Deviant (Blendling Trilogy #1)

Chapter Seven

Admitting who I was seemed to awaken my abilities. And although I had promised not to use them, I just couldn't turn some off, no matter how hard I tried. Like the hypnosis in my eyes; whoever looked into them more than five seconds was hypnotized. I seemed to know that answer to most questions; past, present and sometimes future. This made school very interesting. Although I'd always been smarter, now I could see the answer in all questions, the meaning in every word and the story in every object; exam was a breeze. I'd also managed to hook Gerry up with Bass, a warlock I'd bumped into at the mall. He'd just transferred to town and was shopping for supplies. I introduced him to her and they immediately clicked off. Together they furnished his apartment, Cameron didn't thank me for it. In fact, he was mostly hostile to Bass but I didn't blame him. It was obvious he was no longer the center of her universe, he now had to share her affections.

One evening during Christmas break, after dinner we sat together to watch the news. It had become something of a tradition each night. Gerry was snuggled on a couch with Bass and Cam was glaring daggers at them. I sat with mum and half listened to the weather forecast while I let my mind reflect on all that had happened these past month. When Bass came into our lives, life at home became quite interesting. Even though Cameron hated the fact that his mum was dating, he respected Bass. Bass could have turned the family in when he found out about us; Cam's wings had burst from his back during dinner one evening when Gerry disclosed her relationship with Bass; he'd kept the secret. He even started to train Cam and I in basic hand to hand combat. He also took Cam camping to practice using his other talents every weekend but I was never invited. The last thing my mum wanted was me learning to use abilities that would kill me.

Bass also taught us some meditation exercises that suppress our Blendling instincts. It helped us, especially Cam who often winged out when he felt intense emotion; fortunately, both times it happened we were at home. Unfortunately, he'd mistakenly stabbed Gerry with his wing tip the first time. I had to heal her and mum was not impressed. Bass was a welcome addition to the family, he was very knowledgeable and often had answers to the questions I couldn't answer. I was so lost in though that I didn't know when it happened. One minute I was sitting besides my mum, thinking about my guitar and the next minute it came soaring into the room, crashing and shattering against the wall when mum noticed it and screamed. They all looked at me.
"Sorry" I murmured sheepishly
"You told me you had your telekinesis under control, now you're moving objects that aren't even in the same room with you!" Mum shouted
"That's not telekinesis Charlotte" Bass said in his bass voice "It's a warlock thing called summoning. A warlock can summon any personal item to himself" he said with a smile. "I never loose my keys"
"Wicked!" I smiled
"You just have to work on concentration. If you hadn't gotten distracted, it would have soared into your arms" Bass said

"Don't encourage him" mum cried. "I don't want objects flying around this house. Plus you know what would happen if he uses his powers"
"But mum I didn't even plan to do it. Denying my powers won't make them go away" I said, jumping up to pace. "I'll die anyway" I shouted angrily " But I'd rather my core rotted away than die at the hands of a hunter because I couldn't defend myself." I continued to rant.
"Dude calm down" Cam said. "No one is hunting you"
"Don't start with me" I said, rounding on him jealously. "You get to practice using yours. You think I don't know what happens at your weekend camping trips? I know you're training, flying. Why can't I do the same. You're at as much risk as I am. Your core might not rot, but if anyone saw you up in the air, even a human, there'll be trouble. Fight or flight, we'll all be hunted." I shouted. Mum suddenly gasped, her eyes widening in horror.
"What!" I yelled and she pointed at my face.
"Your nose" she whispered. I touch my nose and it is wet, I'm having a nose bleed.

Mum immediately started panicking. Cam dashed out to grab some paper towels and handed them to me with trembling hands. Gerry runs to throw her arms around mum and Bass leads me to a chair. As I sit, I hear his voice in my head:
'You have to tell them'
'No I don't.' I reply. 'I can't break their hearts so'
'It'll kill your mum if you die'
"Baby what happened" mum said. The bleeding has stopped and she's calmer. Bass nods and I sigh.
"I'm fine mum, really. Stop fussing."
"You had a nose bleed."  Cam said
"Thanks captain obvious, we didn't notice" I say sarcastically. "Mum stop!" She was feeling for temperature
"Are you really okay" she asked, still fussing
"Mum you're embarrassing me" I say and she sniffed.
"How bad is it. I know you've been hiding it from me, you're dying aren't you? I need to know"
"You're scaring yourself Char" Gerry said. I looked at her and saw it in her eyes, she knew. Bass must have told her. It hurt to find out they'd been talking about me, that I was a topic for pillow talk. She quickly looked away.
"There has to be a way, I can't loose my son" mum whispered. We all turned to Bass and he squirmed, hating the attention. For once, I didn't know the answer.
"It's very rare for something like this to happen" he said
"You said rare, it must have happened before" mum said in hope
"Odda live a long life and are mostly immortal" he said "There are rumours," he paused to look at me "with no concrete evidence, of corruption in the core. As you know, Odda strengths come from our core, humans cannot access the core because of their mortality. It burns out too quick if they try."

"But..."mum prompted impatiently
"It is rumored that after the first war, a disease spread among Odda. It was believed that the fallen took their frustrations out on us by corrupting our core. Our very own nature warred against us, much like a human virus that infects the antibodies. The only cure was purging"
"So we purge him" mum said
"The purging can only be done with the elixir of life, brewed by a very powerful witch or wizard." He said
"The closest one to us is loyal to the Council" Gerry said
"It's too risky." Bass said, fresh tears poured out mum's eye "We can't risk the Council finding out about him. They'll investigate the family and discover what the boys truly are. We'll loose both of them, and maybe our own heads."
"There's someone else who is close that can brew the elixir of life" Bass said softly. "Jacqueline Delacour." Mum whispered sourly, Gerry groaned
"Eh, who is Jacqueline Delacour?" Cam asked and I answered, knowing the answer to this question.
"She's the witch that cursed mum"