Episode One Hundred and Nine: Magical Mishaps

The steamer quickly turned off, and thankfully it didn’t get anywhere close to my skin. I’d burned myself in the past with the steamer wand, and this was a lucky break.

“Thanks, Betty,” I mumbled under my breath as I set the metal pitcher on the counter. 

Hot milk dribbled down the sides of the metal container and I cringed. It sunk down, vanishing from sight, and I forced myself to turn to look at Betty. The damage wasn’t bad-bad, just kinda bad. The steamer wand was bent in the wrong direction, and the tip was flatted where I’d pinched it.

It hurt just looking at it.

My fingers tingled, and I felt slightly sick to my stomach. The lovely breakfast now felt like a brick in my stomach.

“Sable, are you ready?” asked the Cat.

“What?” I glanced over at him to find him staring at the front door and the shadow within the doorframe. “Shoot!”

The door swung open as they raised their hand toward the doorknob. In walked a tall woman with an undercut. with chin length hair down the center. Her skin flickered. One moment it appeared like normal, brownish skin, but then it sparked and became a deep blue with bright white cracks trailing down it.

She paused and glanced down at herself and the flickering. “Ah, guess a magical shop wouldn’t like glamours.”

“They tend to not work in here,” I confirmed, even though I knew that wasn’t always true. “Welcome to the shop. How can I help you?”

My eyes stayed focused on her as she headed for the front counter. Yet, she paused almost mid-step as Indigo leaped into the air. Her bright blue eyes landed on the little dragon and she watched her circle overhead.

“Hey little one, I bet you can smell my magic…”

Indigo chirped twice and added more. “She smells like power and storms!”

“Is she friendly?” asked the woman.

“Yes, generally, but she has a mind of her own.”

“Most dragons do…” The woman held up a hand toward Indigo. “I’m Kyra, little one. I mean no harm.”

I snuck a glance at the espresso maker and found it gone. Completely gone from the counter. I resisted asking the Cat about it, and instead focused on Kyra.

“So, what brings you in?”

“I need to feed my sword,” replied Kyra.

Indigo swooped down and landed on her shoulder. 

The cracks in Kyra’s skin glowed for a moment near where Indigo landed.

“Her magic tickles, like the sky,” added Indigo.

Kyra didn’t respond to the dragon. “You are so pretty, little one. I bet you love to soar with the dust devils in the canyons.”

“What does your sword eat?” I asked, interrupting the moment. I found myself slightly jealous, and tried to ignore it. This was only momentary, it wasn’t like Indigo would be going anywhere.

“Probably metal of some kind, along with gems,” said the Cat, his eyes narrowed at Kyra. “What is so important about her?”

“I need silver shavings and amethyst dust, along with lightning glass.” She stepped closer to the counter, though her eyes remained on the dragon, who kept sniffing her. “Do you want to see my sword?”

Before anyone could respond, she pulled the sword off her back. I hadn’t even noticed it, or the leather armor that covered her like a crop top. The glowing skin had distracted me, plus how she acted with Indigo.

She laid the sword on the counter.

“Dragons also like it.”

Indigo climbed down her arm, and sniffed at the sword as she made her way to the counter. 

“Old magic,” whispered Indigo in the softest voice I’d ever heard from her.

I blinked twice as golden light formed, then crept along the edges. It then stretched from the sword to Kyra herself.

“Ancient magic,” added the Cat, snapping me out of the zone. The golden light vanished.

The sword and Kyra herself were important, especially if the amount of golden light increased with a higher need.

“We should have all of that in the storeroom,” said the Cat as he nudged me with his nose.

“Let me go get some.” I spun and quickly headed to the door that led to the storeroom. 

Inside, the massive shelves and bins were full. Yet, in the center of the room a wooden table held a box that already appeared open. Four bags of various colors sat next to it.

I picked one up to see the tag. “Silver shavings… amethyst dust, and lightning glass. Plus, crystalized Zephyr’s breath…” That bag was the lightest, and I felt the pulse of magic inside. It overshadowed the hum from the amethyst bag.

I slowly brought all four out to the front of the shop. 

“I found something else that you might want as well.”

“Put that back in the storage room,” growled the Cat, as I placed the bags on the counter. “That is dangerous material.”

Yet, the sword started glowing a bright purple color as soon as the bags hit the counter.

“That’s new,” whispered Kyra as she leaned forward. She lightly touched the blade of the sword. “You doing okay?”

It took a moment before I realized she had asked the sword, and not me.

Indigo moved closer to the blade, her snout almost touching it.

“You should have put that away,” whispered the Cat.

I ignored him. Everything else felt like it had been the correct thing to do. Even Betty thought so, since she’d pulled it out of storage all ready to go.

“Okay, I want whatever is in that fourth bag. He said he needs it to not fade.” Kyra glanced up at me. “What does it cost?”

“Not sure, give me a moment…”

The Cat wouldn’t look at me and focused on the bag instead.

I stepped over to the register, and my mouth dropped. “Uh… Cat?”

He glanced up at me and away.

“Can you please check what this is asking for?” This time I let the concern fill my voice.

The Cat padded in my direction and he put his paws on the edge of the register peering at the screen.

“I told you it was dangerous. That price tag is what I expected.”

“That’s just strange.”

“I mean, a plant gave you its heart in a pot and you didn’t seem to care.”

My mouth opened then closed.

“I need some of your hair…”