A Hymn of Snakes

SEVENTEEN

     It took a week to convince everyone to let me interrogate the witch under arrest, many argued that since I too was a witch I might try and help her escape. Little did they know that the only person I truly cared about at the moment was myself, as if I would take the extra time to break a prisoner out unless it helped me and my goals. I snapped my hand against the wooden door and banged on it as loud as possible. Her head bobbed as she looked up at me, her ringlet hair in a mess of tangles. "Good morning sunshine, time to open your eyes and answer some of my questions." I said leaving Holstein outside of the room.

"I have nothing to say to you." She said spitting to the ground near my feet she had rebellion in her eyes, good. I hated dealing with pitiful people.

I would be lying if I said Ithe hasn't been influencing me more and more, then again I'm not the same person I used to be. Cordelia Greerson was an obedient kind hearted girl, but Delia. Delia and Ithe played by their own rules, they didn't care about people's feelings. I tried not to anyway, "Not yet you don't." I walked up to her and used my finger to skim the shackles around her wrists. She looked me dead in the eye.

Invaded by fear, the witch slimmed her eyes at me. "You stopped our curse." She coward against my hand, my gaze trained over her body.

I shook my head as Ithe twisted in my mind, she fed on this fear. Every time someone gave me that look to flinched away from me, it only made me stronger. So I allowed her to react, "I didn't stop it, it still exists." The Sundown Curse, that's what the Lost's memory told me. That's what they have been calling it, I tried to do as much research as possible but there is no spell that accounts for it. "My shadow just ate it." I explained but it didn't sound right, the truth was always a strange thing.

"So it's true what the oracle said, you are a Conduit." She accused but I didn't know a thing.

My brow raised, "Do I look like I know what that means?" I asked as I released the witch from between my fingers, her bones so brittle they might just snap under my touch. Ithe was interested in doing so but I pulled her back, we didn't need another incident like before, I didn't want to have to deal with Alex right now.

Laughter bubbles in from the witch's mouth, humor filled the room as the light flickered over me. I wondered why she hadn't used magic to escape, then again everyone's power was different. I thought back to Clarice and her grandmother who needs three people to summon a Banshee. Then I considered my own power, I guess there was a reason for everyone to be afraid of me. "How can you be a witch and yet know absolutely nothing."

"I had a late start." I shook my head, noticing there was a dark tattoo like birth mark at the top of her neck. A symbol carved into her skin like a brand, I reached out but she pulled away from me. "Let's talk about Natalia instead." I moved my hand to her arm and pressed my fingers against her skin, she seethed from pain as I refused to let go. I moved her sleeve to see the ink like tattoo that branded her skin. Natalia's full name sprawled out against her arm, I bit down so hard on my lip that I tasted copper. "She's bound to you." Like a slave.

The witch looked to the floor, embarrassment filled her body as she tried to curl into herself. "If I even mention her name or what we've done I'll be dead by the dawn." I pitied her, I knew what it was like to be made a slave of those you trusted. I've spent nineteen years dealing with it, I don't think I would ever forget it or forgive them. The order simply took our memories doing worse than what death truly was, however, Natalia was merciless and killed no matter who the person.

These witches were disposable to her.

Anger festered in every blind part of my heart, I swore to myself up and down that I would made Natalia suffer every moment of pain she has caused everyone. Witches will never escape persecution- from the Vampires, the Keepers, the Church, and by all who oppose them. We are too powerful to not be contained or harmed, I wished there was something I could do."The Queen will most likely kill you anyway, so what is it going to be? Death by being a traitor or death knowing you've done something to help." I decided to put away my strong personality, a glimmer of who I used to be shined through. Mercy filling my body, Prisha's face came to mind.