Page 51 of Jade Lion and the Witch Boy
Before I can change my environment, the world around me goes dark. The sidewalk and the bay disappear until I’m standing in a dark void. An ache gnaws at my chest, different than any heartbreak I’ve ever known. My anxiety rises, and I hear a voice in the distance.
“Sebastian…Sebastian….” The whisper echoes and gets closer to me. I recognize that voice.
When I turn around, the darkness takes shape. Kai’s body manifests out of shadows, and he’s wearing the same outfit he wore when he left earlier this evening.Huh. I didn’t summon him…
“Sebastian.” His voice—it’s so raw and pained and real. He’s actually calling out to me! That sounds like an absurd thought, but since I discovered witchcraft, all bets are off when it comes to the bounds of reality. This is the real Kai, no doubt. But what’s he doing in my dream? Why doesn’t he just approach me in real life?
I reach out to touch his arm, but startle when he bowls over. On his knees, he holds himself, clearly in agony.
“Kai? Kai what…what—”
“Sebastian…stop…Ash…” Kai’s words are cut off as he bursts into shadows. He groans, and his body is gone. Dark liquid emanates from where he once stood, and I can feel his pain. In seconds, I’m drowning in a river of distress. The shadows rise up to my neck. I take one last gulp of air, and then…
“AGH!” I sit up, gasping for air. I touch my shirt as I hyperventilate. Looking around, I recognize that I’m in bed. My shirt and pajama pants are dry, but my temples are sweaty. It felt so real. The pain is still in my chest.
I know that was Kai. He’s calling out to me, warning me. Something is hurting him, and he can’t come home. I leap out of bed, determined to rescue him. I know what I felt.
A few minutes of banging on doors later, Taina follows me into the hallway. “What?” she asks, wiping the sleep from her eyes. “What do you want, Seb? It’s late.”
“I need your help. I need your divination powers.” I pace back and forth, trying to wrap my mind around a strategy. Kai’s pain was so clear…
“Can’t it wait?” she asks through a yawn.
“No,” I reply firmly. “I saw…”
“What is going on?” Lisbeth asks, approaching us in the hallway.
Anika walks in from behind her, clad in her pink robe. “Can’t a witch get sleep in this coven?” she asks through a yawn.
“Good. You’re all here.” I point to them. They may not be my favorite people right now, but I need them. “Something…something has gone wrong.”
“What do you mean?” Taina whines as she wipes her eyes.
“I felt…I felt Kai. He…called out to me.”
“Huh?” Lisbeth asks, exchanging a confused look with Anika.
“Maybe he’s hurt or kidnapped or something. He told me…stop ash. I don’t know what that means, but…” I freeze and notice we’re short a member. “Where is Ashley?”
The ladies look around. Anika crosses her arms and says, “Probably sleeping, like we all should be right now.”
Fear creeps up my spine. My own coven member didn’t do anything to Kai…did she? I touch Taina’s shoulders and say, “I need you to see my future. Or Kai’s future. He’s out there, and he’s not well. Maybe warlocks found him, or he’s caught in the Other Side. But he needs help,myhelp. He’s calling to me.”
“Calling to you?” Lisbeth asks. “He ran away.”
“Yes, but in my dream, he…”
The ladies groan softly. “Oh, Seb, darling, it was just a dream,” Anika says. “He’s sad, and you’re guilty. We all are, but—”
“It’s not that!” I snap. “I know what I felt. He and I have a connection.” The ladies look equal parts confused and skeptical.I huff and point at Lisbeth. “Aren’t you the one who taught me that certain mages can traverse dreams and send subconscious messages?”
Lisbeth mulls it over, then sighs and shoves her hands into her robe pockets. “What do you suggest, honey?”
I turn to my best friend. “Divine my fate. Or Kai’s. We need to find the future of Kai and help him.”
Taina exchanges a concerned glance with Lisbeth, then crosses her arms. “Sorry, Seb. Even if I wanted to, I already divined you this moon cycle. And Kai, for that matter. I won’t be able to see your future for like thirty days.”
“Shit.” I bite my lip and recall his message. “What about Ashley? Have you doneheryet?”
