“Oh, good morning,” they said. “I’m glad you’re finally awake. I’m Mel, short for Melas.”
The stranger stood, approaching Ena with their hand extended as if to shake. But Ena didn’t offer hers in return and didn’t intend to until she knew what the fuck was going on.
“Ty!” Ena called, but she knew their voices had already awoken him. She could hear him shuffling inside the tent, likely throwing on his boots.
Seconds later, he emerged, his hand on the knife at his belt as he sized up Mel. “Who the fuck are you?” he asked, not even trying to be polite the way Ena had.
“Oh wow, you do look like her,” Mel said, smiling widely and seeming extremely unconcerned about Ty’s menacing attitude.
“Look like who?” he asked, confusion and caution etched on his face.
“My bad. I get things out of order sometimes. Did I already tell you my name?” they asked, looking between Ena and Ty.
“Yes, your name is Mel, short for Melas. You just told me.” Now it was Ena’s turn to be confused. “Would you mind telling us what you are doing here in our campsite?”
“I was looking for you,” they said. “I Knew you would be here.”
“What? Why? How?” Ena’s mind spun with questions, she couldn’t get them out fast enough.
Turner and Cris had emerged from their tents at this point, too, and were standing next to Ena and Ty, forming a wall of witches and daemons as they questioned the newcomer.
“Sorry, let me back up,” Mel said, holding up their hands in apology. “My name is Mel. I’m a witch from Occidens. I came to find you because I saw that I already found you. And that you’ll need me for what’s to come.”
They were an Occidens witch? Oh no—did this mean the Coven already knew of their approach?
“What do you mean you saw that you already found us?” Turner asked, his brow so furrowed he looked like he already had a headache from all this.
“In one of my visions. I already mentioned that, I thought…or I guess not,” they said, grasping their chin in contemplation. “Either way, I’ll say it again. I have the Gift ofomen.”
“Omen? Wow,” Cris said, his brows jumping up. “So you’re a seer? That makes a lot of sense now.”
“Yes, good, I’m glad that makes sense to you,” Mel said, smiling and nodding.
“Wait a minute,” Ty interjected. “What did you mean we’ll need you for what’s to come? What do you know?”
Ty was right to be concerned—did this person somehow know about the amulet and what they planned? If so, did the rest of Occidens know already too?
They exchanged a look with Ty, raising their eyebrow at him. “I know a lot of things. You’ll have to be more specific,” they said. “But hurry up, in case another one comes.”
Now Ena’s eyebrows raised. What in the actual fuck was going on? In case anotherwhatcame? A vision? She’d heard of the Gift ofomen, but had never met a witch with it before. It was fairly rare, like Greya’svita, though not as rare as her ownvisanis. The last witch she’d heard of that had it was her own grandmother, her father’s mother, who was an Aquilo witch.
Ty sighed, clearly feeling rather frustrated himself. “What do you know about us and what we’re…doing?”
“Oh, that, okay. I know about the amulet and that you’re going to break the spell binding daemons to Iblis. I’ve seen that I will be a part of that, so that’s why I came to find you.”
Ty looked over at Ena again, both of them wide-eyed and unsure of what to do with that information.
“Mel, if you could just excuse us for a second,” Ena said, trying to sound kind and not completely overwhelmed like she was actually feeling.
Mel nodded and sat back down by the fire, continuing to poke it with the same stick they’d had before.
Ena turned to the others, jerking her head towards the woods, indicating they should follow her. Once they were reasonably out of earshot, the four of them stood in a circle to speak in hushed tones.
“Well, this was quite the surprise to wake up to,” Turner said, rubbing his face. “I don’t know whether to be relieved or suspicious.”
“Me neither,” said Ty, stroking his beard nervously. “Ena, can you use your Knowing on them? See if they’re being sincere?”
“I already did,” Ena admitted. From the second she found the person sitting there, she’d allowed her Knowing free rein to interpret their signs and intentions. “They didn’t seem to be lying, or to have intentions of harm, but their signs were confusing. Like…jumbled. As if they were reacting to things that hadn’t happened yet.”
