Page 109 of Found in Obscurity

“There’s some nasty spellwork afoot,” Flora said, mouth tight. “Mindwork.”

Lorin gulped, holding Kit tighter to him and making sure not to look over his shoulder. “Definitely seem to have the right place then.”

Flora nodded. “It would appear so.”

“And we need to move before any spies in town notify the coven of our arrival. We’re hardly inconspicuous,” his grandma said, casting a suspicious eye around at the few people on the streets giving them sideways looks.

“What are you going to do?” Lorin asked them.

The elders exchanged looks.

“If the coven is in there, then that’s where we need to go,” Flora said. “There may be a way through.”

“Okay,” Lorin said. “We’ll stay with the cars and wait for you.”

“Lorin,” Kit said, already pulling toward the tree line again with the same fervency. “I have to show them.”

“You’ve already done enough,” Lorin said desperately, keeping hold of him to get him to stay. He ran a thumb over the dark hollows under his glowing eyes. “You haven’t eaten or slept properly in days. You said the spell is confusing you.”

“They might leave. I have to,” Kit said, gaze already turning inward again. “Otherwise it could be for nothing.”

Lorin swallowed hard, looking into the beautiful face that was already so different from the face he’d stared into in front of the fire after they’d broken the chains on him, when joy and freedom had made him glow and not a spell.

“HEY!”

They all turned sharply to face a teenager in a hooded top and mud-stained jeans across the street. It was hard to make out the details of his face from this far away, with his features cast in shadow, but he was definitely addressing them.

“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you.”

“Oh really?” Flora asked in a pleasant voice, stepping toward him. “Is there a reason why, perhaps?”

The teenager ran the back of his hand over his nose, backing away warily. “People go and don’t come out again. We need to warn people.”

“We?” she pressed.

The teenager cocked his head to the side like he was hearing something. Next to Lorin, Kit did the same thing and gasped.

The teenager ran off in the next instant, but Lorin didn’t pay attention, looking at Kit. “What did you hear?”

“Shifters are close,” Kit said in disbelief, blinking up at him. “What I was chasing before. It was the scent of another shifter! Not the coven!”

“Why would shifters be here when the coven close by are hunting them?” Alfred asked, stroking his beard.

“You heard him. To warn others,” his grandma said. “They may have found the coven before us. Those I’ve talked to in the communities said there have been whisperings. I didn’t realize they had gotten so far along with it.”

“It’s noble, but they’re in danger. Why did they not inform any witch community?” Nomi asked.

“I don’t think their faith in witches is at an all-time high right now,” Flora guessed.

“I can’t stay still,” Kit said, breaking into the discussion, restless on his feet with sweat beading at his temples. “I need to move. It’s pulling me.”

“We need to figure out a safe passage through,” Nomi said. “We have no time to research it.”

“Kit…do you feel like you need to be turned away when you look at the woods?” Alfred asked suddenly. “You didn’t appear to be as affected when we called you. In fact, you looked like you wanted to go back there.”

Kit shook his head raggedly. “I just feel the pull of the spell. Nothing else.”

“It might be aimed at witches only,” his grandma mused. “Or the spell supersedes it.”