Page 25 of Jade Lion and the Witch Boy (Haunted Hearts: Season of the Witch #5)

MY LEGS DANGLE off of a cement dock as I gaze at boats floating by.

The words on the vessels don’t make sense to me.

That must be because they’re Chinese. I look around and recognize the towering buildings and forested hills surrounding me.

I’m back in Hong Kong, my solo vacation from weeks ago.

But how did I get here? And why do my muscles feel so calm?

I whip out my phone to check the time, but I can’t read the numbers on the clock. That’s not right. The last thing I remember is…

I pocket my phone and frown. I was lying in bed, crying myself to sleep, but now…ah, I get it. This is a dream.

My subconscious brought me back to my memory of Hong Kong because it reminds me of Kai.

I ruined what we had, and now he might not ever want to speak to me again.

I’m almost as guilty as the coven. All he wanted was someone to trust, and I blew it.

My heart breaks and my eyes prickle, even in the dream world.

I sigh and wipe my tears. There’s no point being sad in my subconscious. I stand up, ready to ride the waves of lucidity. Maybe I can summon a fun distraction? This is my dream, after all.

Before I can change my environment, the world around me goes dark. The sidewalk and the bay disappear until I’m standing in a dark void. An ache gnaws at my chest, different than any heartbreak I’ve ever known. My anxiety rises, and I hear a voice in the distance.

“Sebastian…Sebastian….” The whisper echoes and gets closer to me. I recognize that voice.

When I turn around, the darkness takes shape. Kai’s body manifests out of shadows, and he’s wearing the same outfit he wore when he left earlier this evening. Huh. I didn’t summon him…

“Sebastian.” His voice—it’s so raw and pained and real.

He’s actually calling out to me! That sounds like an absurd thought, but since I discovered witchcraft, all bets are off when it comes to the bounds of reality.

This is the real Kai, no doubt. But what’s he doing in my dream?

Why doesn’t he just approach me in real life?

I reach out to touch his arm, but startle when he bowls over. On his knees, he holds himself, clearly in agony.

“Kai? Kai what…what—”

“Sebastian…stop…Ash…” Kai’s words are cut off as he bursts into shadows. He groans, and his body is gone. Dark liquid emanates from where he once stood, and I can feel his pain. In seconds, I’m drowning in a river of distress. The shadows rise up to my neck. I take one last gulp of air, and then…

“AGH!” I sit up, gasping for air. I touch my shirt as I hyperventilate. Looking around, I recognize that I’m in bed. My shirt and pajama pants are dry, but my temples are sweaty. It felt so real. The pain is still in my chest.

I know that was Kai. He’s calling out to me, warning me. Something is hurting him, and he can’t come home. I leap out of bed, determined to rescue him. I know what I felt.

A few minutes of banging on doors later, Taina follows me into the hallway. “What?” she asks, wiping the sleep from her eyes. “What do you want, Seb? It’s late.”

“I need your help. I need your divination powers.” I pace back and forth, trying to wrap my mind around a strategy. Kai’s pain was so clear…

“Can’t it wait?” she asks through a yawn.

“No,” I reply firmly. “I saw…”

“What is going on?” Lisbeth asks, approaching us in the hallway.

Anika walks in from behind her, clad in her pink robe. “Can’t a witch get sleep in this coven?” she asks through a yawn.

“Good. You’re all here.” I point to them. They may not be my favorite people right now, but I need them. “Something…something has gone wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Taina whines as she wipes her eyes.

“I felt…I felt Kai. He…called out to me.”

“Huh?” Lisbeth asks, exchanging a confused look with Anika.

“Maybe he’s hurt or kidnapped or something. He told me…stop ash. I don’t know what that means, but…” I freeze and notice we’re short a member. “Where is Ashley?”

The ladies look around. Anika crosses her arms and says, “Probably sleeping, like we all should be right now.”

Fear creeps up my spine. My own coven member didn’t do anything to Kai…

did she? I touch Taina’s shoulders and say, “I need you to see my future. Or Kai’s future.

He’s out there, and he’s not well. Maybe warlocks found him, or he’s caught in the Other Side.

But he needs help, my help. He’s calling to me. ”

“Calling to you?” Lisbeth asks. “He ran away.”

“Yes, but in my dream, he…”

The ladies groan softly. “Oh, Seb, darling, it was just a dream,” Anika says. “He’s sad, and you’re guilty. We all are, but—”

“It’s not that!” I snap. “I know what I felt. He and I have a connection.” The ladies look equal parts confused and skeptical. I huff and point at Lisbeth. “Aren’t you the one who taught me that certain mages can traverse dreams and send subconscious messages?”

Lisbeth mulls it over, then sighs and shoves her hands into her robe pockets. “What do you suggest, honey?”

I turn to my best friend. “Divine my fate. Or Kai’s. We need to find the future of Kai and help him.”

Taina exchanges a concerned glance with Lisbeth, then crosses her arms. “Sorry, Seb. Even if I wanted to, I already divined you this moon cycle. And Kai, for that matter. I won’t be able to see your future for like thirty days.”

“Shit.” I bite my lip and recall his message. “What about Ashley? Have you done her yet?”

Taina’s eyebrows furrow. “Um, no.” She looks at Lisbeth, who turns to Anika.

“Go check Ashley’s room, please,” Lisbeth instructs. Anika rolls her eyes but walks away. Lisbeth looks at me and says, “You’re not seriously considering that one of our own—”

“I don’t know what to believe. He sounded so hurt, like someone was pulling his body apart.” I take a deep breath and cover my mouth, fighting the urge to sob. “I’ve never felt that much pain, that agony.”

Taina gives me a sympathetic smile, then touches my shoulder. “Hey, it’ll be alright.”

“If it will get us all to bed, we can try to see the future,” Lisbeth says. “But starting with little Ashley, really? She’s—”

“Not here,” Anika says. She’s striding back to us, holding a book in her hands. “But, um…there are several tomes scattered near her dresser. Books about…” Anika gulps and holds open a book. “Dark blood-based magic.”

The room goes silent, and the four of us exchange distressed looks. After a long pause, Lisbeth says, “This doesn’t…mean that she did anything.”

“Lisbeth,” I mutter, clenching my fists.

“But we should check just in case. Taina, could you—?”

“I’ll get hair from her comb,” Taina says.

“And I’ll fill the scrying bowl in the kitchen,” Anika adds.

I exchange a grateful look with Lisbeth, and we all go our separate ways.

Ten anxiety-filled minutes later, the four of us are dressed, seated at the kitchen table.

The proper candles are lit, and the scent of sage fills the air.

Taina stares down at the bowl, now with Ashley’s hair in it.

It’s no blood, but it will have to do. She has her nose almost to the water, studying what look like ripples of liquid to me.

I pray that her future sight doesn’t fail her now.

Anika, Lisbeth, and I silently exchange nervous glances as Taina does her thing.

Our presence should help her divine properly.

If this doesn’t work, then we’ll have no leads.

It’s hard to believe my roommate would dabble in dark magic.

Still, Kai most certainly said to stop Ash.

Maybe he’s been kidnapped by a different Ash?

“Ah!” Taina shouts, tossing her head back. In moments, I’m by her side. She’s gasping like she just swam a mile. I rub her back gently to let her recover, while Lisbeth and Anika look at her with alarm.

For the third time in weeks, Taina has seen a horrifying vision of the future. I don’t envy clairvoyance as a skill.

“Ty,” I say gently. “You’re okay. Come back to us.”

Taina catches her breath and nods. “Ashley…she’s…” Taina gulps. “She’s using solo magic to…control something huge. With fangs.”

“Kai?” I look at Lisbeth. “Kai’s lion form?”

Taina stares at the bowl in distress. “She keeps saying that she wants the power source…some sort of…physical rock.” She shakes her head and clamps her eyes shut, like it’s painful to speak. “She’s out to hurt people, I can feel it. So much rage…so much violence. How could Ashley do this?”

“If she’s going to take control of another, that’s dark magic, through and through,” Anika points out. “That’s an unforgivable sin for all mages. But she’s our friend, our Ashley. Would she really hurt people?”

“When is she going to do it?” Lisbeth asks.

Taina looks at all of us and wipes the tears from her eyes. “This…this isn’t a far premonition. It’s happening tonight.”