I belong to no one.
The voice was cold and smooth in my mind. I frowned and crossed my arms over my knees.
“My friend told me about magic. I know that my grandma was a witch, and I think you and her are connected somehow.”
The cat dipped her head down, pushing her paws forward, stretching and flexing her claws as she yawned. After a quick shake of her coat, she sauntered down the steps towards me, stopping a few feet away.
“Are you a magic cat?”
I laughed as the cat rolled its eyes. It looked directly at me, its orange eyes burning with a strange sort of intensity.
I’m not a magic cat. I’m a witch. My name is Jade.
I frowned in confusion.
“How can you be a witch?”
I was a witch before my unfortunate transformation.
“Transformation?”
Yes. Faith transformed me into a cat many years ago, so I am now bound to the Black Family.
“Faith? Who’s that?”
Jade seemed to quirk an eyebrow.
You don’t know about your great aunt?
I shrugged.
“I know barely anything about my family. Was she Grandma’s sister, then?”
She bobbed her head once, which I took to mean yes. A half-buried memory suddenly came back to me of my father mentioning Grandma’s sister once.
I felt a surge of excitement as I realized that Jade had known my grandmother personally. She might be able to answer a lot of my questions.
“Why didn’t Grandma Celeste transform you?”
Faith had to do it because she knew how to perform an animal transformation spell. It’s a complicated one, and Faith is good with spells.
“Oh. I guess that makes sense. But why did they transform you in the first place?”
Jade hissed suddenly, arching her back and swiping out with one paw. I took several steps back, my heart hammering.
Because I tried to protect them from mortal fools! And what did they do? They repaid my devotion with a curse!
Before I could ask her any more questions, the cat ran off, streaking into the woods that backed Grandma Celeste’s house. I had clearly touched a nerve, but I had no idea why.
And Grandma had a sister? That was news to me. We hadn’t even heard about Grandma’s death, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Faith was gone, too.
With a sigh, I walked slowly up the porch steps and headed for the bathroom. I was still covered in sweat and dust from the morning’s cleaning and desperately needed a shower.
The hot water felt good against my cool skin. Summer was still fading, but the air was growing chillier now, especially as the day moved towards evening.
As I stepped out of the shower, I remembered Theresa’s suggestion that I try to protect myself and the house. Retrieving the wand from my bag, I clasped it in my hand and closed my eyes. I pictured the house.
The old brick townhouse stood out vividly in my mind’s eye. I lifted my arm and pictured a bubble going from the top of the roof, through the attic, around the bedrooms and finishing on the floor beneath my feet.
As the bubble in my mind reached the first floor, I felt the barest brush of wind pass over me from head to toe. With a tiny flick of the wand, I finished the spell.
“Wow. That really was easy.”
I felt quite proud of myself that I’d managed a spell on the very first try. Turning my attention inward, I conjured up a picture of myself in the mirror. Working my way down from head to toe, I imagined the protective bubble encasing me.
I remembered suddenly to add in protections against magical attacks as well as physical ones, as Theresa had advised.
When I flicked the wand again, it felt as if a protective casing had coated me, wrapping around my body like shrink wrap. I looked down at my arms and my feet, but nothing looked different. The spell had just created an invisible layer around me.
As I’d performed the spells, a wonderful sense of awakening had washed over me. The wand felt as natural as my own hand, merely an extension of my own body.
I had magic, and I could wield it. The thought was exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure.
This is what Dad has been hiding from me?
I wondered vaguely if Jade would have trouble getting back through the cat door with my barrier in place, then shrugged it off. As long as she wasn’t trying to attack me, she shouldn’t have a problem getting in.
With the comforting thought that the house was protected, I headed back upstairs to go to bed. My poor night’s sleep had left me feeling far more tired than I usually did this time of night.
