Violet Dawn

Chapter 2: Witches?

Anna came home in the late afternoon, announcing her arrival by loudly slamming the front door behind her. "Mom!" she shouted, violently kicking her shoes off her feet before walking (or rather; stomping) to the kitchen, the old floor creaking beneath her.

I winced, my concentration lost and consciousness pulled back into my body without my permission. After arriving to a new place, I always tried to learn as much about my surroundings as possible, and astral projection was the best way to go about it. Usually. Mostly. I couldn't deny there was a few seatbacks to it, namely that all my efforts tended to go down the drain the moment my focus was disrupted. Doing it around loud individuals was certainly a no-no.

I shook my head as sensation returned to my limbs, slowly exhaling through my nose. I hated this part. The feeling was similar to a bucket of icy cold water spilling over my head. "Have you seen my earbuds?" I asked Azalea. She didn't react for a moment, too focused on her book, and then she sighed, putting the book down. The cover said 'Ana Karenina', but I wasn't stupid enough to buy it. She was definitely looking at one of her light magic books, probably considering what spell she should try next. I hoped it was going to be something easy. She had tried to make a good luck charm last time, and the whole house had smelled like dirty socks for weeks after it.

She opened the topmost drawer on the desk, fished out my earbuds, and threw them at me before sitting down again. "Thanks." I said as I caught them, and she grumbled something indecipherable in reply. She never put up a fight when I used astral projection, knowing as well as I did that it was important to map out our perimeter for when we would unavoidably have to run again.

I crossed my legs, straightened my back, and slowly inhaled through my nose as I pushed my consciousness out of my body and into the air. While I could never properly describe the feeling of not being tied down by my physical form, I could say for sure that I found it freeing and daunting at the same time. Freeing because my options seemed limitless, and daunting because there was nothing tethering me to the earth anymore. It felt like it would be too easy to disappear, to become one with the air around me...

It was always surreal to see myself from a third person's perspective, so I never lingered around my body for long. I didn't now either, levitating through the nearest wall and down the hallway. Anna and Sofia were in the kitchen, Anna siting on the counter with a scowl on her face. "We don't have room for them." she said. "You promised I could turn the study into a studio. I can't set my easel up in my room. There's not enough space!"

Sofia sighed. "I know sweetheart." she said. "But it's only for a year."

This was... not particularly surprising. From the moment I had used the memory spell on her, I had suspected Anna wouldn't be throwing us a welcoming party anytime soon. She and her opinion of us wasn't what was important right now though - James and his resistance to my magic were the bigger problem. I could have strengthened the spell on him, but... I needed to know if he was purely human or there were other, magical, genes present as well. Humans could only take so much magic before their organs shut down and their bodies crumbled, and I wasn't big on killing defenseless creatures. Not if I didn't absolutely have to for the sake of my and my sister's survival.

Talking about James... he was in his room, playing a game on his computer. Nothing much to see there.

Time to check the other two apartments then.

I levitated towards the wall connecting Sofia's apartment to her neighbors', having every intention to slip through. Unfortunately, something stopped me, a wave of crackling energy pushing me back. I tried again, more carefully this time, but I still couldn't get through. Huh... A magical barrier. And a pretty powerful one at that. It didn't necessary mean anything. The house was old, and with old houses there was always a possibility that it had been occupied by a witch in the past. Protective magic was made to last, so its expiration date usually wasn't until a few centuries after its casting. But... it could also mean that there was an actual witch living there right now. Highly unlikely, but...