I attempt to discern who’s lying in the bed. My pulse picks up, and I try not to jump to conclusions.
“Well, we’ve had two incidents. We’re not sure if they’re related,” Luther says.
“What happened?” I ask, trying to quell my panicked voice.
“Your coven claims that a magical threat has been testing their wards.” Luther crosses his arms and looks away. “Now, wizards don’t have protection witch skills, but we have to at least consider that it could be true.”
“Maybe it was like a raccoon or something?” I ask.
“That’s not how protection magic works,” Seb says.
“And even so, this is a bigger concern.” Luther points to the window. I don’t even hesitate to crowd the glass and gaze through, almost pushing Kai out of the way.
Squinting, I study the person sitting by the bed. The woman stands up, and she looks familiar. I take in the boy in the bed, and his face appears drained and sunken in.
But it’s not Loxley. It’s Declan.
“I’m not sure how familiar you are with the Smith family from Virginia, a family of witches,” Luther says.
“I don’t know them,” Kai says.
“Weren’t they in your cohort, Gordy?” Seb asks.
“Yes,” I whisper. My relief that it’s not Loxley is significant. The woman, Declan’s mom, sheds a tear, then straightens out the blanket. Guilt of being so relieved swells in my heart; clearly something has rendered this Declan dude ill. Even if I hated him, I don’t want bad things to happen to random people.
“His mother called us in desperate need,” Luther says.
“He’s injured?” Seb asks.
“Sort of. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before. All of our top wizards have determined that he’s been sapped of his magic, which has rendered him comatose.”
What? At his words, my breathing stops. I whip my head around to gaze at Luther. He can’t be serious, right?
“No way. He might just be…anemic or something,” Seb says in a panicked tone.
“Our nurse looked at him. All of his blood work and vital signs are normal,” Luther remarks.
“But his magic is gone,” Kai says. He touches his face and says, “A monster from the Other Side.”
“As far as we’ve tracked, there has been no Other Side activity in Virginia in recent weeks,” Luther says. The Union monitors breaches to the dark dimension filled with demonic beasts. I’m conflicted between being content that it’s not a monster, and concerned that they have no idea what caused this.
Kai nods. “Let me try to assist.” He and Seb quickly stride into the room. After having a serious discussion with Declan’s mom, the woman nods, and Kai gets closer. Luther and I watch as Kai infuses his signature green arcana into a comatose Declan. After five minutes, it’s clear this is a feckless endeavor.
“My only hope is we catch whoever or whatever is doing this,” Luther says without looking at me. “And hopefully they don’t try to sneak around Boysen House.”
My throat feels like sand, so I nod. Something is sapping magic, and they might have been lurking around Loxley’s house. Someone could be a threat to Loxley, the man I’ve gradually grown to need more than anyone else.
“And how are things at work?” I ask.
It’s the following weekend, and Loxley and I are chilling in the backyard of Boysen House as the sun goes down. It seems like every important beat of our relationship has taken place at this very yard. He and I have come so far in two months, and this location will always be special to us. Despite the changes?there’s apparently a chicken coop or something at the side of the house??this place still feels like a second home to me. I like visiting Boysen House, and when we chill here, my feelings for Loxley only grow stronger. Then again, there aren’t too many places I can go and let my turtle out.
My tail wags over the top of the lawn chair as I sit forward. Loxley looks so adorable in the late summer twilight. I want to enjoy our date night, but my latent fear gnaws at my chest.
“G-good,” he stammers. With a smile, he continues, “I don’t…have to talk to too many…” He nods slowly, and I catch his drift. At this point, I’ve learned how to fill in the blanks of his sentences. We continue to eat our hot dogs in silence, a simple fast food dinner we picked up on the way back here.
I’m happy that he’s content at work as well. I pray to the stars he’s safe, and that whatever is stealing magic won’t get to him at a public hospital.
“How are you?”
