The Boy Witch

3: Moving with Complications p. 1

"Northern Castiel Nightfall!" Morrigan hissed angrily. The black cat glares down at me from her perch, her hanging tail wagging irritatedly. I internally groan. Whenever Morrigan uses my full name, I know I'm in trouble. "You know better than to go perform magic on another far away corner! You don't know what other supernaturals are in that territory!"

"Yeah, I know," I say dismissively. I plop down into the old lounge chair in my apartment. "But I kinda had no choice, Morrigan; my job at the cafe didn't pay me enough today. I have to pay the landlord something." She lets out a resigned sigh as she jumps down from her perch. She knew as well as I did that being practically invisible to the federal government made things hard for me. Though I was registered as a citizen, having an undetermined date of birth can slip things in such as a driver's license.

"Well, guess what, kid? Now we'll be moving again!" She said sarcastically. I internally sigh as I began a mental list of the things I needed to pack. "It is mostly me that's putting in the effort, you know," I mumble under my breath. This was always our routine; go to a new place, stay for three months or so, meet some nasty Residents, move, and repeat. I frown as I pick up my laptop from the coffee table and turn it on.

Opening a web browser, I began to look for some small towns with temporary housing. Right now we were in New York, not my ideal place. It doesn't matter where I go, as long as I don't return to any of the places I've settled in before. Morrigan hops up onto the armrest of my chair and looks at the laptop with interest.

A website advertising towns in Colorado caught my eye. "Colorado sounds nice..." I mumble. Morrigan flicks her gaze to me for a moment before returning to the computer. I click on the link and up comes quite a few secluded towns covered in forests. They were all in the mountains, a place I've always wanted to live in. Then a single town catches my eye. Wintervale.

Opening another web browser, I type in the name of the town. Nothing much comes up except for the town's local webpage. It was a quaint community and I figure that since it's so secluded there won't be many Residents around, maybe even none. "Aha," I say triumphantly. There was a small house for rent on the edge of town. It was pretty cheap, and was within my range.

"This is it, Morrigan." I stood up and took long strides to my room. I began to pack what little stuff I had, including clothes and personal belongings. "We might be able to settle down. Permanently." She lazily jumps down from the armrest and walks into my room, jumping up onto the bed to observe my packing. "Really?" She says skeptically. She raises a paw and extends the claws for inspection. "What makes you think this town- Wintervale, I think- is any different than the other places we've been to?"

My hands still as they grip a faded blue shirt. What made me think this town was any different, anyway? I search my mind for a logical explanation, but find no such thing. I shake my head and resume my fluent packing, stuffing belongings into two suitcases and a backpack and leaving out a small empty box for kitchen utensils. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that town has a house we can rent for a while. If there are Residents, then good for us they don't know about me."

I close one suitcase closed with a huff, pressing down on the lid to zip it shut. Morrigan continues to inspect her sharp claws, paying me no interest. I carelessly brush the black cat off the bed for more room, and she jumps off the bed with an annoyed hiss. "Like you said, Morrigan," I said, giving her a sideways glance, "we have to leave. As soon as possible."

About an hour later the sky was completely dark, the clock reading about seven at night. It was getting colder, being around mid October. I finished up my packing, and set it all beside the door. I sat at the small kitchen counter, pen in hand as I wrote out a note for the landlord. He would be coming in a few days for rent, and I knew that he wasn't afraid to use his master key to get into the apartment. He was a piggish man, to say the least. Very greedy with his money.

I sign my name at the bottom of the note and place it next to a yellow envelope I had filled with this month's rent money. I knew his habits too well; the landlord would let himself in, get the cash, and leave. He might even search the place for anything I left behind if he's in a good mood.

I stand up and sling my backpack over my shoulder. Morrigan sat on the suitcases, looking anything but interested as I walk through the house and check one more time for things I might've forgotten. The tiny kitchen and its cabinets turn up clean, the closet and bathroom spotless. It was almost like no one lived here for five months to begin with.

I pick up my belongings and open the door. It took me a moment to set the suitcases outside in the hallway before I turn around and lock the door, stowing the key underneath the old welcome mat. The landlord will know where to look.

I walk out into the underground garage and find my small, steel gray car with Morrigan lounging lazily on my shoulder. I pop the hood and set my belongings inside. Just as I closed the hood, a voice from behind startles me. "Going somewhere?"

I turn quickly, my hands raised just in case I have to use magic. The man raised his hands in surrender. "Whoa, whoa! I don't mean harm!" I study him for a moment before I recognize him completely. The young man in front of me was non other than the young brown-haired vampire.

He flashed me a nervous smile at my expression, long canines poking out of his mouth. "Your that vampire from before," I state harshly. I glance around ourselves, not letting my hands down. "Where's your leader, Varian?" I spoke with venom at the vampire.

He flinched slightly, before speaking carefully. "I came alone. Varian doesn't know I'm here." Morrigan hopped down from my shoulder and began to carefully circle the boy, leaving a wide girth in case. "Now why would a lowly vampire such as yourself disobey your covenant leader's orders?" She purred, watching him with icy blue eyes.

He shifts nervously on his feet under my hostile gaze. After a moment of him looking around hesitantly, he points to his leather jacket's pocket. "Can I get something out of my pocket?" He asks. My eyes narrow suspiciously of his intent. "Depends. What are you getting out?"

"A stone," He replies and reaches into his pocket, all the while holding his other hand up. He withdraws his hand, now bunched into a fist, and tosses me whatever he took out. I easily catch the small projectile. "What's this?" I ask, while inspecting it.

He wasn't lying, per se. At first glance it looks like a normal white stone, oval in shape and a clasp and chain attached at its end. But looking closer at it, I realize that this was no normal stone. Every centimeter of this half-palm sized stone is engraved with markings.

"It's a runestone," the vampire replies. "It'll help you hide your magical signature." I look up at him, scrutinizing his expression for anything forgiving of deceit, but found non. "How do I know this isn't just a tracking spell? How do I know you're not lying?" I nearly shout in the deserted garage. He fixes me with a level gaze and answers with an even voice, "You don't."

I didn't know what to say. I silently look at the vampire, still holding his hands in the air, to the white runestone, and back to the vampire. "Why help me?" I finally ask, breaking the momentary silence. His dark blue eyes widen slightly before softening, a sad smile on his lips. "Because I know you're just trying to survive something you can't change, something that you were born into.

"I know because I feel some of what you're feeling, but I can't empathize with you fully. Trust me, you need that stone way more than I do."