Hometorius : Coming Home

chapter 40 : The Magical Properties of Blood

Marylin POV

The figure that appeared in front of me in the darkness looked like a fantastic creature. Her transparent wings, with a slight rainbow hue, reached down to the ground. And it was only thanks to them that the woman looked this amazing. Besides, she wore a semi-transparent dress that shimmered in different colors with every, even the smallest movement. Just like her auburn hair falling in gentle waves to her waist. For a moment we looked at each other without uttering a word.

"Marilyn?" the woman finally said, tilting her head and looking me from head to toe.

"Who are you?" I asked quietly in a trembling voice.

"You don't have to be afraid of me," the stranger said, noticing that I was slowly backing away.

"I'm not afraid," I stopped abruptly and crossed my arms over my chest. "I just don't trust you."

"Trust me, everyone does."

The Stranger's voice was calm, pleasant to the ear, even soothing. "Who the hell is she? A Tooth Fairy? An overgrown Tinkerbell? Or maybe it's just my dream? Yes, it must be a dream. Bad dream. I'm left here alone. Even Sam disappeared to somewhere. And Agis. What is happening here?"

I looked at the woman's face and only then did I really get scared. In fact, there was nothing for me to look at because she had no face. Only pale, flawless skin. It looked a bit as if she was bald and put her wig back to the front, and now she was standing with her back to me.

"What's with your face?" I asked so quietly that for a moment I had doubts whether the Stranger heard me.

"The side effect of being the strongest," she replied cheerfully. "When I was your age, I also had such a beautiful face. And then I had to choose between good and evil."

"Meaning? I don't think I understand the connection."

"I could choose my beauty, and Victuvius would then kill all the Hybrids, or become the most powerful of all, protect the Hybrids, and sacrifice the face instead. You know what I chose?"

"The power," I replied under my breath.

"It's not about power, dear, but about the prosperity of others," the woman corrected and sat down gracefully on the old sofa. "Now tell me, what do you know about your blood?"

"About my blood?" I didn't hide my surprise with the question asked. "I'm pretty sure it's 0Rh-."

"Oh, silly..."

"Don't call me that!" I exclaimed and surprised by my reaction, covered my mouth with my hand. "I'm sorry."

"No, no. I'm the one who should apologize. So, Marylin, I meant the working of your blood."

"Ah, if that's the case then it keeps me alive," I replied without thinking and also sat awkwardly on the sofa.

"Marylin," she directed her face at me. "The magical working."

"Does everything have a magical effect here? The vase keeps the flowers alive without using water, does it change their color? Do the tables clean themselves?" I rolled my eyes.

"I have no idea about anything," I admitted quietly, hopelessly. "Should I?"

"Oh, yes, you should," the woman answered mysteriously. "I will give it to you straight, your blood raises the dead. It's an amazing gift. Unique. In the Existus world there is no other person with such a gift. And, believe it or not, all other gifts are quite common."

"That's why Sam was so attached to my wound..."

"What??" the woman quickly stood up, terrified, and began to circle around the table, causing her dress to wave restlessly. "A ghost?"

"Yes." I frowned and gave her a suspicious look. "And why do you ask?"

"You see, there is always one that gives life and the other that gains it," the woman began to explain, not stopping her walking. "You're the only one with such a gift. To bring someone back to life, you must give away all your blood. If there was someone else who would share the same gift, it would be enough for you to give half of your blood. The other half would be given by the other person, and you would be able to recover. Unfortunately, this is not the case and therefore you have to watch out for the ghosts that you call. I know that for now there are only two such individuals, right? Margaret and Sam, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yes, you are not mistaken," I admitted and began to wonder. "How come you know all this?"

"I know everything."

"Somehow the fact that Sam kissed my wound wasn't included in that 'everything'," I noticed.

"Well, I think I missed it," the Stranger giggled. "Well, that's all I had to tell you. If you don't mind, I will go."

"Wait a minute," I stopped her. "Who are you, actually?"

The woman stood in front of the door and directed her face in my direction. For a moment neither of us said anything. Later, the Stranger clapped her hands and teleported herself half a meter in front of me.

"Your mother," she whispered.

I stood motionless, only my jaw almost fell to the ground. Really, I was surprised by what she said. I thought that at least in terms of beauty I'd take after my mother. It's hard to tell when you have nothing to compare my face with. Besides, something didn't sit well with me. Marylin Freeze in the stories looked completely different, above all she had a face, and her wings were blue, not rainbow. My thoughts flowed with the speed of light, if not faster. In the end, everything cleared up when the Stranger dissolved into the air.

For a few minutes, around the room, two words echoed.

Katrine Allworld