Witch Clans

Part 13

Lucy's eyes widened.

"What? They can't do that!"

"The Council upholds magical law. If they think my using magic, even with the intent of helping, endangers the secrecy of our world... they could want to keep others from doing the same thing. And the only way of ensuring that..."

"Is by being particularly harsh on you..." Lucy finished.

Katie nodded.

"What do your parents think?" Lucy inquired.

"... They're not sure either. They're off to the Council right now to try and figure out what they're planning on doing... they haven't so much as issued a warning, yet... so I have no clue."

A girl laughed loudly a few feet away. Lucy glared at her, as though she had been laughing at Katie's comment or her situation. She turned back to Katie.

"Have you talked to Luke?"

Katie looked up at Lucy, eyes wide and incredulous.

"Are you kidding? I'm terrified of running into him!"

"Well, then how are you going to figure out what he saw?"

Katie leaned back against the wall with a nervous sigh.

"I don't see how we can," she said. "Not without help, and I don't want to do that. It feels wrong to pry his mind like that."

Lucy didn't speak for a moment (which was rare, when you knew what a chatterbox she was), deep in thought.

"You want me to ask him about it?" she suggested.

"I appreciate the offer, Lucy, but I don't think that's a good idea. He knows you know me," Katie reminded. "If he did see me, he'll know you're just fishing for information."

Lucy groaned.

"Hm... valid point."

She touched her chin.

"Well, you said the street was packed, right?"

Katie raised a confused eyebrow.

"Yes..." she agreed slowly.

Lucy looked ahead, still pondering.

"And you were like fifty feet from him, right?"

"Give or take, I think so, yes," Katie agreed.

"Then, the chances that he saw you are slimmer than the chances that he didn't, right?"

"... I guess so..."

Before Lucy could go on, the bell rang.

"Keep me posted, won't you?" she asked.

"Sure," Katie nodded, forcing a smile. "I'll see you later, okay?"

And she hurried off before Lucy could see the anxiety in her face.

The rest of the day went by slowly. Katie did her best to concentrate on her classes to take her mind of the Council and what they might do to her - in fact a part of her was surprised they hadn't already come to grab her -, but try as she might, her mind always drifted back to it. It helped somewhat that Luke wasn't in any of her classes that afternoon. At long last, the bell rang the end of the day and Katie made her way outside to her car. As she stepped down the stone steps of the entrance, however, a voice called out her name.

"Katie, wait a minute!"

Katie froze, not needing to know whose voice it was to guess their identity. She slowly turned around as Luke came down the steps towards her.