The Blind Sorceress and the Midnight Beta

                                                                                       Tempest I took careful steps, hearing my booted feet break the small twigs underneath them. My heightened senses told me I was in the forest. My surroundings were pitch black. I could not see even a spark or a shadow—even though I know for a fact it was just nearing dusk. I would know because I cast a spell on myself to know what time of the day or night it was. I would hear a buzz when I wake up in the morning. During noon, I would feel tickles in the back of my neck, while in the afternoon, I would feel my hands itch. Whenever dusk was nearing, I could feel a gentle touch just behind my knees. And in the evening? I would just feel giddy. Why? Because it would always make me think that other people would be blind as me. They could see the darkness that I had always been surrounded by ever since I was born. Still, normal people were just too lucky they could see even at night because the lights they said could show them everything. I still had no idea how to figure out what light was, how the sun looked like, how bright a world could be or how dark a world could be either. Could it be any darker than where I was in my entire life? I could not see the colorful trees in that autumn afternoon. I remember my grandmother used to tell me that in autumn, the leaves would turn into gold or brown or red or yellow. Some would turn into maroon or beige, depending on the trees. I could not understand those colors she was talking about. I had no idea how to make of each of them. I was too confused if there was another color besides black. Darkness, that is. I could not, for the soul of me, imagine anything else other than black. I could not see the myriad of greens of the conifers around me, but I could smell their spicy and sweet scent. Not only that as I could also smell the humid earth and the dry and damp leaves on the ground. I could feel them under my boots; they were softer than solid ground. I sighed as I walked, thinking how pathetic and unfortunate my life was. I just wanted to see the world and experience its beauty! I wanted to see what painters saw through the strokes of their brushes. I wanted to watch how different musical instruments were played instead of merely listening to the songs they produced. I wanted to see how a river flow, how the ocean waves kiss the sands on the shore, how the birds fly in the sky… Everything! I suddenly halted. It seemed that the area had run out of birds and other wild animals. It was too quiet. So abnormally quiet. I knew this forest well. I’d been here since I was fifteen. Now that I was twenty, this was certainly a first. My instincts told me there was something wrong. And that maybe… maybe I am in danger. I prepared myself for the worst. I could not see, but I could definitely use my other senses. And my supernatural powers. I instinctively built a protective shield around me. It crackled in the air, telling me it was working. Without my seeing it, the shield glowed and emitted purple and violet sparks—it was how my grandmother used to describe my shield. It was something that she taught me to procure whenever necessary. “Who’s there?” I inquired, trying to keep my low husky voice calm. If it was any member of the Shadow, my coven, that found me at last, I would tell them to bloody f*ck themselves. I would never go back to my grandmother’s side. I had no qualms about killing anyone if I was going to be forced to go back by any of them. They would never understand. They never did. All I wanted was to see the world I lived in. I did not want to get involved in an old feud that did not matter anymore. At least to me. It had nothing to do with me. I am blind. All I had to do was to do something about it and not go on rampage, killing every werewolf that comes my way. No, I wouldn’t do that unless threatened. There was no answer to my question but I heard a low moan instead. It was a woman’s voice. I moved to the left to face whoever it was. My breathing was slightly ragged, and my heart beat faster than normal. “Hey! Identify yourself if you want to live!” I warned, raising a hand and ready to blast that someone to smithereens. My nose twitched when I smelled the hint of a metallic scent. It was faint but it was there all right. Is it coming from her? Is she hurt? Why? How? A part of me wondered. Maybe she is hurt. She groaned in pain, Tempest! The other part of my brain pointed out. You are blind, not deaf! You can even smell the blood! But what if she’s just acting like hurt? Maybe it isn’t her blood. Your ears can be deceived, you know? You’re blind after all. You can’t tell until it may be too late! It made me more than a little frustrated to have this kind of inner battles most of the time. Okay, not most of the time. It was every single time! It was always annoying. I am annoyed with myself actually. But I had to live like this. This was my normal and everyday living. I heard the leaves rustle as the stranger moved. I could only imagine she crawled judging by the dragging sound of her body against the leaves on the ground. I stepped back and blindly released a surge of energy from my hand that could blast anything. I heard the loud whoosh coming from it and then a cracking sound. And of course, her angry growl. Damn it! Is she a werewolf, not just a human being? “You almost got me, witch!” she snarled and groaned again. She shuffled once more. At least, that was what I could tell. So, yes. It was confirmed. She was in her human form, obviously. Besides, wolves wouldn’t speak like that at all, and wolves could smell a sorceress or a witch from a mile away. “Who are you? Why are you here? There are supposedly no wolves around here! This is my territory!” I gritted my teeth, trying to determine in which direction she was at the moment. I turned around to my left when I heard her there. My hand was still up in front of me, ready to release another attack. “Huh! I didn’t know a witch owns this forest. I think you should put your name around it so everybody would know and not trespass into your territory!” she said sarcastically but groaned once again and panted. “You stupid i***t! Why would I even do that?” Given my circumstances… “Well, it’s because you’re not a wolf, so you don’t piss around your territory.” I huffed at this. “Anyway, it seems that I’m not welcome anywhere. My own pack is bullying me, and a blind witch is going to blow me into meaty pieces for trespassing! Peachy life I have, huh?” The leaves rustled again, and she was not far away from me. I tried to assess this situation. If she was an enemy and wanted to attack me despite her predicament, we would have scuffled at the very first second she spotted me. I now realized she had been here for some minutes at least before I arrived. For some reason, my heart went out to her. She had no one just like me. Yes, I did readily believe her story! I could just feel the sincerity in those sarcastic words that left her mouth. And do you think you can help her if you can? In what way, Tempest? Have her reborn when you yourself can’t do it for yourself? Well, at least I think I can do that for another being, but sadly, not for myself. I took a deep breath and hoped I wouldn’t regret being pushed by this curious force from deep within me.   Chapter 1: Bullied Omega