Feral Shadow

Chapter 4

I found myself tucked in bed the next morning. No human Shadow, but his warm breath and the coldness of his lips were imprinted on my cheek. The sensation still lingered in the air. Cinnamon and rain.

Had I dreamt it or not? I wasn't really sure.

Then I felt a stinging pain across my neck. The claw marks were still red on my neck. 

Last night had happened but I had no memory of what followed after the kiss. I flushed as I reminisced. I had fallen asleep and he had left.

My feet hit something as I climbed out of bed. It hit the floor with a clank. An empty glass. The one he drank milk from.

I was certain I hadn't dreamt it at all now. The surreal feeling resurfaced. My cat turned into a human boy. He was here.

I had a magical secret.

Where did he go?

The clock read 11 AM in the hallway. My brother wasn't in his room. He probably stayed at his friends. Mom and Dad were probably home. I was certain they were awake after I heard the TV on and a ruckus in the kitchen.

"Mom? Dad?" I hollered. But no one answered. Strange.

I prayed not to find Shadow there. I know I had said I'd help him but I was not ready to confront my parents with him.

Fingers crossed, I made my way down stairs to the kitchen, where my Mom stood in front of an opened pantry cupboard. She was still in her nightgown and robe and her hair tied in a messy bun.

"I thought you'd sleep in today," I said, but she didn't respond. Neither does she move. I noticed how her hand hung in mid-air, and her eyes were ghostly fixed ahead and motionless. Like a mannequin.

Something wasn't right.

I tensed, "Dad?" The TV played in the background. I slowly walked over to where my Dad was sitting in a stiff motionless position. I panicked.

"They'll be restored after you tell us the truth." A voice came. I turned to see a slender woman standing behind me. She wore black clothing and her hand was upturned with green flames dancing around it.

I fell backward with my breath catching up in my chest. I couldn't turn around and run. Another strange man blocked my path.

"Don't panic. We pose no threat," he said with his hands in the air. I defensively stepped back.

"You-You're witches." I blurted out. My vision impairing between the two strangers.

The woman scoff, "Yes, but we prefer the term mage." She said scornfully with one hand clasped her hips and the other still glowing with a green flame.

Why were they here?

It was obvious. Shadow.

"Looks like a feral attack," The Man pointed at the bruise on my neck. I defensively put a hand on it.

The woman seemingly grew impatient. "We're looking for a violet-eyed, black cat." She fumed. The Man shot her with a glance. "What! We don't have all day!" She rebuked at him.

Why were they looking for him?

"I don't have a cat," I told them. Of course I had I cat but that was until he turned into a human boy. They don't have to know that do they?

"Perhaps you have seen one lurking around?" The man asked, eyeing me suspiciously.

"We're not here to play around." The woman interjected. Exasperation seething in her tone. "We know he was here. This cat is no ordinary cat. He has an evil entity captured in him. If he is out we are all in grave danger!"

Her words rang in the air. Shadow? An evil entity? I tried to imagine the pretty boy I met last night, with a sinister smile.

"I don't understand," It was too late to lie. I had freed him. Maybe they had to know.

"Mauvius Esparius. An ancient dark mage reincarnated by a rogue cult." The man spoke in a grim tone that made my gut wrench, " Our coven of mages tried to sabotage the incarnation when we heard of it but the mission was in vain. One of our mages managed to curse him but he somehow escaped. We've been trying to hunt him down since."

"A ghost?" I muttered under my breath, my mind going in circles trying to piece the information together.

"Worse." The woman spat, "A demon."

"A demon who sold his soul to the devil. Thirsty for more souls to fill his void." The man added coldly. "Last night our seers sensed evil energy emanating from this house. Stronger than ever. We believe the harvest moon amplified his powers."

They didn't know he was free. They didn't know it was me that broke his spell. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe Shadow had lied.

"Tell us what you know. No point in lying. We know he was here. Our magic can sense his." They urged me."I hesitated, my eyes fidgeting between the two strangers. The green flames that danced around the woman's' hand grew. 

"I..." My voice quivered as I struggled to find the right words. 

"I didn't know," I stammered, my mind racing. "He was just a cat." My cat. 

"A-And I don't know where he went. He left after..." I hesitated, reluctant to reveal the secret of Shadow's transformation.

"After what?" the woman urged.

"After he turned into a boy," I confessed, my voice barely audible.

The room fell into a heavy silence. The flames around the woman's hand flickered uncertainly, and the man's expression tightened. I told them how he came into my house and transformed. They listened with unblinking attention as I stammered.

"I don't know where he is," I said, finally confessing. "Please let my family go," I pleaded. The mages considered silently.

"He'll be back and we'll be around." The woman declared as a matter of factly.

"And keep this encounter a secret" The man urged. The woman scoffed at him, "No one will buy it." Her eyes narrowed at me, " Or we can just erase her memories." She suggested. The Man shook his head in dismay.

"We won't," He said before he reached into his pockets and pulled out something, "Take this" He said, extending his hand to me, revealing a pendant with a black stone. I reluctantly took it. The stone's coldness pressed into my hand.

"Obsidian." The man gestured to the pendant in my hand, "This amulet is enchanted to fend off mauvius' magic. Keep it. This will keep him at bay. Wear it at all times. Dust a circle of salt around the house."

"This evil. It might be charming." The woman turned to me, " it's all deception and manipulation. Nothing but a mere wolf in sheep clothing. Do not be fooled."

"As long as you stay away from him, no harm will come to you or your family." The man said firmly.

With his final warning, the dancing flame in the woman's hand smothered and I heard my parents come back to life again.

The mages vanished into thin air, and I floundered in the vortex of my thoughts. My world had turned upside down.

Witches, demons, and, magic.

Even wide awake. I was not sure If I had dreamt it all.