Chapter 7
The Message

Robin had surrounded the cottage with every protective rune she knew, but she felt as though what she feared was already inside.

Amon would not wake up. She had brought him to his bed. He had spoken a few delirious words that didn't seem to be directed at her before losing consciousness. His sleep, if it could be called that, was not restful. He would occasionally wince, twitch, or cry out. It was as if he were having a nightmare he couldn't wake himself from.

Robin sat by him. Remembering the previous night, she checked the mark on his shoulder, where he'd been struck by the Orbo bullet three weeks ago.

The skin was strangely pale around it. It looked like a white octopus spreading its tentacles beneath his skin away from the entrance wound.

"Amon…" she stroked his forehead and hair, hoping he would get some comfort from her touch. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me something was wrong?"

He didn't answer, of course, and she didn't know what else to do. For a moment, she felt like a child again, lost and helpless.

"But I'm not," she said to herself out loud. "I'm going to help you, Amon. But I can't do it by hiding here."

She went to the door, looked back once, and left.

When Robin stepped through the door of Crane Harbor, the tea shop was empty.

"Hello? Excuse me?"

Manharu entered from another room and smiled. "Robin, welcome back."

"I'm sorry to come to you, but I need help, and I didn't know where else to go. Amon is sick."

"Sick?"

"Manharu, you're a Witch, aren't you?"

She hesitated for only a second before saying, "Yes."

"What's your power?"

"Nothing impressive. I can manipulate water. I can create pure water from thin air, turn water into ice, boil water."

Nothing that would help her now, Robin thought.

"I think his sickness might have to do with witchcraft. Actually, with Witch Hunters. I need to get in touch with someone. Can you get me in touch with Master, with Yuji Kobari?"

"I can send him a message," Manharu said, looking concerned. "But not directly. It may take some time to hear back from him."

Robin nodded. It was better than nothing. She couldn't risk calling Karasuma without tipping off the STN that she was still alive, which could put Amon in greater danger.

Karasuma walked into Harry's and took a seat at the bar.

"Miss Karasuma," Yuji greeted her. "Thanks for coming."

"You said you have information on the location of a witch," she whispered.

"I do. Robin." He handed her a slip of paper with the GPS coordinates of the old cottage.

"This is where you put them?" she asked quietly. "You said it would be better that I didn't know."

"I got a message from Robin," Yuji said. "She says Amon is ill. He seems to be in some kind of coma. She says she believes it's caused by Orbo."

"Orbo?" Karasuma repeated.

Yuji nodded gravely. "She asks for your help if you can give it. She's afraid he's dying."

Amon dying? It was unbelievable. It had been three weeks since he'd been shot with Orbo. Why would it take so long for its effects to manifest?

The Factory had told them Orbo incapacitated Witches but left them unharmed, but the Factory had lied to them about a lot of things.

"Tell her I'll be there as soon as I can. Tomorrow. Tell her I'll be there tomorrow." That would give her time to come up with an excuse to disappear from the office, and see what she could find out about the effects of Orbo.

Yuji nodded. Karasuma could tell how worried he was.

"Don't worry. He's Amon; he'll pull through. And we'll do everything we can for him."

"I got a return message. Karasuma will come tomorrow."

Manharu's voice startled Robin, and she spilled some of the cold tea in the cup she'd been holding. She had been waiting in a back room of Crane Harbor.

"Tomorrow?" A look of despair crossed her face. In a moment, it gave way to one of resignation. "I suppose that's the best I could hope for. I just wish I knew what to do. I feel so helpless. I'm supposed to be such a powerful Witch, but I don't even know how to save my friend."

Manharu sat down next to her. "When my mother was killed by Hunters, it became my job to take care of my younger brother. I did the best I could, but then my own power awakened, and at first I couldn't control it. Water would just appear wherever I went, like my own private rainstorm. I was terrified I'd be discovered by Hunters and killed. I was told to go to an ancient Witch called Methuselah."

"Methuselah?"

"Yes. She helped me accept my power, and by accepting it as a part of myself and not trying to push it away, I gained control of it. Methuselah possessed knowledge of Witchcraft going back thousands of years, the knowledge of thousands of Witches. When she needed to access it, she would meditate, turn her thoughts inward. She had the knowledge, but not ready at any moment; it was hidden deep in her memories, like books in a library. It was called the Craft Arcanum. The rumor is, when she died, Methuselah passed that knowledge on to someone else. If you can find that Witch, I'm sure she could find a way to save Amon."

Did she know she was talking to that very Witch? Robin wondered.