Thankfully, it didn’t take them long to figure out where the fish was. However, Dre wasn’t too excited to find out that she was indeed with whatever witch lived in this town. Him and Raphael were sat at park bench not far from the Apothecary, a wide grin plastered across his face as his familiar told him all that she had learned. The copperhead wrapped loosely around his arm as she gazed up at him. Her smooth voice played within his mind and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“What is she saying?” Raphael questioned and he laughed again in response. Raph just shook his head, questioning again. “Man, come on Dre. You know Sabine won’t let me hear her.”

“And that’s my fault how? You stepped on her,” he said, regaining his composure. “I don’t tell her what to do, so that’s on you.”

“Well, tell me what she said then!” He insisted, becoming impatient.

“It’s just a kid, Raph,” he chuckled. “Turns out it’s a witch and he’s just some orphaned kid who goes to the school here. There’s another one too, a girl from the quarter. She says it would be best if we got them separately though, maybe take them by surprise.” He rubbed the top of her head with his finger, feeling the smoothness of her scales before she slithered somewhere inside his jacket.

“That shouldn’t be too hard, being that they still don’t know we’re here.”

“Yeah, that spell worked like a charm for sure,” he leaned back, adjusting the shades over his eyes. “We should rest though and wait until it gets later. I used a lot of magic masking our powers and need to at least gain some of it back just in case. I’ll send you to keep an eye on the girl, make sure she doesn’t come around while I take care of the orphan boy and his familiar. Sabine’ll definitely come in handy if he doesn’t give up the fish easily or tries something stupid.”

Raph nodded along as Dre explained his plan. Something told him this would be a piece of cake and that they’d be back on the road in no time.

***

As the day went by, Kleo couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to happen. He didn’t know what or why, but some ball was going to drop and it caused an anxious feeling to form in the pit of his stomach. It was there when he had lunch with Sean and stayed tucked away in the back of his mind as he ran around town running last minute errands for the Apothecary. He didn’t know how to bring it up to anyone, thinking that maybe it was just residual emotions from the previous day. So, he sort of just kept it to himself and tried to focus on anything else. Luckily, he didn’t have to say anything to Nox. He could tell his familiar understood whatever it was he was feeling and every so often he’d get a little wave of comfort from where he hid within his shadow while they were out and about. (Kleo still didn’t know how that worked exactly, but it meant Nox was always with him if he didn’t have somewhere else to be, and he was pretty darn thankful for it at that moment.)

That morning, Nox had shared with him what he learned about the guys at the Chesapeake a few days back and the probably of them coming back. He figured though that they’d have some time since he hadn’t heard anything past that. Still, even with his reasoning and the short bursts of comfort Nox provided, he had a difficult time getting rid of the nagging feeling that something was going on. He seriously needed a distraction and since he had assignments due soon that he needed to work on anyway, he thought getting himself lost in the world Poe would be a better than sitting around and doing nothing. The Apothecary was closed for the night, Alexei was on campus for some study group, and Effie was splashing around upstairs. So, Kleo sat himself behind the bar of the Apothecary and played his study playlist through the store’s speakers as he got to work.

Someone’s coming.

He was so deep into thought, he nearly jumped at Nox’s warning and suddenly the door chimed as someone walked in.

“Home so soon?” He immediately said, assuming it was Alexei but when he looked up, he saw a strange man standing there instead. The guy looked somewhat young, maybe somewhere in his mid twenties, and he wore tight jeans with large, brown boots and a jacket tied around his waist. His skin look tanned as if he spent hours outside with sun bleached curls on top of his head to match. He obviously wasn’t from the area, Kleo would have seen him before for sure, and it was too far into the semester for a transfer student to suddenly show up. Sure, Safehaven had its fair share of tourists coming through now and then, but this guy was something else, Kleo just knew it. His stomach twisted and the alarms inside his mind started to go off. He tried not to let it show and kept his face neutral as he spoke. “Oh, I’m sorry, but we’re already closed for the night.” He gave him his customer service smile, staying behind the safety of the counter.

The guy seemed to look him over, a grin forming on his face and Kleo didn’t like how vulnerable he suddenly felt. “So you’re the witch of the town, huh?” The guy chuckled and Kleo felt his smile strain before disappearing completely. “Who leaves a kid in charge?” The guy laughed this time and Kleo could see his shoulders shake as the man wiped his face. He watched him, saying nothing as the guy took a look around the place before walking towards the counter. Kleo took a step back, no longer feeling safe where he stood. He didn’t know what to do or say and soon the man’s eyes fell on him again. “Say, you have something of mines, don’t you?” Kleo felt a shiver run up his spine.

“You must be mistaken,” he said instantly, his voice surprisingly calm.

“Now, don’t make this difficult kid.” He was stern with his words but his creepy grin was still there and Kleo felt himself frown.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kleo told him and that grin turned downward.

“Listen, I’m not one to hurt a kid—”

“Then maybe you should leave,” Kleo didn’t know where the sudden confidence came from, but just as quick as he spoke, he cut him off. “You have no right to be here. Now, I don’t know what you’ve lost, but trust me when I say you’re better off scurrying off back to whatever hole you came out of.” He surprised himself with his words and could tell that the guy also did not expect him to say something like that. The air between them felt thick as they stood in silence, staring one another down. Suddenly, the man laughed, slamming his hand down on the counter as he went, before quickly leaning over and grabbing Kleo by the front of his shirt.

“You listen and you listen good,” he pulled him so close, Kleo had to grab onto the counter to keep their heads from knocking. “You bring me my damn fish or you’re gonna wish you never stuck your nose somewhere it doesn’t belong.”

“I think you’ll be the one with regret,” Kleo said as his shadow crept over the counter where the guy held him. He heard Nox hiss from the patch of darkness before coming up between them, scratching at the man’s face. He got him good on the cheek, causing the man to instantly let kleo go, stepping back with a yell. He glared at Kleo, putting a hand over his cheek.

“Big mistake.”

Before Kleo could even register what was happening, a snake leapt out from behind the man and tangled with Nox on the floor. He hissed again, struggling and clawing as it wrapped around him. It all happened so fast that before Kleo could even make his way around the counter and get the snake off of him, the snake had sunk its fangs into Nox’s side. Horror and dread filled him as he witnessed his body still. He went to his knees, trying to grab the snake’s tail but as soon as he touched it, it was gone. He didn’t have time to process how the snake could disappear so suddenly, he was too focused on checking on Nox. He had to know he was ok.

He knew he wasn’t dead, he could still feel him there, even with his body limp and lifeless. Kleo was panicked now, not knowing what to do or how to even help him. He was completely unprepared and then suddenly, he couldn’t breathe. He grabbed at his neck where the snake was wrapped around, slowly tightening its grip. He gasped, trying to pull it off.

“Tell me where she is and I’ll let you go,” he heard the man say before he was shoved to the ground. Kleo scrambled to his side, still trying to grip on the smooth scales that were slowly closing his airways. He opened his mouth, trying to get any air he could but he knew that any longer, and it just wouldn’t be enough. Still, he wouldn’t dare say a word. He quickly looked around, trying to think up a plan. “What? Don’t have nothing to say?” He pulled Kleo up by his shirt and looked him in the eyes. “Do you really want to die today, kid?”

Kleo really wanted to tell him to fuck off, but a snake around his neck made that pretty difficult. He hoped the glare he was sending him made it clear enough. The guys grip tightened along with the snake and Kleo winced.

“I’ll find her either way! Whether you tell me or not, it won’t matter, you know. You’ll just be dead.”

Kleo took the last bit of breath he possibly could before grabbing onto the man’s collar. He clenched his fists, staring into his eyes and opened his mouth, as if to speak. He felt the warmth begin to form within and this time, Kleo welcomed it graciously. It still scared him, the power he hid deep down, but dying scared him more. The snake loosened just enough for him to get a word out and the guy waited for him to speak.

“Go on, that’s the spirit, tell me where she is kid,” he encouraged him and this time, Kleo chuckled.

“Fuck you.”

Flames pooled out of his hands, washing over his skin and up towards the snake that was now trying so desperately to get away. It was gone in a flash and in its wake, starting from the tips of his fingers and slowing growing, his skin began to turn as black as ink. The man’s eyes widened and he stayed there as if he were frozen in fear. He suddenly let go of Kleo then, trying to get away but Kleo’s grip didn’t loosen. In fact, it tightened as he began to lift him up and off of the ground. The man began to panic as his toes now barely touched the ground.

“Wh- I, I’m sorry. I’ll get out of here, okay? Keep the fish, okay?” His voice was softer then, fear dripping from his words as he gently placed his hands over Kleo’s. He shook as he stood there, stuck in his grip. Kleo himself felt stuck there, staring at this man as a fire raged inside of him that Kleo didn’t know how to put out.

“Kleo!”

He blinked then, turning his head to see Alexei standing at the door, eyes wide and gripping his bag as he took in the scene before him. Kleo felt his grip loosen and the man fell to the floor before scrambling to get up. He ran past Alexei, out the door, and into the night. Kleo felt the fire inside him begin to die down and when he looked at his hands, they were back to their normal color. He closed his eyes and took in a long, deep breath.

“It’s okay. I’m okay.”