Chapter 9

image [https://i.imgur.com/SI787XM.png]

Mikki stared at her with such intensity that for a minute I could have sworn I saw the image of a dragon emitting from her. I looked at Alizon and she was not fazed by her. The way they were staring at each other made them look like two divine beings ready to battle with one another. Alizon sat smirking at Mikki, she looked as if she was enjoying herself as she saw Mikki flustered.

I wanted to ask Mikki why she looked as if she was ready to strike Alizon at any moment as if Alizon was Ms. Serpin, but I figured maybe that was not a good idea. Besides, I couldn’t grasp my head around her anger, was it perhaps because of the kiss?

No, it couldn’t be, could it?

I thought about our lips, mine and Alizon. They were soft, hers, it was my first time kissing anyone, let alone a beautiful girl like her. Mikki looked at me and I brushed those thoughts aside, feeling guilty for even thinking that.

“S-Sorry…” I whispered, apologizing as if Mikki had read my thoughts.

She looked at me for a second then back to Alizon, her opponent.

“Well, this is a surprise,” Evara said, as she sat on the little sofa between the two couches that were in the living room of Nana’s house.

“What is a member of the magic artifact division doing here in this part of the world,” she said, as she took a bite out of Nana’s cookies that had been laid out on the table in front of us.

Eve thought I was curious to know about this magic artifact division group that Alizon was in, it sounded interesting since it was more of their world which I was fascinated about. All I could think of was how I was going to make it up to Mikki about the kiss. I must say everything happened so fast that I didn’t even get the chance to enjoy my first kiss. One minute Alizon appeared in our classroom as a new student and everything seemed to be normal then the next thing I knew I had my first kiss in front of everyone, and to make matters worse, Mikki had appeared right at that time, and next thing I knew all the students had vanished and the only four people that were in the classroom were me, sitting dumbfounded, Mikki pointing her staff at Alizon with sparks circling around it as if a magic spell was ready to be unleashed at her, and Esfir standing between Mikki and Alizon with an ice sword in her hand pointing it at Alizon as well.

I wish I could tell you what happened afterwards but it was all a haze to me. One moment, we were all in our classroom, and the next I know were here in Nana’s living room, with Mikki staring down Alizon as if she was a witch coming for my necklace.

“I’m also curious as well,” Esfir said, taking a sip of her cup nonchalantly and with a certain aura that only someone of her caliber can muster.

“Not me,” Teddy said, as the small stuffed teddy bear toy munched down on the remaining cookies that were on the plate.

“Any witch from the magic artifact division always brings trouble her way. So count me out.”

“Only because certain witches get greedy with power,” Alizon said smiling at Teddy.

“O-Of course..” Teddy said, and for the first time, I could see a bit of nervousness in Teddy’s brown beady eyes.

“Who exactly was Alizon? I thought,

" And why had she kissed me.”

So many questions were running in my mind but right now I didn’t have time to think about them, the only thing I could think of was if this had something to do with my necklace that sat around my neck. Which I’m sure it did. Beautiful girls don’t go around kissing guys like me.

“I’m sure Miss Alizon is here for a good reason,” Nana said, as she sat next to Mikki and me.

“Well there’s no point in beating around the bush, I’ll get straight to the point since I’m someone who likes to be direct,” she said, winking at me, which made me blush. Mikki looked at me and squinted her eyes at me in disapproval.

“I’m here for that little treasure,” Alison said pointing at me,

“And I don’t mean the cute kid.”

I looked down at my mother’s memento and grabbed it.

“Of course she is.”

“Sorry but you can’t have it,” I said instinctively.

I had beaten a human-sized stuffed toy to keep it and I was not about to lose it to a pretty girl that had stolen my first kiss. She had already stolen enough from me.

“I figure you would say that,” Alizon said,

“And since you still have the necklace that must mean not even a witch from the great Ivanov house was able to get it. Is the Ivanov family getting soft these days?”

Alizon brushed her cheek as she sat studying me, I could feel a chill run down my spine as if I was some kind of lab rat.

“That’s not of your concern,” Esfir said, looking at Alizon with those cold icy grey eyes.

“As you can see Rey is not going to give up the necklace so you can be on your way now,” Mikki said, as she got up from her seat.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Alizon said,

“For you see we have gotten intel that witches belonging to the Serpentis covenant have been spotted around here.”

“Serpentis !” Evara said,

“I was afraid of that.”

“Who’s the Serpentis Covenant?” I ask, Imagining some sort of slimy snake-like creatures that look just like Ms. Serpin did on that fateful day.

“There a bunch of witches that have forsaken the witches' vows for greed and power,” Nana said,

“If your school teacher Ms. Serpin was with that covenant that means other witches would be coming our way no doubt. “

“That’s correct,” Alizon said,

“Does that mean the witch that caused the gym incident was one of those Serpentis witches?”

“Most Likely,” Esfir said, taking a sip from her cup.

“Now what would they want with Rey’s necklace,” Mikki said, she had calmed down now, well, as much as she could for Mikki, no longer spewing such intense eyes at Alison.

“As you know, witches' mementos are passed down from witch to witch and sometimes they absorb magic but most of the time it’s nothing to be concerned about. They are more like sentimental objects. But it seems your necklace is drawing quite the attention of the Serpentis Covenant for reasons that the Magic Artifact Division is not sure and since the Serpentis Covenant is aiming for it, as the leader of the division, I can’t ignore it.”

“Leader!” I said, surprised by the revelation. Does that mean she was someone important? She carried herself with a certain confidence that it only made sense.

“I was afraid of that,” Evara said, not paying much attention to Alizon’s revelation, in fact, nobody but me did which I felt somewhat embarrassed.

“Normally witches should not be able to detect magic from mementos since its not very strong unless they have hidden magic, but for that, you would need a magic oracle witch.”

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Are you saying that the Serpentis Covenant has a magic oracle witch?”

“Most likely,” Alizon said,

“ That’s not good,” Evara said, brushing her chin.

“What’s a magic oracle witch,” I asked feeling like this conversation was something I was not supposed to be involved with.

“Is a rare gift that allows a witch to sense hidden magic,” Esfir said, and I could see a glimpse of sadness in her eyes for a second.

“A gift or a curse depending on how you look at it,” Evara added,

“It’s extremely rare but if they have a witch with this gift that means that the necklace has hidden magic inside that the Serpentis Covenant is aiming for that I did not anticipate.”

“And every witch knows that hidden magic means it was hidden for a reason.”

“Exactly,” Alizon said,

“I do not know what kind of hidden magic is inside that necklace, no witch can know unless you have that gift which is why I came to retrieve the necklace.”

“I’m sorry but I can’t give it to you even if it has something like that inside of it,” I said getting up from my seat, something in me didn’t want to let go of the necklace even if holding on to it would endanger not only my life… I was being selfish but I didn’t care, it was the only thing I had of her.

“Don’t worry,” Alizon said,

“I’m more interested in finding those hidden Serpentis witches and retrieving that oracle witch, besides,”

She looked at me, her purple eyes had a certain allure to them that I almost felt attracted to them.

“I gave you a protective charm of my own,” she said touching her lips.

“T-The kiss,” I said flustered as I thought about our kiss, my first kiss.

Mikki looked at me and there was a hint of sadness in her that I caught for a second.

“Is that why you kissed me?” I asked, feeling a bit disappointed my first kiss was for something like that.

“It’s a secret,” she said winking at me,

“What kind of charm?” Esfir said, staring down at Alizon.

“A woman never reveals her secrets,” she said, smiling at them.

“She does if she wants to keep her Life,” Miki said, as she abruptly got up from her seat.

“Enough girls,” Evara said,

“So what do we do?” I asked, changing the subject.

“You don’t do anything,” Mikki said,

“Miss Mikki is right,” Esfir added,

“If Serpentis Covenant witches are around here then we have to find them. “

“And Capture them to interrogate them,” Alizon added, and I felt a slight fear for a moment at her words.

“The Magic artifact division is curious as to what is hidden on that specific necklace but of course, we won’t know unless we capture that witch as well.”

“Well help as much as we can,” Nana said, which surprised me, and I wasn’t the only one either,

“Mom !” Mikki said,

“Thank you for your help,” Alizon said,

“Is great we can still depend on a past magic artifact division member.

“You were one of them?” I asked surprised by the revelation, there was so much I didn’t know about Nana Hexa, the witch.

“In a past life,” she added.

But our top priority is keeping Rey safe.”

“Of course,” Alizon said,

"We can’t have a non-magical person get hurt in the matters of magic.

“I’m assuming she came with you,” Evara said,

“She did,” Alison said as she got up from her seat.

“Very well, Nana, we have an old friend to greet.”

“ Yes master,” Nana said as she got up from her seat.

“Be careful Nana” I said, not sure why, I mean she was obviously a powerful witch if anything I was the one that needed to be careful, but now that I knew a bunch of witches were roaming the streets looking for me, I didn’t want nothing to happen to my only family because of me.

“I will,” she said, giving me a motherly smile only she could,

“We’ll be back soon, there’s food in the fridge so help yourself.”

I watched as all three of them disappeared, and the only people that were left were me, Mikki, Esfir, and Teddy.

“Can we trust her?” Esfir said,

“You read my mind,” Mikki added,

“If you ask me I said get the necklace from the boy and be done with this Serpentis nonsense,” Teddy added,

“Well we didn’t ask you,” I said, angrily, holding on to the necklace.

“Touchy,” Teddy smirked at me,

“Behave Teddy,” Esfir said,

“Sorry sorry.”

“She seemed nice, and I’m sure she wasn’t lying to us,” I said,

Mikki and Esfir both turned to me, and I felt their gaze on me which made me turn red.

“Do you like her?” Mikki said, her face serious as I would expect from Mikki.

“N-No," I said,

All I mean is that Evara doesn’t distrust her or Nana so I figure she wouldn’t lie that’s all.”

“That’s truth,” Esfir added,

“Someone like Evara could tell if a witch is lying.”

“And Nana as well, she always knows when we’re keeping things from her,” Mikki said.

“I guess we can play along for now and see what her intentions are,” Esfir said,

“And if she tries anything well strike her down,” Mikki added, which kind of scared me.

“I wonder who they’re meeting,” I asked, changing the subject before they got out of hand, they seemed to dislike Alizon for reasons I was not sure yet.

“I wonder who indeed,” Mikki said. And I was curious as well as to who this mysterious person was.

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I looked at the time, it was already past 8 and Nana still wasn't back, not that there was anything to worry about since she was with Evara and Alizon. Yet I couldn't help it, wondering just who that mysterious person was, and if it had to do with my necklace, which I was sure it did. I looked at my mother's memento, its vibrant blue gem seemed to glow tonight or perhaps it was the way the moonlight was hitting it as it entered my room through the only window. But whatever it was, it was glowing, attracting me like a moth to a flame. Its mystery took a grasp of me, now that I knew it was hiding some sort of special magic I couldn't help but be more intrigued by it.

"Just what kind of magic are you hiding?"

The longer I stared at the blue gem, the more I felt like I was diving deeper into its ocean-blue color. I felt like my body was as light as a feather, ready to be whisked away at any moment. I could feel something taking control of me and pulling me into whatever it was.

"What are you?" I said as the blue gem began to look like blue flames being born from that glow.

"Rey..."

I heard the faint sound of a voice.

"Who are you?" I said,

I could feel my eyes beginning to feel heavy as if I was dozing off,

"Are you awake?"

"I...."

"I'm coming in so you better not be doing anything weird."

The sound of my door opening brought me back to my room, my reality. Whatever that feeling that was enticing me to the gem was gone now,

"Rey, are you ok?" Mikki asked as she stared at me,

"Y-Yea, I am," I said, as I got up from my bed.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because you didn't answer me."

"I must be tired," I said giving her a faint laugh,

"Long day."

"Well at least one of us can sleep," she said, as she walked to the chair that was by my study desk.

"Is it about Nana?" I ask, sitting on the edge of my bed.

She had her blonde hair tied into a ponytail and not the usual twin tails she normally sported and a set of pink pajamas with flower decorations on it which surprised me since it was quite soft of her.

"Something like that," she answered, brushing her bangs to the side.

"I'm sure she's fine, and if anything Evara is with her," I said, trying to reassure her.

"You're right, " she said as she got up from the chair and walked toward me, taking a seat next to me.

"How about you? How do you feel?"

She was so close to me that I could smell the sweet scent of her shampoo, strawberry with a hint of vanilla.

"Me?" I asked, feeling confused by her words, I hadn't battled with anyone and it had already been a week since Teddy's fight.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

"That division witch..."

"You mean Alizon," I said,

"Yes her," she continued, her words felt like daggers ready to be sent at Alizon if she was here. She was not fond of her, for reasons I was not quite sure of.

" She said she put a spell on you when she.." She stopped herself,

"The kiss?" I added,

"Do you feel anything? What if she's lying and put a control spell on you or something."

"I'm fine," I said smiling at her as I moved my arm up and down, posing any muscles I had on my arm.

"You promise?"

I could tell by looking at her that she wasn't satisfied with my answer, she didn't need to tell me, her eyes made it quite clear to me. She was looking at me like she did that time, as if I was a helpless child.

Which kind of hurt my ego if I was honest, of course, there was nothing I could do, I was in their world. Powerless and helpless, I could only rely on them.

"I am trust me," I said, once again.

I didn't feel anything new or weird. Whatever spell Alizon had put on me when she kissed me hadn't changed anything, and it for sure didn't change how I felt about Mikki.

"Close your eyes," she said, her green eyes were serious in the only way only Mikki could.

"What for?" I asked,

"J-Just do it."

"Ok," I said, wondering what exactly she wanted me to close them.

I did what she asked, and closed my eyes.

"Mikki, what is this for?" I asked as I sat there with my eyes closed.

"B-B-Be quiet," she said, and I could hear nervousness, something I had rarely ever heard before.

Just what exactly is she doing? I asked myself.

I waited a few seconds, which turned into a few minutes.

"How long do I have to keep my eyes closed?"

I waited for her answer but nothing.

"Did she play a trick on me?" I thought, but she wasn't the trickster type in fact she was the complete opposite. So I was sure that wasn't it.

"Mikki?" I asked opening slightly one of my eyes, the curiosity getting to me.

"Are you playing a trick on me?"

Just when I was about to get a good look, the door downstairs opened.

"Nana?" I said,

"N-Never mind," she said in a hurried manner, and I could hear disappointment in her voice.

"What were you doing?" I asked,

"Nothing, forget it," she said as she stormed out of my room. Her face was bright red I noticed.

"What was she trying to do?" I asked, confused by the whole ordeal, but what confused me more was why was she so closed to my face.