Page 44 of Jade Lion and the Witch Boy
Just because we’re witches doesn’t mean we shouldn’t adhere to scientific safety when it comes to blood-letting.
At last, Taina pokes my finger, the way she’s done dozens of times before, and squeezes out five drops of blood into the bowl. The red fluid disperses in the water, like the roots of a tree, reaching deeper and deeper into the six-inch-deep bowl. That tiny bit of pain is a small price to pay for accurate fortune-telling. I cover my finger with a cotton swab and allow my best friend to get to work. She peers down at the surface of the water, occasionally moving her hands in a circle, allowing witchcraft to flow.
While I’m magical, I don’t put much stock into divination. Usually, she sees mundane stuff I already knew would occur, like getting a C on my business final that one time. For a witch, I’m perfectly content in letting the future happen as it comes.
I wrap my finger in a bandage, and I think of Kai. My life has changed so much since I liberated the Jade Lion from his tiny imprisonment. And now we’ve become more than friends. Will we be boyfriends a year from now? Husbands in five years? Wait, are we even boyfriends now? I should really define therelationship. I’d add that to the list ofThings Seb isn’t telling Kai because we’re having too much fun hooking up.
“No!” Taina’s head shoots up, and I’m startled in my seat.
“Wha…what?”
She looks left and right, then touches her chest, all while hyperventilating.
“Just breathe, Ty.” I get up and stand next to her. When I touch her shoulder, she doesn’t react, like she’s trapped in a nightmare. “Ty, look at me.” She brings her brown eyes to me, and I nod. “You’re fine. Just breathe. It’s okay.”
She gulps and nods, and lucidity returns to her. I go to the sink to get her a glass of water. Meanwhile, anxiety creeps up my spine. When she discovered she had the gift of divination, we were both scared that she would keep seeing horrifying visions. Taina could see the future, so what was to stop her from seeing premonitions of log trucks breaking on the highway and killing us? But it’s been years, and she has never been disturbed by a vision.
Until now. All because of a reading frommyblood. “What…what did you see?”
She finishes the water and starts to pace around. She won’t even look at me, and my panic grows.
“Ty, please tell me what you saw.”
She gazes at me with pain in her eyes. Then, she throws herself at me. I’m wrapped in a tight hug, and after a moment, I hug her back. “Uh, there, there?”
“I saw you…on your deathbed.”
I pull her off and ask, “What? When?”
“So…so fucking soon. Too soon.” Her eyes tear up, and she sniffs. “I’ve never had a vision like that.”
I’m about to die? I bite my lip, stare at the bowl, then back at her. My hands tremble as I pull up a chair for her. “Wha…what did you see exactly?” I ask with a raspy voice.
“Someone…steals your life force.”
My brow furrows, and I sit next to her. I take her hand and ask, “What?”
“Your blood is sapped from your body.”
“Like…like a vampire?” Are vampires real? I stopped disbelieving in any mythical creatures when I discovered witchcraft. That was long before gazing into the eyes of the abominations of the Other Side.
“No.” She gulps and puts her hand over mine. “It was Kai.”
“What?” I flinch like I’ve just been slapped.
“I see bits and pieces of the future.” She tries to touch my hand again, but I pull back. “Seb, I watched Kai in his lion form. He absorbed your blood into his soul. Then I saw myself holding you while you were in a coma. I could see a blood IV drip, with more bags ready to be transfused.”
I can’t even breathe when she continues, “The future is a puzzle, but these pieces were so vivid. It all adds up to Kai, somehow, somewhere, taking your life force.”
“No!” I stand up and shake my head. “Stop…stop talking.”
“Seb, please?”
“Kai would never do that!” My heart races as I point to myself. I’ve never raised my voice at my best friend, but this is unacceptable news.
“Seb,” she says in a pleading tone.
“No, Kai would never hurt me!” I don’t even care if the entire house hears me.
