EPISODE FORTY-THREE

"I'll do it."

I couldn't believe the words that came out of my mouth. Yet, I’d always read stories of being a hero, and here was a book literally filled with an evil power that I could defeat. Could I leave it alone and deal with any other demons that tried to take it? I could, but even with the cat protecting me that was a terrifying thought. The easier answer was to have the shop eat it faster.

Indigo chirped in agreement, and I gave her pat on the head. She was really close to my ear, but kept her volume down. She was learning.

The cat stared at me from my knees; he was super close to my face, and he nodded. "It will keep you both safer," he nudged my hand, which rested next to him on my knee. I scratched behind his ear. "We don't need to do it now."

"I think I'd rather get it done now, get it over with, you know?" I whispered.

The cat purred at the scratches and reluctantly pulled himself away. He twisted to look at the fireplace. "You might want to close your eyes for this."

I snapped my eyes shut just as the fireplace glowed. Then I peeked, since I couldn't help it. The fireplace had changed. The fire was gone, and instead where the fireplace had been was an archway that led to the room where I’d stored the book. Each step I’d taken to get the book in that room was ingrained in my memory. My fingers ached from the remembered chill. Cold air streamed out of the room, and Indigo whimpered. She crawled behind my hair and neck, shaking.

The cat stared at the book. "You can do it from there, just ask the shop to focus on the book. Think it."

I wasn't sure how to think something at the bookstore, but tried anyway. Inside my head, I pictured a tiny dino eating the book. It wasn't the greatest picture, but it got the point across.

The room that the book sat inside shrunk, and the cold coming off it increased. I shivered. As the room continued to shrink, second by second, the air grew heavier.. The table inside the room got smaller, and then the book shook, like it was resisting.

The cat didn't look away and I could feel his paws trembling on my knees at the sight.

"Focus, Sable,” he whispered. "Picture the shop devouring the book, consuming its cold magic."

I closed my eyes and let my mind focus on the shop itself. Betty popped into mind, and the espresso machine transformed into a knight in shining bright red armor. Its helm opened, revealing large metal spikes that chomped toward the accursed book. With each breath, I willed the image to become reality. "Come on, Betty, you can do it," I whispered, urging my knight on.

A freezing gust of wind swept through the room, and my eyes snapped open. As soon as my gaze fell on the book again, the scent of freshly brewed coffee drifted over me, pushing the cold back. The hot air of steaming milk, and the warmth of a sip of my latte in the morning, filled the space.

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The cat's back arched, his fur standing on end as he prepared to pounce. As if answering my call, the low sound of a growl rumbled through the bookstore.

Inside the room, the book shook again, shrinking further. Mist rose from the cover, but something pushed it back, forcing it to retreat, to be reabsorbed into the book. A loud boom shook the space, and in a single instant, the book vanished. Everything seemed to freeze in place, and the archway shuddered. Then, slowly, the doorway changed shape, forming back into the fireplace that had been there before. I watched as the fire slowly re-appeared, pushing warmth back into the room.

The cat turned toward me, his eyes wide, his fur still stuck out all over. "What did you do?"

I shook my head. "What you asked..."

Indigo climbed out from behind my hair and moved closer to the cat. The cat closed his eyes and his fur slowly relaxed. He let out a sigh. "It is done, at least."

"You’re sure?" I asked.

"Yes, it is gone," he whispered, with something that was almost a whimper. His eyes opened and all the tension seemed to leave his body. Indigo moved closer to him and I petted him slowly. "Thank you, Sable. You have done something I couldn't accomplish on my own, and that evil power is no more."

A sense of peace washed over the room, and warmth, like the shop was happy to no longer have the book either. Yet, that couldn't be the case, right? It was a shop, and I couldn't feel what it felt. I shook my head slightly. "I'm glad it's gone." I petted the cat a little more before I leaned forward carefully and picked my mug back up from the coffee table. The hot cocoa was still warm.

"Well, we defeated the evil, and now we get to drink cocoa," I said.

Indigo chirped, and the cat chuckled. "She wants more cookies," he translated.

"You can go get some more," I whispered to the book dragon.

She climbed up onto the back of the couch and jumped off, gliding through the air.

"I'll go make sure she doesn't eat all of them," he said before jumping off my lap.

I turned to watch them go, and they both vanished out of sight behind the counter. My eyes landed on the espresso machine on the counter. I smiled, looking at it. "We did it Betty, we defeated the evil monster." I chuckled at myself, turning back to the fireplace. Somehow, it didn’t seem strange that I was talking to inanimate objects. After all, Betty was definitely a hero here, too.

#.

I padded after the little bookdragon to give Sable a moment. The amount of energy she had pushed at the shop to focus it on the book had shocked me. I didn’t even have a chance to do anything before the shop had leaped to help her. Something red with armor had charged at the book, striking it with steaming air. I didn't understand what she had done.

Yet, the book was gone, and it's magic had been consumed by the shop. The weight of the book being nearby was lifted.

"Cookie?" asked Indigo. Though I tried to not think of her like that, with a name. She had to be just the little book dragon. Though she had accepted the name, it was dangerous for a dragon so young to take on a name. Magic was strange like that, and names had power. Sable still didn’t understand that, but then, most beings didn’t, not really. Even those who had powerful magic often didn’t really understand it. Like me, I thought bitterly.

"I'll grab a chocolate chip one," I mumbled, jumping to the island. "The peanut butter is Sable's favorite, I want to leave those for her."

Indigo nodded and grabbed a cookie in her jaws. It was half the size of her, but she beat her wings hard to take off from the counter. I watched, shaking my head as she rapidly headed toward the floor.

I took a moment to eat one of the chocolate chip cookies. The sweetness filled me with joy, and I froze. For the first time in a long time, I’d felt joy. Almost as soon as I recognized it, it shifted into confusion. I wondered what it meant.