The Familiar || ONC 2022

Chapter 1

The flower pot chose that moment to crumble into tiny pieces, revealing an oozing pile of olive colored slime. The smell of rotten eggs filled the air.

"You couldn't wait until midnight?" the matriarch's voice was resigned instead of angry. "A familiar will balance out your wayward magic and prevent this," she gestured to the ruined kitchen, "from happening."

Morlana winced as her mother repeated the phrase she had heard in various forms since her first miscast spell at the age of seven. As of late the words seemed to be said out of desperation instead of a blind faith in the effect of her future familiar.

While it was the job of a witch's familiar to assist with casting spells and honing their craft, Morlana doubted a creature existed that was strong enough to counterbalance her particularly twisted brand of power. She wasn't even sure a familiar would answer her summons.

Lana's parents had assured her time and time again that there was no way to fail the summoning ceremony. There was no recorded history of a witch without a familiar.

Lana wasn't so sure. Foreboding twisted her gut into knots every time she thought about the summoning. If she failed, what would happen?

Her family refused to talk about it in front of her but Morlana knew they discussed her fate behind closed doors and spelled walls.

Sensing her daughter's worry, the older witch wrapped Lana in a hug that smelled of heather and roses. "I promise, tonight will change things."

The girl wasn't sure who the words were meant to comfort more. The stress was causing her mother's normally straight black hair to curl at the ends as it always did when she was agitated.

"I need to tell you why tonight is so important, Lana." Said the matriarch.

"I'm worried, Mom," Lana opened her mouth to detail her concerns about the ceremony when her younger brother barged into the room.

"It smells awful in here." He said before letting out a low whistle. "You've outdone yourself this time, Lana."

"And for that, Velix, you get to help clean up." Lana's mother said as she passed him a mop before turning to her daughter with a sad smile. "We will talk later, I promise. Now go upstairs and change. Take a moment to reign in that rampant magic of yours so we can all enjoy your special day. A witch only turns sixteen once."

"This is so unfair!" Velix complained from the kitchen as Lana trudged up the stairs to her room. "Why are we always stuck cleaning up Lana's messes? I can't even use my magic to remove this gunk."

Morlana was too close to her room to hear her mother's hushed and chiding response. As always, the matriarch was being far too lenient after one of Lana's magical mishaps. If it had been any of her seven siblings, her mother would have grounded them for such a mistake.

Irritation added to Morlana's cauldron of brewing emotions. Just once she wanted to be treated as an equal by her mother and the rest of her family instead of a child in need of protection.

A hot shower didn't improve Lana's mood any more than her mother's earlier attempt at reassurance. She leaned against the cool tile in an attempt to quiet the anxiety already threatening to overwhelm her and she didn't have to socialize with the rest of her family yet.

The girl's hands itched as her magic responded to her heightened emotions. Taking deep breaths in an attempt to stop her feelings from boiling over, Lana forced herself to get ready.

Soon her thick, black waves were wrestled into a neat bun and she donned the simple, ankle-length dress required for the ceremony. Her hands trembled with trepidation she couldn't shake as she adjusted her dress in front of the mirror.

Commotion downstairs announced the arrival of her six older siblings and the start of what promised to be a stressful evening.

"Lana darling, are you ready?" her mother asked on the other side of the door. "The family is here."

The young witch that stared at Lana through the mirror with wide brown eyes looked anything but ready. She looked like she was about to hurl or bolt out the window.

Lana took deep breaths to stave off her panic attack. Nothing was going to happen. Every witch had a familiar.

When she returned to the kitchen it was once again spotless. Her siblings crowded between the countertop and island prepping ingredients.

"She looks exactly like you did ten years ago, Helena." Gasped the third eldest Sylvane sibling, Elaine.

"Except for that panic-stricken look on her face." Helena, the oldest of the group, wrapped her youngest sister in a hug before smoothing a crease on Lana's dress in a motherly fashion.

After greeting Lana, the rest of her elder siblings all chatted amicably while remaking dinner. The six of them moved about the kitchen like a well-oiled machine, all clearly used to having to work together to make up for Lana's shortcomings. Soon enough, the mansion smelled of good food and Lana's childhood.

The second born, Zion, slung his arm around her shoulder. "Stop worrying sis. You can't mess up the ritual unless you forget the words. The magic in your blood does the rest."

That was exactly what Lana worried about. Her casting didn't fail because she was stupid, lazy, or unprepared. She spent more time working on memorizing incantations, practicing pronunciation, and reading up on magic theory than any of her successful siblings. Yet Lana had nothing to show for her efforts except the occasional explosion. There was something else inside of her, inside of her magic, that was broken and getting worse.

Would a familiar be able to fix such a thing?

Velix rushed into the kitchen with wild eyes. "Guess what you guys? I just saw the other covens' matriarchs arrive."

Lana's siblings exchanged glances. "Mother must have invited one or two of her friends." Cora, the sixth sibling, guessed.

Velix shook his head. "Not a few, all eight of them. By the look on Mom's face and the way her hair stood on end when they portaled into the yard, I don't think they were invited."

Lana paled. "Why would they come tonight?"

Familiar summoning ceremonies were common, intimate affairs. Outsiders rarely attended and even then only when invited by an immediate family member.

Velix shrugged. "I don't know, but they brought their familiars along."

The twins, Dade and Thade frowned. "That's rude." They chorused.

"Do they think they can walk all over us and ignore tradition just because we are the weakest coven?" Zion fumed.

Lana's stomach sunk. Witches' familiars were guides and focus points for magic. For that very reason, they weren't permitted near powerful, untargeted casting like the summoning ceremony.

"Don't worry, sister, we will make sure all the familiars are far enough away before you begin, even if we have to call in our own to make it happen." Helena assured as she gave her brothers and sisters a pointed look. "Nothing will interfere, we promise."

Lana couldn't shake the pit of doubt growing wider in her stomach. She also couldn't shake the feeling that her family knew exactly why the matriarchs crashed her sixteenth birthday, though none of them would tell her the reason. The Sylvane family was doing what it had always done, attempting to protect her by keeping her in the dark.