Wolf & Witch

Chapter 4

Although divination was a skill that relied heavily on recognition and interpretation, which could often be challenging, it was something Sean had always been fascinated by.

He wasn't so much a fan of using it to predict romantic outcomes, like Anna. But after what had happened to Trevor, he'd always wondered if he could have prevented it, had he only been better at divination and received some kind of clue at the time. He had to be careful though. More on more than one occasion that line of thinking had become poisonous, opening the door for more guilt to slip in and slowly gnaw at what was left of him.

After placing the candle on top of the cloth and lighting it, he got up briefly to switch off the light on his ceiling fan, then returned to a seated position next to it. He took a few slow meditative breaths, focusing on the cool surface of the obsidian in his right hand as he stared at the wall behind his bed.

"Anything yet?" Trevor asked just as Sean had parted his lips to begin the chant necessary for this method. His unanticipated interruption drew a laugh out of Sean, who gave Trevor an exasperated look.

"Oh yeah, I see my bedroom, my obnoxious friend," Sean teased before regaining his composure.

"Wow, it worked! I'm in your room!"

With that, Sean's second attempt to begin was also thwarted by their laughter.

Once they'd both simmered down, the third try proved to be the charm, since Trevor had so graciously elected to remain quiet.

"Mother moon, father skies, lend me your gift to see..."

Nothing.

He repeated it four more times before he noticed his vision was beginning to get fuzzy. He continued to repeat the chant quietly as his dark room blurred further. Sean couldn't help blinking instinctively in an attempt to clear his sight, though it was unsuccessful.

Trevor watched as Sean's warm, hazel eyes began looking as if they had a greyish film over them. Muted, the way the haze coming off a lake softened and discolored everything around it. The chant was working.

Sean fell quiet, then his head slowly tilted upwards. Trevor moved closer, following Sean's gaze to the ceiling. The cat studied the way the light from the candle played with the shadows on the textured surface before looking back to the teen.

"What are you looking at?" Trevor questioned cautiously.

"The moon," Sean replied, though his response seemed a little sluggish.

The witch was stunned. The clarity of the pale moon glowing above the tops of the trees, crowning them in its light, was breathtaking. In fact, the trees themselves, their leaves, the dirt, and foliage beneath him... All of it was so clear that before he'd heard Trevor's voice, he'd been concerned for the briefest moment that he really was outside.

"See anything else?" Trevor whispered, his whiskers pointed forward with curiosity.

Sean didn't reply.

It had never been like this before. All of the other times he'd done this, the things he saw had always come in quick, sometimes unfocused flashes—like someone dialing through the stations on a fuzzy radio, only with pictures. There was never any sound.

"Sean?" Trevor questioned a little louder. His voice sounded distant.

"It's like I'm in the woods," Sean replied just above a whisper.

"That's pretty vague...Can you tell where?"

"I don't see any roads or buildings..." He'd never had a vision this vivid or focused on one image or even one place before. Ever. And it was honestly starting to get a little unnerving. Maybe the universe was trying to tell him something.