An Invitation

Its rays of gold cut across the world like a beacon of warmth and hope, stirring almost every being into life. I pulled my coat more tightly over my shoulders to block the unpleasant sensation it gave me. Time was running out and the forests were surely going to be overrun with woodcutters and hunters. Underground would have been an option if there were any caves nearby, but my sonar wasn’t picking up on anything useful besides a basement attached to an isolated home. The basement appeared to be empty from what I could tell, which was most peculiar considering the house was definitely lived in. It wasn’t too far ahead down the dirt trail so I decided to investigate it. A horse and wagon rolled slowly along the road; I gave a polite nod to the driver who returned the gesture. His passengers were probably still sound asleep. The notion of slipping inside to take my fill distracted me for a moment. It would have been easy but I wasn’t desperate enough to stir up trouble in such a nice countryside town. Not yet anyway. I came to the edge of the property and admired the old wooden fence. It had seen a thousand seasons yet still stood to guard with all the loyalty in the world. Someone had been taking care of the place across generations. The grass was slightly longer than what would have been acceptable in a more densely populated town, but out in the country, it was simply perfect. Too perfect. Everything about the house blended in too well. It was old but homey and even the lawn had a perfect arrangement of children’s toys and garden plants. As I opened the gate to the property and stepped inside the fence-line, I felt it. There was a strange ebb and flow of energy surging up from the earth through my feet. A witch. I carried on up the creaky wooden stairs and observed the balcony. An old wooden chair, a pot plant, some vines and a coffee table were all set out as though they had been there for a hundred years. Except, they paradoxically displayed signs of recent interaction. I wondered if the witch was home. The sky had become far brighter and the golden rays had now reached the road behind me. The shade of the witch’s refuge was the only thing keeping me from an undignifying retreat to a hole in the ground. I rattled my knuckles lightly against the door and listened intently for any signs of movement. To my surprise, the door popped open. It was hard to tell whether the wind had pushed it or if some otherworldly force had control over it. I respectfully waited at the doorstep, not daring to gander at the inside.

“Can I help you?” A woman’s voice called. It was soft and gentle and could have lulled me into a sense of comfort unlike anything else. But I knew what I was dealing with. I kept my guard up.

“May I enter?” I called back. A playful chuckle stirred from the kitchen. The sound of springy footsteps echoed through the house and eventually, my potential host came to greet me.

“Ah, as I suspected. Poor thing,” she said, clicking her tongue while mixing some dough in a large bowl. Her long dark hair fell in soft waves all the way down to her hips. Our eyes met with a mutual understanding that she had full control of the situation. I coughed politely, rather intimidated by her beauty. Her head dropped to the side and a sly smirk wiped across her face, “Well, go on. Earn your invitation. I know what you are.”

I raised my brow slowly as she leant against the doorframe.

“I…I have nothing to offer you,” I glanced down at the wooden floorboards dreading the ever brightening of the world.

Her dark red lips curled into a smile, “Sure you do! Tell me how you came to be upon my doorstep.”

My eyes reflexively darted to the left. The tale of my appearance at her door was not as grandiose as she seemed to be making it out to be. I took a deep breath and pondered the option of killing her from my position. It would be a shame, such wasted beauty.

“I am travelling at the moment. I accidentally starved myself into a frenzy in the last city…” I lamented.

An empathetic pout appeared on her face, but her glaring eyes continuously searched for signs of dishonesty. She continued mixing what I could now tell was cookie dough and encouraged me to expand on the details. I sighed audibly.

“Oh, come on now. You’ve never had to work for an invitation before?”

“I haven’t really needed one before.”

Knowingly, she peered behind me and nodded to the sun, which had almost completely broken over the mountains. I pinched my eyes tightly.

“Fine. I came to the city hoping to assimilate my human side. I tried to stay out of the way for the most of it but it was so busy I never had an opportunity to feed. I ended up trying to pull some lowlife in a back alley but they had friends. Everyone always has friends. When I returned home to sleep, I woke up two days later seventy miles out in a forest covered in dry blood.”

Her mouth was now gaped open. I could see a slight sense of terror in her icy-grey eyes.

“Wow. That’s some story,” she commented, awkwardly, “I suppose you’ll find a way to kill me if I don’t invite you in, huh?”

The corner of my mouth lifted. She was beginning to understand. With an exaggerated motion, she pushed the door wide open and gestured for me to enter, “Come on in. Make yourself at home and don’t bite.”

She closed the door behind me and returned to her baking. I beelined to where I assumed the entrance to the basement was, but a solid wall was in the way.

“Your basement…” I started.

She called in confusion from the kitchen, “I don’t have a basement, sorry.”

I trailed my fingers along the wall and gaged a different kind of magic, “Its entrance is sealed behind this wall.”

She appeared with great surprise, “No way...”

I proposed to break the wall down. She plopped her bowl of cookie dough on the counter and scavenged for an axe. As I took position to break the wall, there was another knock at the door.