"I don't think we ever asked you about this," I said as we entered the clock tower through the back door. Lily and Smokewell were along with me. "But what makes the sìth bread so special? You started to talk after we fed it to you. It also allows you to see the omens. What even is that thing?"

The cat looked at me, "It's something that we call a 'spiritual primer' in witchcraft. It allows magic users--especially witches--to gaze into certain aspects of the world 'beyond the veil.' It can also be used as a catalyst in rituals." She put a paw on the white mark on her chest. "Before I killed myself, I'd bonded my soul to that of this cat's physical form--which was quite ordinary before she and I bonded. So I had to set certain conditions in order to evolve her into a cat-sìth."

I was certainly intrigued. "Wait, let me guess," I said, "You had to offer your human form in order to let the cat's physical form evolve into a sìth. Right?"

"That's just half of it," the cat said, "The other half consists of me giving up my powers of witchcraft. Or else I wouldn't have evolved into a healthy and properly functioning cat-sith. Nor would I have been able to utilize the abilities this form offers."

"And I guess you didn't have to set any separate conditions in order to retain memories for your human life?" I asked.

"No, I didn't," Smokewell said.

I nodded. Now Elsa's notes on Core and Abyss of a soul made a lot more sense. It was just the core of Smokewell's soul that had been transferred into the cat's body. A part of her still remained in her human corpse. In the same way, I felt like some parts of old Elsa were still in me. One example was her memories other than her body, of course.

"Wait, I've read about this." Lily leaned forward, "That world beyond the veil--you can actually look at it?"

"Only a part of it," Smokewell said, "Anyone who learns the true nature of the world beyond the veil will either find enlightenment or get his soul paralyzed for eternity."

I rubbed my chin. Was that paralysis the 'purgatory' that Elsa's notes had mentioned?

"What is it like?" Lily asked excitedly, "I want to know what it looks like beyond the veil!"

The cat paused and looked up at the spiraling staircase as we kept climbing. "It's like being able to see the bones of a person through their skin while they were making their way towards you. It's uncanny and absurd and yet...oddly beautiful." She let out a sigh. "But even I look beyond the veil only to a very small extent. I don't want to go insane by knowing exactly everything that happens in the future."

"How would it turn you insane?" I asked.

"This is just something that other more learned witches had speculated--but if you make yourself see the true unfiltered world beyond the veil in full clarity--it will bombard you with all the information of the future, make you aware of everyone's thoughts, show you the length, breadth and depth of mortal and the immortal realm and it will do it over and over and over." The cat looked at us and cocked her head, "What do you think that will do to our tiny mortal brains?"

Lily and I remained silent. Then Lily said, "Now the world beyond the veil sounds scary."

"Because it is," Smokewell said, "You either have to need something very desperately or be ready to give up something precious to peer into that part of reality."

I just nodded and remained quiet. Smokewell kept talking, "But to answer your question more clearly. Eating the sìth bread was part of the bonding ritual that I had set up with this cat. It completed when you fed me the bread. It affixed my soul into this cat's physical form and it allows me to use my powers."

Lily raised an eyebrow, "Wait, you mean you'll have to keep consuming the bread to use your abilities?" she said.

"For some abilities, yes." The cat nodded. "More specifically the abilities that involve peering into the world beyond the veil. I don't need it for my other abilities."

"Abilities like stealing souls?" I said.

"Yes." Smokewell pulled out her ivory pipe. She held it up so we could see the ivory well of it. For a moment, its surface turned translucent and blue smoke was swirling within it.

"Wow..." Lily said.

"Those are the souls of the people that Elsa's servant in heaven stomped down on," Smokewell said.

"What?!" I gawked. "Why did you take them with you?"

"They can come in handy later." The cat shrugged and made the ivory pipe disappear.

Loud rumbling sounds of grinding gears echoed through the tower. We were close to the main machine of the clock.

"I would advise everyone to be on your guard," Asmod said as he led us further. "Since one of the omens was a knife."

"That's all fine and good but where are we really headed?" Lily asked as we climbed higher and higher up the steps. "And what are we even looking for?"

"For the next clue," Smokewell said, "Since Elsa pointed out the cuckoo clock might be signifying an actual clock."

"Don't make me second guess it by saying it like that," I said.

While Lily, Smokewell and I were trailing behind Asmod, he had reached the top of the stairs and disappeared around the corner. Then we heard him shout, "Hey, what are you doing? Get down from there!"

The rest of us rushed up the stairs to find him by the white panels on the on the opposite wall. One of the panels had been opened and a woman stood facing out at the city down below.

"You want to fall off or something?" Asmod said as he grabbed onto her wrist and tried to yank her back into safety.

"That's what I'm trying to do. Let go of me, little man!" The woman struggled to free herself from Asmod's grip.

Lily gasped and rushed towards the two of them. She grabbed onto the woman by the back of her neck and hauled her off the edge of the tower with surprising ease. She tossed the woman in our direction. Smokewell and I jumped out of the way and the lady went rolling down the first flight of stairs.

Asmod gaped at Lily. "What was that, Lilian?!"

"That woman would've fallen to her death if I hadn't interfered," Lily said triumphantly.

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"Yeah I think your throw has probably rattled her brains inside her skull," Smokewell said and walked over to the woman, who was groaning and whimpering in pain. "Hey, can you understand what I'm saying?"

The lady just stared at the cat, flabbergasted.

I made my way up to Smokewell and lifted her off the ground. "What are you doing? You are going to blow our covers!"

"What covers?!" Smokewell cocked her head.

I rolled my eyes. "You are a cat. And cats aren't supposed to--"

"That cat is talking!" the lady pointed at Smokewell. "I saw her talk!"

"No, you didn't. You just have an injured brain from the fall and you're going crazy," Smokewell said before I could.

I gave the cat a hard shake. "You're making it worse! Just give it a rest."

"See? It talked! It talked again." The woman pointed again, looking terrified.

"No, you didn't!" I snapped.

This time the woman didn't respond. She simply pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "This isn't good. It's all my fault," she muttered, shaking her head.

"What are you talking about?" Asmod said as he and Lily slowly approached us.

The woman lifted her head to look at us. Her eyes looked grim with fear and her lower lip quivered.

"I think I might've put a curse on you," she said.

****

She said her name was Lenora Desmond. She was in her mid-thirties, clad in a summer dress, long coat and a pair of sandals. She had dark brown hair and a slightly chubby face that was blotched from crying. "Please, forgive me," she put her head in her hands as she continued to cry after her explanation.

"That's not how curses work," Lily said, offering her handkerchief to the woman. "What you are describing is more of a contagious disease. Not a curse."

"Then why did that cat start speaking after it came here and saw me?" she pointed at Smokewell again.

I held back a groan and the urge to smack Smokewell for speaking in front a non-user. I instead turned to Lenora, "Why do you think you are capable of cursing people?" I asked. "Do you know how uh, your powers in witchcraft awakened?"

Smokewell scoffed and started to say, "That's not how witchcraft wor--"

I held her feline mouth shut.

"So, how did it begin, Lenora?" Asmod said.

The woman shook her head. "The spirit of darkness snuck onto me when I was asleep," she said. "It sucked on my blood and infected me with the powers of witchcraft."

I pursed my lips. "Did you witness this...spirit of darkness do it to you?" I asked.

"I know that it did," Lenora said, "It left its mark on me." She lifted the sleeve of her dress and revealed her upper arm. Two sore looking red dots were present on her skin. To me it looked like some kind of allergic reaction. And from the looks of my companions, they were probably thinking something along the same lines.

"Did you actually end up cursing someone after those marks appeared?" Lily asked.

Lenora nodded hesitantly. "My neighbor...its this old lady who likes to dig up dirt on everyone who lives in the tenement. She had been spreading rumors about me having an affair with another man. I had a fight with my husband over it last night. I came to tears trying to convince him. This morning when I stepped out to pick the morning news paper. I saw her down in the street from the balcony. She was taking her dog out for a walk. I hated her so much in that moment. I kept wishing death upon that hag. I'd never felt that kind of scorn for anyone else. And just a few paces ahead, the woman collapsed on the ground for no reason. Later, the word got around the tenement that she died of an unknown cause. I thought it might've been a coincidence and just came back inside to get ready to go to work. While stepping into the shower, I noticed the marks on my arm." She put her head in her hands again. "Then I knew it. I...I cursed her. I cursed her to death. The spirit of darkness has violated me. I'm a witch..."

I frowned.

Smokewell freed her mouth from my grip and said again, "That's not how curses wor--"

I shut her up again. "So, you came here all heartbroken to..." I prompted.

Lenora nodded. "I wanted to end it all. I don't want my husband to get punished or cursed because of my witchcraft."

Lily looked at the woman uncertainly. "If you are so sure you are a witch, have you tried to get yourself examined by an actual witch? Just to make sure whether you actually possess the power to curse someone?"

Lenora shook her head vigorously. "Of course not. I wouldn't want to go in the vicinity of someone who specializes in casting curses. It might cause more problems than solve anything."

"Lady, you'll just have pay a small amount of steambolts to get your condition checked," Lily said.

Lenora kept shaking her head.

Asmod, Smokewell, Lily and I exchanged looks. "Give us a minute, Lenora," I said and pulled them all aside. The four of us huddled together in a circle.

"I think, it's safe to assume that that lady isn't a witch?" I asked in a low voice.

"I'll bet my ivory pipe that she isn't," Smokewell said.

"Are we really sure?" Asmod said. "She said she wished upon the old lady's death and then the woman actually fell dead in the middle of the road."

"The old woman probably had a stroke," I said. "I'm sure if we ask others who saw her die, they will say that one side of her mouth was drooping downwards. It was just a dark coincidence."

"But what do we do?" Lily said, "She seems fully convinced that she is a witch. She is ready to kill herself to not spread her so-called curses."

"What if we admit that we are magic users and we know that curses don't work that way?" Asmod asked.

"No." I shook my head. "She seems like an idiot. She will either make a lot of noise and report us to the Inquisition. Or she will think that we are lying in order to get something out of her."

"I agree with Elsa," Smokewell said. "Witches don't exactly have a clean reputation to earn a stranger's trust."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised that you didn't suggest just letting her die," I said.

Smokewell scoffed. "Oh trust me, I'd love to. But she is probably the key to our next clue. There's a reason why the omen showed a clock and we find this woman inside a clock."

"And she was about to hop out of the face of that clock!" Lily said in an excited whisper. "Just like a cuckoo in a cuckoo clock. It's all making sense now!"

"Calm down, Lilian," Asmod said and turned to the rest of us. "We still don't know what we should tell her even if we want to find our next clue."

I frowned in thought before an idea popped into my head. I looked at Smokewell. "I think there's a way to get the information out of her." I grinned at her.

The cat looked intrigued. "You really want me to talk to that lady?" she said.

I nodded. And leaned closer. "Now listen carefully. I want you to say something very specific."

The cat nodded back once I told her. Then she moved out of our huddle and strutted over to the woman. "Lenora!" she called in a loud, ominous voice.

The woman looked at the cat, even more shocked. "You're really talking! I really cursed you. I'm so sorry."

"Quiet, you insolent girl!" Smokewell snapped. "You think your lesser mortal form is capable of cursing me?"

Lenora took a hesitant step back. "W-Who are you?" she said.

Smokewell scoffed. "I won't tell you. I'll just show you instead." She licked a paw and rubbed it over her face. Her horns grew out of her feline skull and her tail turned into the silvery hacksaw like blade she had shown the first night when we fed her the bread. Smokewell took another step forward and firmly planted a paw ahead of her. "You didn't curse me. I was the one who granted you my powers," she said.

Lenora's eyes went wide. "You?"

"Yes, it is I, the Spirit of Darkness who sank my teeth into you and gave you a sliver of my powers," she said.

"W-Why me?" Lenora stuttered.

"Don't question me, you insolent girl!" Smokewell snapped. "If you think you can't handle these powers then I'll take them back."

"Yes, please!" The woman nodded quickly.

"Very well then. But before I do that, you'll have to answer my questions first."