Page 21 of Jade Lion and the Witch Boy
“Wha…what the…?” Kevin mutters. I turn back to see my shitty ex-boyfriend with fear in his eyes. Kevin dashes off, but stops after two steps when several bricks fly, from left and right, in front of his face.
Kai takes three steps to stand in front of me, and one furry arm reaches out. Glowing emerald circles thrum around his clawed wrist. He waves his hand, and in an instant, the floating bricks bind Kevin, like a blanket made of clay, to the wall. Judging by the holes in both walls, I can tell that Kai transmuted the bricks to be malleable and float at his command.Such skilled magic…
“What is happening?” Kevin whimpers. In the dark, it’s hard to tell, but I believe Kevin has just soiled himself. I’m too stunned to say a word as the lion shifter steps closer to him.
“Tell me, Kevin,” Kai says. His voice is deep, raspy, and bestial, all at once. “You enjoy forcing fear in others. But what do you fear the most?”
“Wha…what?” His voice is strained, like he’s in tears. Meanwhile, I’m overwhelmed and speechless; I’m stunned that the most powerful mage I’ve ever met is using arcana out here in the alleyway behind my job.
“Be it lions…or snakes?” Kai waves his other arm, and more bricks move around Kevin. The clay shapes into cobras, and they hiss and move, just like real animals.
Kevin is trembling as the rock snakes slither in front of him, and I can’t even breathe at the awful sight. Except he’s the one being tortured, not me.
“Or how about scarabs?” Kai waves his left hand, and the snakes morph into at least a dozen bugs over his body.
“Oh god,” he whines, as the mystical insects go up his face and down his chest.
“Tell me what you really fear,” Kai says in his gravelly tone. He puts down one arm, and the bugs go back inside the wall. When Kai taps Kevin’s head, a small flare of green emanates from between his eyebrows.
“I…I’m afraid of being alone and forgotten.” Kevin spits up, sobbing and shivering. “I…I’m scared of emotional rejection. I don’t want anyone to forget me, so I string boys along. I know it’s not nice, but I’m afraid of being turned down.” He coughs, and the green glow on his face subsides.
When the Jade Lion puts his claws on Kevin’s face, I snap out of it before he can touch him again. “Kai, stop it.”
Kai turns to me, and I gaze at his angry bestial face in the glow of his own arcana. He’s majestic, powerful, all-mighty, and terrifying. Right now, he needs to dial it back. “Please, let him go.”
Kai doesn’t react, and Kevin looks like he’s half unconscious. I step forward and put my hand above Kai’s shoulder, but forbear from touching him. “I know he’s awful, but you shouldn’t use magic against mortals. Please let him go.”
After a long pause, Kai makes a circle in the air, and the clay dissipates from Kevin. He slumps down, and the bricks return into the walls. Before I can check up on him, Kevin wakes up and runs away.
As if sensing my concern, Kai says, “He will not remember this. I made sure of it.”
My shoulders sag in relief; we don’t need non-magical folks blabbing about magic. Kevin is gone, but my heart still thrums with adrenaline. The past twenty minutes have been the most stressful of my life. When I turn to Kai, I notice his demeanor still seems angry. He has pent-up rage, and I don’t know what to do about it.
“Kai, I’m okay.” I slowly step toward him and gaze up into his dark eyes. “I’m alright.” I put my hand up, but before I can touch him, he steps back.
Kai keels over and, on his knees, he roars upward. In the next moment, he’s sprinting forward on all fours. The Jade Lion leaps up several feet and lands on a fire escape, then leaps higher onto the roof. He bounds away, and in a moment, the beast man is gone.
I gaze up at the stars on this clear October night. Is someone going to witness the Jade Lion running around town? Did Kevin really forget this whole ordeal?
And most importantly, is Kai okay?
CHAPTER 9- KAI
CLOAKED IN THEdarkness of the night sky, I leap from treetop to treetop. When a branch breaks, I land with the grace of a cat. Fitting, considering I’m in my lion form. After sniffing the dirt, I continue to run on two legs, then get down on all four limbs when I pick up speed. My muscles stretch as I pounce on rocks and other trees in the heavy woods. Birds and other creatures scurry away; they are lucky that I do not hunt wildlife.
I claw my way up a tall tree and gaze up at the moon. Then, I howl without regard to any mortals who may be nearby. None of that matters: the lion inside me is thrilled to be able to roam freely. When I look down at my clawed hands, I flex them and channel magic into my wrists. Glowing green circles of arcana swirl around my arms, and I use them to propel myself upward. Above the trees, I recognize the Boysen House property a few miles away.
“Mate,” I grumble on instinct. I recall mere hours ago when Seb was attacked. I felt him being threatened through several walls in the coffee shop. That was what triggered my forced lion shift. Protecting was the only thing that mattered in that moment, and my lion is stronger and faster. I was seeing red—or green, in my case—and I needed to make his assailant suffer.
“Mate,” I repeat with a growl. My two arms burst with magic, and I propel myself forward, then descend back into the thick forest. I need to be with Seb. My lion has spent too much time roaming about, flexing his bestial muscles. I have to check in on my mate.
Why do I keep saying that in my head?
As I romp through the woods, a memory is unveiled in the back of my mind.
(Then)
The scent of tea and smoke fills the tiny den where I sit, cross-legged, at a low table. The room is dark, save for the six candles placed on various shelves around us. “Right here?” I ask in my native tongue.
