Page 123 of Found in Obscurity

“But what…?”

“This is your job, Lorin,” his grandmother said. “People will be coming to you for answers.”

“How can it be my job when I have no clue what I’m doing?” he asked incredulously.

“You’ll figure it out along the way. We all did. You haven’t been doing too badly thus far, have you?” She walked over and gave him a push out the door. “Now get going. Kit and I will make lunch and then he’ll bring it to you.”

“But—”

“Go,” Kit said, draping his arms around Lorin’s shoulders. “I’ll see you later.”

“What if I’m terrible at this?” Lorin asked quietly, so only Kit would hear. “What if I can’t help anyone?”

Kit shook his head, raising his hands to cup Lorin’s cheeks and bring his face closer to his own. “Don’t talk about my amazing mate like that. He’s capable, and smart, and resourceful. He helped me so much. He helped everyone here. He can do anything he sets his mind to.”

“He sounds awesome,” Lorin said, his voice a little choked.

“I have great taste,” Kit said, hopping up on his toes to peck Lorin’s lips. “Now go.”

He pulled himself out of Lorin’s arms and boldly pushed him out of the house. Lorin turned to Stella, finding her beaming at him.

“You’ll do great,” she said, leading him out.

Lorin threw one last glance back at Kit and Kit smiled, feeling their connection burning in his chest—familiar and soulbond.

Lorin was a pathfinder. His powers belonged to the witch community. Kit knew that.

But he was also Kit’s mate. The core of him, his heart, belonged to Kit.

His witch.

His forever.

Lorin

“And this is gonna work?” the man asked for the millionth time, slightly bulbous eyes scrutinizing him. Lorin nodded, trying for patience and hoping he landed at least somewhere in the vicinity of it.

Some people just tested him.

Daily.

Most people did, in fact. Pathfinder or not, Lorin definitely preferred the company of just one particular person. His social battery ran low very quickly.

“Absolutely,” he said, yet again. They’d already gone through it several times. In detail. With graphics. And fine, Lorin’s drawing skills left a lot to be desired, but he didn’t think he was THAT bad. “The ritual is quite simple but it requires a lot of power, so make sure to include either multiple people or someone you know who’s very powerful.”

“Okay,” the man said finally, standing up.

Lorin jumped up after him eagerly, ushering him toward the door in a desperate attempt to wrap their meeting up before something else came to mind and he started asking more questions. The man was his last client of the day and he’d been in the pathfinder room with Lorin for at least two hours at this point. For an issue that wasn’t even that serious, he might add.

Lorin had found an answer in the first fifteen minutes. The rest of the time had been spent reassuring the man over and over again that yes, he had understood what to do correctly, yes Lorin was sure it would work, and yes (please no) he absolutely could come back should anything end up going wrong. The fifteen minutes after that had been spent reassuring him that nothing would go wrong after all.

It was maddening and Lorin was quite pleased to see his back as he shambled away, thanking Lorin profusely and making him feel only a little bit guilty for thinking unkind things about him for a bit there.

But he had extended his stay at work for over an hour, and he had every reason to want to go home.

He pushed the door closed and leaned against it, his hands pale against the dark wood. He caught sight of his marks, smiling genuinely at the sight of them covering over half of the exposed skin on his fingers now.

Runes. Symbols. Letters from languages both dead and still thriving. They ranged in meaning from those first ones that spoke of courage, hope, and spiritual growth as Lorin had looked for who he really was and wanted to be, all the way to the fresh ones, speaking of elements, spells, and rituals he had performed and participated in.