Chương 10: Episode Two Hundred and Fifty-Four: Books Always Win

Fear. True fear had come off the Cat from the shift through space with Betty. The smile slid off my face as I leaned against the banister.

"You did good," I said to Betty.

"First steps are always hard." An image of the battery flashed before me, and I nodded.

"Saving energy is important, but maybe next time we can use a bit more to keep it smoother. We just need to get you more before we try." The door rattled as someone passed by.

"Wait, right now?" I said, jerking upright, then rushing down the stairs. My foot slipped out from under me, but the floor rose to meet me as I spun, continuing behind the front counter. The tablet from the register appeared in its normal place. My notebook sat on the counter next to it. The bells rang just as I stepped in front of the area. A cloaked figure stepped inside, with nice boots.

"Welcome to the shop," I said, trying to sound prepared. My voice trailed off as they took off their hood. Gorgeous red hair spilled down, and bright blue eyes stared at me for a second. Somehow, I couldn't look away.

"You are new…" she said in a low voice. Sharp teeth filled her mouth and jolted me back to normal.

"I don't think I'm that new, but I am the Shopkeeper. How can I help you?" I asked with a smile. She hesitated, then continued in, pulling a leather bag off her back and flipping the top open.

"I have several items I've collected that you might be interested in."

"Let's see what you have." The bag jangled as she set it on the counter and began to set items on the wooden top in a grid-like pattern. First was a giant crystal with green streaks through the entire thing. Then, a dusty wooden mallet. The third was a small orange stone figure. Those was just the beginning. Bit by bit, the entire counter filled up until she pulled the bag off for more space.

"What do you think?" she asked, setting an ivory comb near the register. I triggered my magic, using the least amount of oomph as I could. I didn't have much, since with the Cat's exit, the pull on my core had come back. The golden wave barely covered the counter before vanishing. Several items, including the first three, were covered in gold, but before I could say anything, the floor under my feet trembled.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, recovering as quickly as I could. Not to mention, I had to figure out what Betty wanted, besides the items that glittered for me. I didn't recognize any of them from the list, so this situation had to be something completely separate. If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"I'm looking for a blood flower," she said, biting one of her lips.

"Plus a wander around the bookshelves." My fingers itched with the want to use my magic and see what connected to her from the shop, but I resisted for the moment. Instead, I nodded.

"I can see what I have in the back, feel free to look at the books." For once, I stepped to the storage room without someone else at the counter. The empty spot where the Cat usually sat felt heavy. Not to mention, he wasn't here to help me. I was on my own, with a customer, truly alone for the first time. The storage room swung open as I approached, but the shelves barely held anything. I froze for a moment, my gaze searching through the now much smaller room.

The mass of boxes that the room had barely contained were just gone. Instead, only a couple of shelves had boxes. One included vases of cut flowers. The blood red rose sat in the center, and I picked the vase up carefully. By the time I arrived back at the front counter, a stack of books already sat next to the register, and the red-haired customer was carrying a second armful as well. Her head snapped around at the sight of the flower, but then her head twisted back to the books in her arms.

She slowly approached the counter, almost crestfallen.

"I found some books…" her voice trailed off as she stared at the flower.

"I didn't think you'd actually have one…" I set the vase on the counter, and glanced at the tablet.

"We only have one," I said carefully, getting a read on the situation. She swallowed hard.

"How much?" The tablet made me press my lips together for a second.

"Everything for the flower." She let out a sigh, and set the second stack of books down. Her bright blue eyes went from the flower to the books and back to the flower. Yet, at the last second, they wandered back to the books.

"What about the books?" she asked softly. The tablet didn't change.

"You can have both stacks for the items."

"Done." She set the first stack into her leather backpack, followed by the second.

"I can find more stuff for the flower," she muttered under her breath, then nodded at me.

"I'll be back." Then, she fled out the door, the bell ringing in her wake and leaving all of the items on the counter. I blinked for a second, then hurried around the counter to go look at the shelves. The romance shelf had been emptied. Completely emptied. I chuckled to myself as I headed back to the counter. Everything but the first three items and the ivory comb were gone. The charm on my bracelet glowed softly, and I raised it to get a better look. The amount of energy had more than doubled.

We were back to just above ten percent, which wasn't much, but was something.

"Romance books for magical items," I muttered, wondering about how many beings out there just loved books. My eyes widened as my clipboard appeared. I added the redhead with blue eyes to the potential list of book club participants.

"Next time, I need to ask," I said to myself.

"At least our first one went well." Now, we just needed to repeat a bit more, after I ordered more books. Yet, as I stepped back, books appeared on the shelves. The ones that I had unpacked several weeks ago. Normal paperbacks that were completely unmagical.

"Did you save all the books?" I asked quietly. The wall behind the bookshelves suddenly became transparent. Books completely filled the area. No shelves, just books stacked one on top of another in the smallest amount of space possible.

"You saved all of them…" Warmth pulsed under my feet, confirming what I already knew. Of course Betty had saved the books. I cared about them, so she saved them. At least, that's what I told myself, not that they weren't magical so there was no reason to eat them. Hopefully, she didn't find normal books tasty. A purple blur shot out from Indigo's hideyhole, heading my way.