The Terror of the Raiders

Chapter Four - I'm Not Your Familiar (Revamped)

Magic was terrifying. Magic was unnatural, and it left a slimy feeling along Charles' fur each time he had been around it. All of the animals in the village knew to stay away from it.

And now magic was trying to kill him.

That angry man with the lightning fingers had to have been a druid, he had the same magic after all. But Charles had never seen this druid before, and could think of no reason as to why the man would hate him so.

Unless it was because he was black.

Charles hated it. He hated that humans always wanted to hurt him because he was a different colour to the other cats. He hated that they would throw stones at him, or toss him in cold water, or chase after him with brooms. And now, most of all, he hated that they would shoot streaks of lightning at him.

It had left his bones aching and his pelt a frazzled mess, it hurt and it just wasn't fair.

I never asked to be black, he complained to himself as he sprinted away from the beach. Away from the angry druid and his deadly fingers. It's not what I wanted, and it's not fair that no one will accept me because I was born differently.

He wanted to get as far away from the angry druid as possible, but unfortunately that meant going back to where the village druid was. His ears splayed back at the realization, but his paws kept him moving forward. At least the other druid didn't want to kill him, right?

Charles had to take that chance, magic or no.

He didn't want to go back to the village, where everyone was out to get him, and he had to get away from the barren expanse of the beach where he had no where to hide. He couldn't stay in the long grasses of the fields because of the occasional snakes or wolves that would come down to hunt in them sometimes.

It left only one place, the place that he had just run from. Charles would have to return to the ancient oaks and their secrets.

But he had to hurry. There was no time to waste and he had a strong suspicion that the rain he could taste in the atmosphere was actually the angry druid preparing to attack him again. The kitten had paid no attention before, but had noticed despite the sky being clear as flowing river water, he could feel the gathering of heavy clouds on his tongue.

He made his way around the base of a giant boulder, and not a moment too soon. The stone was big, far taller than he was. It smooth sides reached to above the tallest men's heads in the village, and another one stood proudly beside it. They looked liked they'd weathered endless storms in the past, and strong enough to outlast this magical one.

Another belt of light, followed by a deafening crack of thunder, as it struck them. Charles flinched where he cowered in their long shadows.

He was almost back in the forest, but didn't dare sprint the distance to the trees as the land was empty for the next three hundred of his body lengths. He didn't want to give the angry one a clear shot at him.

These stone pillars had been in the fields longer than even the horses could remember. It was enough of a reassurance of their strength that Charles felt he was safer hiding behind them than running into a place filled with fire-prone trees. He squared his little shoulders and prepared to hunker down until the human got bored of him.

Not that he lasted there for very long.

Long fingers with swollen, knobbly knuckles scooped him up from where he had been crouching. The nails clacked together like dried bones as the wrapped around his soft underbelly.

"Hello little kitty. I never thought that I'd be able to get you alone." The words were squeaky and stilted, as if their user was not used to using her voice. It hurt his ears.

When he dared to look up at her, he found that the face matched the sounds coming out of it quite well. Caverns had been carved into layers of saggy, empty skin where it hung from her thin skull.

"That nasty druid, he was always keeping an eye on you. Never letting me get close."

Charles just blinked at her in response. There was something wrong with this old woman. It left a feeling far worse than both of the druids had in the last few hours combined. She was just a frail human, but her scent was both sickly and dangerous.

"We don't need to worry about him anymore, little kitty. Now that I've got you alone, you can finally be my companion." That last word had always been one Charles had wanted to hear, but falling from her lips it felt wrong. Something twisted sharply in his chest as she threw her head back and cackled manically. "You can be my familiar, and finally I will be powerful."

Oh no.

Charles did not know what that word meant, but he did know that it had something to do with magic. The longer the old woman's halting laughter continued, the more he could feel it in the atmosphere around them. He could taste it on his tongue, he could sense it constricting around him.

From the corners of his eyes, where nothing was clear, something began to form from thin air.

Twisting strands of darkness shook themselves from the shadows and began to flow together. They made oval links, and looped around each other in mockery of a distorted rope. But when the kitten turned his head for a closer look, they disappeared from his sight. It was only from straining to focus on the blurry edges of his eyes that he could see this dreadful magic.

Slowly, the rope of darkness began to lengthen. One end reached up to the woman's wrist. The other wound around her body thrice before reaching its way towards Charles.

He couldn't let it touch him, he knew that if he did then there would be no escape. Escape from what, he did not know.

He managed to wrestle one of his paws free of the woman's tight grasp, and with a frightened yowl he lashed out to strike with his small claws.

Author's Note:

Sorry this update came so late, I got a little caught up in life. I'd love to hear your oppinions on my story - and how about some feedback on this idea; who would like it if I turned this novel into an audiobook, linked each chapter with a YouTube clip of it being read aloud?

As always, please comment and vote, and thank you for supporting my writing.