Page 11 of Buried Secret 295

Simon lets out an exasperated breath, gripping his coffee cup tighter. “As I explained the last THREE times. You cannot have more than one in 24 hours.”

Constantine tilts his head, and I can only imagine the face he is shooting at Simon. “It’s okay to admit you’re scared to do it.” Simon is so glaring at him as he looks frazzled by his houseguest.

I clear my throat, hoping to avoid a confrontation. Both sets of eyes turn to me, and I walk and sit beside Constantine. “Good morning. Would you like some coffee?” Simon asks as he holds up the coffee pot.

“I don’t think I have ever had it.” My mind shuffles through the memories from my life before the facility, and I can’t recall anything about coffee.

“What a travesty.” Constantine snaps his fingers twice at Simon. “Give the girl a cup.”

Simon sits across the counter, stirring a black mug of coffee. “So, what’s the plan?” I drum my fingers across the counter, and Simon pushes a mug towards them. My fingers wrap around the warm mug. I am at least enjoying holding the hot mug in my hands.

“First, we will see if you like coffee. Then, we have someone coming over. You’ll like her.” Constantine shrugs and rolls his eyes. “Well, honestly, I don’t know if you will, but the woman is hard not to like.”

I smile as I bring the mug to my face, inhaling the aroma before braving my first sip. “Well, that all depends on what exactly she is here for, if I will like her or not.” Taking a sip, I shrug. “Don’t mind it. Maybe it will grow on me?”

“Her name is Carmen. She is a professor here. She is a caster but has a few specialties. Blood magic, along with being a gifted clairvoyant.” Simon explains.

I close my eyes and mentally try to ready myself for today. No matter what I do, I know today will be long and will come withheadaches. I know that if we get any answers, I will be grateful. However, I am terrified of what these answers will end up being. What if they figure out I am more trouble than I’m worth? Not to mention that there is a god or some spirit that might have brought me back to life. Instead of voicing all those out loud, I say, “Blood magic sounds… dark?”

“Yes and no,” Constantine answers, tilting his head and motioning for a refill. “If blood magic is done for good and the right reasons, the only payment required is the blood spilled for the spell. If blood magic is done for the wrong reasons, the payment will be darker and more twisted—usually, a sacrifice of one’s soul or the life force of another. There must be an adequate payment for the services done. However, Carmen teaches here and helps people discover parts of themselves. Sometimes, it is important to reveal a talent or gift that might be recessive. It can grow if you exercise that part of yourself, like a muscle.”

I sip the coffee, thinking over the words that he said. “Well, she sounds impressive.” That alone makes me even more nervous about meeting her. I am less than impressive as a person. It's something that I have been told a lot in my life: that I am more of a mess than anything else. A pain that someone has to deal with because the universe decided it wanted to be entertained with my soul. I am not sure I am worth all this fuss, and I hope I am not a giant waste of her time. Maybe she will tell them so and save me the trouble of having to disappoint them both.

“Hey, where did you go?” Simon pulls me from my thoughts and I look at his tired face.

“I guess I hope I am not a waste of her time. Part of me feels like I am wasting your time as well.” I shrug my shoulders, not liking my second-guessing. Everything is changing quickly, and I haven’t had time to adapt. My eyes look to Constantine, my father. That felt weird. Everything seems like it is moving so fast. I didn’t know freedom would be this exhausting.

“This is important. We need whatever insight we can get on what is happening with you. That doctor altered your DNA. You shifted during your time at the facility. We need to understand what we can do to help you. So far, this is the best idea we have had to ensure whatever happened last night doesn’t continue.” Simon clears his throat after that long-winded answer.

My eyes roll before I shake my head. “Yesterday wasn’t so bad. I am still alive and my beast is calm.”

“Stop. Don’t downplay that like it wasn’t terrifying.” Constantine’s voice has an edge, a hardness I haven’t heard from him yet. His jaw ticks, and he shakes his head at me. “Watching you scream as your body distorted. Bones cracking, flesh changing, blood pouring out your eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. All while choking on blood as you screamed. It looked like a fucking crime scene in the living room.”

The air leaves my lungs as I don’t understand how to argue with this. Stuff like this is a regular occurrence. Nothing new, and honestly, with my shadows unlocked, it felt better than normal. “This is normal for me. It’s not new.” I blow out a breath and close my eyes tightly. “This…” I motion around the room. “... is new for me. What I am used to is Dr. Vic or a guard saying, ‘Good job, you didn’t die,’ before being dragged back into a cell.”

“Well, if I have anything to say about it, it won’t be normal anymore,” Constantine states before waving his hand at Simon. “I need whiskey for my coffee this morning.” When Simon doesn’t budge, Constantine tilts his head. “It’s for the safety of everyone that I stay a medium level of drunk today.” Constantine holds up his hand low. “Not drunk, dangerous to society.” He holds his hand up high. “Super drunk, sloppy, and probably going to do something incredibly stupid.” He places his hand right in the middle. “This, right here, that’s my sweet spot and where I need to be. Nobody dies, and I can hear fucked up shit Salem considers normal without murdering multiplepeople.” He leans back in his chair and shrugs. “I think I will be less of a headache for you in the long run.”

Simon mutters under his breath before turning and opening the cabinets above his stove. Several bottles are sitting behind the salt and pepper shakers. He hands Constantine a bottle, who takes a large swig off the bottle before pouring an unhealthy amount into his coffee. “See, was that so hard?”

A knock saves us from hearing Simon’s response as he shakes his head and walks off without another word. I cock my head to the side. “Whiskey mornings happen often there for you?”

He rolls his eyes, “Shut up.” His tone is teasing. “I am not used to caring. This is a new feeling. I don’t necessarily like it.” He pauses, momentarily head tilting back and forth as if weighing something. “I don’t dislike it either, though. It’s a weird new gray area.”

I hold my coffee mug up. “Cheers to gray areas.” He raises his and clinks our cups together before the sound of jingling catches my ear.

I see Simon smiling as he leads a woman through the living room. His smile turns forced when he looks at me once more. “Salem, this is Carmen. Carmen, this is Salem.” The woman tilts her head, studying me. Her long caramel-colored hair touches the top of the bar top. Her lips curl in a kind smile, and her dark, almost purple eyes seem to see through me. She has a stack of golden bangles on her wrist. Rows of shells and small bones rattle off her black boho skirt.

“Salem, I am very excited to meet you. Have they explained exactly what I do?” She sits on the counter, holding her large cloth mail carrier-type bag.

“A little, yes. I’m hoping you can tell me about what I am now genetically. I need to learn how to control the parts of me I was born with versus my altered ones.” It felt like an odd statement to make. I frown slightly at that thought. My eyes look toeveryone around the room, who all seem like they aren’t used to not knowing what to do. Each one of them seems confident and capable. Now, they all seem to grasp at straws, figuring out the best route.

She pulls out a silver tray with a center circle with four larger circles around the center. Then, another layer outside of them. Carmen points to the center. “Your blood will go here, and it will gravitate to anything that your blood has linked to it. No matter how small, don’t be alarmed. The four surrounding your blood are the key components of the four branches of Fae. Anything outside is different gifts that have occurred or that you may have. Each section has magical etchings which will pull your blood to it.”

“Let’s do this.” I raise my hand to her, and she takes it.

Carmen speaks to herself quietly. Her eyes close, and she speaks faster. Her thumbnail extends and cuts into the palm of my hand. I watch as my blood pools in the center. Time seems to slow as the blood pools, and it feels almost like a light breeze encircles us two. I look up for guidance, yet find none since her eyes are closed as she continues to let my blood flow freely.

While my palm is between her hands, Carmen’s opposite hand reaches up, almost like a magnet getting pulled to an anchor. The blood stops as her head snaps back. A bright light seems to come out of Carmen as if she had a firework explode from under her skin. My eyes flinch back, wincing, trying to pull my hand away from her. She doesn’t let either of us move away; she holds tight.

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