“Those?” I reply with a chuckle and place them on the dining table. “They’re just pages I copied from some ancient works.”
As the hound sniffs at my papers, I fix myself a huge bowl of instant oats, dried apples, and cinnamon sugar. I wish I had the energy to make something more nutritious, but I’m still exhausted from spending the night burying Norbert’s corpse.
The hound barks a question.
“What’s that?” I open up a cool cupboard and extract a bottle of milk.
A soft thud has me whirling around. One of the dining chairs lies on the floor, surrounded by scattered papers.
I leave my bowl on the counter and rush toward the mess. “What are you doing?”
The hound gives me a sharp bark.
“Bloody hell.” I pick up the papers. Thanks to my mischievous new familiar, it’s going to take a while to arrange them into any sort of order. “This is a mess.”
His high-pitched whine makes my chest tighten, and I turn to find him crouched behind one of the dining chairs with his paws resting on its back and his snout pointed downward. He gazes up at me through huge, puppy eyes that make my heart melt.
The poor thing looks guilty.
“You’re really upset with me for leaving you behind.”
His soft bark tells me everything I need to know. My hound was lonely without me and upset that I left him alone.
I gather up the papers into a pile, cross the room, and place them on the highest shelf I can reach. There’s no way the hound can mess with them now.
“Sorry, boy.” I turn to him and smile. “But there’s a spell there that can solve all my problems.”
The hound growls, probably annoyed that I spoiled his revenge.
I return to the counter to add some milk to my oats and take them to the dining table. The hound sits at my side, looking like he needs to be stroked. I run my fingers through the shaggy fur on his head and eat.
“There’s something I need to do in a few days,” I murmur. “You should know because it’s a little scary.”
The hound stills.
I shovel a huge spoonful of oats into my mouth.
“It’s called blood magic,” I say through chewing. “It’s one of the most powerful enchantments a person can do, but my situation has become pretty desperate.”
He makes a shocked noise in the back of his throat.
“I know, but there’s a banishment spell that requires a dangerous amount of the caster’s blood. If I can take supplements to build up my hemoglobin, it will allow me to perform the enchantment without getting hurt.”
The hound pulls his brows together, seeming to worry.
“It’s so nice having someone to talk to.” I turn to meet the hound’s soulful eyes. “Everyone in the coven thinks I’m defective because my magic doesn’t work the way it should. I know they love me, but all that crap with the Boogie Man is trying their patience.”
When he lowers his gaze, it’s almost like he understands what it means to live under constant threat.
“Where did you come from?” I ask. “Were you another witch’s familiar?”
The hound closes his eyes, and I wonder if the memory of his previous owner is too painful to bear.
“I’ll take good care of you.” I press a kiss on his snout. “If I can convince Grandma that my magic isn’t dangerous, then she’ll let me move back to my cottage. I’ll even set up a dog bed next to mine.”
His outraged bark makes me chuckle.
“Alright! You can sleep with me.”