Marvela and Curious returned to a town teeming with activity. All around, children romped up and down the sidewalks while adults set out last minute decorations. Nightfall approached. Soon it would be Halloween night.
Yet Marvela didn't share the town's excitement. There was something else weighing down heavily on her—a different kind of anticipation.
Tonight would be the night the spirit, Slight, would rise into the mortal realm. And tonight would be the night Asra would seize control of the spirit's power and lay waste to the modern world. The magic-less people celebrating were completely unaware that their fates all lay with the tiny kitten slinking between their feet.
Somewhere on the outskirts of the city, Marvela could sense Asra. She could feel the snake-eyed witch's growing aura in the pads of her paws. The tingle of swelling magic in the air was like spiders crawling up her back.
Not cute and friendly spiders; the kind with enormous fangs and big, hairy legs.
It certainly wouldn't be hard to find the witch. All Marvela needed was the courage to take that first step in her direction.
The sun began setting in a sky dyed orange as the cat and her rat passed by the library that was now a jungle of vines and purple flowers. A crowd of costumed onlookers outside marveled at the building. Marvela caught snippets of puzzled conversation: that they people of Vigilance had neglected the library and its wonders inside for too long. Perhaps it was time they ventured back inside once again. Kitten and rat shouldered through the crowd, passing Agatha's, Phoebe's, and Olive's homes where the lights were all off. They padded beside the old fence surrounding the pumpkin patch and the alleyway where Marvela had first fallen into this strange, beautiful town.
Then they paused at the edge of the woods that lined Vigilance.
Curious fidgeted beside Marvela, trembling like a leaf. "Well, then. Ready to do this? Again?"
Marvela licked at her black fur to smooth it, attempting to hide the way it rose whenever she thought about what awaited them. "Yes," she found herself answering. She placed a paw on the spellbook on the ground beside her. She hoped that the book that had left home with her wouldn't let her down. She swallowed and held her chin high to the starry sky. "We can do this. The two of us."
There was a rustling behind them. Marvela flinched and whipped around, arching her back.
Curious, on the other hand, turned around to face the sound, sporting a broad toothy grin. "No. We're not alone!" he squeaked.
A white Persian cat strolled up to the black kitten and the rat. On the cat's head was a spotted salamander.
"Hello there, Marceline!" said Lolly, reaching out without hesitation to pull Marvela into another bone-crushing hug.
The kitten squealed and ducked away from her outstretched paws. "Hi, Lolly. And hi, Freckle!"
Freckle flicked out his tongue in greeting. There were no more sparkling bubbles from the salamander. Marvela could only sense the faintest traces of magic in the pair. Behind the cat and the salamander, other shapes detached themselves from the shadowed undergrowth. More cats, rodents, small reptiles and amphibians, and a whole horde of black fuzzy spiders revealed themselves.
Marvela let out a trembling exhale at their unexpected company. "Wha—? What are you all doing here?"
Lolly pointed a furry paw at the grinning rat next to Marvela. "It was that familiar of yours. He set up an online blog specifically for familiars and invited every familiar in town to join. He explained to us what the two of you were going to do." The cat's voice cracked. She swallowed before continuing, her huge eyes looking glassy in her flat face. "That you were going to avenge all our witches."
There were murmurs of hushed agreement amongst the crowd of former familiars. Tails waggled. Whiskers twitched. Heads nodded.
Lolly waved her bushy tail in approval at the animals behind her, then stood tall. "So we're all here to help you fight Asra! I know we won't be much help now that our magic is waning, but we want to do what we can. We won't let you two do this alone!"
Marvela's tiny heart fluttered. "Lolly... I... Thank you. We—"
"Witch-cat!" shrieked a voice from the sky, interrupting the kitten.
Marvela looked up to see a cloud of flapping wings above them all. "Bats!" she cheered.
"We want to help, too!" squeaked the bats that hovered over the flightless animals.
Tiny paws yanked on Marvela's tail. She tore her gaze away from the night sky and found a vast colony of rats behind her. Curious let out a squeal of surprise and hid behind Marvela's other side.
"Cat," greeted one of the long-toothed rats at the forefront who looked vaguely familiar.
"Small cat," said another.
Curious peeked over the black kitten to gawk at the rats. "You guys? You're here too?"
"There are no secrets of the Aboveground that we don't know, Curious!" another of the rats at the forefront said.
"Yeah, we know the Aboveground is in danger."
"And we like the Aboveground."
"It's where all the shiny, sparkly things come from!"
"Yeah, it's where all the shin—oh, you beat me to it."
"And, uh, also..."
"We want to thank you—"
"For separating all of us."
"Finally!"
"That fireball you sent our way untangled our tails!"
Marvela gasped. So that's why the rats that led the crowd of rodents looked familiar. They were all the Rat King! Now free from each other, each member of the king took special care to give the others a wide berth. They kept their tails clasped in their paws like treasures while they all side-eyed each other.
"Glad to help," the kitten said with a giggle.
The leaders of the rats all nodded in unison.
"Magic is the sparkliest and shiniest treasure of all," said one of them.
"And we will help you defend it!" decreed another.
An obnoxious braying made the crowd of animals duck their heads, all wincing. Two Rottweilers bounded through the crowd to stand before Marvela, who barely had any time to even consider scurrying away before they started barking.
"Cat!" hollered Knife.
"Trespassing cat!" hollered Blade.
"H-hi, you two," mewed Marvela, pressing her paws to her pained ears. "Don't tell me you're both here to—"
"We're here to help!" interrupted Knife.
"The trespassing cat and rat freed us!" added Blade.
"Now we don't have to stay in the pumpkin patch forever!"
"Yeah!"
While Curious whined under his breath about indoor voices, Marvela grinned up at the slobbering dogs. "We're glad to have you!" she announced.
Both dogs' tails wagged at full speed at that.
Lolly and the salamander on her head squeezed herself between the dogs to stand beside Marvela. She laid her lush cloud of a tail across the kitten's shoulders, which Marvela found much more comforting than one of her vice-grip hugs.
"So, Marceline," said Lolly. "What's the plan?"
Marvela tucked her spellbook safely out of the way under a bush. She would return to it soon, she hoped, after all this was over. She held a paw to her chest; her heartbeat pounded against her paw pads like an animal struggling to tear itself out of its cage. And beneath that, her magic filled her with its effervescent warmth from her nose to her tail-tip. It was almost like the warmth of an embrace; like her witch was once again holding her in her arms.
Tail raised and head held high, Marvela turned back to the dark woods. A determined smile spread across her whiskered face.