Spitecaller Ch. 5
Chapter 5
I padded with purpose out of the police station, my long red tail flicked out of the way of the door. Wow, Ian...two in one day? That's a record even for you.
"Shut up, me." I mutter with irritation.
A rosy glow glistened on the edge of the skyline and sent fingers of dawn behind the clouds.
"Oh look, another glorious morning." I quote. "Makes me sick."
The sidewalk rolls along past me and I finally get back to my apartment building. It's a beautiful little place within jogging or bicycling distance of the nearest shopping district and another short metro hop to downtown. The picturesque cottage appeal was what drew me in to the place at first, but now it was looking a little tacky. Maybe it's just that I have not slept.
I pull the small key card out of my bag and swipe to unlock the gate. It swung open without protest as I slung the backpack over my shoulder. The whole of the apartment building was silent except for the hum of protective magic around the doors. A few security stickers proudly proclaimed "protected by 'Insert Spell Company'" on the windows. Mine did not need one, of course. I will swing my own spells with glee to deter anyone that wants to break into my place, not that there is much to steal.
I insert the key to my humble abode and unlock the mechanism. The hardwood floors carry my pawsteps and the fan twirls in the living room. My sofa beckons to me from across the room with its plush pads and smooth fabric. Whore.
I contemplate crashing. But...nah. Its rude to sleep on the sofa when your roommate might need to use the living room. Not that I am bitter.
"Well, let's get this over with before anything else happens." I keep my voice low. Adrian, my flatmate would be in REM sleep at this time of morning.
I dump my bag out on the table next to the kitchen. It was a solid oaken circle with runes carved into it, just for decoration of course. I leaf through my work clothes until I find the fetish, glowing with a soft, red light. It throbs like an unpackaged organ as I lift it from the tabletop. Fetish in paw, I turn and move into the small kitchen area. There was a prepackaged and ready to use bag of spell components from the convenient store and a prepared spell on the receipt for the purchase. Tacky, I know, but one can not routinely afford vellum or parchment on a budget.
I shake the receipt paper and draw the last reserves of my personal mana out. Gods, I need rest. The script on the small paper ignited in the dim light as if it caught some of the rays of dawn.
I bring the fetish over the spell and concentrate. The aura pulsated and drew the words off the slip. They coalesced around the wood. Hovering like tiny wasps, the words wove themselves without my direction and absorb the raw energy from Tazkafren. I will need to make an offering at some point in thanks or would that be cheeky?
Brighter and brighter, the spell finishes its cycle and the script spirals outward and runs along the walls of the living room before burying themselves in my fur.
I wait.
Now I must look pretty silly standing in my kitchen hovered over a piece of wood and a receipt.
After more uneventful moments, I grimace and set the items down on the counter. The refrigerator calls to me with its promise of chilled walnut shrimp and orange chicken. Light from the open door mixes with the sun's rays and illuminates more of the kitchen. I glance at the mirror in the living room and my reflection. It does not look like anything has changed but...my eye color?
I close the door and pad closer to inspect myself.
The spell has altered my eyes to a deep lavender. My fur seems to be a tad shinier but that could be from the walk home. I tilt my head to the side and bite my lip. Maybe it takes a little time to set in.
The microwave beeps, stark in the silence of the place and I devour the contents of the togo container as if I were a ravenous beast which, I suppose I am. Sated and full, I lumber out of the sweet smelling kitchen and slide into my bedroom.
Why do pillows always feel so soft in the morning?
* * *
I wake up and roll over to look at my clock. Its interface flickers at me in the dark and says that I have only been asleep for a few hours. Curse my internal body clock. I used to be able to sleep anytime I wished. Well, there is always time for a nap later in the day, I suppose.
I roll the comforter off and stretch. After showering and dressing, my outlook on this day is already optimistic.
My flatmate is awake and eating a boiled egg near the sink when I walk out of my bedroom.
"Good morning, slut." His offpawed remark brings a grin to my face.
"Um...who is the skank that sucked off a panther in a back alley last week?" I retort.
"My promiscuity isn't in question here."
I swing the fridge door open and pull out a bottled frappucino.
"So, what plans do you have for today? Besides more cock down your throat." The cap twists off with a pop from the bottle. The honey badger punches me in the shoulder before grabbing another egg. Adrian was the only of his kind to have such a long, luxurious mane. I chock it up to his daily beauty routine that can last for hours.
"The usual. Study a bit more Islenska. Go for a jog later. Maybe cook something tonight. I'm off work today. You?"
I take a sip before speaking. "Yeah, we should do something! I feel like going out."
"Okay," he agreed and finished off the egg with a gulp. "Hookah bar? You should invite Bunny and her new beau."
"Sounds good," I call back to him as I pad past the mirror in the living room and muss a paw through my hair.
Someone was standing behind me and it was not Adrian.
Obsidian eyes and a predatory smile sparked adrenaline into my bloodstream. I whirl around, paws up defensively but an empty room was all that was behind me.
"Shit...Adrian, I have a problem."