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Shattered Worlds
Witching Hour Party Chapter 18

Witching Hour Party Chapter 18

"Hold on a sec," Leta said as she managed to throw the witches holding her back off and rushed to shove herself in between Veronica and the newcomer. "Don't you dare lay a finger on her."

The newcomer's expression remained unwavering. The clown, on the other hand, gave Leta an amused smile over the witch's shoulder. Veronica felt a mixture of relief and worry as she glanced between her friend and the witch in front of them.

While she was happy someone was standing up for her—she had been so sure that she would have been spirited away without anyone protesting—her friend was literally confronting the witch who had taken out the invaders without batting an eye. If the witch decided to take offense to her friend's actions, there was nothing any of them could do.

After several tense moments, the newcomer finally said, "We'll take her too."

Before anyone could process what the witch just said, she snapped her fingers. In an instant, they shot up into the air. Veronica shrieked, clinging onto her baby sister. The mouse on her shoulder barely hanged on to her clothes as they floated high up in the sky. Refusing to see how far up they were, Veronica fixed her gaze on her friend, who was spinning around in the air.

As Veronica was starting to get nauseous watching her friend, the clown grabbed Leta by the collar and stopped her. "Okay, that's enough now. I was beginning to get sick watching you spin out of control."

Leta remained silent, pressing both her hands over her mouth. Seeing that her friend was mostly okay, Veronica turned her gaze to the witch calmly sitting on her broomstick again.

"Uh, excuse me, what do you want with us?" Veronica was forced out.

A couple moments passed before the witch said, "I would like to take you under my wing."

Veronica blinked.

Huh? What did she say?

She must have misheard.

"What are you talking about? We already have our own teachers," Leta said, seemingly recovering from her ordeal.

"Considering your lackluster performance, I would say they did a poor job teaching you," the witch said.

"Were—were you just watching us fight? Why didn't you help us fight?"

"What I do is none of your business."

Leta glared daggers at the witch, and Veronica didn't blame her.

The witch could have stopped things from getting this bad if she had stepped in sooner. Veronica couldn't understand why the witch would just standby and watch. It wasn't like it was because the witch was weak. She was clearly powerful considering how she handled the invaders as soon as she stepped in. Everything would have ended before it even began.

"Is that really how you talk to your savior?" the clown asked, shaking Leta back and forth. "She could have just stayed out of it, you know."

Snapping her head towards the clown, Leta said, "I haven't forgotten about you either. Aren't you supposed to be one of the invaders?"

"You're right, but I was ordered to go along with it, and before you ask, it's none of your business."

The clown's happy smile did nothing to make the situation better. In fact, it just ticked Veronica off, and she was sure her friend felt the same considering the look on her face.

"Enough." The witch's cold voice was enough to stop them in their tracks. "Will you come under my wing?"

"Do we even have a choice?" Leta spat, her hands curling into fists.

"Of course. I have no desire to take the unwilling."

Veronica found that hard to believe. The witch had purposely separated them from everyone else and put them in a dangerous spot. If she decided to release her magic and let them fall, they would splatter across the ground.

The image sent shivers down Veronica's spine.

No, there's no way she would let us go.

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Leta asked, voicing Veronica's thoughts.

The witch said nothing, choosing to scan Leta up and down. Leta didn't back down and glared back at her while Veronica glanced between the two worriedly.

Then the witch finally spoke. "You're not worth the effort to pursue. If you refuse, then there won't be another chance." Leta bristled as the witch turned her attention back onto Veronica, who froze. "You two, on the other hand, are much more valuable."

Leta threw up her arms to shield Veronica. "I won't let you harm my friend."

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Right as Veronica was about to speak, she noticed how her friend's arms were shaking.

Despite how scared she was, Leta was trying to put up a brave front to protect Veronica from the witch. Veronica couldn't let her friend continue to confront the witch alone.

She placed a hand on Leta's shoulder as she said, "Why are you interested in me? I'm not a powerful witch. There are plenty of better witches than me below."

The words tasted like ashes on her tongue.

Even though Veronica hated to say it, it was the truth. Veronica could bluster all she wanted; however, it was undeniable that she wasn't as capable as the other witches. She was no genius or prodigy, and it wasn't like she came from a great background either. There was nothing exceptional and special about herself.

The witch didn't bat an eye as she said, "Power isn't everything. There are other things a witch should consider." Veronica still had her doubts, and it must have shown on her face as the witch pointed at her and said, "I sense great potential from the both of you."

Whatever words Veronica intended to say fell short as she finally caught on to what the witch had just said.

Leta's face furrowed as she muttered, "Two?"

Who is the witch referring to? I know one of them is me since she's pointing at me, but who's the other? Is it Leta? She said she wouldn't mind if Leta refused, so maybe it's not her. It's definitely not the clown, but there's no one else here.

As Veronica wracked her mind over who the witch could be talking about, a sudden thought crossed her mind that left her speechless.

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Veronica tried to disregard it as heresy, but the moment it crossed her mind, it took root. No matter how outrageous it seemed, it was the only possible explanation left.

She glanced down at her sleeping baby sister before asking, "What do you want with my baby sister?"

Leta's eyes widened as she snapped her head in Veronica's direction.

The witch calmly said, "I don't need to repeat myself."

Veronica wrapped her arms protectively over her baby sister as she said, "She's human. She has nothing to do with us."

The clown raised an eyebrow and muttered to himself, "Then why did you bring her here where there are only witches?"

Everyone ignored his words as the witch said, "If that's how everyone sees her, then they are blind."

The implication wasn't missed by Veronica. "Are you saying my baby sister is a witch?"

"So have you come to a decision? Will you come under my wing?"

Even though the witch had completely avoided answering Veronica's question, she had gotten her answer. Her baby sister wasn't a normal human. She was a witch like Veronica.

How?

She hadn't noticed anything off about her baby sister. Ever since learning she was a witch, she had yearned for someone in the family to be like her. After her baby sister was born, Veronica checked for any signs that her baby sister was a witch just like her. Unfortunately, she hadn't seen any hints that her baby sister would grow up to be like her.

Well, it's not like I know everything about being a witch, but I should at least be able to tell, right?

"Veronica, you shouldn't listen to her." Leta's words cut through Veronica's chaotic thoughts. "How can we possibly trust a stranger that just showed up out of the blue?"

Leta wasn't wrong. They knew nothing about the newcomer except that she was a powerful witch who had a strange interest in them.

Something tickled Veronica's ear as she heard, "She isn't a bad person."

Veronica jerked her head away, nearly dislodging the mouse on her shoulder.

She had completely forgotten about it. With everything happening so quickly, it completely slipped her mind that the talking mouse was still clinging onto her. It was actually surprising it hadn't fallen off when they were sent flying into the air.

Then her mind caught up on the mouse's words, and she blurted out, "What?"

Rather than the mouse speaking first, it was Leta. "Veronica?"

Veronica opened her mouth as she frantically tried to think of what to say when a blast of wind struck them. She closed her eyes as her hair whipped around her.

Fortunately, the wind wasn't particularly strong, so she wasn't blasted anyway, nor did it last long.

As she reopened her eyes, the witch asked, "What's that on your shoulder?"

Unsure what to say, Veronica remained silent. Even though the witch's expression didn't change, something about the way she spoke made Veronica uneasy, and Veronica averted her gaze.

How does she sound angry without sounding angry? Does she have some kind of history with the mouse? Please don't be like the invaders and black cats.

She felt the mouse tug on her hair and wince. It took her a moment to realize the mouse was climbing up her head by climbing her hair, and her eyes shot up as the mouse stood on top of her forehead. Veronica could feel everyone's eyes burning holes into her as she wondered if she knocked the mouse off of her head to get the attention off of her.

"Hello," the mouse waved.

The effect was immediate.

Leta's eyes bulged as she blurted out, "A talking mouse."

The clown's eyes and mouth widened slightly. Even the witch showed some emotion as her brows furrowed and a slight frown formed on her face.

"Please don't mind me," the mouse continued. "I just happened to be running around through the neighborhood."

Veronica couldn't decide what kind of expression she should make upon hearing that and settled for confusion. She couldn't tell if the mouse was telling the truth and figured it really didn't matter as long as it didn't affect her or the people closest to her.

"You—" the witch started when a loud explosion erupted below them.

All their eyes turned downward, and they saw a large plume of smoke rising up towards them. Veronica narrowed her eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on. A figure burst through the smoke, flying straight towards them. She recognized it as the leader of the invaders and instantly shielded her baby sister with her body. The invader suddenly stopped approaching, his face twisting with anger.

The clown whistled. "Wow. You're really a gluttony for punishment. You've been beaten black and blue, and you still dare to pick a fight. I can't decide if I'm impressed or dumbfounded."

"Enough," the witch said. "I won't waste any more time on you."

The witch raised a hand to make a motion when the mouse shouted, "Wait!" As soon as everyone's attention was on the mouse, it said, "I have some questions for him. You can't get rid of him."

"Why should I give you the chance to interrogate him?"

The mouse didn't have an answer and tugged on Veronica's hair anxiously. Veronica grimaced as she felt her hair being pulled, but she didn't swat the mouse away as it didn't really hurt.

She didn't think she had the right to interfere in whatever was going and simply waited to see what would happen next.

Leta, on the other hand, had no such problem and asked, "What do you intend to do with him? You can't just do whatever you want. Everyone wants a piece of him for all the trouble he caused."

"That's none of my concern," the witch said.

"Just because you're a powerful witch, you can't do whatever you want."

Leta, please. What if she gets offended and decides to retaliate? I won't be able to help you. Just let it go.

Unfortunately, Veronica had a feeling that neither of them were going to back down.

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