I had been lying on my stomach on my bed with my feet in the air for over an hour when sothing shifted in the bookstore. The longer I lived here, the easier it was for to tell when things changed. The book on candle magic was interesting, but I needed to grab so candles from below anyway, plus maybe so oils, if I could find them. Part of wondered how real it was. The book felt cheap and it was published on Earth. Or at least, sowhere that had a London, England.
I hopped off the bed and walked to my open door. Once I peered over the balcony, I imdiately spotted what was different. The orb was now sitting in the center of the table below. Nothing else had changed. “Cat!” My voice sounded loud in the space, but nothing answered. That orb should be in storage and protected. My eyes narrowed as I walked toward the stairs. We needed to have a talk, and this ti, I was not taking silence for an answer.
The storefront was empty, including the chair in the front window. Usually, it dripped in sunlight, but now the skylight showed clouds. The dark store was different. Sconces that I hadn’t noticed before flickered on and brightened things up a little. Still, the gloom fit my mood.
“Cat! Where are you? We need to talk!”
I stopped in the kitchen, but again he wasn’t anywhere. “This isn’t funny…”
The bells on the front door rang, and I froze. This wasn’t how things worked. People didn’t randomly co into the shop unless we were behind the counter. My anger fled as anxiety washed over . I darted down the hallway and to the register. The mory of the fake John grabbing my wrist flashed before , but I pushed it away. Two young ladies were peering at the dusty tos on the bookshelves. One wore a blue dress, while the other had on slacks. They both had their hair braided and pulled back from their faces. Given how similar they looked, they had to be sisters. Both had brown eyes, though one had eyes that were a bit closer to green. They giggled as they pointed at various items before turning toward the center table that held the orb.
“Welco to the Magical Emporium of Wares,” I said before they saw . Both jerked in my direction. “Let know if I can help you with anything, or get you a drink.” The one with the hazel eyes headed my way. Where was the cat?
“What do you have to drink?” she asked.
“I have coffee and teas,” I motioned over my shoulder to the shelf of teas, which were still there. She leaned forward on the counter and peered at the wall. She had to be about my age.
“How about a coffee? Andrea, do you want anything?” she called over her shoulder.
The other girl jerked from touching the stack of candles. “I’m good, sis.”
“What type of coffee do you want? An Aricano? Latte?” I asked with a forced smile.
Her eyes drew together. “I don’t know what that is… just a coffee?”
Okay, so we still weren’t back on Earth. I should have gotten the mo since they weren’t wearing jeans, but then again, who knew? I turned back to the coffee machine and grabbed the container of instant coffee next to it. I quickly made a mug with so hot water, mixing the finely ground beans in. Where was the cat? I didn’t want do this on my own.
“Here you go.” I set the coffee in front of her. “So, where are you from?” I asked. The young woman in front of was the one wearing the pants and a linen shirt. As she reached out for the cup, I noticed a tattoo on the inside of her wrist. It was a compass rose, with sothing trailing off of it.
“You could say I’m from everywhere. I travel a lot.” She took a sip of the coffee and smiled. “This is really good. I haven’t had it like this. Usually, it tastes almost burnt.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to for the genuine story.
“It’s better with so cream or so vanilla, but I kept it basic since I wasn’t sure what you liked.” I couldn’t help but smile. Coffee was sothing I could talk about all day. Now, instant coffee wasn’t my favorite, even though it had improved quite a lot since the original Folgers days. Normally, I made people an Aricano when they just asked for coffee, but I had been grumpy, so she got instant. Now, I wished I had made her sothing special.
“I haven’t ever seen the shop before. Is it new?” she asked.
I shrugged. “You could say that. It’s hard to find. Can I help either of you with anything else?” It was difficult to monitor the other woman with her sister right in front of . The woman took another sip of her coffee.
“We’re just looking, trying to get a feel for this town.”
“Good to know,” I said. I spotted a streak of black near the sister and relaxed. The cat had to be near the second woman. He could take over this encounter. “When I move sowhere new, the first thing I do is look for the best places to eat. While I make good coffee, cooking is not a strength of mine.”
“Ugh, cooking is the worst. I hate it. Give so other project or task any ti. I am much better at those. Isn’t that right, Andrea?” Her sister murmured in agreent. The young woman set the mug down and stood up. “Well, we better get moving. We don’t want any of our stalkers to catch up with us.”
“Stalkers?” I asked, looking up. I paused in surprise when I realized Andrea was already near the door. What had happened to the cat?
“Of course! Hopefully, I threw them off our trail.” She waved at , and the bells rang at the door. The first woman was out before I could blink, and her sister quickly followed. My eyes landed on the table—the table that was now missing an orb.
I didn’t stop the swear word from passing my lips as I raced to the door. “Cat! They stole the orb!” The door wouldn’t open.
“I know,” his voice sounded sad in my head.
I spun, almost tripping on my feet. He sat on the counter. “How could you let them steal it? We were supposed to protect it!”
“I protected it and made sure it got to the person it needed to.”
“That girl? The one on the run?” I stomped over to the counter and towered over the cat. “She didn’t have green eyes or blonde hair!”
His tail flicked in agitation. “No. But it will go from Andrea to the one who needs it.”
“But how do you know that?!” I slamd my hand down on the counter, shaking. He had promised that old woman!
The cat let out a sigh, and his head hung. “I just do,” he said. “Today has been a hard day. I’ll close up. You should get so rest.” He turned and padded to the edge of the counter.
“I… I…don’t want to rest! Cat, I need answers! I feel like I broke a promise!”
“You did not break your word.” He paused. “I would not put you in a situation to tarnish your honor. This I swear.” He glanced at . His eyes glowed in the darkened store. “The fates are fickle, and we do their bidding. So days are harder than others. It’s the curse of this place.” He jumped out of sight, but his voice continued. “Order pizza, take a bath. Try to let it go. That’s all we can do.” He sounded tired, more tired than I was angry, and that gave pause. He padded off toward the kitchen, moving slowly. His fur seed dull in the flickering sconces as he walked away.
#
She knew it was a bribe. We both did. Yet, I didn’t know how else to comfort her. Today, we both walked the fine edge of truth and honor. I couldn’t stand to see the accusation in her eyes. I turned before I entered the kitchen and climbed the stairs. These days didn’t co often, but each ti they did, it hurt.
Sable moved around the counter as I padded down the balcony and around the corner toward the conservatory. Her voice rose as she made the call to the pizza place. It was the only good pizza that delivered to the store. We had shifted to Earth as soon as I had ntioned her ordering pizza. The shop wanted her to be happy as well. Her anger had darkened the windows and chased away the normal sunshine. The shop didn’t like it.
Green leaves and the sll of dirt filled the room. Potted plants were scattered all around under the windows and near the window-filled wall. I stopped in front of one little pot. The pot itself looked like all the others; it was a deep green. A small oak tree grew out of it, still missing a leaf. I stared at it, taking a breath. “You are worth it. Soday, I will return ho…” I couldn’t even touch the pot before I fled back the way I had co.
Soday, my debt will be paid, and I will once again be what I was.
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