It isn't so bad, living this way. Being alone suits me. Just me and the cave walls, doing no harm to anyone. I haven't used magic in a week, and it feels great. It'll take time for the connection to break, but I'm happy that I can't hurt anyone. I block out the memory of what happened to the skreevar every time it surfaces. I'm not ready to face it, not yet. It would take all my strength, and I need strength to keep the First Witch at bay.
I've been succeeding so far. She hasn't tried to communicate with me since the last time. No one visits me, just as I ordered. Onyx teleports food outside the cave every couple of days, but he doesn't dare take his fluffy butt inside.
I'm still not 100 percent okay with him. He hid the very nature of his being from me. Even if he isn't evil, he's been deceptive. I don't trust him.
The Larans stay well away. Maybe some of them remember a certain witch and her demon panther firing ice shards at skreevar. No one's turned up at the cave with a pitchfork yet, and that's a good thing.
I feel almost at peace here, shut away from the rest of the world. Not having to worry about hurting anyone takes a massive load off my shoulders. I'm no longer the big bad witch who needs to save the world, but is doomed to destroy it instead.
I eat, I sleep. I count the dust motes that hover in the occasional beam of light. Through a hole in the cave ceiling, I watch the sky. With magic out of my life, I feel remarkably human.
The only nuisance is the idiot bird that won't leave me alone. The ravleet turns up day in and day out, chirping about sales and limited stocks. I haven't been giving it any food. The box Onyx teleports outside the cave for me is secured, and I've let him place a scent-masking charm on it to keep the ravleet away. It's the only magic I allow near this place. Still, the ravleet turns up. If I try to get away from it, it follows me. I don't want it getting lost, so I don't try and escape to the farther reaches of the cave. It's like it has a death wish.
"It's not safe for you here," I tell it now, as it shakes dust off its feathers. "Haven't you heard? I make things disappear."
"Bad deal," it agrees.
"I don't have any kazza seeds either, and I refuse to share my cupcakes. So there's no need for you to risk your tail here."
The ravleet ignores me and pokes around the cave.
"You're not leaving, are you?" I sigh. "I'm going to call you Bob," I tell it, "because I don't have the energy to think of something else."
"Doors close at five," Bob sighs back.
"So Bob," I continue, "sounds like you've come from Kazatron. Get much shopping done? Any hot bargains?"
"This one has a hole in it," Bob explains.
"I feel your pain, Bob. My life has a hole in it."
If Bob has any sympathy, he doesn't show it.
My communications monitor buzzes.
After a few days of complete isolation, I decided to take monitor calls. At first I was afraid that the dark power could somehow travel through the connection and hurt my friends, though the idea sounded silly, even to me. I let my paranoia win, because it was safer. Now that I've put some distance between myself and magic, I feel a lot better about using the monitor.
"Did I press the wrong button?"
Addy's frowning face comes on screen.
"I'm here, Addy," I say.
Her expression brightens. "Lily! It's such a relief to see you. Did you get my cupcakes? I asked Onyx to promise to give them to you, but he just said 'meow'."
"It was a meow-yes," I assure her. "I got the cupcakes, all three of them."
Addy blinks. "Three? I packed four. Oh, Onyx. I should have known he would eat one."
A smile tugs at my lips. Seeing Addy, I can't help it. Her buttery curls bounce around a green dress with large white polka dots. There's sunshine in her amber eyes, and more of it in her smile.
Ruby lounges on Addy's sofa, her plum-coloured hair swirled into two buns on either side of her head, with a ponytail looped through each. She munches on an apple tart, showing no sign of having noticed my presence.
My gaze drifts to Maya, who looks like she's ready to go skiing in Taneria. She's wearing a figure-hugging white sweater that's cropped at her waist, with matching white pants. Magical blue and white snow flurries swirl across her bosom, as well as forming a belt around her hips. She tops off the look with glass snowflake earrings. Onyx is curled in her lap.
I've seen this outfit before, in an advertisement for her fashion line, Cerberus Designs. When standing, pieces of magic snow are supposed to drift down the pant legs and wink out when they touch your shoes. Sitting down, the snow spills over her lap and spreads across the bedsheets, like a mist dotted with winking glass beads. Onyx, I admit grudgingly, does look rather handsome against this backdrop, a shadow against a diamante sea.
Maya's scanning a piece of paper in her hand. Her frown grows deeper by the second. "I don't think you should send this, Ruby," she says.
Ruby smirks. "Too late. I sent it yesterday. This is just my copy."
"Oh Ruby, you didn't!" Addy is aghast.
"I did," Ruby confirms. She turns to address me. "I keep getting mail for other people, so I took the initiative and sent the post office a letter."
She sticks the letter up to the monitor screen. Frowning, I read.
' Dear Sir/Madam
I am writing on behalf of Witch Doctors Inc, as it has come to our attention that you may have us confused with someone else. We have been receiving letters addressed to several other companies. In the hopes of clearing up this confusion, I have prepared the following guide to assist you with your deliveries.
***GUIDE***
Companies that we ARE:
1) Witch Doctors Inc
Companies that we are NOT:
1) Witches United
2) Witch Depository
3) Wirchington Institute for the Criminally Insane
4) Wart Doctors Inc
I hope that you have found this guide informative. We look forward to receiving more mail from you.
Yours sincerely
Ruby Manchester'
Well...what can I say to that?
"Great letter," I mutter. "I'm sure the post office will be thrilled."
Ruby grins wickedly.
Maya shakes her head.
Onyx sticks out his tongue, and a handful of winking beads disappears.
"Stop eating the magic snow," I snap. "You'll get hiccups."
I have not eaten anything, Onyx protests, hiccupping.
It's hard to look at him now and see the ferocious beast from the other day. All that power, and here he is, eating snow like a moron.
The others took his identity reveal better than I did. Addy had actually been excited about it.
"Onyx, you're a baby demon?" she'd squealed. "That is so cute!"
Adamantine, Onyx had whined. That was a long time ago. I am no longer an infant.
"So you're an adult demon?" I'd prodded.
Onyx considered this. More like a teenage demon.
My cat is a teenage demon.
Thanks a lot, universe. This is exactly what my life needed.
How is your magic diet coming along? the cat asks me now.
"It's not a diet," I tell him. "I'm cutting it out of the menu completely. No more magic. No more witches. No more trouble."
"But Lily," Addy says, her voice small and worried, "It's denying who you are."
I cross my arms over my chest. "Addy," I say. "Need I remind you who I am? I'm the person who wiped out an entire species."
Maya also looks concerned. "Magic isn't the problem. Control is."
"It doesn't make you a bad person." Addy assures me. "It was a mistake."
Ruby puts in her own two silvers. "As annoyed as I am that the giant lizard bird things are gone," she says, "at least you didn't kill the Larans."
"Ruby!" Addy protests. "Lily would never kill people."
Her faith in me just makes me sad. I don't deserve it.
"Let her sulk a while," Ruby suggests, as if I wasn't right there listening to the whole conversation. "You can't run away from who you are. It'll catch up to you sooner or later. Besides, I have some info to share."
"I'm not in the mood to hear about werewolves," I grumble.
"Oh, you'll want to hear this," Ruby smirks. "I've done some digging on Big Boss."
*