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

Chapter 13.2

John

"Dad!"

Hunter ran to his father as soon as we cleared the threshold of the portal. I stepped to the side and looked around while they hugged and spoke quietly. Benji had opened the portal right in the middle of the Orchid Hall, where I'd first met Hunter's dad.

The Arboretum was quieter than last time Hunter and I were here, which made sense being that it was the middle of the night. I glanced around, nervously looking for anything that might've been out of place, but everything seemed fine. Benji came through next to me and closed the portal.

"It is good to see you," Cameron said, turning to me. "I was afraid that your family wouldn't let you go once they got you back."

"They didn't want to, but I managed," I said, shaking his hand. I could feel the undercurrent of his power. Cameron frowned.

"Dad, this is Benji," Hunter said, taking the chance to introduce his father to Benji. I was glad for the distraction. They shook hands, and Benji stepped back.

"Who are we meeting again?" Benji asked.

"A group of Hedge Witches, like myself and John," Cameron said, as he led us down the hallway through the orchid exhibit and past his office door. "They left the main Coven of families, and they actively work towards stopping what the Coven is doing."

"I didn't realize there was a group like that," Benji said, glancing at me.

"Don't feel bad. I didn't know there were others like myself until I met Hunter's dad," I told him.

Cameron ushered us through a door and into a room that was more jungle and warmer than the other rooms of the Arboretum. The greenhouse was lit up from all different angles, spotlights set tastefully on different plants and the sculptures displayed among them.

"Only a small group came tonight, the few who wanted to meet you," Cameron said. The humidity and temperature here reminded me a lot of the Halfworld. It was almost as if we hadn't left.

As we rounded a corner, we came to a small courtyard in the center of the room. Above, the glass ceiling, coated with dew and humidity, reflected back the lights, making it bright enough to be mistaken for the middle of the day.

Three people waited for us there, two sitting on a bench, while the third paced anxiously nearby. One of the people sitting on the bench looked a little older than me. She had an undercut on the right with her long hair dyed bright pink as it hung down below her chin on the other side.

The guy she was sitting next to was older than Hunter and me but not quite as old as Benji and Cameron. In his early thirties, I would have guessed. He sat hunched over his hands, his forearms planted on his knees. He was less of a rebel, looking more like middle-management, an office worker in a polo and khakis.

But the third, the one pacing, bothered me. He wore jeans and a tight-fitting black t-shirt. Muscled and well-toned, he had dark hair closely trimmed to his head. He paused and looked at us.

"Oh, hell no! I knew this was a setup!"

The guy sitting on the bench stood. "You didn't say they were necromancers."

"Would you have come if I had?" Cameron asked simply.

The two men frowned, and the answer was obvious. But it was the girl who stood, pushing her way past them to stand between us.

"Probably not," she said honestly. "But since we're already here, I'm Rose." She motioned first to the guy in the polo, then the other. "These two are Kit and Gareth. I know Cameron, but who are the rest of you?"