Shut up, damn voice.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are. I’ll give you cheese and a warm blanket to curl up in. Rats like warm blankets, don’t they?” I glanced over at the witch.
She barely glanced my way as she waved her hand. “Sure, sure. Whatever. Just keep looking.”
At some point, I got down on all fours, despite the pain it caused, and crawled, going from one end of the room to the other. I was beginning to think that no rats lived in the cottage. Or maybe none of them wanted to be my friend? That couldn’t possibly be true. Who wouldn’t want to be my friend?
Pretty much any person who didn’t want to appear a fool, the voice piped up again.
Hush, voice. Gisele is my friend.
Suddenly, there was a tiny scratching sound in the corner to my right. Scurrying over, I slowly moved a
