Page 22 of Jade Lion and the Witch Boy
The old woman seated before me nods. The tray on the table between us holds a small bowl of liquid. Witchcraft is not my forte, but she is the strongest divination witch in Hong Kong, so I need to trust her process. I have no choice.
I pull back my long hair, then raise my left palm out. With my right hand, I shift one finger into a claw, then puncture my wrist. Blood drips down in the bowl, and we watch as the red liquid disperses.
I lean back and cover my wound with a cloth while the witch peers into the bowl. “You have many journeys ahead of you. As the Jade Lion, you will turn the tide of battles against chaos.”
“Yes, yes.” I nod impatiently. “But what of my mate?”
She squints her eyes and studies the bowl. After four long seconds, she sits back with a disappointed frown.
“I am sorry,” she says as I huff.
“Just tell me what you found.”
“You have a mate. Someone who will love you. A man, in fact.”
I wave my hand, beckoning her to continue. “I know I desire men. That is not new. Where is my mate?”
“He is far from here. You will find him.” Using her wooden cane for balance, she stands up. “But he will not be born for several decades.”
“Unbelievable,” I mutter with a frown. After I stand up, I adjust my silk shirt so the sleeves are back to their full length. “This is the same cryptic answer you gave me last full moon.”
“And it would seem I will give you that answer again next full moon.” The woman hobbles over to her small kitchen area. She lights the stove with a match, then places a black teapot on the fire. “Destiny is written.”
“But you told me the future is not permanent,” I say in a frustrated tone. I am aware how disrespectful I’m being, but anyone in my situation might be. “That it is mine to change.”
“The future can shift, yes.” She gazes up at me with her weary eyes. As an elder divination witch, she must have seen more than I can even imagine. “But you keep asking me the question, and the answer remains.”
I huff and look around. “Maybe I did not use enough blood. Here, try my other hand.” I begin to pull up my sleeve when she touches my hand.
“Child, please,” she says. She is certainly not my family, but considering how whiny I am, I understand why she is calling me that, despite being a twenty-six-year-old man. “Stop fighting this side of your fate. I have divined it, and the next full moon, it may stay the same or change. But your future is so much bigger than finding a man to lie with. You will help defeat evils in this world and the next. That is what you ought to focus on.”
My throat turns to sandpaper. I have known for years, even before I began coming to her, that I might fight dark forces in the magical world. But still, I need to find my love. I know I am desperate, but I have reason to be. She has no idea how badly my inner lion wants to find my fated mate.
She seems to sense the worry on my face and nods. “For the record, child, you will find this perfect man. Just not for one hundred years.”
I huff. “Great. I will find my fated mate when I’m too old to even enjoy him.” I stride out of her house like a petulant child. As annoyed as I may be, I know that during the next full moon, I will be willing to give her all of my blood simply to see if my future has changed.
(Now)
Seb’s body rises and falls as he softly breathes in bed. My senses are more attuned in my lion form, and the window is open several centimeters. His eyes are closed, and he’s wearing a white t-shirt under the blanket. I listen to his heartbeat from outside the house. I should have returned hours ago, and now the witches I live with are all asleep.
Including the handsome man I’m watching. I always pictured my fated mate to be a Chinese wizard, like the men I studied with back in my time. I could not have foreseen how globalization in the twentieth century would weave a tapestry of colors and ethnicities in all nations, especially here in America. I did not think I would end up in America at all.
And I certainly did not think I would fall for a witch.
But my inner lion yearns for him. And everything in me believes Seb to be my fated mate. But I was banished by who-knows-what for one hundred years, and I’m a mage out of time. Can my instincts be trusted? And better yet, can he ever grow to trust me? Our lives are so different.
Seb wakes up, pulling me out of my thoughts. He smiles, and I freeze. He approaches the window, then lifts it up. “Hey, you’re back.”
I bow and step forward. “Yes,” I reply in my deep tone. Gazing at my clawed hands, I remember that I’m currently in my lion form.
“Well, come in, come in, lost kitty.” He steps back, and I leap through the small opening. There is, fortunately, enough space in the room for me to land on all four of my feline paws.
“You can shift back to human. If you, uh, want to.”
I stand up, then gaze at him in the dark bedroom. Seb studies me with a mixture of nervousness and hope. As a human, I am somewhat taller than him, but in this form, I tower over him. “Does this shape not trouble you?”
“The lion?” He claps his hands together. “Nope.”
