The Blind Witch

Hope. I remember the feeling. I remember it felt like my own light, deep in my soul. It kept me from being swallowed whole. It saved me from drowning. Until I lost it. I lost hope. Once it was gone, I was gone. There is no coming back.

The storm raged through the night, only stopping once it was midmorning. Aiden walked up to Clarissa, who was asleep on a couch. He smiled as he pulled a cover over her. She did not fall asleep until the early morning hours. She had felt too sick and too anxious to rest. Only with Ophelia’s help was she finally able to sleep.

“I’ll be back,” he whispered into her ear.

“Where?” She mumbled, unable to form a coherent thought in her tired state.

“I’m going out with the search party to hunt for where the vampires went,” he replied as he knelt beside the couch. “Go back to sleep.”

“No,” she shook her head as she propped herself up on her elbow. “I want to go.”

“Issa,” he sighed as he put his hand on hers. “We are going in wolf form. You won’t be able to keep up.”

“I can ride a horse,” she asserted.

“You don’t know how.” He retorted gently. “Please, Issa. Can you not fight me on this? I will be back by nightfall. I promise.”

“Fine,” she replied, falling back onto the couch with a thud.

“Why don’t you come watch us from the window?” He asked as he stood. “You can watch where we go, and then you can watch us return by dusk.”

Clarissa was silent, but she nodded her head. Aiden helped her stand and led her to a large window facing the front of the palace. It had a cushioned window seat, with pillows against the stone wall. He helped to sit her down before putting a blanket over her lap. He leaned down and kissed her forehead gently.

“I’ll be back,” he said as he pulled away.

“I’ll be here,” she replied as she watched him leave.

Once she could no longer see him, she turned to look out the window. She could see the auras of several wolves outside; some shifted, some not. She perked up when she saw Aiden step outside. She watched as he shifted, along with the others. She watched the auras of the wolves sprint away from the palace.

For some time, she remained unmoved, watching out the window. She searched through the darkness, waiting for their return. She could not tell how much time had passed. It could have been several minutes or several hours; she would never know. She had no way to track time.

As she sat on her cushioned window sill, she could feel a gaze on her. Someone was watching her. She quickly turned to her right, and she saw Victor’s orbs and clouds standing near her. She exhaled. She was on edge, ready to fight if the person before her was a foe. She watched as Victor walked closer to her. He sat on the cushion across from her.

She looked at the gray cloud that swirled in the darkness. His orbs went in and out of this cloud in erratic motions. She had noticed that other witches' orbs would swirl in patterns coherently and in groups. But not his. He was the only witch she had met with dark orbs. Everyone else had colored, bright orbs.

“What is it?” He asked as he noticed she had not looked away from him.

“Is your magic dark magic?” She inquired.

“Why? Do you fear dark magic?” He questioned harshly.

“No,” she answered with a shake of her head. “I don’t fear the darkness. I never have. I fear things that disrupt the darkness.”

“I do have dark magic,” he said after a moment of thought. “It is why I can blend into the shadows or turn into smoke.”

“Can you teach me about dark magic? No one talks about it, not to me.”

“Dark magic originates with one coven: The Coven of Stardust. Today, it is known as the Fallen Coven.” He explained. “Thousands of years ago, something fell from the skies. It fell in a field near a village. Many of the humans went out to investigate. To them, it looked just like a rock. But it shined, unlike anything they had seen before. Many of the villagers touched this rock, feeling the smoothness.”

“It wasn’t until the next morning that they realized something had happened.” He continued. “Those that had touched the rock awoke with magic. Suddenly, these humans were witches. Others ran out to touch the stone to gain powers and gifts. But nothing happened to them. Only those who touched the rock the first day were granted magic.”

“A few of those witches could hear a voice, a woman, whispering to them. It was the Goddess Nyx. She is the Goddess of the night, eternal darkness, and shadows. She became the 9th God of our world.”

Clarissa listened as he spoke. She had leaned closer to him, intent on hearing his story. She held her breath when he said her name. Nyx. It was familiar and foreign at the same time. And the whispers... she had heard them. But it wasn’t just a woman. There was a man who whispered to her, too.

“I am a descendant of one of the original witches,” he said, pulling her from her thoughts. “You are their descendant, too. You are the twelfth pure witch of this line. 15 if you count the first three who married humans.”

“Was my mother from this coven, too?” She asked.

“No,” he chuckled as he leaned back against the stone. “She was born to the Witches of the Sacred Mountain. She was a third-generation pure witch. She was born a healer, but she wanted to learn...to teach. But the Witches of the Sacred Mountain frown upon passing on the secrets of their trade. They would not permit Edith to teach so long as she belonged to the coven.”

“Did they kick her out?”

“She left,” he laughed. “Edith was so strong-willed. You could not tell that woman no. Not without good reason. No, Edith left and approached the Lode Star as a rogue. She requested to join their ranks so that she could travel the world, teaching and healing as she went.”

“Several witches actually stood as witnesses to her character during her Welcoming Rites. Once she was a member, she was taken to our coven's various libraries. She spent ten years reading the books and learning from other witches like Lydia.”

“I didn’t know who she was for those first ten years. I was a hired hand. I traveled the world protecting others. But when Edith was permitted to travel, I was called upon to be her personal guard. The first time I saw her... she was so beautiful. Her smile was infectious. Her eyes were the brightest green I had ever seen.”

“Did she like you too?”

“Not for a long time,” he chuckled. “I had to earn her love, but I was willing to do it. For two years, we traveled the world. For two years, she kept our relationship professional. Not as much as a flirtatious smile from her. That was until one day, she was attacked by a vampire just after dusk. I was hiding in the trees when the vampire jumped her. I swooped down, killing him in one blow. She was so angry with me. She yelled at me for saving her. She was angry because I could have gotten hurt. I couldn’t help but laugh at her. That is when she kissed me for the first time.”

“That sounds sweet, though,” Clarissa remarked. “She cared about you, even if she didn’t want to admit it. How long after did she continue traveling?”

“We traveled the world another seven years,” he answered. “But through those years, I secretly built a home about a mile from Lydia’s cottage. I even enlisted Lydia’s help to set up a garden for Edith.”

“Why do it secretly?” She inquired curiously.

“I wanted to ask Edith to bond with me, to be with me for the rest of our lives. But each time I asked, she turned me down. Before I asked a third time, I had everything built that she would ask for. So, the third time I asked, she told me she would be my partner when I built her a house. So, I brought her to the already-built home. She then started naming rooms, and each one I had built. She had her established herb garden, medicinal garden, an apothecary room, a large kitchen, and a room in the basement for her to ferment vegetables. She was angry with me, again, for anticipating her questions. But she agreed! That is all I wanted.”

“Everyone who knew her says I look like her. Do I?”

“You do,” he nodded. “You have her face, her fair skin, and your hair is nearly identical. Except the red of her hair wasn’t as bright of a red. Yours is more like fire.”

“I’m sorry she died,” Clarissa murmured as she looked down.

“You aren’t to blame for it, I know that,” he sighed. “But, I think Edith knew she was going to die. She had sent me out of the house, telling me to go fetch her a weed for medicine from the woods. When I returned, the house was engulfed in flames. I tried to go inside, but I couldn’t. There was no way for me to get her. I sat outside, screaming at the gods while I watched my life turn to ash. It wasn’t until hours later that I heard you crying. You hadn’t burned. Nothing. I took you, and as much as I wanted to kill you right then and there, something compelled me to take you elsewhere. I took you so far away. I laid you in a barn and left.”

Victor gave a heavy sigh as he stood from the cushion. He reached down and picked up something that was metal. He placed it in Clarissa’s lap. She put her hands on it. She felt it was a sword. She quickly stood and took it from its sheath.

“Luiasis Parairum Tasaetora.” She whispered over the blade. When she held it out, she summoned her flames and lit the sword on fire. She could see it was a long, thin blade. Less bulky compared to the wooden swords she practiced on.

“It is a sword made of pure silver,” he explained as he watched her. “Because it is silver, it is harmful to both wolves and vampires. So be cautious with it around the prince.”

“Thank you,” she said as she smiled at him.

“It is also one of the few things that survived the fire.” He commented as he looked away from her.

She pulled the fire back in her hand. She took the sword in both hands and held it back to him.

“Are you sure you want me to have it?”

“Yes,” he answered softly as he reached out and touched her shoulder. “Your mother would have wanted you to have it.”