Cat Tales and Whiskers by Ciella Naden Excerpt

Cat Tales and Whiskers by Ciella Naden
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Cat Tales and Whiskers is the name of a book store in Soulville.  When fourteen-year-old Ash stumbles upon it, his troubles begin.  A demonic scarecrow, a witch, and a generational curse are just a few problems Ash must face in this story.  This novelette has a strong Christian message and touches on demonic possession and witchcraft.  It is recommended for young adults or mature middle grade readers.

Excerpt:

With the sun beginning to set and the trees towering overhead, Ash had to scan the headstones with his flashlight to read them.  The two that seemed to be the oldest held the same last name: Foster.  One headstone said, “Vincent Foster, 1850–1880,” and the other said, “Cora Foster, 1855–1880.”  “Very interesting,” said Ash.

He knelt to take a closer look at the other headstones.  He reached out to touch one of them to keep from falling, and a huge black spider ran over his hand.  Ash screamed, dropped the flashlight, and heard it break.  “Oh crap!”

Suddenly, Ash heard a noise in the distance, like glass clanking.  Once Ash’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see what looked like a small shack ahead of him. 

He carefully began to walk toward the shack, and the closer he got, the more frightened he became.  He discovered that it was very old and looked haunted.

There was a flicker of light shining through the windows, but Ash had to get really close to see anything inside as the windows were caked with dust, dirt, and cobwebs.

What Ash saw when he looked inside scared him so badly, he could barely hold in a scream.  Inside the room was Rona, the shopkeeper from town; the scarecrow; and Vermin, who was contained in a trap on a table. 

Ash looked around the small room.  The missing chest from his attic was on the floor by Rona’s feet.  A black cauldron was hanging over the fire in the fireplace.  Rona was pouring something from glass vials into the cauldron.  He wondered if she were creating a potion.

Ash thought to himself, So Rona’s a witch.  That explains a lot.

Ash knew he had to save Vermin, so he slid off his shoes and tip-toed to the door.  He reached out and slowly turned the door knob, hoping the door wouldn’t make a creaking sound when he opened it.  Luckily, it didn’t. 

He opened the door just enough to peek inside.  Rona’s back was turned toward the door, so as quickly as Ash could, he pushed the door open wider, dropped to the floor, and crawled to the table. 

Vermin saw him and meowed.  Ash darted under the table just before Rona turned around to see what caused Vermin’s cry.

Ash could barely see Rona from under the table, but he quickly learned what was in some of the glass vials as she checked them off as she poured them into the cauldron: “Eyeball of rattlesnake, four hawk talons….”

Ash was so scared he was shaking, but he knew he had to make a move, and quickly.  He had the horrible feeling Vermin, or some part of Vermin, would be an ingredient soon in the potion she was making. 

Ash took a deep breath, came out from under the table, grabbed the cage that held his cat, and took off toward the door.