Page 58 of Found in Obscurity

It haunted him, in this house full of memories that felt too close to home.

He only managed a light, fitful doze before he was up with the rising sun, reading and pacing and fretting again. He felt crazed and consumed by it.

If only he had a direction.

It seemed like he couldn’t see the forest for the trees right now though. No one had contacted him with any further information and he needed some clarity.

He sighed to himself, looking up at the disappearing moon making way for the reappearing sun.

If only Kit could speak to him without playing charades. If only there were an easy way to contact the human half of him. But mind spells were tricky and dangerous. They had all been told horror stories as kids, tales to make sure they were warned off even thinking about trying them. It was easy to cast your mind and lose it altogether. Spells like that weren’t distributed among the common masses. Only the most well-trained attempted it, and even then, sparingly.

So Lorin could only guess at what Kit would be trying to tell him if he asked him in this form, which also created its own problem. One wrong move on Lorin’s part, the wrong intention or understanding of what Kit was trying to convey could cause irrevocable damage or harm to both of them.

Intentions needed to be clear.

That was Witchcraft 101.

If only there was a way for them to speak.

His brain couldn’t leave the idea alone, even though it had caution tape wrapped all around it. Lorin looked back at his books with narrowed eyes.

He’d been jumping two steps ahead to try and find the solution immediately. The cause and effect. But maybe he just needed to concentrate on a way to contact Kit without it being dangerous. If Kit could convey some real information to him without any room for doubt, Lorin might be able to figure this out faster.

They had a solid connection linking them together, grounding them, and Kit’s mind was very obviously not just fox thoughts. If he could maybe follow along that link and communicate…

He sank on the floor, pulling his books closer. Kit slept on in front of him, unaware. Lorin turned the pages with a clearer goal in mind, lit up with possibilities, scanning the spells…

And then he found it. Tucked right at the back.

A meditation of sorts, a wandering of mind that skirted the edges of danger.

It was called Seeking.

Lorin had never heard of it before, but as he read, he realized witches in the past had created it for finding their familiars. Before the times of potentials, it had called to their other halves. It gave the witch a glimpse into the familiar’s mind. A chance to see what they saw for a brief moment, to identify where in the world they could be and if they were compatible.

It was recorded that it wasn’t often successful. Sustaining the spell was too taxing across such distances, and many a witch’s mind didn’t make it back. It drove many more insane.

It was slightly horrifying, and explained why he had never heard of it before, but it was here…in a book readily available to him or anyone who wanted to check it out. It couldn’t besobad.

Maybe Lorin could adjust the spell’s intention?

It was almost crazy to consider, but Lorin was hooked on the spell. After all, he already knew his familiar. He had the connection in place. There was no long road to travel, just an already lit and paved path.

How could he get lost?

Surely if he could just enter Kit’s mind for a minute, Kit could show him the answers he sought? It would be a matter of moments.

Heart pounding and mind overtaken by the idea, he took the book with him to his mother’s magic room, gathering the ingredients he needed with single-minded intent. Kit’s safety and well-being were paramount. Nothing could happen to him.

He brought everything he needed with him, slipping outside into the snow and chill.

The ritual could only be done outside, under the clear gaze of the moon that was slowly fading.

He didn’t have a lot of time left.

He stood for a moment, doubt and logic finally raising their heads. He’d barely come into his power. He’d certainly never cast a spell of this magnitude before. Did he really want a partly forbidden and mostly dangerous one to be his first?

A glance back at Kit’s innocent form through the glass door steeled his resolve.