Chapter 25
Swiping my hand across the steam covered mirror, I take a good long look at myself.
I feel so different, but my appearance is still the same.
After all the changes and craziness that have occurred over the last few weeks, I guess I just expected some outward evidence to be present– Something to show for what I have gone through, the good and the bad.
But I still look like I did before I met Donovan and began this journey of discovery. Why did that make me so disappointed?
Dressing in some comfy leggings, a baggy shirt, and twisting my hair up into a messy wet bun, I exit the bathroom.
I come face to face with both Indy and Beretta lounging on the made bed.
My eyebrow quirks up at the sight of them.
I have yet to confront them both on the whole familiar thing, but I guess now is as good a time as any. Why am I so anxious?
Beretta’s tail begins wagging, and she makes as if to get up off the bed and approach me. Nope, I can’t have this conversation if she gives me cuddles.
“Beretta, stay.”
The wagging stops, and she cocks her head at me.
I sit down in the chair facing the bed and watch them, and they watch me back. I take a deep breath. Here goes nothing.
“So are you two just going to sit there and keep on pretending you are real animals?”
The unnatural way that Beretta glances at Indy is unnerving, and then Indy’s eyes narrow slightly at me, but still they sit there.
“I know what you are, so you might as well come clean.”
A deep and raspy voice comes out of Indy’s mouth, and I watch in fascinated horror as he answers me.
“So, the witch finally confessed?”
Composing myself so I don’t freak out, I count to ten in my mind and then answer him.
“Yes, Megan told me what you both are, and how you came to me. Care to elaborate?”
”Well, if she told you all that, then there is no need to elaborate. You know what’s important.”
I fight the urge to roll my eyes. It feels silly to do so at a cat, even though he isn’t really a cat.
“I would like to know more about you both. You have been with me so long, and now I feel like I don’t even know you.”
A voice that sounds a little too sweet answers me from Beretta’s toothy jaws.
“She has a right to know, it’s not like we didn’t know this day would come. Especially now that she is mated to the water horse.”
I can’t help but grin at her name for Don. Indy grumbles a little too quietly for my ears to pick up, and Beretta nudges him with one of her front paws. Clearing his throat and giving Beretta a side glare, he speaks a little louder.
“We will answer whatever questions you might have, Mistress.”
Mistress? Nope, don’t get distracted. “I have so many, but I guess the one that means the most is, do you both actually want to be here? I couldn’t bear it if you thought being with me is an obligation.”
They blink at me. I think it’s a look of bewilderment. Indy is the first to answer. “Obviously the witch didn’t tell you everything. We have no bindings to keep us here with you, we could have left at any time. We choose everyday to stay.”
Tears swim in my eyes. I have been dreading this answer. Even though Megan assured me that they want to be with me, I still had my doubts. It is still hard to believe that people choose to be with me, even after all the years that have passed.
A gentle lick swipes over my hand, and my attention draws back to what is before me, the sweet face of my Beretta.
“Mistress, please don’t cry. This is a good thing, now we no longer have to hide our true natures.
It was very hard remaining as we were, seemingly ignorant to the world around us.
While it was a simple life and you cared for us deeply, it was difficult not to interact with you in the way we truly crave.
” I move to pet Beretta’s head, but my hand pauses.
Can I still pet them? Will they even want that?
As if sensing the reason for my hesitation, Beretta bridges the gap and nudges my hand with her head.
“You may still touch us as you did before. Your touch is comforting to us, just as ours is to you. It also gives us a power boost and keeps us grounded on this plane.”
Taking comfort in that, I stroke Beretta’s head, and begin to process her words.
“How have you been surviving all this time, though? I didn’t have power.”
Indy takes that moment to jump up in my lap, nudging Beretta over slightly. He stretches his body up, placing both front paws on either of my collarbones, and peers deeply into my eyes. His eyes shine like the most vibrant emeralds, the colors now rolling in waves.
“Mistress, you have power enough for a hundred familiars and not feel the drain. Even with those annoying geas, power leaks from your very pores. It’s why we were drawn to you in the first place, and only partially why we remain.”
He bumps his head onto my chin and rubs his cheek against mine.
“Do not trouble yourself with these feelings of sadness and inadequacy. You are worthy of us, and we shall remain. Even if you did mate with a water horse.”
I snort. “I really do love you both, and I’m so thankful that you really want to stay.”
“We shall not be parted with you.” Indy murmurs through a loud comforting purr.
“So, Megan mentioned that familiars lived in the underworld, or a different plane. Why did you decide to come here?”
“It can get quite boring in our realm, so when we feel a pull towards this plane we generally don’t ignore it.
This is my first time being in this realm, and while I do sometimes miss being in my true form, it is nice to have a true purpose as your familiar.
” Beretta comments quietly, it’s so weird hearing words come out of her mouth when the movement of her lips are off. Like a badly dubbed foreign film.
“But you don’t really do much, how is being here not boring?” I ask skeptically.
“Oh Mistress, being here with you is quite entertaining and fulfilling. The slow pace is a novelty that I very much enjoy. Yes, we don’t do much, but protecting you is a worthy purpose.
Plus, now that your powers are slowly unlocking, I’m sure we will have more to occupy us.
Indy certainly has been busy. He got to have all the fun without me.
” Beretta sounds so enthusiastic that I decide, even though I don’t understand their reasoning for being here, I’m not going to question it.
“Wait, that reminds me. Indy, what happened at our house?”
He growls in fury. It alarms me hearing such a fierce noise come out of what looks like a house cat.
“An intruder broke in. I’m ashamed to say that they took me by surprise at first. I have become complacent, even though I knew of the dangers that lurked around you.
” He sighs heavily before continuing. “I was outside, enjoying the sunshine, when I heard the noises. At first I thought they were from that old bat next door. She makes a god awful ruckus on a weekly basis, but then I heard glass breaking.”
“You weren’t hurt, right? Don said you weren’t, but I don’t know how fast you heal.”
He scoffs. “Of course I wasn’t hurt. My pride is a little wounded, though. I am ashamed I allowed that creature to enter your home, Mistress. I am also furious with myself that it escaped me.”
“What got in?”
“A foul creature; it had a tainted soul. I was so close to devouring it, but it escaped me.” His fur stands on end as he recaps what happened.
“So they weren’t human?”
He nods. “No, or at least not entirely. They were completely covered, but their scent was full of decay. Like a demon possessing its host, but not quite.”
Beretta hums. “I wish I had been there, I would have loved to devour them.” She giggles, and I’m torn between finding it adorable and downright terrifying.
“Well, I’m just glad you are safe, Indy. That is really all I care about.”
He grumbles as I stroke my hand down his back.
“You don’t happen to know anything about my powers, do you?”
A deep rumble sounds from Indy.
“That is a very complicated question, Mistress. I have not encountered many of your kind in my lifetime, and the power you possess only holds small similarities. But even with our minimal knowledge, we were still able to break most of the geas surrounding you.”
My eyebrows raise in surprise.
“You were the ones to break my powers free?”
They both nod.
“Yes, Mistress, though we must apologize for how long it took us. The spells were very intricate, and we couldn’t risk your safety by rushing it. You might have been able to find your mate sooner if we had been able to break them faster.”
Beretta looks slightly forlorn.
“I wouldn’t have met Don if the spells were still present?”
Indy shakes his head.
“It is highly unlikely. The geas repelled Clan magic. I believe its intent was to protect you, but it mostly left you vulnerable.”
My head is reeling. If Indy and Beretta had never come into my life would I have been alone forever? The thought of never meeting Don, or any of the others, leaves my stomach in knots. Now all I want to do is curl up and not think about the what ifs.
“Would it be weird if we cuddled in the bed like we always do?” I ask quietly, hoping that even though they are not actual animals, but sentient beings, they will still continue to indulge in my need to cuddle them.
Beretta wags her tail and gives my hand another lick before leaping on the bed. A smile filled with joy and relief spreads across my face, and I look down at Indy, still on my lap.
“What do you say, big guy, can we still cuddle?”
“Only for you, Mistress.”
I stroke my hand down his back, and even though he technically isn’t a cat, he still arches his back in enjoyment.
Before he can hop down, I scoop him up in my arms and carry him to the bed, not wanting to let go for a minute.
Indy was my first true love, and it brings me so much comfort that he knows how much I really do care for him. How much I care for them both.