Chapter Thirteen
Congratulations on finding your new magical familiar
By far, the largest tent at the fair belonged to the familiar vendor. Sure, people were lined up to get a wand, or stationary, or the perfect cauldron. But none had the crowd lined up to snuggle creatures.
I assumed the tent would be open with fences to separate the larger animals, but it wasn’t. Perhaps I’d gotten this whole situation wrong.
Staff with purple lanyards stood by a set of brown-skinned triplets with gold eyes chatting with students entering the tent.
“You’ve got a thirst for knowledge. Perhaps an owl for you.” One of the triplets slid to my side. Wait… not triplets.
“How?”
His golden eyes glanced at the others then back to me.
He lifted a pointer finger and swirled it around.
“It’s a duplication spell. There’s only one of us and many of you.
Now I can be everywhere to assist my perfect customers.
” He waggled his eyebrows and his closeness had me taking a step back.
“I’m Tarrin Number Six, and I’m happy to help with your familiar needs.
We have many creatures—all very spoiled—ready to be your guide in the ways of magic.
” Tarrin waved at the tent and gestured for me to step forward.
As a staff member opened the flaps of the tent, scents of hay and dirt and roses slammed into my senses. I was also curious if any of the animals could speak. So far, the only creature I’d officially heard was the mouse back home, but there were reports all over.
“I’m not sure what I’m looking for,” I said. I didn’t know what to expect inside the crowded tent, but it definitely wasn’t this. “Umm, maybe one will call to me?”
Tarrin flashed me a knowing grin. “The right one will. Just like with the wrong ones, you’ll feel no connection with them. If there’s a match, you’ll know it.”
Golden canvas walls rose high like the circus big tops.
Animals of all sizes scooted around in pens, cages, and tanks.
Birds flew above, some swooping down to land on a student’s head.
Roars, snorts, and chirps called me into the surprisingly uncrowded space despite the amount of people.
I listened for small voices, but words spoken so far that I could hear were of the human variety.
“Let’s get you sorted, shall we?” Tarrin politely placed a hand outward, and I think I was supposed to place mine on his like some old medieval stroll about, so I took his.
I watched animals get chosen as we walked toward a donut-shaped table in the middle of the tent. Tarrin guided me to an empty space then dropped our hands.
“Tell me about yourself,” he said, and I had to think about his question.
“My name is Temperance. I—”
“Oh, I love the name. Very powerful. And all about balance. Continue,” Tarrin gushed, and I wondered if all the Tarrins were like Tarrin Number Six.
“I’m a mom, and I worked at as a bank teller for ten years.
Carrot cake is my weakness, and umm...” I tried thinking of more things and came up short.
Tarrin must have caught on to my struggle and lifted a finger.
Perhaps Nathurians were a naturally animated group of people.
The professors used their hands to talk a lot, and so did these vendors.
“All right, I think I’m sensing your energy. A little unbalanced, unsure, but seeking.” He scanned the room, and a smile lifted on his face. “Let’s head to the cat towers.”
“I like cats.”
Those words were nearly my last. To say the cats and I didn’t get a long was an understatement, and I have the scratches to prove it. I’m pretty sure I’d even heard one of the feisty felines call me a bitch.
Tarrin pulled me out of the cat area, panting like he’d ran for miles. “No worries, Temperance. We’ll find a magical fit.”
I wasn’t going to let the first try get me down.
Tarrin led me around the tent, and lots of creatures, both familiar and foreign, connected their gazes with mine.
But I didn’t feel anything, and I didn’t hear any of them saying, “Oooh, pick me.” The inner child in me squealed, though, when she saw a cute pig grunting around and gasped when a wolf sniffed my leg as it walked by.
Still, as cute and magnificent as they were, I got nothing from either one of them. Not even a hissed insult like in the cat area.
I waved to Remy as we passed her sitting near an aviary with a different Tarrin handing her a shimmering gray owl.
It hopped onto her covered arm and wiggled its head against her chest. Her mouth moved as she spoke to it.
Part of me thought that Remy would connect with a lion or a dragon if they existed.
Something fierce and scary, but I think that owl fit her more.
Quiet, intentional, and smart. I’ve also seen owls snatch creatures and bite off their heads sitting on a nearby branch. So, I guess the scary still fit.
We walked further to the back of the tent to a long rectangular table with various lights shining over open egg cartons.
“What’s this?” I asked while scanning over the various colors and sizes of the eggs. Some had scales, some looked soft, and others changed colors.
“Our future creatures. Sometimes the creature feels its witch nearby even at this stage. Do you feel anything?”
Originally, I’d been curious. But as I stared at the eggs, that feeling I got when Rylan was around buzzed beneath my skin. It slithered around, weaving through my blood, and bones, warming me like a cozy fire.
I turned around, expecting to see the billionaire, but he wasn’t there. Perhaps this feeling was for one of these creatures.
“Maybe.” I stepped closer and reached my hand out, palms down like I did inside the wand tent.
Tarrin nodded while I slowly walked along the table with my hand hovering over the eggs. “If you connect with an egg, then we get you all set up to take care of it until it hatches. Most of these are due any day now.”
As if my hand were a magnet, it paused over a carton with eight eggs nestled inside. Two green grapefruit sized eggs towered over the smaller apple and golf ball-sized ones with different colors.
Tarrin stayed near me, watching as I moved my hand over each to feel where that pull came from.
“Oh.” I gasped as the slithering inside me magnified. The egg beneath my palm suddenly changed colors.
Tarrin clapped with glee. “Oh, it’s matching your outfit, how cute. I’d say we have a winner.” He waited for me to confirm, and I stared as the egg changed from matching my blue jeans, gray shirt, and tan sweater to a pink heart.
“Yes, it’s a match.” I wanted to scoop up the little golf ball-sized egg and give it a smooch. Love for this unknown creature blossomed inside my chest so intensely, I assumed my heart would pop.
“Perfect, I’ll get you the supplies. You can hold it under the light, if you’re comfortable.” Tarrin gave me a thumbs up and moved around the table to grab a lamp and other items I’d need to keep the egg warm.
“Hi there,” I cooed while scooping the egg up into my palms.
The soft egg warmed in my hand, and the colors began to shift so fast that I panicked.
“Tarrin!”
“I guess you won’t be needing the hatching supplies after all.” Tarrin smiled and set the box of supplies down.
“What do you mean?” The egg wiggled in my palms.
Tarrin leaned down, his smile and voice softening as he watched the egg move around then stop. “It means your new friend is ready to say hello.”
Seconds later a little seam in the soft barrier broke. It was happening so fast. I was getting a…
Snake…
And not one I remembered from any science book or zoo exhibit.
“They are like the hognose snakes of your realm, but with magical flare,” Tarrin told me while a little upturned pointed-nose snake head popped out of the hole in the egg.
And it was adorable!
Never in all my years did I think I would be a snake mom, but that little face had me falling head over heels.
“Hey there, you’re coming with me. Is that okay?” I felt compelled to ask. As much as I wanted this little cutie, it had to choose me too. And not just the egg show.
The creature said nothing, and disappointment flooded through me.
“It’s not saying anything,” I said to Tarrin as my heart squeezed painfully in my chest.
Apparently, I was already attached to the cute little thing.
“Just a baby. Give it time,” he assured me.
Then, it wiggled in the egg, but still only its head stuck out as it accidentally rolled over in my palm and shifted from pink to rainbow to blue. I nudged it upright with my pointer finger, and a glowing heart shone from the top of its head.
Tarrin beamed at me. “I think that’s a yes. Congratulations on finding your new magical familiar.”