A familiar is a life-long companion. Choose wisely.

It's hard being the youngest in a family of witches known for their power. It's even harder when that magical power has all but passed you by. Still, I was doing okay for myself. I like to think I was proving to the rest of my family that magic wasn't a requirement to living.

Then Aunt Opal became the prime suspect in a murder investigation. Wouldn't you know it would happen right when everyone else in the family but me was out of town.

Now it's up to me to prove her innocence, and a little magic could go a long way in helping me do that. My aunt's been after me to get a familiar for quite a while now. They are known for helping a witch channel her power and even strengthen it.

So, want to or not, allergies or not, I did it. I went to an animal shelter and found my familiar. A cute little black kitty. The allergy medicine companies were going to love me. But for some reason, this little guy didn't make me sneeze. Kind of weird, actually. Not that I was complaining.

I just really wish I'd known more about him before I did the binding spell …