NIGHTS OF HALLOW

”Part of my training?” Perdita quizzed, blinking in surprise. ”What training?”

”Ah, Perdita, don’t tell you now have a short memory,” Sthena remarked, pinching his forehead dramatically.

”What?” Perdita’s lips pursed in displeasure. ”So that was the reason you said today was going to be a busy day and gave me blood to drink.”

”Mmhmm,” He hummed in reply, taking hold of Perdita’s palm to press on the red patches to have them vanish like they were never there before.

”You have the ability to heal!” Astonished, Perdita exclaimed looking at her healed palm and then back at Sthena, mentally counting how many abilities she had witnessed Sthena perform.

”One of my many abilities on my fingertip,” He smiled and added in a warning tone, ”Just to warn you, some injuries which might be inflicted upon you whether by yourself or other people might take time to heal. Just like this one.”

”Is that so?” Perdita hummed. She replied, ”I thought that being a vampire and a witch, it wouldn’t apply to me. I mean, the case where if a stronger person hurts another person lower in the hierarchy, the wound would take time to heal.”

”Sadly, it applies to everyone as long as you find someone who matches your strength, but if not, then you are free,” Sthena affirmed. Turning around, he left the death scene with Perdita walking closely beside him and Emily at the back.

”Oh—wait!” Perdita spun around to face Sthena, placing her palm on his chest to stop him from walking further. ”If what you confirmed is true, then it means that whoever we are looking for is stronger than I am?!”

”Yes, it could be,” Sthena answered staring at the horrified look on Perdita’s face. He let out a chuckle, amusement dancing in his eyes that made them crinkle. ”It is a good place to practice, don’t you think?”

”No!” Perdita quickly shook her head in denial. ”I don’t think so. Emily and I would head back to the castle, I am not ready to die. My brother needs me.”

”And I need you more than he does,” Sthena declared, taking her hand on his chest to hold.

”W—what?” She blurted. Her fingers curled beside her as she moved her feet backward, heat rushing up her face.

”Got you,” The sly smile on Sthena’s face widened still holding Perdita’s hand which he used to pull her beside him so they could start walking again. ”I know how to quieten you though I believe there are other methods which would be more effective.”

”What are you talking about?”

”Your training,” Sthena replied, his voice and face giving nothing off of what he just mentioned. ”We are not going face off this person, whoever it is. We are just tracing them out using the marking.”

”That means I am going to be touching everywhere to reveal the mark?”

”No. We wouldn’t want you burning your pretty palm now, would we?” He smiled and suggested, ”I want you to try using the power of invincible touch, but firstly, you have to learn how to use visible touching.”

”How do I do that?” Perdita chirped in, a low murmur of excitement to learn something new bubbling within her.

”It is not hard if you focus your mind on it,” Sthena assured making a stop as they got into the forest of Blackfang town where the eyes of the town’s members were not there to watch.

Perdita looked around the environment, staring at the tall enormous trees surrounding them. ”Why did we stop here?”

”This is where your first training shall begin,” Sthena asserted. Walking forward, he casually pulled out a silver box from his coat pocket.

Emily stood at a good distance away from the duo while Perdita eyed what Sthena brought out with a suspicious eye. Her eyes widened in surprise when he unlocked it revealing a small sharp knife.

She swallowed a lump in her throat, her eyes darting between the knife and Sthena. She couldn’t help but question, ”What are we doing with a knife, Sthena?” A nervous chortle escaped her lips at the end of her question to mask the fear in her.

”To train you?” Sthena returned the question with one of his own, a playful smile on his lips. The smile disappeared just as it came as he ordered, ”Come here, Perdita.”

When she didn’t attempt to move from where she stood staring back at him with an apprehensive expression on her face, he declared, this time in a low warning tone, ”Don’t make me say it twice.”

”I—I’m here,” Before he could finish speaking, Perdita was already beside him smiling nervously.

”Relax, I’m not going to hurt you,” Sthena patted her head reassuringly.

”I know,”

”Good,” He nodded at her response. ”Your first lesson is learning how to control your emotions. Your emotion is your power. What you feel is what you can do. The rule is, FEEL IT, PROJECT IT, AND LASTLY, IMPLEMENT IT.”

”Okay,” Perdita nodded, her mind taking in everything Sthena said.

”For example, let’s say I want to conjure snow. Firstly, I have to feel it in me that this is what I want for it to happen. Secondly, where do I want to and how do I want it to happen? That is you projecting it. And then lastly, is you implementing the action in the desired way you want.”

”Now, watch this,” Sthena took some steps back as he continued to explain, ”I have thought in my mind I want to freeze something. Where do I want it to happen? On this particular tree, and how do I implement it? By placing my hand on it to conjure the snow.” As he spoke, so did he demonstrate, and not long after, snow started to appear on the bark of the tree where he placed his hand.

Perdita didn’t know when her mouth turned agape looking at the performance of Sthena. She walked forward and placed her hand on the tree feeling the cold from the snow on her palm.

”That was amazing!” She gushed, a wide smile on her face already eager to try something of her own.

”In as much as that is a something simple thing to do, I dare not refuse a compliment coming from your lips,” Sthena’s cheeky reply earned him a blush that had been appearing uncontrollably on Perdita’s cheeks.

”It looks simple and easy to do,” He began, his voice turning low, he cautioned, ”However, always be in control of your emotions. Once your emotions and thoughts are all over the place, you might end up conjuring something that might endanger not only your enemies but also you.”

”Your very first encounter of igniting a fire in the Castle was because you felt it within you to light a fire and your hand had also inched towards the fireplace. Now, it was your subconscious mind that made the final move of implementing the thought.”

”Whatever power and ability you perform comes from you, consciously or subconsciously. You have to learn how to be in control, even if a mishap happens one day, you’d know how to control it and save yourself from being killed by yourself.”

”Okay, I understand,” Perdita nodded. Her mind reeling from all the information and also pet-talking herself she would be careful and do just fine.

”Now, the theory is over, let’s get into action, shall we?” The smugness from earlier returned as Sthena moved away from the tree making Perdita stand at an attention.

He continued, ”Your first task is to deflect my snow on the tree,”

”Huh?” Perdita blurted in surprise.

”Yes,” Sthena flashed her an innocent smile that was in no way looking innocent.

”I thought you were going to ask me to do something similar to what you did?” Perdita mumbled, her brows furrowed in a small frown.

”Which teacher gives you the same question he taught in an exam?” Sthena countered back, the smile never leaving his lips. ”You are always taught with the simple examples but will be given the toughest questions, so be prepared. Besides, you just have to follow my instructions but the other way around to get it done.”

Perdita wetted her lips while preparing herself mentally. She innocently asked, ”What do I use to deflect it?”

”You have your weapon inside you already,” Sthena replied. ”You have used it before.”

”Fire,” Perdita uttered, smacking her head internally. Why wasn’t she thinking straight?!

”Okay...” She drawled inching closer to the tree. She closed her eyes at first while taking a deep breath she exhaled as she reopened her eyes. Slowly she placed her palm on the same bark of the tree, at first feeling the cold before it began to turn warm and before she knew it, fire took over with a blast.

”Ah!”

”My Lady?!”

Both Perdita and Emily screamed at the same time as the latter rushed to help. But Sthena was quick to swoop Perdita in his arms away from the burning tree.

”Oh no, I burned the tree,” She gasped, clearly in shock at what happened. This was not what she had expected for it to happen!

Sthena shook his head saying, ”Here you are worried about a burning tree when it would have been you smelling like a roasted chicken.”

”I failed, I didn’t do it right,” She murmured, her shoulder slumping in disappointment.

”And who said you could be the student and the teacher at the same time?” Sthena playfully flicked her nose. ”Leave me the teacher to be the judge.”

”Looking at your performance, you did quite well. At least, I am assured you can blow the head of anyone who attacks you.” He let out a laugh that Perdita didn’t find funny this time at the damage she caused to the tree. ”However, I must correct your use of ability.”

”You used the wrong magic this time, darling. When faced with any challenge, you should be able to note the ability necessary to be used.”

”When I mentioned using the power you have used before, I didn’t mean using fire directly. What is another thing closer to fire?”

Perdita pondered over the question and skeptically replied, ”Heat?”

”Correct, you should have used heat instead of fire itself. But then, no damage was done.” Sthena patted her head with an encouraging smile.

”No damage? The tree is still burning. I killed it.” Perdita spoke, almost on the verge of crying out because of what her action had caused. ”There’s no way to revive it.”

”Who said there isn’t?” Sthena countered back, walking toward the burning tree with his hand outstretched as if to touch it.

Perdita scrambled right beside him with a hopeful look on her face that Sthena was going to revive it, ”There is a way?”

”Of course, darling.” Sthena smiled, his hand falling to his side. He deadpanned, ”You are going to revive it.”