Nodding, I understand completely what Oracle is saying. There’s a reason the witch trials were so horrific. Humans can’t coexist with supernaturals. So we have to stay hidden.
Rolling my shoulders, I need to get us back on track. “Well, I need to learn all I can about my new world, so where do we start?”
“The basics.” Hades gestures, and the temperature drops. Frost spreads across the concrete in spiraling patterns, and from the shadows, skeletal hands emerge. They’re holding something small and squirming. “Hemomancy. Blood Magic in its purest form.”
The skeleton approaches, and I see what it’s carrying.
A rat.
A very much alive, very confused rat.
“Please tell me you didn’t just summon that from the underworld,” I say.
“Of course not.” Hades looks offended. “I’m a necromancer, not a demon. I asked Ronan to catch one from the alley. He has remarkably good luck with rodents.”
“That’s… weirdly specific.”
“Fae blood.” Oracle shrugs as though it explains everything.
Maybe it does.
The skeleton sets the rat down on a small platform in front of me. The creature sniffs the air, whiskers twitching, completely unaware it’s about to become my magical guinea pig.
“Poor thing,” I murmur.
“It won’t be harmed,” Hades assures me. “Hemomancy isn’t about destruction, it’s about control. Blood carries life force. As a Blood Witch, you can manipulate that force. Stop it. Start it. Redirect it.” His white eyes fix on me. “But first, you need to learn tofeelit.”
I stare at the rat. “How?”
“Close your eyes.”
I do.
“Now reach out with your awareness. Not your physical senses, your magical ones. The part of you that awakened when Crave’s blood mixed with yours.” His voice drops to a hypnotic cadence. “Blood calls to blood. Life recognizes life. Find the rat’s heartbeat.”
At first, nothing.
Then…
… there.
A tiny pulse.
Rapid and frantic.
A miniature drumbeat that thrums through the air, a frequency only I can hear. It’s fast, so fast, layered with the rat’s fear and confusion.
“I feel it,” I breathe.
“Good. Now… stop it.”
My eyes snap open.“What?”
“Stop the rat’s heart.” Hades’ expression doesn’t change. “A whisper of intent. A command in the language blood understands. Make it stop beating.”
“That’ll kill it!”
“Only if you leave it unbeating.” Oracle steps closer, his flames casting dancing shadows. “This is the first lesson of power, Sloane. Understanding that youcanharm, so you learn the responsibility of choosing not to. Stop the heart… thenrestartit.”
