The Familiar

After the vision Darius and Elara encounter something new. Daily Flash Fiction Entry.

The moment the vision faded, Darius and Elara were back in the vault, standing once again on the glowing platform. The gold coins were still. The feathers above swayed gently, as if the air hadn’t just been torn apart by memory and magic.

Darius staggered a step forward, hand pressed to his head. “That...was too real.”

Elara looked around, eyes sharp. “But we’re back. And the Flamekeeper’s gone.”

The robed figure had vanished, leaving behind only a faint shimmer in the air where they had stood.

They stepped down from the platform cautiously, the echo of their boots replaced by a strange sound overhead; a soft fluttering.

Elara glanced up.

A small bird, black as ink with glowing orange eyes, had landed on a beam above them. It tilted its head, watching them with eerie intelligence.

“That’s not just a bird,” Elara said. “Look at its eyes.”

“Keeper’s familiar, maybe?” Darius guessed.

The bird let out a low chirp, then flapped its wings and flew toward the far wall. There, it landed atop a pedestal none of them had noticed before. As they approached, they saw a box resting on it; this one small, silver, and sealed with a complex lock covered in runes.

A single droplet of water landed on the metal.

They both looked up. The vault had no visible roof, yet a soft rain began to fall from the open air above the pedestal, as if summoned by the box itself. The feathers hanging from the ceiling absorbed the moisture and began to glow.

Elara stepped forward and traced the lock’s edge with her fingers. “This must be it.”

“The real trial,” Darius said.

As the rain intensified and the bird fluttered off into the shadows, the lock clicked once.

Whatever was inside...it had been waiting too.