Shimmer |✓|

//Burn// Part 1

Catherine gave me verbena, and Ethan had given me ichor. What poor excuse for birthday presents. The big day was just around the corner, but what was there to celebrate when Catherine was determined to see me suffer? I might never graduate, never travel the world, never be married, never live to see a new era for the Garou. So I dropped out of school–and studied subjects I wouldn't learn in a classroom. Subjects that would keep me alive, and teach me the history of my magic.

I took refuge in Tidus' library, perusing every book I laid eyes on. It was time I learned about the Fae, Supernaturals, and magic–but my blood was foremost on the list. Besides my life and the lives of others, Catherine had placed my intimacy with Tidus at unforgivable risk. Unless I could find a way to reverse her magic, Tidus and I would never again connect the way we used to–he would never feed on me again. But I hadn't the slightest clue how to un-bind her magic. The verbena curse was undoubtedly Catherine's doing, the ichor I wasn't so sure about.

I paced back and forth before the fireplace, it's light illuminating the pages of a heavy tome dedicated to Fae physiology. I turned the page, tapping my lower lip with my thumb as I read aloud.

"Ichor is the sign of the gods, of which Fae are the confirmed descendants. While treasured for it's restorative powers, the full extent of ichor's magical components, including it's contribution to magic itself, has yet to be determined. In 1937, Sir John Franklin's expedition to the Arctic faced a gruesome death following their discovery of the legendary phoenix, whose tears and ichor they determined to have certain healing properties. Every member of the expedition was... was slaughtered by Dracula, creator of the Revenant, whose Glamour drove the crew to... cannibalism--what the... Legend suggests Sir John Franklin, a practicing Warlock, was turned by Dracula before devouring the phoenix, and was reborn.... a demigod." I licked my lips. "Demigods are created when a soulless being surpasses the apex of their powers–an impossible achievement for most. Demigods were among the first of the Fae--and the deadliest."

"Indeed, Sir John was quite the conundrum." Up above, near the cathedral ceiling, Tidus walked on air, running his finger along the topmost ledges of the second-tier bookcases, checking for dust Jeeves never left behind. "The brilliant scientist who became a madman. Killing Sir John was the only gift Dracula ever gave mankind."

I closed the book, holding it to my chest as Tidus made his descent. Hands in his pockets, he alighted with fluid engineering neither bird nor man could never hope to accomplish. Out of all the incredible abilities I had thus far achieved, I would have traded them in a heartbeat to fly with Tidus.

"Why did Drake off him in the first place?" I shrugged. "Considering all the death and destruction he brought the earth, a madman sounds right up his alley."

Tidus smirked, his super-speed covering the remaining distance. "The Phoenix was not Sir John's only concern. He sought a door to the Otherworld; Dracula couldn't allow him to find it--for obvious reasons."

"Like the Ice Queen, Ruler of the Unseelie."

"Precisely."

I nodded in understanding, and with a wave of my hand, returned the book to its home on a distant shelf.

"Naomi, you do realize I can answer questions about the Fae, or demigods? You can come to me. I've read every book in this castle, some of them I've written."

"I know, you're quite the poet. And as much as I appreciate that, Ti, I'm not even sure the questions I have can be answered. I thought that after my magic was fixed, that after Ethan saved me, I would be back to normal--but I'm not who I used to be. I can start calling myself a goddess, but that still wouldn't explain... me."