Summons Kratch

The moon was rising in the east, sending shafts of silver light down through the trees. The moment was right. I summoned the boggart.

First I just whispered his name: “Kratch!”

The air had been very still, but as I spoke, I heard a faint rustle. A breeze was stirring the fallen leaves. I called the name again—but this time much louder.

“Kratch!”

Now the wind was whipping the branches, gaining in power. The last of the crisp autumn leaves fell to join the soggy brown mounds beneath the trees.

The third time, I shouted the name of the boggart at the top of my voice like a priest calling out to the faithful. I cared nothing for the fact that it might be heard in the tower. Now it was my enemies who would be afraid. My voice resonated through the air so that it seemed to ring like a great bell.

“KRATCH!”

In response, the wind surged in from the west, howling like a banshee and almost throwing me off my feet. I staggered back and covered my eyes with my arm to protect my face from the fragments of wood, mud, and stones that hurtled between the trees.

And then the gale dropped to nothing. There was silence, the air absolutely still.

Had the boggart responded? I wondered. Was it here?

The silence continued. I held my breath, listening hard.

Still there was nothing.

My heart began to sink into my boots. Had my summons failed?

But then I heard it: the very lightest of treads. Something was approaching from the west, moving very stealthily toward me.

B13 C12