Herringbone Hexes: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novel: (Wanda's Witchery) (Haven Hollow Book 16) by J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory

Author:J.R. Rain & H.P. Mallory [Rain, J.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rain Press
Published: 2022-04-21T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Astrid had transformed herself into the next best thing to a Disney princess by the time we returned.

A half dozen familiars had attached themselves to her. A snowy owl and a parakeet were perched on her shoulders while a goldfinch roosted in her hair. A snake with acid green scales wound itself around her wrist like an exotic bracelet. A fluffy, cotton-tailed bunny was tucked into the crook of one arm while a tabby cat coiled its way through her legs. The bunny was tiny, maybe only a few weeks old.

“Stop that,” she giggled, prodding at the snake’s underbelly. It flicked out its tongue, tickling her wrist again. “Seriously, you’re going to make me drop Buster.”

“I imagine that’s the point,” Hellcat drawled, pacing into the shop. “Your scaly friend must make at least a token attempt to eat the rodent.”

He was trying his best, but couldn’t quite hide his disdain for the place. Most covens bred their own lines of familiars. It was why we’d been associated with certain animals for so long. Cats, rats, and toads had been popular for centuries. Breeding willy nilly like this must have offended Hellcat’s delicate feline sensibilities. Still, he hadn’t launched into a traditionalist tirade, for which I was grateful.

“Rabbits aren’t rodents,” Astrid said, frowning at Hellcat. “They’re lagomorphs. That’s a completely different order than Rodentia. Buster says most people make that mistake, though.”

I glanced down at Buster. “Baby familiars are similar to baby humans, Astrid. They can’t talk until they’re older.”

“But he’s talking to me,” she insisted with a frown. “Right now. He’s...”

She trailed off, watching the bunny snuffle along her arm. Her eyes went round, and she came to the realization at almost the same time I did.

“He’s thinking the answers at you, not saying them aloud,” I finished, but even so, I wasn’t privy to whatever the creature was saying. “Can you hear and understand them all?” I asked, unable to contain my own surprise.

Yes, I could understand the other familiars—Charlie Ray, Isis, and I would have been able to understand Franz if he spoke English—but that was only because they were bonded to their witches. That allowed other witches to understand them. Animals that weren’t yet bonded, though, were another story.

“Zoolingualism?” she whispered. “But isn’t that really rare in pure witch lines? I mean, the only witch I’ve heard of who can do the same thing is half-sasquatch.” As soon as the thought left her lips, her eyes went wide and she shook her head. “I can’t be half-sasquatch, right? I mean… I’m nowhere near tall enough. Or hairy enough or...”

She set Buster and the green snake down on a table and began to pat herself down, ignoring the birds on her hair and shoulders. She slid her hands desperately over herself, as if trying to spy some new bumps or scales that might give her an indication of her own genetic makeup. It wasn’t surprising that Astrid had no idea who her father was—witches preferred things that way.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.