To my surprise, after lunch the bell on the front door rang as I searched for gifts for the dragons from me. Professor Eiva crept in, her nose twitching as if she was searching for something.
“It’s just us,” I said with a smile. “Indigo is off on an adventure with Lady Twilight and Lord Bennett.”
Her ears turned a few times before she confidently stepped inside.
“Good to know.” Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵
“Welcome to the shop. I didn’t realize that you’d be here today. I thought I had another couple of days,” I said while shutting my laptop, and stepped around the counter.
“For some reason, something told me to try to stop by today to see how you were doing with your practice.”
The bookcases against the far wall shifted, vanishing from sight to be replaced with the fake fireplace, and the couch and arm chairs.
She stared at it while it happened, mumbling under her breath. “That’s Fey magic.”
“Betty does it,” I explained as I walked over to the couch.
She quickly followed, noticing the boots I wore. “You also have magical boots.”
“Working here has its perks.” The boots were one of my prized possessions, which also included the necklace and bracelet. I didn’t add that the perks included laundry, student loan repayment, and learning life-changing magic.
“I can feel the difference in your sensitivity,” she said, as she sat across from me. “You’ve found the way to access your magic. Can you show me?”
I nodded, then closed my eyes. Within seconds, I reached the warm sun, sitting inside my chest.
I opened my eyes, smiling.
“Can you do it without closing your eyes?” she asked with a half smile.
I opened my lips but snapped them shut to try it. It felt like starting at the beginning again. I fought against closing my eyes, and eventually touched the edges of my magic after several moments.
“I’ll need to practice that…”
“That, along with pulling on your magic.” She chuckled. Then she did something.
A feeling of heat came from her center and bobbed around her ears.
“What was that?” I asked, staring at her ears.
The feeling went away immediately. “You felt that?”
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“You mean the warm magic in your ears? Yeah…” I leaned forward, wondering what she had been doing. The haze of magic around her then had reminded me of Whisperleaf touching the books, but more concentrated. was active, while that had been passive. “I’ve kept track of the instances of magic in my life as well.”
My journal appeared on the table next to the couch and I held it out to her. “I’ve detailed everything in here.”
Her paws carefully took the journal with a bow. “I will keep this secret with my life.”
Bright white warmth crossed the room, touching me, the journal, and the Professor. It took a second, if that, but it happened.
The Professor jerked. “You felt the oath?” Her eyes glittered as she quickly flipped open the journal and started at the beginning. Pages turned faster than anything I’d seen before, and then she handed it back.
“Magical sensitivity has increased, along with moments of fate sense.” She caught my concern. “Those are moments that the fates express.”
“The fates…” I whispered, thinking about the Cat.
“I don’t see any more mentions of stone magic, though,” she motioned to the bracelet.
“I’ve only been working on meditating. Can you explain stone magic a little bit more?”
“Of course. Like I explained last time, Dragons and Fey have their own magics, similar to the Fates. Stone magic is a way to funnel magic of any form, including the magic that is around all life. Different stones can cause different reactions. I will need to find some books on it to give you to…” Her voice faded as a pile of books rose from the table beside her.
She quickly sorted the stack. “This one for sure… This one is outdated… Not this one.”
By the time she finished, four books stood in the yes pile, while the other ten or so were in the no pile.
“Your Betty is pretty amazing,” she said carefully.
“She’s not my Betty. Though, she’s family, just like the Cat.”
“Yeah, the black Cat from the counter the other day.” I tried to figure out how to back peddle.
“I think I remember seeing a Cat…” A weird expression crossed over her face, and she blinked a few times. Her ears twitched, and magic gathered around them before vanishing. “What were we… Ah, yes, stone magic.”
A hand went to the side of her head, and she rubbed the area under one ear.
“Are you okay?” I asked, wondering why talking about the Cat affected her so.
“I think I need to cut our lesson short.” She stood up and pointed to the books. “Study the books on stone magic, and practice accessing your magic without mediating, but keep up your meditation, too.”
“I will.” I stood up and reached out to help steady her, but she jerked back.
“‘Till next time,” she said before rushing out the door.
“Well, I messed that up.”
“Just a little,” said the Cat, drawing my attention up. He stood on the balcony, watching from between the railing. “You can’t talk about me with her. She got hit with memory magic.”
“Yes, just be careful in the future.”
I nodded and grabbed my journal to document my lesson, and the use of magic. No point in stopping recording my observations. Hopefully, they’d help in the future.
“Maybe I’ll make some cookies to take upstairs, to help me study.”
A plate of peanut butter cookies appeared on the table, making me laugh.
“Thank you, Betty. You are so amazing!”
I wondered at the shop's most recent antics. It responded to Sable instantly, even things she thought about, or ways to make her life easier than ever before. However, I wondered how Professor Eiva was so wrong about the fate magic. She hadn’t realized it came from the shop, not Sable.
It couldn’t be coming from her. Sable wasn’t a fate worker.