Glass Souls

18

"Again Leann, you have to relax or you won't be able to get in touch with that  part of you that holds your magic," Verruca instructs. She does it all without emotion so Leann doesn't know if she likes her or hates her. With how her body feels after the training excersizes, she thinks hate is perhaps the one that she's looking for.

Leann goes into her mind and blocks out everything, including Verruca. There, where she went when she was escaping Jared, she was able to find the peace she was looking for. The flicker just out of sight that she'd always noticed was back but this time she was able to see it clearly. She reaches for it and it comes to her happily. As she touches it, it merges with her and she feels whole for the first time in her life.

She opens her eyes and looks at Verruca who'd stopped talking and was gaping at her with her mouth open. She hadn't realized that Lance had come into the room until he spoke.

"I've never seen anything like it. Verruca, is that supposed to happen?"

Verruca manages to regain her voice, "In the history books it tells of the strongest witches that managed to merge with their powers so completely that they glowed. As far as I know it hasn't been done in centuries. Centuries before the treaty even."

There is a great deal of awe in Verruca's voice, "She's strong, stronger than any known witch I think." Verruca looks to Lance, "No wonder she was able to form a bond with one such as you and not succumb." 

She turns back to Leann and smiles, "And no wonder Kira doesn't want her around her. Once Leann is trained she will be stronger than the entire coven."

Verruca looks at Lance with wide eyes. They may be allies at the moment but things could change very quickly and this witch is bound to the demons not to her own kind.

Lance ignores Verruca and goes to Leann. He kneels down and smiles at her, "You should see yourself Little Witch. Come with me." Lance helps her to her feet and leads her to his room where there is a full length mirror.

"Look at yourself Little Witch. You were always beautiful before, but now you are stunning." Leann looks at the mirror as Lance instructs, she had stopped using them except when absolutely necessary because of Jared.

The sight she sees as she looks in the mirror stuns her into immobility. Her body is encased in a glowing aura giving her an ethereal look. Her previous delicate features are now beyond angelic looking. There is a serenity to her that she lacked before, a feature that adds wisdom to her. Indeed there seems to be in her a new found feeling within her as well, a confidence that she always lacked before. This scared her because there was no basis for this feeling of confidence. She hadn't mastered anything in her life to give her any kind of confidence whatsoever.

"Lance," Leann says feeling a bit scared, "what does this mean?"

"It means that you are far stronger than the strongest witch in the last thousand years or so. You are able to do things unknowingly that the other witches couldn't do to save their lives. And as for me, although you are now more beautiful than ever it also helps to keep me away." Lance replies, he wants to kiss her but there is something about her now that won't let him approach like he had before. He won't be able to just take as he desires.

This terrifies Leann, "What do you mean? Are you leaving me too?"

Lance envelops her in his arms, "No. I can't leave you now Leann. But it will mean that it will be easier for me to resist you. Which if you think about it is a good thing. I don't want to be the cause of your death Little Witch, someone as glorious as you deserves to shine for as long as you can."

"That's a very nice sentiment Lance, but if she doesn't get back to training her own powers could kill her." Verruca decides to interrupt this little scene.

"Kira, has it out for her, even if it means breaking the treaty. The sooner Leann learns to control her powers the better for her and the witches." Verruca, personally hates Kira, although she hides it very well.

"Kira will be out of power tonight. She has broken the treaty, and if she doesn't want her death to be a long and painful one, like an eternity, then she'll start giving me and Leann reparations." Lance says coldly.

The news that Kira had broken the treaty is new to Verruca, her eyes widen in fear. "We'll all be killed. What was that bitch thinking?"

The vampires hate the witches with a passion. They will go on a rampage against them once they know the demons won't protect them anymore. 

"Lance, we'll need to call a full court for this." Jim says a few hours later, Kira still had not offered anything as reparations and the time was nearly done.

"Do it Jim. Since you are acting on my behalf it will be held in my territory. The field behind the house. I know it's cruder than they are used to, but they'll survive. I'll have Verruca contact the demon king. If either of us do he might change his banishment from Earth to the lowest levels of hell." Jim nods and makes a face, he'd do it too just because he could.

Lance looks over at Verruca's white face, "This is the only way to salvage the treaty. We could just send the evidence in and let the treaty be broken."

"No, I understand why you are doing this Lance. You are even putting yourself in some danger to keep the rest of us protected. We owe you a lot. It's just that many of the court wish to actually see the downfall of the witches." Verruca isn't happy about her assigned role in this play, but it's the only way to keep the treaty and she'll do anything if it means protecting her friends and family.

Verruca goes to her room and prepares to contact the king of hell. She's only done it one other time and it hadn't been pleasant, she doesn't expect this time to be any different.

"Lance, what does this mean and why does Kira owe me reparations?"

"Do you remember when you told me that you didn't feel right about me leaving to go feed last night?" Leann nods.

"I think it's because you needed me here to protect you. Kira put a sleep spell on you and if I hadn't been there she'd have done something to you. I think she was planning on killing you. Instead she fell under my power and I forced her to release you. By attacking someone that she acknowledges as being bound to me, she attacked me. She broke the treaty. So now she owes reparations to myself and you for the attack or the treaty will be broken and open season on the witches will begin. The vampire's have been waiting a long time for that to happen. Especially to get to Kira. I don't know what she did to them but she royally pissed them off."

"There's vampire's too?" Leann's wide grow wide with fright and her voice becomes strained and goes up an octave.

Lance pulls her to him, "And werewolves. They are all part of the court being called this night. But don't worry you will be under my protection, and I'll be under yours." 

After several hours of intense work Verruca and Leann finally managed to get her aura under control so that not everyone would be able to see it. Lance forbore to mention that those that can see auras could still see it. And all types of demons could read auras, it helps them to select which souls would be the tastiest to eat. He didn't think that would help matters any.

But any that saw Leann's aura would stay far away from her, that kind of aura speaks of a great deal of power that not even the king of hell would wish to mess with. They don't need to know that she doesn't know how to control it yet. But somehow he thinks that she might be able to control it better now than most witches ever learn.