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  I gasped as the lights danced around, giving us more than enough light to see where we were going.

  “What are they?” I asked, my curiosity overtaking my fear.

  “They are called Hotaru,” Drake replied. “They are creatures of love, and givers of light.”

  I watched in awe as the Hotaru followed us along the path, until finally the trees broke and revealed the most gorgeous town I had ever seen.

  “Is this… What did you say this place was called?” I asked Drake.

  “Western Woods,” Drake replied. “Yes, this is the town.”

  Western Woods looked exactly like I would have imagined a cute Alpine village in Germany to be. The buildings all had thatched roofs, half-timbered buildings and huge shutters surrounding the windows with plants growing from them. The streets were all cobblestone-lined, and I didn’t see a car in sight. Maybe that was just because it was the middle of the night, though.

  To our left ran a small, slow-flowing river, lined with Gothic railings. French-style streetlights cast a warm glow on everything, and I couldn’t help but notice that there were no actual bulbs or flame inside the lights. It appeared the light was actually formed by magic.

  But that couldn’t be possible. Magic wasn’t real. At least, I was pretty sure it wasn’t. The more time I spent here, the more I felt like I didn’t know anything.

  Chapter 3

  “Where are we going?” I asked Drake as we made our way down the cobbled streets.

  “I’m taking you to see the Chief Enforcer,” Drake replied. “As we don’t know what kind of paranormal you are, I figure that is the safest route to take.”

  “Chief Enforcer, is that like, the police?”

  “I do not know what this police is that you speak of, but the Chief Enforcer is in charge of ensuring that all paranormals follow the laws and rules of our land.”

  “Okay, that does sound like our police.”

  After a couple of minutes we arrived in front of a large, stone building. It had been whitewashed, with large turrets with a cute orange roof. If I hadn’t known any better, I would have assumed it was some sort of Gothic church.

  Drake led me through the large wooden doors at the front, and we found ourselves in a huge expanse of place, the walls and ceiling all made of dark wood. Tapestries covered the walls, and I was so enthralled by the sight of this wonder that I forgot to be scared for a minute.

  “Drake,” an authoritative female voice said a moment later, the sound echoing through the large space. “What brings you here at this hour in the morning?”

  I looked up to see a tall, slender woman with long, wavy blonde hair that nearly reached her hips make her way towards us. Her eyes were dark, but not unfriendly. Dressed in a dark suit, she definitely looked professional. Her eyes found mine, and she looked me up and down, as though judging me.

  “Chief Enforcer King, I’m afraid I have a bit of a situation. Could we go into your office?”

  The woman led us to a room off to the side, which was much smaller, but still decorated in the same mahogany wood. A framed certificate against the far wall was the only decoration in the room, and the window behind the Chief Enforcer’s desk looked out over the river. She motioned for the two of us to sit down in comfortable -looking chairs in front of her desk, waiting for us to be seated before sitting in hers.

  “What’s going on?” she asked Drake.

  “This, uh, human found her way through Eddie,” Drake replied, motioning towards me.

  “That’s impossible,” the woman replied. “I had Lita herself set the spell. There is no way anyone who doesn’t have paranormal powers can get through there.”

  “I know,” Drake agreed, nodding. “However, whatever powers this woman may have, she has no idea what they are.”

  The woman turned to face me. I gulped hard; those dark eyes were quite intimidating.

  “Who are you?”

  “Tina White,” I answered, swallowing hard. My mouth felt super dry all of a sudden.

  “And where are you from? Are you a witch?”

  I shook my head. “No, I’m not. I’m from Seattle, in what Drake keeps referring to as the human world.”

  “Who are your parents? You say your name is White, I have never heard that name.”

  “My parents were Nancy and Carl White. They adopted me when I was a baby. No one knows who my real parents were; I was abandoned in front of the hospital when I was only a few weeks old. Or at least, that’s what I’ve been told. My parents - Nancy and Carl - both died. Dad passed away from cancer when I was 12, and mom had a heart attack last year.”

  Chief Enforcer King and Drake shared a look.

  “So you have no idea who your biological parents are?” the Chief Enforcer asked. I shook my head.

  “No. None at all.”

  “Explain to me exactly how you came to Western Woods,” Chief Enforcer King ordered. I told her all about my night, and how K-Town had found me after my shift and I had run to escape him before tripping into the tree.

  “Well, if one thing is certain here, it is that you have magical powers of some sort.”

  “But how? How did I go so long without knowing?”

  “You would have had to have a wand,” Chief Enforcer King replied. “I believe you are a witch, although in the morning I will get the coven head to tell us for sure. Unfortunately, that sort of magic is beyond my scope.”

  Despite the fact that Chief Enforcer King was incredibly intimidating, I couldn’t help but ask the question which was now plaguing me. “What kind of paranormal are you? Do you change into a dragon, like Drake?”

  Chief Enforcer King smiled at me. “I’m a lion shifter,” she told me.

  My mouth dropped open. “So you can like, change into a lion at will?”

  She nodded. “Yes, I can. You really have had no experience with the paranormal world, have you?”

  I shook my head.

  “Well, we’re going to have to change that for you. Since it’s the middle of the night, I don’t want to interrupt anyone else. We have a small room in this building that is generally used by Enforcers if they need to take a break during their shifts. It has a bed, and a shower. You’re welcome to use them tonight if you’d like.”

  “Thank you,” I said. “To be honest, I’m exhausted, and that sounds really nice right now.”

  “Thank you for bringing Tina to me,” Chief Enforcer King said to Drake. “You’re welcome to resume your post at the portal now.”

  Drake nodded and stood up, shooting me a quick comforting smile before leaving the room.

  Chief Enforcer King stood up a minute after Drake had left the room, and motioned for me to follow her. When we left her office, she led me to the far end of the main hall, and into a smaller room at the back of the building. Sure enough, it was a small room with a single bed in the corner, and a bathroom off to the right.

  “Feel free to spend the rest of the night here,” Chief Enforcer King said. “I will come and get you in the morning, when I have had the opportunity to speak with the head of the coven.”

  I nodded, thanking her, and as soon as she left I made my way into the bathroom and had a hot shower. I slipped under the covers, wondering what on earth I had gotten myself into. Maybe this was all just a dream, and as soon as I fell asleep in this dream, I would wake back up in my bed in my studio apartment in Seattle.

  Despite the craziness of the night, the exhaustion that wracked my body quickly overtook me, and I fell asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.

  Chapter 4

  I woke up the next morning to the sound of rapping on the wooden door leading to my room.

  “Come in,” I called out, jumping out of bed. It took me a second to realize exactly where I was, as the events of the previous night came flooding back to me. It hadn’t been a dream after all. I was really sitting here, in the middle of some sort of magical town. The woman knocking on the door was in all likelihood the chief of police here, who could
change into a lion at will.

  The door opened a second later, and sure enough, Chief Enforcer King made her way in.

  “How did you sleep?” she asked.

  “Pretty well, but I sure could use a few more hours.”

  “I thought so, so I brought you something from The Hexpresso Bean. It’s the local coffee shop here in town.”

  I reached for the coffee gratefully, the warm aroma of roasted beans instantly making me feel more awake. To my surprise, the coffee was topped with whipped cream and sprinkles, and it looked like there was a copious amount of syrup that had been poured down the side of the cup. I sipped at the drink, and as the creamy coffee made its way down my throat, I suddenly felt so much more refreshed, like I’d had a full night’s sleep. Something about this was weird. Coffee was amazing, after all, but it wasn’t normally anything like this. This was like, well, coffee on steroids.

  “Is there magic involved in this coffee?” I asked, not quite knowing how to phrase my question properly.

  Chief Enforcer King smiled. “Yes. That’s the beauty of the product from The Hexpresso Bean. They add a shot of a certain potion to all of the coffees, so that whatever you need, the coffee gives it to you. If you haven’t gotten any sleep, it gives you energy to get you through the day, without the caffeine crash. If you’re nervous about something at work, it will lessen your anxiety.”

  I stared at the cup, not entirely sure how I felt about this. Caffeine was one thing, magic was another entirely. “So I just drank some sort of strange magic potion?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry,” Chief Enforcer King told me. “You’ll get used to it. Magic is a part of your life now. And speaking of, we have to go and see the head of the coven.”

  I stood up and followed wordlessly after her as we made our way out of the small room and into the main part of the building. As we left the building and I got my first glimpse of Western Woods during the day, I had to admit, I was incredibly impressed.

  The sun shone down upon the town, and now, there were other people milling around in the streets.

  A tall, graceful woman with pointed ears that I was pretty sure was an elf, smiled curiously at us as we passed her. I had to make a conscious effort not to stare. Elves were real too? And when we passed by a cute woman floating in the air, a pair of golden wings fluttering at a million miles an hour behind her, that was just too much. My mouth dropped open and I stopped to look.

  “She’s a fairy,” Chief Enforcer King told me.

  “No way,” I almost whispered. “That’s crazy.”

  “Come, you don’t want to keep the head of the coven waiting.”

  Chief Enforcer King led me towards a whitewashed brick building with a green-domed top. It was about the size of a large house, and as soon as we got to the front door, Chief Enforcer King knocked.

  A moment later the door opened, and a girl about my age with a black pixie haircut and round black eyes looked out at us.

  “Chief Enforcer King,” the woman said. “What a wonderful surprise.”

  “Hello, Amy,” Chief Enforcer King replied. “I called Lita a couple of hours ago; I need to speak with her.”

  “Of course,” Amy replied, opening the door wide and leading us through. She looked at me, her eyes full of curiosity.

  “Hi, I’m Tina,” I said to her, holding out a hand.

  “Amy,” the witch replied. “Which coven are you from? Normally, I can tell, but I don’t recognize you.”

  Before I had a chance to answer, Chief Enforcer King interrupted. “I’m sure there will be plenty of time for chatting later, but for now we need to see the head of the coven.”

  Amy nodded quickly, obviously embarrassed at having been chastised. “Of course, Chief Enforcer King. I’m so sorry. Please, follow me.”

  The three of us made our way down a hallway lined with plush, scarlet-red carpeting. At the very end of the hall was a set of gold-gilded doors so ornate I stopped to have a look at them for a second before Amy threw them open.

  “Miss Sahera, I have Chief Enforcer King, and, uh, Tina to see you,” she announced pompously, before closing the door behind us.

  I wasn’t sure what I had expected the leader of a coven to look like. After all, it wasn’t like I had a lot of experience with witches, what with having assumed they weren’t real for my entire life. Was a coven leader going to be old, with warts on her long nose and a crackling laugh? Or maybe she would be more like Professor McGonagall from Harry Potter, stern but fair.

  In reality, though, the leader of the coven was nothing like either. When I had been in elementary school, my best friend was Kirsten Rosetti. Her mother, bless her, was the most amazing woman. She was always bustling around, always telling us we weren’t eating enough, always encouraging, always the friendliest of all the mothers. But, if Kirsten ever did anything bad, my goodness did she ever have a temper.

  Miss Sahera reminded me exactly of Kirsten’s mom.

  “Welcome, welcome. Aria, please, come on in and have a seat. And Tina! It’s so lovely to meet you,” Miss Sahera said, making her way towards me with her arms outstretched. She was rather on the hefty side, with curly black hair that framed her friendly face. She took me into a huge hug, and I had trouble breathing. Miss Sahera was definitely stronger than she looked.

  “Welcome to the magical world, my dear. Aria here tells me you’re likely a witch, but one with no idea as to her powers. Now, I can’t tell you the transition will be easy – frankly I’ve never known anyone in your particular situation – but let me tell you I will do my best to make sure you know exactly what it means to be a witch and that you’re brought up to speed as quickly as possible. Now, to start with, we’re going to need to get you a wand.”

  Chief Enforcer King coughed. “I’m sorry, Lita, but I think first we need to determine for sure that she is a witch.”

  “Oh, of course she’s a witch,” Miss Sahera replied. “I can feel it in my bones. But if it makes you feel any better, I can do the spell.”

  “It would make me feel better,” Chief Enforcer King replied. It was obvious that she wasn’t a huge fan of Miss Sahera’s rather lax style.

  The witch in front of me took a wand out from her waistband. It was about a foot long, smooth and beige, with gold filament wrapped around it. About one third of the way up was a large pearl in the center of the wand, set in place with more gold. I gasped at just how incredible it looked.

  She pointed the wand at me and closed her eyes. “By the power of Jupiter, tell me is there witchcraft in her?”

  The tip of the wand suddenly glowed gold, and Miss Sahera gave a short nod.

  “There we go. Confirmation that Tina here is a witch. You can leave her here with me. I’ll alert the heads of the other clans. After all, I believe this situation is quite unnatural.”

  “Absolutely,” Chief Enforcer King replied. “You’ll be surprised at the questions she asks.”

  “Sorry,” I said, a blush crawling up my face. “I hope it wasn’t rude to ask you what kind of, uh, paranormal you were.”

  Chief Enforcer King smiled. “Not at all. I’ve simply never been asked the question before.” It was true that after knowing the truth, she did have a rather lion-like look to her. I hoped that I was going to get better at recognizing people without having to ask awkward questions in the future. With that, Chief Enforcer King made her way back towards the doors, which opened for her automatically as she approached. I had a sneaking suspicion it wasn’t the same technology that grocery stores used.

  So it was official. I was a witch. I turned to Miss Sahera. I had a lot of questions.

  Chapter 5

  “Miss Sahera?” I started.

  “Please, call me Lita. Everyone else does.”

  “Lita, I have some questions.”

  “I’m sure you do, dear. Please, have a seat,” she said, motioning to what looked like a clear, pink exercise ball in the corner. I sat down on it gingerly, and to my surprise, the ball conformed to my
body perfectly, and stayed in place. It was insanely comfortable, a bit like relaxing in a hammock. Lita sat down on the edge of her desk and looked at me curiously.

  “I do wonder which coven you belong to. I’m certain we’ll discover eventually which celestial power you’re most attracted to. But please, ask away.”

  “So, um, how does being a witch work?” I asked. “I know you just did a spell, but how?”

  “Oh my, you really have no knowledge of witchcraft. Now, witches are born into a certain coven. Magical powers are passed down through the female lineage, so as long as your mother was a witch, you were guaranteed to be a witch as well, regardless of your father’s paranormal status. Your coven is the same as that of your mother’s. Witches from a number of different families belong to the same coven, what connects a coven is the celestial object that powers our witchcraft.”

  “Yours is Jupiter?” I asked, remembering the spell Lita had cast.

  She nodded. “Yes, we are a coven guided by Jupiter, the planet of storms. Our powers are at their strongest when thunder is around.”

  “And my coven is different?”

  “In all likelihood, yes. As far as I’m aware, there were no secret pregnancies in this coven around twenty-five years ago.”

  “So how will we find out what coven I belong to? Like, what powers I have?”

  “There is no way to know, except through experimentation. Once we discover where your powers come from, we should be able to contact the coven to which you truly belong, and we should be able to determine where you come from. We may even be able to determine who your real parents were.”

  That last sentence was like a punch to the chest. I’d spent my entire life having accepted the fact that there was no way I would ever know who my biological parents were. And now, not only had I just discovered that I was a witch with magical powers, but also that there was a chance that I could find out where I came from after all? Yeah, this was a lot to take in all at once.