8 Imp

'Scarlet Strings Of Destiny.'

Night Eight...

Brave let out a small groan of pain as her head felt like it would burst for a moment.

"Easy now Brave..." A soft voice said.

"S... Sister Leena."

Brave's eyes slowly opened. She found herself resting in what was left of the kitchen of their home. A blanket was wrapped around her and her head was in the lap of Sister Leena. Sister Leena was covered in wounds and parts of her body actually seemed to be missing. Sections of her flesh just missing. She was really injured.

Brave didn't have time to ask what happened though as she looked around. Lumo, Irene, Chase, Max, and the baby, were all on the ground still asleep. At what was left of the table Williams and Father Darvin stood. Father Darvin was still missing an arm and covered in bandages.

The old man managed a small smile when he saw Brave was slowly waking up. "Hey there." He said quietly. "Don't move to much. Your healing isn't done yet. Your skull had been cracked open."

Brave ignored him sitting up. She reached up to her head finding it was covered in bandages. "W... What happened to you guys." She asked staring at the Sister, and Father.

"We got into a fight with another Mare." Darvin sighed. "We already healed though. So don't worry."

"Y... You already healed. You're missing limbs and sections of your body!" Brave yelled.

"Quiet down." Williams grunted. "Those humans over there will wake up if you make to much noise and my sight stone is broken so I can't remain hidden from them. I currently am rewriting their memories. They won't remember the disaster that happened today and will instead think a freak tornado destroyed the house. I already implanted that in the other villagers here as well."

"Y... You can do that?" Brave asked. "B... But Darvin and Leena are still missing limbs and sections of their body."

"Aura can do a lot but it has limits." Williams sighed. "I don't have a means to fix Darvin or Leena so instead we just stopped their bleeding."

"R... Really Brave." Leena said softly. "It's fine. We're not in any pain. Now please lay down. You need to heal. The thing we used to heal everyone takes time for serious injuries like yours and it simply can't regrow organs or limbs-"

"No." Brave stood up glaring at Williams. "What the hell is going on!"

Williams stared at her for a moment before he looked over at Darvin. The old man gave a sigh but nodded his head. "Why don't you have a seat Ms. Larison and I'll explain everything."

Braved slowly nodded her head and took a seat. "Okay. Start talking. What the actual hell is going on."

"To put it simply... You can see... Ghosts correct?" Williams asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah... Ever since I was a baby. I was the only one who could though." Brave nodded.

"No." Darvin shook his head. "Leena and I could as well. We never told you but we're what you are Brave. I wanted you to forget that you could. You see if you had done your best to ignore it and thought it was your imagination your aura nodes wouldn't have opened so easily."

"Aura... Nodes?"

Williams began to tap on the table as a small white aura covered him. "This. Is Aura. To put it bluntly Ms. Larison you are an Imp. Thats what I am. Thats what Father Darvin Larison is. And thats what Leena Larison is. We're all Imps. We have a substance within us known as Aura that we can use. This allows us to interact with Blanks and Mares."

"Blanks?"

"Those are what you call Ghosts. Though they actually aren't Ghosts. There is aura in everything. And I mean everything, not just living things. Sometimes enough of it will come together and it'll copy random humans becoming a miss mash of them and becoming what we call a Blank. Humans have mistaken them as Ghosts."

"B... But humans can't see G- Or err Blanks?" Brave asked.

"You're right. However as I said. Everyone, and everything has Aura. An Imp is something which awakened its nodes. Humans have closed aura Nodes. However some humans Nodes will slowly begin to open the more they believe in the supernatural. Typically its a small amount and not enough for them to be Imps. It'll just be small leaks. This is what you were. Someone who had her Nodes closed. However typically at the age of thirteen a humans nodes will either stop opening and they'll be stuck in a state of partially being in the supernatural world, or it'll fully open. This is what happened to you. Your nodes have fully opened. You have become an Imp. And that sadly means your time as a human will be going away for a while."

"W... What do you mean by that?"

"Imps give off a lot of Aura... That creature you saw was a Mare. They hunt blanks and Imps devouring them. Sometimes they kill normal humans who have a lot of aura to or they'll turn other humans into Mares. Their main snack is a Blank, but Imps are what they crave most of all. I am what is known as a Wake. A Wake is someone who has trained in order to take down Mares as well as disperse Blanks. We can make a Blank 'pass on' which really means we break them back down to raw Aura. That is our job. Earlier this week a device known as the Drawer informed us a human would be converting into a New Blood. Many of the Mares came after you as a New Blood would be a good snack for them while also being to weak to fight back. Most Mares aren't that strong on their own but if they can live long enough an eat blanks then... Well... You've seen what happens."

Brave nodded her head as her mind raced. "S... So I can't be here because of my aura?"

"Thats right." Darvin nodded.

"B... But if you and Leena are Imps then why didn't a Mare come after you guys sooner?" She asked.

"We've trained to keep our aura off." Leena said softly. "You see... There is a whole society of Imps. Many people actually are Imps. There's a school that exists where an Imp can learn to mask their aura. Once they go to this school for at least a year or two and are able to hide their aura they are then allowed back into the human society. Normally they aren't allowed unless you can hide your aura as you'd be a dinner bell calling more and more Mares which would slaughter more humans and evolve into more forms."

Brave gulped but nodded her head. "I... I think I get it... So Blanks are Ghosts, Mares are bad. I'm an Imp... And I have to go to this school for a year or two to learn how to hide my aura then I can come back right-"

"No." Williams words made Brave, Darvin, and Leena go silent.

"Williams-" Darvin hissed standing up but was stopped when Williams turned to look at him a faint white aura on his body.

"Ms. Larison." Williams said softly. "There are many schools in the Imp society that normal humans don't know about. A friend of mine is a famous Imp scientist who invented several gadgets. He created the Drawer which gives us a vague location on a human that could become an Imp, but he also made Sight Stones. Imps are basically humans with aura. Imps can be seen by normal humans but a Sight stone allows us to remain hidden from people who don't have a certain amount of aura. Thats the reason your sisters couldn't see me. When an Imp has it we're like a Mare, or Blank, invisible. We've used these to hide away from the human world least they label us witches and devil worshipers. In our world we have three types of schools. The first is a passive school. New Bloods are the ones who usually go to this school. It'll teach them how to use their aura and mask it allowing them to go back to the human world. Imps who go to this school usually go on to be famous humans as their aura makes them well liked and skilled. Famous military men, or famous sports players, they can use their aura to get an advantage in life while also hiding from the Mares. The second school is one designed for the Imp world. It has to do with jobs only Imps can become... The third type of school though... This one takes Imps and turns them into Wakes."

"W... Wakes... Thats what you are right."

"Yes. A Wake is someone who uses aura to hunt down Mares and keep the human world safe, as well as doing odd jobs for humans. Wakes can be really anything and many normal humans can hire them as body guards, or hire them to do odd jobs like assassinations, or collecting things. Wakes are some of the greatest jobs an Imp can have. Normally when you have a New Blood you would ask them which school they want to go to."

"Normally... So... I'm guessing you aren't giving me a choice." Brave asked slowly.

"No." Williams shook his head. "I'm not going to force you to become a Wake if you don't want to... The amount of aura you have... It would be a waste for you to not become a Wake. I happen to be a teacher for a school that trains Imps to become Wakes and its my job to recruit people. You are someone who is very skilled already at such a young age. I would like for you to become a Wake."

Brave was silent as she frowned. "I'll admit it sounds cool. I mean it's basically a school where I get superpowers- I get superpowers right? Like being all glowy?"

"Yes. You get to learn how to use your aura and even create an Affinity."

"Right. I mean it sounds cool having superpowers but... Sorry... I don't want to leave my family." Brave said shaking her head making Darvin and Leena let out sighs of relief.

Williams nodded his head for a moment. "I thought you might say that. Thats why I wanted to inform you of some more about it. At this school you would attend five years of school however during the summer you would be allowed back here. As it just so happens the school will be opening soon. After five years you are assigned to a Squad. You would still be able to see your family as this school would teach you how to harness your aura meaning you'd learn how to mask it as well. So during the summer time you'd be back here with your family."

"Still. I don't want to leave them." Brave said shaking her head.

"Plus... Its hard to even get into A Wake School." Leena said frowning as she stared at Williams. "You're keeping that part from her... Many Imps die just trying to get into the school. That place is a survival of the fittest."

"I'm confident that with her skills she could get in."

"S... Sorry but as cool as it sounds its still a little to dangerous for me." Brave chuckled.

"Wouldn't you like to help people though?" Williams asked.

"O... Of course I would." Brave nodded. "But I don't need to become some kind of magical monster hunter to do that. You said it yourself. The Imps that rejoin society are able to do a lot with their aura even if they aren't Wakes. I could easily help out my family or villagers."

Williams let out a sigh. "I see... Well I didn't want to have to play this card but..."

"Williams." Darvin warned. "You know as well as I do that using 'him' as a trump card is a dirty trick. If she knows he's out there then-"

Williams ignored the man as he stared at Brave giving her a small smile. "What if I told you... Your father was in the Imp world?"

Brave felt her heart stop for a moment. "What."

"Williams!" Darvin hissed.

"Thats right. Aren't you wondering why Leena and Darvin are also Imps? Thats not a coincidence you know." Williams hummed. "Your father left you with them."

"W... Why would he..." Brave was silent as her eyes were wide. She had never really questioned why she lived here. Never once asked about a dad or mom. But now that she was hearing about it, it felt like it was flooding into her. "If he's alive and... Why would he have... And you guys knew?" She asked looking over to Darvin and Leena.

"W... Well..." Darvin gulped. "You see... Well your dad..."

"I guess they didn't tell you." Williams sighed. "They kidnapped you."

"W... What." Brave felt ice in her veins. Like her heart stopped.

"T... Thats..." Darvin looked away. "Thats completely true." He finally admitted.

"Its... True..." Brave said numbly.

"Your father gave you to me to keep safe for a year while he dealt with something... But I... I went into hiding from the Imp world and took you with me... I started this orphanage as a way to hide. Surrounding myself with a bunch of humans would be the best way to mask my aura and it would mask yours as well... In the end I... I did steal you from your father."

"Oh my God..." Brave said stunned. "T... Then who the hell is my dad?"

"I can't say..." Darvin said wincing when he saw the look on her face.

"He's telling the truth." Williams said. "He can't tell you your fathers name. None of us can. We also can't tell you who your father is. All I can do is tell you he's an Imp and that the best bet to finding him would be going to this school and becoming a Wake." He stated. He held his hand out to her. "So. What do you say?"

"I... I..." Brave stared at the hand for a moment. "I pick..."