The Witch's Key

Episode 4: I'll See You Tomorrow

I did the stupid thing and looked behind me, just to be absolutely sure Kai was talking to me, which of course he was. There was literally nothing behind me but the door to the house.

What in the world was he doing here? Did he know what I'd done?

My hands immediately went clammy, and I started to sweat.

"I don't want to be late for school," I said.

"This won't take long." His voice was deeper than I'd anticipated. "I'll walk with you."

By this point, my heart was beating about a thousand beats a second, and I felt like I was about to pass out.

How could he possibly know? What powers did this guy have, exactly?

I nearly tripped over my own feet as I joined him on the sidewalk. He towered over my five-foot-four-inch frame, and I wondered if this guy had some kind of superhuman strength. As the daughter of two natural-born Slayers, I had exceptional speed and some innate magical talent, but I wasn't gifted with strength the way some others were.

Maybe I should start bringing some kind of weapon with me to school. Or would that get me kicked out? Yeah, probably not a great idea for the principal to find a silver dagger in my backpack.

Of course, until I figured out what he was, I wouldn't know what type of weapon would hurt him, anyway.

"I'm guessing you just want to introduce yourself," I said, stalling as we walked toward the school. "Just part of the Newcastle High welcome committee, right? They always send the sweetest, most non-intimidating students to make sure us newbies feel safe. Well, it's super nice to meet you. I'm Lenny, by the way. Not that you asked."

He didn't look amused.

"You already know what I want to talk about," he said. "You're messing with things you don't understand, and it's going to stop."

Well, now that just made me want to dig deeper. He obviously didn't have me quite as pegged as he thought he did. You can't just tell a rebellious teenager to stop. That was nothing but more temptation.

"Or maybe you want me to stop because I understand more about what's going on than you want me to," I said, stopping to look him in the eye. I had to look up quite a bit to get there, but hopefully I managed to look somewhat menacing, despite the height difference.

Okay, well, apparently that was amusing to him.

He smiled. Or maybe smirked was a better word for it.

"You're what? Seventeen? A witch with her first key who thinks she can take on the world? I've seen your kind before. You need to stay out of this before you get yourself killed."

I lifted my chin in defiance.

"And who exactly do you think you are? We're in the same grade at school, so that makes you what? Eighteen, maybe? Unless you flunked a few grade levels trying to understand the basics of how to be a decent human being," I said. "Oh, but wait, you're not human, are you? I may not be skilled enough yet to know what the heck you are, but I can guarantee you I didn't grow up in a small town like this, and I know a lot more than you think."

"You stole my straw yesterday, didn't you?" His eyes narrowed in on my face, which was probably turning pink right about now. He took a step closer, causing me to take a step back toward the wrought iron fence behind me. "But you obviously didn't find the information you wanted from it. Can't you see you're in over your head. Even from day one."

He was standing so close, I couldn't breathe. He was right about me, and I didn't want him to be.

How was it that he could see me so clearly, and I couldn't see the truth about him at all?