Mari stepped into the alleyway, gripping her wand tightly. Her companion, Terry, had taken to the rooftops, her keen eyes keeping a watch on the shadows around the magician. Up ahead, the bins rattled, their metallic clang echoing throughout the darkness. Mari could feel the knot in her chest tightening as she moved towards the source of the noise.
Terry let out a bloodcurdling meow, as a bin tumbled to the ground and rolled towards Mari. Mari’s arms seized. Her mouth went dry, and her toes curled as her body locked. She felt the cold grip her neck first. Its long fingers wrapped around her, her hair standing on end as her breath began to show in front of her.
“Lovely night, isn’t it? A bit late for a lady such as yourself to be out alone though. Although I fink alone would be incorrect. This is yours, am I correct?” Stepping out of the shadows, Mari could see a figure holding Terry by the scruff of the neck. She saw a viscous fluid dripping from the stranger’s fingers.
Blood? His or Terry’s?
Mari’s eyes hovered upwards to meet the gaze of the unknown man in the alley. His hair was long and unkempt, his face covered in stubble, and eyebrows bushy and wild. Terry hissed lowly as she felt the man’s grip tighten on her fur.
“I suppose you’re here because of that fool, Alun. Tut, tut. Always getting other people to do ‘is dirty work.”
Mari saw the glean from the man’s free hand.
A knife? Or a wand?
“I’m sure you an’ I can come to an arrangement. I don’t want to get my clothes any more bloody than they already are.” A grin plastered itself on the man’s face, revealing a harrowing mess of rotting and missing teeth.
Swallowing hard, Mari fought against the dryness in her mouth. “I-I don’t make deals with criminals.”
“Me? A criminal?” Letting out a small laugh, the man’s grin quickly vanished as his expression hardened. “That fucking scum has been bad mouffing me? I’ll have you know he stole from me first.” His expression shifted back to neutrality, and his eyes landed on Mari’s wand, “Where did you learn magic, girl?”
Mari remained silent, as her fingers slowly rolled on the base of her wand.
“I asked you a question. Don’t disrespect me.” Lifting his free hand, he placed the weapon on Terry’s temple.
Fuck, a wand.
“You see, I went to Caerfyrddin Magic School. Was there for 15 years, was a tenured professor even. I bet Alun didn’t tell you that, did he?”
Mari’s heart was ready to leap out of her chest as Terry meowed in anguish.
“I worked in the same lab as Alun for 5 of those 15 years. I was his superior. He stole my research on astral resin, passed it off as his own and got me stricken off the magic record for good measure.” The man’s features softened. “15 years of my life, gone. Forced to practice my art in the shadows as an unlicenced mage. When I took that fucking manuscript from him, I was just taking what he owed me. He’s lucky I didn’t take more than just that fucking manuscript an’ all.”
“That may be the case but-”
“But what? I had my life ruined by that arsehole, and I try and clear my name and what do I fucking get? Hunted down by his lap dogs.” A flash of white lightning streamed out of the wand and into the cat’s body.
“Terry!” Mari reached out in vain at her companion, who vanished in the man’s hands into nothingness.
“Fought so. A conjured familiar. She was well formed, girl. You could do better than work for that scum. I could teach you more in one week than he ever taught you in, what, 5 years?”
Mari lifted her wand and adopted a duelling pose. She flicked her wrist and a blast of force shot out of the wand’s tip at the man. Mari blinked, her wand flying out of her hand and landing several feet away.
“I told you. I was his superior. Everyfing that you know, I know. You won’t win.”
Mari’s head whipped around to try and locate her wand, she leapt down towards it and his fingers wound around its slender form. The man grabbed her wrist and wrestled the wand from her grip.
“I won’t fight you anymore, girl. Come on, let’s just have a chat.”
This Week's Prompt: Cat
A challenging one this week, having to stick to the strict 750 word limit. Hope everyone enjoys my attempt!
If you'd like to participate too, the contest can be found here: https://ecency.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/the-ink-well-prompt-15-cats-750-words
This is fantastic! Very gripping and intense. I hope Mari is able to get Terry back somehow! I absolutely adore your writing and I can’t wait to read more.
Thanks! As Terry is a conjured familiar, she's just a spell cast away, thankfully 😅
I've big ideas for her as a character in my novel - just because it's so fun to play with the idea of a magical cat that can be basically whatever the caster wants.
What a relief! I was hoping that was the case, that Terry could be re-casted. It is truly a brilliant character idea!
Somehow, I like that the "bad guy" wins at the end. It allows for a shift from the norm, and provides an interesting angle for thought. However, like Mr. Agmoore has correctly pointed out, there isn't really a resolution here. Maybe you intended it, but you r readers certainly don't get it. Personally, I don't see it.
But altogether, I like your story. And hehehehe, Cheers to the bad guy!
You did such a good job here. I hated that magician for hurting Terry. I worried about Mari. You caught me. As a reader, I was in your hands. You worked your authorial magic. Then you let me down.
I found this story so readable, so convincing, so charming (in the magic and non-magic sense). All the more my disappointment at being left without resolution. I know the word limit was challenging. Still, readers who stick with you through a story expect to find out 'what happened'.
A great story in every way, except for this: How does it end?
The ending was meant to be a cliffhanger, where the scruffy man wins against Mari but doesn't want to harm her.
I was hoping to get across that despite the man's dishevelled appearance and rough demeanour, maybe he was actually telling the truth, and that Mari's teacher, Alan, was actually the bad guy.
To continue the overall plot, I had thought about the man becoming Mari's new teacher, with the two of them working together to prove his innocence.
Thanks for spending the time to read and comment, really appreciate it 😀
There are so many wonderful touches in this story. Caerfyrddin Magic School. Dueling wands. A cat familiar that is vulnerable. Colorful dialogue.
You created characters and a scene that are part of a separate and magical universe. The contest between Mari and the wicked magician seems uneven. And yet, one holds out hope that Mari will prevail and somehow she will be able to call back Terry from oblivion. It would have been nice to have a clue about this. However, the story is very well written and Kudos for trying to stay in the 750 words.
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Wow, this is an intense read, @zedcell. Great job with the setting, characters, dialog and story arc - all the important pieces that come together in the best stories.
Thanks for reading and leaving feedback! 😀
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