May 9, 1994

A little girl was sitting in her crib, playing with her stuffed bear. She was only 11 months old. She looked up towards the door as it opened.

"Kai!" The little girl cried excitedly.

Kai walked into the room, towards his youngest sister. In his hand was a knife, held out of sight from the child.

Kai looked down at the girl, who stared straight back up at him. Kai had never been allowed to hold his sister or touch her in any way.

His father didn't trust him not to siphon from her.

"Kai?" She repeated, looking at him confused. She cocked her head to the side and held out her arms.

Kai blinked in surprise.

Kai glanced at the hunters' knife and put it on the table by the crib. Then he reached down, lifting the little girl into his arms.

He shifted his grip so that one arm was under her bottom and his other hand was against her back.

She rested her head on his shoulder. And Kai stared down at the little girl.

He heard movement from downstairs and knew he had to get a move on if he wanted to enacted his revenge before his dearest father came home.

His eyes flickered to the knife and he was about to grab it when an idea came to him. He looked back down at his sister and tried siphoning.

It failed.

What?

Kai narrowed his eyes and tried again.

But nothing happened.

There was no surge of power and he was still magicless.

How-

Kai's eyes widened in realization.

"No..." He whispered in realization.

Was it possible?

He looked at the little girl in his arms.

Was she like him?

She stared up at him confused.

He glanced towards the door, then the knife, and finally back at his sister.

He made a split-second decision and placed her back in her crib.

He looked down at his neck, where two necklaces rested.

One was longer than the other on a thicker silver chain and had a black stone attached to it. While the other was shorter and had a thinner silver chain with a silver claw hanging from it.

He reached for the one with the claw and pulled it over his head.

He gently placed it over his little sister's head and let it hang around her neck.

Then Kai moved his hand and rested his palm on the top of her head.

"I'll come back for you, El" He promised.

Kai grabbed the knife and left the room.

The little girl drifted off to sleep, unaware she was going to be awakened frantically by her father a few hours later.

Two years later...

The little girl was now three years old, and she was playing with her older siblings, Liv and Luke in the living room when something strange happened.

She grabbed her sister's hand and suddenly a feeling of electricity and power ran through her veins.

Liv cried out in pain and she let go immediately.

"Eliana!" Joshua Parker shouted.

She turned to her father but froze seeing horror, disgust, and anger in his eyes.

"Daddy?" She called, confused.

"You're an abomination..." He whispered in horror.

After that incident, the little girl's life completely changed.

She was no longer allowed to touch her siblings or her father. Nor was she allowed to learn magic in any way, shape, or form.

If she disobeyed, her dad would beat her...

Starve her...

Or lock her in their cellar in the basement.

One time he almost beat her to death after she accidentally siphoned her brother.

She tried to control her powers but nothing seemed to work.

As she got older, the worse it became.

And the final straw was when she was six and she was caught practicing a fire spell.

That day was worse than any punishment he could have given her.

Eliana sat up in her room, fingering the necklace around her neck that she had for as long as she could remember. The rest of her family didn't know where it came from but Eliana had an idea of who gave to her.

She didn't know for sure but she knew it used to belong to her oldest brother. The one who killed the rest of her siblings.

He was a siphoner like she was but she barely remembered him.

The only thing she could remember was a blurry image of him along with five words.

'I'll come back for you'

She didn't know if he said them to her but that was her best guess.

The reason she knew that it belonged to him was because she found a photo of him wearing the very same necklace along with another one.

Part of her wondered why he gave it to her...

Did he know what she was?

Eliana still had the photo of her brother hidden in her room.

Why?

She didn't know...

Maybe because he was like her.

Or because he was the only person who ever gave her something meaningful...

Her dad stopped getting her that many presents after he found out what she was, and the stuff she did get was mainly clothes.

She shook her head and tightened her grip on the necklace.

Her eyes flickered towards the door and she released the necklace and hid it under her shirt. As she knew that at any moment her dad would come into the room to punish her for using magic.

She tensed when she heard the door to her room open. Her dad entered and stared at her with an unreadable look in his eyes.

"Eliana, gather some clothes and anything you find important. It all should fit into your backpack" He ordered.

"What?" She asked, confused.

His eyes narrowed. "Now." He said, coldly. "Once you're done, meet me downstairs."

Then he left, shutting the door behind him.

What was happening?

Eliana got up and grabbed some clothes, shoving them into her backpack. Then she grabbed the photo of Malachai, her favorite book, the little blanket she had since she was a baby, and her stuffed bear.

She looked around her room, then headed downstairs, where her dad was waiting for her. He handed Eliana her jacket then motioned for her to follow him out of the house.

He opened the side door of his van and Eliana got in looking at her dad in uncertainty.

Then he got in and started the car.

"Dad, where are we going?" Eliana asked.

He didn't reply and kept driving.

Eliana looked out of the window, watching as the snow fell from the sky.

A few hours passed and Eliana fell asleep, with her head resting against the window.

She was woken abruptly by her dad when he pulled the car door open. She blinked at him blearily as he reached out and helped her out of the car.

She grabbed her backpack, looking around.

They were at a park that she didn't recognize.

Her dad brought her over to a bench that was covered in snow and sat her down. He stared down at her regretfully.

"Eliana, you have to stay here. Promise me you will not move." He said, gently to her for the first time ever.

Eliana was instantly on guard.

She wasn't falling for the loving father act.

"Promise me." He said more sternly this time.

"I promise." She replied as she crossed her fingers behind her back.

Her dad closed his eyes. "I know you will not understand but this is for the good of the coven." He whispered.

The coven always came first...

Always

Eliana stared up at her dad, a sinking feeling in her gut.

"Goodbye my daughter." He whispered and disappeared from sight.

He turned himself invisible, she realized.

Then she heard the sound of a car starting up and her eyes widened in horror.

No...

He-he wouldn't...

Would he?

Eliana shot to her feet, running towards where the car should be but there was nothing in sight.

Her dad was gone.

He abandoned her at a park in winter...

Eliana felt her eyes fill with tears.

She was going to die.

Eliana reached up and quickly wiped the tears away.

Now was not the time to panic.

She had to find shelter or she was going to freeze to death.

She started walking down the road but there were no buildings in sight.

There was no anything.

Just trees...

Lots and lots of trees.

She had to keep moving and so she did.

She had no idea how long she had been walking, but what she did know was that she was exhausted and her legs were killing her.

She could no longer feel her toes or fingers.

An icy chill had settled in her bones and she was constantly shivering.

She couldn't keep going.

There was no way.

But she didn't want to die...

Eliana stumbled and fell to the ground.

She tried to get up but found she couldn't move.

It was like her body was shutting down.

Black spots appeared in her vision as she started to drift off unconscious.

Just as her eyes started to close, she spotted black boots coming towards her. She tried to keep her eyes open but failed.

Everything went black.

Eliana's eyes went to the woman's hands which was holding a mug. The woman approached Eliana slowly.

"Hello there." She greeted, softly.

"W-who are you?" Eliana asked, scared.

The woman's eyes softened. "My name is Adeline Denova." She introduced. "What is yours?"

Eliana hesitantly replied. "Mine is Eliana Parker."

"That's a beautiful name," Adeline said.

"I hate it." Eliana spat.

Adeline didn't even blink at the outburst. "And why is that?"

"Because my dad chose it for me...and he left me to die," Eliana replied.

Adeline's eyes widened in shock. "Then go by a nickname." She suggested after a moment of silence.

Eliana went silent at those words. "Lia" She whispered, finally.

"That's a good name," Adeline said.

Lia looked at her hands.

"Would you like some hot chocolate?" Adeline asked, holding out the mug.

Lia nodded rapidly and Adeline handed over the hot chocolate.

"Careful, it's hot." She warned.

Lia nodded in understanding.

Lia began to slowly sip the hot chocolate and the two sat in comfortable silence.

Then, Adeline decided to break the silence.

"You're a witch," Adeline stated.

Lia froze and tensed fearfully.

Adeline saw that and stared at her in understanding. "I'm a witch too."

"Really?" Lia asked, quietly.

"Mm-hmm." She nodded, smiling.

Lia paused. "I'm not a witch." She corrected hesitantly.

Adeline stared at her in confusion. "You feel like one."

"I don't have my own magic...instead I siphon it from others...I'm an abomination," Lia whispered.

There was an immediate change in the woman as she stood up and walked over to Lia, kneeling down so she was eye-level with the child.

"Don't you ever call yourself that." She said sharply.

Lia stared at her in surprise. "B-but that's what I am. My dad said so."

"Well, your father is wrong." Adeline spat. "You may not have your own magic as the typical witch does but that does not mean you are an abomination"

"But...I'm against nature itself," Lia said. "I shouldn't exist."

"If that were true, you wouldn't be here," Adeline said. "Nature doesn't make mistakes."

The younger girl stared at the woman with tears in her eyes and Adeline pulled her into a hug. Lia immediately started sobbing.

And with that...Lia met the only woman she would ever see as a mother.