EPISODE EIGHTY-ONE: THAT’S A WRAP
Indigo drifted off to sleep next to her cake, with vanilla icing still on her nose.
“Well, I’ll make sure to let her sleep this evening,” I said. She shouldn’t have forced herself to stay up for my birthday party, but I appreciated it. Looking around the table at my adoptive family, I reflected that this was unexpected, but treasured.
Lady Borsal chuckled. “She might be out longer than that.” She glanced over at Lord Bennit, who watched Indigo with a soft smile. “Her lessons with the Elder will resume, hopefully, in a few weeks.”
He nodded, but didn’t add anything else.
I wanted to ask for an update on Indigo’s mother, but didn’t. This wasn’t the time for bad news, or even a no-news update. When the dragons wanted me to know something, I would.
The Cat inched closer to the sleeping dragon, also keeping an eye on the smallest one of us. Lord Bennit’s eyes snapped to the Cat in surprise, yet he didn’t comment.
Alas chuckled awkwardly. “Well, I need to get back to work, but this was a pleasant break, Lass. Happy Birthday.” He pushed his chair away from the table, and that was the signal for everyone else. The two adult dragons got up as well, and I followed.
“I appreciate all of you coming to celebrate my birthday.” I gave Alas a hug.
“Enjoy the boots, and have an adventure or two,” he whispered with a wink before hurrying out the door.
That left Lady Borsal and Lord Bennit, both of whom gave me nods.
Lord Bennit held out his hand for me to shake, which I did. “Have a good afternoon,” he added, before they also left the shop, leaving the three of us.
The Cat sat on the table staring down at the sleeping Indigo.
I sat back in my chair. “Thank you for doing this.” Part of me still couldn’t believe that the Cat had pulled this together. It had to have come from him; Indigo wouldn’t have thought about it. She hadn’t been around when the birthday cards had shown up.
“Of course,” said the Cat, his mouth opened like he wanted to say more, but he stopped.
I reached out to give him a pet, but he moved before I could.
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“I hope you have a good afternoon. Indigo might need a bath,” he said, moving across the table away from me.
I didn’t understand why he pulled away, but I scooped Indigo up and grabbed a napkin. It only took a few swipes to remove the frosting from her nose. When I finished, the Cat was gone. I kept the book dragon close, and she stayed sleeping, curling up closer to my chest. “Hey, Betty, can you put away the leftovers?” I asked quietly.
A burst of warmth rushed through the shop and the food, along with the leftover cake, sunk down into the table.
“Thank you, my friend,” I whispered as I headed out of the room. The Cat wasn’t wrong, I could still smell the sugar on Indigo. I needed to get a warm washcloth to make sure she wasn’t sticky anymore, before I tucked her into her cat tower with a heated blanket. I didn’t know how long she would be out this time, but at least Lady Borsal had warned me.
By the time I tucked Indigo away in her tower, all nice and clean, the afternoon was in full effect. Bright sunlight streamed in from the rooftop deck and I headed in that direction. The tiny oak tree next to the cat tower caught my eye. One of the several leaves on it shimmered. It went from dark green to a bright red as I looked, yet none of the others changed at all.
I quickly counted the remaining leaves, and, even including the smallest, there were only 10. The little tree looked so bare. The red leaf stayed attached and didn’t fall, but the hair on the back of my neck rose. Something didn’t feel right about it at all. Back on my home world, fall was here, and soon the harvest fest would be in full swing. Still, it wasn’t like the shop had seasons. As long as I’d worked here, it had been consistent. Bright warm skies on the rooftop deck. Sometimes out the front door the weather was different, but that was the weather on the worlds we touched, not here in the shop.
The leaf on the tree shouldn’t have changed.
Shaking my head, I kept heading toward the outside, sliding the door open and stepping into the midafternoon sun. Heat washed down on me and I smiled. Ignoring the ominous leaf this birthday had been the right choice, I could deal with it tomorrow. It was too bad the cat was in some sort of funk.
***
It didn’t take long for me to realize I should go talk to Sable. It wasn’t her fault I was in a bad mood. Well, it wasn’t on her. She’d broken all expectations doing this weird job she had magicked into. As the shopkeeper, she was the best I’d ever had, and considering how long it’d been, that was saying something.
I slunk out of the shadows of the archway of my workshop and headed toward the roof. My guess was that she was in the sunshine, which fit her. This conversation should be easy, all I needed to say was it wasn’t her it was me. I was just off, and I was glad her birthday had gone so well.
Every scrap of rehearsed conversation left my mind as I padded along the floor turning the corner. A bright red object caught my eye, making me freeze. Panic darted through my body at the sight, yet I couldn’t move. Names spilled through my head, thinking of each child it could relate to. It didn’t help.
The last time a leaf had fallen, it had been sudden. One second it was green, the next dead on the floor. There hadn’t been time to even think about the circumstances. This time, a bright red one appeared.
What did it mean? Were they okay?
All thoughts of speaking to Sable vanished. What did the fates choose to punish me with, now?