Chapter 7

In the dimly lit root cellar, the boys were catching their breath after a narrow escape from a fiery confrontation, getting to know each other.

"I'm Landon Kirby, so you're supernatural too. I saw the spell you did to put that fire-breathing lady to a pause, allowing us to escape," said Landon, with a hint of envy in his voice.

Jacob, with a casual tone, asked, "Ooie... you sound surprised, ain't you a supernatural too?"

"Nah, I wish, what made you think that?" replied Kirby.

"What!!? You're not? Then why was that fire-breathing thingy after you, man?" exclaimed Jacob.

Before Landon could say more, the door of the root cellar creaked open, and a ebony, tall manly boy came in. Landon looked up, saw him, then exclaimed in excitement. "Raf?!,... Holy hell", ran to embrace him while still talking "how did you find me?"

"There's, um, a lot of crazy witchy people looking for you" Said the one called Raf. "There's a bus full of burned up people" Raf continued 

"I know, I was there. It's crazy, man," Landon said.

"Did you do it,?" Raf asked.

"What? No. That wasn't me," Landon defended himself. "You can ask him," he added, pointing to Jacob.

Before Raf or Jacob could respond, a stunning girl entered the cellar with authority, demanding, "Then who was it?" Her eyes fixed on Landon as she lifted her hand, casting a spell. Landon was sent flying, crashing into the wooden walls of the cellar.

"THE FIRE BREATHING LADY!!".Jacob and Landon exclaimed at the same time. However, the girl didn't even look at Jacob, her eyes focused solely on Landon.

Amidst the tense atmosphere in the cellar, Raf intervened with a hopeful plea. "Heyyy!! Hope, calm down, alright?"

However, Hope remained unyielding, her eyes fixed on Landon. "Who the hell was it?!" she demanded, her anger palpable.

"I told you it was the fire-breathing lady. Why don't you believe me?" Landon insisted. "Ask him, Jacob. He was there with me, saw the whole thing," he added, pointing at Jacob.

Only then did Hope divert her gaze toward Jacob. "And who are you?" she asked.

Before Jacob could respond, a middle-aged man entered, announcing, "There's a fire-breathing lady running in the woods."

"See, I told you it wasn't me," Landon exclaimed.

Dr. Saltzman paused, observing the awkward atmosphere. Addressing Hope, he remarked, "Didn't I tell you not to engage?" 

"It was Hope's idea, Dr. Saltzman," Raf admitted.

Hope rolled her eyes and ignored him. Dr. Saltzman turned to Jacob, inquiring, "Who are you?"

Before Jacob could answer, Landon interjected, "He's Jacob Welton, a witch, and he saved my life."

Both Dr. Saltzman and Hope were surprised. "I'm not a witch; I'm a warlock, a rune warlock to be precise," Jacob clarified, annoyed by the term 'witch.'

Dr. Saltzman paused by the regard but shifted the focus. "Can you tell us what happened on the bus?"

Jacob summarized the chaotic scene. "A psycho lady who apparently can breathe fire came outside the bus and started burning the whole thing."

Hope, with a sarcastic demeanour, asked, "And how are you two not more hot ashes?"

Jacob retorted with sarcasm, "Ooh I don't know, maybe it's the fact that I am a warlock." He accompanied his response with a theatrical expression.

Hope, displeased with the answer, furrowed her brows. Dr. Saltzman urged them to discuss it later and emphasized the need to leave.

As they prepared to depart, Hope turned to Landon and asked, "Wait a minute, where's the knife?". 

Landon handed the knife to Hope as they stepped outside, only to be confronted by the fire-breathing lady.

"Ooo shit!" exclaimed Jacob. Then, He took off, running as fast as he physically can, and he was very fast believe you me.

Spotting the knife in Hope's hand, the lady wasted no time and unleashed a stream of fire. The group scattered, with Hope casting a spell that sent the lady flying. In a swift move, Raf leaped into the air, and with precision, Hope threw the knife to him. Raf landed a decisive blow near the heart, ending the threat.

"You guys okay?" Came Dr Saltzman, as they were busy checking each other, the lady morphed into a freaking red dragon, flying high up the clouds, it circled, as if checking for something.

On the other hand, while Jacob was still running, he saw a shadow of a creature on the ground. A certain pressure came about, he stopped, and looked up, locking eyes with the dragon, Jacob didn't even think twice, he turned and ran back the way he came. As soon as he left the spot, hot fiery breath bombarded the ground he was on, turning it into hot ashes.

Few seconds passed, Jacob met Raf and Landon who were running towards him.

"Ooo look, is the saviour, " said Raf with sarcasm as he looked at Landon. 

"Dude, what the hell, you abandoned us," said Landon with a shocked voice.

But Jacob didn't even look at them, he fast passed them so fast, leaving only a slight wind breeze as a reminder he was almost here.

"Hey, what the …" shouted landon, but before he could finish, a big shadow enveloped them, then a low dragon roar came after, they both froze, fear gripping them tightly. Fortunately, the shadow passed, heading in the direction Jacob was running to.

Soon Jacob met hope and Dr Saltzman, he yelled "there's a fucken dragon coming this way!!" 

Hope sent Dr Saltzman away, while she was whispering some spell. "I need a little more time," she mumbled. 

Jacob heard her. "Aargh, the fuck!" He groaned, with determination he turned around, facing the upcoming creature, clapped his hands together, and whispered, "Rune magic! Nature's bind!" An orange rune hex materialized on his forehead, his eyes taking on a subtle golden hue. Two rapid tree roots sprang from the ground, ensnaring the creature's legs and halting its advance, the dragon let out a low roar, frustrated by the newfound hindrance. 

Just as the dragon prepared to incinerate the roots, Jacob's voice came ringing again "RUNE magic, veil of silence!" He mumbled, still holding his facial change, a very small sonic wind blast radiated from and around him, the dragon found its eyesight distorted, his hearing buzzing with weird noises, it got dizzy, just stroking on the air (since dragons are known to have a certain immune to magic, this is all the spell can do to it). Just as the creature was about to break free, Hope completed her spell, causing the dragon to experience intense pain as it let out a painful roar, plummeting to the ground.

"Whew, that was close!" Jacob's voice rang out. "And why did you learn a spell that takes that amount of time to take effect? If I wasn't here, you'd be a hot mess," he remarked to Hope, secretly admiring her beauty.

"Cause I do not rely on spells," Hope retorted. "And who are you questioning? I'm not the one who ran away," she added with a hint of defiance.

"Hey now, don't look at me like that. I don't even know you guys. Why would I stay to fight a fire-breathing lady with a bunch of strangers who are mad at each other? It's a recipe for disaster, my disaster," Jacob declared with a serious demeanor.

"Wh–" Hope began to speak, but her words were cut off by the arrival of Dr. Saltzman, holding a letter in his hand.

"I couldn't find Raf and Landon, but I found this," he said, handing the letter to Hope. It was from Landon. Turning to Jacob, Dr. Saltzman inquired, "Jacob, can I call you that? We're heading back to the school. Wanna come, perhaps?"

Jacob, seemingly lost in thought, cast his gaze downward. Memories of the old man who had saved him three years ago flooded his mind, and a genuine sense of longing overcame him. He was hesitant to engage with new people, fearing it might somehow replace the bond he shared with his mentor. But then again, the old man would torture him if he knew he was aligning himself in his name. remembering of the training nightmare he had to go through to access his mana and start learning rune magic, he shuddered, chills running through his nerves, as if to remind him not provoke the old man's temper

After a moment, Jacob straightened his head and, accompanied by a small but sincere smile, agreed to join them. The group then proceeded on their way back to the school.