A night full of doom scrolling kept me up and any rest I got was not so restful. I scoured news sites and YouTube for any more videos of the thing. Watching so many videos made for some really weird dreams. In one I was being chased by an amorphous blob. It was constantly shifting in shape and size and I think that's because while I found a few images that were less blurry, I found nothing that was clear. It would seem that I have to contend with something supernatural again but have no idea what I am dealing with. Is it too much to ask for just a normal animal going around killing and maiming?

If it gets too bad, the wizards in the city might have to deal with it. In fact, that would actually be preferable. I would ask them to, but I have not gone to them for help with anything since the last time I was there. If I can help it, I never will again.

Waking up is not the easiest. I fell asleep with the phone in my hand and turned over on it at some point. I have an imprint of it on my chest. There is a familiar gritty, grainy feeling in my eyes that comes when your body knows you haven't had enough sleep. I am paying now for my night of research. I manage to crawl out of bed and put on some clothes that aren't that wrinkled. I have not put my laundry away for God knows how long and have no plans to in the future–why do I even have dressers? I am pulling on a hoodie when the smell of breakfast meats nearly makes me follow the scent trail like an old cartoon character drawn to the aroma of a cooling pie on a window sill. One nice thing about having a roommate–they can cook when you don't want to. I have not had a shortage of meals since he moved in. I don't know where he gets the food from since he does not seem to be practicing, but I have not had to get groceries since he moved in. Perhaps I should ask sometime, but by now it has gotten to the point that it might be weird since I have been eating it anyway. I also have not been complaining because eating like I have been is usually a problem for me with my wages.

“That smells so good,” I say coming down the steps.

“Hell yeah, bro,” he responds with such a terribly awkward pronunciation that it elicits a disappointed look from me.

“I told you, bro is too advanced, you gotta work up to it. Try just saying, like, 'man' after everything first or something.”

“How's this–'You can't have any of the breakfast I made, man,” he says.

“I've seen the error of my ways and I will strive to do better,” I concede.

He snorts, shaking his head. “Apology accepted, go for it, man.”

“Nice.”

I load up a plate with eggs, sausage and hashbrowns, grab two halves of buttered toast, and go sit in my chair in the living room to stuff my face.

“Better today?” Vithar asks, sitting down with his own plate stacked much the same as mine.

“Yeah,” I say after swallowing a mouthful of eggs. “Honestly, I felt better after just talking about it. And a night of full rest probably would've made me feel even better.”

“Would've?” he asks around a mouthful of food.

“Yeah, I kind of fell into a spiral of videos when I was in bed. They all were blurry, grainy videos of the creature. Which leads me to believe it has a shroud of some kind. I tried to find one that was clearer but couldn't. Then I had really weird dreams.”

“Makes sense,” he says. Then before he takes another bite he adds, “What will you do if it is him?”

“I have no idea. I'll do what I have to, I suppose. In the meantime, I'm gonna talk to Eph again and maybe try again to get a hold of Vic to see what she's heard, if anything,” I say. As I raise another spoonful to my mouth, my phone buzzes in my hoodie pocket. I set down the spoon and fish it out, reading who is calling with surprise.

“Hey. Mom,” I say. “Good to hear from you.” And I mean it.

“Honey, are you okay?” she asks without a greeting.

“I'm fine? A little paranoid, but fine at the moment. What's up?”

“I–I have a feeling,” she stammers, “I can't make sense of it. I feel like something bad is going to happen. And soon.”

That makes my stomach do a backflip. She's had feelings like this before, a lot throughout my childhood, and I've learned over time that I should always trust them.

“Uh . . .” I swallow hard and take a breath. “Well, we've had reports of a big creature of some kind around here. No one can get a clear shot of it, and it's causing a lot of trouble.”

“You're not looking into it are you?”

“I am.”

“You know it doesn't have to be you, right?”

“It . . . does though. It might be–”

“Mikael, please,” she says.

“I, we,” I stammer.

“Why don't you come visit me? I don't want you pulling another stunt like last year.”

Okay, technically that was not my fault. I didn't mean to get drawn in and, if I didn't figure it out, I probably would have died along with a fair amount of the city's population. But no one seems to think about that. Oh well. I don't want to patronize her, but I have to know what this is. More people getting hurt or attacked when it is something that I could have helped fix is not something I can get on board with.

“That would be nice, mom. I'll see what I can do.”

“I mean it. Please, just leave this alone.” She leaves it open for me to respond, but I can't give her the answer she wants.

“I love you, mom. I'll talk to you soon.”

She waits a beat then lets out a loud sigh. “I love you too, honey. I'll see you soon.”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

The line cuts out. I set my phone down next to my plate and lean back in the chair. Vithar speaks up when I rub my hands over my face and over my head.

“Good news?” he asks sarcastically.

I snort a laugh. “Yeah, definitely.” I let out a deep sigh and lean forward, looking at my food. Ill omens already, and I was having such a mediocre morning too. “My mom told me to leave this wild animal issue alone. She has a bad feeling about it.”

“And you trust that she knows?”

“She's always had a touch of–I dunno–danger sense? Clairvoyance? She just knows when something is gonna turn out bad.”

“And you're not going to listen this time, are you?”

“Can you blame me?”

“Well . . . I kind of can. That's quite literally what I'm doing. It wasn't in my life plan for everything to go all pear-shaped and land me in the home of a demon,” he says, then glances at me. “No offense.”

“Sure.”

“My problems are that they could bind my powers if I've crossed a line. Your problems could quite literally kill you.” He sits back on the couch and has a far off look in his eyes, like he has realized his own inner turmoil now.

“I feel like that says more about you than me,” I say.

“Sod off, Mike.”

“I’m kidding, man. Honestly, if it's any consolation, you are the reason I was able to catch Christine. Had you not located her for me, a lot of innocents would have been killed. You can think what you want about what that did to your future prospects, but I appreciate it. I'm sure, if the city knew, they'd thank you too. You helped me even against what you were taught about us. You're a good dude.”

“Thanks,” he says with a sigh. He sets down his empty plate, stands up and stretches. “Well, that's enough brooding today–for both of us. You have things you need to do, and I have plenty of these tomes to study.” He leans down and lifts a large book from the table next to him.

“I'm actually gonna head up to the shop and see if there's been any talk of a location or, well, anything really. Eph says he should have some more of those for you when you're ready for them.” I point at the book in his hands. “He seems to really want you to lean in to this whole 'stay away from the guild' thing you've got going on.”

“Yeah, he really does. Please convey my appreciation for his assistance in continuing my studies while I'm in this self-imposed exile.”

“I will,” I say, picking up my plate of food. “But first, I'm going to finish this.”

The wards at Eph's shop don't react to me like they used to when I would visit as a customer. He's given me a talisman that I wear around my neck and under my shirt. It passes through the defenses he's got set up so I am not weakened or barred from entering. That takes a lot of trust and is much appreciated. Or he doesn't view me as a credible threat if I were to flip–which is also a strong possibility. The bell attached to the door still jingles, though, once I open it. A couple of the customers glance to see who came in, but they mostly don't care. Eph comes walking up from the back and smiles when he sees me.

“Hey, didn't expect to see you today,” he says, stepping behind the counter and sitting on a stool.

“Good morning. I wasn't sure how the day would go yesterday, but it stayed pretty quiet.” I hand him the book. “Vithar sends his thanks, and he would love to check out anything else you have for him.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. Happy to help. I'll do what I can in any way to keep that boy on the path he's goin' down.”

“You really don't care for the guild that much?”

“I really don't.”

“Care to elaborate on that?” I ask.

“I really don't,” he responds, not looking at me. “Not right now.”

I had to try, but I will leave it at that.

“So, have you heard any rumblings or mumblings from the clientele?” I ask in an effort to change the subject.

“Not a lot. Just some more stuff about a creature that has been seen around.”

“Yeah. Well, that creature can't be caught on camera, and it is abnormally large,” I say, watching his expression.

Wrinkling his brow, he looks up at me. “Well, that's not s'good.”

“Nope and I'm curious what we can find out. I'll be looking into this one myself. I'm wondering if it could be someone from my neck of the woods. I doubt it, but I have to know.”

He looks in my eyes, and I look at his nose or his forehead. I do not look into the eyes of practitioners, at least not for long. Especially when they are trying to stare through me.

“So any information you hear, I would appreciate being kept in the loop.”

He breaks the attempt at eye contact and sighs. “Alright, Mike. I'll see what I can find out. This all probably coulda been a call though. Did you need something else from me?”

“I couldn't hand you the book on a call.” He looks at the book and shrugs. “But yeah, I did. Can you help Vithar?”

“Help him? In what way?”

“In the way that he needs to know more of what you know. I think he's ready to completely cut ties. He's scared of losing his abilities. He thinks they would bind his power.”

“If the wrong people are in charge, they very well could. They won't see past what you are, and helping you is tantamount to treason in their eyes.”

“I didn't know they would take it that seriously.”

“You gotta realize here, Mike. Some of these guild wizards are old. Like, old, old. They've probably dealt with some real bad stuff in the wars of the past. Those wars most likely had to do with some demons tryin' to gain a foothold in this world. And you're livin' proof that some of them succeeded.”

“Well, that sucks to hear,” I say with a shake of my head. “I still think it's bullshit.”

“Oh, it is. Racism or xenophobia, whatever name you give it, prejudice doesn't need to make sense to some people. It just is. You helped me see that when you were dealing with your sister,” he says and turns to look out onto the sales floor.

“Glad to be of help. Now I only need even bigger stakes to get them to see it.”

Eph grunts.

“Well, I think we've gone off on a tangent here. To get back to my original point, I think you should consider taking Vithar on as an apprentice. Or whatever you guys call it,” I say, turning to look at him.

He sinks his fingers through his beard, scratches at his chin, then turns his head to the side, rubbing his neck. “It's been a while,” he says with a groan. “But I think I can do that. I gave him some books on concealing himself, but it'll probably be a better lesson in person. Are you gonna approach him with the idea, or me?”

“I'll run it by him. I haven't asked him to do anything since he's been living with me. I don't know if he's cast anything at all.

“Well, he clearly did know his basics. He's cast two spells for you already.”

“Three if you count the barrier he made to keep me from attacking him.”

“What's that, now?”

“Nothing. It was a misunderstanding, it's not important.” He eyes me suspiciously and I purposely stare out the front windows.

“All right then. I'll expect to hear from you or him soon then.”

“Sounds good, Eph. Thank you, really. It's much appreciated.”

I walk out of the store and look around at the other shops. There are fewer people out in the colder weather, but I thought I felt a non-human aura pulse somewhere closeby. I shake it off and walk toward the alleyway that leads to the parking lot behind Ephraim's Emporium of Enchantments and Effects. Right before I round the corner, someone calls out.

“Hi, Mike!”

Oh, no. Not now.