There was nothing but all consuming blackness. I was swimming in it for God knows how long. It was a comfortable feeling, not knowing what was happening and just lying there. Well, comfortable until a heavy weight pressed against me. I could feel the air leave my lungs as the weight pushed me further into the void. I was reaching out to clutch onto something – anything! But there was nothing. I opened my mouth to gasp for air but none filled my burning lungs.

My ears roared with the sound of blood rushing through my veins. My heart thundered. The need to survive was the only thought running through my mind. I felt a burst of energy surge through me as I fought the weight off of me. Gasping, I sat up and opened my eyes. The first thing to cross my mind was the searing pain the lights had on my eyes.

"Shit...someone turn off the sun," I groaned as I shut my eyes. I proceeded to rub my temples to fight off the oncoming migraine. It felt like hours before I pried my eyes open one by one.

If I thought my senses were heightened before, then I must have been stupid. This was far better – newer. It felt like I switched from black and white to TechniColor. Everything was vibrant and detailed. My hearing and sense of smell were sharper than before. A pounding began in the back of my head.

Clutching my head, I try to drudge up memories of what happened. I could remember the pain from removing the Karecous and got a few glimpses of what happened minutes later, but then it's nothing. Just the endless nothingness that I swam through right before jolting up. There was a strange weight that settled on my chest and a weird wave of self-awareness.

I was brought out of my thoughts and self-assessment by the sound of soft footsteps coming down the hall. My ears perked up as I continued to listen. The person stopped outside the door and paused.

"Natalia, I know you're awake – your aura is fluctuating rapidly." Phoebe said, her voice no higher than a whisper. I heard her hand touch the doorknob and begin twisting it. The door creaked as it slid open, revealing the witch. She looked the same as when she was performing the ritual. Believe me that it wasn't an easy sight to take in after seeing her look so frail all these years.

"You seem out of sorts still," she observed as she walked up to me. With my refined vision, I took note of how what I thought were tattoos were actually carvings. I took my mind a moment to register this, but by the time it did I couldn't stop the words from rushing out my mouth.

"Holy shit, Phoebe someone carved into you like they were going at a Thanksgiving turkey!"

She threw her head back and laughed. "The more powerful a witch is, the harder it is for her flesh to contain her magical energy. In order to keep one's magical energy from taking over the flesh and causing it to decay, a witch must make room for that energy to flow out of her – thus the carvings." She explained as if she were talking to a child. "Well that was before talismans were created. I guess people didn't want to look like carved up turkeys." Phoebe laughed again. I could feel my defenses come down as I realized she was still the crude old woman that raised me.

She proceeded to look me over for side effects from whatever the hell she did to me. Finding none, Phoebe looked me in the eyes and asked, "How do you feel?"

I thought about for all of five seconds. "New but the same; like everything got a tune up or something." I absentmindedly ran a hand through my shoulder length black hair.

"That's all? You don't feel anything else?" Phoebe pressed, scrunching her brows in concern.

"No, should I?"

Her response wasn't immediate but she waved it off and said it wasn't pressing, which led me to believe otherwise. After giving me another once over, Phoebe pulled me onto my feet. I swayed slightly as I felt a strange pressure in my head. It felt like something was pressing against my mind. Shaking my head, I followed Phoebe out of the small room and into the hall. Waiting against the wall was Khan. When he noticed us, he pushed away from the wall and turned towards us. I automatically went on the defensive. Let's just say we didn't get off to the greatest of starts.

"How is she?" His tone was calm but wary as he asked Phoebe, as if he couldn't direct the question to me. It's not like I'm standing right beside her or anything, I thought crossly.

"She's fine so far," Phoebe looked over at me with an encouraging smile. She looked back at Khan saying nothing but it seemed  like the two of them were communicating. The way Khan's shoulders visibly tensed and the almost imperceptible nod of his head gave that away.

As if he finally noticed me standing there, Khan turned his attention to me. "Alpha Louvell is waiting to see us in his office."

I nodded my head to acknowledge what he said. He gave me a strange look before turning away and began walking down the corridor. I followed behind him, leaving enough space between us for six other people to walk ahead of me. Turning my attention to my surroundings, I looked up and down the hall taking in all the minute details with a fresh set of eyes.

I wasn't paying attention, so I didn't notice Khan stop in front of a door before it was too late. I collided chest first into his back. His skin was hot like fire and seared me. I heard Khan gasp. I think my ears were playing tricks with me. Seconds passed, but it seemed like hours, before I peeled myself away from him. I said nothing as I looked at the door before us, my father's office. The word swished around my head.

I moved to walk in when Khan grabbed my wrist and pulled me to face him.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" I hissed at him, aware of how loud my voice was. He said nothing in response. All he did was look at me, searching my face for something. We stood like that for a good minute before my patience wore thin and I ripped my wrist out of his grasp.

"What's your deal?" I hissed again, but quieter this time. He opened his mouth as if to say something but shut it and cleared his throat. Khan shook his head, as if to clear his mind of an unpleasant thought.

"Now is not the time, he is waiting for us." Khan said swiftly, moving around me to open the door and walk in. I followed him in and walked up straight to the desk. Behind it, Louvell was immersed in a thick book. I sat down before having permission to. Louvell looked up from the page he was on and nodded to Khan to sit. Khan sat down beside me and I could feel the heat coming off of him between the three feet of space.

"I'm glad you're up Natalia, how are you feeling." His tone was empty as he returned to the book in his hand. It looked familiar, but I couldn't see the cover so I didn't know for sure.

"I'm fine," I said curtly. "Why did you call us in here?" I was in no mood to deal with pleasantries.

"All in due time," Louvell said as he slammed the book shut and put on the desk. "But first," he slid the thick book across the desk at me, "tell me how you got your hands on your mother's compendium?" His eyes were ablaze with fury and intrigue.

A/N

So this is kinda short, but it's just the first part. I was struggling to write this much cause Lord know's the Writer's Block was too real! I'll try to get the next part up soon.

-Tabii XD