Apprentices: First Quarter

Weight Off the Shoulders

My friends all greet me happily, probably glad that we finally have an evening to ourselves. No school, no stress and just the eight of us. That’s the kind of party we like most, even if we like to crash other parties too.

I smile to myself as I realize they’re all wearing costumes except me. Dave points at me with an offended look on his face. He’s supposed to be a knight, or at least I think so. “You shall not pass!” he yells out, making us all cackle like we’re five.

“What he said,” Marcus agrees with him, making me raise my eyebrows as I take a look at him. He’s sitting on the floor in his underwear, showing off his muscles. Jerk.

“And what are you supposed to be?” I ask, waiting for what he’s going to come up with. But to my surprise, he comes up with a legit costume. And the others seem to accept it without any questions.

“I’m a Calvin Klein underwear model,” he reveals. I stare at him for a long moment, before soon realizing that he’s completely serious. Oh, wow. I can’t believe my friends are just going along with this.

“You really are in love with yourself, aren’t you?” I remark, sitting down next to Jake, leaving room for Katie to join us on my right side. Gabe and Tim chuckle at the way I roast their beta, making me smirk in satisfaction.

But Marcus doesn’t even seem ashamed or bothered by my comment. “Exactly. But I still don’t know what you’re supposed to be,” he hits right back, making me sigh. I hoped this would redirect attention to his self-love. I guess I should’ve done better than that.

“I’m a witch,” I give him a simple reply. The boys stare at me for a few long moments before suddenly realizing that I’m serious. They all burst into laughter and Katie joins them the moment she sits down next to me.

“You’re even worse than Marcus,” Jake tells me, making me frown. Firstly, I can never be worse than that dude. Secondly, I just came from an exhausting lesson. They all had time to prepare costumes. And they even started the party without me.

“I think you just offended her,” Marcus remarks, leaning on the bedframe in a relaxed way, while placing his arms behind his head. I send him a pointed look. Of course, Jake offended me. But I don’t need him to say how I feel.

Before I’m able to say anything, Jake already places his hand on my knee, sending me an apologetic gaze. “I didn’t mean anything bad, Evy,” he assures me, making me sigh. I’m tense. It’s because I didn’t do well in today’s lesson and because I’m still deciding if I should tell the truth to my friends or not.

I watch Jake for a long moment, already seeing in his eyes that I’m making him worry. I send him a small smile. He makes a cute doctor. And yeah, I know it might seem funny, but supernaturals love to dress up as humans whenever they get the chance. Which is more or less on Halloween.

Taking a deep breath, I move my gaze around, glancing at all my friends. It’s now or never. “I need to tell you something,” I start, carefully checking what everyone’s reaction is going to be.

“We’re listening,” Katie assures me without batting her eyelashes twice. I send her a grateful look, bracing myself for what’s about to come. I know I’m risking their friendship. And I’m not sure I can take losing them. But I know that it’ll be even worse, if I keep quite for one more week, or even a month.

“You were all there in Cincinnati, when I … You know what I mean … And I know you were asking me about it, but I couldn’t tell you the truth. It was forbidden. I’m not sure what or why changed, but I’m allowed to tell you if you promise to keep everything inside these walls,” I speak up, my hands starting to sweat.

Jake squeezes my knee like he’s encouraging me to continue. When our gazes meet, I realize how serious he looks. And just a little worried about what I’m going to tell them now.

I take another deep breath, finally saying what’s been gnawing at me for a whole month. “The lessons I’ve been taking after the incident with Sheila weren’t meant for helping my magic recover. My powers were completely intact. There was no curse on me. I hurt Sheila with my own free will … I just didn’t know I was capable of it. I’m … I’m a blood witch.”

Katie draws in a sharp breath, her grey eyes widening in shock. As I glance around the others, I realize they probably aren’t familiar with our magical elements that well. I soon figure out I’m right, when Gabe asks: “What the hell is a blood witch?”

I gulp, glancing at my best friend, who is still unable to process what I just said. “It’s … Blood magic is one of the original elements. They are very rare nowadays and they’re much more dangerous to control then the modern elements. I … I could seriously hurt Sheila. And I could hurt anyone, if I lost control again. That’s why I’m taking lessons with Kir. His dominant element is blood, too,” I finally reveal the whole truth.

I fell like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, but at the same time I’m worried out of my mind. My friends are all staring at me in disbelief, and I’m not sure if it’s from the fact that I’m a blood witch or that I kept the truth from them for a whole month.

I watch them with a lump in my throat, not knowing what to say next. Is anyone going to speak up, or are they just going to throw me out of the room and be done?