We walked back to Cressida. My arm still burned slightly from the magically binding deal made just seconds ago.

My face felt swollen from the punch I received from Martear's elbow. My lip was bleeding and my stomach definitely felt bruised. I could fix it easily though, once I got home. Still... until then I had to deal with the pain.

Martear grabbed my elbow. "Don't forget what you're supposed to do." He whispered in my ear and then threw me on the ground in front of Cressida, the beautiful girl.

How could I forget? It was tattooed on my arm, the words would soon go invisible to everyone but me. Plus... what I got out of this deal was much more than what he got. I got to know what happened to my Coven. I got to go free.

"Cressida, this is Lennox Strato. He's going to watch you while you stay here." Martear smiled at us. "Because if anyone in this pack makes me want to cry, it's this failure of a witch right here. Plus, he knows he can't fail me another time. He'll be killed if you escape. You don't want that, do you? You're a nice girl, Cressida. Will you stay with him?"

By the tension in his voice she knew she had no option.

She hung her head. "I don't care if he dies," she said blatantly. "I don't know him."

My heart dropped, and not in a good way either. For such a sweet girl she seemed so cruel.

Martear smiled and pointed at her proudly. "I like you. But not that much. If you don't care whether he lives or dies then I don't actually need him anymore. He's failed me one too many times." Martear pulled out a dagger, the blade silver and smelling strongly of a deadly flower. He shrugged. "I guess I'll kill him," he said.

"WHAT!" I screeched, real fear on my face. I knew I couldn't trust him, I was a fool to do so. Can't keep a deal if one of them is dead.

He shoved the blade to my throat but Cressida screamed, "Stop!" before it actually broke skin.

Sweat rolled down my forehead, and when he pulled the blade away I fell forward into the dirt, breathing heavily. "You would've killed me!?" I accused, anger flaring to life.

Martear nodded. "Of course I would." He looked at Jospeh and sighed. "Cressida, you're staying with Lennox."

I closed my eyes guiltily. "She's staying with me? Martear I don't even have a house."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "That's not my problem. If she escapes, both of you will die."

Cressida and I gulped almost in sync. I looked to her face to try and reassure her, but she was looking to the side. Oh I begged that she cared if I lived or died.

"What if we both run?" She asked, still looking over to the side.

He put a hand on my shoulder. "We're witches. I can track you down and kill you both. If you do as I say, both of you will live." He looked to Joseph, then back to us, and took a deep breath. "I expect to see you both at my office tomorrow morning." Martear and Joseph disappeared, gone like the wind.

Martear was strong, he was smart, he was an asshole. And that last definition meant a little more than just him being mean. It meant he would go to extreme lengths to ruin someone's life. Just ask me.

Cressida stood up from her chains and fell forward, landing in my arms. I grunted from the impact hurting my bruised stomach.

"Okay, okay, hey. Don't walk, yet." I looked down at her but she was asleep. I sighed and got onto one knee, dropping her on my back. My plan wasn't to teleport two people, that took a lot of energy out of me, but apparently that's what I had to do.

"Mugitor," I said, and together we teleported to the place I called "home". My tree. My oh so, very very special tree.

I sat her down on the ground carefully, she needed the rest. She was freezing, I saw it in her cheeks. She wasn't wearing anything but a thin white slip. Spaghetti straps, a little on the short side. It didn't suit her. She should've been wearing some badass black jacket and some ripped up skinny jeans. Cressida Ross.

I shook my head and rolled my shoulders back. I huffed out a breath and took my shirt off, looking down at my bruised stomach. I walked over to my tree and pressed by hand to a spot in the dirt next to it.

"Unezcon." To unbury. The ground rumbled as a bag came up from it. It wasn't much, just a large camping back pack. Inside it though, was anything I felt was worth carrying around. It wasn't much.

I unzipped it and took out the only two blankets I owned. Both were small, both were hand crafted by my neighbor from back home. Before... before the attack.

I didn't want either of them on the ground but Cressida looked so cold. I laid the quilted black one on the ground and the baby blue yarn one over her. She still looked cold.

Oh well. I just had to watch her. She'd live, wasn't my fault it was cold outside.

I dug in the bag to a small hidden pocket and unzipped it, grabbing a locket. I clipped it around my neck and sat in the dirt, leaning against my tree. I put my hand on the bag. "Ezcon." It began sinking into the ground, no evidence that there was ever anything buried underneath the ground.

I stretched my arm up and pressed my hand against my eye. Healing didn't take that long, nor did it take that much energy. But with my lack of sleep and my careless use of magic all day, it wasn't easy healing my body. And even when I was fully healed, I didn't feel good.

I closed my eyes, just for a second to think. I had had an exciting last couple of days. I hadn't gotten a good night's sleep in a while. I needed to climb up to my hammoc but... I was so tired. I also needed to put a shirt on.

"Lennox, baby we need to go." Mom pulled me out of my bed.

"Wha— what's going on?" I asked, looking around my room. "What are you doing here?" I had moved out of home earlier this year, moved myself into the Coven Main House. It wasn't a mansion, but it did have twenty five rooms. Most of the younger "just beginning" witches lived here.

Mom took a deep breath. "Just, we need to go."

I heard something crash and then a loud scream. What was happening? I grabbed a pair of jeans off the floor and tugged them on, looking out my window. It was red, as far as my eyes could see.

"Mom, what happ—" when I turned back she was gone. "Mom?" I asked.

Something growled, but I wasn't sure what it was. A werewolf? A vampire? I wanted to use magic, wished I could, but I was only eighteen.

"Mom!" I yelled. "Dad!" No reply. Not from a single person.

I ran through my bedroom door, looking downstairs. It was dark, but a light from a downstairs hallway illuminated just a fraction of the lobby.

Someone else had to be in this stupid house. And someone else was. In the small light, someone ran through the lobby.

"Hey!" I yelled. They stopped and looked up at me. Even from my bedroom I could tell they weren't normal.

Their eyes were pure black. Black veins went from their elbow all the way down to their sharp nails. A crow landed on their shoulder. What was wrong with them?

"What's wrong with you?" I asked. "Do you need help?" I started going down the stairs to help them when someone grabbed my arm, pulling me back.

"Don't! They're Dividus." Mom said.

I tilted my head at her. "Mom? Where'd you go! We have to help them."

She wiped her eyes. "I was trying to help I swear."

"Mom?" She turned around and looked at me, her eyes spreaded to black. A dagger was in her hand.

"Sweetheart. I love you so much. Run. Run from here," She cried. "Find Malachi! He can help you. He's a good friend of mine." She put her hands on my face and kissed my forehead. "I'm sorry baby. I'll see you, hopefully not soon."

"What does that mean? Mom—"

She began laughing then, laughing like crazy. Her eyes flashed silver and then she dug the dagger into her heart.

Someone wrapped their arms around my chest and I tried to fight them off, tried to run forward. A crow began pecking at my neck. More and more came. They blocked my vision, scratching at me with their sharp talons. I ran forward, knowing what was at the other end of this hallway. A window.

I ran, ran as fast as I could. The crows continued their attack, trying to kill me it seemed like, until I broke through the glass.

My face stung as I shot up, tears on my eyelashes. I was breathing far too heavy for an asleep person to be breathing. I was asleep but I felt like I had gotten no rest.

I grabbed my cheek and then looked around me, wondering why the hell my face burned. And that's when it hit me. Well that's when she hit me.

Cressida swung at me another time but I dunked under her arm. I grabbed her fist and looked at her small hand. "You need to calm down."

"Calm down? I need to calm down?" She shook her head at me. "Don't ever try to attack me again."

I narrowed my eyes. "Atta— I fell asleep on the ground didn't I?" I slapped my forehead and drug my hand down my face. I looked up to the bright sky and closed my eyes. "I'm sorry."

She sat down, pulling her hair. "I get roomed with the Coven crazy, how great." Cressida closed her eyes.

I scoffed at her. "I'm the closest thing to sane you'll get from this Coven." I popped my knuckles and turned around, going to my bag. I had things to do today.

"What were you dreaming about?" She asked, already feeling sorry for me.

I shook my head. "None of your business." I tossed on my shirt and brought my bag up.

I pulled out a roll of duct tape and shut my bag, sending it back down below.

"What was that rumbling?" She asked curiously.

"Magic." I shrugged, smirking at her. Apparently, she had never seen it before.

***

I didnt understand why it had to be me. I kind of understood, but I also really didn't. Yeah, Martear hates me. Yeah, I was on hand when he wanted to get her to cry. But me? Of all people? It didn't make any sense. I had a busy schedule, I didn't have a house. I was a loner.

Maybe that's why Martear picked me. He thinks she'll cry just to get away from me. I'd cry to get away from me, who could blame her.

I shut my eyes and took a deep breath. I needed some me time.

I walked a couple of feet in front of a tree and turned. No sign of witches living here, just a lot of thorns that way. I walked back inside the "circle" and saw all the evidence. Different small bags of herbs hung on trees, casting the illusion circle that kept us hidden. I put a piece of duct tape on the tree and walked a couple more yards, to test the part of the circle.

There was no point in checking. But I had to have something to do besides spy for Martear.

"Why do you check it? We don't check ours." Cressida groaned, walking slowly on the line of magic separating us from the outside world. I didn't know how she did it. I tried that once and got sick. It was like looking through two different camera lenses at once.

"Martear needs to give me something to do." I admitted.

She chuckled. "As if baby sitting me wasn't enough." She stepped inside the circle. "How'd Martear get you to do i—"

"Shh." I put my hand up, widening my eyes.

"No, don't tell me to shh. H—"

I put my hand on her mouth and pushed her against a tree.

"... around here." It was voices, a little bit aways.

Cressida turned her eyes to the voices and then pushed me away. "At least buy me dinner first." She scoffed.

"Marianne!" Someone yelled, immediately followed by a girl's laugh. "We shouldn't be out here!"

I shook my head. No, they should not have been. I couldn't sense any power coming off of them, they were human.

"What are humans doing all the way out here?" Cressida whispered to herself.

I watched as a girl came closer and closer, brilliant blonde hair reflected the sun that peaked through the trees. "Oh come on, Trey." She rolled her electric blue eyes.

Something about this scene wasn't right. One, why were humans out this far? They knew not to come this way. Two, why was it so quiet? The forest was never this quiet.

"You feel this, right?" I asked Cressida.

She took a step forward, her head tilted. Her hair brushed my shoulder, a scent of pine, dirt, and... strawberries... wafted over me. I liked it.

Cressida watched the two teenagers, her cognac colored eyes entranced. "I've never felt a human's presence."

That was a weird way to word it, but she wasn't exactly wrong. Humans had a weird energy to them. I grabbed her arm. "Well I have, and they're not keen on people with near glowing eyes."

Her mouth opened to respond but no sound came out. She tried to go through the protective circle but I pulled her back. "What's wrong with you?" I asked. "Do you want to be killed by a Hunter for showing humans what you are?"

She shook her head and then shivered. The blanket wrapped around her wasn't helping her much. 

The two humans came a little closer to the barrier. They both must have been sixteen. The boy held a case of beer in his hands. Drunken teenagers. My favorite type of people. I sighed.

"Aren't you a little curious as to what they're doing?" Cressida asked.

I held a hand out to the them. "They're getting drunk, stumbling into the woods so they can have sex, and then are going to fall asleep and wake up with no recollection as to what happened."

She played with the ends of her hair. "Aren't they a little young?"

I shrugged. "Not my problem."

What was my problem, however, was how close they were getting. The fake thorns should veer them off but... every once in a while there's a really stupid human who either doesn't care about thorns or doesn't notice them.

The girl noticed the thorns and tilted her head. "It's over these thorns. We can just trample over them."

I took a deep breath. I was going to regret this in a minute.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you do something." Cressida asked concernedly.

I held up my hand to her.

I focused on the forest floor beneath me, my feet planted firmly in the ground. I breathed in a deep breath, trying not to focus on the strawberry scent that Cressida had, but on the smell of petrichor and grass. I listened to the wind breathing, animals skittering across dead leaves.

"Ekarri hartz." I whispered, keeping my eyes closed. I listened for a heartbeat and suddenly, there was a quiet bump bum. My blood rumbled. Off in the distance, a bear roared.

"What's that?" Cressida asked, setting a hand on my shoulder.

I smiled. "A bear."

Cressida stood straight, both hands on one of my shoulders. "Should we help them? Won't the bear kill them!"

I rolled my eyes. "I just summoned it! It's not going to kill them, just scare them away."

Cressida relaxed, but her hands were still slightly digging in my arm. "That's... brilliant."

I turned and looked at her, mostly paying attention to her eyes. Her cognac, glowing, eyes. "It's just... yeah." I turned away, watching the couple notice the bear. The boy silently put a finger to his lips and then pointed to the bear.

He held his hand out to her.

"What's going on?" Cressida asked.

Was she not paying attention? "He doesn't want to make any noise so he's silently telling her to come with him."

She wasn't even really looking at the scene, just the sky slightly above them.

"Are you even paying attention?" I asked.

"I can't watch it." She responded, turning to me.

I scrunched up my nose. "I told you, they're not going to die." Wow. Weepers really were weak.

"No, I can't see." She explained. She explained very poorly, because I still wasn't sure what she was talking about.

"What? Like you need glasses?" I laughed nervously.

She gave me a deadpanned face. "I'm blind."

"A really strong pair of glasses?" I chuckled.

She slapped my arm, taking a step back. "I'm blind!" She yelled.

I was worried the couple might have heard but when I turned back they were gone. The bear, since I had lost focus, was walking back into the deep woods.

"What do you mean blind?" I questioned.

She put her hands on her hips, tilting my head at me. "Being blind is when someone, with their eyes open or closed, only sees black! You, I don't see you. Colors? I don't see them. EVERYTHING IS BLACK. And glasses aren't going to fix it." She crossed her arms and turned away. "Take us back. And if you could, take me home."

Martear really was a coward. Of all the people to kidnap, he kidnapped a blind girl. "I'm sorry." I tried to guide her as we walked.

She shrugged out of my hand. "I don't need an escort. I can walk fine! I can hear you and I can supernatural sixth sense shit. I'm not a liability."

I held my hands up in defense. I had to hide a laugh. She couldn't see that. "Hey hey," I said calmingly. "I didn't say you were a liability, I'm just trying to help."

"Did I need your help on the way here?" She was so mad she was shaking her head as she spoke.

I felt like I was being scolded by my mother again. "No."

"Then do I need it now?" She was livid. She was pointing a finger at me, her body was all but shaking. Was she going to cry?

That'd be great. I could bottle those up, hand them off to Martear, and then we could both go home.

"No."

"I don't need your help now, and I never will. I'm very proud of what I can do. Don't baby me. Being blind does not mean the same thing as being helpless." She walked forward and then stopped. "But I'm not stupid and I do need to hear your steps so I don't run into a tree. Please and thank you."

I chuckled quietly and walked in front of her. I didn't feel as bad now. She could walk on the line between magic and non magic because she couldn't see. I wasn't a wimp. She just had an advantage on me.