Full Moon Bliss: a Heavan's End Kitchen Witch story

Chapter 5

Caleb allowed Daphne to drag him to her car. He started to walk around the car to the driver’s seat when Daphne grabbed his arm again.

“Hey, this is my car, we are going to my space, I get to drive.”

Caleb smiled, “No you are not. I can take directions and get us there. You are already being followed. I want to be able to get us to safety if needed. You will not be driving.”

Daphne crossed her arms, “I will be taking care of what I need to do and if you insist on coming that is fine, but I will drive.”

With that she walked around him and got into the driver’s seat, and with a defeated sigh, Caleb slid into the passenger’s seat.

A few minutes later, Daphne pulled onto a gravel road and stopped the car near a large oak tree. Without a word she got out and walked into the woods. Caleb quickly went to follow, but Daphne turned around and said,” Please don’t, I need a bit to process.”

“I don’t like not having eyes on you.” What would happen if someone tried to attack her while she was in the woods?

As if she could read his mind, she said, “No one will try to attack me, no one can. There are protections all around this space. I only need ten minutes, and I will be back. I don’t have alot of time because I still need to get back and get the lunch rush handled.”

“Fine, but if you are gone too long, or if I hear something, I am coming in after you.”

Caleb didn’t like this at all, but he couldn’t mess with her practice. So he walked over to the car and leaned on the hood. He looked up at the sky and watched the same black crow following them earlier swooping low, but never crossing over to the side of the road that Daphne was on. It finally landed on a tree across the road and stared at Caleb.

Familiars were odd creatures in Caleb’s mind. If something happened to the witch they were attached to, they would feel the pain and vice versa. Caleb didn’t ask if Daphne had one, but he could assume she did. Most witches did. Some used crows and cats, others used dogs, and he had met one that had a bearded dragon for one. She would walk with him on her shoulder.

A disturbance in the forest on the opposite side of the road caught his attention, and Caleb whipped his head around as a small black cat came out of the woods and trotted up to the car to sit on the hood next to him.

Speaking of familiars, Caleb mused.

The cat looked at him as if it was studying him. Its head tilted to the side and Caleb went to scratch behind its ears.

“I see you have met Luna.” Daphne said from the edge of the woods. She was a little flushed, but overall looked well enough. Caleb had been wondering when she would get back from her trek. It had only been about fifteen minutes since they had pulled up.

“Your familiar I assume.”

Daphne laughed, “I don’t really have a familiar, she is more of a stray that the universal cat distribution center sent me. I feed her and she comes around the bakery every morning. Sometimes she will sit on a chair in the back during the day and sun herself, but I don’t use her as a familiar.”

“Why not?” Caleb had never heard of a witch not using an animal as, well, familiar, as Luna was. Some witches looked for animals and others ended up doing the spell work on pets because they were convenient.

“I just never really thought about it honestly, and I don’t know if she would accept me.”

Animals had to accept the magic a witch gave them to become familiars. Some witches had been known to force the magic but the bond was never as strong as with an animal who accepted. Many witches feel it is unethical to force the bond and Caleb agreed.

“I think she would. She followed you all the way out here.”

“Probably, but I still need to talk to her about it.” Daphne glanced at her phone, “We need to head back, I have done what I needed to here and I have to get back for lunch.”

“What was it you were doing out here anyway? I didn’t think it was a ploy to get me alone so you could do dirty things to me.” Caleb gave Daphne a lopsided grin.

Daphne rolled her eyes, “No, if you must know. I came out here to my protective circle to clear my head and cleanse. With a familiar following me, I may have a trace on me and I need to get that taken care of so maybe you don’t have to stay so close all the time.”

Caleb grinned again, “Not a chance sweetheart, until we get this figured out, you are stuck with me.”