Page 55 of Jade Lion and the Witch Boy
“Thank you,” I say.
“Let’s get to it,” Luther replies. He’s super confident and serious, a man of action, and I get why he’s an elite agent. He motions for us all to follow him. When we walk down another stairwell, we reach the red, mystical barrier. Luther motions for the other guards to stop fecklessly slamming the barrier with sorcery, and they stand down. “You can thank me by telling me what’s going on.”
“This must be the Boysen House coven I heard so much about.” One of the older wizards approaches me with a warm smile. “Real witches here at the Union.”
“And we’re proud of it,” Lisbeth says with a frown.
“We are the High Council,” the woman says.
` “And why have we all been summoned?” One member of the High Council points to the center of the room. “Who is that destroying our source?”
“Is that the legendary Jade Lion?” another member of the High Council asks.
“It’s not what it looks like!” I say.
Luther taps my shoulder. “Then care to explain? Because we’re in the middle of a crisis here.”
I bite my lip and exchange looks with the rest of my coven. “Kai is being…controlled. Manipulated.”
“By that witch over there?” Luther asks.
I wince and continue, “Yes.”
“I saw it in my vision. Ashley is controlling Kai,” Taina says. When the others look at her, she waves and says, “Hi. Taina Martinez. Divination Witch.”
“I sense blood magic,” the third member of the High Council says. “And the runic barrier is unique.”
“Ashley is a protection witch,” Anika says. “She’s our friend, but we’re committed to stopping her.”
“Because no one deserves to have their coven blown to bits,” Lisbeth says. “Not even you wizards.”
“And Kai is our friend,” I say in a pleading tone.
The High Council use the magical rocks in their hands to attempt to break the barrier, but to no avail.
Ashley, meanwhile, pays no attention to anything but the shards of geo arcanum falling to her feet. Kai continues to punch at the boulder, and my heart breaks seeing him act against his will. When I glance at Ashley again, I start to see red.
That human piece of garbage. If I get my hands on her, I’ll make sure she never casts a spell again by prying her fingers off.
“We will need to build our own magical circle,” the male High Council member says. “That might take time, but it is the only way.”
The three of them disappear, presumably to write their own runes around the building. Now it’s just the four of us. Plus Luther.
“We don’t have time for this.” Luther summons an energy whip and lashes at the barrier, but with no result. “It was worth a shot,” he mutters.
When I reach out and feel the red barrier, it’s like a solid glass wall. Lisbeth stands beside me, scrutinizing the construct. “She’s never done such a powerful barrier before.”
“That’s because she’s channeling Kai’s arcana,” I murmur. The others look at me, and I gulp. “Blood magic, right? To control the Jade Lion.”
“Then, how can we stop a blood magic hex augmented by the Jade Lion?” Taina asks.
“We can’t, not in time.” Lisbeth glances at Luther. “Unless there’s some wizardry trick I don’t know of.”
Luther looks away uncomfortably and frowns.
Hope rises in my chest. “There is a way, isn’t there?” I ask. “Luther, please.”
He sighs and says, “Yes.”
