Chapter 20

A month into my stay with Damien, Saninna came to visit me. I was not aware of this fact at the time as Damien had sent her off and assured her he would speak to me. 

He did speak to me. He asked me what my thoughts on her were and how I felt about her coming to apologize. To be honest, I was not particularly wanting to see her. She had gained my trust only to shatter it within a month. I was not too keen on a repeat of that situation. 

Damien assured me, though, that she was not one to willfully betray one's trust, so I begrudgingly agreed to her visit. 

"I'll send for her." Damien said. "She'll be here by tomorrow at the latest." 

"Until then" I yawned. "We have much left to organize after your latest debacle." 

"Hey." He sounded offended. "I beg to differ. It may have spectacularly blown up in our faces, but it taught us a valuable lesson." 

"Which is?" I asked, sweeping shards of broken glass into a pile. 

"Never use a glass bottle for fermentation. It will, indeed, explode if not burped correctly." Damien smiles wryly. "It's a good lesson."

"It is also a very painful lesson." I reminded him, pointing to the bleeding gash on my forehead.

"Fair point." He concedes. "I'll set a timer to burp the bottle next time."

"Set multiple." I grumbled, continuing to clean. 

Damien was very forgetful. He would become so absorbed in a singular task, he would forget to eat, let alone to check on a time sensitive potion. It was a given that something like this would happen. 

Once we had finished with the clean up, I wrote down a few notes to prevent future failures before bidding goodnight to Damien and immediately walking home. I was exhausted and my entire body ached. 

I walked into my home and headed straight towards my room. I would have bathed if I were not so drained from the last few hours. Instead I merely threw off my mask and eye wear, undid my boots and promptly fell into bed, not having the strength to even cover myself. Within minutes I was asleep.

A nightmare befell me then. Vivid and terrifying. 

Shouts, screams, and the crying of the young filled my mind as I clenched my eyes tightly against the surrounding carnage. 

I was breathing heavily as my body shook with exhaustion and agony. The pain radiated from cuts and bruises I had sustained yet I refused to surrender. With a deep breath I opened my eyes and took aim.

I was holding a masterfully crafted bow; with each pull of the string I conjured an arrow to shoot through every enemy. Each fallen enemy would morph into smoke and vanish, immediately replaced by another. I must have killed thousands, yet they continued in an onslaught, seeming endless during this battle. 

I continued to fire arrow after arrow in hope of turning the tide, but it would not be long before I, too, fell to their forces. They outnumbered us by many. We would fail; it was merely a matter of time.

I fired an arrow and missed. My mark having dodged. Learning as all things learn. I watched in horror as the arrow found a new mark in the shoulder of a boy. 

He turned and looked at me, eyes wide with shock and face contorted in pain, his own weapon falling from his now injured hand. He wailed.

I awoke with a gasp, and stared at the ceiling of my room. I felt a burning in my chest and rolled to my side, groaning in pain. Stabbing myself had hurt far less than this.

The pain began to spread from my chest outward, toward the entirety of my body. I threw off the mask I had left on my face, needing to inhale far more air than it had allowed, and I breathed in gulp after gulp of air. I screamed while clawing at my chest in an attempt to pull out whatever was causing such pain.

Distantly, I heard the door to my room burst open. I was forcefully moved so as to face this intruder. It was Damien. His face was riddled with concern as he moved the hair that was stuck to my face. 

He grabbed the hand that was still clawing at my chest, preventing me from doing more harm. He clutched it to his chest as I continued screaming, and I tried desperately to release my hand so I could continue tearing into my own flesh. I needed to quell the fire that burned within me. It was agonizing.

"It's okay, gorgeous." I heard Damien yell in order for me to hear him over my own crying. "This is normal." 

I gasped as pain seared my mind and blinded my vision. I saw nothing but felt everything. Every fiber of my being was engulfed in this burning pain, scorching me from within.

I remember being unable to breathe as I began to beat on Damien's chest, trying to wretch myself free from his embrace, yet he did not relent. He held me stead-fast so I tangled my free hand into his shirt while the pain remained unbearable. 

I do not remember the length of which this agony lasted, nor the words Damien whispered as he endeavored to ease my suffering. I only remember that I was left a mess after this ordeal had ended, covered in a sheen of sweat, panting to catch what air I could within my lungs. 

I lay in Damien's arms for quite a while; I had yet to fully come to my senses. My arm had fallen limply to my side and the energy I gathered from my short spell of sleep had all but depleted. My vision returned slowly as I blinked away the remnants of darkness that had engulfed my sight. I was, once again, staring at the ceiling.

"That was horrible." I attested, my voice hoarse from screaming. 

"I bet." Damien said with an edge of worry. 

"What just happened to me?" I asked. I tried to sit up, but Damien only held me tighter. 

"Don't move." He cautioned. "Your Magic core awakened."

I gave him a curious look. I had many questions but remained silent, not knowing how I should ask. Thankfully, I did not have to worry long as Lucifer began to explain.

"A magic core is where the mana is stored for magically inclined creatures." He began, petting my hair to ease my mind as he spoke. "It's essential for your ability to use magic. Without it, you'd be no better off than a human.

"Magical cores are dormant but gradually grow until they eventually awaken as a child ages, but since you are half born and raised on earth, the awakening happened all at once, which caused the burning you felt."

"What happens now?" I asked, rubbing at my burning eyes from beneath my spectacles. 

"I'll start by figuring out what your alignment is and work from there to teach you how to harness your powers." He said, gently moving my hand from my eyes. "Don't rub, it'll just make it worse."

I nodded yet continued to rub my eye with my other hand. The burning was harsh, but not painful. More of an irritating itch that I could not help but scratch. 

"Verin." He warned, grabbing my hand and moving it from my face.

I huffed but did as I was told, though the burning persisted. 

"Hop in the bath, get cleaned and changed. Saninna should be here in a few hours and I'm sure you don't want her to think I'm killing you."

I chuckled and sat up, nodding. I did not wish to give Saninna a single excuse to try and pry me from this place. I was happy in my new home.

I stood on slightly trembling legs and made my way into the bath. I washed and dressed quickly before sitting at the vanity. I looked at myself and could not help but scoff. My hair was now shoulder length and in quite a state. With a huff I grabbed a brush and ran it through my hair, undoing the tangles. Once finished, I grabbed a green ribbon from the drawer and began tying my hair at the base of my neck. 

The ribbon was silken and smooth so tying it was irritating. It slipped from my hair so often I nearly gave up until a set of hands wrapped gently around mine and bade me release the ribbon. I looked through the mirror at Damien, who had made his way into my room near silently enough that I had not heard him. He was smiling as he gently lowered my arms to my side and began tying my hair. 

"Thank you." I smiled. 

"No problem." He replied with an answering smile of his own. "It would have taken you all day if I didn't help."

"Bastard." I mocked, waiting patiently for him to finish.

"The one and only." He snickered, taking a step back to admire his handy work. "Want a haircut?"

"Yes." I nodded enthusiastically. "My hair has never been this long before." I admitted.

"I'll get you a haircut after your sister leaves." He assured before heading for the door. "Come on then, unless you want her to come to your house."

I looked around at my surroundings before turning towards Damien. I honestly was not in the mood to wear a mask for the duration of Saninna's visit. It was tedious and eating was difficult. If at all possible, I would have liked to meet her in a place I was comfortable.

"Bring her here."