Rise of the Night Witch

Chapter 3.4 - A Nightmare Over Summer Hill

Recap: Last time, Marissa talked to Isa about the demon Klaus Kringle, only for a monster to show up in their library that forces our protagonist into action.

The goblin never showed up that day again. So far.

After school, I walked home and searched the house for Dad, but he was nowhere. Besides Bill, our home was dead as a vampire. I grabbed my potions, put on my masks and practitioner garments, and left my house for the vast, cloudless sky outside.

Cold air breezed against my black robe. Each time I crossed a street, I looked left and right three times to reassure myself there was no goblin. Beautiful fences and walls reflected lantern lights and revealed a town devoid of life. No cars drove around me. No pedestrians strode the streets, no criminals stalked the alleys, and no monsters watched me. The townsfolk agreed on an unspoken curfew once Devons' death proved the police couldn't protect them.

I walked alone through the early autumn night. This season, Autumn King Gwyn ap Nudd reached peak strength. He led the Unseelie creatures, including the Erlking and the Nuckelavee, but denied any problems with his kingdom and refused to speak to the Council.

Once I made it to Summer Hill's outskirts, I went away from the streets and left the lanterns behind. In this world of darkness, I needed two potions. The potions under my robe got stored in borosilicate glass flasks from my chemistry kit so that they wouldn't break in case a monster tossed me around. Food coloring helped me not to mix them up. I had, like, three different healing potions. One used milk as a base and healed broken bones, another contained ointments to pour over wounds, and yet another was full of garlic, salt, and other antipathic elements in case a monster made me sick.

But I wasn't using those. I needed a night vision potion made of cat-hair samples and carrot pieces that bestowed me a cat's sight.

"I hope you know the idea that carrots give you night vision is a war myth spread by the Brits in WWII, right?" Siris asked, sitting near a bush.

"You always need to spoil the fun, don't you?" I asked.

White aether covered my eyes as I drank the potion. Colors blurred as if I saw a mirage of reality as the cones in my eyes became less and the rods more. While the cat-vision made me short-sighted, I saw in the dark without a flashlight. A flashlight drew attention to myself, and I wanted as little as possible.

"Is the water pistol necessary?" Siris asked.

"First, it's not just any pistol; it's a Steam Machine TL-750 water gun Dad bought me for my tenth birthday," I said. "Second, I also got water balloons!"

Yeah, I'm not kidding. The same plastic bag that contained my Molotov cocktails also carried two bottles of tap water, water balloons, and my Steam Machine TL-750 water gun.

Hey, don't look at me like that.

Not my fault that running water was the only consistent weakness the Nuckelavee had across myths. Remember what the water boiler did to the barghest? The Nuckelavee was an undead creature, and water was a purifying force that dissolved unholy forces. Go figure.

"Just so we're clear, we won't fight it?" Siris asked.

"Nope," I said, "just scouting for information."

"And the school basement isn't enough?"

"Tried it. You know how monsters work. They're leopards that want me isolated. They didn't show themselves to the Hunters, but to Dad and Devons. And they'll show themselves to me if I come without backup!"

"And if they do-"

"We fight and run! Simple cat and mouse game with three suspects. Klaus Kringle is hard to check if it's not his favorite day. Titania doesn't have any hideout. The Erlking, however, has this warehouse. If we learn anything about him, we win."