Journey of a Girl

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?"