A Witch and her Familiars

Chapter Four - A Sip of Soup

Daphne woke up with a spoon in her mouth. In the spoon was something hot, spicy, and delicious... soup? She opened her eyes.

Standing above her with a bowl in her hand was the girl from before. She smiled bashfully down at Daphne. "I, uh, got hungry when you were asleep," she explained, brushing a blonde curl off her forehead. "I made chicken tortilla soup out of what you had in the pantry. I hope that's okay! I saved you a bowl."

"Yeah, it's fine." Daphne sat up in her chair and took the bowl, realizing as she did that someone had wrapped a blanket around her. She smiled at the girl. "I'm supposed to be the one taking care of you," she said, scooping up another spoonful of soup. "You're the one who's hurt."

"Not anymore." She lifted the back of her short hair to show a long, pale scar. The healing magic must have worked. "So how did you do it?" she asked, sitting down on the couch and looking at Daphne eagerly. "Fixing my cut. Saving me from whatever that thing was."

Daphne felt a shock go through her. She had forgotten to alter the girl's memory when she was unconscious, and now it would be too late. Even if she performed the spell right now, traces of the memory would still remain, and that was if Daphne did the spell correctly. She took another gulp of the tortilla soup, trying to come to terms with the fact that she had broken the Grand Coven's most important rule: never let mortals know about witches.

She glanced back up at the girl, who smiled back at her, curious and excited. "Well?" she asked. Daphne bit her full bottom lip. There was nothing she could do now. In that moment, she decided that the Grand Coven wouldn't mind if one mortal discovered the big secret.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"I'm Sabine." She pronounced it Sah-Bee-Neh.

"I'm Daphne. Sabine, do you believe in magic?"

Sabine froze. "Magic?" she asked at last. A wide grin started to spread across her face. "Is that what that was?" She blinked hard. "No, no way. You can't be serious."

"I'm really serious," Daphne answered. "Magic is a thing. So is witchcraft," she said, picking her wand up from the table and twirling it. "And so are Reliqua."

Sabine blinked hard. "Wait, witches? Are you saying you're a witch?"

"Yes."

"You don't look like a witch," said Sabine, examining her face.

"What are witches supposed to look like?" Daphne asked.

Sabine laughed. "Well, people don't usually think of witches as cute girls who wear knee socks and fight—what was it called?"

"Reliqua," Daphne answered, blushing. Only her mother called her cute.

"And the thing we saw was a Reliqua?"

"Reliquus," Daphne corrected. "Reliqua is the plural form."

"Oh." Sabine propped her head up on her fists, her pale brows pulling together. She chewed on her bottom lip. "What even are they?"

"Well... I don't really know," said Daphne. "I've read about them, but no one knows much. They're evil things formed by dark magic, but I have no idea why or how. If anyone does know, it would be the Grand Coven."

"What's that?"

"A council of the most powerful witches in the world. They lead the War against evil magic, which includes Reliqua, I suppose, though no one really knows."

"And you fight those Reliqua things?" asked Sabine.

"Not me," said Daphne. "That would never be allowed. I haven't finished my training yet. Besides, they're dangerous."

"To humans?"

"To everyone. They're not supposed to attack humans, and there are rumors that a human can only see them if they're getting attacked." Daphne thought about how no one noticed their cries for help earlier. "I guess that's true."

Sabine's hand unconsciously hesitated over her wound. "The part about them not attacking humans isn't," she said. "I'm human as they come and I still..." Her eyebrows furrowed. "Wait, why did you have to come and save me?"

"I was just there at the right time," she said with a shrug. "And you saved me, too."

"No, I mean, why didn't the Grand Coven send someone? Why you did you have to intervene at all?"

"It doesn't work like that. I think. I don't know," said Daphne hopelessly. "The Grand Coven is sort of secretive. I'm not sure, but I think they mostly protect their homes and libraries, not human cities."

"Mm." Sabine rolled a curl through her fingers, still biting at her lip. "So if the Coven isn't protecting this city... who is?"

"Detroit has been perfectly safe without a protector."

"I wouldn't call me getting attacked by a magical monster 'perfectly safe,'" she said. "This city needs someone to protect us mortals against Reliqua. Why not us?"

Daphne jumped up, knocking over the bowl of soup. "No! That's a terrible idea!"

"What? Why?"

"Because mortals aren't supposed to know about magic!" Daphne yelled. Sabine's eyes widened, and she lowered her voice. "Sorry, but I might be in big trouble for this. I was supposed to erase your memory, but I forgot and now it's too late to risk it. If they found out I told you about witches and Reliqua, the Grand Coven would strip me of my magic and destroy your memory."

Sabine blinked. "Destroy my memory?"

"It's the most important rule," Daphne said miserably. "Mortals can't know about witches." She took a deep breath. "You can't tell anyone about this, ever! And you can't fight Reliqua. I'm sorry. Maybe you should leave now."

Sabine looked down at her feet, and her voice was quiet when she spoke again. "I can't just leave. I can't walk away now that I know people are in danger."

"You have to."

"But I can't!" Sabine stood up too. She was a bit taller than Daphne, and only inches away. "How could I walk away now? There are people in danger, and I can do something to protect them, even if your Grand Coven refuses to." Her eyes were bright. "Daphne, thank you for saving me," she said gently. "But I have to do this. With or without you. Although, uh," she laughed meekly, "I'd prefer to do it with you."

Daphne sighed, thinking about Sabine's words. It was true that the Grand Coven did next to nothing to help mortals... maybe Sabine was right. It was up to them. "Okay," she agreed at last.

"That's great!" cheered Sabine.

"But we need to be careful! We can't let anyone know about this. It's dangerous."

"You're right. And we should probably practice first, so we aren't so unprepared the next time we meet one of these beasts." She pulled out a slender rectangle from her pocket. "What's your number?"

"What? Like a telephone number?" she asked, watching as the device began to glow.

"Yeah."

"Oh, uh... I don't have a phone." In fact, she had never been this close to one. "Witches aren't supposed to have them. Order of the Grand Coven."

Sabine clicked it off and stowed the wondrous device in her pocket again. "That's okay. You know the park near here?" Daphne nodded that she did. "Why don't we meet there in two days at ten in the morning to practice fighting and come up with a plan? If you're free, that is."

"That sounds like it would work," said Daphne shyly.

"Great. Uh, I guess I'll be going then." She walked to the door and opened it. "And thanks again. For everything. This is the most interesting thing to ever happen to me!" She walked out and closed the door behind her.

Daphne plopped down on the couch, pulling out her wand to siphon the spilled soup into the sink. Talking to no one but her cats, she said, "This is the most interesting thing to happen to me, too."