“Mountain high and ocean deep, calm the pain and bring the sleep,” Lisbeth says.
“Mountain high and ocean deep, calm the pain and bring the sleep,” they chant in unison. In the blink of an eye, waves of purple and green energy flow from their palms. The energy blankets Loxley, and I’m in awe of their coordinated witchcraft. But more than that, I just want Loxley to be okay.
When his jaw unclenches and his brow relaxes, I feel my body relax too. Loxley falls asleep, and his hand leaves mine, flopping to his side. The moment I hear his soft snoozing, I let out a long, anguished breath.
“Thank you,” I say, wiping my eyes.
“Don’t thank us yet.” Lisbeth crosses her arms, and she looks all types of serious. “What are you doing in our house so early, Ruby Turtle?”
I gulp, and the immensity of it all catches up with me. Of course, my first hot date and sexual experience is tarnished with this occurring the morning after. So much for our relationship being private.
“Um…”
“Lisbeth,” Taina says. “I highly doubt Gordy did this to Loxley.”
She shoots Lisbeth a placating look, but the head witch continues to scrutinize me. I recall that she’s his aunt, his mentor. And now she knows we fucked.
My throat goes dry, and I can’t muster up an explanation. As my heart pounds in my ears, Taina steps forward and says, “Maybe we should call Seb and Kai. They have more power, remember?”
“And the Union of Mages has more books than us. Shall we call Luther and Taz?” the third woman asks in her posh British accent.
After a tense moment, Lisbeth relaxes. “Alright. Let’s call the gays.” Taina snickers, but Lisbeth points at me. “But if I find out you did anything to my nephew, I’m making turtle soup out of you.”
Her threat makes me laugh out of nervousness. Stepping out from behind the couch, I approach them. “I would never hurt Loxley. I only want good things for him.”
“He did just wake us all up in order to help the lad,” the taller witch says.
“Anika is right. Why would Gordy cause this?” Taina asks.
This seems to calm Lisbeth down, so she nods and sits.
“I’m gonna…go get dressed,” I mutter. With that, we split up, and hopefully someone can show up to get answers for Loxley.
***
“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Kai says, leaning forward. The arcana continues to fly into Loxley’s ears, but he appears to be enduring it better now. Loxley puts his hands back over his ears, and Kai frowns at us. “I apologize.”
“You’re doing your best,” Lisbeth says. It’s been almost an hour since I rudely awakened them all on a weekend. The three witches stand around Loxley and Kai. I’m happy my family-slash-roommate showed up, but they don’t seem to have answers.
Meanwhile, I’m sitting in the farthest chair from Loxley, all dressed, ready to leave at any moment. Why should I gather with them? I can’t help.
I’m supposed to be this destined mage of immense power, a shifter of legend, but I can’t even help the boy I like. What if I made his ears worse?
Loxley gazes at me with his ears covered. His brown eyes reach me through his glasses, directly into my soul. How can I help him? I ought to be there for my boyfriend, but I can’t help. Are we even boyfriends? We had a great time last night, but I don’t have the ability to take away his pain.
Before I can walk away, the doorbell rings. Taina promptly dashes to the foyer, and, a moment later, I hear a British voice say, “I come bearing books!”
We all glance at Taina returning, trailed by the blond dude I met at the barbecue. He’s dressed in fine clothes, and there’s an old book under his right arm. “Taz, thank you for coming,” Lisbeth says. “You have answers?”
“Yes. With all the information you sent, I cross-referenced several books at the library in the Union. I think I found out what’s going on. Where is the lad?”
Everyone moves to the side, and Loxley gazes up at Taz. Taz frowns, and I hold my breath. The dude in the suit gradually removes Loxley’s hands, and we watch as flickers of energy waves go into his ears. Loxley winces, but there appears to be less arcana flowing into him.
“Just as I thought,” Taz says. He opens the old tome and shows it to us. Everyone except Loxley gathers around the wizard. “He may be a type of witch lost to time. Not divination, not green, not protection, and more than just a historical witch.”
“What kind?” Lisbeth asks, and I can’t even breathe as I peer from above her shoulder. The book reveals an illustration of an old witch with arrows pointing to her ears.
Taz takes a deep breath and says, “He might be…an empath witch.”
