Strange Magic

Who Am I?

"Now sit down and keep silent," Nana ordered.

Jenna raised her hands in surrender. She sat down as told, frowning. Nothing can be more weird now.

"Good," Nana said as she peered at her through the owl glasses. "First things first. Get this straight. You're not as normal as you think you are."

Like I don't know it already!

"There is a rare case in this whole affair," she continued. "And that is when an individual possessed all the abilities of the three entities. It mostly happens when one is born to a mage and priest parents and awakened by a vampire, like me. And that's how you are. And that's what makes you different."

How can I be a vampire? I don't have fangs and I have never drank blood. Just imagining drinking blood made her sick. I'm a vegetarian for God's sake!

Jenna opened her mouth to protest but Nana interrupted.

"So far, only you and I have that case," she continued. "And we're valuable because we are stronger than the rest as our blood is the purest in all its three forms. We have a mixture of all the three components in our blood which is why we are a target to The Trinity, especially the vampire clan. They call us contaminants, thanks to the different blood in our body."

But how? Were her parents different from humans too? What happened to them?

"My parents were monsters?" Jenna gulped.

"We aren't monsters," Nana snapped. "We are nothing like The Trinity who kill for pleasure."

"Well what happened to them?"

"Your mother was a witch," Nana said sadly. "She was as beautiful as she was powerful and had many suitors from the wizards but she loved someone else outside her own clan. Your father. He was a priest. But the law that was decreed didn't allow their union."

"And then what?"

"And then your mother got pregnant without a husband," she continued, her face twisted in disgust. "Everyone was shocked. But she didn't reveal the father. It was only when you were born that the truth surfaced. You were half witch and half priestess. The Trinity executed your parents and was about to execute you too but you went missing. They had a massive search for you but you weren't to be found. I took you away. You weren't gonna live so I had no choice but to awaken you. As soon as I did that, I felt remorseful."

Nana's expression changed. She looked scared and guilty and sad at the same time.

"Why would you feel that?"

"Because," Nana said grimly. "Being immortal is the worst curse among all curses."

"Well," Jenna trailed. "And then?"

"I couldn't live with myself. Or you," she said sadly. "I left you to the care of humans. And that was the last I saw you."

Jenna winced at the turn of events in the story. She couldn't decide whether to buy it or not. She felt it was far fetched. But again, it felt true.

"But I don't have any abilities nor fangs or supernatural strength," Jenna said. "Except for that thing which happened. And I don't even know how it had happened."

"For everything there is a start," Nana winked.

Learning wasn't easy, especially for Jenna who liked to take things easy. Nana had assigned her three tutors, one from each clan because it seemed Jenna had all the three attributes. A young witch, a priest and to her dismay, Ivy Starling, were assigned to her to teach her all that is necessary to defend herself from The Trinity. Of all the vampires, why Ivy? Jenna would have preferred Leah Dupont, she wasn't such a bad person after all, or even Trevor for that matter but Ivy? After what had happened, what was Nana thinking?

Jenna squinted at the glare of the sun. She was standing outside on the grass at some distance from the building. She craned her neck to see what lay beyond the woods but there seemed to be only trees after trees. Where the hell is this place?

"Hope the sun won't be a problem for you."

Jenna turned around and saw the witch making her way to her. She was young but not younger than Jenna. She wore a strange black dress which came down to her ankle. A black cape swished behind her as she moved across the grass. Her red hair was tied on the top of her head in a knot. Two small plaits reached down from each of her temples. Her big black eyes were smudged by dark colors and her lips were painted black.

"Anyways," she continued as she stepped up beside her. "We won't be out for long."

She turned and inspected Jenna.

"Let's hope you're a fast learner," she challenged. "My name's Stephanie Lore, the junior assistant of Sorcery and Witchcraft."

Is that an important position?

"I..I'm Jenna," Jenna said, having nothing else to say. "Jenna Hunter."

"Okay Jenna Hunter," the witch said. "I've been informed that you have no experience in witchcraft at all. Do you want theory or practical?"

Who the hell needs theory?

"Practical," she answered promptly.

Stephanie gave her an amused look.

"Practical it is," she said.

Stephanie positioned herself in front of Jenna and scrutinized her face.

"To do magic," she said. "You need an elaborated amount of concentration and will. Do you think you have that in you?"

Jenna frowned. Will, yeah, she had too little too much of that but concentration? That was on the bottom list of her traits along with perseverance.

"I guess," she shrugged.

"Good then," Stephanie grinned. "Let's see you take this down."

She waved her hand. A grotesque dummy materialized from thin air. With her power, she glided the dummy far from where they stood then turned to her.

"Burn that to pieces with that Flameforce," she said.

"Excuse me?" Jenna sputtered and faced her. "How can I possibly do that? I don't even know how I managed it before."

"Focus Hunter," she advised. "Focus on the dummy, not at me. Feel the power surging from your body to the tips of your finger. Feel it, savor it. Let the power engulf you."

It didn't make sense. It was as though she was telling her to turn water into wine. But all the same, Jenna turned to face the dummy again.

She squinted at it, twisting her face in concentration. She tried to imagine power flowing through her body, like Stephanie said. She lifted her arms, holding it taut to let the fire out but it didn't come out. She gave up in exasperation.

Stephanie raised her hand indifferently and sent a spark of fire hitting the dummy, exploding it to pieces.

"You give up too soon, Hunter," she frowned at Jenna. "The thing is to remain in focus and have a will. Where there is a will, there is a way."