I marched out of my room toward the balcony with a smile. Today, things should be normal, or as normal as they could be, and I was excited. Indigo flew over the railing, then started chirping. I paused, then looked down below, my eyes slowly widening.

This, this was different.

All the bookcases were gone. All the woodwork, except for the counter below me, was gone. Everything else was replaced by stone. The floors and the walls looked to be made of some sort of brick. Even the lights were some kind of yellow crystal that glowed. Thankfully, the skylight above still filled the room with bright light, but it dimmed slightly as I took in the differences. The room itself was also smaller. The far wall was somehow closer, with the area in the center of the room limited.

The door would open pretty close to the counter, much closer than I’d ever seen it before.

I hurried down the stairs, wondering who the heck was going to be showing up today. Someone who didn’t like wood, that was for sure. The Cat wasn’t on the counter, and I quickly made myself an Americano before heading into the kitchen. That was normal at least.

The Cat and Indigo sat on the island. Both turned to look at me as I entered.

“So, who likes all the stone?” I asked.

“After breakfast, our customer,” answered the cat. His green eyes glowed as he turned to face the stove. Bacon and eggs sat on the counter and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

It didn’t take long to make breakfast; the bacon was crispy, and I scrambled the eggs. Simple enough, but tasty. Nothing was left by the time we all headed toward the front of the shop. Bacon did not last long, no matter how much of it I made. It was hard to resist making more than one package when I knew the last grocery order had at least ten packages in it. The fact that I didn’t have to pay for any of the food made it easy to splurge.

“So, do I get any more info then ‘our customer’?” I asked.

“Can I get a coffee before we discuss work?” replied the Cat.

I rolled my eyes and pulled out his teacup. Indigo chirped, asking for a hot chocolate. She kept glancing toward the area where her little hideaway was, but it was gone. Instead, she stuck close to my elbow, and I had to be careful to not hit her while making beverages.

I went with the chocolate theme, since it seemed like I might need some fortification. Two mochas, one in a teacup and one in my mug, then a hot chocolate for Indigo in a teacup. She did not get a whole mug of it, no matter how much she looked wistfully at my large coffee mug. If she did, she would swim in it as she drank it and hot chocolate would get everywhere. Sitting on my stool I sipped my beverage as the other two quickly consumed their drinks. I didn’t understand how someone could drink something that hot so fast, but neither the Cat nor Indigo seemed to have any problems.

“The customer today is a special case. We are their last hope for items they need, and for once I actually have them. Last time they visited, I didn’t. It will be nice to fulfill the request,” said the Cat.

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I paused, sipping my beverage. “You mean, you sometimes have people visit and you can’t actually help them? Doesn’t the book tell you to get the things?”

The Cat snorted. “The book gives instruction, but that doesn’t mean we can get our hands on anything. Even with being able to visit almost any world, time isn’t always on our side."

My lips parted, but I still didn’t get it.

The Cat shook his head and tried again. “Time is linear on each world. We can switch between worlds, but we can’t go back in time. If we go too far into the future on a world, we lose that time in between.”

I froze. It made sense, but a thought came to mind. “What does that mean for my contract? Is the year based on 365 days in the shop, or a year on my world?”

“It’s based on your lived time,” said the Cat. “That’s also why you can’t leave the shop. Time could break.”

Indigo chirped.

“If you leave, I don’t know if you can come back,” answered the cat.

I had been thinking that the contract was to protect not letting people know about magic, but now realizing that I could mess things up with time, the restrictions made a little more sense. Same with why room and board being included. Protection and safety for not just me, but the various worlds.

“Are you ready to open the shop?” asked the Cat.

Indigo chirped before I could answer.

“That’s my job,” I answered, scratching her on her head. “Yeah, let’s do this.”

The door unlocked, and then several moments later it swung open.

My coffee mug was slightly raised, but I lowered it, trying to let my brain catch up with what I was seeing.

“Welcome to the Magical Emporium of Wares.” The words spilled out of my mouth like rote as the creature moved closer. Whatever it was, it had to be related to Swamp Thing from the old movies. It was mostly humanoid, with two legs and arms, plus a nub for a head, but they were made of vines and leaves. The being moved fluidly across the floor and the vines shifted on their body.

“Do you have it? Have the fates blessed my people?” asked the creature.

I glanced at the Cat in confusion. This was not how this normally went. “Yes, we have what you need.”

The Cat looked at me. “The metal canister behind you on the shelf, pull it down.”

I turned around and in the place that usually held tea, now only one metal canister rested. It was heavy as I lifted it to the counter.

The creature quivered, and the vines retracted along the nub of a head. Two purple eyes that looked like petals peeked out. They touched the counter reverently. “The life tree blessed you for a reason, I needed to trust that. I am sorry I doubted you.”

“Tell them I understood,” said the Cat. “You can open the top.”

I quickly relayed the information, opening the top of the canister. The smell of earth rose up, and for a moment, it was like I was walking through a forest. Then it was gone. Inside, pulsing green moss glowed, and a green light rose out of the canister.

The creature shook with glee. “You have found it! You have saved my people.” The vines crawled across the counter toward the canister, but paused. “May the life tree bless you with its power.”

The wood of the counter glowed a soft yellow, with the grain of the wood pulsing with power, and Indigo leaped off the counter flying toward the kitchen. The Cat stayed put and nodded his head. Each pulse of power pulled at me and I couldn’t help but touch it. Warmth washed up through my fingertips, and suddenly I saw the Cat’s room again, with the book glowing on the table.