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“What the Hell is this!?” I asked, squeaking in my panic.

“It’s a robe. It’s traditional attire for a Wiccan Priestess,” My father replied with a curious expression. I stared at him, coldly. “What?” He asked.

“How about some jeans? A t-shirt? Sweat pants, for all I care!”

He stared at me quizzically. “I don’t understand.”

“Ugh. Never mind. Can you leave while I change?”

“Oh yes. Certainly.” He stepped out.

I held up “the thing“. It was black with a hood, go figure. I felt like I was dressing up as Harry Potter for Halloween. I threw it over my head, and in the process managed to some how lose my footing and trip, hitting my forehead against the wall.

“Damn it!” I shouted, rubbing the already forming lump. I swiftly checked the small mirror for a thunderbolt shaped scar, laughing sardonically at myself.

“Ready?” James asked when I stepped out.

“Yup.”

“What happened to your head?” He asked, sounding innocent. I saw the teasing in his eyes, and was quite certain he had heard the crack my head had made when I ran into the wall.

“Bite me,” I replied. He chuckled to himself.

We walked down a series of tunnels. I couldn’t even manage a guess at how to get back to where we started. Of course, I didn’t really know where we started anyways. How comforting.

“We’re here.”

We stood in front of two adjoined wooden doors. They stretched from the floor to the ceiling and opened inwards. They split down the middle and looked ancient. A huge board as thick as two of me reached across the length of them about 2/3’s of the way down, giving the feeling of a medieval castle.

“Watch this,” James said with a small smile.

A loud boom erupted from behind the doors. It seemed to shake the very walls of the hall. A thunderous clicking rang out and the massive bolt began to slide, unlocking the door.

With exaggerated slowness the doors creaked open. We stood before a dark cavernous room. I looked up at my father uncertainly. He stepped forward seeming comfortable, almost friendly.

We entered the dark room. It stank of mothballs and dust. Shelves crammed with books made up the walls of the colossal room. It was eerily quiet. All I could here was the sound of my breath. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale….

“Hello there!” Boomed a voice.

“GAH!” I shouted, arms flailing.

“Oops, sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

I took a few minutes to calm my heart before I went into cardiac arrest. “Maeiss!” My father said, enthusiastically. I was a little spooked in witnessing a conversation taking place between my new-found father and some disembodied voice. I cocked an eyebrow but didn’t question.

“Hello, James. It’s nice to see you. I knew you were coming, of course, but a lack of surprise never curves my enthusiasm.”

“Uhm….”

James and ‘Maeiss’ apparently seemed to remember my existence. “Belladonna, this is Maeiss, The Records Keeper,“ James said, gesturing to a big bunch of nothingness. Oh, I’m sorry. It wasn’t nothingness. It was air. Air that smelled like old people. Like your grandparent’s house. It was dark, too.

“Ah, you know my daughter Belladonna, of course.” James said.

“Of course!” Exclaimed Maeiss. “The mixed-blood.”

James’s expression faltered.

I looked over to my father. “I believe I’ve just been insulted.”

“Oh no, no,” Maeiss’ voice exclaimed, emphatically denying it. “How silly of me. Let me explain. There are full-bloods, which have genetics from solely one type of Occultus. There are mixed-bloods, which have genetics from two different types of Occultus. There’s half-bloods, which are half human, half Occultus. And then there’s enig-bloods. I came up with that name myself!” He said, proudly. “They are enig-bloods because it truly is an enigma how they received supernatural powers, since it wasn’t inherited. They have no Occultus blood in their family. And then, of course, you’re familiar with humans. No powers,” He ended forlornly, as if humans not having Occultus blood in them was depressing.

“Occultus?” I questioned.

“Latin for hidden, concealed, or secretive. It‘s what we call ourselves,” James answered.

“Of course it is,” I said sarcastically. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“So Maeiss, are you going to come out and actually speak to us or just stay in your office? Aren’t we worthy of your full, undivided attention?” James asked in a teasing voice I had come to be very familiar with.

“You know very well that if I focused on only you I would have a psychotic break from the effort it would take to not rip you to shreds with my mind.”

“That sounds….. Interesting,” was the best I could come up with.

“Interesting? HAH! Only if your watching from afar. The blood stains terribly.”

James offered an explanation. “Maeiss is a being with a much higher brain capacity then you or me, or any other known life form. He is capable of separating his conscious mind to accomplish many tasks simultaneously, and is extremely telekinetic. The force alone of all of that brain power being focused on one thing as uninteresting as you or me would be impossible to control.”

“Yes, yes. That’s all fine and dandy. Now, what you really came here for was information. Am I correct James?”

“And I forgot. He’s telepathic as well. Yes, Maeiss. You are correct.”

“Well, I’ll answer your questions later. For now, we have an awakening ceremony to attend to. I’ll send for the high priest of your mother’s coven and for an Initiatory room to be reserved.”

“Wait,” I squeaked out. “The awakening ceremony? Now?!”

“Why not?” Maeiss asked. “There’s no time like the present!”