The Purple House: Chapter Four

My real lesson? Credence thought with slight disdain.

She would not put it past Lilith to engage in a lengthy deception, even going so far as to fabricate lessons that taught nothing of value.

Could it be that everything up to this moment had been nothing but a cruel game?

No, Credence had to believe that Lilith was honest in her role as teacher, even if she lied in everything else. If she wasn't, all the abuse inflicted upon Credence was for nothing.

Credence wasn't sure what she would do if that proved to be the truth.

Lilith cut a lock of Credence's hair and knotted it several times. Credence was used to the witch stealing things from her body to power her spells, usually hair or fingernails, so she watched and waited in silence.

"This," Lilith said, raising the nest of hair, "is a one-use totem. Easy to craft when you can't afford time for anything else. To finish it—" She handed Credence the scissors, "—feed it blood. Just a few drops to wet it."

Credence pricked her finger with the sharp edge of the scissors and squeezed it over the hair.

"Some imbeciles will tell you spit works just as well as blood," Lilith explained, "but that's never the truth. Spit is like salt, used to season things, but blood is like meat. Can't sit around only eating salt, can you? Remember that."

Lilith molded the hair in her hands, spreading the blood throughout. When she was satisfied, she handed the tangled, damp mess to Credence and instructed the girl to hold it away from her body with her palm flat.

"Don't do this when it's windy," Lilith said, "or the damn thing might blow away. Repeat these words: Blood to bone, bone to dust, knowledge to spirit, spirit to sky."

"Blood to bone, bone to dust, knowledge..." Credence paused, forgetting what came next.

"Knowledge to spirit! Start again and keep your eyes open! You need to see what you're doing. Blood to bone."

"Blood to bone, bone to dust, knowledge to spirit, spirit to sky."

"Take what I give, of blood and body."

"Take what I give, of blood and body."

"Power belongs to this, and this to me."

"Power belongs to this, and this to me."

"Now blow on it—not too much or too fast. As you would on kindling."

Credence gently blew, and from inside the hair a red glow whispered to life.

"Another. Command it with your thoughts to grow."

Credence exhaled again, a little stronger this time, coaxing the light to build. It obeyed, and soon the entire totem was bright red, and Credence could see that its light was connected to the aura around her, pulling energy from it. Lilith made an approving grunt, the biggest compliment she'd ever given her student.

"Repeat: Dark words, dark thoughts, dark orb."

Credence hesitated, but a threatening glare from Lilith moved her forward.

"Dark words, dark thoughts, dark orb."

The totem burst into a ball of fire, burning red and yellow and blue in Credence's hand. Remarkably, it did not burn her. Unlike elemental fire there was no heat to it, and had she not been able to see it she might not have known it was there.

"What you hold is a blood orb," Lilith explained. "Burning hot as dragon spit to everything except you. What—or whom—will you use it on?"

Credence nodded her head towards a fat boulder across the field. "That rock. Can the blood ball burn it?"

"Blood orb," Lilith corrected. "Why don't you see for yourself?"

"What if I miss?"

"If you truly intend to hit the rock, the rock is what you will hit."

Credence aimed and flung her hand toward the rock, sending the blood orb in a path directly to it. It traveled through the air without making a sound, and when it hit its target was instantly engulfed in flames. The rock burned for a few seconds before melting away, and the flames sizzled to an end as the rock did, not leaving a trace of smoke or ash.

Proud of her accomplishment, Credence smiled, but when she turned to Lilith the witch was shaking her head.

"Look at your hand, you've used it all up in one go!"

Credence looked dumbly at her empty hand. "You told me to throw it, and that's what I did."

"But you sent everything," Lilith grumbled. "Should have spared some in the totem."

"How was I supposed to know that? You said it was a one-use totem."

"Good for one spell, yes, but one spell can carry several uses! You could send at least twenty blood orbs with a totem!"

It was always like this with Lilith—she never taught anything in the proper order, but crafted every lesson in a way that forced Credence to fail. That way the witch could get in a good jab and laugh before frustration drove her to dole out punishment.

To keep herself calm, Credence bit the inside of her cheek, savoring the morbid pleasure of ripping away a thin strip of skin with her teeth. It was strange way to relieve stress, and she'd only recently realized it was a reoccurring, unbidden response, but it kept her mouth shut and had probably saved her life on more than a dozen occasions.

One of the things Lilith hated most in the world was a person who used their voice.

"Why would I need twenty blood orbs, if the fire burns as hot as dragon spit and never misses its aim?" Credence asked once her irritation had drained.

"It's not rocks you'll be fighting, is it? It's a decent spell, even against strong enemies, but it'll take more than one to distract anything slightly clever. We'll start again and you can try it on me—"

"I'll not challenge you tonight, hag."

Lilith shook her head, ignoring the insult.

"No, not like a challenge. You'll see, there's nothing you can send in a single blood orb that'll harm me."

Lilith had been anticipating Credence to learn that truth the hard way, perhaps at the cost of her life, but now the lesson had to continue, so once more Lilith guided Credence as she crafted a totem of hair and blood and spoke the words to create a blood orb.

When it was ready, Lilith walked a fair distance away and called back, "Throw it at me, but mind you release only a portion! Go on!"

Credence took aim, and part of her wished to see the flames engulf the witch as they had the rock. She released it into the air—but to her great disappointment she failed to send only a portion of it, and had yet again used the entire thing in one go. She wondered if Lilith would have the power to stop it, as she'd expected only to be attacked by a piece.

She secretly hoped it would be too much for the old woman to withstand.

Credence caught a glimpse of the witch moving her hands in an odd, quick pattern. Just as it reached its target, the fire hit against something, an invisible wall, and fell unimpressively at Lilith's feet. It continued to burn, but as Lilith was its only intended destination the flame touched nothing around it.

Lilith pointed to the ground.

"You see? There's all your power!" She made a rude gesture and spat on the orb, and her saliva sizzled on contact. "But what if it hit me? You think it would have been enough?"

Lilith raised her skirts so Credence could see the exaggerated steps she took. She made a show of walking towards the fire—then gleefully jumped onto it.

Flames covered her body.

Credence gasped, thinking Lilith made a grave mistake, but the witch smiled and closed her eyes.

"Feels cozy," Lilith mocked.

She raised her hands to the sky in a long, pleasurable stretch. As she brought her arms down the fire moved, traveling into her palm and forming itself back into a ball.

Now Lilith held the blood orb, and what once belonged to Credence became a weapon against her.

"What will you do now, stump? You've no time to make another totem, not before I lob this at you!"

"But—how?!" Credence cried. "It's not fair—you never told me you could do that!

"Not...fair?" Lilith chewed on the word, finding its taste abhorrent. "Whatever gave you the notion that anything in a fight is fair? I should kill you with this fire for such idiocy! Magic is magic, and even your own blood can be used against you!"

"How could I ever gain an advantage when you catch and turn my own spells against me?"

"Ah, but that's what I meant when I said you should have at least twenty. Throw enough with speed and purpose and you're more likely to catch me off guard. If I'm busy dodging seven fires over here, how could I stop the ten coming towards me? Or the three coming from behind?"

"Behind? You can do that?"

"You can will a blood orb to go wherever you want! That's the wicked beauty of it, to overwhelm. To attack from all sides like a pack of wolves!"

Lilith considered the flame in her hand.

A sinister grin broke across her face.

"Might be a good time to learn a shield, eh?"

Credence shook her head. "I'm not ready!"

"Never a better time for learning, when you're not ready. Can't stop a fight with 'not ready' can you?"

"I don't know any shield spells!"

"Saw your memories, didn't I? Saw when you cast your first spell—a flimsy Circle of Protection, wasn't it? Shall we see how it holds up against me?"

"I don't have the ingredients!"

"Ingredients for a spell that simple are pointless! A waste of time! You have what you need, stump, in your mind and your veins—or did you intend to clutch to a dusty book for the rest of your miserable life?"

It was madness. Credence hadn't attempted the Circle of Protection in longer than she could remember, and she had only succeeded in casting it once.

She couldn't do it. Lilith knew that.

"Last piece of advice," Lilith called as she reared back for a throw. "You got the moon's energy and powerful blood in your veins. You've got a mind, albeit a small one. Use what you got. Figure it out or you won't see the end of this night."

Lilith hurled the ball of fire, watching with grim satisfaction as it flew towards the frightened, wide-eyed girl.