Moonflower

The wind blew, and a huge pentagram appeared in front of the paper charm. That pentagram then turned into a screen-like circle. Inside it, one could see a woman sleeping in a messy room. She was snoring and only wearing a loose T-shirt.

“Casa,” Rie called. But the other didn’t budge. So, she had to try again in a much louder voice. “Casa!”

This time, her aunt’s body jerked, a common movement when someone suddenly woke up. Casa sat up too quickly, causing her to fall from the bed.

“Fuck,” Casa groaned. She looked around, and the moment she saw Rie, she quickly frowned. “Henrietta?” She stood up and sat on the bed. Seeing her completely woke the other. “Where are you?”

With her short brown hair and hazel eyes, Casa looked like she was only in her mid-20s. But that’s far from truth. The other was more than a hundred years old. Another perk of being a witch.

“Don’t worry, I’m outside the academy.”

Casa nodded. But her expression was still grim. “This should be very important for you to go out of the academy on your own. So, what is it? Did something happen at the academy?”

“First, sorry for disturbing your sleep,” Rie started. Based on the letter the other last sent, Casa was now somewhere in Asia. With the time difference between the two, it’s probably around midnight where she was.

“It’s fine. I may not be very reliable at time. But I’m still your aunt. If you have a problem that you can’t solve on your own, I’ll always be here to lend a hand. So, what happened?”

Rie looked at her aunt. Yes, Casa could really be unreliable, but when it involved her and Eri’s safety, she would go above and beyond to make sure they wouldn’t be in danger.

Rie took a deep breath and told Casa the problem. “I can’t sleep. It’s been days now. The tea made from flax seeds doesn’t work anymore. I need something stronger. I—” She clenched her fists. “I don’t want to relieve that night over and over again. I might go crazy if this continues.”

Casa was silent for a few seconds, as if in deep thought. “It’s likely because you’re turning 18 next month. You know what that means, right?”

Rie bit her bottom lip and nodded.

“Soon, even that bracelet won’t have any effect,” Casa added.

Rie automatically clasped the bracelet she was wearing. This was also one thing she feared. Casa stood up and picked a bag from the pile of messy things on the floor. Then she took out a satchel from it. Casa opened the satchel and took out a small vial.

“Put a drop of this on your tea before you sleep.” Casa mumbled some spell and in just a few seconds, the vial appeared on Rie’s palm. “It’s only a temporary solution, Rie. Don’t you think it’s time for you to face your fears?”

“I can’t. I’m still too weak, Casa,” Rie said, gazing down at the vial with a bitter smile on her lips.

Casa looked at her with understanding. “You were never weak, Rie. Just when did having fears equate to being weak? You’re strong. Believe more in yourself. If you only know the extent of your power, the extent of your magic.”

Rie only grasped the vial she was holding tighter. Because of the last thing Casa said, she was again reminded that she wasn’t a human. That she, too, was a witch.

“Magic that I couldn’t control,” she said in a sarcastic tone.

“Don’t worry, I will go back before you and Eri’s 18th birthday. It’s already time to leave that academy.”

Hearing that surprised Rie. But she could ask what the other meant. Casa seemed to have remembered something and quickly said;

“Tell Eri that I miss her, and of course, I miss you too, Rie. Ciao!”

Casa flicked her fingers, and the screen vanished. The paper charm also turned into dust.

Rie stared unbelievingly in front of her before putting the vial in the pocket of her pants, feeling a bit annoyed. “That Casa, always doing whatever she wanted.”

She remembered what the other said, about it being the right time to leave the academy. Did that mean Casa would finally take them? But how about the House of Hecate? Had the other finally thought of a way so they wouldn’t take her and Eri? She still had a lot of questions. But there’s really only one thing that Rie was worried about right now.

But that’s not all. Once a witch or a wizard became 18, their magic would also reach its full potential. And that’s what scared Rie more.

Because just like what she said to Casa earlier, she couldn’t control her magic. It’s the reason she was wearing this bracelet, to stop the uncontrollable flow of magic in her body. And just like what Casa said, it would soon not be enough.

It’s one of things that remained a mystery to her. Because when she was younger, she could control her magic perfectly. But after her father died, she also lost the ability to control it.

The only answer she could think of was because she was so traumatized by what had happened. Most people would lose their mind if the same thing happened to them.

Rie took a deep breath. She needed to go back to Miss Nováková. The other might wonder why she still hadn’t returned. But before that, she needed to look for a gauze to bandage her wrist. She still needed to sell her lie, after all.

Rie was about to open the door when she heard a sudden thud. As if there was something heavy that tumbled from the sky. She quickly turned and almost gasped when she saw a man standing in the middle of the rooftop.

The man was tall, almost six feet, if Rie was not mistaken. His muscles were very prominent in the simple white shirt that he’s wearing. His black hair was messy, as if a strong wind had blown on it. A few of its strands were covering the upper half of his face. But she could still see a straight nose and a set of sharp jaws with a night worth of stubbles.

Rie might not be familiar with males because she grew up in a place filled with females. But she would say with confidence that this guy was probably someone that others would consider ‘handsome’.

She shook her head. This was not the time to observe this guy’s appearance. What she should have been thinking right now was where the heck did this person come from? She was certain that she was alone on the rooftop. She examined the place before contacting Casa. The only way to go here was through the door behind her. And since she attached the paper charm on the door, she’s sure than no one had entered it.

So, again, where did this man come from?

She immediately racked her brain for an answer, but the only thing that came to mind was that the other jumped from the ground to this rooftop. Then that would make this guy a supernatural being. The other guess was that he was a vampire. Those bastards could teleport. But then again, the sun was pretty high in the sky. No vampire would dare teleport to a place this high up.

The sun could burn those bastards alive, turning them into ashes. So, no vampire usually went out during the day.

Rie’s thoughts were interrupted when the guy started walking. If it could even be called that. He walked as if stalking a prey. And from the current situation, she was the ‘prey’. It’s because even though she couldn’t see the other’s eyes clearly, she could still feel that he was staring at her.

His gaze felt like it’s piercing her soul. She suddenly felt nervous. What if this guy was here because of her?

Rie no longer thought of those things and just got the hell out of there. But before she could even turn around to open the door, someone suddenly pulled her arm from behind. Because of the sudden pull, she had no choice but to turn around. The moment she did, she came face to face with a pair of startling eyes.

Eyes as dark as the night sky.

The man was even bigger up close, his biceps and muscular chest rippling. Rie pushed down whatever nervousness she was feeling. No matter who or what this man was, she wouldn’t let him scare her.

“Pustit za me,” she said in Czech, telling the man to let go of her. Her voice was low but full of threat. As if she was ready to beat the crap out of the other at any second.

But it’s like the other didn’t hear her because instead of letting her go, he pulled her closer. He stared at her face as if searching for something. Rie didn’t want to, but she felt her cheeks heating. Could anyone blame her? This was the closest she got to a man. She didn’t like it one bit. The sudden skipping of her heart was even more unbearable.

“I said—”

Rie hadn’t continued what she was saying because the man suddenly leaned down. It startled Rie. Her whole body froze up. But the most annoying part was, her heart started beating faster for no reason. As if she was running in a race.

Then Rie felt the other’s breath on her neck. Wait- was this bastard sniffing her? That finally woke her up from her stupor.

“Let go of me!” she shouted, pushing the other with all her might. But it was like pushing a stone wall. The man didn’t even budge.

“Don’t move,” the man said in English. It lacked the usual accent that people who grew up in the Czech Republic had whenever they talked in that language.

But Rie wasn’t able to focus on that because the other’s voice caught all her attention. It was such a deep baritone. With how close the two of them were, it almost felt like it was reverberating through her.

Rie secretly scolded herself. What’s her problem? This- this bastard was sniffing her, and she was more concerned by the other’s voice. She clenched her fists. Rie forced herself to calm down. Because that’s the only way to control whatever she was planning. Then, she did the last thing she never thought she would do in this situation.

She used her magic.

In the blink of an eye, her magic pushed away the other from her. Rie shockingly stared at her hands. She willed herself to stop the flow of magic and it stopped. It seemed like this was one of her lucky days because her magic obeyed her.

She lifted her head to see where the man was and was surprised to see that the other actually flew a few feet away from her. There was a hint of utter surprise on his face.

“What are you?” he asked.

It didn’t get past Rie’s notice that the man used ‘what’ instead of ‘who’. She almost shouted that shouldn’t she be the one asking that question? But she took that chance to run out of the rooftop instead. Then, she rushed towards the elevator at her fastest speed. She probably had never run as fast as she did at this moment.

Until the elevator reached the ground floor, Rie’s heartbeat still hadn’t calmed down. The moment she walked out of the elevator, she quickly stopped the nurse passing by and asked for a bandage.

“Can I ask what do you need it for?” the nurse asked.

Rie almost groaned in frustration. But she still asked in a pleading tone, “I just really need it, please?”

It seemed like her pleading worked because the other said, “Follow me.”

Before following the nurse, Rie looked from left to right, making sure that the man from the rooftop was not there. She only let out a sigh of relief when she didn’t see him. But she couldn’t help but feel that the other was still watching her somewhere.

I really need to get out of this hospital.

RIE only felt reassured once she and Miss Nováková returned to St. Marketa. When the nurse gave her the bandage, she carefully wrapped it around her wrist. The two of them would have returned faster if that man hadn’t appeared.

“Thank you, ma’am, for accompanying me,” she said to the director with a slight smile once they returned to the dormitory.

“You’re welcome. I told you, it’s only part of my job,” the other said, walking straight back to her office.

Rie was about to climb up the stairs when she saw Eri rushing down. When the other saw her, she hurried towards her with a worried frown on her beautiful face.

“Rie, where have you been?” Eri asked. “I’ve been so worried. If no one had told me they’d seen you leave with Miss Nováková, I might have thought that something bad happened to you.”

“Sorry, I forgot to send you a message,” Rie apologized. “I went to the hospital with Miss Nováková.”

“Hospital?” That’s when Eri noticed the bandaged on Rie’s wrist. “What happened to your hand?” she asked, full of worry. “You should have woken me up so I could accompany you!”

Rie sighed. She leaned towards her sister and whispered, “It’s not real.”

“What do you mean?” Eri asked in confusion.

Rie raised her bandaged hand and moved it around, waving it back and forth.

Eri’s eyes widened when she saw it. “Then why did you—”

“I need a reason to go out of the academy. I had to contact Casa.”

“Why?”

Rie suddenly didn’t know how to answer that. But in the end, she still was honest. “I asked for a sleeping potion.”

Eri’s expression softened. Her amber-colored eyes showed worry and helplessness. “Oh Rie, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I just don’t want you to worry.”

“I’m you twin sister. I have every right to worry.” Eri reached out and held Rie’s hand. “Don’t always take every problem by yourself. Aren’t I here to share it with you?”

“I’m really sorry,” Rie said, feeling guilty.

“I’ll let you go this time because I love you, but try not to do it again.”

Rie smiled at the other’s adorable admonition. “Yes, ma’am.”

Eri hugged her arm. “So, was there anything else that happened besides your talk with Casa?”

Rie cringed a bit, remembering what happened at the hospital. “There’s… something.”

She started telling her sister what had happened. And once again, she couldn’t help but remember that man’s face, his ruffled black hair, and his dark, dark eyes.