It took me a minute to accept the fact that the cat was talking. And it was talking in Smokewell's voice. In fact, in the cat's own words, she was Alana Smokewell herself.

"Yes, it is me!" the cat snapped again.

"Why are you a cat?" I asked.

"I'm not a cat."

"Do you want me to get a mirror so she can see?" Asmod said.

That's when the black cat rolled her eyes and hopped off the table. She climbed up onto the kitchen windowsill, bathing herself in the blue moonlight. Then she licked a paw and rubbed it over her head.

Two horns sprouted out of her feline skull--they were curved and yellow and striped with black. Her tail turned silver and serrated like a knife and a white patch formed on her stomach. It was a five pointed star with a chain at the centre.

The creature regarded us with a deadpan stare. "Do I look like a cat now?"

"Yes," we all said in a unison.

"You look like a cat with horns and a fancy tail," Lily said.

"I'm a cat-sìth. Not a cat!" Smokewell hissed.

"What's that?" Lily said.

"A creature capable of stealing souls," Asmod said.

Smokewell gave a small grin. "So you know."

The bald man nodded. "My grandma used to tell us many stories of cat-sìths. According to one of the stories they were witches who would turn into cats to disguise themselves."

Lily gasped. "I've heard of that story too!" She turned back to the cat. "Why don't you turn back to your human form now, Madam?"

The black cat sighed. "I can't." She hopped off the window sill and slowly walked down to the living room. The three of us followed. "The only truth in your tales is that a witch could turn herself into a cat. That's it. I can’t turn back into a human."

"Then why did you permanently turn yourself into a cat?" I said.

"Hmm," the cat dug into Lily's travel pack. From one of the pouches she pulled out a shiny white thing. It was her ivory tobacco pipe. "Can I get a light, Asmod?" she said.

Asmod obliged and lit the tobacco in her pipe.

"Thank you," the cat nodded and took a huff and blew some smoke. "Why did I do it, you ask? It's the same reason that I stated in my letter. I'm tired." She shifted to hold the pipe with her tail and rested down on all four paws.

"Tired of...being a human?" I asked, scratching my chin.

"No, tired of being a witch," Smokewell said as she took another huff of her pipe.

There was another loud gasp from Lily. "Why?! How could you be tired of being a witch?! You are THE Alana Smokewell!"

The cat waited patiently for the apprentice to simmer down. Then she took another leisurely drag of her pipe. "First things first, I'm tired of holding the status of a witch. Not its practices. I'm tired of the infamy it comes with. Not its spirit. I'm also tired of always being on the run from the Inquisition. And finally, I’m tired of being broke! The business is as dead as my old human form! And we are the last witches in the country of Ravenwind."

Asmod frowned. "That can't be true."

"It is!" the cat snapped. "The last time I was called to cleanse an accursed land was four months ago. Lily wasn't able to sell more than three potion bottles in the last seven weeks. Elsa found no one who wanted something divined or wanted their fortune to be told."

I paused and snuck a hand into my pocket, feeling for my purse. I couldn't feel much solid metal within. Yep, it seemed like we were pretty broke.

Lily was pouting next to me. "That I can agree with. We've certainly earned a lot less than we used to last year."

"Witchcraft is not lucrative anymore." Smokewell waved a paw dismissively. "It's about time we came to terms with that fact."

Asmod sighed. "Yes, many independent magic users haven't been living as high as they used to a decade ago."

Smokewell scoffed. "You can thank the Steam elemental for that. It is the one that is letting the non-users make those carriages that take you from point A to B in minutes. Some of them can even fly fifty people at once!" Her bright red eyes went wide and she clicked her tongue in disgust. "People don't find the dark existences all that terrifying now that they are capable of feats like these. They aren't afraid of ghosts and curses and spirits anymore which is making those forces weaker. Which means we don't get called to solve those problems anymore."

"And we don't get to make much money anymore." Lily sighed.

"So, now what?" I spread my hands in front of me. "We just quit and...farm potatoes or something?"

"You'll need land for that," Asmod said.

"And not to mention we are on the Inquisition's priority burn list because apparently we were spreading fear among the masses to fill our pockets." Lily rolled her eyes.

"They aren't wrong." Smokewell took another deep drag from her pipe. "It's just unfortunate that we can't do that anymore."

"You still haven't answered my question," I said. "What are we supposed to do now? We can't keep living in Asmod's shop forever."

The cat blew a cloud of smoke and looked at me with a glint in her eyes. "Bring me more sìth bread and lemme show you something interesting."

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Lily did as she was told. Smokewell knocked the tobacco out of her pipe and filled it with the crumbs of the sìth bread. "Give me a light, Asmod," she said.

Asmod lit the pipe for her again. She closed her eyes and took a deep drag. Then she opened her eyes. They weren't red anymore but glowing yellow. The irises and pupils were gone. It was nothing but sockets filled with yellow light.

The cat swayed from side to side as her whiskers twitched a little. She walked up to the small fireplace by the opposite wall and hopped upon the mantle. She pulled out a feathered quill that was resting by an ink bottle. Next she grabbed a coin from the bowl on a side table in the living room. Then she reached for a porcelain urn on top of a closet.

“Those are my mother's ashes!” Asmod rushed and retrieved the urn before the cat could drop and shatter it.

The cat's eyes finally turned back to her normal red. She blew the smoke out of her mouth. “Those are the omens for our future,” she said.

“Omens?” I said.

The cat lay the objects on the floor at the centre of the room. “The quill, the coin and Mommy Asmod's precious urn all indicate to things that are going to to happen in future,” Smokewell said.

“So when you smoke the sìth bread you can…see the future?” I asked.

“Not see it with my own eyes. But I can see things that can help us piece together the future.” She swept her paw over the items laid out in front of her. “These things are like sign boards on a road showing us the way. But we have to decode the directions written down on them if we don't want to get lost.”

“I’ll just make a guess and say the coin represents money that we are going to make in the future,” Lily said.

“What about the quill then?” Asmod said, picking it up.

“Something to do with writing something, I think?” Lily shrugged.

“Like signing a contract?” I said. All eyes turned to me. My own eyes narrowed down on the quill Asmod was holding. “The quill has a feather. We signed a contract with Malcolms. They had feathers on their wings too.”

“So they'll call you up to do a job according to your contract,” Asmod said, frowning. “And there will be money in it, I believe.”

“I don't like this,” Lily said.

“Why not?” Smokewell asked.

“Because after the quill and coin, you pointed at the urn. There's no doubt that it means death,” she said.

“It can also be someone else's death,” Asmod said.

Lily knit her eyebrows and crossed her arms. “I, personally, don't want to be involved with any kind of death. Even if it is a stranger's death.”

“It doesn't necessarily have to be death.” Smokewell patted her chin with her paw. “The urn might also symbolise burning something. Or preserving something. These items just point a way towards the future. The future hasn't happened yet. The meaning of these omens can change with time.”

Everyone remained quiet for a long time. And before anyone could say anything, there was a knock at the door.

"Girls, keep your gear ready," the cat said, “I forgot to mention that another omen was a door.”

Lily and I exchanged glances.

"Don't be scared," Smokewell said. "Just go and get your gear. Asmod, you should answer the door."

Lily and I dug into our packs. Instincts controlled my movements. I pulled out a thick leather tome with a pentacle on front. Then I grabbed my knife and my broom. Lily pulled out her deck of cards along with her box of potions.

When we went to the door, it was the muscular guard, Josie, from the Malcolm mansion."Bosses have summoned you. It's time for you to do your job," she said.

****

Asmod rode with us in the Malcom's steam carriage. Smokewell sat on the seat opposite to the three of us. "Okay, kids be careful about what's going to happen next. I hope none of you are too scared?"

"Should we be?" Lily asked.

"No, it really won't help much," Smokewell said.

"Is there anything else that those omens could tell?" I said. "What are they gonna make us do?"

“I'm not sure. The only omen that we haven’t deciphered is the urn. Maybe Lily was right. The job might involve death.” The cat shrugged.

Lily shivered and winced. “What if the omen isn't indicating towards death but preservation of something like you said? Maybe the Malcolms want us to pickle something? What if you misinterpreted a pickle jar for Mommy Asmod's urn.”

The cat wasn't amused. “Lilian, I'm a cat, not just any cat but a cat sìth. You know what that means?”

“What does it mean?” Lily asked.

“It means I'm smarter than you and know better than you. The sìth bread's smoke guided me towards the urn. If it wanted to guide me towards a pickle jar, I would've said the next omen was a pickle jar. Not an urn.” The cat licked her paw and wiped her forehead again. "Remember, what I’ve taught you, girls. What have I taught you?” She looked between Lily and I.

“A witch’s real weapon is clear thinking,” Lily recited studiously.

The cat nodded in approval. “Precisely, and besides that, be careful with the Malcolms. They might have the wings of an angel but there's a reason why they are here in the mortal realm."

"You know the reason?" Lily asked, curious as the rest of us.

"Their story isn't the most unique one." Smokewell waved a paw. "They stole from their boss. Their boss got angry. Either they were kicked down into the mortal world or they fled."

"I wouldn't imagine the Malcolms would want to do something bad to you, though," Asmod said, "You are still new around here."

The carriage soon came to a halt. The doors opened on the pristine front porch. We walked through the tall entrance doors we had just passed through a few hours ago.

"You returned sooner than expected," Anisa said, grinning.

"And we're just as pleased to see you now," Roderick said. Then his eyes happened on the black cat and curiosity flickered in his eyes. "Hello, Alana." He smiled.

"A pleasure, Roderick." The cat bowed her head.

"So formal, it's almost like you are a completely different person now." Roderick grinned widely.

The cat's face remained neutral. "Yes, I don't feel the same at all. Almost as if I grew fur and a tail and became a cat."

Anisa laughed. "We did wonder about the 'cat food' the girls mentioned. This just confirms it then. The girls are indeed your pupil."

"Indeed," Smokewell said.

"I wonder though," Roderick said, "Why a cat?"

"Why not a cat?" Smokewell said.

"I don't think my brother has a good enough counter to that." Anisa nudged Roderick with an elbow.

He kept smiling but the expression only seemed to be made of good nature. "I'm glad you came with the girls this time. You too, Asmod. I'm sure they'll only find your help valuable in their job."

"I'm wondering if I should decline and go home now?" Asmod whispered.

"Too late," I said.

Anisa and Roderick beckoned us to follow them. This time they used their feet instead of wings to move. They led us deeper into the mansion until we were at a storage room in the back.

"So, what is the job you have for us?" Lily said.

"It's fairly simple," Roderick said as he unlocked a small trap door into the ground. "We just want you to fetch something from the basement." He threw the door open.

Lily and I peered into the opening. I stopped breathing for an instance. Beyond the door was a vast forest.