5

                Monday arrived, and Lizzie and I were a few minutes away from the bed and breakfast. Over the past two days, I’d changed my mind several times about what I wanted to do. I’d almost sent a long text to Moriah’s number saying how big of a mistake I made and that I hope she understood that I needed to figure things out first, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t make myself do it. It was a horrifying thought to be observed from a distance, and I was paranoid that if I didn’t see Moriah for myself that I’d be considered uncooperative and ultimately coerced into doing her bidding anyways. Maybe by going to her on my own I could still find a way to win over her heart, playing innocent, and appealing to the moral side of her head.

                Of course, that assumed she was evil to begin with.

                The possibility still existed that her online personality and the Moriah that spoke to me on the phone were both the real her as well, that she didn’t actually want to use my power for her own benefit and was just a concerned parent trying to connect with all supernaturals. Ever since the fight with my mom, I’d felt very alone with my ability to talk about my powers. My family was a mess, and I wasn’t nearly as close to Lizzie’s family to talk to them about it. That left me with Lizzie herself, and Ramona on a good day when she was feeling calm. If Moriah was to be trusted, I’d have more people to talk to about being supernatural, as well as meet other supernaturals. That kind of offer was incredibly exciting.

                Speaking of Ramona, Lizzie and I had one last failsafe in case things went wrong. We’d let Ramona in on the plan, so that if we somehow went missing and didn’t call by a certain time, she’d immediately get the police over to the bed and breakfast. It was going to be tricky if she needed to provide statements about our meeting, but it was better than nothing.

                The GPS let us know our destination was coming up to the left. By now we were deep in the woods, and houses were sparce. I knew that was coming, but it was still a terrifying prospect to know how isolated and alone we were if trouble arose. A few feet away, and the house emerged. It was a relatively small house compared to most bed and breakfast places I’d seen. If anything, it just looked like any old two-story civilian house with nothing much to stand out. But we knew it was the right place right away, because sitting right on the front steps of the house was Hazel.

                She perked up when she saw Lizzie’s car pull into the driveway, peering into the passenger-side window and spotting me. A smile emerged onto her face, and it seemed like she’d let out a breath. Maybe she’d been stressed as well? We closed the car doors, and I quickly grabbed Lizzie’s hand for support—and a bit of stress—as we met up with Hazel.

                “You actually came!” she said with a nervous chuckle. “I-I wasn’t sure if you actually would…”

                “Yeah, well…” I said neutrally, staying wary. “It’s nice to see you again. This is my girlfriend, Lizzie.”

                They shook hands with quick acknowledgements. “It’s nice to meet you Lizzie,” Hazel said, far perkier than she was when I first met her. “And Beck, I’m sorry I was so vague when we first met. There were things I really wanted to say, but I just… I didn’t know if…” she trailed off awkwardly, unable to finish her sentence.

                “Didn’t know if I knew about magic?” I finished for her, bluntly. “Don’t worry about it, I don’t blame you for being protective of yourself.”

                Lizzie eyed me, lips pressed hard together. Meanwhile, my face flushed with fear, but I held strong. I’d decided ahead of time that I was done with being subtle about magic. We’d been dancing around the topic ever since Hazel found me, and I was sick and tired of not knowing what was going on. I was as confident as Lizzie was that Hazel and Moriah knew about magic, so I figured it was worth just ripping the band-aid off. Still, finally revealing my secret was just about the most terrifying thing I’d ever done.

                Hazel’s eyes widened. “So it’s true!? You really… you really have powers?”

                “Is it true you’re a water bender?” Lizzie cut in before I gave anything away.

                “Water… what?” Hazel asked blankly. “Bender?”

                “Have you never seen Avatar!?” Lizzie said, a nerdy betrayed look on her face. As serious as the moment was, I let out a snicker. Her nerdy side was so cute.

                “Th-The blue people movie?” Hazel asked, confused by Lizzie’s exaggerated reaction. “I… I think I saw it once when it came out but…”

                My girlfriend shook her head in disappointment. “Girl, we have a lot of work to do.”

                “What I think Lizzie is trying to ask here,” I said through a sheepish smile, “is whether it’s true you have water powers. Moriah kinda… implied that you did.”

                “O-Oh!” Hazel said, reeling back from Lizzie’s tangent. She quickly looked around the neighborhood to make sure that the few neighbors within eyesight weren’t outside, before motioning us to huddle closer. Confused, Lizzie and I obliged, bringing our heads close together. Hazel held out her left palm upward and held a finger downward with her right hand. My heartbeat accelerated as Hazel narrowed her eyes in focus. And out of nowhere, a small stream of water seemingly burst into existence from her fingertip, flowing impossibly through the air, looping around itself against gravity’s wishes, and forming a small puddle in the palm of her left hand.

                Lizzie audibly gasped and shoved a hand to her mouth, repeatedly whispering “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…” My own heart pounded as the reality of what I was seeing caught up to me. My skin was going numb, and my mind was growing fuzzy. I’d seen some impossible stuff the last month—had done impossible stuff—yet this was one of the most insane things I’d ever laid my eyes on. Not only was I eyeing water literally defying the laws of physics and forming impossible shapes, but I also had confirmation in something that I’d never thought I’d ever see.

                There was another supernatural out there. And she was right in front of me.

                I really wasn’t alone after all.

                Lizzie was having a harder time containing herself than I was, now physically jumping up and down, squealing with excitement. “Oh my God Beck it’s real! We’re not alone! There’s more! I can’t believe it! It’s not just you! There’s actually a fucking league of supernaturals out there!”

                “Shhhh!” Hazel shushed, smiling through the infectious energy Lizzie displayed, but with hand motions to try to calm her down. “We’re trying to keep this a secret, remember? And there’s no ‘league’ of us here, it’s only two of us right now.”

                “Two?” Lizzie asked, disappointedly.

                “Yeah, me and- shit!” she said suddenly, eyes widened. “I wasn’t supposed to say that yet!”

                “What?” I said, heart skipping a beat, smile vanished from my cheeks.

                Hazel rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. “Yeah I… I wasn’t supposed to reveal anything about us until you proved your powers first. Or even show my own powers for that matter.”

                Lizzie and I exchanged an uncomfortable glance. Suddenly there were rules to all this?

                “I’m sorry! Really!” she said, sensing our discomfort. “I… It’s not that we don’t trust you, it’s just… I mean, we have so much to lose, you know? M-Magic’s kind of a big deal to reveal to someone…”

                “I get it,” I said, crossing my arms. “Moriah said something along the same lines too. But at the same time, I’m at risk too. How do I know this isn’t some ploy to kidnap me and use my powers for your own good? You did sort of show up out of nowhere, you know.”

                “I said I was sorry!” Hazel said, avoiding my eyes. “A-And we’re really not anything like that, I swear! There’s only two of us mages, like I said!”

                “Mages?” Lizzie repeated with a blink. “I’ve been saying supernaturals this whole time…”

                “Who’s the other mage?” I asked impatiently.

                “U-Um…” Hazel muttered, biting her lip. “I… I don’t think I’m supposed to say that either…”

                “You might as well,” I said with a shrug. I didn’t want to intimidate her; I just wanted enough information to know if I could really trust her. “You’ve already told us there’s only one other supernatural.”

                “Oh God…” she said, covering her face up. “I’m so bad at this. I told Mom I’d be bad at this, and here I am, screwing it all up again…”

                “Mom?” Lizzie clarified. “You mean Moriah?”

                “Huh? Oh, r-right, I forgot she told you about that... Y-Yeah, I call her Mom. I mean… she’s been a mother figure my entire life up to this point, how can I not, you know?”

                That certainly aligned with our “Motherly Moriah” vibes. Lizzie and I shared a look, in silent agreement. Our guard was finally starting to come down.

                “Could we maybe… speak to her?” Lizzie asked. “If this kind of thing is too much pressure for you anyways…”

                Hazel looked at the door and shrugged, though she seemed a bit relieved we’d asked. “I’ll go ask real quick. Stay here, I’ll be right back.” And swiftly she ran through the house door.

                Lizzie turned to me sympathetically. “I’m having a real hard time believing these guys are anything dangerous. They’d be way more organized with their stuff.”

                “Maybe,” I said, watching the door carefully. “I’m just… ugh, there’s too much at stake to just go all in, you know? Maybe Moriah will clear things up for us.”

                “Hazel seems happy enough,” she observed. “It doesn’t seem like she’s being mistreated or anything. She’s calling Moriah ‘Mom’ and seemingly just trying to help her mom out. It doesn’t seem like she’s doing anything against her will. She’s not being forced into anything I don’t think.”

                I nodded in agreement. I was now nearly ninety-percent positive we could trust the group, but the consequences of being too trusting were still incredibly dire. I remembered Ramona was one call away back home, so I took a deep breath and willed my nerves to go away.