W.a.R
Copyright© 2025 by Auronomi
Chapter 6
*Rowan*
I watched Victoria step into the store, but her reaction was nothing like I expected. Instead of curiosity or confusion, she reached into her purse and pulled out something strangely white, raw. It was a skull. Not just any skull— it looked like a fanged snake, with malachite stone eyes carved into its head. The moment she entered the shop, the green eyes pulsed faintly, as if drawing breath. A dull golden glow creeped along its carved fangs, as if sharpening them.
It must have been hidden all along. But why?
Elna turned at the sound of the bell. Surprise flashed across her face, though I couldn’t tell if it was because of me or because of Victoria. Her gaze locked on the skull and for the first time since I’d met her; her composure slipped.
Victoria raised the skull like a weapon, the glow along its fangs deepening with her grip. “You stay away from my son.”
I froze in surprise. “What are you doing? This is Elna: the woman I told you to trust? The one who’s going to help us get Alex back.”
Elna didn’t flinch, though her eyes narrowed at the sight of the skull. “Seems there’s a lot you don’t know, boy.” Her smile was wicked, taunting. “Do you want to tell him, or should I?”
Victoria’s jaw tightened. “Rowan, she is not safe. She is...” Her words faltered, as if even speaking them might’ve unleashed something she couldn’t control. Finally, she forced them out. “Like I said before! There are powers at play far more powerful and complex than you realize.”
I threw my hands up, my pulse hammering. “Please, Elna, don’t do anything. She’s just ... confused.”
Elna’s laughter was low and cold. “Confused? No. She just doesn’t know.” Her gaze cut to Victoria like a blade. “And that’s even more dangerous.”
We were inside the store for less than five-minutes, and already the air was thick with hostility, the kind that made my palms sweat. My mind raced. Why would Victoria be afraid of Elna? Why would Elna taunt her like this?
Victoria couldn’t ... she doesn’t ... but that weird skull ... so she must know...
Elna smirked as if she plucked the thought right from my skull. “There it is, boy. You’ve figured it out.”
The words slammed into me, hollowing me out. My eyes locked onto Victoria. “How?” My voice broke. “How do you know about magick?”
For a moment, the green eyes of the skull flared brighter, and then dimmed down, as if straining against her will. Slowly, she lowered it, her eyes glaring at me, suspicion burning in her gaze. “How do you?”
I took a deep breath. “We need to talk.”
I led Victoria to a table, but her attention never strayed from Elna. My own eyes kept slipping back to the skull, watching me. The serpent’s head wasn’t frightening so much as mesmerizing. Its green eyes shimmering faintly in the light. When I looked at them, I didn’t feel a predatory presence, but a dangerously protective one.
When we sat down, I couldn’t find the words. If she feared Elna this much because of magick, then how would she react when she learned I was essentially ... made of magick?
“That ... thing. If you’re not a part of the magickal world, then why do you have it? I’ve never seen it before.”
Her fingers closed over it reverently, almost like a prayer. “This “thing” is called a talisman. It holds the power of Szliyema. My god.” Her voice grew soft, radiant. “A Serpent Guardian. My protector against the dangers of magick.”
The way she spoke of her God wasn’t defensive or misleading; it was ideological worship. Trust. Beleif. I opened my mouth to press her further, but she lifted her hand, stopping me.
Her lips curled into a quiet smile. “I’ll make this easy, Rowan. Why don’t you start by telling me what I don’t know?”
The question landed heavily. Watching her revere about some god wasn’t something I was prepared for. Now the antiques in the house made a lot more sense; I thought they collected them for the fun of it. To express their wealth. But I was seeing a completely different side to Victoria. Devoted. Mystical. The truth had connected us more than I ever thought it could.
“I...”
She reached across the table, taking my hand. Her thumb stroked my knuckles, grounding me. “It’s alright. Whatever it is, tell me the truth. You’re my son, and there’s nothing you could say to change that.”
I choked down the fear. “I’m...” My gaze flickered to Elna across the shop. “A Merman or Merfolk.”
Victoria’s eyes widened. She gasped in realization. Her mind raced, recalling old memories. “That rash.” Her hand covered her mouth in shame. “How could I have been so blind?”
“That was the start of my transformation.”
She looked towards Elna, suspicion flashing, but I kept her focus. “If it wasn’t for Elna, I never would’ve figured it out. I was scared. Lost. I still am. But Alex—” my voice cracked, “Alex is missing, and I think she’s going through her own transformation.”
Victoria pressed her lips together, guilt clouding her eyes. “There’s more you should know about this talisman.” She lifted it, the serpent gleaming faintly, as if responding to her touch. “I serve an organization. We police aiding and abetting magick. We help to protect humans and others from it.”
Her words cut deep. Protect? From me? “What do you mean, you protect?”
She stood up, defensive. “It’s not what you think.”
Elna stepped closer, interrupting. “She’s right. There’s another order that hunts your kind. Victoria, well, she’s of a different path.”
Victoria’s tone sharpened. “I’m a disciple. I work through faith, business and obedience.”
Elna folded her arms. “She calls it balance. But her order tilts towards humans.”
Victoria snapped. “I’m not biased. I’ve seen enough to know most evil stems from magick gone unchecked.”
I threw myself between them. “Enough! Both of you. The one thing yous two can agree on is me. You trust me. Don’t you?”
They hesitated, but nodded in submission.
I turned to Victoria. “You know what I have to do.”
Her eyes glinted with grief and devotion. “I know. You have to find your sister.” Slowly, she unclasped the talisman. The serpent skull glowed faintly in her hand, its carved eyes flickering as though alive, watching us both. When she placed it into my palm, heat spread through me, steady and firm, like a shield settling over my soul.
“Szliyema will guard you as it has guarded me,” she whispered. “Keep it. It will protect you in ways I no longer can.”
My throat tightened. “But without it...”
She smiled softly, pressing the talisman deeper into my grip. “Don’t worry about me. Faith doesn’t live in stone, Rowan. It lives in the heart. Be safe and please ... when you get a chance, buy a new phone.” Her hand lingered against my cheek. “Keep in touch as often as you can, my sweet boy.”
Victoria and Elna drifted to the side, voices hushed, their tones sharp and uneven. I couldn’t hear what was said, but it didn’t sound too friendly. Then, Victoria came and pulled me into her arms. She hugged me so tightly I could feel her heartbeat thrumming against my chest. For the first time—maybe ever—I felt her love, raw and real. I realized, and for the first time, that I loved her back.
It felt surreal. Not too long ago I was blowing out candles on my seventeenth birthday, holding Brantlee, preparing for college. My life was ordinary, momentarily at least. Now, everything had shattered and reshaped. I wasn’t normal. I’d always been a part of this magick world. And somehow, against everything that has and is still happening, I came to love the foster parents I once swore I hated.
Elna gestured me to follow her behind the counter as I departed my newfound relationship with Victoria, guiding me into her hidden room. My mind pictured fantasy and wonder—an endless hallway, secret spell-books, shelves of potions. But the truth was vastly disappointing: wooden crates with trinkets and charms stacked high, rows of boxes like a forgotten warehouse. Seasonal junk lingering in the corner. It gave less magicky vibes and more of, you need a house maid vibes. I waited for something to happen—for a portal to open, for a spell to spark, for anything wondrous. But Elna just rummaged through piles of what looked like junk.
Doubt crept in.
Then she turned, cradling something with both hands. “Here,” she said softly, reverently.
She pressed it into my palms.
An egg.
It thrummed faintly, like a heartbeat—or maybe it was my own heart trying to keep pace. Indigo colored, with scales catching the light like shards of gemstone, warm and alive against my skin. A ravine of faint silver veins danced across its surface, shimmering when I tilted it. My breath held caught. The cluttered room faded away. All I could feel was the weight, the pulse, the undeniable truth that this thing was not ordinary. Not junk. Not normal. Magick.
“Elna...” My voice trembled. “What ... what is this?”
A zap of electricity stringed away from the egg, clinging to Elna’s hand like a sticky web as she let go.
Her eyes glinted with secret knowledge. “This is no ordinary relic, Rowan. This is a dragon egg.”
The words knocked the breath from me. The egg hummed in my palms, not warm in a physical way but deep, like my veins were resonating with it. “Why? How is an egg supposed to help me? How do I even care for it?” My voice quivered. “What if I break it? It’s a dragon ... this is a dragon.” The truth burned through me like lightning.