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 Danny's Familiar  (9 ratings)by A.C. Englebert Page 3 of 4 "Getting ready for Halloween are you young man?" cracked an elderly lady Danny knew to be the head librarian. She smiled and motioned for him to come closer. "I've just reshelved quite a number of books you might find interesting... ghosts and goblins and all of those things..." she trailed off as she began rifling through the shelves. Danny nervously clutched the satchel concerned that his unwelcome companion would attempt a daring escape, and for some reason suddenly began recounting the odd events that had occurred when he'd gone to bed the night before... maybe the nervousness had forced him to consider the chaotic aspects of the odd dreams he'd been tormented by. "Any subject you were looking for in particular?" the librarian's crackling voice brought Danny back to the present. "Oh yes..." he began just regaining his composure, "yes madam, I wanted to find out more about warlocks and witches, and maybe...". The elderly lady stopped him short, "Oh yes, why of course! We've lots of books about those sort of things" she related pleasantly, and motioned him toward the proper shelf before wishing him well on his hunt and disappearing back amongst the walls of books. Danny wiped the jittery sweat that had formed on his brow, and this time double-checked before releasing his secret guest from the book satchel. The cat popped out onto the creaky oaken floor, nuzzled against Danny's ankles as he began searching through the ancient tomes lining the shelf, until he came upon a title that struck him in interest, "Ways of the Witches". "Perfect!" Danny exclaimed to himself as he grasped the thick book and made his way to a study desk situated in a dark corner of the library. The cat followed along quickly staying close at Danny's side, and hopped up onto the desk, purring loudly in approval all the while. Danny, intermittently checking to make sure his pet hadn't wandered off amongst the library shelves, began to thumb through the book which had already sparked his interest with ominously titled chapters such as "The Witches' Pact with the Devil" and "Black Magic Incantations Used By Witches". Soon, Danny was lost within the shadowy realm of the book, and "Warlock Avenger" had been discarded as a childish devotion. He found that the cat had since fallen asleep on the desktop, and submitted all of his concentration to the ancient knowledge the book expounded. He read on for hours, until he reached a passage that peaked his interest: "The witches are attended by servants, mostly in animal form, referred to as familiars. The familiar, often taking the shape of a black cat, is charged with carrying messages to and from the devil himself during the night, when such evils are afoot. Witches themselves, sometimes after death, make take the form of a familiar to pass on the knowledge they've acquired through Satan to an aspiring witch with which they've a common bond... sometimes a family member, close acquaintance, or just a soul they've taken a particular interest in. Great care must be taken when one has, by chance or by design, come into contact with one of these mysterious messengers, as they hold the power to shift all space and time." Danny glanced up in wild anticipation toward his cat's resting spot, but found he'd since moved, and was now sitting directly in front of Danny, eyes staring, wide and cold. Again, as Danny became lost in the cyclic motion of the greenish flame that flickered in the unblinking feline eyes, he became oblivious to all around him, and it was only the startled cry of the librarian that woke him from what seemed like one of the nightmares he'd had before. "Young Man!" she said, apparently very angry, "The library does NOT allow pets, and I'm sure your parents will..." but before she could badger him further, Danny had already grabbed his belongings and raced out the door. Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001 A.C. Englebert, sffworld.com. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the author. The author has submitted the work in accordance with and in agreement with the following Submission Guidelines. |
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