“W…what’s going on? What happened? My head really hurts.” Sadie said as she rubbed her eyes to try and get the blurriness out.
How can dreams seem so real?
“Oh, Sadie, I must have mixed up a batch of Sleeping Aid tea, and a bit too much I might add—you fell sound asleep.” Mrs. Felis released her hug and picked up her cup of tea, obviously freshly brewed. “You’ve been out for many hours. I would have been as well, had I taken a bigger sip of that tea and been as small as you. Luckily I wasn’t and could take care of….”
“WHAT? What do you mean? How? How on earth did you mix up the teas? THEY ARE CLEARLY MARKED! I’ve SEEN the jars!” Sadie yelled, cutting Mrs. Felis off mid-sentence. “I don’t understand,” she said in a lower voice, realizing she had been screaming.
“Sadie, my little kitten, to be completely honest with you, someone must have switched them…and I have a feeling I know why,” replied Mrs. Felis, a bit frayed at the edges.
She took a sip from her teacup as though nothing suspicious had just happened with the drinks.
Sadie, still trying to digest what she had just been told, sat quietly thinking to herself.
Who goes around switching old ladies’ tea jars?
The idea seemed preposterous to her.
She is getting old. She must have done it herself; maybe she needs to get those glasses checked.
Grimm jumped up onto Sadie’s lap from the gift box that lay at her feet. Some birthday, thought Sadie.
“I’ve only been awake for about two hours now, and already my bad luck has ruined it,” she said trying not to sound too depressed.
“Sadie, it’s almost midnight, Halloween night, eleven thirty to be exact, you’ve been out for the entire day and evening,” Mrs. Felis said softly.
As new panic set in and Sadie’s fingers dug into the upholstery of the chair’s arm, Mrs. Felis noticed her alarm and tried to calm the now-again-distraught Sadie.
“I’m afraid, dear, there’s some things I need to tell you—some information that you might not find too easy to digest,” said Mrs. Felis.
“Could I have a drink of…no, wait, never mind, not after what just happened,” said Sadie through a dry throat as she thought better of drinking anything else she didn’t open or pour herself.
“We don’t have time, anyway. What I need to tell you should have, would have, taken me all day today; now we’ve got but a mere half hour,” Mrs. Felis stated much to the shock of Sadie. “No use having that stunned look on your face now, little one; wait ‘til you hear what I’ve got to say,” she finished, with a big cat-who-ate-the-canary grin.
Sadie took a deep breath and braced herself for the worst. The worst was what she was used to, at least since her mom died three years ago.
Here it comes; she’s probably gonna say I’m being given to another foster family. Oh, NO! The Argyles! They’ve probably called the police by now, thinking I’ve run away.
“The Argyles, I have to call them or….”
“The Argyles are fine, Sadie,” replied Mrs. Felis.
She twitched her nose a little, which reminded Sadie of Grimm, and then put catnip into her tea right in front of Sadie. Sadie’s eyes opened wide, as did her mouth, and then she pulled her jaw shut quickly.
There’s no reason in letting her know that I think she’s gone absolutely mental.
Sadie straightened up in her chair and tried to look as though she were intensely listening to the old woman. In reality, she was rationalizing the situation and circumstances in her mind.
Poor Mrs. Felis, she’s finally lost it in her old age. See, she probably switched those tea jars. I wonder what crazy thing she’s gonna say or do next. Is she going to tell me that my mom was an assassin or something, and she killed someone so important that now they’re after me?
Mrs. Felis set her tea cup down very matter-of-factly. She smoothed her dress with her hands and then folded them on her lap. Crossing her legs at her ankles, she wiggled back further into her chair. She then cleared her throat and looked Sadie right in the eyes.
“Not an assassin, Sadie, but a witch; yes, people are after you to capture you. And I’m not sure, but I think to kill you. That’s why I’m pretty sure they had to be the ones who switched the teas in the jars, so that they could get to you without incident. You see, I’m NOT crazy or losing it in my old age. I couldn’t have, would NEVER have made such a mistake on such an important day. Oh, and you’re a witch, too, at least at midnight you will be.”
What on earth is Mrs. Felis talking about? Sadie quickly, internally, tried to understand and digest those three sentences. I think the poor old thing has really lost her mind. I am so confused.
Once again, she felt like someone had rung her bell. Head spinning, hurting, and body numb from shock, she began to consider Mrs. Felis’ words. Her emotions ran the gamut from sadness and fear to joy and laughter back to panic and uncertainty. Rationale went out the door as she noticed that outside the bookstore windows, it was indeed nighttime.
Okay, so I was asleep for a long time that much is true. But this witch stuff—that’s just crazy.
Taking deep, measured breaths, Sadie continued to process this new and crazy information.
Be calm, Sadie told herself; let’s just try to figure this out. Mrs. Felis must be completely insane. As crazy as…well, as crazy as Crazy Mary.
Her eyebrows scrunched as her brain tried to assemble and sort this new information.
Witches aren’t real, but maybe that explains my dream. No, maybe it’s me; that’s gotta be it; I’m crazy! Yeah, that must be it; I’m nuts or…still dreaming.
She stared at Mrs. Felis who had deposited herself in her usual chair and the old woman and young girl were locked in the heavy, paralyzing silence of the bookstore until a revelation smacked Sadie out of her internal thoughts.
“Wait, I didn’t say that out loud, the part about my mom being an assassin, or did I?”
Sadie hated that she was second guessing herself, but after everything that had happened, it was to be expected she thought. “You read my mind. So…I guess there must be something to all of this, or it’s that I’m crazy or I’m still dreaming or….”
“No, Sadie, you’re not crazy, not yet. You might be though after you hear the rest, or should I say, see,” said Grimm as he jumped up onto Sadie’s lap and began grooming himself ever so casually and with a bit of cat-smugness.
Before Sadie’s mind could register a talking cat, little sparks of colored light began to pop and crackle throughout the bookstore. Each pop and crackle appeared like colorful fireflies and just as quickly, blinked out as if they never happened. From these little bursts of multi-colored light, creatures and beasts of every sort began to appear—the types of creatures and beasts you only read about in mythology books or see in the movies.
There was a centaur vigorously pulling his tail which had been caught in the front doors as they shut. His long black hair and mane ran down his human back to his horse body from the Mohawk on his head.
I didn’t even hear the bells on the door jingle.
A green–skinned elf jumped down off the top shelf of books closest to Mrs. Felis without a sound, his pointy ears twitching back and forth. Five twinkling faeries fluttered and then alighted on the shoulders of Mrs. Felis, who had taken her usual place in the chair next to Sadie. Two lumpy gnomes put down books they had been reading on urban mining techniques and began to waddle towards her. Grimm looked up at Sadie while she sat in utter amazement; if cats smiled, he did so.
Everyone was right about me. I am crazy! There is no way this is really happening!
A group of ghosts, seven old women carrying knitting bundles to be exact, came in chattering amongst themselves. Sadie heard one of the two gnomes tell the ghosts to stay out of them, as they passed in and, well, out, of the little guys while they formed their semi-circle before the sitting nook. From out of the aquarium splashed two blue water sprites, leaning over the side with big wide grins
and twisting their deep azure hair around their webbed fingers. Three old women, dressed in long black flowing clothing and covered in what looked to be fireplace ash, popped into existence next to Mrs. Felis. Each one carried a very large bag with her. The one stroked Mrs. Felis’s frazzled hair and smiled at her as the others began to brush ash from their clothing and mutter to each other about “the trip.”
Sadie took it all in as Grimm began to purr on her lap. A smile spread across her face and then she laughed out loud, a laugh so strident it silenced the now chatter filled bookstore.
All eyes were on Sadie. Heat rushed to her cheeks, and she felt the familiar knot of uncomfortable tension twisting in her stomach. She tried to clear her throat, but it came out a loud, choking squeak.
“Well, does this human speak or does she only make animal noises ‘cause I can get that at home from him?” asked one of the gnomes as he hooked a gnarled little thumb at the other one.
“Hey,” the other one said thumping the first one on the head. “Watch it or I’ll feed yer lumpy carcass to the Hell Hounds.”
(Though as he spoke, his speech came out sounding like a tea kettle boiling over.)
“All right, all right, Elgarbam and Whistle, stop the bickering or I’ll turn you both into a plate of Forgur cookies and everyone else—be diligent, time is of the essence,” said the tallest of the three old women.
“May I?” queried Mrs. Felis to the woman who was just speaking.
“Yes, Abigail, you may. I know this has been, well, difficult for you to maintain,” she replied with a smirk.
As Sadie sat staring in amazement, Mrs. Felis’s entire body began to shrink. Her clothes began to become too big. Arms went up into her shirt sleeves. Legs disappeared under her skirt and her head and neck were lost within her blouse. Within a matter of minutes, all that was left of Mrs. Felis was a pile of clothing. Sadie stared in amazement. What had happened to her only friend? Just then, the pile of clothing began to move a bit. The movement was not dissimilar to that of a mole tunneling underground. Two seconds later out of the neck of the blouse popped a very plump, very grey, very unusual cat. The only thing that let Sadie know this was, in fact, Mrs. Felis, was that she still wore her glasses.
“Well now, that’s better,” said the cat while adjusting her glasses with her paws.
Sadie was speechless, not that she would have spoken or even taken a breath at this point. Too much had happened, too many fantastical things, too many unbelievable creatures stood before her very eyes, and Sadie thought she might faint.
“I’ll take a drink now…and I don’t care what’s in it,” Sadie rapidly spit out.
All of the creatures laughed and one of the old women clapped her hands. When she did so a table full of every drink known to man (and some not) appeared before Sadie’s eyes.
“This is just too much; I’m going to go now,” said Sadie as she tried to get out of the chair and leave. As she went to stand her legs gave out on her, her sight became a little blurry, and she plopped back down again.
“All of this can seem a bit…much, can’t it, my dear? Take a moment to catch your breath. Let it all sink in, and we’ll get started,” the taller old woman said very matter-of-factly.
She then turned to Grimm and Mrs. Felis and asked, “How much does she really know? And be quick about it, we’ve got fifteen minutes ‘til the midnight hour.”
Sadie checked her pulse by her wrist, much to the amusement of the fairies who giggled in unison. She also noticed that the bookstore smelled less like musty old volumes and more like a pine forest. Since Mrs. Felis had turned into a cat, the fairies had taken to flitting around the gnomes’ heads. Their giggles sounded like a high pitched twinkling of bells as they fluttered about the bookstore alighting here and there to poke about. The two gnomes, who she now knew to be Elgarbam and Whistle (Whistle, for obvious steam-propelled reasons) went back to their reading and arguing, thumping each other along the way. The centaur was busy in conversation with the ghosts, and the water sprites kept splashing water onto him, much to his dismay. Sadie sat in utter amazement as the three old women spoke with Grimm and Mrs. Felis the cat, all of them talking about her like she wasn’t even there.
As Sadie sat and watched and listened, she began to get very irritated and annoyed. She was mad that all of these…people…were paying her no mind, still speaking about her like she was invisible and all after abruptly revealing themselves to her without warning.
She started chewing her bottom lip, wringing her hands. When that didn’t work to calm her fury or get attention, she began tapping her foot on the floor in a very loud, very hurried fashion. When no one still paid her any mind, she began to feel the pangs of resentment much like those she felt towards the mean kids at school who teased her and caused her so much pain.
The anger took over, making her tremble; when it filled her up like an overstuffed omelet, she stomped her feet, stood up, and yelled, “ENOUGH!”
As she did so several books flew from their places on the shelves and crashed into the wall opposite.
Once again, the bookstore became silent and all eyes were on Sadie when they weren’t on the books that had flown off the shelves by themselves. The centaur started clapping.
“Bravo, little human child. Such power, such a display of it and when it’s still ten minutes to go before you’re a witchling…and three years ‘til you’re a full witch I might add,” he said with his deep and gravelly voice as his applause died down. “You must be carrying some power within you the likes of which we haven’t seen in millennia.”
“I’M NOT A WITCH!” Sadie screamed. Lowering her voice she continued, “Nor do I want to be a witch. This is not…normal; I just want to be normal, like everyone else, like every other kid, with a real family, with friends other than my books. Normal, where you don’t see knobby little dwarfs and sparkly fairies or GHOSTS! What’s that all about? I just want to be normal. NORMAL!” her voice rising as she spoke. “NORMAL not…not…THIS!”
“Look at that, the human is hysterical, someone slap her,” said Whistle.
“Oh, oh, oh, I will!” shouted Elgarbam and raising his stubby little arm.
“And I’m not a dwarf, I’m a gnome. Dwarves are so…tall,” said Whistle, trying to cross his arms in defiance.
“Yeah, and what’s wrong with ghosts,” asked one of the disgruntled knitting circle.
“Once again, everyone calm down. No slaps, Elgarbam. Or pinching either,” she said to a very small imp Sadie failed to see earlier. “She’s okay, a bit in shock maybe, but she’s seen and learned lots so far tonight. All of this can be a bit much on a human child first coming upon the change. Imagine if it were you seeing and hearing things you had always been told only existed in fairy tale books,” said the tallest old woman as she approached Sadie.
It was all said to no avail though, for Sadie had fainted dead away in her chair.
Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire
The shock of the cold water brought Sadie back with a start. She heard thunder boom and lightning strike somewhere close by as she blindly wiped water from her face. She slowly blinked her eyes open, gradually taking in her surroundings and remembering. She remembered something about teas being switched. She remembered Mrs. Felis saying something crazy about her being a witch. And then she remembered all the magikal creatures she had seen, and her heart began to race. She was not happy—again. When she decided to genuinely focus on what was before her, she was looking into the face of the centaur and the tallest of the three old women.
“Sadie, listen to me. You MUST get out of here. Just trust Zeno to get you where you need to be. SADIE, FOCUS! Your very life depends on it!” said the old woman while she shook Sadie by the shoulders.
In a quick scan of her surroundings, Sadie saw that the only two “beings” left in the bookstore were the Centaur and the tall, old woman.
And me, thought Sadie, ‘cause I’m a witch.
Lightning struck again, illuminat
ing the outside as though a light switch had been flicked on. Sadie thought she saw odd shapes in the darkness just outside the bookstore doors.
“Why do I have to go somewhere? Where am I going? What’s …,” but she was cut off by a very loud, very angry, and very persistent banging at both the front and back doors of the store.
“Quick, get on my back,” said the centaur named Zeno as he grabbed her by the arm and deftly swept her onto his muscular body. “Hold on tight; this may not be easy.”
“I’ll meet up with you after you get her to Tara’s safely,” said the old woman sternly. Raising her left hand to the sky, she snapped her fingers and was gone.
“Who is Tara? Why do I have to go there? What’s happening?” questioned Sadie but to no avail. Zeno just looked at her with a firm jaw and bared teeth.
He then pulled a quiver full of golden, glowing arrows and an ornately decorated golden bow from somewhere behind some books on a shelf. Sadie thought he must have hidden them so those two impetuous gnomes wouldn’t steal them. She didn’t like anyone who wanted to smack her so she didn’t feel bad for thinking them thieves. He possibly hid them so he didn’t have to wear them. They looked heavy.
No, that’s silly, how could they be heavy to a very muscular centaur named Zeno? And he’s probably magikal, too, isn’t he? I mean, he is a Centaur. Aren’t they magikal?
Zeno began to move towards the large bay window in the front of the store. Out in the darkness Sadie could see eerie red eyes, flashing green ones, and some angry yellow slits peering in at them. She almost thought she saw gnashing and snapping teeth, very large dagger-like teeth, but she couldn’t be sure. As Zeno pulled an arrow and placed it, ready to shoot, he looked back over his shoulder at Sadie with his eyes flashing intensity.
Any Witch Way Page 4