Chapter 19

“Looks like you made a friend yesterday instead of an enemy,” Sasha said, joining the rest of them at the bottom of the stairs.

“Oh really? Thought you were going to war against me, little fella.” Nathan tucked his knife into his jeans and slowly reached up, coaxing the creature down from around his neck. Eventually, he got it down into his arms, though it clung to him tightly, still shaking.

“What is it?” Jim asked, as they all hovered closer.

Not a fucking raccoon, Nathan wanted to say, but refrained.

He glanced up at the others, hoping someone else might have an answer.

“It’s a chimeric familiar,” Sasha said, a spark of recognition on his face.

“It’s a what now?” Nathan asked. He knew the words ‘chimera’ and ‘familiar’ but he had never heard of those two things together.

“Aren’t those things usually a lot…bigger and more dangerous?” Alex asked.