Page 4 of Road To Runes

My room took up the attic space of the house; a room I had picked the instant I laid eyes on it. Many skylights in the roof made the room feel bigger and allowed me to see the sky. That helped a lot whenever my claustrophobia had a strong hold on me.

When I stepped into my bedroom, I touched a crystal sitting on my vanity next to the door. A flurry of magical lights materialised and bobbed up toward the ceiling, casting a calming light around the room. It was too late at night for electricity.

A fluffy mass stretched out on top of my patchwork duvet and reached toward me with two large paws. Her eyes held starlight, as if they possessed galaxies inside them, glowing in the dark void that was her midnight fur.

"Apologies, your majesty." I lowered into a deep bow. "I didn't mean to disturb your slumber."

Hecate yawned and licked her lips. Any human would have mistaken her for a Maine Coone but supernaturals, at second glance, would have known her as a grimalkin.

Grimalkins fell under an umbrella of the animal kingdom calledSpirit Creatures; animals that possessed magical powers. Many spirit creatures led packs of regular animals or went on toguide people, human or supernatural, in their lives. Hec was… different.

I sat down on the bed and rubbed her tummy, her purrs rumbling under my palm. As she rolled over, she revealed several sparkling pieces of jewellery, all awkwardly entwined.

"Hec, didn't I tell you to steal things frommeif you really had the urge?" I teased the handful of jewellery out from under her. "Laura asked you nicely not to take her stuff anymore."

A hardened blacksmith by day and a girly girl by night, Laura didn't have it in her to hold a grudge against anyone. But having lived with her for years, I had learned she had her limits. She just wouldn't speak up if anyone crossed them.

Hecate rolled over and glared at me with her starlit eyes, projecting her complaint into my head with her gods-given telepathy."It's no fun to take things I already have access to."

"It's not fair to Laura."

"She'll forgive me. She always does."

"One of these days she might not and put a lock on her door," I said.

"I hope she does. It'll make things more challenging."

I pulled a face at her and turned my hand into a claw, ruffling her belly a little harder. Hecate grabbed at my gloved hand with both paws and gnawed on my thumb.

Damn it, she was right. Nobody could say no to anything that cute. No wonder she had gotten away with her kleptomaniac antics for so long.

I put Laura's jewellery on the bedside table ready to take down to her in the morning. Maybe I could apologise in person and we could have a chat. If what Priya said about Laura's concerns were true, we were overdue a talk.

"What's that?"Hecate rolled onto her stomach and stared at the letter in my other hand.

I had almost forgotten about it.

"Just another letter from the devil," I said.

"What if it's cursed again?"

"I know. Priya said the same thing." But I couldn't throw it away. A part of me felt that I couldn't truly detach myself from my old family until I learned what my prophecy foretold.

My grandmother knew, even if the rest of the Bishops didn't. That prophecy was the reason she had locked me up in the first place. Plenty of times I had wondered if I could strike a bargain with her and ask for what she knew about the prophecy in exchange for their powers. But I knew full well that if I returned their powers, nothing would stop them from hunting me down again. I couldn't risk it.

I squinted at the envelope as I turned it over in my hands and held it out at arm's length to pop the flap open. The flap bounced a little under the shaking of my hand, but nothing else happened.

"No curse this time," I said. "How nice of them."

"That's about as nice as they get."

"Too right."

I pulled the letter out, crumpled the envelope up and tossed it into my bin. Something told me the letter would soon join it.

"Beatrix." I attempted to mimic my grandmother's trademark dual harsh and condescending tone. "Your silence is tiring and speaks volumes as to how you have matured in recent years."

"Burn. Did she at least send you some aloe vera cream?"

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