Hailey and Kait appeared in the library. This was it. If she could make it past the memory, she’d quickly get back to her body. But this was what she’d dreaded for many days.

As the world gained resolution, she saw him.

Hailey’s hand shook. She didn’t want to see this, to watch her friend, fake or not, be shot again.

He walked out of the library, innocuously bumping into her past self.

She wanted to stop this madness, to slug the acting spirit in the face. But that wasn’t how she should deal with the past, right? She had to accept what had happened and move forward.

Her past self walked toward the room where Abbie was waiting for her but was distracted by a book.

What Hailey felt wasn’t regret, though. She didn’t regret the past anymore. She despised it, wanted to rip it from her memory…but doing that was wrong. So she remained still.

Something grabbed her hand. Hailey flinched, only to realize it was Kait, smiling warmly. She’d seen her shaking hand and tried to help. For what it was worth, it at least made her feel better.

There was a daunting silence as, outside of the library, the boy picked up his backpack, which held the gun.

She hated this, feeling like she was powerless, standing still only to watch it happen. That wasn’t what she wanted to do, but that was what she was supposed to do.

He walked back into the room.

Hailey hated, hated, hated, hated, hated, hated it. It felt wrong to push away her instinct to think about what she should have done. She wanted to do it…but had she ever done that? Wasn’t that what everyone did when they regretted something? Play it over in their head, regretting their choices?

BANG.

Hailey’s past self looked from her book in surprise, then dropped it and ran towards the noise.

This is wrong. The world flickered.

This isn’t how I want to do this. Hailey squeezed Kait’s hand in a death grip.

Kait placed a hand on Hailey’s shoulder. “Hailey, calm down.”

She didn’t react.

“You can get past this!”

No, she didn’t want to. Not like this.

“Just accept–”

The world shattered into a dark void just like before as Hailey closed her eyes.

“Hailey! You can still–”

“No, I won’t.”

“What?”

Kait’s eyes widened as she met Hailey’s. Her expression, her posture, her eyes…Hailey solemnly frowned with some mix of sadness and determination.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t like this…”

“Don’t…like it?”

“I won’t leave things this way.”

The world crashed as Hailey’s resolve peaked.

Kaetha had already predicted that Hailey would fail, but she had anticipated a bigger fall. Kait was speechless as Hailey sat on the ground with crossed legs. Despite the fact that Hailey had apparently rejected her past, she seemed calm. How strange.

Kaetha revealed itself and walked through the white realm of bubbles toward Kait.

“Wha–! Oh, it’s just you, Kaethy.”

“What happened here?”

“I don’t know. Hailey just…froze up.”

“Interesting reaction.” The spirit motioned for Kait to follow then folded its arms as they walked out of earshot of Hailey. “Sorry to separate you two, Kait, but I want your help.”

“Sure, Kaethy. What do you need?”

“I need you to track someone down.”

Kait woke from her sleep in Hailey’s empty room, then stretched, still a little drowsy. She repeated, “Number 5, 1227 Windy Lane,” over and over as she got up and walked out of the room.

Clera came out of her office before Kait could go down the stairs. “Hey, Kait, can I ask you something?”

“Number 5, 1227 Windy Lane. Err, yeah, but be quick. I really need to do something.”

“How is Hailey doing?”

“She’s doing fine, though I think it may take another day or two before she’s out, the way things are going.”

“Right…” Clera said skeptically. “You haven’t explained much of what’s going on to me. Do you have time to do that?”

Kait held up her hands to dissuade Clera from pressing forward. “Not really, but things really are under control. There’s no doubt she’s going to be fine.”

“Well, I’ve had enough of letting things fly over my head. I’m sure whatever you need to do can wait.”

This was the worst time to be questioned; when the fate of a second root magic laid over her head. “No, really, Clera, I’m sure everything’s going to plan–”

“Just tell me exactly what’s going on.”

Kait averted her head as she gritted her teeth. “F-fine, just come with me to Hailey’s room.”

“Thank you,” Clera sighed.

In Hailey’s room, Kait deftly grabbed a miniature dream catcher from the bed, then tapped Clera’s forehead.

“What was that about?”

“I don’t know.”

“Uh, okay,” Clera yawned, then sat on the bed, resting against the wall.

“So, my spell essentially dragged Hailey’s soul out of her body, then placed it into The Consciousness. And don’t worry, she’s still anchored to her soul, so when she’s finished with it, Hailey will return to her body. Then, because I wanted her to self-actualize, she was put into a dreamlike–”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Clera was asleep.

“Sorry about this,” Kait said with distaste at her actions before leaving the room. She had a job to do, although deep down she felt uneasy about completing it. Strange.

She walked out the front door a moment later. “Number 5, 1227 Windy Lane. Nice, I think I remember it! Necromancer guy, here I come!”

She waved her broom about while jumping to create a wind and channeled the feeling of elation from jumping, activating a spell. Despite a passerby appearing, she blasted off on her broom into the open skies.

Taylor hadn’t expected to be contacted again while Mrs. Kukui was still busy setting up the next ritual, but that was exactly what happened.

A cheery voice rang in their heads. “Excuse me, mortals, I have a request for you.” Everyone in the room yelped in surprise. “I need to ask something of this ‘Taylor’ person…if that’s even your real name!” the spirit added in an attempt to be funny.

“W-w-what? But the ritual is over!” Mrs. Kukui said, shocked.

The spirit continued, heedless of their surprise. “You see, there’s a necromancer in your city that seems quite intent on taking a soul he stole from The Consciousness to create unregistered life. I’m not sure why, but I’m sure it’s nefarious or something. Thus, I, Appenne, request that you all figure out where he lives and stop him! Preferably by releasing the reimagined soul in his possession.”

When no one spoke, he added, “I see you’re stunned. Well, hop to it.”

“Are you talking about my son?” Mrs. Kukui asked.

“Is he a necromancer?”

“Yes.”

“Logica, where does he live…? Got it. Does he live in apartment number 5, 1227 Windy Lane?”

“Yes.”

“Well, the Spirit of Witchcraft has sent her own disciple to stop this, but I’d like to see you all help.”

“Dangit, I knew he was up to something!” Taylor growled.

“I may as well come, too. I know the way there. Jaine’s probably just doing something reckless again,” Mrs. Kukui said.

Taila excitedly raised her hand and shouted, “Let’s not waste time and book it! Show us the way, Mrs. Kukui!”

Kait was trying to find the apartment, but after floundering around the city with her broom for a few minutes while searching for the place, she had only just then found the road. She’d been flying above the streets in the most densely populated spot in the town, where many of the buildings were about five stories tall, so the city-dwellers gazed in awe. She frowned at the people below. No hiding my existence after this. She then drifted closer to the sidewalk, flying about six feet over the passersby to see the addresses, checking each building sequentially before she found it. “1227 Windy Lane, finally!” She drifted to the concrete below, the people parting for her, then ran into the four-story-tall building.

When she finally found the room on the third floor, she wasn’t the only one there. Taylor, the fortune reader—Taila, was it?—and a woman in ritualist’s robes stood in front of the door as Taylor searched through his pockets.

Taila saw Kait out of the corner of her eye. “Look! It’s Kait!”

Taylor pulled a hairpin from his pocket as their attention shifted to her. “Kait? You’re here too?”

She nodded. “But why are you here, Taylor?”

“Long story.”

“That makes two.”

“Who even is this ‘Kait’ person?” Mrs. Kukui asked.

Taila was excited to explain to her acquaintance, “Kait’s a…c-can I tell her?”

Kait shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, now.”

“She’s a witch! A bonafide witch from the Renaissance!”

“Spectacular, if this isn’t a joke,” she said with a level tone.

Taylor sighed. “Enough, we have a job to do, and I’m getting déjà vu, standing in front of a door like this.”

Taila reluctantly shut up, and the other two stood in wait.

Taylor first knocked on the door. “Jaine, this is Taylor. We need to talk.”

Jaine’s voice came through the door, “Sorry, I’m busy. Just go away.”

“Coming anyways,” Taylor said before tapping the door with the enchanted hairpin.

“Taylor, that won’t work,” Kait said.

“Err, why?”

“That spell needs you to be open to the person’s thoughts and emotions. Symbolism and all that.”

“That’s annoying.”

“Don’t worry about it. I can always brute force my way in.” Kait gently shooed Taylor from the door, then placed her hand on it. Instantly, she recollected a spell she could use to get in. A wild, unhinged expression crept onto her face, then she touched one of the door’s hinges and punched the door savagely. Taila yelped at Kait’s burst of violence before watching the door phase through its hinges and fall onto the ground with a loud thunk.

Jaine wrote in his journal, drawing various rune prototypes for the spell he would use to transfer Alchemia’s soul. He turned his head to the left, glancing at her jar. It wouldn’t be too complicated to place her in a body to revive her, but making the transplantation stable was a more difficult task.

Typically, a patient with cancer, for example, might undergo a simple change from one body to another, but he found that a reimagined soul, like Alchemia’s, didn’t work the same way. He was making good progress towards creating a new rune that could manage Alchemia’s eccentricities, however.

A knock sounded on his door. “Jaine, this is Taylor. We need to talk.”

What? He’d come all the way here just to talk? Jaine sighed. “Sorry, I’m busy. Just go away.”

“Coming anyways.” Coming anyways? What did that mean, that he was coming in any–

Before he could finish the thought, his door fell to the ground like it’d been kicked in, revealing a savage-looking witch behind it. “HEY! What thatched idea made you think it…”

Kait stormed near him as he spoke, a maniacal smile on her face as she approached him threateningly. “Where is it?”

“Where is what? Why are you pulling my door–”

“The soul.”

Jaine instinctively lied, “What soul?”

“Don’t play games with me, necromancer.”

“I’m not going to.”

“The reimagined soul you stole.”

“Stole? How can you steal a soul?”

Kait suddenly lost her aggression as she tried to explain. “The only souls that should be on earth are the ones that were born naturally. You stole a reimagined soul from The Consciousness itself, so I’ve been tasked with taking it back.”

“Suuure. I see what game you’re trying to play with me.” Jaine smiled devilishly.

“Huh?”

“You can hide tons of those things on your chest, but I can’t save a friend.”

Kait’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, how do you–”

“Necromancers can see souls, idiot.”

“Not to intrude on this important conversation,” a voice said, and Jaine noticed his mother was speaking over his heated conversation with Kait, “but did Jaine do something bad? He’s my son, and he wouldn’t do anything…too unlawful.”

“Oh, well, thanks for implying I would do lesser unlawful things.”

His mom yawned. “I’m just saying, if you needed to, you would probably bend the rules a little.”

Kait continued, “All I know is that I need to confiscate the soul.”

“Hold on, buck-o, before we talk any more, why did you involve my mom in this? Or…those two.”

“That’s…I don’t know. They got here before me.”

Taylor raised his hand. “We were told by a spirit to see you.”

Jaine shrugged. “Great. So who wants to talk about this over tea and biscuits?”

His mom raised an eyebrow. “When did I raise you to be a Kilt?”

“Biscuits and tea are not exclusive to the Kiltans, mom.”

Mrs. Kukui hoarsely said, “If you say so. Just make sure my tea’s at least caffeinated.”