A Witch's Way

Chapter 21

Lyra stood in front of a rusted, metal door. Colton stood beside her, talking quietly. Lyra brushed him away and knocked three times, stopped, then two more quick knocks.

The door clicked and opened, pulling Lyra and Colton inside. Serena glanced nervously at Stella and Ian, shifting closer to them.

This part of Lostrona already gave her the creeps, let alone going into a mysterious, shady building with an old, rusty metal door that only opened when you knocked a specific way.

It wasn't run down, but it was often in the shadows at all times of the day from the tall buildings surrounding the area. That made it chillier than the rest of the city and gave it a darker, more eerie feeling when she had to walk past it.

The door flung open again, and arms grabbed at Serena, Stella, and Ian, pulling them inside the dark room. Serena felt her heartbeat start to increase and she struggled, wincing as the light flicked on.

Inside was a large--and nicer than expected--room with a huge, oak table. A map of something laid on top of it and two light green couches laid against the left and right wall. It was surprisingly warm inside the room, and she hoped that it wasn't just because of the amount of people inside.

Not counting Serena, Stella, Ian, Lyra or Colton, there had to be at least ten or more people. Everyone looked at the newcomers, while Lyra and Colton blended in perfectly, shedding their cloaks and throwing them on the floor.

"Melanie?" Serena exclaimed, seeing a familiar, dyed redhead girl looking in from the kitchen.

"Serena? What are you doing out of the hospital already? How are your arms? Is your back okay? What about your hand?" she peppered Serena with questions, ignoring the people staring at her.

Serena laughed breathlessly. "It's okay, they're all okay. I promise. It's just some scars."

Lyra cleared her throat and more than half of the people trickled out of the room. Melanie stayed, along with a two twins and a brunette.

Lyra pointed to Melanie, who waved cheerfully. "As you all know, this is Melanie. She's our top Light Elemental in this group. We're thankful to have her here. There're others as well, but they're more for minor wounds. She takes cares of the large, life-threatening ones."

Melanie sat down and smiled. Lyra moved onto the next girl, the brunette. "This is Tawnee. She's a Dark Elemental user, but have no fear, she won't be using her shadow on you anytime soon," Lyra glared at Tawnee.

Tawnee in response shrugged, a small smirk on her face. "How was I supposed to know that it would freak him out that much?"

"You should know, as my apprentice, that you need to stop with playing tricks on people with your shadow. Sit down, Tawnee," Lyra snapped.

Tawnee rolled her eyes but sat down next to Melanie, picking at her nails.

Lyra puffed out an annoyed sigh before stretching a smile across her face. She pointed to the twins and said, "The female is Lillith, and the male is Garret. They're both Water Elemental users, but Lillith is Colton's apprentice," Lyra explained. Garrett, once Lyra was finished talking, broke off and sat next to Melanie.

"Also, hide your eyes. Once they're together, they can't be split apart," Lillith muttered, turning away from the sickly sweet couple. Lillith stuck out her hand and smiled. "Hey, I'm Lillith, but you can call me Lil. I've heard so much about you, from Jasper and Erik both."

"Jasper?" Serena said, eyes widening. "He's okay?"

Lillith nodded. "Of course. They won't hurt him, promise. I'm one of the people who has to guard him. Actually, he's been asking about you."