EPISODE TWENTY-NINE

"Wait, what do you mean?" I asked the cat.

"The gems," he said, while watching the book dragon come closer. "They were real and worth more than you charged on the card. You should have accepted them as payment."

I blinked a few times. "How was I supposed to know that? He bought some normal-looking books, had a regular name, and dressed like an old man."

The cat didn't say anything, but his tail flicked in the air.

"You could’ve been up here with me, letting me know all of that. Watch, the next thing you’ll tell me is he was some sort of wizard." I threw my hands up in the air and then went back to my stool and coffee cup. More caffeine would solve the problem. I didn't like this feeling, it crawled up inside me, like I had failed at a task I didn't even know I was supposed to do. Being the shopkeeper was a job, sure, but I finally felt like I understood it and could handle the challenges. Then something like this happened, and all of that washed away in an instant. Did the cat set me up to fail?

Harsh chirping cut into my thoughts, and I turned to see what Indigo was up to. The little dragon looked every inch a Queen as she sat back on her hind paws, flaring her wings at the cat. She glanced at me, then back at the cat. Chirping even louder.

The cat sat down to face her, but I didn't hear anything from his side of the conversation. Still, his ears lowered and his body hunched forward. His tail flickered low near the countertop. His green eyes went wide as Indigo kept chirping. The dragon cut off suddenly, and the cat's ears flattened.

My eyes went back and forth between the two. It was clear that while the cat didn't speak baby dragon; he understood whatever Indigo was telling him. Or enough, at least, to have a reaction.

"I am sorry. I didn't provide you with enough instructions," said the cat. His green eyes turned to me. "It was not my intention to..."

Indigo chirped something.

"What I mean to say is that might have come out a little harsh. I should have explained the situation a little more."

I didn't know what to say. Indigo turned toward me and scrambled across the counter toward where my fingers were wrapped around my coffee cup. Her head cocked one way, and she chirped once. The cat had just apologized to me. I didn’t think that could happen. The failure sitting inside my chest felt a little lighter, but it’d take some time before it vanished completely. "You’re forgiven. Since you weren't at the counter, my assumption was that this was a normal bookshop day. Well, a non-magical bookshop day…” I trailed off, glancing at Indigo. “You know what I mean."

The cat avoided eye contact with me. "I do not like how Harold smells. You probably can't smell it, but I can." I reached out to scratch behind his ears and he reached for the contact with his head.

"How does he smell?" I asked.

Indigo chirped again.

"Yes, little one, like raw meat that's been sitting out too long," answered the cat.

I pulled my fingers away and took a sip of my coffee. "Next time, just give me a heads up that you’re avoiding someone because they smell, and to accept the gems." My gaze turned back to Indigo. "And you, almost giving me a heart attack as you flew around behind him!"

Indigo didn't look bothered at all. Instead, she glanced between the two of us, mouth open, her eyes happy.

"So, who's next on the docket?" I asked.

The cat rolled his eyes. If you’ve never seen a cat roll his eyes, it’s definitely something to see. "Someone you’ve already met."

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The bells on the door jingled before the cat could say more, and in walked Alas. He was a leatherworker who should have a pair of boots that we’d special-ordered. His dark brown hair was perfectly in place, and he had on worn jeans with a linen shirt. Somehow he appeared like a model. Inside, I swooned.

"Welcome back, Alas," I said. "Coffee?"

"Yes, please," he said walking up to the counter with a smile. He paused, his eyes landing on Indigo. "Now, that isn't a cat." The cat just glared at him. "That's a Book Dragon."

Indigo chirped twice at him.

I pulled out a teacup from beneath the counter and got started on pulling shots of espresso. Maybe now we'd get some information on who Indigo really was.

"Where did you find her?" he asked, keeping his distance.

"She just showed up one day. We're trying to figure out where her home is." I set the teacup near Alas. "Any ideas?"

"I mean…" he hesitated, running his fingers through his deep brown hair. "Well, I know someone I can ask to stop by, but they're a little intense." Alas leaned closer to Indigo. "She's just so small. Are you reading enough to her?"

"Reading to her? I read to her last night. A long book, and we had to finish it before she'd go to sleep."

Immediately, he shook his head. "No, you need to be reading plenty of books to her. The more the better, but you might want to stick to books for a younger crowd. Maybe a little shorter than whatever you started with last night. Book Dragons need stories, just like they need food. They crave knowledge, so toss in some fiction as well, maybe some how-to books or histories of various worlds." He stopped to take a sip of his espresso. "This is the stuff." Then he drained the cup.

He pulled a bag out of nowhere and set it on the counter, opening it. Carefully, he pulled out a set of boots, leather calf-highs. They looked amazing and immediately I was jealous. It didn't matter that I wore socks while in the shop, those boots called to me. "All they need is the cat to do his thing and they’re good to go."

"Does this mean we get to do magic today?" I asked the cat. It'd been a while since he’d done magic in front of me, but I knew he could do it.

"A little." The cat moved closer to the boots and sniffed. "Tell him the boots look good. Then go grab a box from the storeroom."

"He likes the boots, the best pair he's ever seen," I said with a grin.

Alas laughed, and it spilled over the shop like a warm blanket.

I blinked a few times before heading to the door off of the hallway. When I opened the storeroom door, a box sat on the shelf just inside. It was a fancy box that almost felt like satin, with Meow scrawled across the top in gold script that glowed in the light. Now this was a gift box. I brought it back to the counter and set it down, careful to not hit Indigo who was staring at Alas.

"Well, I'm going to get out of your hair," said Alas. His gaze landed on me and flickered briefly to the Book Dragon. "Be careful, lass, your life is starting to turn into an adventure, and adventures can be dangerous." His brown eyes reflected worry, but it vanished as he turned and headed out the door, leaving the boots on the counter.

"He's a strange man," I whispered to myself. I picked up one of the boots and twisted it, getting a good look at the soft brown leather. "These are definitely boots for an adventure. So how do we do this magic?"

"There is no ‘this’ with this magic," said the cat, moving closer to the boot still on the counter. "Alas put his charms on it, and now all I need to do is hide the compartments."

At least I could watch.

"Set the boots on the counter side-by-side."

I did as the cat directed and stepped back. Indigo moved closer to me and I held my hand out so she could climb on. She made her way up to my shoulder, cuddling in close under my ear.

The cat approached the boots from the top down and touched the first one with his nose. Bright golden light spilled from him like warm honey. It flowed over the boot, covering the brown leather and making it look like it was lit from within. The light cascaded from one boot to the next, then increased. I turned away, my eyes watering from the sight.

Then the light was gone, leaving the boots and cat on the counter.

"That was it?" I asked in disbelief.

"That was it."

All of that build up for magic, and it appeared as a bright light before vanishing. "What did you even do?"

"I placed an enchantment on them, a glamor. No one will be able to find the secret compartments except for the one wearing the boots."

"But what if someone steals them?"

The cat shrugged. "There’s always a catch with a glamor." His tail flickered to the box. "You can put them inside now, they shouldn't be hot anymore."

I rolled my eyes and picked up the box, opening it. Tissue paper sat inside and I tucked each boot in, wrapping the tissue paper around them. "Do you know when Carter is going to show up for them?"

The bells on the front door jingled.