Blood Burdens (The Shadow World) Page 4

  “What do you mean unnatural traveling?” It does feel weird when I’m having a vision, like I’m spacing out while awake. It’s a lot like daydreaming but with more vivid details and feeling.

  “Your mind sort of travels, so to speak, to the future to see what vision needs to be seen. You were literally in the future seeing what will happen if something is not stopped.” Danika is peering down into the bowl of water on the dresser. She forcefully wrings a rag out before dipping it in the water to repeat the action. “There are consequences to the visions though.”

  I glance over at Danika as she speaks about consequences. Although I trust Danika there’s something that she is hiding. This isn’t the first time she’s talked about consequences. Once when we were talking about how the Witches help the Vampires, she had said something about consequences. And when she said it, there was a mournful weight to her voice.

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  She just shakes her head saying nothing as she brings the watered down rag over to me. Once again I’m turned down from her being open with me about something else besides this mess we are in.

  Addie seems to have picked up on the awkward direction the conversation was going. “Do you need anything? Maybe you could use something to eat or drink?” She’s always been good at reading other people’s emotions and getting vibes from the atmosphere around her. Addie can pick up a change in the atmosphere or emotion before anyone else notices. I wonder if there is some type of gift for vibe reading.

  “I could use something to eat.” My stomach growls with a loud rumble at the thought of those delicious-smelling tacos. I can almost taste the crunchy delight in my mouth. “How about some of those tacos I smelt earlier?”

  Addie turns away with a pang of guilt. “Unfortunately the tacos are all gone. I could fix you a quick turkey sandwich though.”

  I narrow my eyes at her as a faint smell of tacos travels through the air. “You ate a taco, didn’t you?”

  Her guilty look intensifies as she bites down on her lip. “Well….”

  I interrupt her with a groan. Then with a resolve my taste buds don’t agree with, I say, “A turkey sandwich is fine.”

  Addie seems relieved as she leaves to go fix my sandwich. As she’s walking out the door, I notice her wrist is all scratched up. The markings look like someone dug their nails deep into Addie’s wrist. Did she do that to herself? Are her nightmares really disturbing her that badly? I’ll have to keep an eye on her and if more markings show up, I’ll have to force her into talking whether I like it or not.

  Now it’s just me and Danika, who is standing at the window with her arms crossed over her chest. Time to see if I can get the gloom and doom information out of her. I scoot up further in my bed, crossing my leg and tucking my feet up under me, Indian style.

  “So, what’s on your mind?” I ask with as much enthusiasm as I can muster.

  Danika shakes her head, “Nothing.”

  I roll my eyes. “Okay I believe that as much as I believe in world peace. Why not just get it off your mind, talk to someone about it? Here I am.”

  Danika looks reluctant but I can tell she wants to talk to someone about what’s on her mind. “I have never uttered a word about what I’m about to tell you.”

  I nod my head. I understand what it feels like to not be able to tell someone, even someone close to you something that is eating you up. I still have things that weigh down on me so much, but I’m still unable to talk about them. I don’t know that I will ever be able to talk about them.

  “You have to promise you won’t say anything and if you do, do remember that I am a Witch and can do horrible things to you if you break your promise,” Danika says.

  “I promise.”

  Danika starts off hesitantly, “It’s just…sometime I hate being a Witch. I hate knowing about the bad things that seem to outweigh the good.”

  “What do you mean?”

  With a slump in her shoulders, Danika explains. “The Witches have guarded humans from the Shadow World for so long, keeping them from learning about what lives right next to them. We mostly have to deal with the Vampires and the havoc they sometimes make. There have been a few Lycan incidents and some of the other beings but mostly it’s the Vampires. The consequences that come with that can be overwhelming for a Witch. We have lost so many good Witches by keeping the secret or helping the Vampires ward off the Lycans. Their feud has caused great strife within in our own Coven.” Danika peers down at her hands. It’s almost like she trying to wring out all the bad as she twists her hands back and forth.

  “I’ve heard you speak of the consequences several different times but you’ve never specified what they are. What’s happened, Danika?” I ask hesitantly. I don’t want to push her into shutting down. Then I may never figure out what’s got her so worked up.

  “When we align ourselves with the Vampires to help them, they always seem to start relying on us. They will call upon that Witch time and time again for help in activities such as covering up some wrong they have committed, or to put up a new ward to prevent entry into a new domain. When a Witch does this over and over on a regular basis, it can cause him or her harm. Using power at a high rate and level for a long period of time ages you. It drains you dry. And I have also seen Witches side with the Vampires, and choose to leave our Coven for theirs.”

  “Wait, do you mean they become Vampires themselves?” That can’t be possible. Shadows are poisonous to one another. If a Vampire was to bite a Witch, it would kill the Witch.

  “There have been some who tried and failed of course. They try casting a spell that protects them from the poison in the Vampire’s bite but the spell fails causing them to lose their life. Most of the time, the Witches just join forces with the Vampires to guard them and support their behavior. There was even a Witch, Ella, who argued for the Vampires to be allowed to live in their natural state. She argued with the Council that the Vampires should be free to live openly with the human world. Of course that didn’t go over well with the Council. She was sentenced for treason and is imprisoned deep within the Councils prison.”

  I’ve heard tales of her and other Witches who thought the same way she did. I have actually seen a village where there are Vampires and Witches who have enslaved humans. Micah is from a village like that, one that I had visited deep in the forest of Western Brazil.

  “Okay, other than the Witches who became enthralled with Vampires, what happens to a Witch that uses too much power?”

  “Our power is great but when you are constantly using that power without being able to restore it, the spirit and body become drained. We have to give our bodies time to recharge in between power uses. When we use our power abusively, our power will in turn abuse our bodies. I have seen some who thought they could handle the pressure they were under when acting to stop Vampire – Lycan battles, but were unable to do so. They became sick, some even died. It’s as if we become punished for trying to do the right thing.”

  “Do you believe that keeping the Vampires and Lycans apart is the right thing to do?” Personally, I don’t think this should be done. I think they need to grow up and get over their differences. They shouldn’t have to be babysat like toddlers.

  “Sometimes I think we shouldn’t. Not only does it take a lot of our power, but it also prevents them from working out their differences. But then again if we didn’t do what we do then more than likely it would be the human race who would suffer most. I’m sure there would be war in their streets. It’s been an argument that has weighed our world down for centuries.” Danika continues looking out the window like she’s searching for all the answers to be written in the sky. I wish they were.

  I don’t know if I’m picking up on Addie’s intuition or my own, but after putting two and two together, I think I have figured out why it bothers Danika so much. “Who did you lose to this never-ending battle?”

  Danika chokes on a gasp. Apparently she didn’t expect me to pick up on her loss, �
��How did you know?” I can hear the hurt and pain deep within her voice.

  I shrug my shoulders. “Sometimes you can just tell.”

  Danika returns her stare to the window trying to mask her pain but a little bit leaks through her barrier. A single tear rolls down her face before she can wipe it away. Biting the words off in a hoarse voice, Danika says, “My grandmother and my father.”

  Ignoring the jitters that shake my weakened body, I walk over her. “What happened?”

  “My grandmother was one of the top Witches that Aldrick always depended on. But as she aged, Aldrick started searching for a new Witch to take her place. He wanted someone from the same bloodline as my grandmother. He believed that we had true talent and were stronger than other bloodlines. My grandmother had two daughters who each had a daughter of their own. My cousin Ranee is ten years younger than I am, so Aldrick put his sights on me. He wanted my grandmother to teach me everything she possibly could and more to make me his greatest asset yet. But my grandmother refused.

  She used her power to keep Aldrick at bay and away from her family. The final stroll that took her life was when she personally went in to attack Aldrick. He had hired another Witch to break through the wards my grandmother had in place to protect her family. Instead of fighting the Witch Aldrick had hired, my grandma went straight to the source. Of course, there were too many Vampires protecting Aldrick for her to fight off alone and with her power already spent from trying to hide us and do other deeds for the Coven, she drained herself dry. A lot like Cerelia drained Eldrida in Greenland.”

  Flashes of Eldrida fighting Cerelia in Greenland cross my mind. She had fought so hard and after being Maiden, Mother, and then Crone of the Coven for so many years, knowing what power exhaustion can do to a Witch, she had persevered anyway. It was a testament to how great she really was.

  In a soft whisper I ask, “What about your father?”

  As soon as I mention her father, Danika automatically lifts her hand to her cross necklace and runs her hand over it. I wonder if that was a gift from her father.

  “He died doing the same thing really. He wanted to avenge his mother’s death and protect his family. He didn’t go alone but he was the only one that didn’t come back. The other Witches who came back all fell so sick the Elders had to strip them of their power to save them. There are a few who still live here but most of them left. They wanted nothing more to do with the Coven or the Shadow World.”

  Several different questions start buzzing through my mind. I try organizing them so I can stay focused on one topic at a time instead of jumping everywhere. “Why does your body become sick if you use too much power?”

  Danika shrugs her shoulders and shakes her head, “It’s like we poison our system with too much power, and it turns on us. We are taught to keep a balance and to know our limits. I think that’s why we have the nose-bleeds. It’s a warning to back off. When those Witches came back from Aldrick’s lair, their faces were covered in so much blood that it had leaked down the fronts of their shirts, soaking them all the way to the bottom hem.”

  I never knew my own father but wished I had. I wonder if the time Danika had spent with her father was worth the pain she was going through now. I know I had grown up wishing that I had known my father, even if it was for a little while. Looking at Danika, I know that a little time is better than no time. At least you can hang on to their love and the memories you shared. I have nothing to hang on to and I don’t even know if my father loved me. If he did love me, why did he leave me?

  “Did they ever find your father?” I ask.

  “Yes but it wasn’t easy. The Elders had to threaten Aldrick severely, along with the other Ruling Council members. Finally, he did send his body back to the Coven for a proper burial. But – not as we would have wanted.”

  I bite my lip in fear of what was to come. I’ve heard several things about Aldrick and how cruel he can be. I can only imagine what he would do to someone that attacked him. “What did he do?”

  Danika looks me straight in the eyes and with a lifeless tone; she describes the horror of Aldrick’s action. “First, he sent various body parts to the Council leaders, the Elders had received his head. The Council came together, without Aldrick, to discuss what action needed to be taken. With the vote split, the Council took no action. They let Aldrick get away with it and decided to just keep a close eye on him.” Danika’s voice is filled with disgust and disbelief. I couldn’t even imagine going through that with no justice in the end.

  Danika continues, “About a week after we buried my father, my mother received a package in the mail. When she opened it, she went into shock and started screaming. I took the metal box from her and inside was a heart floating in blood. I kept my emotions locked, knowing that my mother needed me, and examined the box carefully. I found a note tapped between the shipping wrap and the metal box. It was a warning from Aldrick to not mess with him, or there would be consequences. We never did give the note to the Elders or the Council.”

  I am shocked and horrified. How could someone do that to another person? And if Aldrick’s that evil, why doesn’t the Council just get rid of him? They have the power to over-throw him if need be, that’s what they’re there for. They’re supposed to govern our world to make sure everyone stays in line, and obviously he is not.

  Thinking about Aldrick and his evil ways makes me think of Cerelia and her plans. The vision I had earlier this evening was harsh and gut wrenching. I know that if Cerelia ever did gain power, Aldrick would be begging to become her right–hand man. But from what I saw, she doesn’t want a simple creature like Aldrick. She wants me.

  I peer out the window, staring deep within the woods to view the expanse of the ocean beyond. It’s amazing at how serene the world can look. That is, until the dark shadows are revealed and the amount of pain that’s caused by the creatures that walk upon its flourishing lands, comes to light.

  “Do you think she’s right? Cerelia,” I ask.

  “What do you mean?” I sense Danika is now staring at me with worry but I’m still focused on the ocean before us.

  “Do you think she’s right?” I repeat. “Do you think exposing ourselves to the human world would resolve a lot of our issues? Why hide from them?” This is a question that every Shadow being wonders. I know I have wondered it myself several times over the last five or six years. Why should they get to live so freely while we are trapped under secrets and lies?

  “You had me scared for a minute. I thought you wanted to see the bloodshed she wants to see.” Danika has her hand splayed over her chest as relief floods her face.

  “No, I don’t want that. I just want to know why we hide. Why can’t we live in peace with humans?”

  Danika shakes her head and sighs. “I think that is something we all would like but we know that’s not possible. We always want what we cannot possibly have. If we were to reveal ourselves to the humans, chaos would ensue.” Danika gives me a pointed look. “Have you not learned anything from the past? Look at what happened to the Witches in the beginning. They were forced into slavery under human rulers to gain more power over the lands. After the fall of their kingdoms, the Witch hunts soon started. Everyone lived in fear over things they did not understand. Then after the gruesome outcome of the Salem Witch Trials, the Witch hunters stopped.

  “Now there are those that are believers but they don’t understand what they believe in. They believe Vampires can be understood, that Witches are peaceful, and that all the creatures within their books are misunderstood. This is true at some levels but there are others who would tear them apart. There are also humans that want to know everything about the universe and understand how it came to be. If we were to come out, there is no doubt they would try capturing us to research our bodies. They would tear us apart until they figured out how our genetic material could be used for human benefit.

  “Plus with all the human wars that arise, we would become nothing but weapons. Some countries might ask fo
r our help but there would be those that would try and force us. I’m sure there’d be civil rights questions about our freedom versus our abnormality and unnatural nature. Even if we had some humans fight for us, those who fear us would outweigh the open-minded.”

  “Okay I agree with most of that but couldn’t we ease the fear by offering a truce of some kind? Most humans are going to be afraid mostly because of the Vampires. Humans are going to be afraid of their eating habits but what if we, I don’t know, create a blood bank or something. Assuage the fear they would more than likely have over being eaten.”

  Danika shakes her head, “That wouldn’t help matters. There would be rogue Vampires fighting the system. Listen, I know it sounds great and I know that hiding doesn’t seem like a fair choice in our life but it does keep the chaos at bay. There are too many humans who would feel like the lesser beings and would use us to empower themselves. It’s just better for everyone the way things are now.”

  I understood that it would be a hard struggle to live with the humans if they knew we existed but why wasn’t change possible? Why couldn’t we accept things that have never been before? “The humans have learned how to adapt and accept change. When are we going to do the same?”

  Danika regards me in puzzlement. “What do you mean?”

  “They have overcome and accepted changes within the world, especially prejudice. They don’t exile humans who decide to marry into another ethnic group. They accept and adapt to it. Why can’t we?” I know I’m raising a lot of disputable questions but disputes are what resolve problems within a system. Our system is stuck in an old fashioned world that many do not want to see changed but that needs to be changed. Not being able to love someone because they aren’t of your kind is ridiculous. If those changes had been made when the humans had accepted the change within their society, maybe I wouldn’t be such an anomaly.