Jasmine hadn't realized that she'd been neglecting the outdoor landscape of the Naiger Coven Mansion until she stepped out into the glorious garden. For a moment, she was breathless, her steps stalling to a complete stop as her jaw fell.
First of all, it seemed like where she stood was designed specifically to give her a full view of what awaited her. It was akin to a balcony, somehow, even though it was on ground level, and the sweep of the gardens was laid out easily for everything to be seen. To the left of her was what looked like a maze, tall green hedges sprouting beautiful pink flowers. Even so, Jasmine could see the heads of several gazebos stretched far ahead.
Right before her was a broad expanse of empty land, lush green grass as far as the eyes could see. Jasmine could just vaguely see Trinka standing in the center, waving her hand. There were two other persons with her, one of which Jasmine guessed was Wendy. Even though the twins sniped at each other a lot, they were inseparable.
And then to the right, there was a large glass building—a greenhouse, Jasmine guessed—but it was so massive that she could easily see the entire all the law students at Dement University fitting in easily.
A gentle wind tugged at the curls framing her face, bringing her back to reality. Jasmine suddenly realized that Mason and Misty were both staring at her.
Mason she could understand, but how Misty could lay eyes on a sight such as this without gaping half as much as Jasmine was seemed absurd. "Have you been here before?" she asked the brown-haired girl, her eyes wide.
Misty shook her head. To no one's surprise, her eyes showed no expression as she said, "It is my first time as well. Since coming here, I have been by your side the entire time."
"Gods, this is incredible! No one should need this much space." Jasmine couldn't find the energy to pick her jaw off the floor even as she stared towards Trinka in the distance. "But then, I suppose it isn't that bad when you think that there are a bunch of vampires living her too. How many of you guys are here?"
Mason picked up the question easily. The wind tousled his shirt as he walked, his hands clasped behind his back. He seemed in even paler in the sunlight, the glow of his eyes even brighter. "I'd say about two hundred or so," he said, slightly uncertain. He lifted his eyes to the sky in thought. "Yeah, that sounds about right. I think. I'm not sure though, so you might have to ask Trinka."
"Two hundred? Gods." Though she'd been staying here for a while, Jasmine was yet to see more than a handful of them. No matter how large this place was, it was unfathomable to think that there were truly so many of them here.
A tingle of unease ran through her at the thought—and after it came the guilt. These vampires have been doing all they can to protect her, so to feel a little uncomfortable knowing there were so many of them around her didn't feel right. Jasmine didn't want to listen to that voice in her head telling her that they could easily turn her into a meal if they wished. No matter the pact vampires had with humans — the one that went back for centuries — there were still rogue vampires who did whatever they wished. But, of course, those vampires were not allowed to remain in covens.
"You want me to carry you across?" Mason asked, lifting a brow at Jasmine. "I forgot you were human for a second. You might get a little winded trying to get to Trinka."
"That's fine," Jasmine blurted out. She was alarmed to find a blush creeping up her cheeks. "I need the exercise, anyway."
"Do you? You seem pretty fit to me." Mason leaned down, studying Jasmine openly. Like a cat would a curious object. Jasmine was caught between wanting to shy away and to slap him. "A little on the skinny side, but I don't think a walk like this is going to help you. You're certainly not going to get anyway near Misty if that is what you're hoping for."
"I never said that I was," Jasmine pushed out. Relief rushed through her when Mason pulled away.
"It's something nice to aim for," Mason went on conversationally. "Misty has those really nice, toned muscles I like to see on women."
"This sounds like something you should be saying to Misty," Jasmine pointed out. Despite the sweat beginning to dot her brow, Jasmine felt as Trinka was still too far. Though, perhaps the sweating had more to do with the heat than anything else.
"I would but Misty isn't going to answer me."
"I'm beginning to see why," Jasmine mumbled. The moment it was out her mouth, she realized she might as well say it out louder. A vampire like him would have heard her easily, anyway.
If Jasmine's words bothered Mason, he didn't show it. He skipped around her body, saddling up to Misty's stoic side. The girl didn't even blink as Mason began peering at her. It was quite disconcerting to have someone start at you for so long, but Misty didn't seem to care at all. Nothing fazed the girl.
"You mind telling me more about yourself, Misty?" Mason asked. Of course, Misty said nothing.
And so he asked again. And then, when she failed to give him a response, he asked her something different. And then kept on talking while Misty kept her silence and Jasmine learned to block him out. She focused ahead of her instead, on Trinka's head of hair fast growing more detailed and the two people with her. She was right about the fact that one of them was Wendy, her blond hair drifting through the wind. And the other...
"Mommy?"
Jacey Wynter lifted her chin at Jasmine's voice, a slight smile appearing on her lips. Jasmine picked up the pace, nearly running towards them now. As usual, Jacey was dressed in a pair of loose jeans pants and a simple shirt, her black coily hair braided around her head.
"Nice to see that you remember who I am, Jasmine," Jacey said once Jasmine was upon them. "If it were up to you, I would never hear from you."
"Oh, please," Jasmine responded instantly. "You know that I've been keeping in contact even though I've been busy with school and adjusting to...all this."
"And you have been adjusting so well!" Trinka twirled into the midst of the conversation with all the flourish she commanded. She wore a peach dress that flared at her hips. Jasmine had a suspicion she was wearing a petticoat underneath. She came to Jasmine's side, putting her hands on both of Jasmine's shoulders as expensive perfume wrapped around her. "You should see how naturally this all comes to her, Jacey! It is almost as if she has been born in a coven herself."
"I simply raised her well," Jacey stated, her tone not as warm as usual. "That is all."
Trinka wasn't bothered by it. "I have no doubt about it. Now, Jasmine, aren't you curious as to why we called you here?"
"A bit," Jasmine admitted. She looked from her mother to Trinka to the twins who were standing side by side watching them.
"Don't mind them." Trinka waved a dismissive hand at the Falz twins. "They're only bored, it seems. They have nothing to do with what we will be doing today."
"And what will we be doing?" Jasmine probed.
"Training, of course!"
With that said, Trinka whirled away, her skirts flashing with her. The simple pearls hanging from her ears shook and jumped with her every move. No matter what she did, she was the center of attention. And she was thriving.
"Training?" Jasmine echoed. She glanced at Jacey, frowning. "Training for what exactly?"
Jacey was the one who responded. "For yourself. Your own safety. I do not feel safe leaving you solely in the hands of these vampires, though I am grateful for all that they are doing. And I regret never telling you about who you really are. But from now, that will change."
"I don't...I don't understand." Jasmine turned fully to her mother. "You plan on training me as a witch?"
"Jacey, here, came to me yesterday," Trinka jumped in, twirling a shiny curl with her finger, "suggesting that we both train you. She will train you as a witch and I will train you in basic hand to hand combat. If anything were to happen to you, you can handle yourself well."
"This is a lot to process," Jasmine murmured.
"I can imagine," Jacey said. She came up to Jasmine, stroking her hair. "Everything has been happening so fast for you that I thought it would be better for you to settle in first. But, at the same time, I don't think there should be too much of a delay. We never know what might happen."
"That doesn't scare me at all."
"I shouldn't," Trinka chirped. "Now, are you ready?"
Jasmine looked down at herself. She wasn't sure she was ready at all. This was coming as too much of a surprise to her, the weight of this situation too much to bear. It would mean...actually using her powers. Doing spells and the like...
Jasmine hadn't considered the very thought. Accepting that she was the one with pure magic, but she'd never thought of actually utilizing it.
"I'm not sure..." she admitted.
"You don't have any time to think about it, Jasmine." Jacey grasped her by the shoulders, her eyes boring into hers. "You have to know how to control this power. It's the only way you'll be able to protect yourself."
Staring into her mother's eyes, watching the furious determination shining within them, was enough to fill Jasmine with her own fervor. All her life, she'd had this wonderful woman watching over her, protecting her from dangers she never knew existed. She couldn't let her do that for the rest of her life.
"Alright, I'll do it."
"Great!" Trinka exclaimed. "You two, do you plan on staying here?"
"We don't have anything else to do—" Mason's words were cut off when Wendy jabbed him in the side with her elbow.
"We're leaving now," the beautiful twin spoke up. "We just wanted to see what was going on but we didn't plan on lingering. Let's go, Mase."
"Hey, I'm not ready to—"
"You really don't know when to shut up, do you?" Wendy wrapped her thin arm around her brother's neck and tugged him along. Jasmine watched them go, still a little taken aback at how easily the vampire girl could portray her strength without breaking a sweat.
Misty took a step back, clasping her hands behind her. Standing at attention, as usual, her eyes leveled on Jasmine. That made Jasmine feel better for some reason. She looked at both her mother and Trinka. "Alright, I'm ready," she said determinedly.
"Lovely! Jacey, would you care to do the honors?"
Jacey didn't look at the elegant woman as she took a few steps away from Jasmine. She slowly raised her hands, palms facing the sky. Lifting her eyes, she mumbled under her breath. Jasmine felt a chill rush over her, knowing full well that her mother was chanting a spell. It was so odd to see— this woman she'd thought was normal all her life, actually being a witch the entire time.
The wind began to pick up around them, catching Jasmine's hair in its grasp. Jacey lowered her unseeing eyes to Jasmine as her words grew more guttural, a language that Jasmine could not understand. Then, suddenly, the air was still again and Jacey let her hands drop to her side.
"What did you just do?" Jasmine asked.
"I charged the air, a bit. It should help you draw on your powers easier."
"Will I have to learn spells like you?" A tremor of unusual excitement ran through her at the prospect.
Jacey smiled at that, as if she could sense Jasmine's anticipation. "You will have to, but not right now. For now, you need to learn how to channel your powers. Yours manifest themselves far differently from mine. While I draw from the air around me, your powers grow within you."
"There is magic in the air?"
"There is magic in everything, dear Jasmine," Trinka jumped in. She tilted her head slightly to the side, a smile playing around her lips. "From the growing of the trees to the drifting of the wind to even the way we laugh and play as living beings—though the latter will need an immense amount of magical power to be able to control."
"You don't need to think about that right now," Jacey said sharply, closing her eyes briefly. "No human can control others the way Trinka is suggesting, so there is no use even thinking about it. For now, we need to work on you honing your own magical energy."
"Okay." Processing all that they were saying was more difficult than Jasmine thought it would be. "What do I need to do?"
"Take a deep breath," Jacey ordered. She was in teacher mode now. She clasped her hands behind her, somehow staring at Jasmine from down her nose. Like a strict general, and Jasmine didn't dare to defy her.
Jasmine kept her eyes on Jacey as she breathed in deeply, letting it out through her nose.
"Again."
Jasmine did as she was told.
"One more time."
Trying not to show her confusion, Jasmine took another deep breath, letting it out her nose.
"Do you feel any different?"
Jasmine frowned. She thought long and hard about it, but nothing felt odd. "No, I feel the same."
Jacey lifted a hand. She murmured under her breath for a few seconds, then extended her hand to Jasmine. "Now, how do you feel?"
The moment the question was out her mouth, Jasmine felt a surge of energy rise in her. She gasped at the force of it, her knees buckling. She grasped at her shirt, gasping for air as her chest tightened ad spots began to appear within her vision. "Momm—"
But Jacey didn't move from where she stood. She looked at Jasmine as she struggled to breathe, calmly saying, "Don't struggle. Don't fight it. It is your power, trying to make itself known to you. Embrace it, Jasmine, because it is yours."
"I...I can't..."
"Jasmine sank to her knees, her fingers digging into the ground. Tears filled her eyes, sinking into the earth. Waves of revulsion came over her, but even as she heaved, nothing came up. But sweat washed her skin, a cold shiver racing up and down her spine.
"Embrace it, Jasmine," came her mother's soothing voice. "Don't fight it. It is yours. Take a hold of it and use it as you wish."
"I... don't know how to..."
"You do. You've had this within you since you were born. Even though you didn't know about it, a part of you knows exactly what to do. Now, take ahold of it!"
The shout rang through Jasmine like a shockwave. Her eyes flew open, a gasp flying from her mouth. And suddenly, the pressure building with her chest eased It didn't disappear, but it was no longer uncomfortable. Just as her mother had commanded, Jasmine took ahold of the overbearing power.
It trembled within her, struggling to unleash itself, but she didn't let it. As she struggled to her feet, she kept an invisible hand pressed against it, letting only tendrils seeping through the slots of her fingers.
"Wonderful," came Jacey's voice, but Jasmine could hardly see her. She sounded far, too far into the distance to be of any use to her right now. "Now, let's—"
The power was too much, burning through those fingers. Jasmine let out a shriek, her head tilting back, as the pain escaped and threatened to consume her. She heard shouts from all around. She felt hands grasp her strongly, but nothing could get rid of the overwhelming pain. Nothing could stop her from screaming.
Not until this power of hers had taken all it could, then left her slipping into the darkness.
***
Hi guys! For those who were waiting, sorry it took so long to upload. I got sick (not corona, I promise) and school and work started back. It was hell trying to juggle those two while trying to get better at the same time.
But, this book is officially starting back! I will be uploading every Sunday. Don't hesitate to curse me out if a miss a day :)
Hope you enjoy it!
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