ONCE

2 - Help

"AERA!!!"

"WHAT HAPPENED" I yelled

I sprinted downstairs and ran to the library.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?" he screamed, backing himself up against the wall

"Horus, down! He's a friend"

"Relax," I tell Leo" It's my pet, Horus"

"A lion with WINGS IS YOUR PET?!"

"he's called a griffin thank you very much"

Horus started to become defensive and was ready to attack when I caught him.

"Shhhh. It's ok." I tell both of them before petting Horus to calm down.

"Give me your hand" I instruct Leo

"No way uh uh" he shook his head.

"Do I have to do everything myself?" I groan and grab Leo's hand making sure to have a good grip in case he tries to run

"Horus, this is Leo," I say while putting Leo's hand on his snout

Leo starts to calm down and Horus slowly starts licking his hand.

"See? He likes you and he's a cub! He can't eat you even if he tried."

Leo chuckled and started to pet him.

"Alright enough break time let's get back to work and horus stay here"

I start to run upstairs before I hear my phone go off.

Ok seriously? I don't think the world wants me to unbox my things today.

I head down again to the living room and grab my phone.

"Hello?" I say.

Nothing.

I speak again.

"Hello?"

"AERA!"

I hear a voice on the other side, almost muffled and yelling my name out.

"Who is this?" I question, slightly panicked.

When I don't hear any response, I hang up and immediately take out the sim card in my phone. I sigh in relief and collapse on the couch. If I had been on that call any longer, the people on the other side could have tapped into my phone.

Just as I was on the couch, Horus ran to me yelping.

"Horus? What's wrong...?"

He keeps yelping and starts barking as I hear a scream.

LEO!

I run to the library and see all the books out and Leo about to be sucked into one.

I dash over and lock the book up before Leo can be a part of the book.

"Explain, NOW!" I sternly say as Leo catches his breath.

"I was ... just going through..... the books ..... because... I wanted to sort them out..... On your shelves." he wheezed out between breaths

Fortunately for me, I can tell if someone's lying. Having an almost immortal magical woman for a mother has its perks.

I grab a spear that was nearby and hold it up to his throat. Can't trust him yet with my skills - I need to hide them for now.

"Ok nice try, tell me the truth now"

"Woah woah ok fine I saw the book in the corner of my eye and it had a cool seal so I was like 'Is that a limited edition book or something' and I ran over and opened it but I didn't know it was gonna eat me! Please don't hurt me" he said whimpering

I lowered the spear and started laughing. Leo just looked at me confused.

"Yes, it's a limited edition book. It's the only one of its kind, but that doesn't mean you get to open it up. There are a lot of things in here that could hurt you if you're not careful. Next time, ask me, ok?" I said ruffling his hair.

"Oh my god, would you look at the time!? It's 8:00 pm. My mom is gonna kill me if I don't get home. See you tomorrow!" Leo says running out the door.

"Bye!" I yell back

Wait. tomorrow? Ugh, but tomorrow is Tenebris Altare Diem! I'm gonna be in the basement all day! Ughhhhh.