Page 19 of His Blazing Witch (The Silver City #3)

I see him glance at Sylviana's name on the wall.

"Nora and Selena are Royal werewolves, you know that, right?"

I nod.

"They weren't born here, in Silver City. Their family lived far away, to the north, in an unknown location. Their grandmother was a sacred werewolf, with powers akin to the Moon Goddess herself."

"Alright, this is all very interesting but with all due respect to those two, I want the witches' story!"

He rolls his eyes again.

"Moon Goddess, Mara, can you shut up for a second and let me speak? How the hell are you so damn stubborn? Let me talk and listen!"

I don't like his tone, but I decide to shut up. I can always light up his fine ass later if I don't get what I want... He sighs, shaking his head with annoyance.

"It's not just about their family. Their grandmother had a witch, a friend of hers that was in that city with them."

He points his finger toward Sylviana's mother.

"...Danica?"

"That's right. Danica, the Fire Witch. She was the witch on the Royals' territory, the Blue Clan. And that's where she raised both of her daughters, Nephera and Sylviana. Until today, I had no idea Nephera wasn't her daughter, but that's the story we were told."

"...What happened then? You said it didn't all happen in Silver City?"

"Right. Because of the Blue Clan's Royal Family's powers, they were targeted, especially Selena and Nora's parents. They were twins, and their grandmother, Diane, wanted to protect them at all costs. So, many years before Selena or Nora were even born, Danica sent Nephera, her first daughter, with Diane's younger sister, a werewolf lady named Cynthia, and a portion of the Blue Clan to settle elsewhere."

"...Why?"

"Danica believed they could find a place with more witch power, some sort of magic source or something, that would help them protect the children. Nephera was sent here with Cynthia before Sylviana was even born. Their little pack settled in Silver City. However, she didn't really do her witch duty. She fell in love with my father, helped him become the next Alpha King, and..."

"And he threw her away when he didn't need her anymore?" I guess.

Liam makes a sour face and nods.

"Trust me, I know this part has to be true. My father was the worst kind of scum."

It sounds like Liam and his brother's childhood wasn't all happy pup play... It would also explain why they are so inclined to protect their family, though, or why they fell for strong women like Nora and Selena. I remember seeing the two couples, and how close they looked... Liam was the only one sticking out.

"Nephera never fulfilled her duty to find that magic source, and things here were... messy for a while. My father wasn't the best kind of King Silver City needed. Cynthia's pack had to fend for themselves among many others. They became the Sapphire Moon Clan, but meanwhile, Nephera completely detached herself from them. I think she said she tried to get away from our father and left Silver City while pregnant..."

"That's when she was... chased by vampires?"

I don't know much about vampires, but I do have a feeling they are probably not the nice kind. So, she was driven out of Silver City... and attacked while pregnant. No matter what, I feel extremely sorry for her. I can almost feel the pain, that anguish she must have gone through. Falling for the wrong man, losing her family, having to fend for herself... Maybe it's because I am also a witch, and isolated at that, but I can really feel Nephera's pain as my own. Somehow, I understand why the werewolves can't feel sorry for her, as she abandoned the Blue Clan her mother served, but I do...

"If she left Silver City and Sylviana was still with... Diane and her kids, how did things lead to a war in Silver City?" I ask, confused.

"The thing is, Nephera was supposed to be the guide to bring the rest of the pack to Silver City. All of this happened about thirty or forty years ago. Silver City or their birthplace wasn't developed like it is now, no phones or computers to communicate, and without knowing where the other was..."

"They lost contact?" I realize.

"There might have been some magic involved too, as Danica was probably protecting the place, but basically, yes. So, while a portion of their pack was settling in Silver City, Diane never got to come here with her children. That's how Nora and Selena were both born in that place, wherever it was. However, through Nephera, the vampires learned about it."

Holy crap. So that's when things went wrong... Liam looks up at Sylviana's name.

"What Diane had feared happened. The vampires attacked, and Nora and Selena's parents were killed. Queen Diane and Danica, also. However, Sylviana managed to save Nora and leave, while Selena was saved by another werewolf... Both of them were brought here to Silver City and raised in different packs. It wasn't until they met my brothers that we found out they were Royals, and... the awakening of their powers brought Nephera back too."

"What? You mean she tried to come back to Silver City?"

Liam sighs.

"She wasn't coming back with good feelings, Mara. Our father had chased her out and killed her baby. The Blue Moon Clan, now called the Sapphire Moon, hadn't helped her. She was dead jealous of Sylviana, who had been raised by their mother, and most of all, she blamed Nora and Selena's family for what happened to her."

Now everything is becoming much clearer...

"So that's it," I whisper. "The war... It was caused by all of this?"

"By Nephera," Liam says. "She wanted revenge. She wanted to kill all of us, for what she had suffered. She was... tortured by vampires for years, Mara. Vampire venom is extremely painful for witches. A werewolf can save themselves from it under certain conditions but for a witch... Even if she could heal herself, she must have gone through hell. It... wrecked her. She was just so full of spite, I think blaming us for everything was her way to cope, but it also made her crazy."

"I would have gone crazy too if I had gone through all that shit." I sigh. "I get that the werewolves and Sylviana were lucky, but I feel sorry for Nephera. Your father was the bastard in the story. If he hadn't chased her out, and killed her child... What kind of bastard even does that to a woman carrying their child?!"

Liam rolls his eyes.

"I don't want to talk about that... jerk, Mara. But yes, deep down, my father probably caused it."

I feel pretty sour about that. Their half-sister was killed in such a horrible way, and Nephera... In the end, she was just a pawn, wasn't she? How young was she when Danica sent her here? No wonder she envied Sylviana, to be sent away from her mother to some unknown location, with no one like her? I can feel that.

I glance at the tree again, while Liam resumes his explanation.

"Basically, the war occurred because Nephera wanted revenge. She... somehow turned the vampires to work for her, but she was coming back to kill us, as the sons of the man who had betrayed her, and Selena, Nora, and Sylviana for what she had gone through, Mara."

"I get it," I retort, still absorbed by that tree.

"...You don't look very... concerned."

I turn to him, a bit annoyed.

"Being sent somewhere without any family or friends to explain to you how to be a good witch? Well, I can relate to that. For the record, werewolves didn't exactly welcome me with open arms, nor did the humans. So if you're waiting for me to take sides, for now, I won't, okay? Nora and Selena were nice to me, I get it. But look at this tree. Sylviana liked her sister, didn't she? No matter what, I don't think she saw Nephera as a villain."

"She was a bad witch!" he retorts. "Do you know how many people she killed?!"

"You said it yourself, she had gone nuts from being tortured! Moreover, are you going to tell me your father had no victims? I heard the story, Liam!"

He looks at me, shocked.

"Why the hell are you defending her so much? Just because she was a witch too? This is ridiculous!" he yells, standing up.

"And why are you hating her so much?" I retort. "Look at this tree, look at what Sylviana was trying to show us! She knew Nephera wasn't her sister! Yet, she said otherwise, to the point even you thought so too! Why, if she did not consider her family herself?!"

Liam glances at the tree, upset.

"You're just looking for someone to blame for what happened to you," I say. "To Sylviana."

"You're talking as if you were there," he says. "You know nothing."

"I know I am a witch, and those sisters were too. Maybe their family mattered more to them than what happened."

We stare at each other like this for a long while, both angry and stubborn. I didn't expect that kind of reaction from him, but I didn't even know I'd react like this either. Why am I so affected by the sisters' story? Until now, every time it had been mentioned, I thought this wasn't of any concern to me, something that happened two years ago, when I hadn't even set foot in Silver City, wasn't related to me in any way.

So what has changed now? Why? Why am I reacting like this, to the point where I'm even fighting Liam about it? I was supposed to look for my name, so why do I care anyway? I need to stop doing this... I take a deep breath and step back, away from him. He seems to calm down too, shaking his head. A long silence comes between us, and now, it's awkward. I'm a bit ashamed of my reaction too, it was overboard...

"She... cried."

What is he talking about? I cross my arms but glance at him, unsure. His clear eye is still fixated on that portion of the wall, where the two witches have their names close to each other. Liam takes a deep breath.

"When... the battle was over. Sylviana cried for Nephera. I had forgotten that... until now."

That's a... strange detail to think about. Somehow, it makes me a bit relieved to hear that. I follow his gaze to the two little symbols. An ivy leaf and a water droplet, not that far from each other. I guess there really was that sister bond after all. Maybe that's why Sylviana hid that the two of them weren't actual sisters until the end... Whether she learned of it late or knew from the start, she chose to keep this lie alive until now.

"...Let's look for you," he sighs.

I nod, still a bit too embarrassed to say anything else. I guess that means this matter is closed. ...What about me, then? I keep looking around for a long while, checking one name after another. It's almost a headache to read so many female names at once. I start from the extremities and work my way up, again and again, checking each end of the tree, but there is no Mara and no Clarissa written anywhere here. Stubbornly, I keep checking, thinking I may have missed it. What the heck is going on? Sylviana's name almost popped out to my eyes, but I can't find mine? Liam keeps frowning too. We both scrutinize the hundreds of names on that tree until our eyes hurt, and I shake my head.

"There's something wrong with that tree," I sigh. "I am a witch. I should be here, so why...?"

Liam nods, but he has no answer either. Something here just doesn't make sense... There are hundreds of names on this tree, but the two of us checked all of them at least twice. Even if we are tired, I don't believe we would have missed it! What is that supposed to mean…? I glance back toward Sylviana and Nephera's names. They look a bit lonely, each at one end. I get closer, looking at the burn mark beneath Nephera. That poor child... She would have been a Fire Witch, just like me. I look on the other side of Nephera's name.

"According to this tree, her real mother's name was... Sadia. Ring any bells?" I ask Liam.

"No." He shakes his head. "I really didn't know anything aside from what Sylviana shared with me. She never even told me her mother's name until Nephera appeared and gave us the whole story."

Well, for once it sort of feels good to know I am not the only one being kept in the dark. ...Why hide this, though? Was she really trying to save Nephera from herself? What would have changed if Nephera didn't know about her real origins?

"I wonder what happened to Sadia, for Nephera to be in Danica's custody so young," I whisper.

I trace up their branches, and indeed, they are related, by an older witch, three or four generations before... one of the few to have her line split in two. So that witch had two daughters instead of one. I had noticed already, but it seems like most witches only had one daughter, not two or more. It seems rather unusual for them to have another girl... Did they have boys too, just not recorded on this tree? The witch Sylviana and Nephera have in common, something like their great-grandmother, was an Earth Witch named Beatrice. She had two daughters, the first one being a Water Witch, Sylviana's ancestor, and the next, a Fire Witch and Nephera's grandmother... I keep studying that tree. The cycle logic is still there, and aside from those two being cousins instead of sisters, nothing seems amiss. I feel a bit of pain as their branches stop there... and my name isn't anywhere to be found. What am I missing here? Where am I even supposed to be? What about my mother?

"Hey... Who was the witch of Silver City? Before Sylviana, I mean?" I ask.

Liam frowns, glancing at the tree.

"I... I don't know. I mean, I don't even think there was one?"

Really? I stare at that tree, but from the looks of it, it doesn't seem so. Even in this house, I have that gut feeling about it. I look around, and no matter what, it's way too old. Sylviana couldn’t possibly have built it, it would look newer. Why would she have picked a house in the middle of a werewolf territory too? Moreover, the Witches’ Ancestral Tree has been there for a very long time. Why would it be here, if it wasn't a witch who painted it in the first place?

"Wait..." whispers Liam, "Sylviana and Nephera did mention something like their ancestors being here, long ago... That's why they were sent here in the first place, their family has a history in Silver City."

So that's it. Probably Beatrice or one of her ancestors painted this. Somehow, her daughters must have left... It looks like witches aren't the best at sharing. If it's one witch per city as I heard, then... Beatrice's daughters probably parted ways as well? Did Danica figure her daughters couldn't co-exist without trouble either?

Even so, it doesn't tell us where I fit into that tree, though... I keep looking stubbornly at each of the tree's ends, looking for Mara or Clarissa, but after a while, I have to admit. I have seen hundreds of names, but there is none that matches. My neck and eyes even hurt from looking all around so much, and I'm a bit disappointed. Why does it feel like I'm missing something? Liam shrugs and goes to sit on one of the kitchen stools, probably having reached the same conclusion as me.

"So? You're not there. What now?"

"I wonder why," I sigh. "I'm younger than Sylviana... I should be there."

"She may not have known of your existence and simply didn’t add you."

I frown, not happy with that explanation. It makes sense in a way, but not for a witch. If so, how would she have been able to complete all the other ends of the tree? Some of the branches are longer, meaning those witches at the end might be younger. Most probably live far, far away from here too. I have a hunch that what I am staring at is nothing ordinary, either. This tree probably doesn't wait for a witch to simply put in each name one by one, all by hand, to fill itself...

"Wait..."

I remember the herbology book Spark found in my room with the picture. According to the cycle, my mother had to be a Water Witch. What if the cycle went wrong somewhere? Could my name have been put under one of those disrupted spots, where the names were erased, like Nephera's daughter? It wouldn't make sense, though... That child was stillborn.

I bite my thumb, a bit annoyed. This is so frustrating! I count. From those who could possibly be in my generation, around twenty names are burnt or hidden somehow, with mothers being Earth or Water Witches. However, none of those ring a bell. How sad is it if I can't even recognize my own mother's name... I shake my head.

"This is..."

I take a few steps back and let myself fall on the couch, a bit disheartened.

It's still pouring outside, but somehow, my headache isn't as bad here. Is it because I'm in a witch's house? Is there some sort of protection going on against the elements? I close my eyes. The voices are leaving me alone here too, but I'm bummed enough to feel upset anyway.

"Mara, are you okay?"

I sigh and shake my head.

"No," I admit. "I... I'm dying to know who the hell I am, and every time I get the tiniest clue, it raises more questions than answers. Like this stupid tree, I get to learn about any witch I want but me. No one is helping me, I feel like I'm just sent left and right and no one who has any answers actually cares enough to give them."

I hear him move and get closer to me, making me a bit anxious. He's been avoiding me all along, is he fine with coming close now? I was fine as long as we were focused on that stupid tree, but hearing Liam come over here makes me all nervous again. I didn't even stop to think it was the two of us alone in this house... his ex's house.

"...How did you meet her?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

I take a deep breath. Do I want to know? Somehow, I feel like my jealousy is still outweighed by my curiosity. I am probably some weird kind of masochist, to ask him about his ex. However, it feels like an itch that needs to be scratched, a band-aid that needs to be taken off for me to properly see how bad the injury is underneath.

"Yeah... As long as you spare me the saucy details, if there are any."

I hear him chuckle.

"Okay. I... I kind of met her at a low point in my life. My brothers protected me my whole life, and when they finally killed our father to have Damian become the King of Silver City, then–"

"So that story was true? About your... older brother killing your dad?"

"Yeah. As I told you earlier, he wasn't... Anyway, Damian really had no choice but to, it would have been him or us in any case. I was too young, though, so I was mostly kept out of it. I wanted to help, but I felt like the useless, weak younger brother. That's when I began wandering a lot in the streets of Silver City. I wanted to prove my strength to them, so I'd get into fights pretty often to show off."

"Let me guess, you got your ass kicked?"

"Only a couple of times. The... Purple Clan here has the best warriors, so they were my favorites to pick fights with. Although, they took me for a kid just playing, so they never really saw me as a threat or anything like our pack provoking them. A couple of times, though, I did go overboard and got my ass kicked for real. I was too proud to tell my brothers, so I would go off the grid until it healed."

"That's the dumbest idea I've ever heard..."

"I was a teenager. Moreover, wolves heal fast, as long as it's not too bad. Anyway, that time I did end up pretty badly injured, an older lady found me and took me to Sylviana to be healed."

"So they knew they had a witch here?"

"More or less. They thought she was some sort of... natural healer, something like that. She liked to take care of the kids in that neighborhood, so... Anyway, that's how I met her in the first place. From then, I'd come here sometimes, tell her about my brothers, all that anger I had in me that wouldn't go away. We were friends for a long time, but I was the one who..."

"You're saying you fell first?"

"Yeah... She was older and more mature, so I guess she saw me as a brat for a while."

I chuckle. From how I've seen him interact with his family, Liam is probably still in that younger brother spot he was. Although, he's definitely a man to me. I blush a bit, thinking about the bike ride that we shared earlier. Stop thinking about it, Mara, not the moment!

"So that's how…" I say.

"Yeah."

It's not the big Romeo and Juliet kind of romance story that I had imagined... although I can tell why he misses her so much. I wonder how things would have been different if... Sylviana had never been with him, or if I had arrived in Silver City earlier. I still don't really get what is going on between me and Liam.

Sometimes he will get close, like now, and sometimes, he pulls away. It's like there is no way either he or I can avoid this, but neither of us can easily accept it either. I wish I knew what's going on. Everything that happens, I fear a trick of my own mind, like the voices, something that isn't right. I don't know if our relationship is right, but I... like what I feel. It makes me want more.

"Your... role as a witch hunter. Did you start because of her too?"

"Yeah. I wanted to fill in that void, no matter how. I don't trust any witch, and I have seen what they are capable of. I don't want anyone to hurt my family again."

So even though he plays the loner, he is still watching out for them…

I'm a bit envious of that. My whole world is confined to an estranged sister, a lazy werewolf bodyguard, and a friend who isn't telling me the truth. The rest of this city is torn between seeing me as dangerous or crazy… I don't know how much more of that crap I can handle out there. At least here, I feel strangely calm. There's definitely something about this house that keeps me calm.

"So? What are you going to do next?" he asks.

I finally open my eyes, only to find him dangerously close. While I'm still lying on that sofa, Liam is next to me, sitting on the floor with his arms crossed. I frown a bit and look away, unable to endure that stare of his.

"I don't know. This was more or less my best lead until now… I still hope to find more, actually."

That's right, I'm not done searching here. Even if that tree was probably the biggest clue so far, I may have missed something else. I get back up on my feet and look around. The plants are definitely not my domain, but it can't be all there is around here. Even though my name isn't on that damn tree, I bet Sylviana left me some other clue, if she had any idea about my existence. Even if this wasn't about me, she ought to have known there would be another witch coming sooner or later. From what I learned until now, it seems like some sort of rule, but… why Silver City, anyway? If I wasn't related to the sisters in the first place, why would my past self have become obsessed with witches here?

I'll ignore the books, they are not telling me anything I need to know, from what I've seen. There has to be another clue somewhere. Liam watches me rummage around with a frown.

"So you're really not done."

"Liam Black, are you going to stay on your ass or help?"

He puts on a grumpy face, but I ignore him. This is something I must do for myself anyway. I take a deep breath and keep looking around. If only I had that magic circle thing to show me where to look, or even Spark. Now, I'm searching blindly with no idea what I am even supposed to look for…

Would Sylviana have used a magic circle as well? I don't see anything that could have been of use for that… I don't dare go upstairs; based on the layout of this house, it would be the bedroom. Although I'm doing my best to be open-minded, I am not ready to see the place where she and Liam had… whatever was going on.

"Have you ever seen her do actual magic?"

"Yes, but it depends on what you are looking for."

"Something like a magic circle?"

Liam frowns, looking a bit unsure, but he eventually shakes his head.

"No... Wait. She didn't have a circle, but she did use something like a map. Would that help?"

"A map?"

He gets up and goes upstairs; I don't follow him, though, and wait until he comes back, carrying something that looks like an oversized… painting?

I am a bit confused until he lays it down on the floor. Wow… It's beautiful. This painting is entirely acrylic, with gentle colors. It takes me a few seconds to observe it and realize that it's… an actual representation of Silver City?