Crossed Spells

Chapter 11: The Awakening of the Familiars (Part 2)

The next afternoon, Lucas felt his heart pounding as he headed towards the clearing. The anticipation of what was to come, mixed with a hint of apprehension, made him almost vibrate with energy. He arrived first, sitting on the old fallen tree trunk to wait for Aria.

A few minutes later, Aria emerged from the trees, her hair shining like gold in the setting sun. She paused for a moment at the edge of the clearing, her eyes scanning the surroundings before settling on Lucas.

"Hey," she said softly as she approached.

"Hey," Lucas replied with a nervous smile. "Ready to play apprentice witches?"

Aria laughed despite herself, the tension in her shoulders relaxing slightly. "I guess so. Where do we start?"

Lucas stood up, thinking. "Maybe we could start with something simple. You know, just to see how our powers interact."

Aria nodded. "Okay. What do you suggest?"

"Well," said Lucas, extending his hand, palm up, "how about trying to combine our powers? I'll create a small shadow in my hand, and you could try to add a bit of your light to it."

Aria hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Sounds like a good start to me."

Lucas concentrated, and soon, a small ball of shadow appeared above his palm, gently swirling. Aria approached, fascinated by the manifestation of Lucas's power. She extended her own hand, placing it just above Lucas's.

Taking a deep breath, she let her power rise within her. A soft glow began to emanate from her palm, slowly descending towards the shadow created by Lucas. The moment the light touched the shadow, something unexpected happened.

Instead of the harmonious fusion they were hoping for, a violent shock wave exploded between their hands. The force of the impact propelled them backward, sending them both rolling on the ground of the clearing.

Lucas landed hard on his back, the wind knocked out of him. It took him a few seconds to regain his senses and prop himself up on his elbows. "Aria!" he called out, worried. "Are you okay?"

A few meters away, Aria was slowly getting up, shaking her head to clear her vision. "I... I think so," she replied, her voice slightly shaky. "What happened?"

Lucas got up carefully and approached Aria to help her to her feet. "I have no idea. That wasn't at all what I was expecting."

They looked at each other, a mixture of shock and confusion in their eyes. The experience had been both frightening and strangely exhilarating.

"Maybe we should try again?" Aria suggested after a moment, a glimmer of determination in her gaze.

Lucas hesitated. "I don't know if that's a good idea. We don't know what could happen."

But before they could discuss further, a sudden noise caught their attention. They froze, peering into the trees around them.

"Did you hear that?" Aria whispered, her heart racing.

Lucas nodded, his eyes scanning the clearing. "It came from over there," he said, pointing towards a particularly dense grove of trees.

They approached cautiously, all their senses on alert. As they reached the edge of the trees, a new flash of light caught their attention. But this time, it wasn't coming from Aria.

The light seemed to be emanating from Aria's earphones, which were hanging from her pocket. At the same moment, Lucas felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, a strange sensation that felt nothing like a normal notification.

Before they could react, the light from Aria's earphones suddenly intensified, forming a sort of luminous mist that floated in front of them. In parallel, a dense shadow seemed to escape from Lucas's phone, stretching and twisting.