Fates Entwined

17

Russell looked over at us with a frown but said, "Okay."

Gwen took the girl into the other room, and we all sat down in the living room. Russell had hair the color of straw, a face full of freckles, and bounced on the couch like he had a hard time sitting still.

I looked over at Jordan and said in a low voice, "Let me handle this." I wasn’t sure if Jordan was good around kids or not, but I knew I’d be able to handle whatever Russell threw at us. Being a kindergarten teacher had prepared me for anything.

Jordan shrugged. "That's why you're here."

I hadn’t expected him to let me take over so easily, but I didn't question it. I settled into the chair near Russell and smiled. "Hi, Russell. My name is Stella."

"Hi." Russell picked up a pencil and started scribbling on the page in front of him. Various art supplies were scattered around the table and on the floor, along with half-finished drawings in a variety of colors.

"What are you drawing?" I knew from experience that it wouldn’t be best to just start questioning him right away. Kids tended to clam up when a stranger started interrogating them.

“A wolf." He turned the sketchbook toward me. A blob that vaguely looked like a dog or a horse stared back.

“Very nice,” I said. “I like the way you did the fur."

“I also like drawing people, but I’m not very good at it."

“I bet if you practice, you’ll get better. People are really hard to draw.”

Russell started drawing another shape next to his first wolf. “Or maybe I’ll just keep drawing wolves.”

“That’s fine, too."

“Do you draw?” Russell asked after a few minutes.

"Yes, I teach kindergarten back where I live, so I draw with my students a lot." I paused. "Have you ever tried drawing what happened to you when you went missing?"

Russell threw the pencil down. “I already told everyone that I don’t remember anything.”

"That's okay. I'm here to help you with that. You see...I have magic." I wiggled my fingers in front of his face.

Russell looked at my hands for a few moments, and then up to me. He seemed curious, which was a good sign. "Real magic?"

"Yes." I lowered my voice like I was sharing a secret. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm part witch."

"No way."

"Why don't you tell me what you do remember, and I'll see if I can use my magic to fill in the blanks."

Russell stared at me and I thought he might bolt, but then he sighed and said, "I was out with Stephanie—that's my sister—playing out by the Nose. I don’t remember what happened after that until I was walking back into town sometime later.”

“What’s the Nose?” I asked.

“It’s a big hill outside of town that’s shaped like a nose," Jordan said.

I nodded and turned back to Russell. "Do you remember anything about the time in between, even if it’s just a few flashes or memories?”

Russell shook his head.

"I’m going to try to do a little bit of magic on you now if that’s okay.”

Russell nodded and sat up straighter. “Is it going to look cool?”

“Maybe,” I said a few words in ancient Greek and pushed the magic toward him, trying to draw out those missing memories. But when I pushed I felt something like a block in his mind, something that felt like heat and bright light. Sun magic. I pulled back immediately.

Russell gave me a skeptical look. “There weren’t any sparks or anything. Are you sure it worked?”

"I'm not sure. I'd like to try one more time.” I didn’t want to push any harder than I already was because it might hurt him. With his mind still so young and developing, there was no telling what a spell like this could do if I pushed too hard. Especially with sun magic, which I knew very little about. Ayla would be better equipped to handle Sun Witch magic, but even then, she wasn’t an expert in it. But maybe if I tried a slightly different spell...

Russell's brow furrowed. “Maybe if I concentrate, too."

"That's a good idea."

I said a few new words in ancient Greek, adding a little bit of glowing light to my hands, which I held near Russell's head. His eyes widened as I kept chanting, this time trying to slip around the block in his mind, and this time I got a few flashes of images. Somewhere dark and cool. A rocky ceiling. A cave, maybe?

I tried to dig deeper, but the images slipped away from me like water. The sun magic was firmly blocking everything else, and I didn’t think I could remove it without hurting Russell.

I ended the spell and the glow around my hands faded. “Thank you, Russell."

He sat up a little straighter. "That was so cool. Did it work that time?"

"Yes, a little bit."

"Probably because I was concentrating," he said with that certainty that only a kid can possess.

"No doubt," Jordan said, giving the kid's shoulder a squeeze. "You did great."

We left the house a few minutes later, and as soon as we got into the car, Jordan asked, "What did you find out?"

"There was a block in his mind, hiding his memories, and I'm pretty sure it was sun magic."

Jordan swore under his breath. "I knew it."

"I couldn't remove it without hurting him, but I did get a tiny glimpse from his memories. It looked like he was being held somewhere dark, cold, and rocky, like maybe in a cave." "Not much to go on." He gripped the steering wheel hard, though he didn't start the car. "We asked Stephanie what happened too, but she didn't see anything. She turned around and he was gone. Like he just vanished. I suspected then it was the Sun Witches." His fingers tightened until his knuckles were white. "Now we know for sure."

"How long was Russell missing for?"