It was a boring day. Well, not completely. I didn’t screw up breakfast and I made a fantastic egg scramble with bacon and cheese. Now I was reading a book on how to bake muffins. After all the cookies this week, plus the amount of cookie dough that I froze, I was looking for something a little less sweet but still a treat. Somehow that led me to muffins.

The store was in its bookstore formation, with bookshelves lined up across the store. The cute signs for each genre were back, along with the oak bookshelves. Somehow they were always dust free, which I appreciated. The children’s area was the smaller version of just a few shelves without a reading nook for kids. I assumed that meant Molly would not be visiting today. Bright sunlight streamed in from all the skylights and the front windows looked out to some nondescript street. The smell of the cat's latte hung in the air, but as soon as he had finished that, he vanished to the chair in the front window. As far as I knew he was napping.

I sat behind the counter on a stool with the book open on the counter. My coffee cup was iced for once and it was a cold brew I’d started last night. I needed to experiment with it a bit more so it’d be smoother. Still, it was definitely drinkable, and taking a sip I turned my focus back to the baking book. The next section was about how to mix a muffin blend you could leave in your pantry. Then, whenever you wanted muffins you just mixed in the wet stuff plus the sweet stuff like fruit or nuts and, boom, pop them in the oven. It sounded easy, but who actually knew? I’d never baked anything that complicated.

My thoughts stopped as the door opened and the bell rang. The sound washed over the space and I snapped the book shut. I slid it under the counter next to the teacups. A tall man with long, deep brown hair and striking brown eyes entered the store. He shut the door softly behind him and turned to study the room. His eyes skidded right over me and they kept going until he spotted the chair. The cat stared at him from his curled-up position.

“There you are,” said the man.

The cat flicked his tail and reluctantly stood up. He jumped down and padded silently across the floor toward me. He vanished behind the counter before jumping up next to the book. Once the cat was on the counter, the man approached from in front of the door.

“So, do you have any work for me?”

The cat turned and looked at me, then back at the man.

“Fine,” he turned toward me for the first time. “Hello, my name is Alas. I’m a leather worker and I do work for the cat when he has a request.” He ran his fingers through his long hair and I noticed his ears. They were pointed.

I blinked, then smiled. “Nice to meet you. I’m Sable - the current shopkeeper. Can I get you a coffee?” This was a real-life elf. Or was he a fey? I needed a primer on the various races so I didn’t lose my cool when someone entered the shop. Coffee would distract me from asking all the questions about elves.

“Uh, sure. Something warm would be nice,” he mumbled. His gaze went back to the cat. “At least I now know why you have answered none of my messages…”

“You can let him know that, yes, it’s because you just started. I didn’t want to overwhelm you,” said the cat. Yeah, like he’d overwhelmed me with the magic spears and trolls, I thought to myself. Messages were nothing compared to that.

I gave the cat a nod as I started to make some espresso for Alas. “Yeah, the cat said he didn’t want to overwhelm me.” I shrugged. “But after this he is going to show me how to check his messages.”

“That was not what I said,” muttered the cat, his tail flicking through the air.

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I gave him a bright smile as the espresso dribbled out of Betsy. Next, I grabbed a teacup from under the counter and poured the hot brown liquid inside. “Here you go. It should perk you right up.”

“Thank you, lass.” He carefully picked up the teacup and took a sip. After the first one, he downed it in one go. “Normally, it isn’t this long between messages, and I just wanted to make sure the old coot was okay. Can’t have him dying on us.” The elf stared at the cat, who looked away first.

“Tell him I have an order for a pair of boots. Or, I will soon,” said the cat.

“Wait, we get orders?” I asked. “How do I check for orders?” I headed right to the cash register and flipped through the menus. There was a button for orders, but I’d assumed if it was important the cat would have said something.

Alas glanced between the cat and me. “Yes, you get orders. I don’t know how the cat deals with them. I just send messages, I’m not sure where they go.”

“I can explain them later,” said the cat.

I clicked on the button and pulled up a list of orders. All of them had ‘Filled’ next to them. The descriptions were all different, and some didn’t even make sense, like ‘floating apples’ and ‘book of greats’. ‘Book of great’ what?

“Focus, boots!”

I rolled my eyes at the cat and turned away from the register to Alas. “He says there is a pair of boots.”

Alas leaned against the counter, his eyes narrowed. “What kind of boots?”

“Boots with a secret compartment. One on each boot. For a knife,” said the Cat. I relayed the information to Alas. He stood up straight and lightly nodded his head. The wheels were turning, and it was like he wasn’t in the room with us anymore.

“Any magic?” he asked.

“Only for comfortable walking and longevity,” said the Cat. I hated being his mouth, but I did it anyway. This was my job after all. Still, magical boots were a thing.

“How can I get a pair of magic boots?” I asked the cat. I wanted in on this action.

Alas chucked, his face shifting into a grin. “Well, I can handle the boot part if you want a pair but the magic part is up to the cat.” This time the cat glared at him. “The hidden compartment part is also up to the cat. All boots I make have charms for wear and comfort.”

“So, how do I order a pair with the charms for wear and comfort? What type of boots are possible?”

Alas shook his head. “The walking kind. I’m not talking about fashion boots. I’m talking about boots for adventurers, or riding horses through the fields. Boots for being silent while hunting monsters who are eating your animals.” His voice took on a musical lilt, and I leaned in. The image of dark trees, and glowing red eyes running at me filled my head. My heart pounded as the creature took form with black scales, six legs and a tail with a stinger. The bells on the door rang, snapping me back to the bookstore. I blinked, but no one was at the door.

“What was that?” I muttered, shaking my head.

“Sorry lass, I didn’t mean to ensnare you.”

The cat glared at him.

“Well, I’ll be getting on my way.” He pointed at the cat. “As soon as that order comes in, have her message me. There is talk of war with the demons…” Alas gave me a nod then walked out of the shop. The door slammed shut behind him. Wait, demons?

“Demons are real? War?” The questions tumbled out of my mouth.

“You don’t need to worry about that. It’s not on your world,” answered the cat. He stared at the door and shook his little head. “Now you know how to check orders. Though the machine gives a notification if one comes in.” The cat moved next to the register. “My messages are in a different folder.”

I moved back in front of it and waited for direction. “Check under orders, then messages.” There was a button in the corner for recent messages, and when I clicked it only Alas showed up. The most recent was ‘Cat are you there?’

“Do you get lots of messages?”

The cat shook his head no. “The order will be in-person and after lunch.”

“Do you have preferences on lunch?” I asked the cat. We still had time until lunch. At least an hour before I normally would make something quick. The cat didn’t reply, just jumped off the counter and padded across the store back to his chair. Well, he wouldn’t answer my questions about elves or demons, or even lunch. At least right now. Hopefully, he would eventually. I went back to my book on muffins, and pondered.