Page 4 of Jade Lion and the Witch Boy
I ought to be afraid. But deep down, all I want is to find him.
CHAPTER 2- SEB
“WATER, FIRE, EARTH, and air. Undo the damage, now repair.
Water, fire, earth, and air. Undo the damage, now repair.”
Our coven chants the words, and I summon group magic from deep inside. It’s been an awkward five minutes since the creature ran off, but now my housemates-slash-coven are awake and ready to help. Dressed in our pajamas, the five of us hold hands in my room. My left hand is raised out, while I link with Taina. She touches Lisbeth, who touches Ashley, who’s holding hands with Anika, whose hand is raised out at the hole in my wall. I feel that familiar thrum of magical energy under my skin. When the five of us are linked, we’re at our most powerful, and we’ve done repair spells before.
We keep chanting, and, as expected, the shards of glass float back to form my window. In moments, the wall and dresser look good as new. After putting down my hands, Taina and I share smiles. It always feels satisfying to make the house better.
“Alright, now we need to have a coven meeting,” Lisbeth says. She tightens her silky pink robe and pulls back her brown hair. “Because what the haunted heart was that, Seb?”
I frown—as the coven leader, Lisbeth can be a controlling worrywart. We all tolerate her demands because she’s knowledgeable and lets us live here rent-free. But this time, her agitation is warranted, because I have no idea what that was. What am I supposed to say?
“Can’t it wait until morning?” Anika whines. She massages her cheeks in her half-asleep state. “We already repaired Seb’s thing.”
“And it seems like that creature isn’t coming back right this moment,” Taina adds.
Ashley, the smallest and quietest of us, nods. “My wards are still up, but, um, I can make more. Preferably in the morning.”
“Yes, some of us need our beauty sleep,” Anika adds. She pats her curly brown hair down. “It takes work to look fabulous and be an expert at magical herbology.”
I touch the dresser where my totem is noticeably absent. “We can talk about it tomorrow. Everyone should, um…go to sleep,” I say.
Lisbeth frowns at all of us, but she knows when she’s beat. “I suppose some sleep will do us good.” She sighs and leads the others out of the room. “But you’ll forge us new protection wards?”
“Of course,” Ashley replies once they’re in the hallway. “But I’m going to need…”
The others talk, but Taina stays back with me. Her look of concern is understandable, and being the two youngest members of the coven, we oftentimes look out for each other. “You okay?” she asks.
“I think so.” I gaze out at the night sky through my now-repaired window. The stars twinkle, draping over the forest in the distance. The trees have been a boring backdrop since I moved here three years ago. But there’s comfort in boring.
Now a lion-type creature is running around out there. He was drenched in arcana and…he looked at me. He truly studied me in a way only a human could do.
“Will you be able to sleep?”
“Unsure,” I reply. I turn to Taina, my only confidante. “Ty, that thing…you saw it, right?”
“Yeah, it was like a monster.” She shrugs and steps closer to my window. “I thought those things were only legend. I would have called it a shadow trick if it hadn’t…you know…” She makes a whooshing noise to simulate an explosion, and I laugh softly.
I touch the window again. It’s absurd to long for the creature to come back, but I can’t deny that’s how I feel. Through some primal instinct, I need answers. “Have you read about anything like that?”
“No. All monsters in the old tomes look the same to me. But Lisbeth will know, since she’s our resident historical witch.” Taina touches the window. “Will you be safe here tonight? Should I ask Ashley for…”
“I think I’ll be safe.” I turn to her, her ochre skin glowing in the starlight. “Ty, that thing came from my jade lion souvenir from Hong Kong.”
“Really?” She frowns. “Should I check the key chain you got me?”
I shake my head. “No, this thing was different. A mysterious woman peddled it to me, but it like…called to me.” I shake my head. “And the beast that came from it wielded arcana.”
“Really?”
I nod. “I think that thing was part human, a mage of sorts.”
“Seriously? That big monster?”
“Call it ludicrous, but…his soul looked into mine.” I sit down on the bed and try to find my words. Wiping my face, I say, “I need to know his identity.”
