The Familiars: Animal Wizardry. Adam Epstein

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       FOUR

       Storm Berries and Bookworms

       Tiny kitten paws hovered above the grass. It felt as if he was flying… or was he being carried? The sound of a river current came nearer. Then his own face was staring back at him in the water. He was much younger, though, and the tip of his ear was still there. A nest of twigs was floating by. And then he was falling, falling…

      Aldwyn awoke from his slumber with a start. He had had this dream before; it visited him on nights of deep, uninterrupted sleep, but its meaning remained a mystery. As he opened his eyes, he had no idea where he was at first. He expected to be surrounded by rooftop shingles and cooing pigeons, but instead found himself on a twisted-root floor in front of a still-crackling fire. Confusion soon gave way to memories of the previous day and its haunting conclusion down by the runlet. There was something foreboding and sinister about the mass of spying eyeballs that made him think he should tell the others about it. But once again, Aldwyn chose to keep the unsettling encounter to himself. He stretched luxuriously and then got up and walked outside, where he was surprised to find the sun hanging high in the sky. When was the last time he had slept this late?

      Aldwyn saw that Marianne, Dalton and Jack were already outside the cottage, each holding big, thick volumes of parchment bound by twine in front of them. Kalstaff was waiting for them by a row of tree stumps in the glen, standing in front of a tablet of slate. Aldwyn noticed that it was covered with all kinds of intricate symbols and letters written in chalk. The students sat down in this strange outdoor classroom and Kalstaff began the morning lesson, tapping the glass ball at the tip of his rod against the board three times. A second later, the chalk symbols began to rearrange themselves into an orderly figure of eight.

      Aldwyn walked over to Gilbert and Skylar, who waited eagerly nearby to see what assistance the wizards would need during today’s tutorial.

      “Look at what the cat dragged in,” said Skylar, rather stiffly. “That was a joke,” she added, seeing Aldwyn’s straight-faced reaction. “You know, because you’re a cat and you were late.”

      “She doesn’t understand humour,” said Gilbert. “See, what she should have said is, ‘Talk about a cat nap!’”

      Aldwyn let out a laugh. “Now that’s funny.”

      Skylar looked at them, confused. “I don’t get it. What’s the difference?”

      Without answering her question, Gilbert nudged a giant oak leaf towards Aldwyn, who looked down to see a few crumbs of cheese on it.

      “I saved you some breakfast,” said Gilbert. “But then, umm, I got hungry and ate most of it.”

      “Why didn’t anyone wake me?” asked Aldwyn.

      “Kalstaff believes that the natural sleep cycle should remain undisturbed, that we learn more with our eyes closed than we do with them open,” replied Skylar. “Of course, if that were true, Gilbert would be a genius.”

      “Thank you,” said Gilbert cheerfully.

      Aldwyn considered telling him it wasn’t a compliment, but decided to keep his mouth shut.

      Over by the tree stumps, Kalstaff began throwing sprinkles of crushed nightshade into the air.

      “Look, Kalstaff is preparing to conjure a fire spirit,” whispered Skylar. “We should gather some juniper berries and sage leaves. They’ll need them to cast the spell.”

      With a flap of her wings, Skylar soared off towards the woods. Aldwyn noticed she had a tiny satchel slung across her back.

      By the time Aldwyn and Gilbert reached the boundary where the glen met the woods, Skylar was already filling her satchel with ripe, purple berries. Gilbert started plucking sage leaves. Aldwyn pretended to be busy giving his fur another once-over.

      “Aldwyn, since it’s your first day, I’ll leave the basics to you, something even an untrained familiar should be able to handle,” said Skylar. “See if you can gather some Juniperus phoenicea. I’ve got the oxycedrus covered. Kalstaff says a good blend of varietals creates a more potent invocation.”

      Aldwyn stared at her like she was speaking a different language. He wouldn’t know a juniper berry if it smacked him right on the nose, let alone be able to identify a Juniperus phoenicea.

      “Sure thing,” he said without missing a beat. One thing being an alley cat had taught him was to never admit weakness. “I’ll go get the focaccia.”