“Riley, we must talk about your familiar,” Crow said, once Riley was seated in front of him and Headmaster Karasu. The other students had divided up into groups, each led by a bonded pair of magic user and their familiar. The leaders were answering questions about what it was like to have a familiar and how it had affected their lives.

  Riley took a deep breath, feeling like all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry. She had met Herbert out in the garden one day while harvesting basil and the instant she had laid eyes on him she had known that she wanted him to be her familiar. She had read about familiars in the books about adventurers, had read how they helped witches tap into magic more deeply, acting as a conduit. About how that partnership allowed them to perform great feats that helped so many people. She had seen Herbert with all his adorable little eyes staring up at her and she had just known it was meant to be. He hadn’t been scared at all, hopping up onto her hand when she offered it. Before they had even bonded she had felt his curious energy reaching out and probing - his life energy already extending to meet her own. That couldn’t have been wrong, could it? It had felt like fate.

  “First, you must know that this is by no means the end of the world,” Crow told her. “There are a few reasons that it is not recommended to bond with spiders. However, the issues that arise can be worked around. I can tell that you are upset, and I sense this is because you are quite fond of your familiar. How long have you been bonded?”

  “About a year,” Riley managed to croak out. “His name is Herbert.”

  “Riley, can you call Herbert forward?” Crow asked, his voice growing gentler. “I have a communication stone that we can use to loop us all into the conversation.”

  Headmaster pulled out a large, flat stone with a sigil on it that Riley didn’t recognize. As she prompted Herbert to come out of his hiding place in her hair, Crow put a taloned foot on the stone. The sigil glowed faintly green, then brighter as Herbert hopped onto the stone and brighter once more when Riley touched it.

  It is nice to meet you, Herbert, said a new voice in Riley’s head, I am Headmaster Karasu. Riley felt a wave of curiosity in response, Herbert’s emotions amplified by the communication stone.

  We need to talk about your bond. The two of you have entered a lifetime commitment, your life force now joined as one. For you, Herbert, this means you will live many years beyond what would normally be expected for a spider like you. For you, Riley, this means that you will be supplying the life force to keep Herbert alive. Unfortunately, this will come at a cost to you.

  Riley let out the breath she had been holding in. Oddly enough, she was relieved by the Headmaster’s declaration. If the consequence of choosing Herbert as a familiar fell on her shoulders and not on his, she found that far more palatable than her fear that she might have doomed them both. Herbert didn’t seem to share her relief though - she could feel confusion and concern radiating from him.

  As magic users, our power is connected to our life force. The two of you will have a choice to make between power and life. In order for Riley to live out the natural lifespan of a human, you will have to learn to continuously channel energy into your own body so that it can sustain both you and Herbert. This will dampen the potential of your power. If instead, you choose power, you will be able to practice magic at the same level as your peers, but you will be giving up years of your life, likely not living past the age of 40.

  Now Riley was stunned, struggling to absorb the information. So this was the consequence of acting before knowing what she was doing. Since the very first time she had learned about magic, she had been fascinated. It had been her obsession. And now, the very thing that had driven her all these years, the very reason she was here now at Ms. Purple’s, was tearing apart her dreams at the seems. Only living to the age of 40 would mean she would have 22 more years of life. It would be cutting her life expectancy by 60 years. It would change the entire trajectory of her life.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  It wasn’t lost on Riley that the trade had already been made, that the upside of this was that Herbert had gained a life he wouldn’t have had otherwise. The choice now wasn’t whether she would become a powerful witch as she had once hoped. The choice was whether she would be an average witch with a shorter life, or an average person who happened to be connected to a familiar. A wave a comforting energy from Herbert reminded her that she was not alone in this, and for that she was grateful. At least, no matter what happened, he would be there with her.

  There is no rush to make a decision at this time, Headmaster Karasu told them. You should take your time to process. Either way, I would like to begin private lessons with you outside of normal class hours. Your situation will require you to train more deeply in skills that aren’t necessary for most students.

  Do you have any questions at this time? Crow asked, his voice sounding different through telepathic communication than it normally did when he spoke aloud.

  There was a pause, Herbert giving off a pulse of concentration. Riley, Crow, and Headmaster Karasu waited, giving the spider space to form his thoughts into communication. Then there was a flood of images one after the other of seasons changing from spring to summer to fall to winter and back again to spring over and over and over again. And in each image Herbert was at the center eating a fly. The accompanying feeling from him was a sense of awe and excitement.

  Riley couldn’t help but laugh once she grasped Herbert’s meaning. It was relaxing to know that this was his immediate concern upon learning their lives would be changed forever.

  Yes, Riley told him. You’ll be eating many, many flies in your lifetime.

  When Riley had bonded with Herbert, it hadn’t occurred to her to talk to him about time. She hadn’t thought about the normal lifespan of a garden spider or that their bond would multiply it by a magnitude almost unimaginable to him. She couldn’t see Headmaster Karasu smiling, but she could sense it through the communication stone.

  I don’t think I have any questions yet, Riley told them. I think… I think I just need some time.

  Quite understandable, Headmaster Karasu responded. And be assured, you are not the only student that I have encountered that has had to face such dilemmas. Each one, in their own way, has found their own path. This isn’t the end of your story Riley, it’s just a little different than what you might have expected. You can take the rest of class to yourself if you like, no need to join the others. I’m sure your studious friend Mr. Elliot can catch you up to speed later.

  Riley was grateful, although a little surprised that Headmaster Karasu seemed knowledgeable about Elliot. As far as she knew, this was the first time Elliot and Headmaster Karasu had even been in a classroom together. Riley left her hand in place, signalling to Herbert that he could use her arm to climb back up to her hair. Herbert did so, hopping and crawling over the sleeve of her coarse shirt. Before she took her fingers off the communication stone, Crow spoke again.

  Riley, Crow said, his voice serious. The bond between witch and familiar is sacred. You have lost an opportunity, there is no doubt. It is ok to mourn that. Just know that sometimes fate works in ways we can’t anticipate. If you trust in your connection with Herbert, you will find that life will reward you in turn. No matter what you do going forward, as long as you honor the precious gift you have been granted, know that your life will be full and perfect.