In the Blood of a Witch

Chapter 12- A vulnerability.

Chapter 12- Vulnerability

My body was shivering and the air around blew icy cold as I walked towards my brothers body.

His eyes we closed, hiding those beautiful violet keys to his soul. A tear trickled down my face as I thought of all the looks I received with those eyes. I wanted so badly to go back to the times where those eyes reflected happiness and annoyance rather than fear and readiness for a pointless war.

His mouth was shut into a grin; I felt a weight being lifted off my chest as I saw the smile. At least Blake was at peace, he was happy, something I was not.

His face was a fierce shade of blue as was the rest of his body. His arms were crossed over his chest and from the waist down Blake was covered with a blanket. The blanket our grandmother had crocheted for me, Blake and Cromos. The blanket belonged there, it reminded me of home and home was where I wanted Blake to rest.

I felt Jeremiah’s arms wrap around me as I went limp and sunk to the ground, crying. My only true friend, the one person who would never fail me, the one person who was there through thick and thin was gone. I was no longer strong, how could I be? I pulled myself out of Jeremiah’s embrace and fell to Blake.

I lay as close to him as possible, my whole left side touching his right. I closed my eyes and crossed my hands over my chest just like his. I wondered if this was what it was like to feel peace.

Memories of Blake danced in my head from him defending me to me punching him square in the jaw. “I miss you,” I whispered into his ear. “What am I going to do without you?”

I uncrossed my hands and put one on top of Blake. I felt my magic surge then burst. A loud boom erupted and my eyes shot open. I lay calm and still by Blake as I watched the sky turn for a dark black into the brightest white I had ever seen. The white was almost blinding, but soon it was replaced with pictures and animations. It was as if I had put home videos in the video player and plugged them into the sky.

The first animation was of me sitting in the clearing, right here in Ambalay. I was about eight, clueless to where I was and clueless to whom I was. Mom had told me it was just a playground and that was what I believed although Blake and Cromos knew different. The sun was bright and high in the sky casting down horrid heat. Flowers grew up in little patches along the tree line but the rest of the clearing was nothing but lush green grass. I picked at the blades of grass, alone, mom and the brothers had wondered off somewhere.

A light skin girl appeared out of nowhere and stood in front of me, glaring. Her curly blonde hair fell to her mid-back and she weighed no more than ninety pounds. “Daddy doesn’t like you,” the girl whispered in my ear.

I looked up at her with curious eyes; her arms were now crossed on her chest. “He says you’re a witch and daddy doesn’t like witches.”

I giggled shyly and returned to picking the grass.

“I can kill you, you know.”

I shuddered as I remembered that day. I was such a weakling. I could not have hurt a fly and the girl knew that.

“Why would you want to kill me?” I asked innocently.

“Because you’re a witch and witches are evil.” The girl reached over and pulled on my hair as hard as she could. I yelped loudly. Blake came sprinting through the trees with a thick branch in his hand. “I’ll kill you too,” the girl said with less confidence in her voice.

“I’d like to see you try.” Blake’s face showed no fear “You are a bully and you will let go of my sister now!”

The girl laughed hardly and looked back at me opening her mouth and showing me her vicious set of teeth. Blake was young but he was built, with gigantic muscles and a killer set of powerful legs but the girl did not seem to care. She acted as if she had some sort of power he did not come close to having.

Blake looked at me and smiled proudly “Bristol.”

I smiled back “Yes, brother?”

“Do me a favor.”

“Yes, brother!”

 "Point your finger at that young lady and say oink, oink.”

The girl looked petrified, her face went a shade whiter and she dropped my hair racing off into the forest. I did not have a chance to say ‘oink, oink’ and he never told me what it meant. However, as I grew older and discovered my magic, I understood. Oink, oink had never really been a spell but the girl was too ignorant to know that. She did not want to stick around to find out though and I could not say I blamed her.

I closed my eyes, not allowing myself to watch anymore of the memories we had shared. I was already depressed and watching videos would make me miss him even more. Instead, I just listened to his voice carry in the wind.

“I love you Bristol.” “I’ll always defend you, till the day I die.” “That boy won’t ever mess with you again” and the most important “You’re my best friend.”

I sighed as I thought about all I would be losing. Blake was truly my best friend and that was why it hurt so much to see him dead, it should have been me. I should have been the one being buried in the ground, not him. He had so much more to live for.

“You have a lot to live for too.” I opened my eyes at the sound of her voice. There she was, standing before me- magnificent and beautiful. Her metallic gray hair sparkled in the white light the videos casted. The robe she wore swayed in the wind, trailing behind her enchanted body. Brilai represented true beauty there was no other like her. Her lips were plump and red, perfectly shaped- perfect as every other part of her.

“He was worth so much more,” I muttered.

“No,” she said firmly, pausing for the effect “He died saving you, because he knew YOU could do so much more. You have to stop this sympathetic thing Bristol. You cannot saunter around feeling sorrow for yourself. Your brother is just fine and he needs you to know that and to move on. Nevertheless, in order to be okay, you need Lynus and Jeremiah allied with you as well as everyone else. Stop letting your emotions control you and focus on the real goal, focus on the troubles to come. Things are about to get a lot worse.”

Her face showed worry and all other terrible emotions you never wanted to see portrayed on such a darling face. “But I can’t Brilai! You picked the wrong person for this job. I am mere witch, nothing more.”

“Ah, but you are so much more Bristol. You are vampire, a child of Bladeit himself. You are passion, love and patience. You are vulnerability in Bladeit’s eyes. You are fear itself to him. Acknowledge that and prepare yourself. You will be just fine my child, there is no other way.”

Brilai walked towards me and kissed me on the forehead transferring unseen power into my body.

I did not feel strong and powerful but she saw something in me, something that was there and I had to find it.