Destiny's Witch (BxB)

Chapter 12: The Unhealing Wound

Perry

The next morning, I wake up to find my shoulder aching. My father cleaned the wound after we arrived home to prevent infection, but it has yet to heal itself.

I grow worried because usually my injuries heal quickly. In a normal circumstance, my wound would have closed perfectly by now. It makes me wonder if something has changed.

The appearance of Aunt Natalie as well as the emergence of the ability to move things with my mind and read the emotions of others brings about the question I never truly asked before.

"What exactly can a Zion do?"

Thankfully, it is Saturday. I decide to slip on a pair of jeans with my favorite t-shirt emblazoned with a pair of cartoon characters from my favorite tv show before heading downstairs.

The moment I step off the stairs, I hear Alan call my name into the living room. I walk into the mancave of a room to find Alan sitting in his brown leather chair reading on his tablet.

Our living room is large, separated from the hallway by a sliding glass door. My father coaxed my mother into getting a gigantic brown leather sofa when Porter and I were younger and it has been a mainstay of the room. He also lobbied for a flat screen above the fireplace on the far side of the room.

A large bookshelf lines the wall on the opposite side of the room, beside a desk with an older model desktop computer. Porter and I have our own laptops, so the only people who use the desktop are my mother and father, however, they share my father's work laptop occasionally.

Alan beckons me over as he sits the tablet down on an end table beside a Tiffany-style antique lamp. The lamp had been a gift from my grandmother to the couple when they were married. It is a wonder it survived the brotherly fights from Hell.

"Wow, Per, you look like Hell. You didn't heal?" Alan asks.

"Do I look healed, dad?"

"Watch it, kid!" Alan says. "You can't let your mother see you like that. She's already getting suspicious."

"Well, maybe that is a sign we should tell her." I say.

"Maybe. Listen, I hate lying to your mother. I just wanted to keep everyone safe and calm until we could convince them you are safe."

"I'm not sure if you know this, but I'm literally never safe. I just got attacked by what I believe might have been the devil." I remind him.

"Agreed. So, I agree. We should tell her, but we need to find a way to do it gently." Alan says.

"Gently? 'Hey mom, I have been fighting the forces of darkness for months now, did you remember the milk this time?' is not going to come out gently. Besides, I feel like you just don't want her to know you've been keeping a secret from her."

Alan sighs. "You'll understand when you're married." He says.

"Do Zions get married? And what exactly is a Zion? Besides someone who hits really hard and heals really fast, cause none of that is happening right now." I say.

Alan is lost in thought for a moment before he walks over to the desk and grabs a stray piece of paper. He uses a pen from the desk to scribble something down on the paper before returning to me.

Alan hands me a list of ingredients, most of which I have never heard of before. "Go to the Rosewood Magic Shop and get these ingredients. We need to get you healed up before your mother sees you."

"Dad, it's Saturday."

"All the more reason for you to get healed. Tell you what, if you go and get these ingredients, no patrol. You get to have the entire Saturday to yourself." He says.

"That sounds suspiciously like a bribe, Alan Renner. Luckily for you, I really need to not be Mr. 'Kills things with his bare hands' today, so I'm on it." I say.

I salute him as I retreat from the room, headed upstairs to find some shoes. I grab my messenger bag, stuffing the dagger inside for safe keeping.

If gathering the ingredients on the list means I can do whatever I want for the rest of the day, with a healed body, I am willing to overlook the fact Alan has effectively danced around my questions once again.