I’m telling you, he’syour familiar.
Harper:
Man, I was hoping it would be the raven… though he seems to have fucked off.
Luna:
At least the cat’s loyal
Harper:
I guess…
I made it home without incident. My house was a large, old colonial with red brick and a white wrap-around porch. Like a good coven leader, my mom had a large sprawling garden growing out front, and it was in full bloom, filling the late afternoon air with the comforting scent of florals.
I clomped through the waist-high wooden gate onto our property as the sun began to set, casting burnt oranges and lilac purples across the cotton candy clouds.
The cat tried to follow me through the gate, but I held him back with a bright pink boot.
“Nuh-uh. You’ll end up being kitty chow if Fenrir and Sköll are home,” I muttered, referring to my mom and grandma’s German shepherd familiars.
The cat flattened its ears and gave me a grumpy hiss, causing me to chuckle. Maybe Luna was right, and a cat familiar would suit me. He was giving me the same energy I had given Axel earlier.
Ignoring the tiny pest’s protests, I made my way into my front yard.
It was one of those summer nights that was filled with promise, and I had a strong feeling that something exciting was about to happen. I just wasn’t sure what.
Resolving to do a reading with my grandmother when I got inside, I paused briefly to scoop up a newspaper that had been tossed onto our front path.
“Hello.”
The deep rumble of a man’s voice caused me to look up. My eyebrows rose as I took in the handsome man standing on my neighbor’s lawn, smiling at me.
He was tall and lean with ivory skin and auburn hair, and he was probably one of the most beautiful men I had ever seen.
Handsomewasn’t the right word for him. His features were aristocratic and almost elfish, and he stood with an easy sort of grace that made that Axel dude seem like a blundering gorilla.
I frowned, surprised to see him there.
“Hi…” I said hesitantly, and the man’s smile widened.
“No need to be so suspicious. I’m George’s nephew; he’s…comeunder the weather,and I’m moving in with my partner to watch the house while he’s gone,” the man said.
“Oh shit, is everything okay?” I asked, suddenly feeling concerned. George was a kind old man who had always been nice to me. He and my mom traded gardening tips all the time.
The man sombered and looked appropriately forlorn, like any good nephew with a sick uncle would.
“Unfortunately not. We’re worried he might not make it.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said honestly. “George is a good man.”
“Just the best,” the man agreed, still watching me with that strangely intense expression. The black cat hopped up on the waist-height fence that separated us and stalked over the edge, sitting smack dab between us to lazily lick a paw.
“Is this your cat?” I asked, and the man’s gaze fell to the feline. The cat blinked its green eyes at me in a saccharine, almost taunting way.
The man’s citrine gaze crinkled in amusement.
“You could say that.”
