It was exactly as I'd feared. The lightly tanned flesh of his arm was marred by a jagged line of torn flesh. It didn't look infected, so at least there was that.
"This really hurt you know." He said it causally. I was pretty sure he was trying to make me feel less guilty. It didn't work.
I shook my head. "I don't understand... I bit a vampire. There was a vampire about to attack me that night. He was covered in dirt and had red eyes and...."
Before I could get more frantic, he cut me off, his voice firm. "And you'd been drugged. I'm not sure what it was that you ingested, but when I saw you on that bench, you looked terrible. I was going to offer you a ride home, or just to sit with you until you felt better. But..."
"But instead I went all Cujo on you."
He laughed. "That's one way to put it. After you bit me, I stood back and kept an eye on you to make sure you were okay. When your friend found you, I waited until she had you in her car before I left the party myself and took care of this." He held up his wrist.
"Really?" I couldn't believe it. I was on that bench between the "attack" and Winnie's "rescue" for what felt like a long time. That meant he spent that entire time lurking in the shadows protectively, instead of tending to his injury. The injury I had caused.
He shrugged. "I swore to my people — our people — that I would watch out for you." He looked thoughtful. "Although, clearly you don't need the help. I think, once you'd attacked me, I wasn't so much looking out for you, as I was the helpless humans wandering around."
"Ha, ha," I said sarcastically. But really, I was grateful. It was a wonder I hadn't attacked Winnie. Why hadn't I attacked her? I voiced my question to Charlie.
He shrugged in reply. "Maybe at the time I approached you, you saw me as a threat, so you hallucinated me into a threat."
I nodded. That kind of made sense. "I guess. I mean, I've known Winnie for years, I probably wouldn't think she was a threat. I've only known you a few days."
I was still trying to process everything when the front door opened. In walked my parents.
My heart pounded in my chest and I just stared at them.
I must have looked like one hell of a mess; mom rushed forward, not even bothering to hang up her coat, and knelt on the floor in front of me.
"Katie? Are you alright?" she asked, grasping my hands, her eyes frantically searching my face.
Dad cautiously made his way into the living area and looked between Charlie and myself.
"Dad, Mom, this is Charlie. He's from school."
Dad nodded curtly. "We know about Charlie."
"You do?" I asked in surprise, struggling up from my lounging position on the couch. I then realized I didn't ask Charlie how much they knew about my history.
"So you know... what I am?" I couldn't bring myself to say the actual words out loud again.
"Oh sweetheart, we wanted to tell you, but we thought we were protecting you by keeping it a secret," Mom cried.
I shook my head. "I'm not even human, wouldn't it have been better to have prepared me for this?"
Until this moment I had simply felt numb, I was absorbing the information Charlie was giving me with little emotional reaction. As soon as I realized that my parents had known all along and never bothered to tell me, all of the emotions that had been locked up erupted like a volcano.
"These last few days have been crazy and you weren't even here to help me through it. If you had just told me the truth!" I was yelling, fists clenched at my side on the couch; I could feel tears burning in my eyes and threatening to spill over.
"Calm down," Dad said cautiously, his eyes darting around the room. The lamps on the end tables had all turned on by themselves during my tantrum and were flickering. In hindsight, I realized this was probably one of those control things Charlie had mentioned, but in the moment I was too angry to really notice.
I took a deep breath, squeezing my eyes shut, willing the tears to go away and my anger to subside.
"You knew. You knew that I was a witch-vampire-hybrid-thing and you didn't do anything to prepare me." I spat the accusation as though it was venom.
"Vampire?" Mom looked confused. "That's not possible!" She quickly stood up and took a step back. I hoped it was out of surprise and not fear of me.
"You didn't know?" I felt some of my anger start to fizzle out as I looked back and forth between my parents, taking in their surprised expressions.
"Let's sit down," Dad said as he took a seat on the couch beside me. Mom anxiously perched on the chair nearby.
"Well?" I prompted.
"When you were a toddler, the witches approached us and said they had a child that needed protecting. They said they couldn't think of anyone more qualified than us," Dad explained.
"How did the witches know about you?"
Charlie jumped in here. "We make it our business to keep tabs on the supernatural. We knew that Rob and Stacey were responsible for keeping the areas undead vamps in check."
I nodded.
"We were told that you were special and needed to be hidden and protected," Mom continued the tale. "And you are special sweetheart."
I scoffed. "I'm a freak is what I am," I muttered under my breath.
Charlie shook his head and reached out, resting his hand on my knee. "No, you're not. You're going to be powerful and respected. You are destined to be our leader."
Dad cleared his throat and Charlie quickly removed his hand.
I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling and leaned back against the couch cushions. "I don't want to be a witch or vampire. I don't want to be your leader. I just want to graduate high school, go to college and stake some vampires along the way."
"If there was a way for me to make that happen, I would," Charlie said to me in earnest. The serious tone in his voice encouraged me to make eye contact. He looked genuine. "But," he continued, "now that the spell has broken and your powers are emerging, everyone will be looking for you. You can most likely defend yourself against one opponent, but we need to be able to protect you from Pierce's men. Chances are, if he sends them, he won't just send one, and even one will be very powerful. Magic can help you."
I shook my head. "I don't want to learn magic, I just want to be normal." I looked at my parents desperately, "You raised me to abhor the supernatural. How can I possibly use witchcraft?"
Charlie let out a deep sigh. "It's who you are, Kate. You're special. You can't deny what is a part of you." He gestured around the room, "You saw what happened when you were upset. The magic is in you, whether you want it or not. If you're a freak for having magic, then so am I."
I closed my eyes and shook my head. "If someone says special one more time, I swear, this is going to turn into an after school special."
"Kate, sweetheart," Mom said to me. "Charlie is right. This is who you are. Who you were born to be."
"You should have told me sooner." It came out a whisper.
"You're right, we should have told you sooner."
"I need to be alone." I stood up and left the room. My mind was in overdrive. I couldn't process all of this. I needed to just sleep, to turn my brain off and pretend this isn't what my life has become.
~ * ~
When I abandoned everyone in the living room and locked myself in my bedroom, I assumed Charlie left. But for all I knew, he stayed and chatted with my parents. Or I guess I should say, the people who raised me.
As I lay on my bed staring at the faded stars on my ceiling, it occurred to me that I had two ways of looking at my situation.
I could either try to deny who I truly am and be miserable, or I could accept what I've been told as truth and embrace it, making the best of it.
I decided to opt for door number two. I kill freakin' vampires. I can get through this. I can learn enough magic to be able to control it and turn it off. As for the vampire thing?
I sat up quickly, my tongue probing my teeth gently. The fangs were gone. I scrambled off the bed and ran to stand before the mirror hanging above my dresser. I bared my teeth and sure enough, normal human-sized incisors were in place of the fangs.
Maybe if I just avoided blood I'd just be able to ignore that part of me.
Just like that, the fangs extended. I cringed as the tooth poked my tongue, drawing blood. I sighed. This could be harder than I thought.
~ * ~
I didn't go to school the next day.
Mom and Dad agreed that I needed at least a day to compose myself and learn to keep my fangs in check.
The previous day, Winnie had called me pretty constantly. I finally picked up and told her I'd gotten sick during lunch, and Charlie had found me in the hall and took me home.
She seemed skeptical, but told me to feel better soon.
Around 10:00 AM, Charlie showed up at my house.
"Um... hi?" I said when I opened the door. I wasn't expecting visitors today, so I was still dressed in my pajamas—a pair of yoga pants and a graphic tee that read #NoFilter. I had on no makeup, and my hair was in a messy bun on top of my head, revealing the fuchsia dyed under layers. Normally I'd be mortified at the though of having a cute guy see me this way, but at the moment I just didn't care.
"Hey, uh, your parents and I talked yesterday, and we thought you should begin your magic lessons right away." He seemed a little nervous, probably a reaction to my eruption the day before.
"I love that everyone is making decisions for me," I said in a sugary sweet voice, a fake smile plastered on my face as I gestured for him to enter the house. "Am I allowed to change my clothes first?"
He ran a hand through his short hair. "Look, I'm sorry, we just thought you'd want to learn to get a handle on things right away," he said, then quickly added, "I have a feeling you're going to be a quick learner."
I sighed, feeling a little badly for how I'd just treated him. I knew he was only trying to help. "Sorry. No, you're right. I decided last night that I am going to accept this and work through it so that I can control my 'powers' and go back to life as usual."
He frowned at me. "Life as usual? Do you really think you can just ignore this and go back?"
I shrugged, shaking my head. "I don't know, okay? This is a lot to take in."
"I understand. Let's just take it one day at a time, all right?"
I nodded. "Make yourself at home, I'll be down in a few."
I left him in the entry way, then made my way up the stairs to change clothes. It's possible I imagined it, but I was pretty sure he was checking me out as I jogged up the stairs. I smiled a little to myself, then silently cursed myself for it. I was not looking for a new boyfriend. Charlie was here only to help me control my magic. End of story.
I returned to my bedroom and changed into a pair of jeans and a fresh T-shirt. I quickly ran a brush through my hair and let it fall down to my shoulders in natural gentle waves, satisfied at the pops of pink peeking through. Finally, I brushed my teeth. I decided to forgo wearing any makeup because, as I kept reminding myself, I am not looking for a boyfriend. I don't need to try to impress anybody, especially Charlie.
When I made my way downstairs, I found Charlie settled at the kitchen table with a variety of objects laid out before him. I looked around the table, taking each in. There was a bowl of water, a feather, a small bouquet of flowers, a scattering of small crystals, a stick of incense, and a candle.
I hesitated in the doorway. The witch stuff was becoming very real.
Charlie looked up at me and flashed an inviting smile. His eyes were casting spells on me again.
I slowly made my way forward and sat down across from him.
"So..." I said, nervously glancing at the objects, before settling on his face.
"So," he mimicked.
His attention moved to the objects before us, freeing me from his spell.
I blinked rapidly for a moment, then quickly—before I lost my nerve—asked him, "How do you do that?"
"Do what?" he asked, looking up in surprise.
I avoided eye contact. "It's like, when our eyes meet, you're casting a spell on me."
Of all the reactions I could have imagined, I never would have thought that he would laugh at me, but laugh he did.
I glared.
"Sorry," he said with a sheepish smile after his laughter had died down.
"Well?" I asked, eyebrows raised, palms flat on the table in front of me.
"I'm not casting a spell on you, I promise," he held up his hands in defense.
"Then why can't I look away when our eyes meet?" I asked with a frown.
He cleared his throat. "Let's get on with your magic lesson shall we?" He didn't wait for a reply. "As you can see, before you we have a variety of objects. We have flowers to represent Earth, incense to represent Air, candles for Fire, and obviously — water for Water. Now, you may be asking yourself, why do we have these objects here. Can you tell me?"
I shrugged. "Because that's what the movies tell us we need?" I asked with a grin.
He narrowed his eyes. "Try to be serious, Kate." Despite his serious tone, I could tell he was trying to suppress his amusement.
"No promises."
"When you use your magic, you are burning energy. That energy has to come from somewhere, right?"
I nodded.
"Any spells you've done thus far, unintentionally, have probably been sapping energy from your own body. That's not good."
I frowned, remembering the grass in the clearing, the way the warmth had tingled through my body and out. I remembered how exhausted I'd felt afterward.
"The first thing I'm going to teach you, is how to use the elements to draw and channel energy."
He lifted the feather and set it in front of me.
"Typically, a witch will have a special affinity to one of the elements. Any element can be used to draw energy, but to have a special affinity with one means that a witch can draw more power, or more effectively use the power that is drawn."
"Which element is yours?"
"Water," he answered.
I wrinkled my nose. "How does one draw energy from water? Do you concentrate on a lake and the water just evaporates?"
He laughed. "Sort of. I'll show you after you've tried." He gestured to the feather in front of me. "Concentrate on the feather. Imagine lifting it into the air with only the power of your mind. The feather is light, but it will still take a great deal of concentration. And, because you're just learning, it will take a great deal of energy as well. Let's start with water." He nudged the bowl of water closer to me. "Concentrate on lifting the feather, while at the same time, think about drawing your power from the water."
I sat there, looking back and forth between the feather and the water.
"It helps to close your eyes and visualize," he added.
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and tried to lift the feather. I imagined a gust of wind catching it and gracefully lifting it from the table. I imagined the water, the essence of life, assisting.
Aside from an tickle in my nose, I didn't feel anything happening. I opened my eyes and gasped when I saw the feather floating in front of me. It abruptly began its slow descent down to the table.
"I did that?" I whispered.
"You did awesome." He was grinning from ear to ear.
My eyes darted between the feather and his face. I couldn't believe I'd done it.
"I didn't feel anything," I said.
He nodded. "Because you were borrowing energy from the water."
I shrugged. "I just figured it was because I'm amazing."
He laughed. "Well, that, too."
I felt a blush rushing to my face. I looked down at the feather, allowing my hair to fall in front of my face to hide the color in my cheeks.
"So, does this mean I have an affinity with water?" I asked. Feeling the blush fade, I peeked out from behind my hair.
"Not necessarily. We haven't established a base line for you yet."
I had a feeling I had a long day ahead of me.
I didn't go to school the next day.
Mom and Dad agreed that I needed at least a day to compose myself and learn to keep my fangs in check.
The previous day, Winnie had called me pretty constantly. I finally picked up and told her I'd gotten sick during lunch, and Charlie had found me in the hall and took me home.
She seemed skeptical, but told me to feel better soon.
Around 10:00 AM, Charlie showed up at my house.
"Um... hi?" I said when I opened the door. I wasn't expecting visitors today, so I was still dressed in my pajamas—a pair of yoga pants and a graphic tee that read #NoFilter. I had on no makeup, and my hair was in a messy bun on top of my head, revealing the fuchsia dyed under layers. Normally I'd be mortified at the though of having a cute guy see me this way, but at the moment I just didn't care.
"Hey, uh, your parents and I talked yesterday, and we thought you should begin your magic lessons right away." He seemed a little nervous, probably a reaction to my eruption the day before.
"I love that everyone is making decisions for me," I said in a sugary sweet voice, a fake smile plastered on my face as I gestured for him to enter the house. "Am I allowed to change my clothes first?"
He ran a hand through his short hair. "Look, I'm sorry, we just thought you'd want to learn to get a handle on things right away," he said, then quickly added, "I have a feeling you're going to be a quick learner."
I sighed, feeling a little badly for how I'd just treated him. I knew he was only trying to help. "Sorry. No, you're right. I decided last night that I am going to accept this and work through it so that I can control my 'powers' and go back to life as usual."
He frowned at me. "Life as usual? Do you really think you can just ignore this and go back?"
I shrugged, shaking my head. "I don't know, okay? This is a lot to take in."
"I understand. Let's just take it one day at a time, all right?"
I nodded. "Make yourself at home, I'll be down in a few."
I left him in the entry way, then made my way up the stairs to change clothes. It's possible I imagined it, but I was pretty sure he was checking me out as I jogged up the stairs. I smiled a little to myself, then silently cursed myself for it. I was not looking for a new boyfriend. Charlie was here only to help me control my magic. End of story.
I returned to my bedroom and changed into a pair of jeans and a fresh T-shirt. I quickly ran a brush through my hair and let it fall down to my shoulders in natural gentle waves, satisfied at the pops of pink peeking through. Finally, I brushed my teeth. I decided to forgo wearing any makeup because, as I kept reminding myself, I am not looking for a boyfriend. I don't need to try to impress anybody, especially Charlie.
When I made my way downstairs, I found Charlie settled at the kitchen table with a variety of objects laid out before him. I looked around the table, taking each in. There was a bowl of water, a feather, a small bouquet of flowers, a scattering of small crystals, a stick of incense, and a candle.
I hesitated in the doorway. The witch stuff was becoming very real.
Charlie looked up at me and flashed an inviting smile. His eyes were casting spells on me again.
I slowly made my way forward and sat down across from him.
"So..." I said, nervously glancing at the objects, before settling on his face.
"So," he mimicked.
His attention moved to the objects before us, freeing me from his spell.
I blinked rapidly for a moment, then quickly—before I lost my nerve—asked him, "How do you do that?"
"Do what?" he asked, looking up in surprise.
I avoided eye contact. "It's like, when our eyes, meet you're casting a spell on me."
Of all the reactions I could have imagined, I never would have thought that he would laugh at me, but laugh he did.
I glared.
"Sorry," he said with a sheepish smile after his laughter had died down.
"Well?" I asked, eyebrows raised, palms flat on the table in front of me.
"I'm not casting a spell on you, I promise," he held up his hands in defense.
"Then why can't I look away when our eyes meet?" I asked with a frown.
He cleared his throat. "Let's get on with your magic lesson shall we?" He didn't wait for a reply. "As you can see, before you we have a variety of objects. We have flowers to represent Earth, incense to represent Air, candles for Fire, and obviously — water for Water. Now, you may be asking yourself, why do we have these objects here. Can you tell me?"
I shrugged. "Because that's what the movies tell us we need?" I asked with a grin.
He narrowed his eyes. "Try to be serious, Kate." Despite his serious tone, I could tell he was trying to suppress his amusement.
"No promises."
"When you use your magic, you are burning energy. That energy has to come from somewhere, right?"
I nodded.
"Any spells you've done thus far, unintentionally, have probably been sapping energy from your own body. That's not good."
I frowned, remembering the grass in the clearing, the way the warmth had tingled through my body and out. I remembered how exhausted I'd felt afterward.
"The first thing I'm going to teach you, is how to use the elements to draw and channel energy."
He lifted the feather and set it in front of me.
"Typically, a witch will have a special affinity to one of the elements. Any element can be used to draw energy, but to have a special affinity with one means that a witch can draw more power, or more effectively use the power that is drawn."
"Which element is yours?"
"Water," he answered.
I wrinkled my nose. "How does one draw energy from water? Do you concentrate on a lake and the water just evaporates?"
He laughed. "Sort of. I'll show you after you've tried." He gestured to the feather in front of me. "Concentrate on the feather. Imagine lifting it into the air with only the power of your mind. The feather is light, but it will still take a great deal of concentration. And, because you're just learning, it will take a great deal of energy as well. Let's start with water." He nudged the bowl of water closer to me. "Concentrate on lifting the feather, while at the same time, think about drawing your power from the water."
I sat there, looking back and forth between the feather and the water.
"It helps to close your eyes and visualize," he added.
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and tried to lift the feather. I imagined a gust of wind catching it and gracefully lifting it from the table. I imagined the water, the essence of life, assisting.
Aside from an tickle in my nose, I didn't feel anything happening. I opened my eyes and gasped when I saw the feather floating in front of me. It abruptly began its slow descent down to the table.
"I did that?" I whispered.
"You did awesome." He was grinning from ear to ear.
My eyes darted between the feather and his face. I couldn't believe I'd done it.
"I didn't feel anything," I said.
He nodded. "Because you were borrowing energy from the water."
I shrugged. "I just figured it was because I'm amazing."
He laughed. "Well, that, too."
I felt a blush rushing to my face. I looked down at the feather, allowing my hair to fall in front of my face to hide the color in my cheeks.
"So, does this mean I have an affinity with water?" I asked. Feeling the blush fade, I peeked out from behind my hair.
"Not necessarily. We haven't established a base line for you yet."
I had a feeling I had a long day ahead of me.
*****************************************
Thanks for reading my story! I hope your enjoying Kate's adventure. Trust me, there's more twists to come! You do not want to miss out! (Well, I don't want you to miss out anyway!)
I think it would be pretty cool to be a witch and have powers. If you had powers, what would you do with them?