Grace

The brisk air from the cold November evening hit me in the face the second I stepped out of the hospital. It had been another difficult shift and I needed to blow off steam. It seems like lately, every patient that enters my ICU dies. It is exhausting, mentally and physically, and sometimes I wonder why I wanted to be a nurse in the first place. And then I think of my mother. My mother is the most powerful witch in the Burning Sun Coven. One of the largest and most respected covens in this country. She didn't get to be that powerful by accident either. My mother is terrifying, blood-thirsty and cruel. She tried to raise me to be the exact same way, but I refused. My mother never loved me. She only used me to carry on her legacy. She forced me to practice magic until I perfected every spell, incantation, potion and power that I could.

By the time I turned 18 I was as lethal as she was, but seeing everyone walk around my mother in fear, I knew that wasn't the kind of life I wanted. I wanted love, a family and to feel like I made a difference in this world. I wanted to be a force for good. I wanted to be a ray of fucking sunshine. So, I left. I told my mother I would never be what she wanted me to be. I was worried she would come looking for me, force me into her servitude, but her disappointment was so deep she didn't even bother. She told me to leave and never go back. So, I did. That was 5 years ago. I went to nursing school, graduated with honors, moved to Seattle and became an ICU nurse in a great hospital.

I save lives every day and never use my magic. Well, occasionally I use a healing charm on my patients when I think it will help and no one will notice, but that is hardly ever. This last couple of weeks though, I did try a charm on a burn patient, hoping the young woman would heal quickly and not feel such pain. Burns are the worst kind of pain and I can't stand seeing people suffer with them.

Today, that woman died from the infection we tried so hard to prevent. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her family around her bed, holding her hands, crying and saying goodbye. It made my heart hurt. So, I decided to drink my pain away. Normally I try to stay away from other supernatural beings. My Mother has many enemies in that world and the last thing I need is for someone to figure out who I am and try to kill me as a way to get revenge on her. Not like she would care anyway.

There is a bar known as a hotspot for beings of the supernatural world to comingle and for some reason that place is calling me tonight. Maybe because I tried a charm on that woman and I failed, or maybe I just need to be around people who understand me. Either way I headed in that direction, not even going home to change out of my scrubs. I could see my breath in the cold air and hear my feet against the pavement. They were sore from a long shift, but the pain kept me grounded. Reminding me of my purpose.

I walked for a long time, trying to clear my mind. Seattle is a beautiful city and I love looking at the buildings, seeing people go in and out of them. As I neared the bar, I walked past a few others with people laughing, drinking, excited for the weekend ahead. How I envied them, no idea the dangers that lurked in this world.