Will of the Witch [Legacy, BK 2 - Completed]

Chapter 3.1

John

I woke early the next morning, mostly out of habit. It was strange that I found myself actually excited to get on the road. Even after last night, I felt calm, centered almost. Maybe a few errands in the city wouldn't be so bad.

As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I caught movement in the corner of my eye. Hunter was in the living room, packing a stack of clothes into his duffle. He glanced up at me, and I hesitated, trying to think of something to say.

"Ez mentioned you were going into town?" he asked, zipping his bag closed.

"Yeah." I felt awkward, and suddenly aware that I hadn't brushed my hair yet. I ran a hand through it, hopefully not making my bed-head worse. "I need to run a few errands. Did you need me to pick something up?"

Hunter slung the duffle straps over his shoulder and stepped closer. "Would you be able to give me a ride?"

"Uh, sure," I said. "Let me just grab the list."

I headed for the kitchen. Was Hunter running away? Did this even count as running away? We'd thrown some pretty heavy stuff at him yesterday. I stopped briefly to scribble a quick note to Ezra saying that Hunter and I left early, and to pick up the list he'd left on the counter. I left my note near the coffee pot and headed out to meet Hunter, .

"Did you tell Ezra that you'd planned on leaving this morning?" I asked, snatching Ezra's keys from the nail beside the door.

"Yeah," Hunter said. "I told him I'd wanted to at least pick up my car, and Dad's pretty much set on seeing me for lunch. I figured I could be back by late this afternoon."

"Ah." Relieved, I pulled the front door closed behind us and followed Hunter down the front steps of the house. I hadn't wanted him to leave for good without talking to Ezra first, but it sounded like they'd done plenty of that last night.

Ezra's beat up SUV started with a rough squeal. I made a mental note to tell him about it when I got back. I put the car in gear and drove out to the edge of Ezra's land, where the dirt driveway met the paved road. Parking, I left the engine running and undid my seatbelt.

"What's wrong?" Hunter asked

"Nothing," I said. "I just want to double-check something."

As much as I liked the idea of the day out in the city, we were leaving Ezra alone. I mean, I knew he had his demons and knew how to fight, but still. It didn't feel safe.

I got out of the car and knelt down in the dirt, stretching my hands through it. Reaching for my power was easy, and it responded to the wards I set up a few months ago when we'd first decided to stay at the Reinhardt's estate. I fed as much power as I dared into the spell, strengthening the work.

It was a fine line to walk. I wanted the wards to be strong enough to keep potential danger out, or to at least let us know if something powerful crossed onto the land. But if I made them too strong, too flashy, then they would just draw attention. And not the good kind.

Creating wards wasn't something I was good at. It was more attuned to a spirit witch or even an air witch. But for an earth witch like me, it was almost like telling a farmer from the south to carve an ice sculpture with a chainsaw. I'd done the best I could, taking the better part of a week to get them set up. But now it only took a mere minute to strengthen them.

When I stood, I found Hunter watching me intently.

"You did something, right?" he asked.

I nodded climbing back into the car. "I strengthened the protective spells on the house. I don't like the thought of leaving Ezra alone."

He looked at me sharply. "Why?"

I regretted the comment instantly and fumbled for another explanation that didn't involve witches or or the war, but I came up short.

"Is it because of the other witches?" He supplied.

"Yes." I pulled out onto the road. "Ezra is powerful, but he's only one person, and the witches nearly always have the upper hand when it comes to numbers."

"Was he telling me the truth, that I could really do what he does?"

I shrugged. "At the moment, he's the only one that can do what he does. But, if he says you can, I'd believe him."

The silence grew between us. Glancing at Hunter, I found him staring out the window. I reached over to turn the radio on but after surfing through the multiple stations of nothing but talk radio and religious services. I turned it off again.

"There's one thing I don't get," Hunter said, shifting in his seat. "Almost all the things I saw in my dream I've found: the house and Ezra. But I saw a bird, too. A raven. Does that mean anything, or was it just nonsense? I asked Ezra last night, but he didn't answer, just changed the subject."

"It's not nonsense. I think it's just still painful for him to talk about."

"Why, what happened?"

I could hear the concern in his voice. I glanced at him, before turning my eyes back to the road. "Ezra was raised by another Necromancer family, whose sigil is a raven. They had a familiar, a raven of course, that Ezra was very close to. He died a few months ago, protecting Ezra. I think Ezra blames himself for what happened."

In fact, I was pretty sure he did. But it didn't seem to matter that Avery or myself told him differently. Maybe it was a wound that only time could heal.

"That's terrible," Hunter commented.

"Yeah, it is."