Taming the Familiar

Chapter 11- The Lair

Kaleth looked up from the book. Alexa was starting to stretch and he assumed she would be waking up soon. He glanced down at the page again. He was looking at a diagram for a summoning spell. He couldn't read the words, but he recognized the magic circle from when Alistar had first summoned Pitch. The girl's arm flailed out again and he watched Pitch carefully extract himself before things got dangerous. He stepped lightly over the carpet and Kaleth watched him approach. He could see the cat had grown much stronger since coming into Alexa's care. Alistar had never even let him in the house, let alone anywhere near touching him. Actually Alistar had all but abandoned the cat. In truth, Kaleth was surprised by how well he was doing. He'd almost doubled in size, where he was getting too big to call a house cat. Pitch stared up at him and he glared back. He was about to insult the pathetic feline when Alexa sat up. She yawned and stared over at the two of them. 

"Morning." She mumbled slightly coherently. Kaleth stood up from his chair, acknowledging her presence. Alexa stretched yet again and climbed slowly to her feet. Pitch hurried over to rub up against her leg and she grinned while picking him up.

"Good morning." She said to Kaleth and he just nodded in response. The comfortable atmosphere they had established the night before seemed to have vanished. Alexa cleared her throat and headed down for breakfast.

"I need to eat or I'll never wake up. Don't cause any trouble." She mumbled to Kaleth. Once she was gone he parked himself on the daybed again with the book. 

Alexa jogged down the stairs, starving for breakfast. Her mother had made peanut butter and banana pancakes, or as her mother called them for some reason, Elvis pancakes. She sat down at the table and poured syrup over hers. She opted not to feed this to Pitch as she didn't know how well syrup and fur would mix, but when she was done she took two up to Kaleth. He eyed the sticky mess suspiciously, but tried a few bites and ate one of them. Pitch was pleased to finish off the other. When the the plate was empty Alexa grinned at them.

"Okay, so now it's time to show me Alistar's lair." She said. Pitch flinched at her words and Kaleth raised an eyebrow before nodding. He stood up and headed for the balcony

"Come this way then. It's not in the house." He explained. Alexa walked up behind him and he gestured to the ground below. Alexa grinned.

"Fly us down." She said. Kaleth's wings appeared instantly and he held out his arm for her. She grabbed hold and he jumped off the railing swiftly. They drifted slowly to the ground. As they landed his wings vanished and he released her. He started out at a brisk walk as Alexa waited for Pitch to climb down. She jogged to catch up. Kaleth was heading for the tool shed beside the barn. Alexa was looking around trying to find some sort of secret entrance when Kaleth stopped suddenly and Alexa bumped  into him. Kaleth turned to look at her and she would almost say there was concern in his eyes.

"It's not just books." He said quietly. Alexa cocked her head to one side curiously. Pitch seemed to be holding back. Kaleth sighed.

"This is where Alistar performed spells, and brewed potions. His.... recreational... activities were also carried out here." He explained. Alexa's eyes widened. She was going to walk into a murder scene. Actually it had been a murder scene multiple times. She shivered involuntarily. She knew two girls had been found on his property back in the fifties, but if he'd continued to murder for the last forty years, how many people had died here? Kaleth nodded. Apparently he just wanted to make sure she knew what she was walking into. He turned away from her and took another step toward the shed. They were at the back corner of the shed, furthest from the door. Alexa watched curiously as Kaleth poked his finger into a knothole in one of the pieces of siding. He lifted and a whole section of the outer wall shifted. Alexa stared in disbelief at the opening and small staircase it revealed, dropping into the dark beneath the shed. The tight passage was lined with cobwebs and it was pitch black when Kaleth closed the door behind them. After a moment a soft light started burning in his hand and Alexa could see he was holding a small ball of flames. Pitch was no where in sight and Alexa could only assume he stayed outside for some reason. Kaleth led the way down the steps which seemed to go on far deeper than she could see as necessary.