Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON TWO (Ongoing)

Part 3.7

I had the weirdest dream that night. I really was making cat soup. Thing is, Onyx just sat there boiling away and frowning, and said, Lily, kindly remove me from this cauldron. I do not appreciate being cooked.

Looks like he's as much fun in dreams as he is in real life.

The morning is all shades of grey. Puffy clouds pile on top of the sun, which comes up for air just as we're about to leave, filling the city's raindrops with light.

Our cart pulls out of Witch Doctors Inc and immediately gets stuck in traffic.

"Perfect," Ruby says. "I've got so much to tell you guys."

By the Dark Witch. Would it be a crime to leave this girl behind?

Maya sits on the other side of Ruby, her pink-and -back hair resting on her shoulders. Her head leans against the cart's window. She closes her eyes, and the charcoal sparkles in her hair sigh into sleep.

Addy sits in the front next to the driver, with Onyx tucked in her lap. She doesn't say much. I remember her mother's words from last night. I killed her little sister. The death that haunted her childhood is my fault. I am the Dark Witch.

She isn't wrong. Those butterflies inside me are dangerous. They don't want to sit still. They want to burst forth in a flutter of destruction.

Even now, I see them. In the corner of my eye, or peeking out from behind a raindrop. They won't ever leave.

I don't want to bring on the second Dark Ages. I don't want to carry on the First Witch's legacy of vengeance. But I am the Dark Witch, and I am the First Witch, and I am every witch that has ever lived on this planet. I am all this planet knows of an ancient civilisation of philosophers. I taught it that my people are the cause of all suffering.

"The Laran Valley monsters are such an intrigue," Ruby cuts into my thoughts. "I bet you're dying to know what kind of monsters they are. Come on - ask me what kind of monsters they are."

I sigh. "What kind of monsters are they, Ruby?"

"That's the thing. I don't know. I've scoured every book that I can find. The monsters are mentioned here and there, mostly in older texts, but no one ever provides a description. I keep encountering this word - skreevar."

"Skreevar?" I repeat, then wince. Now she'll never shut up.

She fiddles around with her monitor and puts it back in my face. "Look at this. It's the account of a member of the Laran tribes, documented by an anthropologist who stayed with them last century. Have a read."

I have to admit, I'm curious. I want nothing more than for Ruby to shut her cake trap, but it's always good to know what you're getting into.

'The skreevar are intelligent. They are not like other beasts. They see. They plan. They are content to feast on smaller animals, as long as humans do not encroach upon their territory. We do not bother them; they do not bother us. Occasionally a lone specimen, through vengeance or hubris, ventures into the villages. It is only then that we know how powerless we truly are.'

"They sound dangerous," I say.

"Absolutely," Ruby agrees. "I've found mention of claws and sharp teeth, and maybe some kind of hissing sound they make when they're about to attack. I'm sure this is something the rest of the world hasn't seen before."

At the hint of a conspiracy theory, what little interest I have in the subject disappears. She's probably going to tell me they're werewolves or something.

"There's an ancient text from before the conflict between humans and beasts that mentions skreevar," Ruby continues, oblivious to the sucked-lemon look wrinkling my face. "Interestingly, the text originates from Eastern Kadrea - nowhere near the Laran Valley. It points to the skreevar having been spread throughout Kadrea at some point. I figured that, like the other beasts, they'd been driven south to Sactaphrane, but I can't find any mention of skreevar in any Sactaphranian text, ancient or modern. Does that mean they never existed in Sactaphrane? We could be looking at a creature that is extinct in all but this one valley."

I keep my eyeballs deceptively still. "Is that it? Is there anything else you need to tell me about skreevar?"

"Yes," Ruby ploughs on. "They're becoming active again."

I frown. "Active?"

"A few weeks ago there was a skreevar attack for the first time in at least eighty years. The authorities barely document anything that goes on in the Laran Valley, but there are hobbyists who take a keen interest in the area. According to them, a settlement was attacked without provocation. Unfortunately, they never got a look at the creature. The Larans were spooked and refused to host them any longer."

I'm not going to take the word of one "hobbyist". Whatever's in that valley, we'll deal with it. If there actually is something in that valley. I'm still not convinced this isn't all in Ruby's head.

I pretend to go to sleep. It works. Ruby goes back to her "research", and I can hear myself think again.