Erik awoke from a host of nightmares to the sound of someone speaking in hushed tones above him. He couldn't make it out, but it sounded like some form of chant, repeated over and over again, and with each repetition he felt warmth spread over his entire being for a moment before fading away. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked around, finding himself in what looked like the living room of a small cottage. It had all the comforts of what he thought a home should have – a couple of couches (one upon which he as lying) and an old recliner in the corner. He could see into what appeared to be a kitchen but he couldn't see very far inside, and lastly he noticed the woman leaning over him, eyes closed in concentration and her shoulder length, raven hair concealing part of her face as she held her hands over him, making a triangle with her fingers. Each time she finished he incantation, a small ball of yellow light would form and float down to his chest, sinking into it and feeling him with the warmth he had noticed before.
"Where am I?" he said weakly, trying to sit up a little. The woman jumped and opened her eyes wide, obviously to expecting him to even be awake at this point.
"Oh. I thought I felt something change in you but I wasn't sure," the woman said, sitting up and brushing the hair out of her face before putting them in her lap. She smirked, "Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah…yeah I think I'm okay," Erik said, starting to sit up fully only to be stopped as the woman pushed him down lightly.
"Now, now sweetie, don't overdo it. Just let the lights do what they do best," she said, her tone saying something her words didn't. Then, she stood and cracked her knuckles, walking away to the kitchen as Erik laid his head back down. The warmth was spreading through him steadily now, and he could feel it making him drowsy. Slowly, he let himself drift back into sleep, trying not to worry about the fact that he was in a strange place with a strange woman.
Meanwhile…
The woman glanced back to see the boy had fallen asleep, and she knew that he magic was doing its work She was glad she had absorbed enough sunlight to heal the boy, especially with those splintered ribs.
"If he had died, it would've set me back quite a bit. I've been waiting for another with a Pure Soul for so long, and I'm sure he will love to hear the results when I've finished," she thought with a gleam in her eyes as she entered the kitchen proper, a smile on her lips as she stepped around a corner and out of the potential sight of the boy lying on the couch. She stepped into a hallway with five doors; two were bedrooms across from one another, one of which was her own, and next to this was a bathroom, the door across from that one leading to a small, mostly empty study. The last door, located at the end of the hall, was a security door made of solid steel, three inches thick, with a panel to the side. This door led into the natural cave systems in the area that, if she remembered correctly, were connected to Baba Yaga's Castle. It was this castle that was the former lair of a Witch by the name of Arachne, of whom no one had heard of for the past 800 years or so. Of course, this all was common knowledge, especially to another Witch.
"And it just so happens that I am a Witch," the woman thought, walking to the steel door and feeling its cold surface with her hand, "Not just any Witch though. I'm the Witch that will finally live forever. A Witch the likes of which the world has never known! I am the Master of Light, the Shining Witch, Lilith Briarheart!" With a graceful motion, the Shining Witch placed her hand on the panel, which made a few small beeps before lighting up green, the door sliding open soundlessly to reveal a tunnel filled with slightly glowing crystal. She stepped through, taking one last glance into the "cottage" before continuing through, letting the door slide shut behind her with a faint click.