I felt heavy. Like lead weights weighed down my body. I tried to open my eyes but they wouldn't budge. My head felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to it making me want to groan but nothing came out.
"This was unexpected." A soft voice I didn't recognize said, calming some of the turmoil in my head.
"What does this mean?" My grandmother asked, her voice laced with concern.
"I'm unsure of that." The soft-spoken woman said. "Those markings haven't chosen a host since she passed." Her words sounded farther away now, my consciousness starting to fade again. "We will have to watch this one closely." Was the last thing I heard the woman say before I passed back out.
~
I woke up in my bed, Omen and Iz snoozing on either side of me. I smiled at them then went to rub the sleep from my eyes and winced from the soreness in my limbs. I looked around the dark room, the only sliver of light coming from the bottom of my door. 'How long did I pass out for? Why did I pass out?' The questions ran through my head. I was about to move the two when I heard footsteps coming from down the hall.
I closed my eyes just as my door slowly opened. I kept my breathing steady as they stood in the doorway. I heard more footsteps approach behind them.
'Is this one of those scenes out of a book where the protagonist overhears some heavy shit?' I inwardly deadpanned.
"When do you leave?" I heard my grandmother say.
"In three days." My father's voice was closer than I thought it was.
'That's sooner than I thought…' Disappointment welling up in my chest. I internally shook myself. 'No, I'm not going to be upset about this.'
"I'll be gone for awhile, but I'm hoping to be back in three years." He said, my heart dropping that much more. "I wish I could take her with me." He said, my heart bursting with a feeling I didn't recognize. Hope, maybe?
"You know why you can't do that. She's not safe outside this city. Hell, she's not safe outside the estate." My grandmother whisper-yelled, what she said confusing me.
'What the hell does that mean?' I thought. 'Everytime I think I've figured something out a whole new set of questions are slapped in my lap.' I flinched when I felt my father's hand graze my cheek.
"Come on mom, let's let them sleep." My father said, making me think he knew I was awake. I heard one set of footsteps walk off but I didn't hear my father leave yet. "I'm sorry I'll be leaving again my sweet girl." He said, kissing me on my forehead. "I'll see you when you wake up." His footsteps getting farther from my bed. I heard the door close with a soft click and I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
'What's wrong?' Omen's voice breaking through the turmoil in my mind, startling me. I hugged him tighter to my side.
'Just a lot on my mind.' I sighed heavily. 'Between dad leaving again and what my grandmother said…' I rubbed my temples, wincing slightly at the movement.
'I told you, some people don't like how the Silvers' do magic.' Omen reminded me. 'But, don't worry about that right now. Get some more sleep.' I took a deep breath. As I got lost in my thoughts I finally drifted back to sleep.
~
I woke up pretty early, though Iz was missing from the bed. My aunt probably grabbed her for an early feeding. Omen wasn't even in my room this morning, probably outside with his mom and siblings. I went to change out of my pajamas when I spotted the sky blue mark on my wrist.
"My marks!" I exclaimed, stars in my eyes. I ran to the mirror in my adjoined bathroom to look at myself. I pulled myself up on my sink to get a better look and marveled at them. I sucked in a breath as I touched my right cheek where an ice blue symbol of a snowflake surrounded by ice blue swirls that wrap around my ear and frame my cheek almost like a blizzard of cheek highlighter. It was gorgeous.
The yellow-green symbol of a lightning bolt on the back of my right hand caught my eye next. The symbol was surrounded by sharp angled swirls almost like a star around the symbol with more than five points. My eyes traced up my right arm where just below my shoulder was a dark green symbol that looked like leaves blowing in the wind with a small dot in the bottom center surrounded by dark green petal-like swirls in an almost vine like way that wound in a band around my thin arm.
I looked to my other arm where the sky blue mark that originally caught my eye. A sky blue symbol that looked like a large circle and small circle across from one another connected by another larger circle surrounded by sky blue swirls in a cuff that looked like swirling clouds around my wrist. I pulled my shirt off when I spotted a bit of red peeking from the collar of the button up pale pink pajama shirt.
A fire red symbol of a small flame blazed just a top the left side of my chest surrounded by fire red swirls that surrounded the symbol like a flame that licked across my collar bone. I looked lower to the yellow-white symbol of what looked like claw marks that lined up horizontally on my skin just on the end of my breast bone with yellow-white swirls mirrored symmetrically under my chest. The swirls looked like whips of light kind of like a Van Gogh. It looked like a work of art, like those intricate tribal tattoos women got under their breasts in my old world.
I looked lower down my abdomen to see dark magenta swirls peeking above my pale pink shorts along my right hip. I pulled my shorts off to get a better look, marveling at how the dark magenta swirls wrapped around my hip. Right on my hip bone was a dark magenta symbol that looked a lot like an egyptian eye. The dark magenta swirls almost looked like flowers blooming across my skin, surrounding the symbol like a bouquet, making me giddy.
I looked further down and marveled at the amber band of swirls on my upper left thigh. An amber symbol that looked like a heater shield with four dots in the center of it, the symbol on the outside side of my thigh. The sharp amber swirls formed a cuff around my thigh and about two inches thick and symmetric on either side of the symbol. It was like a golden lace cuff on my thigh, 'beautiful.'
Down on my right calf was a purple symbol that looked like three dots of three different sizes surrounded by clouds of purple with twisting swirls that looked almost like smoke dancing through the air. 'That one is going to be interesting.' I giggled to myself. A knock on the door startled me, making me nearly fall from the sink.
"You okay, Bo?" My Aunt Ash's said through the door.
"Yeah," I chuckled. "Just looking." I jumped down and opened the door. My aunt smiled down at me.
"Have you looked at them all?" She asked but I shook my head 'no'. From what I remember there were eleven lights that struck me and I've only found at the nine. "Have you seen the one on your back?" She said and I froze midstep. I started looking over my shoulders and even walking in circles trying to get a better look, my aunt chuckling at my antics.
Aunt Ash picked me up and held me on top of the sink with my back to the mirror. I looked over my shoulder and sucked in a breath. A grey symbol that looked like whirls of air shaped almost like a cross with symmetric swirls on either side down my shoulder blades like small bird wings. "Pretty!" I exclaimed with a big smile on my face.
"Yes they are." My aunt giggled. When she went to help me down I spotted the cerulean blue swirls wrapped around my left ankle. She let me all the way down and I immediately sat down on the floor looking at the swirls wrapping around my ankle and halfway down the top of my foot like waves crashing into a cliff. A cerulean blue symbol that looked like a water droplet with a dot in the center on the outside of my ankle in the center of those waves.
"Woah," I mused tracing the lines with my fingertips.
"Amazing, aren't they?" My aunt asked, sitting down on the floor next to me. I nodded vigorously.
"What do they do?" I asked, looking up to her. She just smiled at me.
"Each of them are different, sweetheart. Unique, just like you." She pinched my cheek making me giggle. "You'll find out what they do when you need to know what they do." She said mysteriously. I scrunch my eyebrows in thought, looking back to the tattoos that now marked my skin. I traced my finger tips along the one on my wrist, a feeling of excitement welled in me in anticipation for what they'll do. But, a feeling like something was missing just barely gnawed at me in the back of my mind. I tucked the feeling away when my aunt continued to speak. "Now come, let's get you changed." She said holding her arms out for me.
She let me dress myself in a navy blue and white striped t-shirt and jean shorts paired with a set of navy blue sneakers. 'Funny how they have these to this world.' I internally chuckled. After eating breakfast I ran to the training grounds that were to the back of the estate to find Omen. As I approached I saw him play-fighting his siblings with his mother, Villanova, and my father standing under the large wisteria tree standing in the center of the grounds, shading the half the wolves played.
I smiled as I ran up to them, "Hi, guys!" I waved my arms wildly. As I neared my father he knelt down with a big smile and scooped me up and hugged me tightly.
"Let me see, let me see." My dad said putting me back down and spun me around looking at the marks on my arms and legs. I giggled, showing them off for him.
"They're so pretty." I exclaimed, hopping around as I spun. We talked for a while, watching the siblings run around. I started to notice the wolves were actually doing some kind of training under the instruction of their mother than actually play-fighting. I furrowed my brow, "What're they doing?" I asked, watching them closely.
"So you've noticed." My father chuckled, watching them as well. "Tomorrow you'll start your training as well." He said, making me choke on my spit.
"Wh-what?" I asked in between coughs. 'I've just turned three years old, what the fuck?!'
"Phil will be your mentor." He said, ignoring my reaction. "Your Uncle Alexander was supposed to be your mentor but he's not even in the city right now since him and Dorian are in the process of adopting. Even when they return they'll be too busy." He sighed. "She's going to be a tough teacher, Bo." He patted me on the head.
'Wait, what?'
~
My Aunt Phil kept her promise to let me see my friends today. Omen stayed to train with his mother and as we flew over the city my mind kept wandering.
'Those markings haven't chosen a host since she passed.' My grandmother's words kept repeating themselves.
"What's on your mind kid?" My aunt asked, startling me. I sat in front of her on her broom so it wasn't hard for her to just look down at my concentrating face.
I hesitated for a moment, "I'm just wondering what these do." I said, raising my wrist, looking to the yellow-green swirls around my wrist and avoiding her stare. She didn't look convinced but didn't push it.
"You'll figure it out once we start training." She said looking ahead of us.
"Everyone is being so cryptic." I groaned, relaxing against her. She chuckled, her movements reverberating against my back.
'You're still only three Bo.' Omen's voice whispered in my mind. I mentally sighed.
'Don't remind me…' I watched the buildings fly by. I knew instantly when we arrived in South Blackpool. The buildings were noticeably shorter than the ones in the other districts, and definitely not as well kept. For a magic city I still couldn't wrap my head around how they had an entire district that looked like this.
After we landed near Urahara's we walked a few blocks, looking for the boys. I jogged up to the tree from the day before last. I didn't see them in the tree house and started to get a little anxious. 'Where are they?' I scrunched my brow as I looked around.
"Boo!" Loud voices screeched from behind me, startling the crap out of me. I whipped my head around to see their smiling faces. I chuckled at them, slowly raising my fist and knocking the crap out of each of them.
"Are you trying to give me a heart attack!" I growled at them as they rubbed their heads.
"You didn't have to hit us!" Ace whined. I rolled my eyes while my aunt laughed over my shoulder.
"You kids have fun. Bo?" She said and I looked back to her. "I'll be at Urahara's if you need me." She smiled and turned on her heel walking away.
"Hey, what're those markings on you?" Yami asked, pointing to the symbol on my cheek.
"They were my birthday gifts." I shrugged, rubbing my cheek shyly.
"They suit you." He poked the one on my wrist.
"Thanks." I beamed, looking at my wrist. "So, what did you want to do today?" I asked, changing the subject. The three of them beamed. Ace grabbed my hand and pulled me as they started running down the alley. We played for a few hours, running around the alleyways and back to the treehouse. My stomach started to growl close to lunch time when my aunt came around with a box of sandwiches.
"Here kiddos." She smiled, kneeling down and handing them out.
"Thanks, Aunt Phil!"
"Thank you!" The boys said in unison, greedily grabbing two sandwiches at a time and stuffing their faces. I ate mine down, not realizing how hungry I really was.
"Here's some juice, throw the boxes in the garbage bin when you're done." She said sitting down a few juice boxes and walked off.
"Your aunt rocks!" Ace cheered with half chewed food puffing his cheeks.
"Yes, she does." I smiled. I started throwing away the trash, the boys still gulping down their sandwiches, laughing and smiling. I chuckled, walking back to where we were sitting when the sound of a trash can knocking over caught my attention. Mikoto grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him in time before a glass bottle shattered on the ground where I had just been standing.
"What the-" I stammered, Yami moving in front of Mikoto with Ace beside me.
"Well, well," A male voice said. I stood on my tip toes to see over Yami's shoulder. Three teens I didn't recognize stood at the end of the alley. The one who spoke had his leg propped on the knocked over trash can I'd just used. He wore red sunglasses with spiky, corn yellow hair with surfer's tanned skin but it didn't hide the acne on his face and neck.
His two friends stood behind him, one a taller, fatter pale white guy in a red shirt way too big for him. An ugly sneer on his face. The last teen looked like a twig in clothes he swam in. Oily black hair escaping a red bandana like tentacles sticking to his forehead. His olive skin tone glistening with oil, a smile of yellow teeth stretching across his face.
"I knew you brats were stupid, but to be friends with someone like her?" Sunglasses shook his head. I narrowed my eyes.
'Someone like me?'
"Fuck off, Hudson." Yami said, backing us up down the alley.
"Who're they?" I whispered to them. Before they could answer Hudson flung a ball of fire in our direction. I sucked in a breath as Mikoto and Ace rushed us out of the way, Yami dodging the fire and rushing towards Hudson. Twig boy stopped Yami short of getting to Hudson and kicked him in the face. Yami flew into the wall with a sickening crack while the three teens cackled like maniacs. "What the heck is wrong with you?" I screamed, attempting to go help Yami but Mikoto stopped me.
"Oh, the little bitch speaks." Hudson chuckled, eying me with hatred in his eyes. Ace rushed over to help Yami up, surprisingly he was still conscious.
'He was tough as hell in Black Clover…' I watched the two of them, worry twisting my insides. 'Where the hell is my aunt?' I shifted my gaze back to the teens. A shiver ran down my spine from the creepy laughs that echoed down the alley. Mikoto tucked me further behind him, trying to keep me safe. 'What're we going to do?' I worriedly looked from the teens to Ace and Yami then back to the teens.