“Where are we going?” Raijin asked, his body nearly fully covered.
“My home.”
Together they disappeared, only fragments of red wisps left behind.
LANIAS
“Avery, hold still.” Roni encouraged a teen with her long dreads pulled in a high ponytail. He settled a hand on her shoulder. “Slow down you’re putting out too much power.”
Lanias watched from where she sat in front of the four teens. Her legs crossed, she watched the orange glow of light flicker back and forth around them. Some were growing brighter and whiter. While others like Avery were having a more difficult time. Her orange growing darker.
Since Alek had left, she’d decided to focus on anything and everything except for him. Was it healthy? No. But she couldn’t face the hollow emptiness left behind and the man had only been gone for two days. She wasn’t the type to pout and mope around,so she’d immediately gone to work meeting the Half-Breeds and learning their names.
The one Roni was working with the most was Avery. She was 5’7 with a sharp tongue, and sharper mind. But she was clumsy when it came to managing her power. Her cocoa skin was the only one that carried black block markings like Roni.
If the others had them, she hadn’t seen them.
“Aella,” she called noticing the girl almost had no presence. “You don’t want to completely suppress your magic.” Rising, she walked bare foot across the grass to her. The girl’s Afro was growing limp under the heat of the sun. She felt for them having to train so hard. For Witches, they naturally played with their magic all the time. The only time heavy studying or training came into the picture was when they wished to do spell work, hexes, and potions. Kneeling before the girl, she reached out and placed her palms on her bare shoulders.
She let her black magic surge and let it buzz against the younger girl’s skin. “That’s just what you want.” The girl’s eyes fluttered then opened the hazel bleary with exhaustion. “You want to feel like there is a thin piece of cloth resting against your skin.” Removing her hands, she settled them in her lap. “Now, inhale and do it again.”
“O-okay.” Aella’s voice shook, as she tried it once more. The magic grew thick, though it remained white it thinned out but was still enough so that Lanias could still sense it.
“Well done.” She stood slowly and moved to the next young one only to realize quickly that they didn’t need help. Neo and Raven had better control, but she was sure that was because they’d been here longer.
When they were done, she watched as they stood and eagerly ran toward their dorm.
“You did well for your first time,” Roni said as he joined her, where she sat drinking some water. “Have you taught others before?”
“I taught women how to smile before they stabbed their target,” she said, setting her bottle down. “And I taught the ones who sold their bodies how to get what they needed and how to always remember the bigger picture. So, I guess you could say I was a teacher of sorts.”
He nodded at this. “It’s shows.”
She laughed. “I’m not teaching these kids to kill, so how does it show?”
“You’re patient, and calm. It wasn’t what I expected from Madame Lanias, The Fourth Demon of the Veil.”
“So, you know more about me than I first assumed,” she said conversationally, “And here I thought I could scare you away.”
“It takes more to scare me away than a little threat,” Roni said with an easy laugh.
“How about this, I’m taken.”
His face screwed up in disgust. “Eww.”
“Well, damn. And here I thought I was attractive,” Lanias groused, “and next time you shouldn’t make such an ugly face.”
He laughed. “No, no don’t misunderstand it’s just. It would be like dating a niece.”
She glanced at him, disgruntled. “So, you’re that old.”’
He grinned. “Yep, I’m that old.”
Exhaling a huff of disappointment, she fell back and stretched out resting the back of her head on her hands. “That’s the downside as a Being, nothing can be taken at face value.”
“Not like you would be concerned. After all, your mind’s been filled with that Vampire,” Roni said with a friendly tone. “Will he be returning?”
“I don’t know.” Lanias said, closing her eyes. “And honestly, I just don’t want to think about him. If I do I get angry, and then I want to chase him down and rip his hair out.”
