Blood Secrets

An End And A Beginning

"You're not trying hard enough," said Annabeth.

Binuksan naman niya ang kanyang mga mata at tiningnan ang babae. "I am trying, Annabeth."

"If you are trying then you should have done it by now."

"It was just a few days ago that I learned I am a witch. Unlike you, I didn't have prior experience with witchy-woos."

"Hindi ba ikaw ang nagpasimuno na gawin ito? I expected you'd be at least prepared."

"Well, maybe if you were a better teacher then I would have probably managed to burn this place to the ground."

"Do you want me to burn you instead?"

"You pick on powerless people now?"

"I don't remember mentioning I have never picked on innocent people."

"Bring it on, then."

Bago pa man mas lumala ang sagutan nila ni Annabeth ay pumagitna na na si Isabela.

"Are we seriously doing this right now?" tanong nito habang nakatingin sa kanilang dalawa. Habang siya naman ay nakatingin lang kay Annabeth. She knows she's giving her death glares dahil iyon din ang binibigay ng babae sa kanya.

Ngunit agad din naman siyang napaupo sa sofa at nagpakawala ng buntong-hininga. Wala siyang oras para makipag-away. Lalong-lalo na kay Annabeth na kaya siyang patumbahin gamit ang ilang mga salita nito. Perhaps it was because of exhaustion and lack of sleep. Hindi na niya matandaan kung kailan siya nakatulog nang mahimbing. Parang kailan lang ay nasa cafe siya at tahimik na nanunuod ng fireworks. Being involved in vampire business is something that is needed in her job. But she never expected to be this kind of involved. Idagdag pa ang mga sikretong nalaman niya sa kanyang pagkatao.

She couldn't help but wonder sometimes what would have happened if she did not go with Kaiden that night. If she had chosen to stay in her cafe and spent her holiday as she planned. Hindi niya malalaman na isa siyang lobo. She wouldn't know the death of her mother and the possibility of her father being alive. She also wouldn't be able to know that she's a descendant of a witch. The most powerful one at that.

Hindi pa rin siya makapaniwala sa lahat ng iyon. The coven of the three are dead and all of their magic, by default, is transferred to the witch that remained. Nasa kanya na lahat ng kapangyarihang iyon ngunit hindi niya naman alam kung paano gamitin. A big part of her was also terrified of what her newlyfound magic could do. Ngunit hindi niya malalaman kung hindi niya susubukan.

"Alright, I'm sorry," she muttered and looked at Annabeth. "I will try harder," patuloy niya at hindi na ito hinintay na sumagot. She closed her eyes before taking a deep breath. Tinandaan niya ng mga sinabi ni Annabeth kanina bago sila nagsimula. She placed her focus on herself, making it the center. Hindi ito mahirap sa kanya kaya naman agad niya rin itong nagawa. Instantly, she couldn't hear anything from her surroundings aside from her beating heart and the flow of her blood all throughout her body.

She focused a little bit more and a few minutes later, she felt it. The magic inside of her has made itself occupied inside her body as though it had been its home from the very beginning. The magic felt familiar and foreign at the same time. Pakiramdam niya ay matagal na nga itong nasa katawan niya. She doesn't know if she should be happy about it or not.

Naririnig niya ang boses nina Isabela at Annabeth. Nagsasalita ang mga ito habang nakatayo sa gilid niya ngunit hindi naman niya iyon maintindihan. But as she listened close enough, taking more of her concentration than normal, naririnig niya rin sa wakas kung anong pinagsasasabi ng mga ito.

The first voice she heard was Annabeth's.

"Now try to reach into that magic," she said.

Ginawa naman niya ang sinabi nito. Although she doesn't exactly know how to do it but it was as if somehow deep down, she knows about it. Her consciousness glides through the magic, not touching it yet dahil takot siyang baka hindi niya magawang abutin iyon. Having it inside of her felt like having to tame a wild animal. She needed to approach it slowly.

The magic felt ancient enough. Pakiramdam nga niya ay may sarili itong isipan. It move the way it wanted to move. And yet somehow she had the feeling that if she reach deep enough, she could will it into her own. So she did.

She reached out to the magic, slowly at first. Unlike before, the magic did not seem wild. Kalmado na ito at parang naghihintay nalang sa kanya kung ano ang susunod niyang gagawin. And the she finally have it in her grasp.

Ngunit hindi rin iyon nagtagal. As soon as she did it, her concentration broke and she was almost knocked down from her seat. Napasinghap siya kasabay ng pagbukas ng kanyang mga mata. Unang nakita niya ang nakangiting mukha ni Annabeth. Isabela was also looking at her and she could have sworn she could see the excitement in their faces although just briefly.

"You did it," said Isabela. Tumango naman siya. Annabeth quickly walked towards the table where a map was located and then placed it in front of her.

"Do it again and this time, you have to trace the familiar feel of your magic and reverse it. It sounds complicated but you will know what to do once you're there."

She nodded before she said, "What is the spell?"

***

Lorcan could already sense it: the familiar feeling of dread and death looming in the air. He's a vampire and his siblings had told him he does killing as a hobby and yet he couldn't stand having a lot of people that were going to be killed if they don't find the twins soon enough.

"No word from the witches, yet?" Eleanor said as she just arrived from somewhere, covering her ground. Nang hindi siya sumagot, he heard her let out a frustrated groan.

"I swear I am going to stake them myself. I am supposed to be sleeping peacefully tonight and those two asshats decided to start rebelling again."

"They have been sleeping for a century—"

"Good for them!" singit ni Eleanor sa sinasabi ni Sebastian.

"—and being deprived for that long only made them more...animalistic."

"I tightened the leash and it made them even more desperate to get out. Tell me Sebastian, was I wrong to put them to sleep before?" He stared at his brother. Sebastian looked at him with those cool eyes without a hint of judgment.

"During that time, I was with you when you decided to make them sleep. I didn't stop you. So if you think you made a bad decision, I was there with you."

Sebastian is accomplished in many things and this is one of them--not leaving his side. For the millennia that they had walked this earth, they have tried to kill each other at one point, but still, they emerged stronger than ever. They are each other's worst enemies.

He didn't say anything more. Ngunit alam niya ang kabigatan ng sitwasyon nila ngayon. They have already informed the mayor about the incident and the mayor was quick to release the word ordering the inhabitants of the city to stay in their homes and not let any strangers in. Madali lang din nitong naipakalat sa buong balita ang dalawang kriminal na nakatakas. It was a more reasonable excuse and with the help of the other vampires who have decided to be under Lorcan's graces again, they have compelled the townspeople not to open any door unless the city is declared safe. With the city's population, it was hard for them do it one by one kaya naman agad na pinatawag ng mayor ang lahat ng tao sa parke malapit sa city hall. There, Lorcan did the compelling to a thousand people.

Ngayon, tahimik ang kalye at wala siyang nakikitang kahit isang taong gumagala. The borders were also guarded by vampires ngunit alam ni Lorcan na kayang-kaya itong patumbahin ng dalawa niyang kapatid. That's why they needed to find them as soon as they can before they could cause another bloodshed.

"I should go to the border," said Eleanor. Hindi na ito naghintay ng sagot niya at agad itong umalis.

Sebastian took his hands out of his pockets as he looked at his watch. "I will be at the other border."

Nanatili siyang nakatayo doon but instantly knew that he couldn't be wasting his time. Kaya agad din naman siyang umalis.

Grey and August had defeated Penelope, the coven leader of the coven of three. It only proved how strong they have become and with centuries of exposure to Renegade magic, an ordinary witch's magic is no use against them. Iyon ang dahilan kung bakit madali nilang napatay si Penelope.

Having them sleep for too long was a bad call and waking them up was another one. But if he was going to make the decision once again, he will do the same thing. He's still going to put them to sleep after murdering half a city's population and would wake them up again to defeat a formidable enemy. And now that they have defeated Penelope and the rest of her coven, it's time to put them back to sleep. It may appear as though he was only using them but he's doing the world a favor by doing it.

He found himself going back to the house where the witches are. He figured the fastest way to get them to work is to give effective threats. Kung kinakailangan niyang gawin iyon ngayon, he would.

Kaya lang nang makapasok siya sa bahay bumungad sa kanya si Nadia na nakatayo sa harap ng mesa kung saan nakalatag ang mapa. He stopped by the threshold and watched silentlty. Katabi nito sa magkabilang dulo ng mesa sina Annabeth at Isabela na nakatingin lang din kay Nadia na para bang naghihintay sa kung ano ang susunod nitong gawin.

Nadia had her eyes close and she looked like she was in her deepest concentration. He knew instantly what she was doing. He marched inside the house and that's when Isabela and Annabeth looked at him. They must have read the question on his face when Isabela explained what they were doing.

"She's trying to locate them," Isabela said.

Kumunot naman ang noo niya habang nakatingin sa babae. "How can she track them when my brothers were under a cloaking spell?"'

"A cloaking spell made by the same magic that runs in her veins," Annabeth said. "She managed to uncloak them but I think your brothers know the feeling of a witch's spell too much that they noticed it gone as soon as Nadia removed it. They're now on the move."

He couldn't quite believe what he heard. Nadia, the woman who just recently realized she has the blood of the witch, just managed to remove a spell placed on his brothers. He had always seen Nadia as someone fearless and brave enough but this one--for a moment he thought Nadia would make a formidable enemy should everything go south. He dreaded the idea so he shook it away.

Instead, he focused his eyes on the map laid on the table. It was a map of the whole St. Angeli. Malaki ang syudad at alam niyang hindi pa nakakalabas ang kanyang mga kapatid. Even though they have fed on the two witches, it still wasn't enough for them. They would most likely find some people in the city for them to feast on.

On the map was a drop of blood. Hindi niya alam kung kaninong dugo iyon at hindi na rin siya nagtanong. Gaya nina Isabela at Annabeth, he watched closely and silently as Nadia mumbled some words under her breath--a spell to track Grey and August.

Maya-maya pa ay nakita niyang gumalaw ang dugo sa mapa. Nadia continued to chant until the blood slowly moved from one location in the map to another. Noong una ay mahina pa itong gumagalaw ngunit kalaunan ay naging mabilis din ito. He walked closed and squinted his eyes at the map. It was then that the drop of blood stopped in a certain location on the map.

Nadia opened her eyes and met his. Nanlalaki ang mga mata nito at hinihingal na para bang galing sa pagtakbo. Her eyes then darted towards the map kung saan tumigil ang dugo.

"They're almost at the border," she said before he looked back at him again.

Hindi na siya nag-aksaya ng panahon at agad na lumabas ng bahay. He knows which border they are going. They are going to where Sebastian was. At kailangan niyang makarating doon sa lalong madaling panahon.

The twins fear Lorcan but with their strength, he's not too sure now. And if Sebastian and the twins meet, it's not going to end well.

Because the twins are going to kill Sebastian.