The Imp

Chapter the sixth

What had appeared to be a tiny and crumbling shed with peeling paint and rusted door hinges was large as a house once inside.
Shelves lined the walls. One was stuffed with books of all shapes, colors, and sizes. Mira could have sworn that one of them was breathing. Another shelf was crammed with glass stoppered bottles, also of various shapes and colors. Some held liquids, some what appeared to be flowers and herbs. One very large jar held an extremely tiny man who was hopping about red-faced and beating his tiny fists against the glass walls of his confinement. When he caught Mira looking at him he stopped and removed his hat, bowing low. She waved slowly, bewildered.
"There's a...ah..um," she stammered, unable to take her eyes from the tiny man who was now standing with his tiny arms folded behind his back and smiling directly at the girl.
Madge, who had been rooting around a messy table covered with bubbling beakers and sheaves of papers, looked up and waved a dismissive hand.
"That's an imp. Just ignore him."
"Ignore him?"
The tiny man was now doing a lively jig in the jar.
"You have got to work on your conversation skills, girl. You sound like a damn myna bird. Now stop looking at him before he talks you into letting him out."
"But he's not even talking to me." Mira said dreamily, unaware that she was moving steadily closer to the shelves. She did not know that she had reached her arms out until Madge appeared before her, pushing them back down to her sides. The hands on Mira's arms were gentle. Madge's voice was firm.
"Imps don't need to talk aloud to lead you astray. When someone gives you good advice, you'd do well to heed it." she led Mira away from the shelves and the imp, who now resumed pounding on the glass and yelling in a miniscule voice that neither of them could quite hear. "Imps may appear charming, but they're nothing but trouble. This one wouldn't leave my vegetable garden alone. Had to lock him up."
Madge sat the girl in a chair and resumed her search of the table.
"Why?" Mira asked in tomes of the still slightly dazed.
Madge shrugged without looking up.
"Don't rightly know. I think they like peas, they're kind of sweet direct from the garden."
"No, not that!" Mira stood indignantly, then sat immediately back down when the room wobbled. "How can you lock up such a sweet little creature?"
Again the witch paused in her search and turned toward the girl.
"Easily pixie-led, are we?" she stood with a hand on her hip, eying Mira before turning back toward the shelf and rummaging among the bottles.
The tiny man pounded his tiny fists against the glass in Madge's direction, then gave up and sat down, crying huge tears. Mira watched this from across the room, feeling that she would give in to tears herself watching the little man's plight and obvious heartbreak.
She was completely unaware that she had stood and started walking across the room until Madge appeared with an open palm held horizontal before her face. Mira was about to protest the caging of such a tiny helpless creature, had in fact taken a deep breath to do so, when the witch blew a fine powder into the girl's face. Madge deftly caught Mira under the arms as she fell over coughing and eased her back into the chair.
"What -- was -- that --?" Mira coughed in staccato, gasping for air and glaring at the witch through watering eyes.
Nonplussed, the woman had resumed her search.
"Powdered Angelica. It helps to remove spells and hexes." she gestured to the shelf. "Have another look."
Mira wiped at her eyes, fought to regain her breath, and looked back at the tiny man in the jar. She gasped, for the jar contained no little man at all. It was still a tiny creature, but it appeared to be all eyes and teeth. The body of the imp was so thin it was nearly skeletal and covered in fine blue hair. It had a tail that was long and curled and tiny wings that seemed ill-equipped to carry its body weight, emaciated as the creature appeared to be. The wings buzzed on the imp's back as it capered about in the jar, smiling viciously at Mira.
"I ain't starving it, if that's what you're thinking. They always look like that." said the witch, handing the girl a patchwork handkerchief.
Mira held the handkerchief to her streaming eyes, then peered again at the jar from over top of the cloth.
"What -- What is that?" she stammered, starring goggle-eyed at the captive creature.
Madge glanced again at her tiny prisoner, who now had his tiny butt cheeks planted firmly against the glass.
"I told you, that's an imp."
"But -- but where did the little man go?" Mira asked breathlessly through the handkerchief.
"Ah, so that's what you saw. It was a glamor, nothing more. An imp can trick you into seeing whatever it wants you to think it is. Usually whatever it thinks you will believe the easiest." 
Mira continued to watch the imp who was howling with gales of silent laughter, clearly pleased with its own antics.
"Enough now about the imp." the witch continued. "If we're to call Sionnach, we need to concentrate."

Author's Note

Thanks for reading, reviews welcomed!

Reviews

[SweetNutmeg]

I like how the end of the last chapter leads to the beginning of this chapter. The last sentence of that and the first sentence of this are perfect.

But, hmm, all the other chapters have seemed like complete chapters, containing exactly one event that advances the story. This one doesn't feel like it advances the story. It's good, it's entertaining, you should definitely keep it, but maybe combine it with another chapter?

[JLGottschalk]

Well spotted! I was experimenting with chapter length and when looking through my notebook decided that I didn't want to stretch the attention span of online readers by leaving all of the Madge and Mira events to one chapter. A few things happen in the short time that the two of them are together. (They're still kickin it in the next "chapter" as well.) So I chopped it up into more digestible pieces. Were this in true book form, it would be real chapter length.
Thanks for the read and review, both are much appreciated!