by Peter Saenz
“Devin, is that what I think it is?”
“I believe so. Tobias, this is Fenrus.”
Tobias stares at Fenrus in awe. Clearing his voice Tobias says, “Hello Fenrus.” Fenrus turns to Tobias and nods his head in greeting. Tobias extends his open palm. Fenrus sniffs it in return and licks it as a sign of acceptance. Tobias smiles and pets Fenrus’ fur, marveling at his beauty.
“Devin do you understand how rare it is for a witch to manifest a familiar? The Goddess rarely ever bestows such a gift to anyone, let alone a familiar so powerful.”
I look at Fenrus with pride but am suddenly reminded of where I am.
“Come on. The others will be reviving soon and we need to get as far from here as possible.”
I stand up and run to my pile of clothes and quickly begin to put them on. I grab my satchel and return to Tobias only to find him merely staring back at me, with sadness in his eyes.
“I can’t go Devin.”
“What are you talking about? Of course you can. Come on. We don’t have a lot of time.”
“It’s no use. If I’ve learned anything from all of your escape attempts it’s that they’ll eventually find us. I’ve broken the oath and betrayed my coven. There’s only one outcome for that.”
“That was before. Things are different now. I’M different now. We can help each other.”
“Against all of them? There’s no way. I know better than to prolong the inevitable.”
“Really? And how long did you prolong your feelings for me?”
Silence.
“Tobias, I won’t let them harm you. The Craft teaches that there is a purpose for all things. Do you really think that Gaea would give us a gift like this and then allow it to be taken away so easily?”
“This is your gift Devin, not mine.”
“Bullshit! We were brought into each other’s lives for a reason. You can’t deny that.”
“No.”
“Then come with me. Let’s devote ourselves to the Craft in a new way. A good way. The way you know to be true.”
I extend my hand to Tobias. He looks at it and slowly he raises his own to mine. I smile at him before we break into a run toward one of the warehouse walls. Just as we are about to make impact we close our eyes and imagine ourselves on the other side of the wall and push our will outward. When our eyes open we find ourselves outside the warehouse but still running. In less than a minute the building behind us becomes smaller and smaller with each stride. I’m still holding hands with Tobias on one side of me and see Fenrus running alongside the other. I have no idea where we’re headed but I can sense freedom directly ahead of us.
§
CHAPTER TWO
The Wit and Wisdom of Ms. Whiskers
“I don’t know why we have to come back here. We should be miles away from this place by now!”
“I told you, if we’re gonna make a break for it we have to get supplies first. We may be witches but we can’t make something out of nothing.”
“I still say it’s a bad idea.”
“Give me the benefit of the doubt, will ya? Now quiet, we’re here.”
Sprawled out before us stands Malik’s mansion home. Much like Malik himself, it carries an air of being large, grandiose and overly decadent. Even standing under the night sky, the building yearns to be looked at and envied. After we silently make our way to the darkest side of the manor I turn to Tobias and say, “Fine, we go in and out but we’re not sticking around long.”
Just as I’m about to lean through one of the side hedges and onto the property Tobias grabs me and pulls me back. “Don’t!”
“Do you want me to go in or not?”
“You can’t go in. Malik cast protection hexes on the manor against you. If you take one step onto the property you’ll be riddled with death spells.”
“Thanks for telling me.”
“He cast them just before we started searching for you. He wanted us to know that no matter what, you weren’t coming back to us. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I wouldn’t be a part of Malik’s world now if it killed me. So, what’s your plan?”
“I’ll slip in, grab some cash, clothes, magic essentials and come right back out.”
I look down and see Fenrus obediently sitting, waiting to go along with our next move.
“I want you to take Fenrus then. If I can’t help protect you at least you’ll have him to help you if anything happens.”
“Use your head Devin. Fenrus IS you. He’s made of your life force. He could just as easily be hurt if he were to step onto the manor as you would.”
In the back of my head I can hear the word “No” being spoken. I look down to Fenrus and step deep into his gaze. “I am made of magic. The goddess made me strong. I can bend the curses away from me for a short while. I’ll be fine. I’ll protect Tobias.”
I can feel truth in Fenrus’ words. Memories of shrugging off some of the other’s magical attacks when we were first joined together in werewolf form come back to me. With that Fenrus steps through the grass hedge. As soon as he does I can see a series of dark shadows slowly move away from Fenrus’ path. Tobias gains a look of surprise.
“What just happened?”
“Fenrus is going to help you. Quick, go after him. I don’t know how long he’ll be able to hold off Malik’s spells.”
With that Tobias slips through the hedge as well and runs to meet Fenrus who is already at one of the entranceways. A moment later they are nowhere to be seen. I look at the night sky and wonder what time it is. The moon is still beautifully full but it’s dark enough for me to take advantage of the shadows around me. I blend in as best I can. An occasional hole in the hedge gives me a good vantage point to see what is going on in the area around the manor, but I stay a safe enough distance away from the property line so as not to trigger any of Malik’s magical booby traps.
Several minutes go by and I instinctively look at the top of my left hand wrist for the time. I then rub the bare wrist with my right hand realizing luxuries like watches and cell phones were taken from me long ago by the coven due to my escape attempts. What’s taking them so long? The others could be back at any moment.
“You come back?”
Startled, I spin around in a defensive stance ready to block any magical attack.
“Who’s there?”
“Me.”
“Me who?”
“Me me of course. Me thought you smarter.”
I frantically look around but only see a dark neighborhood street with a few lit lamp posts. The only sound heard are a few sprinklers watering the well manicured lawns nearby. I gain my bearings to make sure I’m still well hidden from view. I then look down and see a small black and white cat beautifully posed in a sitting position a few feet away from me.
“You come back? Me thought you no like the bad man and leave. Him leave nasty stuff around house.”
I can’t believe what I’m seeing. Is that cat really talking? I focus on the cat’s face but never see its mouth move. Still, the voice clearly is coming from her direction. Is she a familiar like Fenrus?
“You can speak?”
“Silly. Don’t you?”
“Yes, but cats normally can’t speak. How is it you can?”
“All Pretty Ones speak. Non-sparkly humans can’t hear Pretty Ones. You sparkly now though. Different. Good. More sparkly than magic ones.”
“Sparkly?”
With that the cat stands up and silently moves over to me. She rubs my ankle with her face and body, and then begins to purr.
“Smell good too. Like Pretty One’s silly plant, but different.”
I bend down and look into the cat’s eyes.
“You know me?”
“Me see you long time now. You not like it here and leave, but magic ones bring you back. Magic one bring you back again?”
“No, I came back for a few things and then me and the other magic one are leaving forever.”
“Why need thin
gs? Can’t use magic?”
“Yes I can but there are rules. I can’t use my magic anytime I feel like it. Besides, the less we use magic the less chance we have of attracting attention to ourselves.”
“Shame. Magic make you sparkle. Very pretty. Not pretty like us Pretty Ones, but good. Too bad other sparkle friend is a Dumb One.”
“Tobias?”
“No. Other one. Us Pretty Ones don’t like Dumb Ones. Too bitey and stupid. Has nice sparkle though.”
“Fenrus is my friend. He sparkles because I sparkle. He’s a part of me.”
At this the cat gets a quizzical look on her face and gives me a good looking over.
“Hmm. If say so. You no seem like Dumb One but”, sniffs, “do have slight Dumb One stink on you. It okay me guess. How happen?”
“Fenrus was a gift from one of the oldest and wisest of my gods. He is part of my soul.”
The cat forms another quizzical look on her face then sits, closes her eyes, and begins to lick her front paw. Between licks she says, “Pretty Ones’ goddess does tricks too. Most beautiful of all gods. Smartest of all gods too.”
I think for a moment. “Are you talking about Bastet?”
The cat suddenly stops her licking and widely opens her eyes to meet mine.
“Don’t say goddess name loud! Very powerful she is! Could do bad things if thinks mock her!”
“Oh no, no disrespect meant at all. On the contrary, I like your goddess very much. She represents all the things that gives life meaning: music, dance, sex...”
“Fierce hunter too, see?” The cat then holds up her paw for me to examine. “Blessed Pretty Ones with powerful claws.”
“Oh yes, I can definitely see that. Very fearsome.”
“Stopped two Toms from getting last litter all by self.”
“Oh. Congratulations. It must have been some fight. Glad you and your babies are okay.”
The cat then sits up tall, beaming and purring very loudly. She’s adorable.
“We witches, uh, I mean “magic ones” are very respectful of all gods. They all represent primal forces in nature and carry great power within them. Some of us even take one or two gods and bind ourselves to their service. My goddesses’ name is Gaea. She oversees all of the nature around us: the earth, plants, wildlife... She nurtures them and offers them to us as a constant gift to sustain us. Just like your goddess nurtures you and blesses you with gifts to keep you safe from harm. I’m sorry, forgive my manners. My name is Devin. What’s yours?”
“Pretty Ones don’t have names but humans me stay with give me this.”
The cat then paws at her collar and a small name tag falls into place. I reach over and hold it up to the light. Engraved into the silver tag is etched “Ms. Whiskers” with a telephone number beneath it. After a few seconds the silver becomes very hot in my hands. I let go quickly before the heat becomes a sting.
“Metal thing around neck makes less sparkle for you. How come?”
“I think my ‘sparkle’ doesn’t like silver.”
“Too bad. Me like sparkle. Other sparkle man come sometimes to look at house but sense not friendly. Me leave alone.”
“What other sparkle man? You mean one of the magic ones?”
“No. Not from here. Only come once in while. Watches house and then leaves. Not been here for month or so. Always stays in same place. Me show you?”
“Yes, please.”
At that Ms. Whiskers begins walking to an overgrown area located behind the mansion’s property line and I quickly follow her. I give one last look at the manor to make sure Tobias and Fenrus aren’t yet leaving. My mind begins racing on who this other sparkle person could be. We turn the corner and she starts heading toward a large tree tucked into a shaded hillside area. After a moment she stops in her tracks and slowly begins to back up. I can sense something is wrong. Up in the tree I can see the shape of a man crouching on one of the limbs. I feel earth magic emanating from him, similar to my own. He turns my way and a low growl can be heard.
I softly whisper, “Ms. Whiskers, get out of here! Find someplace safe to hide!” Ms. Whiskers then bolts under a nearby bush and watches the scene intently.
The figure from the tree then springs from his perch and lands on the ground below with ease. The tree limb he was resting on sways dramatically at his absence. It’s then that I realize he’s much larger than an average sized man and has a fur covered silhouette. He remains in the dark but his bright yellow eyes capture enough of the moonlight to let me see that I am locked in his menacing sights. I can sense he is about to lunge at me at any moment. His growling intensifies but suddenly stops. He then turns his head toward the house again. I then hear it too: the sound of a car pulling up and doors opening.
“Hurry up, we’re almost there.”
“We’d be done by now if you just teleported us here Luke.”
“I already told you Cole, I’m too weak to teleport anyone but myself long distances. Maybe if you spent more time studying and less time at the gym...”
“Both of you stop it! Focus. Now help me carry him into the house. Watch it, he’s really hurt. Take it easy going through the door.”
“If you two are okay getting him in I’ll go back for Zack. Meet me back there once you get Malik comfortable.”
Shit! They came back too soon! I pull my attention back to the stranger but am startled to see that he’s disappeared. My concern for Tobias and Fenrus becomes too great so I leave whatever questions I had about the stranger on hold and race back to my former hiding place to view what I can. A few lights come on inside the manor as shadows move silently across the now lit windows. In the front yard I see Luke carefully looking around the dark neighborhood for viewing eyes. A moment later he takes out his cane and claps it onto the ground below him. In an instant he is surrounded by dark smoke. It disperses leaving Luke nowhere to be seen.
“Other sparkly one gone. You safe now. Other magic ones going with you too?”
I jump at the voice only to see Ms. Whiskers beside me, peeking through the hedge holes as well. I catch my breath and try to slow down my breathing before my heart jumps out of my chest. I open my mystical sight to see if she’s right and can’t sense the stranger anywhere in the area.
“No, just one magic one and Fenrus. We’ll be hiding from the others.”
“Good. They smell like bad people. No like them for long time. Where go?”
“I don’t know yet but it’ll be someplace far away from here.”
“You follow other sparkly one?”
The thought hadn’t entered my mind. On one hand I’m dying to find out why a werewolf would be spying on the manor and yet another part of me just wants to get away from this insanity all together. I have to plot out what my next step will be.
“I don’t know. What I do know though is that it’s not safe here for me. With luck we’ll be several cities away by this time tomorrow.”
“Well, me sad to see you go but understand. Much luck with trip.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” Despite the current fast paced situation, Ms. Whiskers manages to take me out of it for a moment. I look down and see her big beautiful green eyes staring back at me with kindness and my heart starts to melt. “Hey listen, the people left staying in the manor will be very dangerous after tonight. You and your friends should stay away from there from now on. Okay?”
“Me understand. Will tell others. May goddess bless you with sneaky ways.”
I give Ms. Whiskers an affectionate petting, which she reciprocates by rubbing my leg one last time before sauntering off towards a nearby house.
“I’d appreciate that blessing. Come on Tobias, what’s keeping you?”
A few minutes go by and I see Kevin and Cole exiting the manor in a brief sprint. They enter a car parked in front of the mansion and quickly speed off. As soon as they do I spy Tobias and Fenrus emerging from a side entrance. Tobias is carrying two large back packs. After looking around they quickly run to my h
iding spot.
“Finally. Are you two okay?”
“We’re fine. They didn’t see us and Malik is still unconscious. I’m sorry it took awhile but I had to run from room to room for this stuff. If I used any magic to help me along, the others would have sensed I was there.”
“Yeah, I know. Let’s just get going. The others will be back with Zack before you know it.”
“Lead the way.”
I look west to where the warehouse is, then south towards the tree where the stranger stood.
“North. We’ll make a few stops along the way for food and rest but we keep heading north until we find a nice quiet place where we can get our bearings and figure out what we ultimately want to do.”
Tobias throws one of the backpacks at me and says, “Aye aye Captain”.
The three of us quickly head northbound. Just before I am about to finally lose sight of the mansion, I take one last look back and see Ms. Whiskers sitting across the street. The moon’s light allows me to see the sadness in her face as she watches us leave. I wish her a blessing and before long she too disappears off into the distance behind us. Although I’m elated that we finally have a chance of leaving Malik and the others behind us, my mind is still questioning who the werewolf spy could be and why he didn’t finish attacking me when he had the chance.
§
CHAPTER THREE
Night Train
After leaving the mansion, Tobias suggests we hitch a ride on a north bound stock train. I’d thought of doing that on my previous escape attempts but I had heard some pretty gruesome stories during my hustling days of dangerous rail riding hobos and shoot first, ask questions later train operators that made me think better of ever riding alone. With Fenrus and Tobias with me though, the idea of stealing aboard seems a lot safer to manage. Finding a train was easy enough, but getting all three of us into the same empty car while the train was moving was another story entirely. It would have probably gone a lot easier had we used our magic, but doing so would have sent a loud, “Hey! We’re right here!” message to any other magic users in the area. The old coven was bad enough, but we’re exiting our safe zone. Any other coven could see us as trespassers or worse, coven deserters. The consequences for either could be deadly.
