Enzo told me. My heart stopped beating.
“Magic?”
I asked, my voice sounding distant.
He nods.
“Yes,”
he answered out loud. “I’m going to contact that witch in my mother’s village when we get home. She might be able to help us uncover what’s being hidden.”
We were getting closer to the truth; Professor Xander might be trying to poison me. I suddenly wasn’t feeling so well.
“Let’s go home,”
I said, taking in a steady deep breath to calm my nerves; and home went.
Enzo’s POV
Lila sat with me on my bed as I called my mother. She answered on the second ring.
“Enzo? Hi, sweetheart,”
she said on the other end of the phone. “How are you doing?”
“I’m afraid this isn’t a casual phone call,”
I told her gently. “I’m calling because I need a favor.”
“Of course, what can I do for you?”
She asked, and I heard the concern in her voice.
“Your witch that keeps your village protected; may I speak with her?”
She was quiet for a moment.
“Hazel?”
She asked. “She’s in her home. I can go grab her though; it’s not far.”
“Thank you, Mom,”
I said as I met Lila’s worried eyes.
“Is everything okay?”
My mother asked and I heard her getting her shoes on to leave her house. “What do you need her for?”
“Lila was given a protein shake by someone we don’t trust. I sent it to my pack clinic for testing and the test results are coming up strange,”
I explained. “The researcher thinks it’s being masked by magic and only a with can uncover what it is.”
My mother gasped.
“Oh, my goddess,”
she breathed. “Did Lila drink any of it?”
Lila, who was listening to the phone from me.
“Hi, Diana,”
she said sweetly, making me smile. “I did drink some of it, it hurt my throat and mouth. Enzo told me that the doctor thinks it’s wolfbane, but we won’t know for sure until we get rid of whatever is masking it.”
“Oh, you poor thing,”
my mother breathed. “I’m almost at her house. Give me one minute.”
“Thank you so much. We really appreciate this,”
she said, looking up at me.
She handed the phone to me, and I heard my mother knocking on a door, presumably the door to Hazel’s house.
Soon, I heard some muffled murmurs that I couldn’t understand. After a few minutes, a new voice appeared on the other end.
“Hello… this is Hazel?”
Her voice was gentle and sounded a bit older.
“I’m so sorry to bother you, Hazel. Thank you for taking my phone call,”
I began to say.
“Anything for Diana’s son,”
she said after a short pause. “I know you don’t remember much about me because I remained at home most of the time during your childhood, but I do care very much about you and this village.”
“I appreciate that,”
I said in return. “We need your help with something.”
“Your mother mentioned something about a protein mix being poisoned with wolfsbane?”
“We only think it’s wolfbane. We don’t know for sure; but whatever it is, it’s being masked with something, and the researcher thinks it’s magic.”
“I see…”
she said, and I knew from her tone that she was frowning. “And you need a witch to uncover it?”
“Yes,”
I answered. “Is that something you’d be able to do?”
She was quiet for a moment.
“I don’t let many people see me,”
she breathed. “You see… I’ve been in hiding for a long time. It’s part of why I don’t leave my home. I’ve been hunted for a very long time.”
“Hunted?”
I asked; Lila’s eyes widened for she too heard what I did. “Why have you been hunted?”
“Because I have befriended Volana wolves. Those who are after Volana’s, including many other witches, find me a threat. They think I might know something that could be useful to them. I have been taken before and tortured…”
she stopped speaking as she gathered her thoughts. “They did unspeakable things to me; they were asking me all sorts of questions about the Volanas I’m in communication with… it was your mother and this village that saved me and ever since then I refuse to allow that to happen to me again.”
“I’m so sorry that happened to you, Hazel…”
I said, shaking my head.
I had no idea that happened; I must have been so young that my mother kept it from me. I did always wonder how my mother came across a witch that she trusted enough to keep us protected though.
I knew of the witch, and I knew where she lived, but I never saw her. She’d only been for around a year before I was taken to the Calypso pack. Up until that point, we were unprotected and constantly in danger.
“I wouldn’t be able to just go to your pack and to allow anyone who isn’t a Volana into our barrier I’d have to release the barrier…”
she explained. “I can’t risk that…”
“I understand your concerns, Hazel. I don’t blame you for being worried. But I can promise you that no danger will come to you in our pack,”
I assured her. “I don’t want you to release the barrier because it’s the only thing protecting my mother and others. But I can have my best warriors escort you to the pack and stay by your side the entire time.”
She was quiet and I could sense her hesitation.
“This is important…”
I said calmly. “My mate, a Volana wolf, might be in danger and I need the proof before any action is taken. I don’t know any other witches I can trust. You know how rare they are to come across.”
“Yes…”
she breathed. “Good witches are a rarity these days,”
she agreed. “If anything happens to me, this village will fall…”
“That’s one of the reasons why keeping you protected is so important to me. Not just for your well-being, but my mother’s too. I know what’s at stake and I can promise you… I won’t let anything happen to you.”