Chapter Four: Danger

Some days had passed since the first time Malachai, and I had met in the forests. It had become our little ritual - every night we spend our time together at the well, getting to know each other and slowly growing closer. But the days passed quickly and now the last night had come before my family, and I would go back Chicago, continuing our old lives like nothing had happened, and we had never been here. Like I hadn't met Malachai, who (even in this short amount of time) had become the best friend I ever had.

"To be honest, I wish I could stay here." I mumbled, pressing my body nearer to Malachai's. He had put an arm around me, holding me as close as possible while I rested my head casually on his shoulder.

Again, we were sitting at the well, listening to the sounds of the night and watching the stars above our heads. It was a starry night; not even one cloud covered the tiny lights or interrupted the little figures they were forming. In my eyes, it was a perfect night for our last meeting.

"Me too." He answered as he intertwined his fingers with mine.

Even though I didn't know him for long, I had realized a change in his behavior these past few days. His whole character seemed to have changed to a happier, lighter one. Nearly every time I was with him, I could see sparks in his eyes, hear his heartbeat and feel the warmth radiating off his body. And he changed me, too.

So for either of us, it would be painful to say goodbye, to never see the other again. But neither of us were willing to give up so easily.

"Maybe I have an idea." I suddenly revealed a thought that I'd been thinking about for the last two days. One day I had talked with Josette about my plans for the future. This year was my high school graduation, and it would only be a matter of time until I'd go to college. And since I hadn't decided where to go yet (or what to do) I could come back to Portland or maybe even attend the same college as Malachai and move in a dorm with him.

While I told him about my idea, his mood seemingly lit up, and a smile spread across his lips. He lightly hugged me after I'd finished until all of a sudden he let go of me, his expression now grave and kind of sad.

"There's a snag." He stated, his hands lightly shaking. Instead of looking at me he kept staring at a particular point on the ground, unable to even look me in the eye. Or to continue talking. I had to take both of his hands into mine to make him continue to talk. "My parents would never afford me going to college. You know what they think about me. I'm actually surprised they let me stay at school and didn't hold me prisoner at home."

Only now I realized how horrid his whole life up until now must've been. It had affected him more than he wanted to admit and it had shaped him to become the person he was, the person I knew and learned to like, to accept. But sometimes I could see something different shining through the person he was around me, a certain darkness and something else I which I didn't know what it was yet. Though I was sure one day, I'd find it out.

"Why don't you just try and ask? And if it doesn't work I'm confident that we can discover another way." I asserted overly enthusiastic - probably because I didn't want to accept a 'no' as an answer. Or maybe because it was the last hope I had.

"You know what, you're right. I'll try it." Malachai shrugged as he finally looked up again, piercing his eyes into mine. My heart skipped a beat seeing him like this, his face enlightened by the moonlight, his eyes even bluer than usual with the little sparks only I could ignite. At this moment it hit me that I had developed feelings for him that weren't just of friendly nature. I had started falling for him.

"I'm always right, Kai. Thought you'd know that by now." I interjected with a big grin on my face. Of course, I knew I was wrong; I just liked teasing him.

"Oh really? Cause I remember it had been your great idea to-" But before Malachai could say anything more I placed my hand over his mouth, silencing him this way. He rolled his eyes though he fulfilled my will and kept quiet. At least until I took my hand away because then, there was another thing he needed to get off his mind. "Sometimes you can be really annoying."

"Yeah, but that's one of the reasons you love me." I answered without thinking about what I was actually saying. One of the reasons you love me. That had definitely been an unfortunate choice of words, right? I had thought, hoped, Malachai wouldn't register it. However, everything seemed to indicate he did.

Slightly tilting his head, he looked at me from head to toe as if he was seeing me clear for the first time. Not making a move, not making a sound; he just kept staring at me as he reached out for my cheek, placing his hand on it like he had done so often lately. Out of reflex, I leaned into it, feeling the warmth it spread through my whole body. He started caressing my cheek with his thumb, locking eyes with me.

My heart felt like it was about to leap out of my chest, my breath got caught in my throat. With every fiber of my being, I wanted to pull Malachai closer, wanted to wrap my arms around him and have him all to myself, feel him closer than ever. My eyes darted from his stunning blue ones to his lips. These beautiful, plump lips. I wondered how they'd feel on mine, how they'd taste.

A lock of hair fell onto my face which Malachai quickly, gingerly, put behind my ear. This way his other hand found its place on my other cheek, too, and he was now cupping my face. I felt the heat rising in my cheeks - I was blushing. He smiled happily as soon as he noticed it.

"Love." He muttered so quietly it had been nearly unhearable for my ears. Leaning closer towards me our noses brushed against each other, slightly only, nevertheless, everything around us became blurry, unimportant. The only thing that mattered now was us, and nothing could interrupt us, bring us back to reality or destroy this moment.

When I felt his hot breath on my skin, I closed my eyes, hooked my arms around his neck again. We poised in this position, not sure about what to do next. We wanted to savor this moment for as long as possible, not sure if we'd ever get that close again. Not sure when the next time we'd even see each other would be.

My heart was beating rapidly, waiting in anticipation for the next move. Once neither of us could take it any longer, our lips met in a soft kiss. At first, they only touched lightly, more brushing against each other than actual kissing. But it deepened in an instant, our initial coyness fading away quickly before it was replaced by passion.

It felt like dozens of butterflies were flapping their wings inside my stomach, my heartbeat increased even more until it reached a dangerous pace. Forcefully yet not painfully, Malachai pushed me down slowly, so he was laying on top of me, our lips not letting go of each other. I tangled my fingers in his dark hair as he gently rubbed along my arm with one hand.

Only when we both needed air again, we let go of one another. Malachai propped himself up on his elbows, still laying on top of me, our faces just inches apart. With his palm he brushed against my cheek, a big smile visible on his face.

"Wow." I whispered, unable to comprehend what exactly had happened a few seconds ago. It had felt so right, yet so wrong since under normal circumstances we'd somehow still be considered strangers, but even in the short amount of time we've had together, we'd managed to creep into each other's heart. We'd become each other's most important person without realizing it.

"Yeah." Malachai just answered as he rolled off of me, so he was laying on his back on the forest ground. He wrapped his arms around me to pull me closer to him, my head resting on his chest. I felt his heartbeat, and his chest's lifting and lowering every time he breathed in or out. Absently, he stroked my hair, carefully removing any leaf that was tangled in it. "Now I don't want to let you go even more."

"Me neither." I replied, feeling utterly safe for the first time of my life. With Malachai by my side, nothing could happen to us; he'd always find a way out of every situation. I was sure that he would leave nothing undone if something would be happening to me. Just because of one, sweet, little kiss which had opened our eyes.

But maybe if we really could make it work to move in together after graduation we wouldn't be alone anymore. Never again. We would have each other, always and forever by our side.

The night had soon come to an end, our time to say goodbye had been there. The only flicker of hope we have had was that we would at least see each other one more time tomorrow. We just couldn't interact the way we could do it here. We would have to behave like strangers like we never got close to one another. One last time we had kissed, hugged, walked out of the forest hand in hand. An unspoken promise to stay in contact by calling or writing the other one had been made.

And so, on the next morning, as the sun rose above our heads again I had reached the last day of my stay here in Portland. My family and I were on the way to the Parker's home, ready to face Joshua for the last time until we'd be a bit safer again for the next months or years even.

Nervously, I played with the necklace around my neck. My magical resources were almost entirely depleted, but I didn't want to ask my parents to give me more since they had already done so much for me this whole week. I didn't want to bother them anymore. These last few hours I could survive on my own if I just rationed it good enough.

Mother and father seemed to notice my nervousness; they kept glancing at me the whole time as if I was about to freak out.

"It's only one more day, Callie. Everything will be alright." Father assured, smiling sympathetically at me. "And I think we all finally convinced Joshua that you're a real witch." He patted me on the shoulder before we stopped right in front of the door of the house we've been spending so much time in over this last few days.

I took a deep breath as father knocked on the door. Like always it was opened by Josette who instantly pulled me in for a hug. Meanwhile, my parents went straight towards the leader's office, leaving Josette and me alone. We took a step back, facing each other.

"Upstairs or kitchen?" Josette asked, by this time knowing I always come here without eating breakfast afore and was always hungry as soon as I'd arrived. A light chuckle escaped my mouth, giving her a simple, determined answer: "Kitchen."

So we walked towards the kitchen where Joey and Lena were already sitting at the table, eating pancakes, talking and giggling. As soon as they noticed us, they stood up and hugged me, too. Nearly every day I had come here now I'd seen both of them but almost never their other siblings - except Josette and Malachai and sometimes Olivia and Lucas if they wanted to play again (though I had met the others one day when all of the coven children were gathered in the garden after the adults needed the house for something. Whatever this had been...).

"Want some?" Lena asked, handing me an empty plate she just got out from one of the cupboards. I nodded, took a seat at the table and grabbed a chocolate chip pancake. I took a bite from it - it was delicious.

We were sitting and eating with me directly facing the hall in the hope of maybe catching a glimpse of Malachai. Even though it had been just a few hours ago we had last seen each other; I missed him already. I missed seeing his smile, hearing him talk and mostly the feeling in my stomach I got every time he was around.

But I was so engaged in thoughts I only secondary realized he indeed was there, staring wide-eyed at me from a distance. Something was clearly bothering him, thoughts running in his head, ideas popping up he quickly let go off again. What I didn't know at this moment is that he needed to tell me something important. Immediately. He just couldn't get to me unnoticed with his siblings and I sitting around the table. He needed to talk to me alone, but I didn't realize it. Unfortunately.

Malachai was about to make a move, as we stood up, walking directly into his direction. He acted fast as he ripped out a piece of paper, scribbled something on it. I watched him out of the corner of my eyes. How he hid in the shadows, trying so hard not to be seen by his younger siblings. Suddenly I felt his hand on my thigh, and he put the scribbled paper in the pocket of my jeans. I attempted to suppress a smile, not wanting to give the others any reason to ask questions. I just continued following them upstairs, heading with Josette into hers while Joey and Lena went into theirs.

We took our usual places on the chairs, facing each other. Neither of us was sure what to talk about since we had talked about that much by now we didn't have had any topics left. Being complete strangers before and then spending most days together definitely drained us of our conversational topics.

Meanwhile, as we were sitting in the quiet, I played with the paper inside my pocket, waiting for the right opportunity to pull it out and read it. But as long as Josette was here, looking at me, there was no possibility of doing so unnoticed.

Fortunately, the perfect opportunity came promptly when Josette decided to get the twins who wanted to see me again, play with us like we'd done the first day I had spent here. This was giving me enough time to read the note. In a scribbled words were two words only written.

Get out.

A mixture of shock and fear spread through my body after reading these words. Get out. I kept repeating it over and over in my head, trying to wrap my head around what he could possibly mean. I hadn't done anything wrong, had I? So why did he want me to go now? Maybe it was some kind of warning. Maybe he knew something I didn't, and it was this way of warning me, keeping me safe. Maybe Joshua found out what I was.

I felt the nervousness taking me over; my breath got caught in my throat. It felt like all the air in my lungs had just magically disappeared, making breathing nearly impossible. My hand reached for the pendant around my neck once more. Perhaps, the feeling of magic would calm me down. It always did. It helped me think clearly, organizing my thoughts.

But this time it didn't work.

Instead, I only became more nervous, wondering what took Josette so long. Do you really think she went out to get the twins? She's probably fetching her parents to lock you up, a faint voice in the back of my head said. I shook my head, silencing the voice.

No, that mustn't happen.

Malachai was right; I needed to get out of here. Now!

Quickly, I stood up, almost ran out of the room and into my freedom. I had just opened the door as I was sent flying back into the room, bouncing against the hard ground. Everything around me turned black as I passed out. The warning had come too late.

The next time I could open my eyes again, I was tied to a chair. Thick ropes hold my wrists and ankles in place, making it impossible for me to move. I was sitting there in the utter darkness, unable to see anything. I tried to hear something, to find out where I was and who else was here. But nothing. Everything kept quiet.

Although I was sure what was about to happen, I still clung to the slightest sliver of hope that maybe, perhaps I was wrong and Malachai indeed had gotten me out of there in time, bringing me to some place safe. It made no sense he wouldn't show himself though... and why would he turn off all the lights? Leave me all alone, tied to a chair without a chance to free myself?

No, no matter how I looked at it, how much I wished this was the truth, deep down I knew who was responsible for all of this. Joshua, Josette, the whole Gemini Coven. They had found out about my secret and wanted me and my family to pay for it now. They would exile us, send me away, locked up in a Prison World for eternity. Locked up there all by myself.

Desperation took over me, making it difficult to breathe, to think even. If I could just see where I was; if I could just move my hands. Or if I could still feel the magic inside of me which was all gone. All gone... suddenly it hit me that they had taken off my necklace. I couldn't feel the weight of it anymore, the cool pendant on my skin. They must've gotten it to prevent me from siphoning and using magic to harm them.

All of a sudden my eyes were burnt by a bright light, creating these annoying little spots that appeared every time I blinked or closed my eyes. They even stayed while keeping them open, making it hard to see properly. I wished back the darkness, realizing there had been a certain safety coming from it. At least I had been hidden somehow; now I was easy prey, visible for every single person standing in here. I was exposed, knew the worst was yet to come.

"Finally, you're awake. I was starting to think you'd never wake up and the spell just had been too powerful for you." A familiar male voice said, causing me to blink a few times until my eyes eventually got used to the light. Only then I could look around, perhaps even find out about my whereabouts.

I seemed to be in a basement based on its low ceiling, the dark and cold colors and the dim lights coming from a few candles which were spread all around. Goosebumps built on my arms; shivers rolled down my spine. I saw many different silhouettes of people hiding in the shadows, waiting for further instructions on what to do. The only one I could clearly make out was Joshua Parker, standing right in front of me with his meanwhile turned off flashlight in his hands. He had a wicked, sinister smile on my face that seemed to cool down the temperature in this room even more.

But what shocked me most was not the fact Joshua and seemingly the whole Gemini Coven were assembled down here, no, it was someone half hidden behind a pillar, tied to another chair just like me. Dark red blood dripped down from a fresh wound on his head, leaving a trail all over his face. He still seemed unconscious, his eyes were closed, and his chest lifted and lowered itself in irregular intervals.

My heartbeat fastened, everything inside of me wanted to scream.

"Kai!" I wanted to yell his name, wake him up this way, but what got out of my mouth was nothing more than a whisper. Trying to wiggle myself out of the tight ropes I wished to run to him, not caring about what anyone would think about it. Not caring about the consequences this action would cause. Not caring about the consequences that were already about to come. I just needed to know if he was alright and if he was going to be okay again.

Joshua's grin turned wider, making him seem eviler than before even. My reaction was what had given him the final proof he needed, the last evidence to confirm what he had already suspected. At least for this one thing, the other thing he must've already proven by inspecting my necklace. Why else would I wear an amulet with magic if it wasn't for me requiring it to perform magic?

"What have you done to him?" I asked, my voice faint nevertheless firm. I spoke through gritted teeth, felt the anger burning up inside of me. I didn't know where all my desperation and fear had suddenly gone, all I knew was that it had been replaced by strength and bravery - possibly it was the adrenaline rushing through my veins. Now I was ready to face whatever was going to happen.

"Nothing that hasn't been done before." He answered casually, taking a step closer towards me. He leaned down a bit until our faces were on the same level. The danger was emitting from him, but I held his gaze knowing that if I'd flinch it would give him the satisfaction of superiority. I didn't want to give him that. "You know, I have always known something was different about you. I had this strange feeling you and your family were hiding something from me, something you didn't want me to know. Well, but guess what - I know now. I know what you are and you and your family are going to pay for it."

I shifted my head's position, turned it from left to right, inspecting the crowd as far as I could until I'd see familiar silhouettes. They must be here, right? My parents would be here, Joshua couldn't have done something to them already, right? But no matter how hard I looked, they weren't here which could only mean...

"I've already taken care of your parents while you have been asleep."

No!

Something cold rushed through my veins, making me shiver and bringing back all of the desperation, washing away the bravery I had felt before completely. What had he done to them? Why weren't they here with everyone else? What had he done to them?

I felt tears burning in my eyes, only waiting to roll down my cheeks until they'd slowly drop down on the ground. Yet, I didn't want to give Joshua and everyone else in here the satisfaction of seeing they'd broken me only by this revelation. That they didn't even need to do anything to me, they just needed to tell me what they just did, and I would already be broken. I wanted to remain strong - as far as I could, at least. For my family. For Malachai. For myself and every person who was ever put in danger because of some stupid coven's opinions.

"If you would've been just another abomination like my son, I would've known what to do to you. But since you're in addition to that the only person who makes him happy your fate will be far worse. None of you deserves happiness. Not even the slightest bit of it." Joshua spat the last words out as if it was some kind of poison, before he turned around, facing the crowd of witches who were slowly, steadily moving closer, building a circle around Malachai and me.

My eyes fell on my friend, registering a slight movement of his hands. He was waking up! Meanwhile, Joshua had walked out of the way, joining the circle of Gemini Coven witches who were now grabbing each other's hands, preparing themselves for something. Come on, Kai, wake up, I begged in my mind, hoping he'd know a way how to get out of here, how to save us.

The witches around us started chanting, draining even the last sliver of hope out of me. We had lost. No one would come and rescue us anymore; we - I - would have to live with whatever was happening. Unless...

Malachai opened his eyes, instantly finding mine which were now filled with fear. They grew larger as he quickly glanced around until he found something shimmering laying on the ground, inches away only from where my feet were standing. Our only chance.

He motioned towards the thing with a slight, almost unnoticeable movement of his head that I probably would've missed if I hadn't been paying attention to him, concentrated just on him to shut out everything else around us.

"Siphon." He mouthed, answered the question that arose. My eyes widened, I tried hard to move my feet towards the shiny little object. I didn't really figure out what it was yet I knew reaching it was what I needed to do. Malachai seemed to be so sure about the fact it was filled with magic, but why would someone place it this near to me? Like someone wanted us to see it, to use it to get free. Someone wanted to help us.

I looked up to the chanting crowd for a split second, finding an unfamiliar, middle-aged, brunette woman staring at me. Did I imagine it or had she just winked at me, motioning slightly towards the thing? Could she be the one who had placed it there?

Using all of my strength, I reached out for it one last time. If only I could step on it (for all I care I needed one toe only), I would be able to siphon its magic and could use it to loosen the ropes, free Malachai and we could run away as far as we could, making sure never to be found again because we weren't able to fight our entire coven. Not here, not now. Probably never.

My breathing was heavy; I gritted my teeth as I attempted to move the whole chair. Otherwise, it would be impossible to get to the object. Our time was running out, the spell was nearly finished, and I still hadn't even budged an inch.

Tears were burning in my eyes as I realized I couldn't do anything. We lost - again. I looked up and caught Malachai still staring at me, his blue eyes piercing into me filled with the same mixture of anger and despondency I felt.

"I'm so sorry." I had mouthed towards him before all of a sudden every noise was gone, all the lights around us turned out, leaving us in utter darkness once again. Not knowing if this was what should be occurring or if something had gone wrong, I waited for something to happen. Anything. A voice, a sound, a feeling. But nothing happened.

At least until I heard a loud scream, not noticing it was actually my own that had escaped my mouth as soon as I felt a sharp pain in my head. It felt as if a knife was cutting my brain in half, removing essential parts of it, creating an irreparable damage. Feeling like I was on the verge of passing out again, I tightly grabbed the armrests, hoping the pain would soon subside. My screams turned even louder, tears uncontrollably flowed down my cheeks, dripping onto the ground, onto my clothes.

Images were flashing through my mind's eye. Pictures of me performing magic, of my parents, of the coven witches, of Malachai. They were only lasting for milliseconds - if even - until they went into oblivion; to always be forgotten and never be restored. Which, of course, I wasn't aware of at that moment.

The pain stopped as abruptly as it had started but I felt myself still flinching, still reliving it, feeling it weaken my mind and my body simultaneously. Something felt different than before; I just didn't know what it was.

I opened my eyes again, not remembering when exactly I had closed them, and found myself inside of a small, unfurnished room with only two windows and one closed wooden door. The walls were made out of wood too, just like the cold and hard ground I was laying on. Wherever I was, I had no memory of how I had gotten here. Or where exactly I was.

Quickly, I got used to the bright sunlight shining through the windows, and I brought myself into a sitting position, rubbing my eyes before I went on with rubbing my temple with two fingers in an attempt to release some of the aches.

Someone else's here, I thought when I heard a faint noise coming from behind me. Carefully, slowly, I turned around, preparing myself for the worst. What she hadn't expected was seeing a strange guy staring at me, watching me like a hunter watches its prey. Or at least that was how it felt for me at that time.

I was about to scream until a little voice inside my head to me not to. Though it didn't explain why I shouldn't do it, I had every right to do it.

"I'm so glad you're awake again, Callie." He beamed, a smile spreading across his lips as he moved closer towards me like he wanted to hug me. I stood up fast, taking a step back and stretching out one hand to keep him at distance. Whoever he was, I didn't want him to get any nearer to me nor touch me. Despite the fact he apparently knew me as he had just said my name, I had no idea who he was. But it seemed as if my rejection had hurt him, the smile fading away from his lips, replaced by a stern yet startled look.

I looked at him from head to toe, rummaging in my memories if there was a memory of us together. If I could remember him. His dark hair, his blue eyes, his lean body - just anything about him. But nothing clicked, to me he was a complete stranger. A stranger who must've locked me up in here. My heart started beating faster out of nervousness; I needed to get out of here.

Making my way past him, I got to the wooden door which (surprisingly) wasn't looked so I could just open it. Immediately I was hit by a cold breeze I hadn't expected. I was about to step out as I turned around one more time, questions still burning inside my head. Maybe I could at least get one answer before I'd always be in the dark about it. Because I knew for sure I wasn't going to go back here again or even see the stranger again. Even though it's said you always meet twice in life.

"Who are you? And how do you know me?"