The Curious Cat: A Petunia's Peculiar Particulars Prequel

The Talisman

Author's Note: Edits and reformatting. 7/12/21

When Rhiannon came home from school the next day, her mother and Bathsheba were waiting for her. She flung her bag into the corner and barely said a word of greeting before she went straight to the kitchen, wolfed down a PB&J, and grabbed an apple. Then she looked at her mother and the cat and said, "So when are we leaving?"

"After dark," the cat said. "That will be the best time to visit the shade. It will be easiest for us all to see him then. I have difficulty with shades during the daytime. My vision is more attuned to darkness."

"So, I have time to do my homework then, I guess." Rhiannon headed for her bag, but her mother's voice stopped her.

"Not quite. There are some preparations we have to make."

This time, Rhiannon turned and looked at her mother. She was wearing jewelry, which she never wore. A long scarab necklace hung around her neck on a chain of some dark, glittery metal. Her fingers carried a few large, gaudy-looking rings, but she felt something radiating off of them, like pulsing energy that she couldn't quite define. Topping off the strange fashion choice was a long, burgundy velvet cloak. "Whoa, Mom... is this the witch look?"

Tabitha smiled. "Yeah, honey, this is the witch look. It's not exactly chic, but it serves a purpose, which I have to explain to you before we can go, so let's all head out to the back yard where I can explain how all of this works."

Rhiannon and Bathsheba followed Tabitha out to the back yard where a circular-shaped patio ringed with pillar candles greeted them with a cheery glow. For the first time, Rhiannon noticed that the patio bricks were in concentric circles.

Bathsheba was impressed. "This is a clever way to disguise a ritual circle."

"Inconvenient in the winter, though, because I have to shovel it off to use it. Still, it's better to do these sorts of things outdoors most of the time anyway, at least for me. My magic is very connected to nature, and I need to use it to draw in energy from time to time." Tabitha explained.

"So your power is not self-sustaining."

Tabitha shook her head. "No, it isn't."

"What about your husband's?"

"To be honest, he has power, but he doesn't talk about it and only rarely makes use of it. I think something happened to him before I met him, and he won't access his magic except on rare occasions, like the runes he scrawled into the windows to protect this house from those with ill intent. I can't create sigils of that magnitude, and I have never seen him re-draw them, so the initial casting must have had some permanency connected to it."

"Hm, it's probably connected to his life force," Bathsheba mused. "I imagine that's why he can maintain the connection even when he is not at home. Your husband has a great deal of power."

"I think so too," Tabitha agreed, "but I don't pry. Whatever happened, I assume it was traumatic. He'll tell me his story when the time comes."

Rhiannon sat down on a bench at the edge of the circle. She looked a little pale. "Is Dad okay?" She asked her mother in a voice filled with worry and concern.

Tabitha smiled at her daughter fondly. "You have a very kind heart. It's one of your best qualities." She crossed the patio and leaned down to hug her daughter. "He's fine. Your father is a strong man, and he'll deal with his issues in his own time. I believe in that, and I trust it. If I didn't, I wouldn't be with him."

"But if he's got magic and he won't use it, it must have been something terrible. Are you sure we can't do something to help?" Rhiannon asked.

Bathsheba hopped up into Rhiannon's lap and looked up at her. "Your father must care for himself. It is not your responsibility to cure him. If he chooses not to take care of them, you can set some boundaries of your own and decide not to associate with him should he not care for himself, but more than that is not yours to choose."

Tabitha sat down beside Rhiannon on the bench. "Bathsheba's right. You went to that psychology seminar at school, right? Where they talked to you about how to take care of your mental health?"