The Phoenix Witch

Chapter 16

Christine's P.O.V

I felt warmth as my consciousness came back to me, my eyes flickering open and for a moment I wondered if I was dead and if I was in heaven. I snorted mentally as if they would have a place for me, my dark humor came to an end when I felt a stinging pain in my abdomen, ah, I thought, alive. I observed my surroundings and saw that I was placed on a bed, and a hundred or so candles were lit, giving this room a pleasant aroma. I tried to move but failed, A groan escaped me and I huffed as gave up, What the hell was I supposed to do now? The door creaked open and I quickly shut my eyes, acting as if I were asleep.

I felt the presence of a person near me, witch, I realized, but before I could panic and do anything, a hand held mine, I stiffened slightly for a moment but relaxed when I heard his voice, 'Wake up, Chrissy, it's been too long. I've lost you once, I can't go through that again nor can Nan so, please ' he whispered, his voice filled with sadness. I opened my eyes to see him sitting next to me, bending over my hand and crying, 'Oh, Eli ' I whispered, my voice cracking, dry from unuse. He shot up from his position, his eyes wide. ' Water' I croaked before he could say anything and he immediately stood up, fetching me some water from the bedside table.

He helped me sit up and I hurriedly quenched my thirst, ' How long was I out for?' I asked after I was done. 'A week, Chrissy, you had us all very worried ' he said. I stared at him in shock as all the events came flashing back to me, I knew I had given up the book and gotten hit in the process but had my sacrifice been in vain? Was everyone furious with me? 'Chrissy ' he called out and I snapped out of my trance and asked 'How am I alive?', he hesitated for a moment, a look flashing across his face, and said 'You flat-lined for some seconds but we were able to bring you back '. 'how? I don't know much about magic, but I know enough to gauge the strength of a deadly ball of magic and that hit was strong enough to kill me. The only way I could've survived is if-' I paused and my whole body went rigid, panic rising within me, ' Tell me they didn't, Eli ' I continued, gritting my teeth. 'I'm sorry but they had to, it was the only way you could live ' he whispered reaching out to hold my hand again but I moved mine away and said 'What about Nan? She didn't stop them?' I asked, my voice cracking and eyes tearing. 'She was the one who suggested it, Chrissy ' he said, averting his eyes,

I fell silent after that, my mind trying to process this, I had given up an ancient magical book for a seer by sacrificing my life, And if that was not enough I had been bought back by vampire blood which had caused me so much pain in the past. Furthermore, all this had been governed by my grandmother, who knew its effects on me. 'Christine ' a voice sounded and I turned to see Nan sitting next to me, Eli now nowhere in sight, ' Which one, Nan, which one's blood was it?' I asked, my voice breaking slightly.

' It was Matthew, honey, thank god his blood was strong enough ' she said, attempting to hug me but I moved away from her with a groan and said ' You know why I avoid and hate vampire blood, Nan, you know what it does to me and yet you took the risk?' She sighed and said 'It was necessary, I couldn't let you die from loss. We monitored you and saw none of the signs, honey. You are fine, his blood isn't affecting you '. I stared at her for a moment searching for signs of lying, finding none I sighed and said 'Fine but you still shouldn't have done that '. She smiled a little and pulled me into a comforting hug, 'I'm sorry honey but I don't regret it ' she mumbled, I rolled my eyes and said 'I'm sorry too, that overreaction wasn't needed, I was just scared, thank you ', she pulled me back and said 'I know, honey '.

I nodded and tried to lean against the headboard but pain shot through me and I grimaced, Nan noticed and helped me sit comfortably, I smiled in thanks and asked, ' How is the situation outside? I bet they're enraged with me and have a ton of questions, especially after the whole vampire blood can't heal me completely fiasco ', After a second or two of waiting, I looked at her and saw her smirking at me, I gasped and said 'you didn't tell them! How'd you pull that off? I thought-', she cut me off and said ' Thought what? That your Nan is just an old Witch? This is my home, honey, no one defies my orders here'
I gaped at her and asked 'So you've managed to keep them all away from this room? Not even one has tried to kill me?', she looked at me like I had gone mental and said 'Yes and no one will ever try to kill you in my home '. I nodded at her and asked 'But they do want to kill me, right?', She sighed, hesitation flashing across her face before she said 'Some of them do, Maximus is angry but he does not want to break our alliance, not yet at least ' she paused and I asked 'the Elders? The Vampires?', she averted her gaze from my eyes and said 'The Elders are angry and demand an explanation, and the Vampires... well I truly don't know what they think, they are a strange, mysterious bunch ' 'So you're basically telling me that they are all waiting for me to wake up, right?' I asked, 'Yes but you don't have to answer them now honey, they can wait but your health can not ' she said, concern on her face. I immediately shook my head and said 'I have to go now Nan, I made the choice of saving the seer and lost their precious book, I am responsible and they deserve an answer '. She sighed in exasperation and said 'ok but you will not strain yourself and you cannot let them know that the blood didn't work fully on you, that will bring up a lot of questions we can not answer right now'
I nodded at her and she left the room saying that she would inform our guests that I was awake and that someone would come to help and escort me. I closed my eyes with a sigh after she was gone and let my brain ponder on what the hell I was going to say to justify my actions. Was it my morals? my instincts? Or was it something else entirely? I did not know but all I knew was that at that moment when I had to choose between a person and a book, I had been sure that I was right, that my choice was going to be important to us somehow, it was a feeling I had and I always trusted them but the real question was, how was I going to get a group of people who hate me and want to probably burn me to ashes to understand any of this?