19. Lotus

He had saved her life. A couple of days later, she found a letter on her balcony asking her to come by his house. It was early morning as Raven left the house, somewhat excited to get the right help with her magic. Even though Dorian told her he would help her, she was still cautious of him. Stepping onto the property, Raven knocked on the door. Silence surrounded her.

"Miss Graverose," an older man appeared in front of her, eyes red, staring back at her. Raven stepped up, unsure. "Yes,"

"Please come inside. Mr. Greycrest will be with you shortly. He motioned with his arm inside the house. She stepped into the house; every step she took echoed. "I am Demetri. If you need me, all you have to say is my name and I will be here," he told her, with a slight bow before walking away."

"Thank you," she called out behind him as he disappeared around the corner.

Exploring her surroundings, Raven spotted a piano in front of the glass windows. "You are here," Dorian spoke up, halting her movement; his eyes traveled from her to the piano. "May I," she questioned him, motioning to the piano. "You play?" he asked her. "Yes," she told him, breaking eye contact. "You can do as you like; excuse me." Leaving her alone, Raven sat down. At the piano, her fingers played with the keys as she waited. The loud music echoed through the empty house. One day turned dark as she stood at the ocean, the dark water crashing against the cliffs. The melody drifted through the air.

The familiar melody floated through the air as Dorian walked into the house, following the melody. "Is that her?" Grace asked quietly. "Why does it sound so familiar?" Grace questioned Dorian. "Isn't that?" she began. "We should start as soon as possible, please," he interrupted. "Of course," Grace moved her hand; her eyes focused on Raven.

***

Her surroundings slowly started to change; her fingers' movement slowed as her body felt heavy. The large windows surrounding her slowly faded and were being replaced with tall trees covered in white. The snow fell from the clouds. A smile crossed her face, the coldness piercing her skin. Standing up from the bench, Raven stepped forward, black water in front of her, watching the snow. She lifted her hand, the snow colliding in her hand; everything evaporated. She was back in the piano room, her eyes landing on Dorian along with the woman next to him.

"Raven, we are finally meeting," she smiled. "My name is Grace."

"She is human," she questioned, shocked. "Yes."

"Would it be inappropriate to ask how old she is?"

"She is a few hundred years old."

"I would have asked how, but in this world, anything is possible."

"Your eyes show your family's power; you have been fighting it because of the link between you and Dorian." Raven waved as Grace left them breathing heavily; she eyed Dorian. "What?" he asked. "Let's take a few minutes' break," she told him, heading toward the house, her body tired.

***

Raven sat at the table. Hands scribbled across the pages, trying to make notes on everything she could about the supernatural world. "I thought you needed a break, so this is your definition of a break," he questioned her as Raven scribbled in the book, asking questions. "How else am I going to learn? How does one become a vampire or an immortal, as everybody would say?" she questioned, glancing at him. He hovered above her, staring down at her. "You have to get bit by a vampire and that would begin the transformation; everything in your body begins to decay, it's called the immortal kiss. It is quite rapid that your body dies and then you wake up highly sensitive to light; there was a time when immortals could not go into the light until a vampire gifted with the ability to help others walk in the daylight; since then they have been able to. Your eyes represent those of those who do not have sight. You begin with your senses from the start, and once you begin drinking blood, your eyes will become red. You desire blood and you do not have one human emotion many of us are gifted with: someone to spend the rest of eternity with, but we are too blinded by blood to care about anything other than there being a case where a vampire saw through the desire of blood and found the one he was destined to be with."

"Where are they now?" she asked him. "They are still around. The court handles the transformation and makes sure those unable to handle the shift get help," Dorian explained. "But you helped the court." She questioned him. "In certain areas, I do."

"Sir," Demetri appeared in the doorway. Dorian walked to Demetri and spoke in a hushed voice. Holding the phone up, Raven snapped a photo of Dorian as he was busy talking to Demetri.

***

"AND what about Oakley? She is not here as much?"

"She does not like to be close to the wolves; wolves were responsible for her parents' deaths."

"Oh"

"Come on, let's continue," he told her, standing up from the table.

***

Dorian stood in front of her. "Are we sure about this?" Blinking open with her hands spread, an invisible force met Dorian, but he did not move an inch. "This is defensive." His body hit the tree. "I did it," Raven said excitedly. Dorian stood up from the ground. "They have tried so hard to be what your family has become."

"There is not much I know about my family."

"You have to trust yourself; you've got this."

******

"That day I went into your mind; I saw things."

"Why are you so afraid that someone would touch you?" she said, shaking her head at him.

"I am not afraid that someone touches me; I am afraid of what would happen if someone were to touch me."

"You saw things from my past."

"They never knew that I, too, got hurt; I was the one who had a flask in my hands when it exploded." Lifting my hands, shards of glass pierced my skin.

"What had happened to those who had bullied you?" "Nothing."

"You won't be able to handle it." Dorian's gaze flicked from her hands to meet her eyes, narrowing at her. "I think you underestimate what I can handle, witch," he told her, reaching for her hand but moving her hand out of the way. Reaching behind her back, he grabbed her hand; electricity flowed through his hands, blinking his eyes open. "I can feel your power coming off of you,"

"Does it hurt you?" she asked.

"Someone weak won't be able to handle this power, Raven."

"You have not been sleeping much."

"I have tried everything to sleep, but when I am asleep, I am trapped in a nightmare, and when I am awake, I am in the nightmare."

"That is your pack's mark," she questioned, staring at the scarred tissue above his heart.

"Yes" and the other mark.

"That is the mark left after the curse was placed on me."

"We will remove the curse soon." Dipping her feet in the water, "We are all giving off energy and vibes, but you try to conceal it; pulling her to him, he placed his hand above hers, gripping it softly. Small, small palpitations were under her hand. "You should coax the magic out; just because you have dark magic doesn't mean what you do with it should be dark or bad. Until you learn ways to fully control your magic and even do magic, this could be a way for you to get used to your magic and nobody gets hurt." Stepping away from her, Dorian gave Raven space as she stared down at her hand with small palpitations. Unaware of what was happening, his eyes followed the storm that was brewing.

***

"When you used the link to look for the book, you weren't the only one who saw things. I saw things as well," she told him, fumbling with her thumbs. "What did you see?" he asked her. "It was more like I became part of your memories, experiencing certain things."

"What did you see, Raven?" he questioned her once more. "I saw your past."

***

Confused, she studied her surroundings. 'Where am I?' she wondered. She was coming to a stop in front of a large logged wall trailing along with it. Raven looked through the slits, spotting "And who are you?" a rough voice asked her. Turning around, she stared at a tall man, his hair a dark brown with gray streaks, his hand dirty. She stared at the burned mark on his chest. It was the Greycrest symbol.

"He is Dorian's father," she whispered to herself as she stared at the man in shock.

"Are you one of my son's whores?" he asked her. Looking behind her, she only saw that he was talking to her. He stepped toward her, sniffing her, his eyes closed. "You reek of him," he told her. Grabbing her by the arm, he pulled her closer to him. "And where would my son be?" he asked as he dragged her. The woods were eerily silent, the smell of fire and death hitting her nostrils.

"Let me show you who my son is," he threw her to the ground. "Look," he said, grabbing her by the hair, causing her head to snap up as in front of her she watched the once-living people now appear dead. "It's not real."

"This is as real as it could get."

"He is not with you," shooting her hand out, Raven pushed him off and ran through the village. "They did not deserve it." Following the hallucinations, she watched as the teenage Dorian hid from his father. "Where is that boy now?" she heard from outside. It became dark as Dorian fell asleep. His body was covered in sweat, breathing harshly, stepping up next to him, his clothes soaked in blood. She slowly extended her hand towards him, brushing her hand against his cheek when suddenly her hand was grabbed. "Who are you?" Even if he had not yet activated his shift, he was already strong, but she was pulled from the memory. She stood, the rain pouring down on her as she watched the vampire tearing into him, his scream echoing in her ears, his eyes landing on her. The vampire had disappeared. He stood ready to take on all of them; Raven stepped in front of him and shot her hands out, blocking him from their harsh attacks. Dorian's body fell to the ground, his eyes shut, the venom spreading through his body, tired from the fight. "Hey," she called out, tears in her eyes.

He slowly lifted his head, seeing that the blows he was waiting for were not coming. Raven held her hand out for his. "You will be okay, I can help you," his eyes locked with hers, going to her outreached hand. He reached towards her, his fingers brushing hers, but he was too far away. Raven tried to reach for Dorian, but she struggled to move her legs, unable to move. Dorian dropped to the ground, his body hunched over, bones beginning to break. She watched Dorian crawling on the wet ground up to his brother Michael, his chest barely moving. "Please, I am begging you, help him, please."

"NO"

"There you are," his father said, appearing out of nowhere, grabbing her by the arm as he pulled her into another memory. "How are you doing this?" she questioned as she struggled against him. "I guess his demons still haunt him; in his mind, anything is possible." Dorian tore into the neck of the man; the body fell to the ground while all life was gone. Raven watched Dorian and Michael rip the pack apart. "Now you see," his father spat at her as he gripped her arm tightly. She watched as Dorian attacked his father, his father killed in front of her. "It was all because of him. He is a monster."

"All I see is a son standing up against a weak father who abused others to feel inferior when in actuality you were a weak man trying to fill big man roles which your son did. You should have been a better father, you crazy psychotic freak," she screamed at him as she moved her hands and watched his body shoot back against the tree. She held her hand up as he screamed in pain. Dropping her hand, he took off straight for her; his magic not working, she closed her eyes, waiting for the impact, only for there to be none.

***

"You saw everything?" he questioned her coldly. "Yes," she answered, poking at her thumb. "You knew about everything, and you're still helping me."

"Yes," he said, holding out his hand toward her. "Come," Raven said, placing her hand in his, helping her across the fallen tree, his coat hanging across her shoulders. Silence settled between them. He could not figure the witch out. She was a Graverose witch, but somehow, she was the complete opposite.