Running Red: Lost Moon

Chapter 21: Circles

Levi stood at the back screen door watching the trees sway in the winter breeze. The snow on the ground was a blinding white. He clutched at the mug of hot chocolate in his hands. His nightmares were getting out of hand lately and they would only get worse the more stressed he became. At least his homework wasn't as brutal since Christmas break was right around the corner. He took a small sip and sighed. Turning from the door, he headed for the basement and slowly took the stairs.

One good thing, he wasn't as wary of the basement like before.

He flipped the switch and took in the table that Sacha had set up for him last time he had been there. Sacha had caught Levi using a box as a makeshift table. The older man had constantly checked up on him after that point. Something about Levi reminded him of his younger sister. Cain thought it was amusing to watch, but Levi was ready to push Sacha out the door to get him out of his hair.

Levi sat in the chair and tugged another box closer. Pulling a journal out from the top he turned on the small reading lamp and snagged a notebook to make notes in. He started to skim through the pages. So far Levi had found out that Andrew's parents had been murdered for being nosy about something. Levi had made notes that he wanted to ask about should he ever meet his biological parents. Was his dad missing because he was poking around the cause of his parents' deaths? Or was it something else?

Levi had gotten to Andrew meeting up with the mysterious Tate that everyone talks about being his magic brother when a thought crossed his mind. Maybe he should try to reach out to this guy. There had to be a way that his dad did it? The officers did find his phone. The only problem was unlocking it, Levi didn't know the passcode. He drummed his fingers on the table. Levi quickly scribbled down a reminder to look for his dad's old phone. There had to be a way to unlock it.

Turning back to the journal in front of him, he lost himself again in the things his dad and this Tate guy managed to pull off. It kind of miffed him that Andrew managed to get away with half the things he did at the age of sixteen. If Levi tried them now he would get yelled at by his brother. He was so lost in the story about them helping figure out why a boarding school was losing students that he jumped when someone called out to him.

Looking up, he found Michael standing at the bottom of the steps. "Come on. I need to head to the library. I've been looking at the journal you gave me."

Since what happened last weekend, his brother had been studying the book Levi had found a lot more intently in between trying to get Levi to meditate. So far Levi can sit for five minutes without falling asleep. Those five minutes usually were spent trying to access his abilities with Michael walking him through the meditation. So far every time he tried, it felt like he would hit a wall that physically and mentally wore him out.

Levi frowned. "Why am I going with you to the library?"

Michael shrugged. "They have some books there, and I should show you how to use magic runes." He made an aborted motion with his hand before shoving it into his pocket. "You never know when you might need to break a circle. This way you learn in a safe controlled environment."

"At the library?"

"Yes and no."

Levi looked at the journal and rubbed his fingers over the book. "I guess." He marked his spot and stuffed his notebook inside the seat cushion on his chair. After Cain had explained what had happened to his dad's journals a while back, he wasn't taking any chances. He followed Michael up the stairs to find Aaron waiting for them. "Hey, Aaron."

"Hello, Levi. How was the reading?"

"Just found out dad was a runaway."

Michael looked at Levi, "Really?" The incredulous sound of his voice made Levi grin.