and I also didn't believe that Crimson would intentionally provoke them. But I knew there was a high risk of her saying something that could rub them the wrong way and that things easily could spiral out of control from there.

"Is she okay?" I asked Stuart back. What followed was a moment of silence that had my mind spinning before he finally answered.

"She's perfectly fine. It seems as if she's spent the whole night there in friendly fights and have earned herself quite some money. All without breaking a sweat or showing any signs of tiredness."

Alair and Olivier were connected to the conversation as well and I could feel their astonishment at Stuart's words.

"I'll bring her to the meeting room," Stuart repeated before I felt him leave the conversation.

Alair and Olivier lingered and I could feel their unspoken questions burning. Since I had no answer for it, I hadn't talked to anyone about my suspicion of Crimson being more than a witch, apart from the one conversation with Aideen after Crimson had made me bleed. I just wanted to protect her and since this wasn't something that she herself was even aware of, it felt dangerous to have too many people know. But it was obvious that I couldn't not explain to them now.

"I think she's a hybrid," I said through the link as I walked towards the meeting room. "Though she's unaware of it herself."

"What other signs have you noticed?" Olivier asked and I could hear his scientific curiosity in the question.

"Her speed and strength aren't that of a witch," Alair shimmed in. "That was obvious when she fought Everett."

"I think she pierced my skin with only her nails," I added to the list and could feel the complete shook vibrate from them. "And..."

I paused unsure of how to continue. They knew I had drunk a lot of her blood, I had told them as much when I had brought her there. But I hadn't made them aware of the full extent of it.

I took a deep breath and continued. "I didn't only drink a lot of her blood before I first brought her here. I drank almost every single drop of it. Twice in a row without giving her any chance to even drink water in-between."

I flinched myself at how horrifying that sounded, how awful I had acted.

"How is that possible?" Alair's question wasn't posed through the link. I had arrived at the meeting room and both him and Olivier were already inside.

"I've tried to read up on hybrids myself to find the answer. But nothing makes sense," I said and directed it to Olivier.

"I'll read up on it as soon as the meeting is over," he answered. "But even if she's a hybrid... What creatures do you even know that could survive such a thing? Apart from a vampire."

He scoffed at his own comment, but I couldn't because it was the only option I had come up with as well.

"Would that truly be impossible?" I asked.

"Yes," Olivier answered with a glint of amusement. "You are aware of how our reproduction works, or do you need a biology lesson?"

"No, thank you," I rolled my eyes. "But it just doesn't make sense."

"And she's unaware?" he questioned me and I nodded.

At that moment the wolves entered, closely followed by Crimson and Stuart. Effectively cutting our conversation short.