I took another sip of my tea, but it roiled like the tides in my stomach, so I set it aside.
Ani’s expression remained as steady as ever. There was no joke to be told.
I cleared my throat, fighting through the tension there. “A familiar?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yes. I can feel it. I haven’t felt this much raw magical power in ages.” Her gaze flicked to my face. “You didn’t do this on purpose?”
“No!” I exclaimed. And then I told her the story of the sludge’s creation.
She nodded knowingly the entire time, as though this entire situation made complete sense. It was infuriating, how calm she was.
“Heightened emotions can make our magic volatile,” she mused. “And those sprites have been following you since you were a wee little thing. I can’t say I’m surprised.”
“And you’re saying I can’t get rid of it?”
The old witch shook her head, placing the jar back on the table. “No.”
“Can I… destroy it?”
The sludge popped in the jar, lurching in my direction. I flinched.
Ani shook her head vehemently. “She didn’t mean that, Old Gods forgive her,” she murmured as she glanced upwards. She paled slightly. “This is yourfamiliar. It is of your verysoul. To destroy it would be to destroy a part of yourself.”
I sighed, dropping my head into my hands. So I was stuck with this nasty, sticky, gooey, ugly cauldron sludge. Forever.
Things couldn’t possibly get any worse.
“What am I supposed to do with it?” I mumbled toward the floor.
“Whatever you’d like, I imagine. Use it, ignore it, put it to work.” I heard her dressing gown rustle as she shrugged. “A witch’s familiar is a very powerful tool.”
“If you say so.” I reluctantly lifted my head, dreading the news I was about to deliver to Ani next. I took a deep, bolstering breath. “I haven’t told you the worst part, yet.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “And what would that be?”
I gulped. “The cauldron I accidentally brewed the sludge in… it was the giant cauldron you gave me.”
Ani waited expectantly.
“And… it cracked when Sludgey over there came to life.” I braced myself for her response, preparing to be scolded, slapped, or shouted at. The sludge gurgled noisily in the jar.
Ani inhaled deeply through her nose, held the air in, and then let it rush out of her mouth. Her breath rustled my hair, and I felt a delicate wisp of magic kiss my skin. She folded her hands in front of her with a white-knuckled grip.
She stayed like that for a few long moments before she spoke.
“You’re saying the cauldron is… broken?”
I nodded mutely.
“Moonvale’s largest cauldron. It’s unusable. Right before Hallow’s Eve?”
I nodded again, anxiously tucking my hands under my thighs.
Ani pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. “This is not ideal, Kizziah.”
“I know.”
“We need that cauldron so the coven can perform all the necessary rituals. Smaller cauldrons just won’t do.”
