AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I blinked hard. “Money?”
“Yes, money.” He smiled now. “Secondly, I wanted you to see me. It was a test.”
“Test?” A chill ran through me, even though the Georgia morning was already bright and warm.
Merlin rolled his eyes. “Stop repeating everything I say as a question.” He stared me down, waiting for whatever it was he needed from me.
I gulped and nodded, still stuck on the fact my cat used money and that a neighborhood bird owed him some.
“I had to see how you reacted to your first glimpse of magic. Some humans can’t quite handle it.”
“And I did? Handled it, I mean?”
My cat looked me up and down then smirked. “You’re still standing. That’s a good start.”
“What could have happened?” I demanded, quite angry that he would knowingly put me in danger.
“You could have lost your mind,” he said flatly. “Many do. That’s why one must always exercise extreme caution when selecting and testing a familiar.”
“So you mentally break people?” It took everything I had not to yell that. Still, we were outside in the middle of a neighborhood street. If someone happened by and saw me not only talking to—but arguing with—my cat, the crazy train would be at my door by noon, ready to lock me up and throw away the key.
My cat remained calm, casual, as if he were discussing meaningless trivia and not the very real facts of our lives. “Yes, not everyone can handle the existence of magic. A sad truth.” Merlin straightened and puffed his fluffy chest out. “Anyway, glad you’re still with me.”
“Do I have a choice?”
He chuckled. “No.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“Come closer,” my cat urged, and I immediately did as told.
“What’s this? What are were doing?” I asked, feeling awkward as we stood in the middle of my yard and continued to converse in broad daylight. Seriously, why couldn’t we have done whatever this was inside?
“How to be a familiar, lesson one!” he declared with pride, then moved to the edge of the birdbath, balancing somewhat precariously. “Protect the cauldron at all costs.”
“That’s a birdbath,” I pointed out.
He raised his arm high, then face-pawed. “It’s a cauldron. The source of my power and my connection to the larger magical community. Without it, I am a witch at large. Not a proper witch at all.”
I looked from the birdbath to him and back again.
Merlin sighed. “Lesson two, believe everything I say without question. For example, this is a cauldron. In the olden days, witches used giant black pots. But in the modern era, we use other commonplace items that are easy for a witch to access but go largely unnoticed by others. Observe.”
He walked to the center of the small fountain and dipped his paw in. Instantly the thin layer of water began to glow a pale green, not unlike the color of Merlin’s large eyes.
“Whoa,” I said, the air whooshing right out of me in surprise.
Merlin tapped the water again, and it returned to its normal state. “This is why we cats choose to adopt humans. There is no guaranteed safe place on the streets. We need the guise of domesticity to protect our secrets. And also the shade of night. Naturally, we would prefer to keep away during the day, but it’s easier to hide our true ways when most of you humans are tucked away in your beds.”
I nodded along. Everything he was telling me made sense, now that I thought about it. Everything except…
“What do you need money for?” I asked, still stuck on his revelation about that poor robin who owed him money.
“You’re still stuck on your own world. In mine, we… MEOW!”
“Huh?” I spun my head to see where he was looking and caught sight of a neighbor powerwalking by.
She smiled and waved a hello, and I could swear I recognized her from somewhere. I just didn’t know where.
