Skin of Silver [The witch trilogy book I]

Chapter 1; The red headed boy

This day was a sunny and nice day, pretty normal actually, but I had no idea what was about to happen. This very day would turn my whole world upside down.

In the early morning, I walked to the nearby village. The sun was shining but it was still pretty chilly outside, after all, it's only April.

Birds were chirping over my head as I walked over the soft moss.

As I stopped for a second to rest, a beautiful, blue butterfly sat on my arm. I admired its elegance for a while, the perfect symmetry on its wings and the way it was so unaware of what comes next. Only moments after it touched me, it was besieged by the green energy and soon it fell pitch black to the ground as if it had been burned.

I sighed and continued walking until I reached the little village. As soon as I walked in it was like everyone just vanished; the parents called their children back inside and everyone stepped away from me and cleared the way. It was always this way, I was always alone.

I don't blame them though, I would too keep away from someone who could burn you to crisp if you touched them. I walked quietly through the alleys where the minor citizens lived.

As a small child ran out in front of me everyone gasped simultaneously as the child's mother screamed quietly, grabbed her son and dragged him inside. I had stopped, I didn't want to hurt anyone although everyone seemed to believe that. I continued walking in silence over the rough cobblestone as everyone kept staring at me.

As I walked into the main square it suddenly got silent. Everyone in the village seems to know who I am and fear me, even though I never harmed anyone deliberately... The square was crowded, but not for long. The crowds started rushing to get their things done so they could leave.

Looking down at the ground I walked to the bakery and the smell of freshly baked bread and pastries hit me.

When walked in, the baker's wife froze in her place and looked at me as if she just saw a ghost. She walked over to the front desk while fumbling with the hem of her apron.

One of the worst things was the frustration. In actuality, I never hurt anyone on purpose, and couldn't help what was happening around me. But whenever I tried to explain this, no one would listen long enough to understand this. In the end, I had just given up on explaining myself. Let them be terrified.

The woman forced a smile.

"Hello, the usual?" she said, attempting to hide her fear. I nodded. For all the time I've lived here, I always ate the same divine rye bread they make, and she remembered which one, probably so I'll leave as fast as possible.

She walked to the back of the store to get the bread so, I glanced around the room while I was waiting. The bakery was an old building, the floor was made out of dark wood and the walls were rough and painted white, with some chipping and tearing here and there. It was a pretty small room, and on the walls hung shelves full of bread and cakes in all sizes and shapes.

I ran my hand through my hair as I heard the door slowly opening and the sound of footsteps echoed as someone stepped inside.

"Xena? Oh my goodness! Is that you?"

I froze.

What!?! I thought. Nobody ever talked to me in that manner. The person had sounded happy to see me. Startled, I slowly turned around. The man's face was familiar but I couldn't really place it. It was a young man my age, with short, curly, red hair and sparkling blue eyes. He had lots of freckles scattered on his cheeks and was smiling brightly. I kept my gaze focused on him as he walked closer.

As he got closer to me the green energy around me started to pulse and vibrate, charging at him before going back to me - as if it was warning him. He didn't stop but continued walking at me with open arms, about to give me a hug. If he hugged me he would be toast in the blink of an eye, so I dodged the hug and ran out.

"Xena!?" he shouted at me as he followed. I ran as fast as I could through small alleys but couldn't seem to get rid of him, he was ever hot on my heels. As I turned around a corner I walked right on a small group of ballsy looking people. They all looked at me and smirked, obviously they didn't know who I was, which made me assume that they were from out of town. I stared at them for long and they stared back with grins plastered on their faces.

The man who was chasing me ran into me from behind, but the green energy didn't appear to bother him. W-what? H-how can he- why isn't he affected by it!?? I looked over to him curious. He seemed fine even though green energy was all over him. He glared at the gang and stood in front of us.

"If you hurt her you won't live to see tomorrow." He said assertively. They looked at each other and laughed.

"You heard him?" one of them said laughing. The others laughed too and stood up. All of them were tall, muscular and intimidating. I took a step back, but he refused to move. "Let's go..." I whispered quietly to him.

"Trust me." He whispered back while smirking slyly. He turned back to them and somehow he was suddenly behind them. It was so fast I couldn't even see him go there. He hit 'em hard in the back and they just fell to the ground. It had taken him 2 seconds to take them all down.

He looked at me smirking.

"Are you just gonna stand there staring at me all day ooooooor...?" He asked jokingly.

"N-no but..." I mumbled quietly "Who are you? And why aren't you dead!?" He laughed quietly as he started walking towards me.

"Have you forgotten me, Xena? It's me, Liam." He seemed amused. I was speechless, staring at this young man who claimed to be my childhood friend, who I had killed years ago.

"No, but when we were kids... And we were out in the woods and playing... You died I SWEAR! Your heart stopped beating, I felt it myself! And this green shit kills everyone else that touches me, how come you aren't bothered by it!?"

His face became soft and he let out a sigh. "How about we talk this out later? Right now we should get out of here, to your place maybe?". I hesitated a little... Liam was dead, so who is this? A fraud? I didn't know.

I nodded and walked past him. He followed me quietly and I felt his stare on my back. While I really badly wanted to yell at him to stop staring, I just couldn't. He was - hopefully - my best friend that I hadn't seen for years.

Who is this guy?