Read Online Reality Hack by Niall Teasdale - Free Book Online Page B

something which could not be explained. Were those who believed in it just trying to rationalise a universe which did not work the way they wanted?
    Faline’s paw stretched out and landed on the page Nisa was reading. Well, there was a picture of a cat on it.
    ‘On finding a familiar,’ Nisa read. ‘So you think I need a familiar then?’ Meow. ‘I’m not actually a witch, you know?’ Meow. The paw drew back and Nisa turned the page, scanning over the text. ‘Says here that the skilled witch can communicate with their familiar through magic of the spirit.’ Prrt! ‘Oh, so you want to be able to demand Sheba directly then.’ Reproachful meow. ‘Well… it’s something to practise that doesn’t involve summoning lights. We’ll try it later.’ Prrt!
    ~~~
    There had been some more practical advice in the book along with a lot of theoretical stuff. Gathering power from the ambient energy of the universe, it said, tended to reduce the Probrum the caster ended up accumulating, and that seemed like a valid sort of thing to practise too.
    Faline sat in front of Nisa, who sat cross-legged on the floor in the bedroom. The bedroom, she had decided, was where she was most comfortable doing magic, so that was where she did it.
    ‘Okay, so I need to channel the energy around me…’ Nisa mused. She lifted her arms and spread her fingers, and tried to imagine that energy was drawing in from around her. It felt less like drawing and more like dragging. ‘And I need to focus on your mind…’ How the Hell did you focus on a mind? Think catty thoughts?No, that was going to make her mean or something. She was pretty sure she had to be precise about it. The text on Reality Hacking had said that you needed to set your mind to a thought of exactly what you wanted to happen. ‘So it’s like a Vulcan mind meld, right? No, too deep. I want to be able to hear what you’re thinking. That should be enough…’
    It kept slipping through her fingers, but she remembered the same sort of thing happening when she had been learning to summon the light. At least she was not having to learn to set her mind the right way now.
    It took her nearly two minutes before she managed to hold on to the energy and get the phrasing of the spell right and suddenly…
    Faline gave a meow and Nisa heard ‘That’s much better’ in her mind.
    ‘Holy fuck, I did it!’
    ‘I don’t believe profanity is appropriate,’ Faline commented.
    ‘Wait a minute,’ Nisa said, frowning. ‘Stop me if I’m wrong, but cats should not know what “profanity” means.’
    ‘Why not? We hear enough of it. The man next door constantly referred to me as “that fucking cat.”’
    ‘Yes, but… Forgive the statement, but you don’t have the brains to be talking like this. Is this some artefact of the spell?’
    ‘I,’ Faline said, licking her paw in a distinctly proud manner, ‘am a most superior cat.’
    ‘Yeah… obviously.’
    ‘Jennifer was a witch. I am a Witch Cat. Much better than a typical domestic breed.’
    ‘Let me get this straight,’ Nisa said, frowning. ‘Mrs Carew was actually a witch and you were, what? Her familiar?’
    ‘In a manner of speaking, yes.’
    ‘So when she died, you went looking for a new… uh… I don’t want to say “owner.”’
    The cat gave a cough. ‘I prefer “companion.” There was nothing I could do to help her so, yes, I went looking for a new companion. And I found one. You’re young, and untrained, and your magic is strange, but I’m most happy to have found you. I was worried I would have to go into the city and find some smelly wizard.’
    ‘I know a wizard and he doesn’t smell.’
    ‘Probably doesn’t do alchemy then, or not much. When you have a cat’s nose, wizards smell.’
    Nisa shook her head. ‘I never thought I’d be having a conversation like this with a cat.’
    ‘I’m quite sure there are many things you will do in the future which you never thought would happen, Nisa,’ Faline