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“Easy sistah. Dis only har first day.” Conrad said softly from behind his steaming cup. I placed my own cup on the counter. My hands were still shaking, and I didn’t want to spill. Meredith was observing me again, a look of concern on her face.
“I see.” She said. “You are upset. I can feel your aura expanding in agitation. It is dangerous to leave yourself so open.”
“So I’ve heard.” I replied, bristling. I had to learn to get that part of myself under control. I didn’t like having myself open like that anymore than they did. My concern was more for my own privacy than safety. Meredith smiled at me and I knew immediately she was listening to my thoughts.
“You two don’t look related.” I blurted, trying to turn their attention away from me. Meredith smiled kindly.
“We are all children of this planet. In that respect, Conrad is my brother.” She explained. I rose an eyebrow at Conrad, but he just shrugged.
“Conrad said you can teach me how to control my aura, and it would keep people from being able to read my thoughts,” It was a statement, but I phrased it as a question. I waited, watching her earnestly.
“You are here to learn a great more than that, I’m afraid.” She said, her eyes growing sad. “Why don’t you have a seat?” She asked. I shook my head.
“I’m fine standing, thank you.” I was worried that if I sat down, after the day I’d had, I wouldn’t get up again.
“Very well, suit yourself.” She glided past me and settled down at the table.
“So,” Meredith began, “I’m sure you have a great many questions you would like to have answered. Now is the time to ask. I give you my word. I will do everything within my means to answer your questions honestly.”
I took a deep breath, still trying my best to calm down. Her willingness to cooperate with me left me feeling suspicious. I wasn’t used to having things handed to me so easily, least of all answers to questions I seemed to have been asking my entire life. It all seemed too good to be true. However, taking in her honest face, I decided to approach this situation like I did most things in life and dive in headfirst.
“What am I?” I finally asked. “Am I a witch too?” I thought of what had happened earlier. Those metal bolts bending back into shape, the animals I had…murdered. Meredith looked at me with something very close to pity, and I clammed up. I didn’t need anyone feeling sorry for me. I glared at her, and her summer-fresh aura buckled slightly.
“I’m angry all the time. People avoid me,” I continued looking up, meeting Meredith’s soft blue eyes again. “What am I?” A terrible coldness was welling up in my chest in anticipation of the answer. I knew immediately I was not going to like whatever it was Meredith was about to tell me.
“You are very powerful, Raven, but you are not a witch,” She began. The beast in my chest perked its ears and the hand that was constantly wrapped around my heart twitched its fingers.
“Your body is mortal, much the same way our bodies are,” she said, touching one hand to her chest and lying the other hand on Conrad’s forearm. “Your soul, however, is not.” I frowned at this, not following.
“Witches, or magick folk, if you’re looking for a more general term. Our kind goes by many different names and have been gifted our power from the deities we serve. We do not create magick. Every act we manifest comes at a price.
“Every decision for magick folk is based on the concept of balance. Many of us believe that each intention we send out comes back threefold. It is called the rule of three.” I nodded, trying to be patient. I shoved my irritation and my burning need for information aside, forcing myself to keep my tongue in check.
“However, there are other creatures that walk this earth who do not need to draw their power from any sort of deity. There are creatures who follow a different set of rules.” She explained, pausing to make sure I was listening.
“The shifters, for example, have the power to shift between a human and animal form. This power is not a gift from one of the many gods they believe in but is more of a genetic trait that they are born with. They can shift at will as easily as you can change clothes.” Shifters? Like werewolves? I subtly pinched myself to make sure I was awake. If I hadn’t seen Meredith float a teacup through the air myself, I would have completely written her off as crazy.
Meredith smiled at my unspoken thoughts, “Not just wolves. There are many different breeds of shifter,” she paused, allowing me to absorb what I had just heard.
“Then, there are daemons”, she continued. I felt the blood drain from my face. “Daemons do not need to draw power from any source, though they can if they choose to.” A great coldness in my chest began to spread.
“Daemons are immortal beings. They transcend time and space. They are darkness and the absence of darkness. They are a power that derives from the very beginning, and a power that will exist until the very end. Their power is not gifted from any diety. Some even consider daemons to be deities themselves.”
The world tilted beneath my feet. I couldn’t bring myself to ask if I was a daemon. I think, deep down, I already knew the answer.
“You, Raven, are something none of us have seen before. You have the blood of The Origin, the first daemon, flowing through your human veins.”
11
I felt like I was going to collapse. Conrad stood but he wasn’t quick enough. Instead of rushing to my side he merely glanced at one of the empty chairs sitting around the table and it flew across the floor to catch me. I slumped into it, resting my elbows on my knees, and catching my head in my hands. Running my fingers through my hair, I took three ragged deep breaths.
I heard Conrad rush to the kitchen and then heard running water. Next thing I knew, he was crouching next to me with his warm hand on my back and holding a glass of water. I took it gratefully and took a large sip before sinking into the back of the chair. Conrad looked almost as angry as he had when he had discovered Amon and I together in the stacks.
“Yuh don’t have to be so dyamn brazen about it.” He growled at Meredith from my side. His accent grew thicker with his frustration. “Yuh gon give di poor gyal a heart attack.” I laid a hand on his knee and shook my head. Leaning my head back and closing my eyes as I tried to speak.
“No.” I said quietly. “I need to know.” I took another small sip of water and met Meredith’s eyes once again. Swallowing hard I asked another question.
“Am I…evil?” I asked. Every fight I had ever been in, every time someone taunted me, I would snap. Every fight I had ever gotten into flashed before my eyes. It always ended the same, with my victim’s eyes widening as they realized they might die beneath my hands. That had to be evil. I was evil.
