Don't Let Me Go

fourteen

"I'll count to three, come and find me. Behind the weeds I hide, under the earth I lay. Fly with the dust I may, ... ouch!" Declan hit me with a thick book before I could finish enchanting the hide and seek spell. I glared at him.

I was dead tired and hungry by the time we finished the third batch of liquid potion and second batch of something creamy. They told me their name and usage but at that state, I couldn't even remember my own name. So, when Grandma went to greet Diana who came to check on us, I planned to hide myself.

"You'll need stronger spell if you want to hide from her. She can find you easily with that children play." Declan stated the obvious. "Just focus on your task and stop trying anything funny." He warned me, pointing at the broken pots next to me.

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, I'm still a newbie."

"I think we need to get you a wand to help you focus in channeling your energy." Declan scratched his chin.

"Cool. Like in the Harry Potter?" I asked excitedly.

"Or maybe not." Declan shook his head and returned to his notes.

Maybe somewhere in the books I'd find a spell that will turn him into a frog.

In the last hours, during learning some new spells, I was almost falling from my chair twice and broke two ceramic pots due to wrongly channeling my focus, Grandma finally told me to stop when I couldn't feel my feet and faint bluish smokes came out of my hands. I was amazed, I dropped my jaw and left it on the floor. After that she only asked me to help her with harmless herbs recipes instead.

Grandma returned and told us to clean up and get refreshed a bit because we would have dinner with Diana and some other people from the village. Behind me, Declan also let out a long breath. I wasn't the only one extremely relieved then. Both of us dashed out of the lab in millisecond before she changed her mind.

Declan run to smoke somewhere and I decided to have a fresh air outside first before taking a shower. I was glad Grandma brought me clothes to change. My t-shirt and jeans had various dirty spots from the herbs that we processed and it smelled pretty awful.

I went outside and found the beauty of the full moon shining bright, illuminating the lawn and causing silvery reflection line around the object that it touched. It was mesmerizing.

The quiet surrounding was broken by soft voices and though eavesdropping was not right, I went closer to the source of the voices and thanks to the bright moonlight, I could see Dante standing next to Grandma's truck having a conversation with Declan. Perhaps because I was very hungry and dead tired, I didn't feel his presence at all.

Still wondering, I took a deep breath to inhale the fresh night air, leaning against the wall, then closed my eyes, concentrating to feel the warm comforting pull from Dante, which I had got used to. But there was nothing. Only their voices were getting clearer.

"She is a strong and smart girl, you know." I heard Declan said.

"Don't you think I know that?" Dante retorted. "You'd think I'm biased, but even before the fate linked us, I already knew that she's amazing." He added proudly.

I felt a tinge of bitterness. Who was she? Did they talk about Leah?

"Then talk to her, tell her." I could hear urgency in Declan words. "She's not Sophie. She qualifies for our damn world; you saw it with your own eyes. She saved our people twice already, even more than those trained fools. So, don't make the same mistake as I did." He softly sighed. There was a deep sadness in his voice, my heart hurt just by hearing it.

Sophie. It was the second time I heard the name. Who was Sophie? Who was she they were talking about? Was she Leah?

"I can't. For her sake, we can't tell her. I don't want her to be dragged into this mess." If Declan's voice was full of sadness, Dante's words just full of hidden frustration and anger. "Hell, if any, I think we need her more than she needs us. And it just feels wrong."