The Blood Witch

5

Scarlet woke up to light so bright it hurt her eyes. She squinted as she tried to wait for her eyes to adjust. When they did, she saw she was on the small cot in her grandmother's living room. Judging by the sun, it was midmorning and a very bright day. Her feet hit the ground as she had a memory of glowing eyes. Then other memories came back, memories of pain. Holding out both arms, Scarlet searched for the cuts.

There was nothing there. No evidence of a single cut. Confused, Scarlet checked her legs before moving to the mirror to look at her face. Not a scratch. She remembered being weak and loosing so much blood. Yet she felt great. Even more than great, she felt energized and, for some strange reason; she felt happy. Turning towards the door, she came face to face with Charlotte, who was holding a bowl of oatmeal and coffee.

"What happened?" Scarlet asked as more memories of her grandmother's face as her throat closed. Gripping her throat, Scarlet took a seat on the bed and waited for some answers.

Charlotte sat the oatmeal and coffee on the nightstand before sitting in a chair across from the bead. Charlotte looked older today than she had in the past few days. Today, she resembled the grandma she had known all of her life. However, Charlotte looked troubled.

"Grandma," Scarlet called to her. "Whats wrong."

"I know what kind of witch you are now." Charlotte whispered.

"Really?" Scarlet asked. "Well, that's good, right?"

Charlotte folded her hands in her lap and took a deep breath. "Remember how you wanted to be a bad bitch?" She asked.

"I'm a bad bitch too?" Scarlet asked with a laugh. "Well, this is better than I thought. Why do you seem upset?"

Charlotte looked up at her and smiled a sad smile and weary eyes. "You're a blood witch, Scarlet." Charlotte said. "It's a rare form for a witch, and one of the most powerful. When you phased in the yard, it was almost scary. Your eyes... your beautiful brown eyes turned red. Your hair was aflame, and your aura was a mix of emotions. You healed your wounds and almost killed me."

"How?" Scarlet gasped.

"You had lost a lot of blood," Charlotte explained. "it's in your nature. As a blood witch, you can call someone else's blood. You can control it, Scarlet. It is an element for you. You will eventually be able to identify someone just by the scent of their blood. It is an old skill, few people understand."

A blood witch. It was as foreign to Scarlet as sage. She did not know how to feel or what she was supposed to do. So far, her witch was pretty scary. She welded blood and could control it. Needless to say, she had questions, especially since she didn't remember any of it. Would it always be like that? Was she going to need to drink blood? Had she drunk her grandmother's blood?

"Oh my God, Grandma, did I drink your blood?" Scarlet asked, horrified at the thought.

"No," Charlotte laughed, "and that's not a requirement for a blood witch. You absorb blood, right into your pores. It was surreal to see it happen. I've known one blood witch in my lifetime and he wasn't very social. The downside of being a blood witch is a kind of repellent to people. Blood is a forbidden element for witches. Blood witches are deemed to be void witches because they have such a close relationship to death. Therefore, you will face a lot of disapproval, honey. People will not take to you easily, and you will probably be an outcast. The last blood witch I knew was eventually hunted down and killed, but not before he took a lot of them with him."

"But that will not happen to me, right?" Scarlet asked as a shiver slid down her spine. At the same moment, she felt something rising in her chest, a kind of rumble. She pushed it down as she tried to focus on what Charlotte was saying.

"It will be over my dead body, honey," Charlotte said.

"Then why do you feel sad?" Scarlet asked. She could feel it coming off of her in waves. It took everything in her not to run to her grandmother and comfort her.

"Because you will be prime beef to anyone seeking a rare power. You can destroy an entire town in minutes, and most blood witches are easily dark, even though you can be both. You did not go dark though, even as you drew blood from me, you didn't take too much. Only what you needed. Witch is good."

"But I have a target on my back and I almost killed you. Am I dangerous?" Scarlet asked.

"Yes, and you always will be. Once you choose a guardian and master your skills, you will be fine. Just try to stay within your kind. They will understand, but humans won't." Charlotte said as she stood. "Come on, we know what you are now. Now we can start your training."

*****

That afternoon, after a hearty breakfast and a lot of water. Charlotte had produced a herd of goats for her to drain. The first goat had been a struggle. Scarlet was panting and sweating after an hour of trying to drain the pretty goat. Eventually, as she became more tired, the world had become draped in an orange haze. It was like the sun was pointing at her. She felt hot, but light. When Charlotte had stepped back, giving her space. She felt at peace with the distance. Then Scarlet looked at the poor goat and drained him. After that accomplishment, she noticed her body did indeed glow. It was beautiful.

Later, she returned the blood to the goat, only after she manipulated the blood into different forms. She had even created a knife that she could actually use. With only a thought, the liquid had become hard and pointy. When the goat would not stir, after the return of the blood, Scarlet felt drained and tired. Feeling helpless, she had cried. The moment her tears touched it, it sprang to life and trotted off to eat at the grass all the while Charlotte had encouraged her and smiled with approval.

Scarlet knew she wanted to be good. Being bad was just not in her nature. She was a person who cared. Contrary to the reputation of blood witches, she was a people person. She was determined to not go dark and to change how people looked at blood witches.

One task completed, Charlotte moved on to sigils and potions. Each requiring a few different herbs, spices, and rubs. Each requiring at least a drop of her blood. According to Charlotte, her blood was potent and was a major spell booster. Another thing that worried Charlotte was that her blood was valuable. People would pay a pretty penny for a few drops.

Overall, it was a productive day. Scarlet certainly felt more than ready for whatever. The blood draw was her most defensive move, and it had taken seconds for the goat to be drained. If anyone came at her sideways, she would do it. To protect herself and Charlotte, she would do it. Looking into the mirror, in the bathroom, where she had stood for the last twenty minutes, Scarlet saw her eyes glow faintly. She wanted to know what she looked like when she phased. Getting angry seemed to have done the trick.

Trying to turn up the tempo a bit, Scarlet let her mind wonder at the thought of lying in the grass, her body bleeding out. The glow amplified immediately. She did look scary, with her hair glowing as it moved to its own gravitational pull. The soft orange glow surrounded her entire body, and her eyes were a deep red. It was like looking through the eyes of a stranger.