Whispered Kiss

A Soul's Imprint

A monster, in accordance to the dictionary, defines something that inflicts horror. On this night, Bladen believed himself to fit the description. He never dreamed of becoming a brief flicker of his father. Cruel in its purest form.

You're not him. You're doing this for a reason. A good reason. The tiniest whisper of reassurance echoed in his mind. Are you sure? You're destroying an entire life. Bladen grinded his teeth together, clenching the vial in his hand tighter.

In the distance the shouts of drunken partygoers and a jumping bass floated on stale night air, wrapping around the dirt-streaked neighbourhood walls. The apartment blocks were old and weary, all alike, and half forgotten by the busy party district a few blocks over. If he could choose any other location, he would. The ally he stood in reeked of days old excrement and stale alcohol. Bladen huffed. The more he shifted on his feet, the more the stank sunk deeper into his sensitive senses.

Despite all this, his bones were weary, his soul unprepared no matter how much he prepared it. He closed his eyes, his mind swirling. The weight on his shoulders were ones he carried always, lifting for brief amounts before returning tenfold and crushing him. If only he could bend the clock and give Ave more time.

Over the years, Bladen watched Ave Vagameer go about her normal life, keeping himself locked in the shadows and unknown to her. Because of this, Ave led a normal, safe, magic-free life. In many senses, jealousy overcame him when he looked at her. It's what Bladen craved, it's the only way he wouldn't feel the sting of his own problems, Damania's problems and his duty. He wished he could have a family, perhaps a home where his main worries would be his family, his mortgage or his next paycheck.

Ave had that, a family, a stable job, great friends and a home. By breaking those walls, he would be breaking open the truth, and force her hidden power into the open. He'll destroy all she knows.

Monster. The word crept up on him again. He licked his lips, tasting the bourbon on them. Those three drinks he drank earlier, weren't enough. He needed a whole fucking bottle to ease the abhorrence he felt for himself and even then, he'd still feel its powerful whiplash.

How did the Bleeding Scries find Ave to begin with? She resided in a different world. A world they didn't venture into and without a wave of power emanating from her, she should be undetectable. To anyone she's a mortal woman.

Bladen scowled, his eyes still closed. He wished Arel Mordenheim instilled enough knowledge in him to settle the storm of questions. His thirst for understanding things beyond him ate at him. The mystery of Arel Mordenheim and the Blood Witches were too vast. He wanted to learn the history of Blood Witches. He wanted to know how Liana Rivera hid a Blood Witch in the mortal realm, or rather who helped them hide the witch. He wanted to know how they spelled her powers into hiding, how they traced her bloodline, and how they knew she would be born a Blood Witch. He knew he couldn't answer a single question, nor did he have surety of finding them in his lifetime. All he knew was to protect Ave Vagameer, and keep her from the Bleeding Scries clutches. Once they unlocked her powers, they could teach her how to use them and provided her with the necessary guidelines to defend herself.

Should Ave perish before they could train her to defeat Elihandra Velvin, they would be tossed back to ground zero. No one knew when or how a Blood Witch came into this world. Bladen knew their births were random, yet he didn't know why, he also knew they didn't come into power until later in life. They were vulnerable when young. In the last thousand years since Icarus Velvin's grasp on Damania, only a handful of Blood Witches were recorded. They all perished. Liana Rivera had been the last and it took two-hundred and seventy-five years for another witch to be born. They couldn't afford to have Elihandra in command of their world for another three hundred years. Bladen sure as hell didn't have it in to keep the fight up that long.