Chapter 23: Violet
“Um, I think something is burning.”
“Shit!” Wilber yelled as I heard clangs from the kitchen. He popped his head through the window. “Your breakfast is going to be another couple of minutes. Sorry.”
“Totally ok.” I smiled at Wilber.
“Ok, so what makes a regular witch different from a familiar witch?”
“A familiar witch has a familiar and a regular witch doesn’t have a familiar.”
“So, some witches don’t come with a companion?”
“Right. I have the marking of the familiar, so I have a familiar. Right now, there are only two familiar witches left in the world. The witch population has been decreasing drastically and that includes the familiar witches.”
“You have the marking of a familiar?”
“Yes.” I said as I pulled my sweater to the side and revealed the mark on my neck. “This is the mark and eventually I will get a familiar. I just hope its soon.”
“Do you know when it will come?”
“Nope. It’s one of those things that the moon designates. Witches are run by the moon and when she decides to grant me my familiar, she will.”
Madge chuckled.
“What?”
“It’s just funny that you say witches are run by the moon. Because so are werewolves.”
“Most magic beings are run by the moon. The sun is swell, but the moon is really where the magic is,” I said.
“Very true. So, what are you going to do in Dark Forest Falls?”
“Well today, I have the lovely task of finding a place to live because the guy at the hotel is kicking me out after tonight. Can you believe he tried to tell me that check out was at seven thirty in the morning?”
“Eric said that to you?” Madge said, clearly familiar with the guy who ran the hotel.
“That’s his name? Yeah, it was crazy.”
“That’s weird. He probably doesn’t know what to think about you. You’re magic but not wolf. Anyway, I think I have a solution to your living arrangement problem. Well, I don’t per say, but Wilber does.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Wilber has this old cabin that he has been trying to rent out for years but since the town is so small, no one has rented.”
“Oh my god, really?”
“Yeah.” She walked to the bulletin board that hung next to the entrance and pulled a paper that was hidden behind other fliers. “Here it is.”
She handed me the flier. On the paper there was a cute A-frame cabin surrounded by trees and a lake in the background. A deck surrounded the structure, it looked like a great place to enjoy a cup of coffee and relax in the mornings.
“This is gorgeous.”
“You like it?”
“Very much.” I continued to look at the flier and read through the details. Seven hundred square feet, kitchen, bathroom, loft bedroom, fully furnished, and a washer and drier in unit. At the bottom of the details, it said four hundred dollars a month. “Is this price accurate?” I said in disbelief. This gorgeous cabin had to be worth more.
“Since it’s been on the market so long, I’m sure Wilber would be willing to cut you a deal.” She walked behind the counter and leaned through the window to the kitchen to talk to Wilber. She looked at me and smiled. “I think you will love it.”
Wilber walked through the swinging door that led to the kitchen and wiped his hands on the kitchen towel that hung from his waist band. “I hear you are interested in my cabin.”
“I am, very much so.” I said and smiled at him and then back down to the flier in my hands.
“It hasn’t been lived in for a while now. And I haven’t made it out there in a while either to check on things. So, it may need some TLC.”
“That’s totally ok. I’m not afraid of hard work. This would be perfect for me.”
Wilber smiled at me. “I think you will take care of ‘er.”
“I will!”
“Ok, do you want to go take a look at it?” he said as he put his hands on his hips.
“Please.”
“Follow me in your car.” he said, as he untied his apron and set it down on the counter. He looked over at Madge. “Do you think you can handle this rush?”
“I think I’ll manage.” Madge said, she laughed and flicked him with the towel she used to wipe down the counter.
“After you take a look and if you are interested, we can come back make you some lunch and hammer out the details.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
“The cabin is about fifteen to twenty minutes away. I’ll pull around.” Wilber grabbed a hat off the coat rack and walked briskly in the opposite direction that I headed.
I made my way to my jeep and started it and waited for Wilber to show. He pulled up in an old red pick-up truck. He honked twice. I backed out of the parking spot and followed behind him. The buildings started to grow more distant between one another. The forest became lusher as we made our way to the cabin. All of a sudden, the trees dissipated, and a huge lake showed through. It was sparkling and calm.
Wilber took a left and went down a dirt road with me closely behind. My jeep kicked up dirt. Trees covered the road making it more magical as we drove. He took another left, and at the end of this short driveway the cabin from the picture came into focus.
The cabin looked exactly like the picture, only a little more run down. I smiled to myself because this was exactly the type of house a witch would live in. Wilber parked in front of the cabin and hopped out of his truck. I followed suit and stood next to him.
“I know it’s not much now, but with some sprucing up it could really be great.” He said as he fiddled with his key ring and walked to the door. He opened the screen door and played with the lock until it gave a happy click. He pushed it open and walked in and disappeared through the doorway.
I followed after him. The entry way to the right had a little bench and hooks that I could hang a coat. On the left was a stacked washer and dryer. I continued walking through the hall. On the right, the kitchen was stretched out, refrigerator, sink and stove on the one wall. To the left was an open area under the stairs.
To the front the living room sat with an overstuffed sofa facing the fireplace. A couple of end tables, and floor lamps adorned each side of the sofa. A chair was angled toward the fireplace as well. I touched the back of the chair. A thick layer of dust covered the furniture.
“Like I said, I haven’t had much time to come and check on the place. But with a good cleaning it will be good as new.” Wilber said slightly embarrassed about his cabin.
“This is perfect.” I said as I took it all in. The far wall wasn’t a wall but a huge window that looked out to the lake that was my back yard. “Oh my god. That is so beautiful.”
Wilber smiled. “I had a feeling you would like this place.”
I wandered toward the window and looked out. A large deck was connected to the back and a set of stairs led down to the lake. The lake was beautiful and quiet. Across from my cabin I saw a waterfall spilling into the lake. That must be where the name of the town came from. Next to the waterfalls was a large mansion.
“What is that?” I said as I pointed to the mansion.
“That’s actually our pack house.”
“Oh really? So do you live there?”
“No,” Wilber said with a laugh. “Most of the pack members live within the city in their own homes. They only go there for meetings and if they needed to see the alpha.”
“So, he lives in that huge place by himself?”
“Oh, no. There are a few pack members who live within the walls. Alpha lives there with his Beta and the Beta’s mate,” Wilber said, he thought as he stroked his chin. “Anyway, there are some other pack members who live in the cabins that surround the house but for the most part it’s just those three.”
I looked over at the house. “Even this far away I can tell it’s beautiful.”
“If you would like I could schedule a meeting for you to go see it and meet the Alpha. I know with someone as powerful as you he would be interested in meeting you.”
“Oh goodness no! I don’t want to intrude; he’s the Alpha and I wouldn’t want to waste his time because I think his house looks gorgeous.” I laughed nervously. Witches and werewolves haven’t always gotten along, and I didn’t want to step on any toes while I was here. I would play invisible until I came up with a plan on how to save my coven. My coven, in the past, were friends with werewolves, but that doesn’t mean this pack had a good relationship with them.