"It explains a few things, though," she says. "You probably didn't come for the university program, you were really looking for witches. Probably had to do with your mother..."
"There are some things that still don't match, though," says Liam, rubbing his chin. "You being a Fire Witch, and your name. There was no sign of a Mara in those memories?"
"Nothing. Something definitely happened here. Whatever Clarissa did made me awaken as Mara. As I said, the name Clarissa feels... strange to me. Even the name Mara, I don't know how I know that. We are still missing pieces, and those pieces are between the time Clarissa came here and before the fire in that hangar."
"...Moreover, she was... sick, right?"
I nod. That's the strangest part. I felt a part of Clarissa's pain in that last memory. She wasn't just sick, she was in pain, and in really bad shape.
"From what she said, it sounded like she was... supposed to die," I say. "I mean, she was coughing up blood, and she said something about being as good as dead. It doesn't sound right to me."
"But you're… fine," says Kelsi. "I mean, your doctors wouldn't have lied about that or Bonnie. I overheard your sister talking to them too, I never heard anything about you being... terminally ill."
"Which makes me think either Amy had no idea, or she knew and hid it."
Kelsi gasps. She slowly starts nodding and frowning.
"It would explain why she was super... I mean, really on top of things at the hospital... She didn't even want to let you out, I thought it was because of the fire incident, but if she thought you were supposedly sick and had miraculously healed, she may have been scared you found the truth? Or could get sick again?"
"I have to ask her," I nod. "Moreover, I'm curious about what she'll have to say about those memories. I..."
Ben suddenly starts growling at the door, and we all turn our heads. Seaver and his wolves have stopped glaring at us. In fact, they’re busy looking elsewhere, toward the sea. What's going on? I'm about to stand up, but Liam gets on his feet first and holds out his arm to stop me.
"No, Mara, wait here."
He goes ahead with Ben to see what's happening outside. We see the two of them go, but once the door is shut, we can only watch through the windows, and I don't like it. I stand up, and Kelsi does too.
"Mara... You should stay put, you're not in any shape to get up..."
I know, but I have a bad feeling about this. I walk up toward the door, to at least see what the heck is going on. I had only seen Liam this bothered a few times before, and it was always about a witch, even myself. I try to see what's going on, and the first thing I notice is the sea.
It's way too agitated, even more so than earlier. The weather has gotten worse, but it doesn't really explain those tall waves I see. What the fuck? I don't like this at all... Kelsi grabs my hand, scared, but my eyes are outside, trying to see what the werewolves are growling at. There's more of them, actually. A dozen more werewolves have appeared, but they are not growling at each other anymore, they look like they’re all on the same side and angry at something else. I keep moving around the windows to see, trying to follow their line of sight, until I finally spot it. A woman, standing alone in the middle of the waves.
What the…? I can barely believe my eyes. I rush outside, trying to look for whatever that woman is standing on, a boat or something, but those waves wouldn't even make this possible. She is moving strangely, as if she was riding the waves, but with the minimum amount of effort. How does she... No, aside from that. This can't be good. I did not expect to meet another witch so soon. Moreover, this one probably isn't just here for a chitchat. Ravena had warned me that her peers wouldn't always be so... passive. I don't like that this rain is seriously getting worse too, and bringing my headache back.
"You two, step back!"
I ignore Liam growling at me and stare at that woman. She spots me too, and her eyes snap toward my markings. She's standing a few meters away, and I see her slowly bringing her fingers to her lips, looking intrigued. Is she staying at a distance because of the barrier? Or because she's at least a little bit wary of all the werewolves assembled here? What is she looking for?
I take a deep breath, and look for my inner flame. I glance around, trying to find the barrier, but it's not quite what I wanted to see. I don't know if I'm too tired, or the barrier is too weak, I have trouble finding it. Maybe I'm too far? Does it even go into the sea?
I can barely focus with all the wolves growling around me, the sound of the furious waves, and the wind around us. This turned from a calm morning to the beginning of a mean storm on the shore...
"Fuck off, witch!" yells Johnny Seaver, his fists closed. "Or we will attack!"
She barely glances his way, as if he was some insignificant insect. The threat doesn't seem to have any effect on her. This woman... her clothes are all black, with a lot of silver jewelry on her. And her eyes too, there's something strange with her eyes, like they are not human… Reptilian eyes? What the heck is this now? She lifts her hand, and a wave suddenly stands over us. Holy crap. This is going to be one hell of a shower if she releases it on the shore.
All the wolves start growling even louder and retreating.
"Kelsi, get back inside!" I yell behind me, but she pulls on my arm.
"Mara, you too! You can't fight in your state!"
Among all the other wolves, Ben suddenly sticks out his head, having heard our voices. The large young wolf runs to us and stands in front like a guard dog. I feel like he's bigger now that he's in an actual defensive stance, growling furiously with his fangs out at the witch. I don't think I've ever seen him this impressive or serious before, but the situation calls for it.
This woman by no means looks like an ally or anything remotely close. I don't like judging by first impressions, but that wave looming over us looks pretty mean. Liam runs to stand in front of the wolves, still in his human form. He's the only one.
"What do you want, witch?!" he yells.
