Page 3 of Jade Lion and the Witch Boy (Haunted Hearts: Season of the Witch #5)

“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.”

“Seb, if what you’re saying is true, he’s a beast from a cursed object. We should stay away from it. Aren’t you like…scared?”

I shake my head. “No.” I stand up, suddenly resolved. “Will you help me?”

“What?”

I take my best friend’s hand and say, “Help me cast a spell to, like…capture him. A…revelation spell! Something that can undo the curse, undo the chaos.” I squeeze her hand with both of mine. “Please, Ty.”

She frowns and seems to mull it over in her mind. “Well, you’ve never asked for a specific group spell before.” She nods. “All right. If Lisbeth and the others are down, let’s do this.”

I smile, and my soul feels lighter. I’m one step closer to finding the truth about my jade lion totem.

The following night, the five of us are drawing with chalk on the grass at the edge of the woods.

We have electric lanterns surrounding the perimeter so we can see what we’re doing.

It’s fortunate that no one hikes around these woods and that our mortal neighbors can’t see this part of our backyard.

I hope Ashley’s illusion spells are working, in case anyone passes by or gets nosy.

We can’t let regular folks see what we’re doing here.

And what we’re doing is huge. In the three plus years I’ve been in the Boysen House coven, we haven’t done a group spell of this scope.

Usually, we’re just fixing pipes or walls, summoning delicious meals, or making minor adjustments to our taxes.

But this is my first ever spell that I’m requesting, and it’s a huge one.

The stakes are high since we saw how ferocious this beast was.

One wrong move and he could maim us with his sharp claws.

“I still think this is a bad idea,” Anika says as she draws a complicated rune in the ground. The massive circle with a ten-foot radius is almost complete, with each of us writing on the perimeter.

“You didn’t see the creature,” I argue. “It’s…huge. And dripping with wild magic.”

“All the more reason we should just let it go,” Anika retorts.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Lisbeth says. She stares at her book as she slowly marches around the circle.

As the historical witch, she owns the tomes and knows them in and out.

If anyone in Virginia can direct this spell to make it a success, it’s Lisbeth.

“But it is dangerous. Make that triangle smaller, honey.” She points at Taina, who frowns and wipes away the chalk below her.

“Well, that’s why my amazing coven is here to help out.” I finish my rune and stand up. “Right?”

The others stand up and share looks of concern. “Why can’t we just stay safe and let that thing go?” Anika asks. She wipes her hands on a handkerchief and adds, “Life isn’t one big holiday for us magical folk. Why summon a literal monster?”

“Because if non-magical people spot it, they might come sniffing around here.” Lisbeth shuts her book with a clap. “And there goes the end of Boysen House.”

“We really shouldn’t allow a magical creature to romp around, for the good of mortals and mages,” Ashley adds. I smile at her, but she looks at me with concern. “But if that thing tries to hurt you, we’ll have no choice but to put it down.”

Taina approaches me. “I know that it was in your totem and you think it’s a person, but if things go sideways, we won’t compromise your safety, Seb.”

I nod and play with my fingers. They’re right, but I know what I saw, and what I felt. Someone is in there, and this is my one chance to find out who. “I get it. Thanks.”

Lisbeth waves her book around. “The runes are ready!” she sings in her shrill tone. “Places, everyone!”

Minutes later, the lanterns are off, and only the light of the stars shines down on me.

For reasons I still don’t know, my instinct is telling me that the monster is drawn to me.

So, here I stand, in the middle of the spell circle, hoping a ferocious, mystical shadow beast wants to come capture me.

The other witches are hidden in darkness, several yards away, in different directions.

Hopefully, my roommates are ready to back me up with group magic.

If shit goes down, things might get violent…

This might be the most ill-thought-out plan of all time, but I never claimed to be a smart witch boy.

Clad in my faux-leather coat, I raise my hands at my sides.

I need to recall that this monster is a threat, and as the witch who inadvertently brought it here, I need to neutralize it.

Deep down, I know he’s a cursed mage; he has to be.

I want to save him, not harm him. Cauldrons, I hope the others don’t have to put him down.

Or better yet, I hope they safely neutralize him if he tries to make lion chow out of me.

My arms get tired after a couple of minutes, so I put them down.

This is ridiculous. He’s not going to just crawl back to me.

My belief that the monster would show up is waning when I hear a slight tremor from the woods.

My pulse picks up when I make out movement in the trees.

Even though my eyes have adjusted to the darkness, it’s hard to tell what’s out there in the deep woods of Virginia.

When I hear another tremor, I let out a small gasp.

It’s here, I can feel it. My plan is working, for better or for worse, and that lion monster is getting closer. I look to my left and right as panic rises in my throat. My coven is here to back me up, but what if they can’t? What if I just fed myself to a shadow beast?