It's Not Dark Magic

4

Virgil awoke in a sunny room. It was white, hurting his eyes. Was this heaven?

His head hurt like hell, he could feel bruises on his arms and legs. He tried to sit up but was met with a shock of agony in his arm, which was definitely broken.

"Patt..." Virgil groaned, he still could barely see, it was too bright. When he heard no answer, he assumed Patton was still asleep. "Janus... are you up?" he groaned again.

He got zero response again. Virgil squinted his eyes to try and see where he was; the light didn't seem like the cave, it wasn't colourful enough.

Eventually, he could see the room he was in, which didn't seem like the cave at all. Virgil was laying on a couch, facing a sliding glass door with the sun shining in his eyes.

"Ah, good, you're awake," Virgil heard someone say. He jumped at the voice that he didn't recognize.

"W- where am I?" Virgil asked, squinting his eyes again.

"Oh, sorry about that, let me close the blinds," The person walked in front of Virgil, blocking the light and soon closing the curtains.

Virgil's eyes widened, it was a man who looked rather familiar. Virgil's sight finally settled down, and he could see the male clearly now. He was gorgeous, even though he was in a t-shirt and sweats.

The boy walked closer to Virgil, taking a weight off of his head and replacing it with a new, colder one.

"Are you my spirit guide?" Virgil raised his good arm to rub his eyes.

"No silly," the male laughed, "I'm Logan. You crashed your broomstick on our balcony  last night."

Virgil sat up, anxious. Logan knows... this is the end, Virgil will be tried for witchcraft and he'll never see his family again. He started searching his pockets for his forget-me-nots as if it would do anything. He found a small bag and was just about to take out some powder, but before he could continue, Logan stopped him.

"I know..." Logan said, "I'm one too."

"How can I believe you...?" Virgil eyed Logan suspiciously.

"Hang on..." Logan got up and went onto the balcony.

It was a few moments of silence. For all Virgil knew, Logan could be calling the police at that very second. He heard the sound of crushing herbs, boiling water, and eventually, water being poured into a cup. Logan came back into sight again with a cup of... something.

"Take this," Logan handed Virgil the cup.

Virgil peered inside the liquid, which was coloured purple. He looked at Logan with great concern, but his eyes said "drink." So, Virgil did just that.

It had a fairly odd taste to it, there were so many herbs and it even had a bit of a fizz to it. Once the drink trickled to the back of his throat, Virgil could feel his arm feel immediately better, his head too. They weren't completely healed, but they didn't feel as painful anymore.

Virgil finished his first sip, raising an eyebrow when he felt the immediate effects.

"Anti-Pain Potion," Logan explained, "It doesn't heal anything, but it numbs the pain so you can do things. It works on everything and can save half an hour of your life if your seriously wounded."

"Wow..." Virgil downed the rest of it, hoping he would have the strength to fly back home, "Thanks, I'll have to get the recipe off of you. Some of my friends are also potion makers."

"There's more witches!?" Logan's eyes lit up with excitement. He looked like he was ready to jump off the walls.

Virgil nodded, smiling at Logan's giddiness. He knew that Janus wanted Virgil to bring Logan and Remy to meet them.

"I can bring you to meet them!" Virgil sat up, painless, "let's go now! We can get there in no time on my broom."

Logan's face turned from a smile to a worried frown. He itched the back of his neck to fidget.

"About that..." Logan mumbled.

Logan went out to the balcony again and came back with a pile of slivers of black wood. It was the same colour that Virgil could remember his broom was coloured. He was still a little tired to comprehend it at first, but then his face dropped, his eyes watered just a bit.

That wasn't just a broom, it was a part of Virgil; he had had it for a very long time, it was a reminder that he had managed to keep him and his friends safe for so many years.

"I'm sorry..." Logan said, "I know that it's difficult to ride a broom, let alone find one that works with you."

"It's alright, really," Virgil said, "That was an old one, I've had since I was, like, 14."

Virgil laughed it off, trying to get Logan to laugh too, and he did.

"Do you have a broom by any chance?" Virgil asked, expecting no answer.

"Uh..." Logan looked around before going into his bedroom, "Remy, love, do we have a broom?"

"Maybe?" Remy responded, "I don't know, why are you asking me?"

"Our friend here needs a broom to ride home on," Logan said.

There was a short pause, probably filled by mutters of confusion by Remy in the other room.

"Look in the cleaning closet, I don't know," Remy said.

Logan came out of the bedroom, walking towards a small closet next to the front door. He opened it to reveal a few things leaning on the wall. A mop, vacuum, and behind a few rags, there was a tattered old broom. Logan reached to the back of the closet and pulled it out, dusting off the broomstick.

"I guess we do have a broom," Logan said with a chuckle, "We obviously never use, so, here."

Logan walked over to Virgil and held the broom out to him. Virgil stood up and took the broom out of Logan's fingers. He smiled and made his way through the sliding glass doors to the balcony, Logan following him.

Virgil started mounting his broom like he had when leaving the cafe. He stood it upright, positioning his feet next to the bristles, he gripped the stick tightly and closed his eyes. He felt a light breeze blowing below him, then, it jerked upwards suddenly.

The next thing Virgil knew, his face was on the ground again.