A Warlock’s Wish 🐈‍⬛💚

Xalira sighed. She was a warlock, and she had a problem.

The problem was—she hated being a warlock.

She had accepted that she was undead. That part wasn’t so bad. She could still wear bright colors and dye her hair, though undead fashion came with its own set of challenges—bones sticking out at inconvenient places, for example. But summoning creatures like other warlocks? No, that wasn’t for her. They were too scary.

When she was human, she had been a children's book author, writing stories that brought joy to families—cute, happy tales filled with warmth. But cute and happy things were far from Deathknell.

She often wandered to the graveyard to be alone. It was hard being a warlock who didn’t want to be one—who would rather practice making rainbows with spells than conjuring shadows.

The graveyard was the perfect place for solitude. No one visited anymore, since the graves were empty—everyone had already risen from the dead. She supposed they were there for aesthetic reasons now.

Scoffing, she sighed aloud.

If only she had someone to talk to. A companion who wasn’t scary, but cute. Someone more like a best friend.

The other undead weren’t evil, but they had little in common with her. Most preferred the darkness, devoted to the Dark Lady. Easy for her, Xalira thought, rolling what was left of her eyes. She doesn’t have to stay in Deathknell forever.

She thought of home—her old home—and the cat she used to have. It would curl up beside her desk, sometimes swiping at her quill as she wrote. A warmth spread through her, and then—a spark of an idea!

Warlocks summoned creatures from darkness, but most of them weren’t truly evil. Their minions were terrifying, yes, but magic was just a tool. Could it be used to summon something... not so sinister?

She rushed home, reaching for a small, secret bottle labeled "Algari Mana Oil." In truth, it wasn’t oil at all—it was a potion that created a rainbow in the sky. Other undead had occasionally wondered how such a thing had happened. The thought made Xalira chuckle.

Clutching her potion, she hurried back to the graveyard. Still empty, as expected.

She began reciting summoning spells but paused at one particularly grim incantation:

"By the Forsaken, I call upon the soul’s torment. Tear asunder the spirit, rend its essence, leave it shattered and broken."

She shuddered. What a downer.

But what if she would change the spell into something more happier and combine it with her rainbow potion? It was worth a shot.

Raising her skeletal hands, she poured the colorful liquid onto the ground. Dark energy swirled around her, mixing with the potion’s soft, iridescent glow. Twinkling lights flickered in the air, and a gentle, melodic hum filled the graveyard.

A smile tugged at her lips.

"By the stars above and the moon’s gentle glow,
Bring forth the joy and let it grow.
Let laughter bloom and spirits rise,
Sparkling bright like playful skies!"

The air thickened. The portal hummed. The ground trembled.

Xalira held her breath—not that she needed to breathe anymore—and if she had a heart, it would have been pounding. The runes on the ground blazed brightly, expanding, filling the graveyard with color, and then—

Nothing.

The magic fizzled out

Xalira groaned, burying her face in her hands. Guess I’m just stuck with scary minions, then...

A soft sound broke the silence.

"Meow."

Her head shot up.

In front of her sat a small creature—its body a shimmering, translucent green, like a blob of glowing gelatin. But within that jelly-like form, tiny bones were visible.

It was a cat. A very undead, very slimy cat.

And it was the cutest thing Xalira had ever seen.

She gasped as the little creature leaped into her arms, pressing its warm, gooey head against her hand. A purr rumbled through its body, and Xalira, for the first time in a long while, felt truly happy.

From that day forward, they were inseparable and Deathknell felt just a little less lonely.