《Paper's Cat》


 1 - Giants of a medium size

    Witches, hags, crones, all of them share some common characteristics. Crooked backs with crooked teeth, a crooked nose and all a crooked menace. With their crooked hands and their bubbling pots they boil potions and crochet magic in reclusive dens and burrows.


    There is however a definitive difference between the three. Only one of these has a black cat. Commonly used to represent bad luck, they''re nimble and fiercely intelligent as though an extension of the witch''s own soul and magic.


    In some tales the writers go as far to say that the black cat is a spirit or demon in disguise.


    Still, witches weren''t all old and crooked. They were also young once and beautiful as day like all evil things tend to be. Supposedly anyway. Beauty in such stories is presented in a lustful and sinful light as a temptation for good folk, and lack thereof is shown as a warning. Ever feel like there is just no winning?


    I wouldn''t exactly have described her as beautiful though. She was young and headstrong. Perhaps she was pretty or cute but it takes a hell of a lot to be called beautiful. To be physically beautiful every feature would need to be placed as though with a great plan in mind. That''s just my opinion.


    Life is partially a game of bingo. Being born is like drawing lots in a lottery. Appearances often play the same way. It''s hard to get the dice to land a ten every time you roll it. It''s not impossible, just very very unlikely. After all, it''s a coin flip to decide what features take after which side of the family tree. And a dice roll to determine which family member they inherited their feature from.


    I don''t think I''ve ever met anybody who can be called beautiful. It''s relatively hollow as a compliment as well. Maybe I''m jealous nobody has ever called me beautiful?


    But being cute and pretty is fine enough. Not that I should care all that much about the appearances of a human with me being... well... a cat. It''s the contents of character that should really matter.


    I''m not a cat by choice. It''s a curse. Maybe it''ll wear off. Maybe it needs to be cured. But either way I''m still a cat. I don''t take too much offence by being judged by the glossiness of my fur so long as the judgement comes from someone who knows I am not, deep down, really a cat. Otherwise it makes me quite sad.


    What I really would have liked is to lie on the bed for just another five minutes. It was just so soft and cosy and if I moved just a little further up I''d find the pillow still warm. How could I ever resist such a mirthful resting place?


    She had gotten out of bed in a hurry, not in a good mood. It''s wasn''t her fault the first light of the day through the cracks of the window shutters didn''t wake her up naturally. Most people have an internal clock which wakes them up with a polite yet stern nudge. Her one needed recalibrating to offer rude kicks.


    Failing that, the town itself springs to life in the morning. For example, bakers usually wake before the light of day so they have a nice warm stock of freshly baked bread to greet their patrons heading to work. The same happens in a lot of professions so even before the first light of day there can be, to my own humble pointy ears anyway, a lot of disturbance.


    My own personal theory is that her internal clock did work fine but just like everyone else, she enjoys the guilty pleasure of falling back to sleep for another five minutes. She did it like the rest of us lowly mortals with such consistency it brought into doubt the functionality of her internal clock. Fighting the sheets would be like fighting the pressure of being trapped at the bottom of the ocean. And eventually... the heaviness of her eyes... nudges her gently back to sleep...


    ¡°Ack!¡± My curled up body was yanked away in the direction of the sharp tug. I dug my claws but found myself just further attached to the blanket as it slipped off the side of the bed.


    ¡°Wake up!¡±


    ¡°Nooooo-¡± I wailed pathetically. ¡°Just give 5 more minutesss.¡± Wail was not quite correct. If I talked through this cat mouth of mine I''d make the most awful sounds. I think my voice was a handy illusion made by the curse. At some point in my life, I probably explored how its done but gave up or simply forgot the results.


    She stomped her way around the bed, huffing and puffing, and came to a stop over me. I didn''t need to open my eyes to feel her looming shadow. ¡°If I can''t sleep neither can you.¡± Her own two eyes were alight with righteous anger. ¡°This is a really really important day you know.¡±


    ¡°Yeeess it''s a caturday now we get back to sleep in...¡± I rolled lazily in a half hearted attempt to disentangle myself. I was in a dilemma after all, entangled in this nice soft blanket. Should I attempt to remedy or just make the most of a bad situation?


    ¡°Firstly, no, it''s Thursday.¡± I ''fought'' my way from out under the fabric with some heartbreak and began stretching. ¡°Secondly, guess what?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I replied content that I had indeed guessed what.


    ¡°Today is the day I''m booked to get my licence upgrade.¡± She heaved a heavy sigh and pinches the area between her brows. It was almost as if she was well aware I already knew this. She had a habit of balling her hands into fists whenever she was nervous, or angry. Either way it made her look scary to little old me. Her knuckles weren''t white yet but I didn''t want them painted the red of my blood.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    Of course I already knew what was happening that day. And I knew how serious it was for her. It was nevertheless a rude awakening in the morning and I was feeling a little grouchy. I never got invested in the lives of my carers so all I could do was put on an act and pretend this was also important to me.


    On top of that, there was a level of optimism implied in her words. She had passed the theory ages ago but was now on the practical. Could the provisional licence she already had really count as a licence? Maybe this wasn''t an upgrade but a full-release of version one.


    ¡°Cool good luck have fun.¡± I finished stretching, sat down, and primly began licking the back of my left front paw. I''d seen cats do it before and they always looked unconcerned with the world whilst doing it.


    When you''re a cat you''ll find a certain strong temptation to laze about during the day. You''ll also feel this innate smug superiority although that may just be me. Cats do their hunting at night where it''s generally safer and easier for stealthy predators. They''re small and nimble. They''ve worked hard at become creatures very sensitive to their environment. It does make busy high streets dizzying. I would also rather sleep through the day.


    Hannah stomped the wooden floorboard next to me. The sudden snap made me leap back.


    ¡°Jeez do you mind?!¡±


    ¡°You''re coming with me.¡± She asserted. By the look on her face, the alternative was probably be being donated to a sketchy street meat stand.


    ¡°Yeah I know. I was only joking.¡±


    ¡°No, a joke has a punchline. You were being a jerk. Now get up because we are going now.¡± Jerk? Even I knew nobody said that anymore.


    But really? No breakfast? Fiiiiiiineeee. Nothing spoke jerk to me more than forcing me to skip breakfast.


    Hannah made for the door and I hurried along behind. Being a cat I only had a small window of time to get out of the room thanks to how the door swayed shut on its own. Most of the time the doors of the house were all propped open but my punishment for staying home would always be being locked in this room.


    I never understood the need for punishment. I was hardly an integral part of who she was. Objectively speaking, I was a leech. Not actually being a cat, something she understood, she never touched my soft glossy fur or let me nap anywhere she could accidentally brush up against me. She was getting nothing out of this a typical cat owner would get. I was essentially just her verabl punching bag for when a human wasn''t at hand.


    Being stuck in here would also only be locked in a sense. The door had no lock but it was just near enough impossible for my lazy self to open. Pity me who would get locked up in a room which has a comfy bed to sleep on.


    I followed her out and the door closed behind me. I sadly and quickly mourned the passing of free reign to nap for the day. The time where she wasn''t around was the only time I could sleep on the bed.


    She grabbed her shoulder bag off the dinner table. The flap didn''t close properly thanks to all the scrolls stuffed in there.


    ¡°Make sure you keep up Adam or I''ll leave you behind.¡± That was a warning I took to heart.


    ¡°You''d be hard pressed to lose me in a place so crowded as a city.¡± Thinking of all the stampeding feet and loud chatter that would only intensify as the day rolled on made me shudder.


    Before the curse, the concept of dying in a stampede was alien to me. I could imagine it and come up with a very vague and foggy image of what that might have felt like. With it being such a real fear now that I was this size, I could confidently say I never even came close to the truth of how this fear felt.


    Hannah was well dressed for the occasion. She was prideful of her witch heritage and that had found its way into her choice of outfit.


    Witchery was uncommon. The traditional witch was archaic and behind the curve. Not to mention that anybody with a striking resemblance to that profession would be ostracised by common folk and dismissed by scholars.


    It turned out that turning pesky stalkers into newts and curing people of rickets was a thankless job.


    Magic was continually being developed. The invention of steam engine had opened up entire new fields to study and exploit in industry. It was a golden age for scholars and magic practitioners who could push boundaries.


    Hannah was determined not to fall behind. There was no cauldron in her kitchen with which she would bubble up potions. Perhaps this is much to the dismay of her ancestors.


    She didn''t fly on a broom nor dress in all black. She did have a cloak she could adjust depending on the day and a pointy hat.


    Hannah lived close by the suburbs. It was an idyllic neighbourhood. Wide and open for children to play. One or two mansions could be found here, their brilliant and colourful gardens putting to shame the front lawn of the suburbanite next door. A war of middle class raged there. Hannah''s own accommodation was a flat overlooking the noisy river.


    She had been offered accommodation on campus as a part of her deal but whether it was because of preferring her own company or disliking the campus pet policy, she decided to find her own place to stay. She had struck gold. The landlord was an old lady who showed no end of charity. She sometimes came over for tea, bringing her own biscuits so as not to bite into Hannah''s own budget. This landlord was a saint among a sea of fiends.


    ¡°I''m going to take a shortcut.¡± Hannah declared quite curtly as she turned away from the direction of the quiet suburbs and towards one of the main streets.


    ¡°Understandable, and yet regrettable.¡± I muttered under my breath and kept close behind. Main streets weren''t my thing with all of the rolling carts and horses. Usually we avoided them.


    ¡°Keep up, I won''t be slowing just for you.¡±


    ¡°How kind.¡± I decided to take it as a sign that she had always been secretly looking out for me all the other times we went out on walks.


    When we arrived at a junction to one of the main streets the situation quickly changed. There was a lot of foot traffic and rolling carts.


    Innovation and revolution had not reached the city of Kasper for one reason or another. It was rare to see a street lined with lightboxes, let alone anyone who''d ridden on a steam engine. It is often said that Kasper is a city only in history.


    ¡°Ah right, the harvest festival preparations...¡± We looked to eachother, perturbed. Nobody could really look at this stampede and feel relaxed or casual. To backtrack now would mean to lose time. Hannah just sighed, leant down, and opened her shoulder bag. ¡°Get in.¡±


    Room had to be made between all of the scrolls of course but it would be better than getting trampled on.


    On the one hand a cramped bag swinging back and forth likely to give me motion sickness, on the other hand a chance of being run over by a cart wheel or trampled by a horse.


    I made my decision quickly and me and my ride made good time on our journey.

 2 - Breaking the ice with style

    We were on our way to the Triolo. Built upon a tall meander in the river, the largest structure of the Triolo, the cathedral, dwarfed even the city''s keep. From a single glance I could tell worship was not the only thing its architects had in mind. It''s entrance was eastward facing marked by two tall spires. On it''s western side overlooking the river was an even greater stone tower providing a high vantage point of the surrounding lands..


    The cathedral was the most prominent structure of the site. A site which had been treated like a disowned child nobody wanted to bring up. A ditch to its foundations surrounded the cathedral and its tower. The only entrance had its drawbridge raised, disallowing visitors. Such measures were a relic of a time when it served as a quarantine zone during the Hexan plague.


    After the Hexan plague the local governance washed their hands of the entire site. It was claimed by religious figures to be cursed ground and by historians as the ender of empires. The Hexan plague, the visiting northern duke who died during his visit after the northern gatehouse collapsed on him, the first great harbour fire of Kasper, and to name one more, the east coast famine. In some of these cases, great wars were started. The world heaved a collective sigh of relief when the local authority of Kasper declared it would never EVER use the Triolo for anything ever again.


    And then the world winced as the Capital declared it was going to fund an academic institute geared towards the study of magic and magical phenomena on that very location. Nice move. Dicks.


    Strategically, the Triolo could be considered a significant local and national fortification. A set of exterior walls extended over the wide River Teifi and kept the site neatly contained in one district. A little exploring later and you''d come across rooms and areas which clearly served a military purpose. Armouries, barracks, training grounds, all abandoned. Section had been converted for the use of the academy.


    It controlled access up river and down to the sea. From a strategic point of view it was just a ridiculous idea to leave abandoned. Which would make it all the more frustrating when the next unfortunate ¡°accident¡±/fire/plague/famine occurred.


    Little to no maintenance had been done on the fortifications for years and yet nothing had ever showed signs of collapsing. Wild theories suggest that the Triolo was an example of ancient magical architecture. Scholars for whatever reason say this was as likely as goblin janitors spiriting their way into the site under cover of night and fixing everything.


    I didn''t know much about goblins and wouldn''t claim to. They may be saying the theory is entirely possible. What I am fairly certain of though is that there is a reason why nobody has demolished the cursed structure. Probably because they''ve tried before. More than likely they all died horrible and miserable deaths that sparked a world war, plague, and region spanning famine all at once.


    New texts were being unearthed that made references to this structure from ages past. In extreme cases, it had survived three empires which it had been directly or indirectly tied to the downfall of, and a mythical age of monsters.


    I wasn''t sure what I believed about monsters. Rumours existed that they hid in the extreme environments of the world in isolated places. I, a humble talking cat, was on the fence about the existence of magical creatures. They could well be made up tales to frighten children.


    The long and short of it, nobody had anything nice to say about the Triolo and everyone was fairly certain the capital had deigned it a suitable place for an academic institution out of ignorance or a morbid desire to sow unnatural chaos in the world.


    ¡°It''s so chilly...¡± The shadow of the unmanned stone gatehouse passed overhead. My hairs stood on end but the feeling passed as quickly as it came.


    I would have found it funny to see a hall monitor at the gate making sure students arrived on time and properly dressed. However the faculty were quite lax. It was almost as though they understood they weren''t the greatest academy around and so they shouldn''t act like it.


    Students could join up to three subject courses here at the academy. They were given free reign to join in on any lecture whether relevant or not. There were also homeroom classes mostly attended by new students. As the years went by, strategies had been developed to avoid these ranging from giving excuses like ¡°Sorry I can''t come in, my [insert number here] cousin has died¡± to complex conspiracies to delay teachers a long enough time for the rest of the students to argue the class wasn''t going to be held.


    The more mature the student became the more informal the relationship between them and the academy turned. Presumably at some point the student would be slowly and unknowingly shifted into a teaching position, continuing a cycle that had been practised for centuries. An odd idea considering the academy was only about fifty years old.


    Hannah was too much of a stickler to miss a class, optional or not. She''d crawl through fields of broken glass to not miss anything. It was the sort of enviable determination we all wanted if it wasn''t such a hassle.


    We passed by other students on the campus. There was no standard uniform so I could tell what walk of life they came from by how they were dressed, which in most cases could be vaguely described as ''smart yet casual''.


    The teachers and scholars were at times the worst dressed. Their unkempt hair and dirty glasses gave them an almost harassed mad look to them. Alternatively one or two would be dressed as though they had just wrapped up business advising a king.


    They were the hardest to read. With so much valuable knowledge in one head it was probably no wonder they liked to conjure subtle walls between themselves and world.


    Nobody made any comment on Hannah as she walked through the halls with a cat poking out of her stuffed shoulder bag. I felt like if I didn''t poke my head out for fresh air I''d be sick.


    Motion sickness is a trick of the mind, I tried to tell myself. All you have to do is not believe in it and it''ll go away.


    She knew where she was going and didn''t need to ask directions. She had after all been there twice before. There was a chance the same people would be there to grade her as last time. Although because of how the examiners dressed, it was hard to tell.


    The academy didn''t provide licences. Students were recommended to the right authorities when the time came. In Hannah''s case she had recommended herself and the academy didn''t care enough to say otherwise.


    ¡°Oh Hannah, there you are. You''re right on time!¡± The first person to respond to her arrival was her own personal tutor, Jean Gravefire. She looked her charge up and down and nodded with cheeriness which felt a little too forced. ¡°Are you feeling nervous?¡±


    Hannah waved casually in greeting then shrugged in answer. ¡°Third time''s the charm.¡±


    Jean''s eyes continued searching Hannah up and down before they stopped on her shoulder bag. She stared right past me. Her expression was in stark contrast from the giddy air she about her had just a moment ago. A blip on the persona she''d adopted.


    ¡°That''s the spirit. Winners have to lose, otherwise they wouldn''t be able to spot a win.¡±


    Something about that didn''t sit right in my head. It was a very lousy worded way of saying winners win by learning from their defeats. Which was a thinly veiled way of saying ''you will learn the harsh realities of the world from your imminent defeat'' to Hannah.


    Hannah just laughed awkwardly. ¡°I understand what you said but that could have been put better.¡± It was a sort of double-edged encouragement. The kind that says losing again is okay. She forced a smile.


    For Hannah, that simply must not have been the case. No Armageddon would descend from the skies if she did lose but it was a point of pride. Losing a junior exam for the third time would be inexcusable.


    ¡°Anyway, are you ready?¡± Jean smiled as she rested her hand on the thick wooden door behind her.


    ¡°You don''t have to be there. I''ll be fine on my own you know?¡±


    ¡°Yeah of course. Hand holding is for toddlers after all and you''re not one for starters.¡±


    They were both familiar with each other enough to be casual. Some tutors weren''t like that. Some teachers preferred the professionalism. Usually having a personal tutor was an opportunity to break down that wall of formality.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Jean pushed the door open and Hannah entered after her. Not much later Jean left after wishing Hannah good luck and tolling her that she was free most of her day today in case the two needed to talk afterwards.


    Hannah watched her tutor go and shook her head, exasperated. She knelt down and let me out of her shoulder bag.


    ¡°Much thank.¡± I whispered.


    ¡°She''s sure is two-faced.¡± The barely subdued scowl on her face spoke more for how she felt in that conversation than her fleeting comment.


    I agreed. Jean''s attempts to subtly brace Hannah for failure had come off as snide.


    I, a cursed cat, am arguably two-faced. Ettins, giants with more than one head, are literally two faced. Everyone had a bit of two face in them really. More so I, whose face was not really my own. Of course, being a cat at the moment and not a human, I''m obviously above any criticisms of from other humans. I mean, who would argue with someone as small as little old me?


    Kick their condescending backsides right back at them, I wanted to say. Sadly the window passed as I was lost in musings on my infallibility. It would have cheered Hannah right up.


    Most people assumed I was some sort of familiar or intelligent pet to Hannah here but none knew that I could talk. Me and Hannah both would prefer it to stay that way. Besides, what more could a witch ask for than a magical black cat? If it began talking in public though, that would be a big no no. That might warrant a bonfire.


    Either way, this was an academic institute geared towards the study of magic. The fact that I could talk was a mandate for dissection in the name of science.


    The room we entered was conical and spacious with a tall ceiling. Artwork covered from the floor to the roof. Hannah moved closer to the centre where two figures clad from top to toe in white waited.


    Even their faces were partially covered in white cloth beneath their hoods. It gave them a rather cold and emotionally detached appearance which matched their curt greeting and stares. Hannah and the two examiners went through the motions of acknowledging each other. The exam was about to start in earnest.


    The enigmatic Order of Ice as they were called. They were in charge of proving the qualifications of magic users. More than likely they were the go to authority on matters of magic around the nation.


    One of the examiners stood with a metal tablet which they held close like a clipboard, whilst another stood next to a table with an assortment of different items. Whilst plenty in variety, each item looked mundane and otherwise out of place in a magic exam.


    An egg was lifted off the table by the examiner who then placed it on the floor in the centre of the room. I looked over each item on the table from afar and rated them in term of weirdness. Without context, the presence of the egg scored quite high among its competitors.


    ¡°Move the egg without touching it.¡± The examiner with tablet commanded. I had a vague idea that this examiner might be female but their form and voice were incredibly androgynous.


    The way the examiners seemed to cooperate without a murmur or even a sign of acknowledgement to each other was unsettling. What was even more chilling was their icy blue eyes which glinted as though they were constantly catching the light.


    Rarely would anybody spot members of the Order out in public. They showed up at ceremonies and exams they officiated but beyond that they were mostly absent from public life.


    They looked almost like warrior monks. More than likely they knew how to fight like ones too.


    Move the egg without touching it. I suspected it wasn''t in the spirit of a magic exam to kneel down and blow the egg into rolling. Personally I would consider that fair game. It wouldn''t have been my fault they didn''t specify.


    Hannah paused for a moment before sorting through her bag for her scroll of her choice. She unrolled it and placed it flat against the cold floor. In a swift motion she produced an ink brush in her hand that likely had been concealed up her sleeve knowing her.


    The scroll itself had a diligently drawn pattern of interconnecting black lines. Hannah inked her thumb with her brush and pressed it at the base of the parchment upon the circle which the design stemmed from.


    Quietly she muttered, ¡°Iksum.¡± She pushed her thumb in on the circle in the direction of the egg and the egg rocked and rolled towards the examiners feet under the influence of an abrupt breeze of wind.


    Hannah was quick to take her thumb away from the parchment, shaking her hand with a wince of pain. The ink had evaporated in an instant and the paper was reduced to flakes of blackened ash.


    This wasn''t typical for magic users. Anybody who expected to pass a junior licence would do so without the crutches of practice scrolls. They were named so because they were an outdated way of getting a grasp of using magic. Eventually students should be able to do it innately.


    Hannah however was magically lame. She couldn''t innately use magic no matter how much time she used for practice. It wasn''t that her ability to weave spells wasn''t dextrous enough, the ability simple wasn''t there. Magic was only possible for her using the practice scrolls. They substituted the necessary ability to be able weave spells by being pre-prepared spell patents. And they were home made.


    Turned to a crisp in an effort to make Hannah''s will manifest, these scrolls were woefully inadequate and crude. The entire practice was outdated. Beginners now used boxes called Lighthouses to improve their spell weaving dexterity. They were safer, didn''t burn up, but weren''t appropriate for Hannah since they didn''t manifest any effect on the environment what so ever.


    Without spell dexterity she couldn''t create patents with which to caste spells. Patents were like a mould to shape magic. Anything more complex and she would require spell dexterity. She couldn''t solve her problem by borrowing a patented wand or staff.


    No, this was to be Hannah''s answer. Good or bad, the development of her practice scrolls was what she clung onto as her solution.


    The examiner stared at the egg rolled at her feet dispassionately. The second examiner produced another object from the selection on the table.


    This time he placed down a perfectly cut cube of ice in the centre of the room.


    ¡°Shatter this cube.¡±


    Hannah didn''t move. She simply stared at the block of ice. From behind I couldn''t exactly see what was on her face.


    Shatter the cube. She might have had one or two spells capable of exerting a force stronger than the one she sued to roll the egg, but probably not strong enough for this.


    Her practice scrolls were all plagiarised. She more or less copied existing design and began crudely changing and making new scrolls with whatever parchment and ink she had at home. I knew quite a bit of reading scholarly articles was involved and a lot of frustrated cursing about stingy libraries.


    Pushing things and changing temperature were some of things she could do. That was about the only effects her scrolls had. They were unsophisticated. Something to be expected of the support wheels given to magic users before they invented the Lighthouse. Probably to stop beginners accidentally burning down their house.


    I wondered if the examiners would judge Hannah''s use of these practice scrolls. Were they judging her right now? Did they see through why she needed them? But if a bike only has a front wheel and no back wheels, taking off those learning wheels will mean it''ll go nowhere.


    Hannah needed those scrolls. But nobody will say you''ve learnt how to ride your bike until those extra supports have come off.


    Hannah pinched the back of her hand tightly. Somewhere deep in my gut this echoed as a bad omen.


    She placed down two new scrolls next to the cube. Inking up both her thumbs, then placed them at the base of each paper. Her chest rose and fell as she took a few steady breaths before finally, ¡°Iksum.¡±


    Frost spread like spilt water across the floor from the right scroll. The frost didn''t stop until it covered the ankles of the examiner some feet away. She just glanced down quietly but sensed it wasn''t over yet.


    Hannah gets the worst of it. The tips of her hair looked silvered like she''d just been rolling in snow. The parchment had ironically burnt up leaving only the one beneath her left thumb.


    ¡°I-iksum.¡± This time the parchment had the opposite effect. Even from where I sat in the corner I felt the touch of heat across my cheeks.


    The frost disappeared as fast as it came, leaving nothing but a thin residue of steam rising from the surface of the floor.


    And once again Hannah was worst hit. Breathing heavily, she struggled to stifle her gasps of pain in a vain attempt to keep the appearance of composure. No matter how she tried to hide it though, she was unfit to continue.


    Clink.


    And then the cube collapsed. Not because it had melted, but because the two polar shifts in temperature had both contracted and expanded it too fast for it to keep structural integrity. The internal pressure expanding from its core resulted in several neat cracks through its body.


    The corners of Hannah''s lips drew up weakly. How she could take pride in this result I didn''t know. She didn''t rise from her position. Perhaps she couldn''t.


    The examiner lowered her tablet and began to walk calmly towards Hannah. She pulled from a pouch a small vial and knelt down next to her.


    ¡°Drink.¡± She commanded as she held out the uncorked vial. As I approached I could smell its rancid odour. Hannah shook her head perhaps out of denial at what drinking the vial would represent.


    To accept help would mean she was in need of help. That alone must have meant a fail.


    The exam was over and nobody would call that a display of professional skill. Hannah''s determination however, had been proven as it had time and time again.


    I bounded over to Hannah. The sight of her hands taught with pain and likely some nasty burns up her arms beneath her sleeves made my gut spin more than ever. It must have been painful. Drive like this alienates me from people like her. I''d rather have been anywhere else than have witnessed that stupidity done just to try and pass a junior licence exam.


    ¡°Drink.¡± The examiner commanded again. ¡°You cannot continue in your state. There is a risk of permanent damage. Cooperation is advised lest you wish to be barred from ever practising magic ever again.¡±


    Like a hammer stroke to the head, the mere thought of that punishment sobered her up of the pain and pride.


    Even if Hannah tried to take the vial her fingers probably wouldn''t be able to properly grasp it.


    The examiner held the vial to Hannah''s lips. After the content of the vial were drunk the second examiner placed their hand at the base of Hannah''s neck and incanted a spell.


    The tension in her immediately subsided and her breathing began to normalise. Her hands were still stuck in their position as though they were trying to squeeze the air but Hannah looked like she could now at least wiggle her fingers with considerable pain. She was normally as white as they get without being mistaken for a snowman but her fingers had turned a raw red.


    ¡°We will escort you to the nearest medical facility. Please during your rest reflect on your actions and come up with a plan for a less self-destructive method of overcoming the same obstacle.¡±


    Hannah had an angry fire in her eyes as she bit back her reply. It was going to be a long week. She probably vowed in her head that she''d get them next time.

 3 - In need of a victory to take pride in

    I followed behind the examiners quietly as they moved the limp Hannah. They didn''t seem to pay much attention to me, which made me a little nervous whenever there was a door coming up ahead.


    We travelled out the main building which held most of the lecture halls. Although in reality little time had passed since we came this morning, the corridors were considerably emptier. In contrast, the lecture halls and study rooms hid away students isolated in their own worlds of learning along with their mentors. We turned in the direction to the south side of the Triolo, passing by practice fields where apprentices got into the swing of practicing. Built into the exterior wall there was a two story building which probably at one stage was a barracks but now served as an office complex.


    The difference between students and apprentices here at the academy was subtle. Whilst the academy was indeed geared towards the pursuit of understanding magic, not every subject matter taught spells. It was the difference between theoretical and practical knowledge. Apprentices studied the more practical side, whilst students leant more towards theory or were being educated in more general studies at the academy.


    Hannah was a student. She didn''t have a magic licence, so in my humble opinion, not an official apprentice yet. Apprentices her age were well ahead on paper.


    We approached the office complex and I had just the briefest of time windows to slip in before the door shut. The examiners appeared to be in no particular hurry to close the doors behind them.


    Different people have different door closing techniques, y''know? Some people let it swing shut slowly. That suits me fine. Some people close behind themselves. That sucked but it was normal. Some people slam the door shut behind them and I honestly wouldn''t feel a shred of sympathy for their parents as they mourned the impending closed casket funeral of their child.


    I suppose I was a little worried about Hannah as well. That should have probably been at the forefront of my attention. Still, I''d have been justified in not being all that concerned.


    Here at the academy, to provide immediate care and advice to exhausted staff members and reckless students, there was a Nurse''s office. It wouldn''t have been my first choice. Presumably there was a hospital here in the city better for the treatment of Hannah''s injuries.


    However the Nurse didn''t look in the slightest bit shocked to see Hannah in her condition. He moved quickly, placing Hannah to sleep before working on her arms.


    It was the first time in a while I had seen anything like ''healing magic''. Similar to the examiner who had killed Hannah''s pain, the Nurse collected a diverse number medicines from the glass cabinets against the wall and methodically administered them. Moving his hands, he muttered under his breath.


    I assumed he was muttering incantations. However my cat ears caught several frustrated curses uttered with great ire towards the Order of Ice. The examiners had left presumably after doing their last good deed of the day dumping Hannah off at the office.


    I''d largely been ignored. Or tolerated. A combination of the two likely. Until the Nurse was done, I sat a distance away watching him work. When he finished, I took my place on Hannah''s bedside table. Until he threw me out that is.


    Whereupon I entered the office again slipping through the gap in the door made by another visitor. And then he threw me out. This happened repeatedly until he gave up. My chest swelled with the small victory I could claim today. I won but the Nurse looked like he was about too root through my innards in search of the mythical all-cure. Either that or just to make me stop moving.


    It wasn''t an amazing spot to take a nap or sit and wait. There were curtains drawn through the room to give privacy to everybody in need of rest and we hadn''t got the compartment with the window despite it being empty. This I was stuck looking at rather dull scenery. Everybody knew that spot was the best spot. The bedside table had a tough uncomfortable wooden surface which would have been made more bearable with a nice view of the outside.


    It was definitely the cleanest place in the academy. The contents of the glass cabinets on the opposite wall looked a bit intimidating. As was the Nurse himself quite intimidating. However I was unsure as to whether I''d describe the place as ''clinical''. It just didn''t have the same feeling as a hospital did.


    The rules imposed on me stated I was not allowed to sleep on any bed whilst Hannah was in it. Understandable. She knew I wasn''t really a cat. I could be a creepy middle aged man for all she knew. Some risks just weren''t worth taking.


    I wasn''t a creepy middle aged man by the way. That was just her fears getting the better of her.


    It did make me a little bitter. There weren''t all that many nap spots in view of Hannah now that the curtain had been drawn. Deep down I knew that even if there was an unoccupied bed on the other side, the Nurse''s desire to keep me out of his office was rooted logically in the possibility someone with a severe allergy to cats might pay a visit. I couldn''t just rub myself up against every piece of furniture here.


    Hannah was the only visitor right now. Whilst faculty and students stopped by regularly, none possessed any injuries they''d suffer a rest in the same room as the grumpy Nurse to recover from.


    I couldn''t help but let out a little sigh. What a pain this situation was. People were so troublesome. There was no such thing as a perfect caretaker or home. Hell, I didn''t even have good ones. Hannah stressed me out more than any other person I''d evenr encountered in my years of life.


    When Hannah woke up, she reached immediately for the pot placed next to her. She hurled up the contents of her stomach. It didn''t look pretty. It wasn''t breakfast which came up either. It was the mixture of medicines which the Nurse had used to treat her.


    She struggled to get a firm hold of the pot with her hands. She wobbled sluggishly and had about as much control over her arms as a drunk. She sobered up out of her daze pretty quickly after she began throwing up.


    The Nurse seemed unphased by her reaction. ¡°Had I better stock, it wouldn''t be this bad.¡± His tone, emotionless, betrayed any concern for Hannah which should have come with his occupation. ¡°It''s better out than in. That was still some of the best catalysts I had.¡± He added with a subtle tinge of frustration beneath his words. ¡°I''m heading out for lunch. Don''t disappear. Make sure you throw up everything.¡±


    It was a joyful sight to see the Nurse being the one going out the door for a change. Granted, I couldn''t celebrate that much. He, unlike me, could open that door.


    Still, to be out the door as soon as his patient was conscious was very unprofessional. Surely he should stick around to check for any adverse effects?


    The Nurse paused as though sensing my stare on the back of his head. ¡°One last thing.¡± He turned, casting us with a look from his two dead eyes. ¡°Your cat is a dick.¡± And he left.


    Now that was a victory I could take pride in.


    After a while of throwing up, Hannah regained her composure. What was unsettling, if a little worrying, was her silence. Her eyes were shut as she meditated over this morning.


    ¡°My arms... It''s strange I don''t feel anything.¡± Hannah winced as though under the effects of a headache. I didn''t reply since there was a much larger elephant in the room. One so great it made the tension in the silence ever more palpable as we both continued to ignore it. ¡°I know what you''re thinking.¡± She declared sedately.


    I doubted that. I was almost entirely certain that she was wrong to that regard. For one, someone who could act so calmly and composed after burning their arms with their own magic was not someone who I could sympathise with let alone someone who could empathise with me.


    She had her hands wrapped in blood stained bandages. It was the results of the Nurse''s work. He''d used magic and medication to push the recuperative powers of her body to its limits. Painkillers were probably not optional for that. It looked as though her arms had painfully broken themselves down just to properly rebuild from zero.


    The medication she''d swallowed didn''t seem like medication in a normal sense. The Nurse called them catalysts. If I understood correctly, then it was some component vital to the spells success. Possibly the actual target of the spell rather than the body.


    ¡°Really?¡± I spoke back, uncomfortable with the silence.


    ¡°I know.¡± She asserted. Her chest rose and fell in shallow motions. ¡°You think that was stupid.¡±


    I think that the condition you are in has proven you are stupid, I wanted to retort. It would have been harsh. No less than she deserved. Her poor life decisions were difficult to watch. I didn''t have to put myself through watching them.


    One couldn''t control the circumstances of their birth but they were still accountable for their actions. I mean seriously, is magic really that worth it? She''s got all four of her limbs. She could try any number of different professions.


    She''d been given a worse lot in life than quite a few other people. I wouldn''t dispute that. She''d been told something along the lines of ''do not hit your head against a rock. Your skull is so soft it will explode.'' Now naturally after being handed that warning, she could have lived her life conscious that she should never hit her head against a rock. That was hardly limiting. There were plenty of jobs out there that did not require bashing ones skull against a rock. She was picking the one thing she''d been warned against. She was picking up a giant boulder and destroying her head against it. Repeatedly.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    I itched to say something, anything in reply. Swirling inside me was the urge to chastise her, make snarky comments, and applaud her for her how she''d make the idea of never giving up go out of fashion. However I held such feelings in contempt.


    I didn''t want to get involved. There was no need to get involved with this caretaker I would outlast no matter how eccentric she was. Yeah, no need at all. Not one bit. I needed a human who could appreciate the simpler things in life. But simple humans wouldn''t accept talking cats and not being able to talk would be a very lonely experience. Thus, sadly, I always had to settle with eccentric ones.


    ¡°I see.¡± That was my reply. Weak as it was.


    It wasn''t particularly her fault she''d failed. Her condition was not within her control. The variety of items on the table suggested the examiners probably reacted reflexively to the performance of the person taking the exam.


    If they noticed a fault, they''d exploit it. What more obvious fault was there than Hannah''s own condition. Despite showing such a self-destructive performance, the examiners had not immediately forbid her from using magic ever again. I''d thought about it a little, and it made sense that they may have felt pity for her, but also accountable for choosing the trials based upon her worst weakness.


    ¡°I should''ve just called it quits then, right?¡± The moment that ice block came out, Hannah probably recognised she''d lost. If they''d set down a different object and given a different task then perhaps she could have gotten further. But she carried on anyway. The result would ultimately be the same. The examiners weren''t interested in passing her anyway, at least, that''s what I thought. ¡°I knew that was the only thing I could do. I don''t have anything strong enough to crack an ice cube with force. I had to do it with temperature. But I don''t have... I can''t... I mean everybody else can y''know?¡± She searched for the right words only to fall short.


    It wasn''t the only thing she could do though. She could''ve given up and still had her arms intact. Frustrated at her logic, I let my mouth move faster than my better judgement.


    ¡°Use magic?¡± The moment the words slipped out of my mouth I felt my chest tighten with regret. Her reply came with two choice words that felt like the crack of a whip.


    ¡°Fuck. You.¡± She furrowed her brows as a demonically angry gloom settled over her expression only to pass a few seconds later. I no longer felt safe where I sat. ¡°I can use magic actually, thank you. I think if anything has been established, I can use magic to effectively break my own body.¡± She stated primly.


    Was that something to be proud of? Although she was technically correct. But where''s your ''woe is me'' air gone, Hannah?


    ¡°Yes but that''s not how magic is supposed to be used.¡± Seriously, what sort of mage would show up at their workplace, incinerate themself and scorch half the floor, clock out and then call it a day?


    She threw me a scowl. Knowing when to be quiet wasn''t one of my talents. I feared I might end up being pushed off the table. Suitable revenge for pottery around the world that the cat would be pushed off before the vase. Indeed I was certain the plant pot I''d moved precariously close to the edge was watching with anticipation. ¡°And how is magic supposed to be used? Turning annoying people into cats maybe?


    Ouch, that stung. ¡°Ha ha very funny. I''d like to see you try with no arms.¡± I laughed on the outside but on the inside I swore then and there that the moment I got my opposable thumbs back I''d get my sweet revenge.


    ¡°Arms are for the weak, I''ll just use my legs if they break. When they break I''ll use my head.¡± She lifted her bandaged arms and turned them over, examining them further. ¡°You get what this means to me, don''t you?¡±


    ¡°You''re insane?¡± My caretaker of twelve years stared me in the eyes. I stared back, uncomprehending. Surely she could just cut out the middle man and use her head to realise this was a stupid idea?


    She looked ahead once again and in silence balled her fists. I couldn''t make out what emotion was stronger in those eyes. Sadness, frustration, anger. They boiled over until something else came to surface. ¡°Screw it. I''ll just try again. I''ll tell Jean to sign me up for another practical next month and get right back to work.¡±


    ¡°Really? I mean sure go ahead. Next time make sure to burn your legs as well.¡± I tried to subdue the wince that almost entered my voice. This after all was something I refused to get invested in.


    ¡°Yeah, well maybe I will. I think if I can get more durable paper and the right kinds of ink I could burn more than just my arms. The licence would have let me borrow better books from the academy library but I can''t be arsed to feel bitter about that again. Two times is enough.¡± She waved away her defeat almost too nonchalantly. I wondered how many times she was allowed to repeat her practical?


    ¡°Hmm... Am I missing something?¡± I tilted my head. The other two times she failed she''d been a lot more... dramatic. Had she finally broken? Was this the effects of despair? I played with the idea in my head. She looked as unconcerned as ever. That felt incredibly wrong to my sensibilities.


    ¡°Don''t think I can do it?¡± She challenged. Staring me right in the eyes I saw what had boiled to the surface of her psyche. Determination. That same stoic determination that had refused to give up during the exam was ever-present.


    ¡°Well, it''s possible you will fail again. But I''m guessing your plan is to try again until they tell you you can''t. What happens then?¡±


    Her chest fell with a sigh as she shook her head. ¡°If they don''t let me take the practical anymore then I won''t hang around. I''ll figure it out on my own somehow. But it would suck. Even if I''m just experimenting on ''measly'' and ''inferior'' outdated practice scrolls, I think I can turn them into something good.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Well I''m missing a certain something I need to have a little more free-reign of the facilities here in Triolo.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you just said.¡± Passing the exam would''ve let the academy treat her more like a competent mage. They''d have lifted restrictions on certain scholarly articles. Some of which Hannah was sure would really help right about now.


    ¡°Failing the exam three times was a bit uhh- Well it was more than a bit humiliating. But that''s not the problem. With a bit of time and just half of the perks I needed that licence for, I could beat that exam.¡± There was a lot of potential around ''paper arts'' as she called them. Potential that had been squandered when people dismissed it as a learning tool for beginners and never touched them again.


    The system she was fighting, according to Hannah, was more of a problem than her condition. Given just more free-reign, she could thrive. However this academy wasn''t going to try and encourage her. On a superficial level, her aspirations of being a magic user seemed inappropriate for her. There were easier students to encourage and reap results from. Hannah''s path down a magic oriented career must have looked like it reached a dead end only one step into the journey. It would all be well and fine if she just agreed with that and took another path in life.


    Such dogged determination. I was in awe. I was sure however people around the world would turn slothful if Hannah became the poster girl for diligence. After all, if two burnt arms and failure was what hard-work got you, what was the point?


    ¡°Maybe I bargained too low with my deal. Do you think I could get a bit more out of it if I handed them a talking cat?¡± She looked over at me forebodingly. Shivers ran down my spine at the possibility she could read my thoughts everytime she did this.


    Is it me or could everyone just read my mind?


    ¡°Woah, easy there.¡± I hissed. ¡°Somebody is gonna get slashed with that attitude.¡± If people here knew I could talk, I''d be dissected and pickled in a jar before the sun went down.


    Hannah shrugged. ¡°Yeah I thought as much. More trouble than it''s worth. Well either way, in my state nobody is going be running any tests on me anytime soon. I just wish they would let me see the results of my pain. Magic is my birthright and yet I have to stoop to such pains to study it.¡±


    ¡°In my honest opinion they are probably letting you study here just to keep you around. Saves on travel money when they need you for experiments.¡±


    My perfectly reasonable answer only made her grind her teeth. ¡°You know-¡± She turned reaching out her hand menacingly towards me but the sound of a bell chimed signalling another visitor.


    Fancy keeping a bell on the door to a room for people in need of rest. It was like handing a bucket of oil to someone wanting to put out the embers of their fireplace.


    Calm steady footsteps approached from the entrance. They were familiar. My opponent had returned.


    ¡°You were talking to yourself?¡± The Nurse looked across the compartment, then behind him around the office before his eyes set on me. His eyes were like bottomless wells of disdain. ''Oh, you are still here'' they seemed to communicate.


    ¡°To my cat.¡± Hannah sttled her hand which was very threatening a while ago on my head to pat me with. I put up with it. It was very awkward patting that felt like it was coming from someone still learning how to use their arms.


    I gave the Nurse a very smug look. I might have been saying something like ''look at me with head pats and you, a sad loner with no head pats'' or ''look at me, still here and you know you can do nothing about it, peasant''.


    He reached into coat pocket for a pen. ¡°Relax your arms for me, would you?¡± He requested and began prodding her arms in different places. ¡°Feel anything?¡±


    With eyes which seemed to stare right through people, the Nurse spoke with a lifeless tone and an expression that rested permanently on a gloomy glare.


    ¡°No. Not even numb. It''s like my arms don''t exist.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I thought as much. They used Gyko-uji syrup. What overkill.¡± His tone suggested like he needed Gyko-uji to suppress the anguish he felt daily.


    ¡°When will I be able to feel my arms again?¡±


    ¡°When they are healed.¡± He answered. ¡°And only when they are healed.¡± He added with a hint of pre-emptive exhaustion. ¡°Keep your arms resting and try not to move or strain them, understand? If you ever want to be able to feel with your fingers again anytime soon that is.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean? What''s Gyko-uji?¡± Hannah scowled at the Nurse looking for a further explanation.


    ¡°I told you not to move your arms before. Have you been moving them?¡± He raised a brow knowing the answer. ¡°Gyko-uji is very exotic. I''ve read that it''s the double sided sword of painkillers. The stuff is incredibly toxic. Diaphram paralysis and cardio plegia are just two things it''ll give you in the wrong dose and without magic. Fortunately you wouldn''t be able to feel your heart stop beating or your lungs stop working so you''ll just be left in a mindless state of panic until you die of shock.¡±


    ¡°Fortunately? As in if I''m lucky I won''t be feel myself dying through the panic attack? This sounds more like a poison than a painkiller.¡±


    ¡°Well you wouldn''t want to know how that feels, would you?¡± The nurse frowned giving Hannah a doubtful look. ¡°With the correct patent and the right dosage, it''s a very effective and lasting painkiller.¡± He finished prodding her arms. ¡°As I said, you won''t be able to feel anything until they are healed almost perfectly.¡±


    Hannah digested this and after a short pause her reply was, ¡°So what you''re saying is you can''t just do a half-arsed job?¡±


    ¡°Smartarse. I could do a ''half-arse job'' but unlike all the other times I''ve fixed you up, you wouldn''t be happy with the results.¡±


    ¡°...Because I wouldn''t be able to feel my arms.¡±


    ¡°And thus you see the magic of Gyko-uji. Wonderful for horrible injuries treated within a proper modern hospital.¡± The large bulk of what this nurse said was sarcasm, which I imagined was not all that great for the occupation. ¡°If your burns leave a scar, guess what?¡± He didn''t need nor expect an answer.


    Hannah quietly digested this. She was practically simmering with rage at this impressive setback. I was just impressed anyone dared use Gyko-uji. I wondered how much experimentation had to be conducted before people understood how it could be used as a painkiller.


    ¡°Those Sorcerers of Ice really don''t hold back.¡± She ground her teeth menacingly, probably imagining all the wonderful things she would love to do to the order of ice with the miracle painkiller Gyko-uji.


    ¡°Well I guess I''ll have to use more magic to force your arms back into good health. No problem since you won''t be able to feel the pain. Hell might as well leave you conscious whilst I''m doing it.¡± The Nurse grinned. ¡°You should be thankful to the afore mentioned Ice sorcerers for revoking my medical licence and getting me sent here. The local hospital here is shocking.¡±


    That... Huh that was a lot to digest.


    ¡°We won''t be running any tests on you until you can feel your arms again which means you have this friday, tomorrow that is, free. Bad news for both of us is you''ll be spending the night and tomorrow here with me.¡± The Nurse shook his head and opened one of the glass cabinet kept near his desk. ¡°Oh and you might as well keep your cat here for company since you won''t be leaving anytime soon.¡±


    After the exam, Hannah had a chance to gear up to fight her rematch. Only this start was going considerably worse that her others.

 4 - A hungry quest for food

    Very little noise was made as I walked on the cold cobble road. My head swivelled both left and right as I continued my hungry quest in search of food.


    A certain brat had forced me to live through the day without breakfast. That brat was hopefully back in the office simmering quietly over all the lectures she was missing. Not that that did me any good, I was still hungry after all. The Nurse wouldn''t share any lunch, Hannah wasn''t allowed food for a while because of the effect of the medication.


    It was just past midday and there was plenty of foot traffic on the streets of Kasper. I stuck to the sides, hugging the walls.


    I couldn''t beg for food. Whilst yes, I had the appearance of a cute cat, and surely this galaxy brain intellect of mine lent itself to my favour, however I was a black cat. I wasn''t tabby or any other colour. I was that very specific colour of cat used to represent misfortune.


    Letting myself get too close to pedestrians or stalls would usually result in a sudden kick or shouts for me to bugger off. That sort of thing made me wish I actually had the power to bring calamity down upon Kasper. All I wanted was food. Instead of throwing hands, throw hams!


    I tried to stick to the more quiet parts of the city. With begging off the table I began to draw up other plans. If the city had declared me a menace, then a menace I would be. And I''d be the worst kind. The kind that picks on kids.


    With night still far off, children were playing imaginary games out on the streets like ''knights and dragons'', clashing wooden swords and dramatically throwing themselves about. They had been given pocket change by their guardians, or at least the lucky ones had, and told to fend for themselves for the day. Plenty of adults were still preparing for the harvest festival. The children who weren''t helping out were the insufferable few their parents couldn''t put up with.


    In my mind, kids were impulsive buyers and loved snacks. This combination was ideal for a prospective hungry bully like myself. It''s not like these kids were completely defenceless. By what half these kids claimed to have done in their heads, they were the greatest knights and dragon slayers this world have ever seen. If anything, my tale of stealing food from these formidable foes was worthy of being turned into an epic of its own.


    Firstly, I scouted out my location for the ideal crime. It had to be near a vendor, somewhere where children played, and surrounded by either small alleys or with suburbs nearby. I preferred suburbs for the easy hiding spots under the garden hedges. Stray cats were also less prevalent here partially thanks to protective homeowners.


    Alleys were the territory of other cats. They didn''t seem keen on strangers as much as these humans seemed keen on black cats. Best to just avoid them. Humans after all, didn''t have knives for nails.


    Next after location came picking my targets. Best not to pick large groups. It was just common sense. A true predator had patience. Even if singling out a single kid took hours, I was willing to do it for the pay-off.


    Finally I found my mark. A child probably around the age of seven had left the busier streets clutching a stick with meatballs skewered on it in a neat row. Her eyes turned left and right as she scanned nearby faces, distracted.


    I stalked ever nearer, matching her pace and direction. I''d startle her, make her drop the stick, and then I''d run off with it. How devilishly devious. I kept attention to my surroundings. There was always a chance a variable out of my control could ruin the hunt.


    And then the girl turned. I paused and she froze. We seemed to meet each others gazes. I was perhaps half a meter distance away. Whether she noticed me or not didn''t mean much in the long run but I''d hoped to catch her completely off guard.


    The girl lowered herself, took the stick away from her chest, and offered it towards me.


    I hadn''t expected that. This was not how this was supposed to go at all. I was supposed to be the big bad evil cat who stole off kids. I was supposed to get revenge.


    I closed the distance and sniffed the outstretched stick just in case this was a prank and as I did so the girl quietly popped one of the meatballs off.


    Now, I was not a friend of children. In my many years of life I''d learnt adults might chase me but it always felt like kids hunted me. So I wasn''t totally at ease at this offering. It was not the first time a child had been pleasantly kind to me. But I certainly wasn''t expecting any more of it.


    This one had a long way to go before she could redeem her ilk.


    ¡°There you go, Mr Kitty.¡± She smiled sweetly. Okay, maybe not that long of a way then.


    Well free food I guess. There was always the next kid to steal from. I could call it quits, but I had old grudges to settle. There may have been better ways to find food, but stealing off kids was the most fun.


    Whilst I ate the girl decided to reach out her free hand to stroke my head. As her offering was sufficient, I ignored the feeling of being patronised by a child and let her carry on.


    I was halfway through when more children busted onto the scene. Three boys and two girls. They looked older and ran up to the girl. ¡°There you are Mili, Mum''s been shouting at me! Where have you been?¡±


    ¡°Uh Kali, she''s feeding a black cat. That''s bad luck right?¡± Of course the second child slowed down cautiously as they approached, noticing me for perhaps the first time.


    They began crowding around and soon I was encircled. This was a bad place to be. I would have left as soon as they turned up but it was difficult to shake off Mili''s hand. Though Mili offered a token resistance her older siblings ignored her.


    Some were carrying sticks which made painful memories bubble back to the surface. I genuinely hated kids. That''s what all this was about. With their perplexing emotions and intents that seemed to change like the direction of the wind, they often caught me by total surprise. I couldn''t get revenge, nor could one child be allowed to redeem her kith and kin in my eyes. They were frustrating.


    As soon as I felt the strength of Mili''s hand disappear I closed my mouth around the other half of the meatball and ran. I dashed out between Kali and Mili in the short window I had and in the direction of the suburbs, meatball clamped in my mouth.


    ¡°Hey it stole food!¡±


    ¡°Get it! Black cats are evil!¡±


    The children behind me let out a warcry as they set off to give chase. It was a little disturbing how fast they gave into a desire for a fight. Having much longer legs and greater stamina, they''d win in a simple chase.


    They only had two legs though and a lesser control over their centre of balance compared to me. Whilst they could catch up, I certainly could outmanoeuvre them.


    And that''s what I did. I ducked in and out of sight. Sprinting my way beneath parked wagons and around the walking paths of oncoming pedestrians. I put as many obstacles between me and them as possible. I took every opportunity to break line of sight and to reappear in an unexpected location if I had to.


    If I could just dissuade them by making the chase as frustrating as possible, then they just might leave on their own. Was one black cat really worth it? I would have been flattered if they weren''t being so unreasonable.


    I just barely made it to the suburbs with the biggest kid, Kali, closing in on me. His head was filled with delusions of fighting a greater evil which was projected over the reality of what he was actually doing. I was no dragon, I looked just like a cat. And yet the malice he had given in to made me look like a worthy opponent.


    How delusional and bored did this kid have to be? What sick pleasure did they harvest from my suffering? And yet they were fighting their cultural equivelent of an apocalypse harbinger. As the superstition would have them believe, if they didn''t chase me away, Mili would be cursed.


    All I needed was one opportunity to jump up over one of the waist height garden walls and into someone''s garden. But in the open suburbs there weren''t conveniently placed obstacles. It was clean streets with rows of trimmed trees with the odd fountain at every intersection. Kali and his minions were just a few steps behind. I''d need to grow that ever closing distance.


    And then I learnt to never underestimate the reach of a wooden sword. Kali didn''t get a square hit but it was enough to throw me off balance. The precious few moments I lost squaring myself back up were enough for one of his siblings, with a nasty look in their eye, to act.


    To say I was tossed across the ground wouldn''t do it credit. I was kicked. The force was that of a child''s kick but even so the child seemed to put all the weight they possibly could into it. Charged fully with malicious intent it catapulted my small body.


    The air was thrashed out of my lungs. I felt like I was going to throw back up everything I''d just eaten. The half a meatball rolled away from me after I lost grip of it. I continued to roll and slide along the ground until my back hit the wall.


    It had thrown me off balance both mind and body. There was no way a child could land such a heavy hit on me. It must have been some sort of accident. No, they simply couldn''t have. If they did, if this was really happening, then I was in dan-If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°I almost grabbed its tail!¡± One shouted triumphantly.


    ¡°Let''s surround it.¡± And with every additional voice came an additional vote in favour of cruelty. Had I just come across a particularly malicious group of children? Why was I even surprised this could happen? The hazy fog in my head turned red with frustration and anger.


    I''d never been more sure that these children going to hurt me. When they were done, would I be able to walk? Would I be stuck here? Anxiously I waited for my questions to be answered.


    ¡°Stop it! Don''t hurt the kitty!¡± A shriek sounded from the not too far distance.


    ¡°Ha ha, we got it! Take that monster!¡± They continued headless of the incoming wrath.


    That was Mili, I was sure. Had I an ounce of pity to spare I would have given it. Ah the plight of the youngest sibling. To always be ignored no matter the situ-


    ¡°I SAID DON''T HURT THE KITTY!¡± Slam! Mili threw her entire body''s weight into the back of Kali. She was small. Her figure didn''t exactly look like that of Kasper''s strongest woman. Whatever frustration had been building up in the belly of that little girl reared its head and was letting out a roar in the girl''s chest.


    ¡°I can''t believe this! Why are you always so mean!¡± Mili pushed Kali again. The older boy stumbled backwards a few steps under the ferocity of Mili''s attack. ¡°You never listen. Why does nobody ever listen to me?! You''re all so mean I''m telling mum!¡±


    This battle of oldest brother versus youngest sister gave me brief respite. Escape wouldn''t be easy. I was surrounded. They loomed over me like little giants. Although their attention was divided between me and sibling battle, I could tell they were just saving me for later. And by later, they meant when the grew bored of watching the two fight over the next ten seconds. If I moved, I''d draw attention, so I watched hopeful of a miracle.


    No graver threat could be made against another sibling other than ''I am telling mum''. Never in my life had I wished a little girl had the herculean strength to clobber all five of her older siblings and their friends.


    ¡°H-hey it''s just a black cat-¡±


    ¡°Stop hurting my friends!¡± Mili screamed with such gusto it sent shivers down my spine. The other kids looked around warily, scared of attracting the attention of any nearby property owners.


    There was something gratuitous in watching this despite my dire situation. I must have taken a heavier hit to the head than I thought. It was not like I could call a timeout- wait a second. A seed of an idea began to grow in my head.


    Kali scowled and shouted back. ¡°It''s not my fault you''re so stupid! All you do is whine and get lost. I never wanted a stupid little sister like you!¡±


    Any further argument was cut short when from the other side of the garden wall they heard the angry nasal voice of an old man. The voice sounded like it belonged to the kind of guy who sat on his porch all day in a rocking chair just itching for a moment to yell at a child.


    ¡°Gosh darn kids, get out of ''ere garden before I grab yers by the ear and hurl yah out!¡±


    ¡°Uh oh, we better go.¡± One of the siblings sounded the alarm


    The unseen man gave them no opportunity nor quarter as he continued to shout threats. ¡°Is that Kali I ''ere? I''ll tell ya mother ya been picking on ya sister again you snot-nosed brat!¡± He sounded like he was approaching from the garden. The kids looked to one another, their eyes meeting in agreement. They grabbed the red-faced Mili and scattered back down the street in a disorganised retreat, not even looking behind them to search for the owner of the voice.


    They probably knew about as much as I knew about this character. They weren''t sticking around to catch a glimpse of whoever it was shouting at them from the garden.


    ¡°Go go go!¡± They yelled and ran like dust on the wind.


    As they disappeared, I could heave a sigh of relief. Hannah was supposed to be the one simmering with indignation today, not I.


    Slowly, painfully, I dragged myself back up onto all four feet. Looking both left and right, searching for any more potential hazards, I recovered my strength quietly. The the half meatball had lost its appeal with my stomach churning from the beating.


    ¡°Darn kids.¡± I muttered under my breath. ¡°Gonna ruin mah lilies.¡± Just like the kids, I never saw the old man. The old man after all, wasn''t real.


    ~Break~


    At a much more pained pace, I began making my way back to the Triolo. As far as I knew or cared, it was the safest place to be. At this time of day, most people were gone. Animals seemed to give the site a wide berth so there weren''t any stray cats here either..


    I almost got waylaid by a fat tabby cat when I crossed into his territory. He had a huge gang with him. He reminded my of the feline version of Kali''s gang. I got out of there right away. It the one thing the tabby wanted. Unlike Kali, he had the decency not to kick someone whilst they were down.


    Time crawled until the sun was beginning to set over the horizon. My snail''s pace had only gotten me to the gate. My body ached all over but I willed myself onwards. In the end, it was only the kick that had done any real damage. Mili''s timely entrance had saved me from a further beating.


    The cathedral cast a large shadow over academy as the sun settled behind it. Eventually all would turn to darkness.


    My eyes adjusted well to dim light. There was plenty of that. Torches flickered in the city behind me in a battle of dominance with twinkling stars in the sky. Some of the offices inside of the buildings were still occupied and so they too let out dim candlelight through the cracks in their shuttered windows.


    I paused, rested a moment to take it all in, and then realised I had yet one more great trial ahead of me. How would I get inside if all the doors were closed? There was practically nobody coming in or out at this time of day. With a mixture of relief and despair, I noticed an open window.


    This is gonna hurt, I assured myself. Without an ounce of catlike grace, I sprung up to the windowsill. I held back the ball of pain that had knotted itself uncomfortably high in my chest.


    Geez this day sucked. First no breakfast, my caretaker destroying her arms, getting picked on by the nurse, being kicked in by a gang of children, getting into a scrap with a cat and a ginger one no less, and now this. I''d survived this far without snapping or losing my temper, I''d be damned if I lost it at the sight of an open window.


    Positive thinking demanded that I appreciate someone was careless enough to leave this window open. A human could just about squeeze their way through. Actually that was quite infuriating. If anything it only frustrated me more. Not only were people stupid and unkind, they were also irresponsible


    I swore then and there, if ever I got rid of the curse, I''d dutifully flay the fingers of every human to the bone.


    I entered through the gap and into the dark hallway. I almost knocked over a potted plant inside after using it to soften my fall. Potted plants and cats were eternal enemies so I didn''t feel the slightest guilt. Cursed cats included.


    With most of the site''s occupants vacated they hadn''t left much in so far as light for the hallways. Most came either through moonlight or through cracks in doors to occupied rooms.


    It felt unnaturally still here. During the day, the Triolo was a much busier place. It felt alive. Here at night in a place not even vermin dared touch, I felt like I was walking into trap. If I stayed still, I could imagine the only thing moving in this hallway being the breeze through the open window.


    My eyesight meant that I didn''t know true darkness. I''d even forgotten what true darkness looked like. The slightest light was enough to guide me. It wasn''t actually as useful as it might sound. I didn''t go out at night. It''s not like I needed to hunt for food when Hannah was around.


    So when I saw true darkness again, it stalled my mind. Like a miasma, it crept in like a dense unknowable fog.


    I drew to a sudden halt. To me this darkness had definition. It wasn''t darkness but blackness. There was a difference. Where darkness in my mind was the total absence of light, this blackness was something.


    It was nebulous and only its silhouette could be made out. I couldn''t accurately tell the distance between me and it besides it was not yet upon me. Its nebulous form shifted, folded in on itself, taking shape.


    I couldn''t take my eyes off it. Yet every instinct in my body screamed for me to ignore it. To refute it''s existence. To deny it even an inch of ground in my mind. I couldn''t, I mustn''t, I was simply not allowed to accept the existence of whatever this was. This feeling grew and grew.


    It had to be some sort of magic user. It just had to be. The breeze was going the wrong way to carry its scent. As it moved it made no noise. I couldn''t hear even the slightest of distrubances.


    The shivers that ran down my spine were not caused by an unnatural chill, but instead a feeling of warmth which reached me even though it travelling against the breeze coming from the window behind me.


    And the nebulous form continued to take shape until it took an otherwise familiar silhouette of a humanoid if much much larger. It stood still at the end of the hallway, one hand placed near its side. I presumed it was moving its head, searching the corridors. As it moved its head, it lost its shape. When it stopped, the blackness once again settled to the shape a head.


    What was it looking for? I inched my way to the cover of a small table. It was up against the wall and on its top was a miniature model of the cathedral itself.


    No don''t think about it. Don''t accept it. Refute it.


    And then it began pacing in my direction. With each step it lost more of its shape, as though shaking off its human disguise. Its nebulous blackness spread further and further across the corridor as it moved, creeping up and clinging to the walls, floor, and ceiling.


    As it did so I lost sight of the hallway. It came so close I lost sight of even the table I hid beneath. It did not pass. To my horror when its wispy shadows retreated it was not because it had passed, but because it was now standing still before me.


    No no no. This is against the rules. This is a real danger to my life. This isn''t of mortal flesh and blood or the mundane product of this age. Go away, leave me alone. Don''t be here. Not now.


    Its feet were planted nearby, bent at an odd angle which I recognised as it crouching. A hand gripped the understander of the table and coming into view was its head.


    I scrambled as far back as possible.


    Leave leave leave leave leave leave leave.


    A voice came from the opposite end of the corridor. ¡°Hey, what the hell is that?!¡± It was the panicked voice of a middle aged man.


    But the creature didn''t stir.


    I tried again, emulating the sound of a door opening and tried to make the two voices sound as though they were communicating. ¡°Hey, who are you?! You''re not allowed here.¡±


    ¡°Tresspass on the Triolo is-¡±


    ¡°Q??????????????????????u??????????????e?????????????r?????????????????y??????????????:????????????? ????????????????????W?????????????????h????????????????????????y??????????????????????? ???????????d??????????????????????????o????????????? ??????????????????y????????????????????????????o?????u????????????????????? ???????????????h?????????????????????????????i???????????d???????????????????????e???????????????????????????????????????????¡±


    My feeble attempts at misdirection were cut short as wordless sound gripped my psyche. Wordless, but I somehow understood its meaning.


    No no no no, I cannot be dragged back into that world. If I do, it''ll be over. They''ll find me.


    And then one of the office doors finally opened. Misdirection and frighting the creature wasn''t my only goal.


    As the door swung open. The entire corridor was freshly bathed in the light coming from a single gently burning flame kept aloft by a tower of wax on a candle holder. It was held by a dishevelled looking scholar. The candle in her hands did nothing to blow away the baggy darkness around the corner of her eyes.


    ¡°H-hello?¡± She looked both left and right along the corridor and saw nothing but emptiness.


    It was as though the creature had never been there. In fact, the corridor felt like it had been liberated of an oppressing feeling I hadn''t even been aware of until now.


    What was I doing here? I wondered to myself quietly. I''d jumped down from the window, rolled off the table thanks to my graceless fall and ended up under here. The sound of me rattling the potted plant must have attracted her attention.


    The scholar cast an anxious gaze back and forth, her eyes filled with confusion and worry. I crawled out from beneath the table. We met gazes, and she stared at me for far longer than I felt comfortable.


    ¡°A black cat.¡± She muttered beneath her breath taking a few unsteady steps back.


    At which point I turned my head and bounded along the corridor. I was far beyond done with the level of crap that had been dished to me. When I reached the Nurse''s office, I didn''t even try and paw or scratch the door. I collapsed on the spot.

 5 - A lame child hunt for revenge

    I was in an awkward position when I woke up. Slowly, I opened my eyes and the half blurred visage of an angel''s face came int- oh wait no it''s Hannah and she looks pretty annoyed.


    Almost immediately I felt the urge to get off the bed. I wasn''t just lying on the blanket of her bed, I was on her lap. Someone had taken me here and placed me on Hannah''s lap. I had no clue how I ended up here otherwise.


    I thought I didn''t remember much but the moment I tried tracing back over the events of the day before, bitterness bubbled to the surface of my mind, jolting it awake.


    Quietly, possibly somewhat ashamed, I got up on all fours and dragged myself over to the bedside table to sit. Rules were rules. Hannah didn''t break her hard judging stare even for a moment. I felt like my turn to be questioned had now come. I could practically hear the cogs whirring, printing questions to be asked in Hannah''s head.


    The room was nice and cool. Morning light graced us through the window. And yet as fresh as the day felt, I felt like total crap. I probably looked it as well.


    If memory served me right, I went on a quest for food, got beaten into a bad shape, and then... I came back to the Triolo? It was reasonable to assume I collapsed somewhere nearby. An otherwise uneventful return journey must have happened for me to end up here.


    ¡°Your cat is awake.¡± The Nurse stood nearby with his hands resting in his white coat pockets. ¡°I''m going to get some breakfast and check on Professor Riker. I''ll be gone for half an hour. Your arms are healing well so I won''t carry through with my threat of keeping you here over the weekend.¡±


    If Hannah felt relief she certainly didn''t show it. She pulled up her satchel which had been lying close against the side of her bed and gave a very half-hearted check to make sure everything was still there. Head full of thoughts, she stared at her satchel pensively. Any second now, those thoughts would start slipping out of her mouth.


    ¡°And of course I''ll tell Professor Mathers we won''t be running any tests on you. I don''t know how the painkiller would react to my enhancements. Who knows? Maybe if I tried your head would explode next.¡± He motioned with his hands. ¡°Anyway, if you''re gonna leave then check in first thing on Monday.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn''t I go to a hospital?¡± Hannah replied doubtfully.


    ¡°I mean, you could.¡± The Nurse paused. ¡°I have a feeling they''d be useless for this. This city is, in appearance at least, backwards.¡± He expressed his warning and then left.


    We were left in near total silence. Hannah quietly sifted through her satchel but it was more fidgeting than anything. It was keeping an appearance. Much like I do when I lick the back of paws unconcerned to try appear prim.


    Painfully, I was aware the mood was the exact same as yesterday when Hannah woke up after burning her arms. It had only been a day and now it was my turn on the pedestal of stupidity.


    As I sat on the bedside table seemingly unconcerned, I felt paranoid. She knows. I thought over and over. I didn''t know what she knew but I was certain she knew enough to judge me.


    ¡°I know what you''re thinking.¡± With a tinge of humiliation I let the words slip. It was the exact words which started the conversation the day before.


    ¡°Really?¡± She replied airily in a tone of voice that sounded all too like it was mimicking mine.


    ¡°I know. You think I''m stupid.¡±


    ¡°I think the condition you are in proves you are stupid.¡± She shot me a glare so weighted it nearly pushed me off the table on its own. And that was merciless might I add. There was no hesitation. This was no shadow of a doubt that this was what she believed.


    ¡°You know, I wanted to say that yesterday but I held back.¡± I hissed.


    ¡°Well you didn''t need to say anything back then.¡± She lifted her hand and wagged her finger in front of me. ¡°You are a transparent and stupid black cat.¡± She tapped my nose.


    I fought a very serious urge to bite. The corners of her lips lifted subtly at my reaction.


    Nonetheless, she didn''t know the specifics of what happened, only that what I had done was admittedly rather stupid and whimsical. Unnecessary even. I could have hung around the academy if I wanted food. Strolling through the canteen alone would have brought hordes of stressed students to me in need of a soft fluffy cat to de-stress to.


    ¡°The Nurse threatened to amputate your front left leg.¡± Hannah added. Hopefully she was lying. My legs were felt okay. It was my broken ribs which were the problem. It was pain just to sit up right and breathe. ¡°Must have been scary, huh?¡± Her words were soft and gentle. They almost made me forget how to breathe.


    Scared? The thought sat uncomfortably in my head. Those kids? No. I wouldn''t have died to those kids. There''s no way I was scared.


    And yet my claws dug into the wood and my tail swung anxiously, telling a tale far different from the one I wanted to feed myself. When I noticed these, I felt my heartbeat rise. And for a moment, I felt like blackness was going to ink out of every shadow, every crack, and consume the room.


    Hannah''s eyes smouldered with an angry fire. ¡°Tell me who did this to you.¡±


    I snapped back to reality. ¡°Who did this?¡± My thoughts wove their way back to the faces of the children. ¡°You want revenge?¡±


    ¡°No no, it''s not revenge. I''m just going to beat the shit out of the people who hurt you. That''s not revenge.¡± Her visage darkened. ¡°This is violence. This is war.¡±


    This was surely the stuff of which started wars. When one attracts the unadulterated ire of determined people, She was already getting up. Checking she had everything. She threw on her satchel and cloak and stepped closer to me.


    I would be lying if I said I didn''t feel the tightness around my chest get a little lighter. The numbness receded a little. A gnawing anxiety in the back of my head wondered whether such actions would be acceptable.


    Still, the sight of the Kali in particular getting a hard slap wasn''t particularly unwelcome to me. After the beatdown they gave me, surely they deserve something in the like. It was a stupid thing for Hannah to be caught doing, but if she was offering revenge then I''d take it.


    ¡°It was a group of six. All siblings. All probably between seven and fourteen years old-¡±


    ¡°Hrrk.¡± Hannah clicked her tongue in frustration.


    ¡°Are you getting second thoughts now you realise you''re fighting children?!¡±


    Hannah took her time to respond. I should have mentioned they were children earlier. ¡°I guess I''ve got to hold back. A lot.¡± Go figure. I wasn''t expecting her to mount their heads on pikes. She''d probably yell at them a lot. Probably glare at them with such intense hatred they''d burst out crying on the spot. Hopefully, she''d emanate such malice they''d name a constellation after her called ''The Witch of Wrath''. As long as they suffered in some shape or form then I would feel some form of justice.


    ¡°Not all of them are bad.¡± Even my roulette wheel of a moral compass wouldn''t let me do this without at least the token defence of Mili.


    ¡°They beat you within half an inch of your life!¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± I did vaguely recall that at one point I might not have been breathing.


    ¡°Nobody messes with a witch and her black cat.¡± She glowered. ¡°Now get in the bag.¡± Her cool opening was somewhat spoiled by her follow-up. ¡°You''re taking me to where it happened.¡± Commanded the witch.


    It was easy to get swept away with indignation. It was called ''righteous anger'' for a reason. My treatment was entirely unfair and even Mili who had fought against it had accomplished relatively little. A failure was a failure. I didn''t believe in coddling people just for trying. Having hopped from one human to another, it seemed an incredibly stupid practice.


    None the less, was that just my ''righteous anger'' speaking? Anger was still anger. I probably just wanted to lash out at something, anything, over what had happened. Even Hannah insisting on getting revenge was gradually wearing down my patience. Everything was grinding on my nerves.


    ¡°No but seriously, there''s a girl called Mili and she shared food with me. It wasn''t her, it was her siblings. She''s the youngest.¡± I stood my ground and sternly spoke the words. I wasn''t entering the bag until that was made clear. I took a deep breath and shook my head of those troublesome thoughts. ¡°Man you should have seen her. She reminded me a lot of you when you were little.¡±


    This wasn''t like me. Life used to pass by in a monotonous blur as I waited for the curse to eventually crumble. When did my days grow so full of frustration that now it felt like every second seem to drag by slowly?


    Hannah nodded. ¡°Fine. Don''t murder the youngest.¡± She said in a tone that very much suggested like she was just compromising.


    ¡°Maybe don''t murder any of them please?¡± I''d have to find a new caretaker then. ¡°Also, can we have breakfast first this time?¡±


    Hannah heaved a sigh. ¡°Fine.¡±


    I hopped into her satchel and tried to make myself comfortable. As comfortable as one could be among papery devices of destruction.


    We exited the Nurse''s office. The building itself was till empty despite the probable influx of students this morning. The main compass where the lecture halls were was probably teeming with life about now.


    It had had begun to cloud over. Hanging over the ground was the grey hue of muted sunlight through filtered sky. My intuition told me it would start to rain at some point today.


    Preparations for the Harvest festival had started early. Even though the date was some distance off, there was an undeniable buzz in the streets. The fields around Kasper rarely produced a great bounty. Despite the great river providing ample flood plains, the harvest was usually mediocre at best.


    Where the city made its profits was taxation on imported goods coming from the western archipelago. And plenty of the money then was invested into winter preparations. Despite mediocre conditions, Kasper continued to prosper.


    That''s what I''m told at least.


    Talking about these things was difficult. I was well aware I was wearing blinkers when it came to my perspective. The facts I knew were always limited when I didn''t actively seek out information. And well, I was a cat so there wasn''t much chance of me strolling into the tavern and asking the local farmers their opinion on VAT and the efficiency of state-owned granaries.


    With the weather overcast, I became convinced the children wouldn''t be outside again.


    Still there was a dense crowd on the main street. Nobody would really notice a cloaked girl talking to her satchel.


    ¡°You aren''t missing lectures are you?¡±


    Hannah kept scanning the crowd. I''d given her a general description of the children but so far there hadn''t been any luck. I was touched that she felt the need to do this however half an hour into our manhunt and my mind had begun drifting to the previous promises of breakfast. Just the fact that somebody could get so angry at someone for hurting me was good enough for me, especially when I had an empty stomach.


    ¡°Nah, my usual morning lecturer, Professor Riker, is off sick.¡±


    ¡°The Nurse mentioned her before. Who is she?¡±


    ¡°She runs lectures every Friday morning on physical patent production. You''ve never heard of her because I leave you at home on Fridays. She is definitely one of my favourite lecturers. I''d bee really annoyed if anything bad has happened to her.¡±


    Every Friday Hannah turned up to the academy to do more than just study. Not many people had been identified to be magically lame. She was an interesting specimen and a part of her deal of being allowed to study here at the Triolo was to undergo tests and experimentation on her condition every Friday. She''d always lose a weekend to weakness after. I could only imagine the tests they ran on her.


    According to the Nurse, it had something to do with ''enhancements''. That meant practically nothing to me. A catalyst wasn''t an idea so hard to grasp. Of course a spell would need an object of attention for it to work. Enhancements probably had a less road definition or use in magic.


    Riker''s wasn''t the only name that was brought up so I might as well have asked about the other one whilst we were there. ¡°What about Professor Mathers?¡±


    ¡°It''s not so like you to be this talkative.¡± Hannah''s hands tightened around her satchel strap. I must have touched upon a sore spot. ¡°It''s thanks to Professor Mathers I can study at the Triolo despite being of ''lower class''. He thinks up whatever poisonous crap I have to swallow or be injected with by the Nurse. That''s all.¡± The tone that settled beneath the words was frightening. Hannah had tensed up at even the mention of Professor Mathers.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    If she hated it so much I couldn''t understand why she didn''t just abandon her stay at the academy. Magic didn''t seem worth it considering the impossibility of achievement and the road of quiet suffering she had to walk.


    Familiar cries cut short further conversation. Their voices were ones I hadn''t forgotten.


    Kali and his gang ran across the main street and down a side alley. ¡°Was that them?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Mili was missing. I got the feeling she didn''t get lost so much as she got abandoned.


    Hannah gave chase, breaking into a sprint. Nimbly she ducked between pedestrians and into the side alley where the gang were engaged in a pitch battle against an imaginary dragon. When she sped up, I hunkered down in the satchel for a rough short journey.


    She drew to a halt, crouched down and set her satchel near the ground.


    ¡°Get out.¡± Hannah ordered.


    I did so, but not very confidently. This could go many different ways.


    Straightening her back, she took two steps forward and all eyes turned to her before she even said anything. It was simply as though she exuded a hard to ignore presence.


    ¡°Are you the brats who messed with my cat?¡± She glared. I should mention, there were other people in the alleyway. This was hardly a private place.


    The children all fell silent. They looked up at her confused, for what on earth could this ominous cloaked women want with them?


    ¡°Didn''t you learn, black cats bring misfortune.¡± Hannah cracked her knuckles with a fiendish grin. ¡°You should''ve stayed away.¡±


    ¡°I-its a witch!¡± One of the boys next to Kali stammered, his imagination quick to come up with a scary fantasy.


    ¡°No way! Witches aren''t real!¡± Despite Kali''s brave collapsing protests, he took a few steps back.


    ¡°That''s right. I''m a witch and you shouldn''t have messed with my cat!¡± As the kids scattered in a hurry, Hannah gave chase.


    I sat watching from afar. When I thought of sweet revenge in the Nurse''s office, when my indignation got its hopes up at what Hannah appeared to be offering, I had expected the real thing to be... well... Less lame. Honestly I felt embarrassed to even be watching as Hannah seemed to be having waaay too much fun scaring these kids.


    ~Break~


    </a> So assaulting children in a public place went just about as well as anybody could expect it to go. Touched as I was to see my attackers so terrified, I, a two-faced magic talking cat, felt it was now a colossal waste of time.


    Not to mention just an all round stupid idea. How could I have bought into this? Damn you righteous anger!


    ¡°They tortured my cat.¡± Hannah replied to knight¡¯s questioning with steely unrepentant indignation. ¡°I wasn¡¯t just going to let them get away with it.¡±


    The knight which had come to rescue the children questioned Hannah with sharp yet tired eyes. A second soldier stood not too far away keeping watch of the streets. The children were someway down the path looking on with vindication.


    The knight nodded, more trying to placate Hannah than actually agreeing with her ¡°Is that the cat in question?¡± He gestured towards me, sitting at Hannah¡¯s feet. ¡°He looks healthy. How long ago did this happen?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s healed well.¡± The knight commented. ¡°You cannot chase someone else''s children around in public.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t hurt any of them.¡± Hannah retorted. ¡°In fact they got off far lighter than they should have.¡±


    At her words the knight shook their head. ¡°You cannot chase after children whilst claiming to be a witch. Such poor sense of humour. This sort of behaviour does not befit a lady of your age.¡± The lightly armoured knight gestured with his free hand whilst his other rested on the pommel to his sheathed sword. ¡°Marquis Heartwell, lord of Kasper, has deigned it in his good grace that punishing petty troublemaking like this to be against the spirit of festivity for the upcoming harvest festival. However,¡± the knights added, ¡°Do not cause a disturbance like this again. I¡¯m sure you would not like to be confined to your home or a guard post¡¯s cell for a weekend.¡±


    Hannah clicked her tongue in frustration. Despite the disrespect, the knight, ever patient, didn¡¯t react. ¡°And what about my cat.¡±


    The knight eyes me sitting at Hannah¡¯s feet. ¡°You should find better company than that of a black cat. Maybe a dog, or a tabby. Also, don¡¯t go around masquerading as a witch. People will be ill at ease and that¡¯ll just invite further trouble on yourself.¡±


    The lecture went on for a while longer. A fierce glint entered Hannah¡¯s eyes everytime the knight mentioned pretending to be a witch.


    I took a moment to memorise the knight¡¯s face. The designs of his armour was different from that of his partner. Of the two, the knight doing the talking had much more gravitas lent to him by the superiority of his armour and arms.


    Hannah watched them leave and turned her renewed scowl on the onlookers. For a moment I thought she was going to pick right up where she left off.


    The children who¡¯d been eavesdropping didn¡¯t scatter at the sight of the scowl. On the contrary they stared at her with fascination.


    I heaved a sigh of relief when I thought it was finally over. And then Hannah began marching in the direction of the children again and I felt my heart attempt to escape through my throat.


    Kali bravely stood forward. He seemed no longer scared or had lost his sense of self-preservation. Indignation and humiliation all returned to me at once at the sight of his fearless expression. Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn''t be too bad to slap him.


    If I had discovered anything about myself today, it was that I was quite fickle.


    ¡°Is it true you¡¯re a witch?¡± Kali asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°But the knights said you were pretending.¡±


    The corners of Hannah¡¯s lips spread into a thin smile. ¡°Because any other witch would never have let you off as light as I did.¡±


    Instead of fear, Kali shook with awe. He turned that same sentiment towards me as well. ¡°Then that cat is like a familiar?!¡±


    ¡°Yes. That¡¯s how I knew you kicked him.¡± She lied half-heartedly, feeding into Kali''s own conjured fantasy. Hannah looked to each of the five remaining children and noticed there was one absent. ¡°Where¡¯s Mili?¡±


    ¡°You even know our names?!¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re really sorry miss. We thought the cat was stealing from our little sister. Black cats bring bad luck. Little monsters of misfortune, mam calls them. We was scared a witch was gonna come and take our Mili.¡±


    The apologies practically went in one ear and out the next. ¡°So you thought you¡¯d kill it. You thought you¡¯d try and kill a witch¡¯s black cat.¡± Hannah raised a brow at the boy and he retreated quickly under the weight of her scrutinising stare.


    Kali shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to hit it as hard as I did. I just wanted to scare it.¡±


    Scare me? I was already running away. They¡¯d accomplished that before they even gave chase. This kid was asking for a lot more than a slap right now.


    Hannah glanced down at me. When I met her eyes I wanted to will her chop that boy really really hard on the top of his head. I wanted to be able to do it myself. However in respect of the trouble that caused, I subdued my anger.


    ¡°My familiar probably doesn¡¯t forgive you.¡± She nodded towards me. ¡°I won¡¯t either. But I did want to speak with Mili.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± The children asked defensively. It was only a moment ago they expressed their fears of Mili being stolen away.


    Surprisingly, the one who seemed most belligerent at the thought was Kali. He voiced no opinion but his eyes sparked with more concern and anger than any of the others.


    It was fruitless concern though. Mili soon made an appearance, holding hands with a person I at first didn¡¯t recognise.


    Mili looked over at her siblings, and then at Hannah and her black cat. Upon recognising me, she decided to hide behind her adult without a moment of hesitation. Not gonna lie, that stung much more than I wanted to admit.


    ¡°Hannah. What are you doing here? Aren¡¯t you recovering?¡± The adult¡¯s voice was filled more with confusion than concern.


    ¡°Professor Riker.¡± Hannah was just as surprised to her professor. There was a certain amount of resemblance between Riker and Mili. Just enough to hypothesise a family bond.


    ¡°Ah.¡± The Professor froze on the spot. ¡°A black cat.¡±


    Oh for goodness sake, there was only so many times I could be given those looks in the span of two days without getting really annoyed.


    ¡°Thanks for finding him this morning. His name is Adam, he¡¯s my familiar.¡± Being called a familiar was a white lie at worst. I was a little shocked to realise it was Riker who found me and not the Nurse or Hannah. The Professor was hardly holding back her glare. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if he caused any trouble to you. I couldn¡¯t find anyone to look after him whilst I was recovering.¡±


    The professor was as frozen to the spot like I was. I recognised her from somewhere. Memories scratched at the corner of my mind. She was the one who opened the door, candle in hand. The door? What door? When? It must have been recently.


    No matter, she was just another human. They came in seemingly limitless supply. Forgetting one or two here and there could hardly be faulted.


    Hannah continued. ¡°Thank you so much for finding my familiar.¡± She scratched the back of her neck sheepishly before turning her attention towards the little girl behind her. ¡°And you¡¯re the girl who fed my cat when it was looking for food right?¡±


    Mili shrunk further behind the professors silhouette. She peeked out only occasionally.


    Professor Riker seemed to find the courage to move. ¡°I think I get it now.¡± She muttered quietly under her breath. ¡°Wow Hannah, do you know how much of a fright your cat gave me?¡± She exclaimed with puffed out cheeks. ¡°I was puling an all nighter, I heard voices, I look outside my office and there it was, a little monster of misfortune staring at me with glowing eyes! I got so scared I holed up in my office. I thought I was going insane! When I went to see the nurse, there your cat was again! Right in front of the door taking a nap. I nearly feinted on the spot. I thought the world was hell-bent on cursing me for the sins of my past life.¡±


    Hannah shifted awkwardly under Professor Riker¡¯s rapid-fire rant. ¡°It¡¯s uh¡­ It¡¯s just a cat y¡¯know?¡± She let the words tumble out with a strained chuckle. Normally I''d take offence, but considering all of the other evil things people seemed to think I embodied, being called ''just a cat'' wasn''t too demeaning.


    Professor Riker just held her forehead in her hands. ¡°I just can¡¯t escape, can I?¡± She dropped her shoulders in defeat. The gesture brought the children flocking to her feet trying to cheer her up. ¡°It''s been a rough few days.¡±


    It was clear she was under some sort of pressure. Professor Riker had a withered look to her. Although she appeared quite young, the black bags under her eyes suggested she was using up her lifespan at a rate of one year a day.


    Kali and his gang who¡¯d largely been ignored rushed to the side of ¡®auntie Riker¡¯. They were loud and rambunctious at her return which probably didn¡¯t help the headache she seemed to be suffering under.


    Hannah crouched down infront of me and opened up her satchel. ¡°You little nieces and nephews are evil by the way.¡± I hopped into her scrolls-of-death-and-egg-rolling filled bag. ¡°Except for the little one, they all cased my cat. That¡¯s why he was lying wounded outside the Nurse¡¯s office.¡±


    Professor Riker looked to the children who looked up at her with gleaming eyes. They didn''t retreat in the slightest. ¡°They did that, did they?¡± She didn¡¯t look especially angry or disappointed. As expected, nobody stands up for the black cats except witches.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m told the little girl behind you fed my cat when he was hungry.¡± I was planning on stealing from her but that was besides the point. ¡°My familiar had nothing but glowing things to say about that little girl. She must be a very good person.¡± The words were spoken in that awkward half-patronsing tone that can only be aimed towards children.


    Professor Riker narrowed her eyes at Hannah for a moment. ¡°Hey... Aren''t you supposed to be in one of my lectures right now?¡±


    ¡°Well you clearly aren''t running it so why would I?¡±


    Mili peaked a glance from behind her aunt. She remained mute. She hadn''t even smiled after Hannah had tried to thank her. What if she had been taught lie the other that black cats are bad? With ever passing day a little respect and hope died within me. This week was especially bad. I was beginning to feel like that dead eyed Nurse.


    I was resigned to the unfairness of the world but my pointed ears swivelled as they caught faint mutters carried on the breeze. It was barely even quiet, helped only by the fact I could see her lips move very slightly.


    ¡°Bye Mr kitty.¡±


    Life wasn''t all bad and perhaps this hadn''t been a complete waste of time.


    Hannah bid her professor goodbye politely. Riker stared hard at Hannah¡¯s back as she left the alley.


    When we entered back onto the busy street again, oddly enough we could begin talking to eachother again. Nobody was paying much attention to us in a crowd so noisy.


    ¡°What did you make of that?¡± Hannah asked.


    ¡°Not all children are evil. Judging by the look on your face, that''s not what''s on your mind. Your professor sure looked stressed, didn''t she?¡± She looked spaced-out at times and very nervous at others. ¡°I think you might have given your favourite lecturer a greater headache. We probably shouldn''t have done that.¡±


    ¡°Oh c¡¯mon, you enjoyed watching me chase them.¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, my favourite bit was when you tried to stare down an armed knight.¡±


    Hannah shrugged. ¡°Well, it wasn''t entirely bad. I got something out of it.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡± I asked. Her alien logic perplexed me.


    Her reply didn¡¯t come instantly. We weren¡¯t on our way back to the academy just yet either. With every passing day, the inns got busier and the streets filled up furthermore with visitors.


    It was a celebration of a size I found nauseating to even imagine.


    We entered the west plaza of Kasper. The rough cobble road evened out. Here on wheeled platforms massive wooden effigies were being constructed of woven willow on hazel frames.


    Cats, knights, horses, wolves. Credit to their creativity, the likeness of the animals was captured well and stylishly in the giant woven constructions. The labourers worked away with calloused hands. They split into competing groups as they worked up a sweat over their creations.


    ¡°Barduck won¡¯t be the losers this time!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re scrawny little village can¡¯t hope to compete with the wolf of Hartrein!¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure what had them worked up in their rivalry or what they were fighting for. Their works were being constructed as tall as the surrounding buildings. This was nothing to scoff at. Whatever game they were playing, they sure were dedicated.


    ¡°Curious?¡± Hannah grinned at me.


    ¡°More confused.¡±


    ¡°Ah well you¡¯re about to be even more confused knowing you.¡± I took that as a challenge. Surely, even among all of the stupidity of the people around me, there was some sort of logic. I just had not found it yet. I prepared the cogs of my brain to turn at full speed. ¡°Labourers from nearby villages and towns come here to build those. A lot of work goes into it and they parade them through the streets during the festival. It gets a lot of attention and it''s pretty fun to watch.¡±


    ¡°Watch? Is that all? That''s a lot of work for pretty things to look at.¡±


    ¡°I''m not about to explain the psychology of looking at pretty things to you. You could stand to be a bit less disdainful if you really want to understand.¡± She paused and smiled ruefully. ¡°Of course, that''s not the best bit. During the last night of the festival they set the statues alight under hopefully a clear and starry night sky and then ram them against eachother. Last one standing wins.¡±


    I paused to digest all of this and came to only one conclusion. ¡°You¡¯re right, this only confuses me further. Are you suggesting everyone here is a pyromaniac?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Fire is fun.¡± She had clearly not learnt her lesson. ¡°Saying that, I think I¡¯ll stay away from paper arts to do with heat for at least a day.¡± Only a day?! What is wrong with this woman! ¡°Back to the wooden statues though, it¡¯s really simple. The last one competitor standing is clearly in for good fortune.¡±


    ¡°You people and your obsession with ¡®luck¡¯. It¡¯s just a wooden statue. It¡¯s hardly good luck if it wins through all of that fighting only to be burned to the ground.¡± Doesn¡¯t that also pose a fire risk? Maybe bad luck from the Triolo wasn¡¯t behind the burning of Kasper harbour after all. ¡°And you really are shameless. How are your arms?¡±


    ¡°Still can¡¯t feel them. What a pain-or lack thereof-. This has helped take my mind off things though.¡± She cracked the joints in her neck. ¡°Lying in bed thinking the same thing over and over just means I¡¯ll fall into a depressing pattern and a downward spiral.¡±


    So in the end that''s what she got out of chasing those children down. When I thought back on it, she did seem a little too insistent on getting revenge.


    ¡°So what are you going to do now?¡± Given her condition, she couldn¡¯t work away on her scrolls. Even holding a brush firmly would be a trial. If it was the only thing she felt she could do though, she¡¯d probably try none the less.


    For the first time in a while, she might have to take her time to consider other options. I felt almost proud of her.


    ¡°I might just go back home and try working on practising my paper arts.¡± And thus, as though struck by a hammer blow to the head, my hope died. ¡°I¡¯ve got a free weekend ahead of me for the first time in a while. Imagine all the things I could do?¡± I personally was planning on sleeping away this madness. ¡°There''s still a few things I have to do today. I¡¯ll see if Jean is in. Damn, I forgot to ask Riker whether she left any handouts for her lecture¡±


    ¡°Whatever you want to do, could you make it quick? It¡¯s about to start raining.¡± Small grey patches began appearing on the stone¡¯s surface as the cloudy sky began to stutter out droplets of rain.


    Hannah turned in the direction of the Triolo. ¡°I¡¯ll see if Linth is still around. She''ll know about any handouts.¡± Hannah began muttering to herself. To avoid the damp I retreated further inside the satchel and decided to let her be.


    I had by this point largely given up on ever seeing a breakfast.

 6 - Trying to find someone who isnt useless

    With still a lot of time left in the day after chasing down Kali''s gang and wandering for a bit, Hannah made a decision between visiting Jean or visiting Linth next.


    Jean Hargrave was an oddity. She was one of the few lecturers here who didn¡¯t look like an overworked haggard scholar. Being Hannah''s personal tutour, conversations between the two were usually quite friendly.


    The city was being showered in a downpour of rain by the time we made it back to the Triolo. Even in this weather, the practice fields were still being used. Those with free time took shelter inside. For some, the day had ended with the morning lectures and so they were waiting for the weather to ease up.


    Jean¡¯s office was on the northside of the site. That wing of the campus was used to seeing visitors and the insides were decorated with a comfortable rustic appeal suiting of the region surrounding Kasper. The headmasters own office was in that wing along with most of the management.


    Once we reached the campus I jumped out the satchel. I couldn¡¯t stomach more time than was necessary in that swaying cramped shoulder bag. It still stung to walk but it wasn''t unmanageable.


    We approached Jean¡¯s office. Peering through the clear glass inset on the door, Hannah raised a smile. Finally something was going right. She¡¯d already asked whether she was here today but the baggy eyed professor she found wandering the halls didn''t give answers that inspired much confidence. He didn¡¯t seem to know whether it was day or night. Was this really normal? Haven¡¯t they heard of unions?


    Well it wasn''t my problem if he worked himself to an early grave.


    After Hannah gave a steady knock on the wooden door, we got permission to enter. I slipped through the gap into the spacious office after Hannah.


    The room was spacious enough for quite a few people, however it seemed entirely reserved for Jean.


    ¡°Take a seat.¡± Jean glanced up from her desk work and gestured towards the unoccupied chair opposite her desk. ¡°I¡¯m just catching up on letters. Do you mind waiting a moment?¡± She gave an apologetic smile. On the centre of her desk was a thick wad of letters. Lining the walls were bookshelves and cabinets.


    Hannah sat as instructed whilst jumped up onto the desk and settled near the edge out of the way. Jean looked neither surprised nor shocked at my presence. Whever Hannah went, there was a good chance I was somewhere nearby.


    With little to do, Hannah just waited, looking around the office for anything new to study. Jean¡¯s office looked by far more comfortable than it should be. The chairs were cushioned, the desk had a smooth polish, and everything was neatly organised and arranged. Even the Nurse''s office which should have been been squeaky clean appeared grubby in comparison. The windows had curtains! Who had fine red looking curtains on their windows except important people? I felt a mysterious new urge to try and claw my way up them.


    There was a sickly sweat smell in the air. I traced it back to a charm hanging up above the window. It may have been a good luck charm or something like a dream catcher. Jean didn''t look the kind of person who slept in her office often but with that seat looking so comfy I couldn''t blame her for indulging in a nap or two. Certain kinds of people had dream catchers and I didn''t imagine Jean being one of those people.


    ¡°How¡¯s your arms?¡± Jean began.


    ¡°Better.¡± Hannah hid her flinch well behind a stiff expression. ¡°So you know about yesterday?¡±


    ¡°I caught the Nurse mumbling in his own little corner in the canteen yesterday.¡± She said with a sunny smile. ¡°A little eavesdropping and voila, the rat¡¯s out of the bag.¡± Her tone turned from playful to strict as she got to the point. ¡°You need to learn when to call it quits. You could have- you did get seriously hurt.¡±


    ¡°My arms are fine.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t stop at eavesdropping Hannah. I spoke to the Nurse over breakfast. You can¡¯t dismiss this.¡± Jean glared. ¡°Geez, you sure are a handful. Spare a thought for your tutor when she hears you do crazy things like that. It''s not often I''ve seen the Nurse so challenged by an injury. With injuries like that I''m surprised they didn''t immediately bar you from further exams.¡± Jean¡¯s eyes drifted along to me whilst Hannah deliberated on her reply. ¡°Your one saving grace right now is bringing along this adorable little thing.¡±


    She reached her hand out and I allowed her to pet me. I put up with it y¡¯know? What was I suppose to do? She''s big and scary and I couldn''t escape even if I tried. I might as well whilst I''m here enjoy-ahem- I mean suffer this humiliation.


    Yes, right there. Behind the ear. Oh just a little mo-


    Hannah clicked her tongue in frustration a little too loudly. ¡°Jerk.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± My ears may have caught it but Jean¡¯s clearly missed it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t come here for you to lecture me.¡± Hannah leant back in her chair, her arms crossed. She turned the other cheek as I felt like she was all too forcefully avoiding looking my way. Once again, I felt a foreboding feeling. ¡°You know the Nurse goes around saying he doesn''t have a medical licence?¡±


    In reply, Jean cocked her head to the side. ¡°An odd claim for the Nurse who fixed your arms to make, don''t you think? I don''t think he likes people very much.¡±


    ¡°You think? I was convinced that if if we spent any more time together he was either going to kill me, my cat, or himself. Possibly all of us! I mean he might as well already been trying with what he does to me every Friday.¡± Hannah descended into frustrated muttering.


    I was now in a strange position where I was both curious and scared of what normally happens on fridays at the Triolo. Maybe next time, if my curiosity could last, I''d insist on going with her next Friday instead of letting her leave me behind.


    Jean, understandably, just laughed off the sudden tension in the room nervously. ¡°Back to the topic at hand, maybe? I can¡¯t convince you to give up, and I can¡¯t convince you to not do something stupid like that again. My best hope is that lightning really doesn¡¯t strike the same place twice. I¡¯ll do my best to point you in where you need to go to develop.¡± It was nice to know someone was sharing my pain. ¡°Show me your practice scrolls.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°They haven¡¯t changed much since you last looked.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m not exactly an expert in physical patent production.¡± Jean grinned in an attempt to reassure Hannah. ¡°This stuff is a bit beyond me.¡±


    ¡°Then why am I handing them over?¡±


    ¡°Sh sh sh, just hand em over.¡± Jean theatrically hushed Hannah¡¯s doubts. When she got a hand of some of the paper scrolls she looked pensively at each one as Hannah explained their purpose.


    ¡°So what were the trials they made you do?¡±


    ¡°Move an egg and crack an ice cube.¡±


    Jean set the practice scrolls to one side. ¡°They caught you out on the second trial. Hmm¡­ Well they are pretty harsh. It means they found something they didn''t like.¡± She let out a pained laugh. ¡°This here is the force spell you used to roll the egg, right?¡±


    Hannah nodded, ¡°It''s a copy of the one I used.¡± Even if Jean was not an expert, she was still more than likely more practised than Hannah.


    ¡°Reminds me of my youth.¡± Jean furrowed her brow. ¡°It''s modified, but not enough to disrupt the primed. You could probably still set a vector for this I see. On the whole, it looks a lot like what I was raised on. But these temperature scrolls¡­ Wow, this is just...¡±


    ¡°The primer.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Jean looked a little concerned. ¡°They have faulty primers. I¡¯m not surprised either. Ordinarily the temperature practice scroll would just make your thumb feel a bit warm or cold. I can¡¯t imagine you¡¯ve properly experimented with your creations. I can see why this had such dramatic effects. It''s a small wonder that it even ''worked'' in this state.¡± the air about her turned sharply hostile. ¡°So you want to die, do you?¡±


    The glare was hard and cold. Hannah tensed up. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t ever plan on using them. I drew them up on theory alone and-¡±


    ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t have used them. You shouldn¡¯t have even brought them along.¡± Jean didn''t need to nor want to hear anymore of Hannah''s resistance. Her voice calm and level, her reasoning rational, with both the professionalism that comes with years in the industry of magic and the end results of Hannah''s misguided actions at her side, there was no argument that could be brooked against her. ¡°Your a little too desperate if you think you have the technical know how to produce physical patents like this. I''m confiscating these.¡±


    Hannah¡¯s expression descended into a glower for a moment however she bit her tongue back from making hostile comments. ¡°I need some books to help me research.¡±


    Jean shook her head. ¡°No can do. What you want to read is not available to students like you. And before you give me puppy eyes,¡± Hannah had no intention of doing such a thing, ¡°I can¡¯t borrow books for you either. The academy is strict about not losing the academic papers it has in its library. If they went missing or were damaged, they''d charge with destroying intellectual property. That''s punished harshly in this kingdom.¡± Perhaps a feeling a little guilty over snapping earlier, she added. ¡°Have you considered asking the help of Professor Riker? She teaches patent production.¡±


    ¡°Professor Riker has taken time off, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, she has. I don¡¯t know the details myself, but¡­¡±


    ¡°But?¡±


    Jean''s austere expression began to show cracks as concern leaked into her eyes. ¡°Many of the scholars that arrive here have fallen behind in their respective industry or are still struggling to find a place for themselves in their niche of academia. To call this place a dumpyard for scholars wouldn''t give the problem enough credit.¡±


    It would explain the haggard and harassed look of many of the lecturers. Jean looked to be an exception. To the extent of my limited knowledge and interest, Jean didn¡¯t teach topics on magic.


    ¡°Riker is one of the latter. Her knowledge of patents is peerless in the region and her niche is in patent theory rather than production thereof. She¡¯s made a name of herself as the ¡®Queen of sixteen lines.¡¯ However, not to sound too disrespectful, Kasper certainly has a ways to go to catch up with the rest of the world. As talented as I''m sure my coworker is, her work would be merely above average in the capital. None the less, it''s good we have such a great teacher on the subject at hand. Except she''s not at hand at the moment so...¡±


    Hannah sat back in her seat, digesting all of this quietly. ¡°So what I¡¯m hearing is this was the worst academy in the country to choose.¡±


    ¡°It is also the only academy which would be desperate enough to accept you. And, you''re lucky the aforementioned academy had professor Riker.¡±


    Waving away Jean¡¯s comments with a wince, Hannah straightened herself in her chair. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me. But what about you, Jean? You¡¯re not a scholar, but you''re still a magic user, right? You could read my scrolls well enough.¡±


    Jean laughed lightly. ¡°You are right, I''m not a scholar. I''m a court magician. Every noble family and local court will depend on court magicians at some point for special advice. I am indeed a magic user, just not as adept as other practitioners. However other practitioners aren''t qualified to give advice on how magic can be used in agriculture.¡± So she wasn''t a scholar who wrote academic papers, but one who read them and helped apply the knowledge to fields of industry. ¡°I guess you could call me an hydrosophist.¡±


    ¡°Water magic.¡±


    ¡°More humidity control.¡± Jean nodded. ¡°But you¡¯re more or less correct. The Hargrave family make the most reliable industry ready hydrosophists this country can offer.¡± Her smile exposed her pride. ¡°My skill is still the shame of my family though. Would you like to see?¡±


    ¡°Sure why not.¡± Hannah''s replied airily.


    Jean looked put off by Hannah''s lacklustre interest. ¡°I¡¯d actually hoped you¡¯d maybe show just the slightest bit of excitement at this opportunity.¡±


    ¡°Sure rub in how brilliant your magic is and how good you are compared to me.¡± Hannah deadpanned.


    ¡°Ah right, I see.¡± Jean nevertheless lifted her hands, already committed. She joined her fingers making a hollow chamber. A set of small jeweled cufflinks on her sleeves faintly glowed as she closed her eyes and focused.


    There was no incantation. This annoyed me more than it should. I couldn¡¯t tell whether they were necessary or the people who used incantations were just adding them for flare. If it was the latter case, then that would just be embarrassing.


    Beads of sweat began to form around her hand, slowly being dragged into the hollow chamber through the gaps in her interlocked fingers. On further study, it wasn''t sweat. The air in the room began to feel drier and drier. Even my eyes felt like the moisture was being sucked from them.


    A small ball of liquid hovered in Jean¡¯s hands. She separated her fingers, slowly spread her hands further and further away from the ball. It hovered and grew to an inch in diameter.


    ¡°Watch.¡± Jean smiled a noticeably genuine smile as she made the ball spin, compressing it into a disk or the shape of a thin oval. And then she spread her arms out further, the water dispersed not into droplets but a nebulous vapour that hovered unnaturally above the desk, spinning slowly.


    ¡°Huh, neat.¡± Hannah without warning tried to part the vapour with her hand. ¡°It feels normal. But it¡¯s hovering. How?¡±


    Jean grimaced, ¡°Let¡¯s just put it down to constant practice and failure.¡± She compressed the vapour smoothly and gently placed the ball of water down in an empty coffee stained mug on her desk. ¡°I''m actually a little surprised. I made it look a lot easier than it really was.¡±


    ¡°Think I could turn it into a scroll?¡± Hannah asked.


    The question caught Jean off guard. She shook her head, exasperated. ¡°Yeah. I guess? Maybe Professor Riker could do it. I can¡¯t. It¡¯s an innate thing. I wouldn''t know how to draw the patent.¡±


    A little sourness crept into Hannah¡¯s expression. ¡°Yeah. I guess it¡¯s like trying to explain to someone how to move your leg.¡±


    Jean nodded. ¡°How do you tell someone how to move their leg other than saying ¡®just move it¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Well this hasn¡¯t been a total waste of time.¡± Hannah stood up.


    Jean watched her get up with a quizzical look. ¡°Done?¡±


    ¡°I need to hunt some handouts for the lecture I missed, If there were any. Besides, you¡¯ve just told me you¡¯re useless and it¡¯s professor Riker that I actually need.¡±


    ¡°I uh¡­ Yeah but you don¡¯t need to put it so harshly.¡± I could very nearly see the heartbreak. ¡°Has anyone ever made a point about how rude you are?¡± Jean raised a brow. ¡°Nevermind. I¡¯m not in on the weekend. I¡¯m also away this tuesday.¡±


    ¡°See you on monday then.¡±


    ¡°What about your inj-¡±


    Hannah closed the door behind her, leaving us both in the empty corridor. She looked down to me with an ambivalent expression. If I was any the wiser, I¡¯d probably say I was on trial for something. However she dropped the stare and began walking away. Without much pause to think, I followed her to our next destination.

 7 - Den invasion

    Barring the daggers Hannah glared my way whilst I was getting the back of my ear scratched, the meeting with Jean must have gone at least okay. Potential help had been dangled in front her face, and then hasty barriers had been constructed between her and it. If she wanted to talk to Riker, she''d have to wait.


    Despite nothing going overtly wrong like during the test, it still must not have been a very satisfying meeting. Hannah''s hands were balled into fists. It wasn''t easy to shake off anxiety. Her knuckles weren''t white yet so all was not lost.


    At times like this, one must find a friend. The first to come to mind would be the reclusive Linth. That den dweller liked to make her presence as small as possible. We probably should have head to her first. But there is meaning in saving the best until last.


    So long as the faculty knew, the students could appropriate whatever room in disuse they wanted. Linth had found, cleaned, refurbished, and stocked her own personal library. It was the book club. That being said, I''d never seen said club advertised or anyone other than Linth there.


    Hannah stopped in her tracks on the way to the club and began mumbling under her breath. ¡°I wonder if it''s worth it to check Riker''s office first?¡± It was probably not. We had seen Riker that morning and she was not in the Triolo. I couldn''t understand what was to be gained.


    Making up her mind, Hannah turned in a new direction. Riker''s office was located in the same building as the Nurse''s office. When we arrived in the corridor just outside her door, I felt odd.


    Something was amiss. The corridor was familiar yet not familiar. Quiet hushed whispers in the corners of my mind debated over whether I should or shouldn''t know this place. I scanned the length of the corridor for anything familiar.


    There were a few students making their way back, possibly from checking to see if Riker was in. The door to her office was strangely etched into my memory. Likewise, the plant pot at the end of the corridor beneath a still open window, and a display table opposite Riker''s door caught my attention.


    ¡°Adam?¡± Hannah raised an inquisitive voice. I¡¯d been taking very slow and careful steps to the point I was lagging behind.


    Perking my head up, the whispers in the corner of my skull silenced, as though they feared they were being overheard. I decided, for the time being, that I did not recognise this corridor.


    I could hear rummaging from the inside of Riker''s office as well as subtle scratching from the walls. One of these was likely rats. Her door had been left slightly ajar. Somebody was thumbing their way clumsily through stacks of paper.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± The stout figure within the office lifted his head to the door just in time to catch sight of Hannah peering in. Despite probably being in his thirties, his hair looked to be greying and he dressed like he was an austere disapproving dad at a family reunion.


    ¡°Professor Mathers.¡± The colour drained from Hannah like a shadow caught in candlelight. Typical, I thought to myself, Hannah''s mood had only just improved after this morning of harassing children.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you have lectures to be at?¡± He practically growled.


    ¡°Riker¡¯s aw-¡±


    ¡°Ah of course, you must be enjoying your Friday off.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for Hannah''s fumbling answer. ¡°We¡¯ll make sure you make up for any lost experimentation next friday. Your stunt has cost me valuable time. You''ll have to reimburse me for all the trouble you''ve caused if you do this again.¡±


    Something about this man drove nails into my temper. I''d noticed him once or twice wondering the halls of the campus. With an aloof air to him, he refused to meet anyone''s eyes as though he were trying to avoid deigning them his equal. The disdainful spark that entered his eyes whenever he noticed me and Hannah really rubbed me the wrong way.


    Hannah pursed her lips. It was the first time anyone had lashed out so brazenly and rudely at her and she¡¯d kept mostly quiet and contained. Her tone of voice level, betraying the urge to snap, she asked. ¡°Is professor Riker in?¡±


    ¡°Does it look like it?¡± He scoffed.


    I withheld the urge to hiss. What had he accomplished in his meager life to deserve his attitude? It was probably for the best that Hannah kept composed. ¡°Then what are you doing here, Professor Mathers?¡±


    He narrowed his eyes at the question. ¡°I¡¯m merely looking out for a friend.¡± He spoke with a glint of self-satisfaction. ¡°Don¡¯t you have something better to do?¡±


    Without missing a beat Hannah nodded. ¡°Yeah, actually I do.¡± She turned, her loose hair lashing out like vipers before settling on her shoulder, and walked off.


    I heaved a sigh. So much walking today and so many faces in need of slapping. All on an empty stomach as well. Please, anyone, if you can hear me, just one slice of ham is all I''m asking for!


    I might have been lazy and whimsical, but I had guessed he must be someone very important for Hannah''s deal with the Triolo. Possibly the guy who says whether she can or can''t study here. To have such a person in a position of power was quite frustrating.


    Hannah left in a hurry. Her knuckles were as white as snow. Anxiety was one hell of an emotion. Several seconds of deep breathing later and she still didn''t look all that well.


    ¡°Odd. Does he always wear that face? Y''know, the one in dire need of being slapped with a chair?¡± I mused over the encounter once we were out of earshot. Thankfully, rather than wringing my neck for speaking openly during her trying time, she smirked. The tension in her hands eased. It seemed the walls would not be painted in a fresh coat of someone''s blood today.


    Finding Linth was not difficult. She didn''t move her den once she''d been discovered. It was like being in on one of the many secrets of the Triolo.


    There were plenty of places still in disuse. Plenty of places to explore but also plenty of places to stumble across something you shouldn''t. Most people were dissuaded from roaming too far from their usual visits by superstitious rumours flying around and about the Triolo. Even on the busiest of days, the way to Linth''s den was dead quiet.


    The disused buildings were usually cleared of useful furniture. Nobody was stopping a student from finding a use for the empty rooms. The faculty often welcomed it. Sadly, the faculty were rather harsh on what club activities were allowed so most students were put off.


    I don''t think Linth had asked for permission though. She''d sort of just found and empty room and claimed it.


    A testament to Linth''s diligence, she''d found bookshelves for her books, tables and chairs for visitors, and even a small charcoal burner for warmth during winter.


    ¡°Yo.¡± Hannah casually waved her hand in greeting.


    Linth lifted her head from her book and watched Hannah with uneasy eyes. ¡°Hi.¡± She timidly tracked Hannah''s journey around the room.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    I sauntered in as best as I could for a cat with broken ribs, hopped up onto the long table with its six chairs, all but one empty.


    Hannah drew one of the chairs and sat down. ¡°So uh, did Riker leave us any handouts this morning? I was busy.¡± If busy meant ¡®recovering from burning my own arms¡¯, then yes I could testify she was busy.


    The difference in their presences was like night and day. Even on home turf, Linth retreated into her book whilst Hannah, as confident as ever, made herself at home as she reclined in her chair.


    ¡°The lecture was cancelled.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know. I was in the Nurse¡¯s office this morning looking after my cat.¡± An audacious cover story. Technically true but also not. It was in that little cosy greyzone where the spoken truth points the conversation in the wrong direction. That zone was called ¡®deceit¡¯. I wasn''t sure I liked being the cover story though. In fact, I was against ever using deceit on Linth.


    ¡°Something happened to Adam?¡± I sat some distance away at the end of the table, but with such wide concerned eyes being thrown my way, I¡¯d have to be entirely heartless to just ignore her. I got up and slowly made my way towards Linth. Of course it was my duty to put the heart of this fair maiden at ease. Nothing but duty. So I lied down next to Linth and with nothing but the pure and knightly desire, tolerated being petted.


    Yes, right there, behind the ear-


    Hannah cleared her throat. ¡°Don¡¯t be too rough, I think he¡¯s broken a few ribs. He needs a lie down and a rest.¡±


    ¡°Then just the ears and tail today.¡± Her magic fingers worked away undeterred. ¡°Who''s the bestest cat in the entire world? You are! Oh my god so soft¡­¡±


    I¡¯d normally find this very patronising but she was just too damn cute. How could I get angry or frustrated when this human could probably massage the hate out of a honeybadger? Admittedly, I didn''t like that she talked to cats like they were dogs. Cats are worshipped whilst dogs are dotted on. That''s the difference.


    Sometimes, it seemed, I forgot I was not in fact a cat but someone cursed to be a cat.


    Ahem. Unhand me you inane drooling fool! How dare you treat me like another lower form of indolent vermin. I''m leagues ahead of you in superiority! Behold, as I show this by laying perfectly still and not resisting in the slightest! That will show you who''s boss!


    My presence was a required ingredient whenever Hannah needed to talk to Linth. I put her at ease, making her much easier to talk to.


    ¡°I see you¡¯re having fun.¡± Hannah smiled brightly but the overwhelming crushing pressure of hostility was no doubt directed at none other than me.


    Linth didn¡¯t notice that murderous look in Hannah¡¯s eyes. I decided if I was to die, I would die living my best life so continued to ¡®tolerate¡¯ Linth. ¡°I don¡¯t think Riker left any handouts. I was late to the lecture but nobody said anything about Riker leaving us anything. Sorry.¡±


    Tapping her finger on the table, Hannah shrugged. ¡°Well that¡¯s fine I guess. Did they say when Riker would be back?¡±


    Linth cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. Even with divided attention she was still making me feel heavenly comfort. ¡°I think they said she¡¯d got the month off. I think they¡¯re preparing a substitute. Sorry I can''t help.¡±


    ¡°You really need to stop finishing your sentences in apologies. You make me think I''m putting you on trial for war crimes.¡± Hannah frowned dissaprovingly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they are gonna be as good as Riker.¡± Linth finished. ¡°Um... I mean they might be but I don''t know. Uh...¡± Linth struggled, her sentences not feeling quite complete without her usual apology.


    A substitute teacher might not bode well for Hannah. Jean had made promises about the quality of the ''Queen of sixteen lines'' or whatever Riker''s weird nickname was. Then again, it was never guaranteed that Riker was going to help in the first place. She didn''t seem very relaxed around me or Hannah. Hannah had been in her classes for a while. This probably wasn''t the first time the idea had popped up.


    ¡°That''s fine.¡± She said in that special tone of voice that suggested it was very much not fine.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Hannah shot Linth a hard glare for apologising, for which Linth almost apologised for but caught herself.


    A while later the conversation dragged to a stop. Hannah counted what was left of her scrolls after several had been confiscated by Jean whilst Linth slowly moved her attention from me back to the book.


    I was quite thankful for that. My ribs had begun to hurt again and it seemed even the comforts of heaven didn''t keep me happy for long.


    It was a peaceful silence which was only disturbed by Hannah''s sighs or the short rustle of a page being turned. It was almost the perfect environment to take a nap in. Sadly there was no warm sunlight coming through the windows what with the weather as it was.


    Soon simply resting my eyes turned into comfortable slumber before I was stirred awake by Hannah''s voice again.


    ¡°There''s a lot of books here.¡±


    ¡°I don''t have enough room at home. Sorry.¡±


    ¡°It''s crazy how many books you have. You''ve got a lot of books on history here. Be honest, do you ever actually read them?¡± Hannah grinned. It did seem like an impressive volume of books to chew through.


    Linth began to squirm under Hannah''s scrutiny. ¡°I sometimes take breaks to read fiction. What... What do you read?¡±


    ¡°It''s hard to say what ''kind'' of books I''m into. A good book is a good book.¡±


    ¡°But most readers want the author to show them something about themselves.¡± I was inclined to agree with Linth. ¡°To convey a message the reader can agree with or disagree with. Write characters they can sympathise with. Everybody has a type. That''s even ignoring whether you read books for escapism or not.¡±


    ¡°I guess if you''re reading fiction then yeah.¡± Hannah ran her finger along spines of the books. ¡°If I had to pick and chose a book on this shelf that sounded interesting I''d pick... Amarinth: The battleground of two magics. Huh, an actual book on my homeland. And on the order of ice and witches no less.¡±


    Hannah pulled out the book and flipped through a few pages. She didn''t like reading fiction. It''d been a while since Hannah sat down and read anything of the sort. Preferring to enrich her knowledge of magic as much as possible, she''d consume almost anything and everything that sounded relevant. She would not wilfully consume fiction but history books aren''t always written with truth in mind.


    ¡°Um. Be careful with that.¡± Linth couldn''t take her eyes of Hannah as she thumbed through one of her books.


    Hannah clapped the book shut and returned it to its rightful place on the bookshelf. ¡°Linth, is this really a club?¡±


    ¡°No...¡± Linth shook her head. I suppose I shouldn''t have been surprised.


    ¡°What really?! I thought this was a club. You can''t just steal a disused room to house your ''horde'' like some sort of weird book dragon. Wait... Is that a sleeping bag in the corner? Are you sleeping here?¡±


    In the corner of the room, there was a sleeping bag. Next to it was a lamp and a book on old local folklore. How had the academy few this happen? I was slightly impressed.


    ¡°Look I, um,¡± Linth floundered looking for the right words. ¡°It''s not what you think.¡± She whistled innocently.


    ¡°No, it''s totally what I think.¡± Hannah deadpanned. ¡°Why don''t you share? Everytime I''ve come here you''ve been alone. Don''t you have any friends except me?¡±


    ¡°Sh-share?! My books?!¡± Linth looked as though she''d been slapped.


    The idea was hardly that egregious. I couldn''t imagine there was a lot of value in a book after you''d read it once.


    ¡°Yeah. You could, y''know, make more friends?¡± Hannah had a fair point even if she put it a little harshly. Linth''s own timidness was a factor. On the one hand, it might be offputting to some, on the other hand, it did a lot to endear her to me at least. Surely there''d be others like me. ¡°Eventually you''re going to leave, where are these books gonna go then?¡±


    ¡°Hrrk.¡± Linth winced and avoided Hannah''s gaze suspiciously.


    Placing her hands on her hips, Hannah tutted disapprovingly. ¡°Maybe, just maybe, you could actually start a real book club. There''s probably even a one you could join somewhere out there.¡±


    Hannah crouched down near Linth''s sleeping bag and picked up the book on folklore. She caught a bookmark just before it slipped out. Opening on the page Linth had stopped at she began skimming the contents before something caught her eyes.


    ¡°This is about the Triolo.¡± Hannah furrowed her brows in consternation. ¡°Woah, and I thought it was rumours made up by bored apprentices...¡± She flicked through a few more pages. Some had illustrations. ¡°Hey, can I borrow this Linth?¡±


    ¡°Please don''t touch that. It''s a really good book. I''ve heard good things about the writer.¡± Lint practically begged.


    ¡°All right. Fine. I''ll put it back. Could you let me read it after you''ve finished?¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Linth. I''ll take that as a yes.¡± Hannah grinned and flashed a cheeky thumbs up in Linth''s direction.


    The book looked unremarkable. There were quite a few rumours flying around about the Triolo. Usually they were quite wild or unnerving. They had to be quite special in a world with magic to contend with.


    The most popular was the rumour about the soldiers of coal. They patrol the Triolo, enforcing the last order given to them before they were abandoned by the world. Maintain the Hexan plague quarantine at any cost. Nobody was allowed in or out of the cathedral.


    The two friends spent some more time doing not much of anything together like this. Hannah occasionally lifting her head to get on Linth''s nerves. Everynow and then she''d sigh and pinch her numb hands before looking absent-mindedly out the window.


    Without any research, without professor Riker, and having run out of focus to work on with her dull hands, Hannah''s efforts ground to a halt.


    Eventually, we left Linth to herself altogether to get some food. It was a bit late to count as a breakfast but there was always tomorrow.

 8 - I still dont get it

    The downpour of rain only got worse as the day passed. Rather than be stuck in the Triolo, Hannah decided to gamble and rush home in the wet weather. We missed the worse of it by just an hour.


    When we got home, the first priority was warmth. On the ground floor the landlady was tending to the fireplace, the heart of the buildings central heating. It''s roaring flames licked at her stained hands as she threw on more fuel.


    We headed up to the third floor. The cascade of rain sounded distant now that we were indoors. I''d escaped getting damp by hiding in the satchel. I''d be soaked in my own fur otherwise and that would by no means be pleasant.


    ¡°Why can''t it rain after I''m back home?¡± Hannah grumbled as she hung her best clothes up to dry. Placing a wooden basin beneath them, she hoped to catch the water before it seeped through and down into the floor below.


    I roamed the floor, looking for anything overtly out of place. A habit I''d made over the last few years. I hated surprises.


    The floor was more than could be expected for the rent the landlady charged. There was a plainly decorated bedroom, a general area for eating and food preparation with a pantry off to the side, and a toilet room which I tried to avoid.


    This place could comfortably house a family and yet Hannah had it all to herself. What a waste of good space. It went without saying that something about this arrangement irked me. I couldn''t decide whether it was the suspiciously benevolent landlady or the amoral use of good housing space.


    Since I was, for the time being, cursed to be a cat, I decided to drop the politics and direct all my suspicions upon the landlady. It was hard to be malicious to a lady for being nice so I rarely if ever voiced my thoughts.


    It didn''t take me long to find somewhere comfortable to lie down. Up on the one of counters there was a pile of discarded dishcloths. Nestling myself into a comfortable position I set about the exhaustive task of napping. Life as a cat is filled with hard work.


    Nothing much happened the rest of the day. I was thankful about that as well. The morning had been hectic and the evening before even worse. There was a comfortable silence between me and Hannah.


    All I was interested in now that we were both seemed to be at home safe and sound was a good decent rest. And I got it.


    I slept through the evening straight into next morning. Intermittently waking up to roam and stretch only to satiate my boredom and fill my empty schedule with further sleep. It was glorious. No arms being burnt. No children hitting me with sticks. I wasn''t passed out from pain and there were no eerie whispers in the back of my head troubling themselves over whether I did or didn''t recognise some random corridor in the Triolo.


    There came a point during the next day where I was stirred out of my slumber by the savoury scent of smoked salmon. Perking my head up and looking around, I vaguely realised it was the morning of the next day. If only I could spend every day so idle and absent-minded, I''d be living in a world which would pass me by at a comfortable speed.


    If only I''d been cursed to live out the rest of my days as statue of a cat rather than an actual cat.


    ¡°When you perk your head up like that at the mere smell of food, I wonder to myself how much of you is actually cat.¡± Hannah mused with a slice of salmon dangling from her mouth. ¡°I just got back from the morning market. Want some smoked fish?¡±


    It was no ham but smoked salmon was a delicacy in it''s own league. If it were ever possible to get tired of ham for breakfast, I''d switch immediately to salmon. Not to say that salmon was not equal in value to ham, but rather that ham was simply filling the number one preference because it got there first.


    She didn''t even need to ask. ¡°Look at my teeth. Their not for chewing. They are for ripping and tearing meats which falls apart in strips. I''ve no time for starchy veg.¡± I do miss apples though.


    ¡°I''ll take that as a ''yes please'' then.¡± Hannah threw a meagre strip of smoked salmon my way and back to preparing food. She was encasing little chunks of soft cheese in shells of smoked salmon. After she was finished, she had stacked a small tasty looking pyramid of these bite-sized food parcels.


    With such wonderful scent in the air, it would now be impossible to sleep. Smoked salmon comes with a price of its own. Unlike ham, I would never be satisfied with just one piece. Smoked salmon was high up there in the league of foods I could gorge myself on. It was right next to salami on that list.


    The promised day of breakfast had finally arrived.


    ¡°How''s your arms?¡± They must have been getting better if she could prepare food so deftly.


    Hannah pinched her way to her elbow, feeling for the sensation of pain and then shrugged. ¡°I''m feeling more than I felt yesterday.¡±


    There wasn''t a single sign of scarring on or along her arms. These silky smooth looking limbs were a testament to the skill of a very grumpy Nurse who claimed to have no medical licence.


    ¡°How''s your ribs?¡±


    ¡°Better after a long calm night of rest.¡±


    ¡°I''m not sure broken ribs heal that fast.¡± She pensively munched on one of her snack parcels.


    It wasn''t something I could explain away with the expression ''grin and bear it'' but it wouldn''t be the strangest thing about me. ¡°I''m not sure horrifically burned arms heal that fast.¡±


    ¡°Well... magic.¡±


    ¡°Well... curse.¡±


    Clearing a workspace for herself on the table Hannah rolled out some empty parchments and set down some pots of ink. Open books for study and diagrams of patent designs were lying everywhere after just half an hour. Whilst she didn''t produce any new scrolls to replace her old ones, she began planning to do so by lightly tracing designs onto the paper with soft lead.


    It struck me as I watched on-mostly to gauge when her attention would slip away from the food parcel pyramid enough for me to steal a few- that I knew next to nothing about what she was doing.


    The designs on the scrolls looked like fancy geometric pattern. Straight linear lines would branch out from a circle at the bottom of the page. They intersected in great tangles before shooting off to form an increasingly complex weave. I could only recognise the circle that started it all as the primer. That''s what everyone else seemed to call it.


    The scroll had to be a decent size and the hand that drew with the brush had to be steady. The ink and paper were ordinary as far as I could tell. Magic worked with ordinary things so I wasn''t particularly surprised. It did make me wonder how magic was discovered.


    To foster that innate ability to spellcast, mages used light houses or back in the day, practice scrolls. It helped them get a grasp of the feeling of using magic. I believed the term used was spell dexterity. So somebody had to make some kind of physical patent and activate before they could even become aware of magic.Stolen story; please report.


    How insane must that person have been? The first person to have done it, I imagine, did it by accident. Drawing crazy geometric patterns on a wall to satisfy some unknowable brain itch. Planting their thumb dramatically at the centre, they shout alloud about some weird invisible god whilst their partner and children cower in the kitchen. Much to their surprise, their god answers them when they are blown to smithereens. Magic is thus introduced to the world.


    Whatever the truth, I preferred my version.


    ¡°Huh, so that''s what the cursed cat makes of magic.¡± Hannah mused after I shared my story.


    ¡°Not cursed cat, cursed to be a cat. There''s a big difference there.¡± I huff. ¡°I''m not a cat which has been cursed. I''m a person cursed to be a cat.¡±


    Hannah shrugged and with a rather malicious grin she retorted. ¡°You could be a cat cursed to believe it was a person.¡± The mere thought drew out an angry hiss. ¡°I mean how would I know the difference? How would you know?¡± She continued teasing mercilessly.


    ¡°What''s so surprising about my views of magic anyway? If there''s one thing I''ve learnt, its that nobody knows how it came about. A wild story here is as valid as the posturing of any scholar. Nobody knows what makes patents work. ¡±


    Hannah set aside her work for a moment, switching off her light-hearted teasing. Her eyes had the glint of excitement at the subject. ¡°That''s right. What makes magic work? What gives some people innate ability and some none? There has to be rules. For instance,¡± She lifted a brush off her desk and let it fall from her hand. It hit the desk with a dull clatter and rolled to a stop. ¡°When you drop things, they go down. And object will start falling the moment nothing is left to support it. We''ve accepted that at face value. An invisible force keeps us tied to the floor.¡±


    ¡°So the rules are invisible? Great.¡± I muttered.


    The glint in Hannah''s eyes lit into a fire, unwilling to leave this at such a stupid conclusion. ¡°But it''s not unknowable. I read in the library a theory by an old scholar from Barakesh. Objects in free-fall have near enough the same acceleration downwards. Book, sword, apple, they all gain downwards velocity at the same pace. They are all being pulled upon by a force you can quantify with a number. It''s not an unknowable rule and it''s effects are not invisible. You couldn''t see a rope dragging that brush I dropped back down the table, but you could see the effects of the force.¡±


    ¡°And how does that relate to magic?¡±


    ¡°As I said, invisible is not unknowable. People make out magic, the thing that fuels the changes we do to the world around us through spell, to be either some kind of divine providence or unknowable miracle. We just aren''t measuring the right things. We don''t have the right instruments. But mark my words we will learn the truth behind it eventually and then with the science of magic we''ll do incredible things.¡± She puffed out her chest proudly and grandly as she nodded, agreeing with every single one of her own words.


    Her determination was almost admirable. I wondered whether on the day the book on the science of magic is written, it''ll have a little paragraph in the credits about the little witch who bravely sacrificed both her arms in pursuit of the truth.


    ¡°And yet you.¡± Hannah pointed a finger at me accusingly with narrowed eyes. ¡°You take what magic does and put it into an extreme that really does make it seem miraculous. What sort of magic could make a cat talk without opening it''s mouth?¡±


    ¡°It''s just an illusion-¡±


    ¡°But what is that? How do you control it? I mean that''s just the easiest part to address. The hardest and most egregious affront to my cause of finding the science in magic is explaining how you turned into a cat. And yet...¡± Hannah paused. ¡°The fact that you are what you are proves one thing. Someone understood magic to such an extent they could pull something like that off.¡±


    I paused, mulling over her words. ¡°Man I must have really pissed off the wrong person.¡± I sighed. What were the odds they were still alive? I''ve lived what feels like forever as a cat so it was possible they could be doing something similar. The idea however was as terrifying to me as it was attractive to believe. Someone so powerful was no doubt someone I didn''t want to be around, doubly so if that''s how I ended up looking like a cat.


    Hannah crossed her arms and tapped her fingers thoughtfully. ¡°Adam, you''re old right?¡±


    ¡°Somewhat? Old enough to forget most of who I really was. Old enough not to know how old really. Old enough to not remember how this happened to me.¡± Tl;dr, I was very very old.


    ¡°I just assumed you''d believe more in magic being divine providence than anything. With your entire life seemingly at the mercy of such a powerful curse and possibly such a powerful person, it must feel like something only a god could do.¡±


    Nowadays it didn''t feel like I was at the mercy of exclusively powerful people. Or perhaps I should change my mindset and understand that even a single human child from the perspective of a lot creatures, was quite powerful.


    Whilst this curse of mine felt near impossible to fight, I didn''t believe it was the act of a god. Trying to apply the title ''god'' to the person who made me like this brought a distinctively bitter taste to my mouth. God would be the last word I used to refer to the bastard which did this to me.


    ¡°You think I believe the story about the eight?¡± When talking about god or gods, it was safe to assume it was about the eight. Hannah nodded in reply. ¡°Eight powerful beings. Seven patrons of humanity around the world and one patron of all the evil that can challenge it. The eight born from a single great god, given the duty to guide and protect humanity. Safeguard it from its own sin and malice. Seven took up that mantle, and the eighth gave into the base desires that came with its incredible power and tried to play god. It''s not a nice tale to believe in you know? Although one of any of those eight could do this to me if they actually existed.¡±


    Hannah laughed. ¡°So you pissed off a god.¡±


    ¡°A demi-god.¡± I corrected. ¡°Or an angel. Depends on where you''re from. Do they call them gods here in Kasper?¡±


    ¡°Yep. Never heard of this ''greater god'' they were born from though.¡± That was a little surprising. That was a pretty important detail to the story in my opinion. ¡°As far as I know, the story in all of the churches in the kingdom of Tallis is that seven of them are gods, and the eighth is the arch-demon, creator of all monsters.¡±


    I felt a little sorry for this eighth. Seven against one didn''t seem like a fair fight in the slightest. The story matched with a lot of what I heard. And of course this all tied back to magic. One of the seven made magic and gifted it to the humans in order to fight monsters whilst the seven fought the arch-demon. I imagined there was some variance on which of the seven got the bulk of the credit depending on the church holding the sermon.


    Hannah finally brought the discussion back to her original point. ¡°And you, a talking cat, sound a lot like a monster.¡± She said without a hint of fear. If anything, she seemed proud of the fact I might be a monster. ¡°So I''m a little surprised you don''t talk that much about gods.


    I was not all that impressed. As far as monsters go, a talking cat seemed pretty lame. They took an already normal and otherwise unimpressive creature and slapped on a feature that let it talk. ¡°So not only am I a black cat, the root cause of all misfortune to ever befall the human race, but now I''m also a monster? My advice to you all is that if that''s the case then you should all start running as soon as I figure out how to breathe fire.¡±


    ¡°Of course you''ll let me live right?¡±


    ¡°You''ll probably accidentally kill yourself with your own magic eventually anyway so hunting you would be a waste of effort.¡±


    ¡°Ouch.¡± She winced at my blunt reply. I waited for the glare the moment the words slipped out of my mouth but she simply laughed it off. Well at some point she''s going to notice that I''d stolen about four food parcels whilst she was working through the morning and I''d get some threat of physical violence. But at the moment, her expression seemed almost too light and sunny.


    ¡°You really love magic... huh.¡± The words slipped out without much thought. But on reflection it did explain her almost fanatical determination to succeed. Hannah stared at me blankly, probably wondering what I meant by my comment. Rather than cower away I decided to push on. ¡°You''re in a really good mood.¡±


    Her lips turned upwards with a tinge of regret. ¡°Well... That''s because this time I can spend my weekend doing what I want. Usually I''m so weak after Mather''s experiments I can''t even hold down food let alone talk about magic like this.¡±


    That''s right. Every weekend she looked like a haunt of her previous self. How could I forget? Did I really brush over that? Next weekend would be a return to the normal. Sure her arms being burned had soured her mood. Failing her basic licence exam had made her anxious and impatient. But all of that could be worked away. She had her weekend back even if it was just a one off. All of these problems were probably exacerbated when she felt like she had less days to work with.


    ¡°For the first time in a while, I''ve got two entire free days I can do whatever I want with. I''m going to make the most of them.¡± She grinned as she rolled up her sleeves and got turned back to her study. ¡°By monday, they''ll be singing legends about how much I did in forty eight hours.¡±


    I watched her for a while longer. She''d be like this for another two days. And yet next weekend even she knew she''d be thrown back into her struggle.


    I still didn''t get it. She didn''t need to study here. She didn''t need to take part in whatever sadistic tests were run on her. It was beyond stupid to be smiling now when she was going to be marching back into the same fire that was burning her up.


    Humans made me beyond bitter. It was no wonder I didn''t want to get involved.

 9 - Good morning

    The weekend was relaxing. I stayed at home the entire time, napping and sleeping whilst Hannah studied away. After the rain passed, she ventured out without me to get more paper. It was healthy to wander a little every now and then.


    The landlady visited whilst Hannah was out. Upon noticing the mess on the dinning table and the still hanging up clothes from Friday, it was like someone switched a lever in her head, and she immediately began tidying up. Humming the entire time, she neatly folded the dried clothes, dusted the counters, stacked Hannah''s research and papers and organised her pantry. Before Hannah had even returned she''d left with a satisfied look on her face.


    When Hannah did get back, the new look of her house gave her pause for just a single moment before she shrugged and went back to work. Such a strange landlady.


    On the last day of her weekend, in the last hours of light she could work with, she looked particularly determined. Her arms made progress in healing. None the less, working instead of resting was not helping.


    I''d learnt over the years that there was very little practical advice or help I could give to my caretakers. Once, a long time ago, one of my caretakers was having relationship problems. He was an overworked and timid middle aged man frightened he''d die alone. I told him he should quit his job to make more time for romance.


    It didn''t end very well.


    The next caretaker I had was a young girl who had trouble studying. She just couldn''t seem to work up the motivation to do any house chores or help with the family business. I suggested it was because she was trying too hard and she should take a long nap to get her energy back.


    She was caught slacking off for the last time and they struck her off the family inheritance in favour of her younger brother.


    So in a sense, I had two really good reasons not to get involved with my caretakers. First, the advice I could give them would make me culpable in their failure. Secondly, humans being humans do stupid stuff and it made me feel bitter.


    Nonetheless, time moves on and when Monday morning came around I was jerked awake from my pile of dish clothes. ¡°Wake up Adam, you''re coming with my to the academy.¡±


    ¡°Whu...¡± Groggily I left myself up off the floor and begin stretching life back into my joints.


    ¡°Don''t give me that look.¡±


    ¡°Buu whaa bout breakfast?¡± I yawned.


    People needed time to properly wake up. Breakfast was an important ritual of the day which helped nudge this along. ¡°Well you should have woken up earlier.¡± Was Hannah''s final verdict on the matter.


    Oh gods no. Not again. Would I go days without breakfast once more? I was ready to beg but the sharp look Hannah gave me clamped my mouth shut.


    ¡°I don''t have time for your jokes.¡±


    Then leave me behind you heartless bi-


    ¡°Get in the bag, Adam.¡± Hannah pointed towards the satchel.


    Resigned to my fate, I marched like a forlorn soldier into her satchel.


    We took off and went straight for the Triolo. Merchants were still coming and going. The festival would happen that weekend. The same caravans that were importing the food bought by the ruling lord of Kasper had also brought travelling peddlers selling household goods and tools.


    The morning market was bursting with activity. The wide open streets were now lined with stalls. Villagers from the rural communities around Kasper made up the bulk of buyers that day. This provided an excellent opportunity for them to exchange in their old tools for new ones or have them repaired.


    The Triolo in comparison was calm and quiet. It was business as usual, if not slightly quieter with the faculty and students sometimes escaping to the city for entertainment. Apprentices were still using the practice fields and students were still heading towards lecture halls. Hannah''s first port of call today was the Nurse''s office for a check-up on her arms.


    Eager for fresh air, I jumped out of her satchel as soon as the office building was in sight. She paused only for a moment to look at the nearby training field with a mixed expression.


    Apprentices were yelling at eachother in protective gear. A strange ball was being propelled across the field by contesting invisible forces. Two teams in different colours were trying to intercept the ball every time it moved in their direction, forcing it back the other way with their magic. As soon as a player got hit, they stood off the pitch resigned and defeated.


    The goal of the game, smash the enemy team to bits with the ball.


    It seemed odd to be playing this game so near to a building. There could easily be an accident. That being said, on closer observation it looked as though the players worked in tandem to get the ball moving. One player didn''t have enough power to push it that hard with their magic. Accidents in this had to be a concentrated group effort in the making.


    ¡°None of them are using any crutches.¡± Hannah sighed. ¡°And they are around my age as well.¡±


    ¡°Crutches?¡± Could the players get away with touching the ball if they hit it crutches? The idea seemed funny to me.


    Nobody seemed to be paying much attention to the student watching from afar, muttering to her cat. Maybe someone would assume she was there to cheer on her crush or something. How cliched. That being said, who would bring their cat to watch this?


    Most people knew about the strange lady who was followed by a black cat. They mostly steered clear and made up fun rumours. Nothing Hannah found disrespectful of course. She''d gained an almost joking reputation as a witch. A joking reputation because it was someone who was magically lame claiming to be a witch. They said she would put curses on people who looked at her funny using hairs of ''bad luck'' from her black cat.


    ¡°They aren''t using wands, or staves, or anything with a physical patent to help them use magic.¡±


    ¡°Ah, that''s what you meant by crutches.¡± I wasn''t sure why the first thing that came to my head was players hitting the ball with crutches. I wasn''t that dense, surely. ¡°Well, looks like one of them smashed a window.¡± Something, likely a ball, had shattered the window to one of the offices on the first floor. I could just make out someone moving around inside.


    ¡°That''s Riker''s office.¡± Hannah muttered. ¡°We should go and check it out.¡±


    I was doubtful this had anything to do with us but Hannah resumed her journey to the office building, a diversion from her original goal planned. It would at least be an opportunity to get into Riker''s good books if something bad was nipped in the bud early.


    We got to the hallways outside Riker''s office and once more an ever so familiar paranoia brushed against me. I looked to the display cabinet, the empty space beneath which could hide a cat like myself, empty as expected. The plant beneath a still open window had a few broken leaves. The door to Riker''s office was clamped shut. No Mathers, thankfully.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Hannah stopped outside the door to Riker''s office. There was no glass to peer through, no plate with a name bolted to the door. She gave a hesitant knock and received no answer. Her hand hovered over the door knob for half a second before she pushed open the door.


    The office, quite unlike Jean''s, was messy. There were tables with metal bits and pieces heaped onto them. All of odd shapes and sizes, all presumably components to a much larger device. Sitting still at Riker''s desk, looking rather dazed, was a boy dressed in protective gear minus one helmet.


    The helmet probably would have come in handy as well since he was bleeding from a cut on his head.


    ¡°Uhhh...¡± Hannah had not expected this.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± He smiled with eerily vacant eyes.


    He was concussed, that much was clear to see. He was dressed like the other players on the training field. One of the balls they trained with had been left on the desk. There were several things wrong with this situation. Perhaps even alarming would be he was struggling to stop swaying even when sat down.


    ¡°We need to get you to the Nurse''s office.¡± Hannah sprung from the entrance. ¡°Something to stop that bleeding on your head first would be good. Are you hurt anywhere else?¡±


    Whilst Hannah tended to the boy, I looked around for anything that could be used as a bandage. From a simple glance I could tell the kid was having trouble sitting upright. He laughed off Hannah''s questions with jokes and deflection. He never answered straight how he ended up this way in Riker''s office.


    The desk didn''t have anything useful. Just dossiers of paper. Behind Riker''s door there was a coat. In a pinch tearing it up for strips would be a good way to get bandages. The boy wouldn''t have the strength to do it and I''d be here all day if I tried. No doubt Riker wouldn''t be all that happy. Sort of invalidated the whole plan to get in Riker''s good books when we destroyed her coat.


    Nonetheless, if I had to chose between bandaging a head wound and someone''s spare coat, the right choice was obvious. And yet I wasn''t the one choosing so we destroyed the perfectly fine coat that could be used as a bed in favour of helping one of countless humans overpopulating the world.


    Getting Hannah''s attention wasn''t difficult. I meowed in her general direction and circled around the back of the door. She must have forgot I could actually meow because she looked almost frightened when I did it.


    ¡°Stay there.¡± She commanded the boy.


    ¡°Ah damn, and here I was warming up to run a marathon.¡±


    Hannah tore up Riker''s coat. These improvised bandages would stop further bleeding but now it was time to get him to the Nurse''s office. The sooner she did that, the better he''d be. I circled near the door, waiting. However Hannah had something else in mind.


    ¡°How did you end up in here?¡± She asked very gently.


    ¡°I used the door. I couldn''t fit through the window you see. Head too big for my own good, apparently.¡± I could hear genuine bitterness in his voice. Why were humans so weird?


    This was hardly the right time to get a story out of him either. Whilst there was positively no chance of this boy dying or anything extreme like that, he was clearly a job for the Nurse. There must have been some sort of urgency to throw this trouble onto someone else. Maybe even a duty of care, perhaps?


    ¡°Did this ball break the window?¡±


    ¡°Nope. The balls an inamin... imaninite... The ball can''t move on its own.¡±


    ¡°Did you break the window then?¡±


    ¡°Well the ball bounced off my skull so there''s a thin degree of separation between me and the crime.¡±


    If the ball had been fired with such force that it hit his head and then bounced from the training field through that window, we would be dealing with a dead body not a concussion. He probably had his helmet on at the time.


    ¡°So you went into the office to get the ball? On your own with your injury?¡±


    The boy fell quiet and shrugged, giving only a half-arsed reply. ¡°Maybe.¡±


    It seemed unlikely he had come here on his own. Other people wouldn''t let him go alone, surely. There''d be a professor going along or a group of trustworthy students. I turned towards the hallway. It was empty. Besides a strange scratching in the walls of the office and the ambient noise I had expected, I couldn''t hear anyone else.


    The pieces began to fall into place in my mind. I was glad that Hannah had realised there was something off about this situation far sooner.


    The boy had not come alone, however the ball had bounced off his helmet with probably some minor injuries. The teacher had not come. A group of students had come with him. Judging by various other scrapes on his person, I felt confident I could guess the kind of relationship between this boy and the other students who went with him.


    ¡°By the way, are you really a witch? Just curious.¡±


    ¡°Is this the time?¡±


    ¡°Do you know where I could get my hand on a few curses? Asking for a friend.¡± He spoke with a joking tone with a little despair in there for good measure.


    ¡°And what''s your friend''s name?¡±


    ¡°Casper.¡±


    ¡°I think we should get you to the Nurse''s office.¡±


    ¡°Undrestannable. Udner... Gotcha.¡±


    Hannah checked to see if the boy could stand. He needed to be supported the way out of the room. His head wrapped in red stained strips of coat and a limp in his left leg to contend with his concussion, he none the less braved on with a smile.


    I scouted ahead. The way to to the Nurse was clear of any obstacles. Would have been nice to have someone share the weight.


    I felt a little bad for the apprentice. To be ganged up on and left in that state... Had he seen it coming? Was it unexpected? It wasn''t my place to wonder about what happened to him but I was curious.


    Not bothering to knock, we marched into the Nurse''s office. The Nurse, mid lifting a sandwich to his mouth froze and watched us with a mixture of anger and frustration, likely over disturbing his breakfast.


    ¡°Sorry for intruding.¡± The boy called out.


    The Nurse got up from his desk with a heavy sigh, leaving his breakfast behind him. ¡°Put him down on that bed there. I''ll be with him in a few seconds.¡±


    Hannah set the boy down on the bed. He swayed a little as the nurse rummaged through the cabinet for supplies.


    ¡°He''s got a big cut on his head.¡±


    ¡°The improvised bandages were a bit of a giveaway. Along with that dopey look.¡± The Nurse with his usual lacklustre enthusiasm and sarcasm took out a fresh set of bandages along with cloth, string, and a set of scissors. ¡°Monday''s are supposed to be quiet, you know?¡±


    Hannah shrugged off the glare the Nurse gave him. ¡°Hardly my fault.¡±


    ¡°Great, and this has just put me off my sandwich.¡± He Nurse grimaced as he looked at the boys head. ¡°Well I''ve seen a lot worse I suppose.¡±


    We stuck around as the Nurse went to work since there was not much else for us to do. Hannah had been coming here for a check up on her arms and we''d have to wait for that.


    Cleaning the wound was priority one. The Nurse damped some cloth in tincture and judging by the wince on the boy''s face, it hurt. The smell of distilled alcohol wafting from cloth made my nose curl. The smell alone was near enough to make me cry. Poor kid.


    The boy didn''t get the same treatment as Hannah did for her injuries. There were no painkillers or various liquids forced down his throat. The Nurse was fine with treating his wounds a less fanciful way.


    By the time he was done, the boy was resting in bed until his concussion was over, his messy protective gear heaped at the foot of his bed. Before anything else happened, the Nurse enjoyed the rest of his breakfast, making us wait. He''d noticed other injuries on the boy however he insisted they were nothing.


    Sitting there and watching that man eat his breakfast whilst I was on an empty stomach felt like a true low. Occasionally he met my hard glare and took just a slightly slower bite from his breakfast than necessary.


    After he''d finished his breakfast he finally addressed Hannah. ¡°Show me your arms.¡± He commanded abruptly.


    She lifted her arms, sleeves rolled back. ¡°The feeling is coming back to them.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± He asked almost hopefully. After examining her arms he began pinching them in places. ¡°Feel any pain?¡±


    ¡°It''s numb. But at least I can feel that my arms are numb. If you understand.¡±


    The Nurse leant back in his chair, arms crossed and tapping his fingers thoughtfully. ¡°The burn wasn''t as deep as it looked then. It may take a week, it may take a month. But I think feeling is returning to your arms.¡±


    Hannah rolled the sleeves back down over her arms. ¡°How''s the boy?¡±


    ¡°Hopefully still breathing. If not then I''ll blame dirty bandages ripped from a coat. Or lax supervision on the training fields. I''m not sure yet. Everything about this place invites trouble. Sure let''s build and academy on haunted ground. Sure let''s get students to hurl magic propelled balls at each other.¡±


    ¡°Sure let''s run painful experiments on certain students.¡± Hannah interrupted, shutting the Nurse up very quickly. His mouth opening to speak before closing weakly. Nothing he could say could dig him out of his unethical position.


    Finally he simply sighed and muttered under his breath. ¡°If you''re done, get out of my office. I can''t stand being around you more than necessary.¡± This was unusually blunt even by his standards.


    ¡°Is that it then? Come back in a month?¡±


    ¡°Come back this Friday as usual. Mathers is breathing down my neck like some creepy ceiling goblin.¡±


    The hope washed away from Hannah''s face. She quietly got up and walked out the office door. I followed behind her.


    She stood there, back to the door, for and uncomfortable length of time. She''d be back there on Friday. She''d carry on losing weekends. And her temper would be back to being short and fiery. Great.


    ¡°He''s a dick.¡± I broke the silence. With nobody in the hallway to see, Hannah broke a smile.

 10 - The ears of a cat

    The corridor outside the Nurse''s office was clear and empty. After dropping off the boy and finishing the Monday morning checkup, the rest of the day would be lectures I''d nap my way through.


    By this point Hannah was probably going to be late for her morning lectures. Rather than being bitter about it, she was still thinking over what happened with the boy. We couldn''t talk it over in this building for fear of someone interrupting us so the witch and her black cat went around the back of the building where it was a little more secluded.


    In the shadow of the Triolo''s tall exterior wall, the witch with her arms crossed and pursed lips mulled over what to do.


    ¡°It''s not our problem. We could leave it. If he isn''t saying anything, chances are he''s got a reason.¡± Far be it for me to suggest that a human has a reason for doing something stupid. ¡°But you do what you want. If you have a good reason, goes without saying you should probably do it.¡±


    I was in danger of offering bad advice. I was well aware this would make me culpable over whatever screw-up that followed.


    ¡°But y''know, what do I know? You''re all crazy to me.¡± I muttered a last ditch attempt to downtalk my own advice.. ¡°Humans doing human things.¡±


    Hannah was probably used to ignoring most of what I said. Most if not everything I said was usually just a counterpoint to what she wanted. Wasted effort when I already knew her mind was up.


    ¡°Barring the fact I could take that comment as you now owning the fact your now a cat-¡±


    ¡°Which I''m not by the way.¡± Being cursed to have the appearance of cat didn''t count.


    ¡°-it''s not that easy to sit back when your gut is trying to tell you something is wrong.¡± Hannah balled her hands into fists. ¡°But yeah, I don''t know if I should act because I don''t actually know there''s something wrong.¡±


    It certainly felt like that boy might have been beaten up and left there by other students, but without knowing for sure it could end up like running into a wall of wooden spikes. ¡°He seemed evasive.¡± Recalling how he joked off and ran around the subject of how he got his injuries, it didn''t seem likely that he was going to talk to us about it. ¡°Well I suppose that''s natural for strangers.¡±


    Irregardless of whether she could or couldn''t do anything about it, it wasn''t her problem in my opinion. Her problems were very different. Her goal didn''t coincide with helping this guy out in the slightest. Going on another tangent like the child hunt would be a complete waste of time. The only thing she got out of the child hunt was some minor stress relief and forewarning that Riker was taking a break from running lectures.


    What was there to gain from stepping in this boy''s personal life? We didn''t even know his name. Hannah was likely to get beaten down herself. She''d insist on going one for one at least. To dish out as much damage that is served to her.


    I got relatively little from it as well. This was not any sort of crusade against children. There would be no heads mounted on pikes-that''d bring trouble of its own- or children traumatised into never approaching cats again.


    Hannah kicked at the ground in frustration. ¡°I''m not going to be able to get this out of my head now.¡±


    ¡°You could always check up on him later.¡± It was better than a worsening temper as the day went on.


    ¡°I just have a bad feeling about this.¡± She muttered beneath her breath. Surely that was reason to stay away if possible but by the looks of it, it was a certainty we''d be seeing this guy again.


    When my instincts told me something was wrong, running away was usually the first thing that popped into my mind. ¡°You know, I think I understand.¡± Since the exam, little things had been bothering me.


    A long list of infractions against common sense had begun to arrange themselves in my head. Since that day, my instincts told me not to ignore the waist high puddle of human stupidity but to wade through it in search of something bubbling beneath the surface.


    ¡°I''ve tried not to question all of it. I felt like I was getting lucky.¡± Hannah furrowed her brows. ¡°I hate to admit it, but the Order of Ice should have banned me from ever using magic after that exam.¡±


    The confession nearly made my jaw drop to the floor. Finally some self-awareness.


    Hannah, noticing my look averted her gaze. ¡°Look, what Jean said made me think is all.¡±


    ¡°Th-think?! You?! Who are you and what have you done with the real Hannah?¡±


    ¡°Oh so you want to die now? You should''ve just asked earlier.¡±


    ¡°I''m just joking!¡± I jumped away from Hanna''s half-hearted kick in my direction.


    ¡°Jokes have punchlines. You were just being a jerk.¡± Hannah scowled. ¡°Now if you''ll excuse me, I think I have just enough time to get some food before I join my morning lectures today. I feel like eating on my own today.¡±


    ¡°N-no wait! I apologise!¡± That was perhaps the biggest downside to relying on caretakers. They hold the biggest bargaining chip of them all.


    Hannah turned a devilish grin in my direction. ¡°Relax, I''m only joking.¡±


    That bi-


    ¡°Keep your ears open for me today would you? I know you''ve got good hearing. Let me know if you hear any rumours about the boy.¡± Hannah shifted her satchel over her shoulder and looked towards the campus. ¡°In return, I''ll let you play with Linth this evening.¡±


    Play with Linth? Who did she take me for? As if I would ever sell myself so cheaply. ¡°I suppose you leave me no choice. I''ll stay awake during your boring lectures. I mean, you clearly just want an excuse to see Linth... He he he.¡±


    ¡°That would almost have been convincing if you just taken a second to think it over.¡± She sighed and shook her head in disdain. ¡°Clear up your drool you weirdo and stop it with that creepy laugh!¡±


    Ahem. Obviously I was only agreeing to this because I, a superior creature, merely wanted to grace the lesser plebs with my presence. This had nothing to do with Linth''s magic hands. Absolutely nothing at all.


    Ah who was I kidding. I was practically Linth''s number one fan.


    Keeping my ears working and my eyes open for the rest of the day proved to be quite the challenge. I''d made such a habit of napping during Hannah''s lectures, it was difficult to stay awake. When proffesors talked about ¡°spirit highway theory¡±, or ¡°mana meaning theory¡±, my brain naturally drifted towards the dreamscape. Several times I caught my head about slam into the desk.


    I wasn''t the only one. There were a handful of students I realised had mastered the art of sleeping with their eyes open.


    Hannah usually managed to clear a space around her wherever she sat in the lecture hall. It was difficult to tell who was constructing the invisible wall. Hannah seemed fine with it. The black cat sat next to her on the table was no doubt a part of the reason why everyone gave her a wide berth.


    Since Hannah was only allowed to study like the students who mostly read up on magic theory than exercise magic talent, passing the exam meant relatively little. It wasn''t like what the apprentices had to do. She didn''t need to prove she could use magic in order to read text on a blackboard.


    The blackboard was relatively uninteresting to me. On and on the professor talked. His back, usually turned to the students as he scribbled away, didn''t have the eyes to catch the whispers.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    During the morning of eavesdropping, I mostly heard chatter and speculation at why the black cat was not curled up in ball napping as usual. Putting aside the bitterness about peoples'' obsession with bad luck, I picked up one or two useful tidbits of information.


    After the morning lectures were over, Hannah and I returned to our spot of conspiracy behind the Office building.


    ¡°Heard anything useful?¡±


    ¡°Well...¡± I thrust out my chest proudly. ¡°Absolutely nothing about the boy.¡±


    ¡°Oh I see, and here I was about to feed you lunch.¡±


    ¡°N-no wait! Would you like to hear some of the other rumours I picked up?¡± Hannah, just about to talk away paused to hear my pleading. Her look dared me to talk whilst I still had her attention. ¡°Well we have rumours about the festival... um... One or two about Mathers. Oh and did you know Linth was the headmaster''d dau-¡±


    ¡°Talk about Mathers.¡± Hannah decided.


    Being so rudely cut across, I debated keeping quiet. Her loss if she didn''t want to hear about Linth. Now that I knew who she was, the reason why the academy didn''t come after her self-indulgent den made much more sense now.


    Mather''s was not a professor who had managed to endear himself to many students. He had received a bit of a reputation for being a bit too nice to students who''d been raised with a silver spoon in their mouths. Of which, there were very few at this academy. I''d learnt students thought he was not as subtle as he tried to be. ¡°I think you''ll like this.¡±


    ¡°It has something to do with Riker, right?¡± Hannah guessed right. She knew me way too well. With lunch on the line, I''d only spit out rumours that could be seen as enticing to Hannah.


    ¡°Meeting Mather''s outside Riker''s office wasn''t a coincidence. He''s been lurking around there a lot. This morning he got into a bit of trouble with the group of students who caught him looking through her desk drawers.¡± The rumour put Mather in a very creepy light. I wondered if the faculty kept tabs on the rumours spreading around the students. It sounded like something Jean might try to keep track of.


    Hannah digested this and gave me no cue as to whether the rumour I said was good or bad. Considering we were at Riker''s office this morning, I was doubtful of the validity of the rumour.


    Maybe we arrived after. There wouldn''t have been enough time for that rumour to circulate if Mather had been caught in Riker''s office after we found the boy. A professor not held in good standing would definitely have one or two rumours flying around against them. This one must have been a fresh rumour because it had yet to be exaggerated to the moon and back.


    I would have given it two more days before the rumour twisted into portraying Mather as some sort of insidious foreign spy or a sex offender if it didn''t die down soon. Students were incredibly viscous sometimes.


    ¡°This morning huh... Keep an ear out for that rumour and see if you can tell anything more. Now what was the rumour about the harvest festival? Don''t tell my you''re still grumpy about the whole burning effigies thing.¡±


    Yes, it was a complete waste of human effort and labour with no quantifiable gains but that aside, this was about the guards. ¡°There''s a little anxiety over the turnout of merchants being much lower this year. Just thought I''d let you know. Probably means food will get more expensive.¡±


    ¡°That''s all?¡± Hannah furrowed her brow. ¡°I mean thanks for the concern but I was looking for something a little more on topic.¡±


    I sighed. I was trying my best to be helpful here. ¡°Well some student named Sudo was involved in a bar fight with a foreigner. He tried to split up an argument that was being fought over a currency difference and well... the language barrier didn''t help.¡± The language barrier certainly didn''t help. The student got punched in the face.


    ¡°Again not particularly helpful.¡± Oh c''mon, I thought it was funny!


    ¡°Well an all too familiar guard showed up and imposed the rule of law. They lectured about morals for a full hour and how disappointed their parents must have been in all parties invovled. The student went straight to his dorms and wrote an apology letter home to his parents despite trying to be the good guy whilst it;s said the foreigner-who couldn''t understand a word of what was being said- was moved to tears and vowed in some strange language to the holy seven never to wrong another human being ever again.¡± And that there was how rumours got twisted. Through peer pressure to make them more interesting.


    Hannah gave me a long doubtful stare. Well deserved.


    ¡°Hey don''t give me that look!¡± I snap. ¡°Do you have any idea how scared the students were of me this morning?! Everytime they whispered to eachother my ears turned in their direction and the hushed conversations would immediately shift into how this was an omen of everyone''s impending doom.¡± Talk about not very helpful. It wasn''t my fault I couldn''t pick up any good rumours when this happened. Thankfully, if I laid low, a new set of rumours about the witch and her black cat wouldn''t make the rounds again.


    The amount of headache Hannah got after rumours went around about her being able to curse people''s arch-enemies for a price was seriously annoying. Turned out, far fewer students and apprentices got over their ex than anybody liked to admit.


    Hannah cracked her knuckles. ¡°Tell me their names and they''ll never do it again.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, shake down the entire academy why don''t you.¡±


    ¡°That might be a bit tough.¡± Hannah admitted. ¡°Maybe when my arms heal properly.¡± That wasn''t the problem here! ¡°Anyway, let''s go to the canteen and get some lunch before the afternoon lectures. If you hear anything useful, let me now.¡±


    So meeting adjourned, we left the shady spot behind the office building and headed back to the canteen. Lunch, despite my given task, was the first and practically only thing on my mind. I mentally refused to focus on my task for an employer who wouldn''t allow me lunch.


    So one lunch later I was back on task. The canteen was far livelier place than the lecture hall. It was difficult for my senses to wade through the onslaught of discussions to look for anything valuable.


    I might well have had superior hearing, but I still needed the keen mind to sift through that sensory overload of noise. I heard almost everything in the canteen. From the sharp clinking of cutlery to the dull footsteps of students finding somewhere to eat. Usually, I just focused on important people and ignored the rest as background noise. My ears twisted and turned in every direction to listen in on as many conversations as possible.


    To appear less conspicuous, I was not sitting up this time, I was curled up in a ball with my eyes closed.


    The same thing occurred later in the afternoon lectures. I picked up piece after piece of rumour, at first disconnected, but then forming a much more complete conspiracy and timeline. From the more political students, I heard rumours about the festival. From the more socialite apprentices, I heard the personal rumours flying around Mather, and the boy.


    Killian Redcrow. That was the boys name.


    ¡°Right that''s a lot more useful.¡± Back in our new favourite spot to hold shady meetings, Hannah finished up listening to my wrap up of the rumours around Killian.


    Killian was not well liked. As evidenced when this morning, a plan had been concocted by a group of apprentices to beat him up somewhere private. Or at least, that''s what was claimed. The ball going through Riker''s window after it bounced off Killlian''s helmet might well have been accidental and everything that came after was just the result of opportunities taken.


    Killian had not gone to check the damage alone. The professor, concerned, sent a few volunteers to make sure he reached the Nurse''s office as well just in case. The volunteers had ganged up on him in Riker''s office.


    ¡°But of course when the group arrived at Riker''s office they found Mather looking through her desks, or so the rumour claims.¡± Since the rumour was fresh, students were still asking when everything happened. Extremely helpful for a nosy cursed cat like myself.


    Hannah didn''t need me to finish, she could do it herself. ¡°And so they chased him out. It''s hard to believe that professor would feel so threatened.¡± That was a mystery of its own to sort out. ¡°If I talked to him in any way that annoyed him, he''d let me know.¡±


    ¡°Killian''s not all that liked. He''s high born, which is odd considering this isn''t an academy that''s picked by nobles for their children often.¡± I felt the urge to puff my chest out proudly. It was time to flex my skill at eavesdropping. ¡°He''s the third child, not the heir, not even the spare to the family fortune. But he''s got strong views on who should and shouldn''t be allowed to study magic. And what could piss off the educated more than such divides being drawn along class and birth circumstance.¡±


    Wincing hard, Hannah clicked her tongue in frustration. ¡°Is it bad that I feel a little ashamed of helping someone like him?¡±


    I wished cats had the shoulders to shrug with. ¡°I suppose if you have a reason to feel that way, then go right ahead. Feelings aren''t particularly harmful, actions are what have consequence.¡±


    ¡°Feeling sagely today?¡±


    ¡°It''s all that listening to students studying philosophy. I''m seriously doubting my own existence? Do you really exist just because I can see you? Is what is presented before me just a construct? Another figment conjured up by myself, like a wispful thought, fleeting and tainted with bias like a memory-¡±


    ¡°All right, well thanks for the eavesdropping. Shall I come back tomorrow to pick you up after your done with your little talk with yourself?¡±


    ¡°Nah, that stuff doesn''t matter.¡± Apparently nothing did. ¡°The rest of the stuff I learnt today is mostly politics.¡± Hannah didn''t look like she''d be particularly interested at the moment so I didn''t press but I made myself a mental note not to forget what I learnt because, y''know...


    A world war was apparently brewing.


    Small stuff really and easy to forget or ignore. Had to keep those thoughts tied down before they flew away thanks to my own indolence.


    That was how the rumours treated it at least.


    Far fewer merchants had come this year around trading goods from the archipelego. Looked like the Island Free Marches weren''t impressed with the Visduke''s trade policy. Apparently, the situation had gotten tense enough that more guards had been stationed here in Kasper for the festival in the event of troublemaking.


    The Viceduke held a great deal of influence. The Teifi river was a trade corridor inland. It was one of the few places goods could move up and down with great ease. Once the flats around Kasper finished, to get to the heartland of the kingdom, convoys would have to trek either through a contested wooded north or brave the rough terrain mountain ranges to the south. Using the River Teifi to bypass all of that hassle, or at least half the journey, was incredibly important.


    But who was I to care about all of that? No soldier was going to invade Kasper and chase down black cats. If trends were anything to go by, something would happen to do with the Triolo to get nearly every other nation in the known world to get involved. Seemed impossible, but the bad luck around the Triolo was probably up for the the challenge.

 11 - The Nurse and Killian

    All the lectures for the day were now behind Hannah. The sun had long since entered it''s tired descent towards the horizon. There was still some light left in the day and life to the academy.


    It wasn''t unusual to see apprentices continuing their practice on the fields well into twilight. Being social creatures, those that hung around did so in group.


    With our last shady meeting behind the office building hopefully over, there was now one last thing to do at the Triolo. Well, two. I had not forgotten Hannah''s promise to visit Linth in return for using my ears.


    This old office building was as quite as ever. Remembering the harsh comments given by the Nurse this morning, Hannah gave a hesitant knock on the door before entering. The Nurse, despite his unenthusiastic attitude, was still present at the office despite there being nobody to care for.


    She opened the door, catching the Nurse by surprise who was just making for the door himself.


    ¡°You again?¡± The Nurse wore a mixture of exhaustion and fear whenever he saw Hannah.


    ¡°Yeah, is uh... Killian still here?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The empty bed behind the Nurse confirmed this. ¡°You know it''s not normal for people to spend that much time in the Nurse''s office, right?¡±


    Hannah furrowed her brows. ¡°Well yeah, but you usually keep me here for ages whenever I''m hurt so I always thought you were a just strict.¡±


    I would have reasoned in Hannah''s case, severely roasted arms warranted just a tiny bit more attention than a head injury. Although situationally, a head injury probably was more pressing.


    ¡°You even threatened to keep me here over the weekend.¡± Hannah pointed out. ¡°And concussions can be pretty serious. Any head injury can be so it''d make sense to keep him around for a while longer.¡±


    The Nurse nodded. ¡°Yes, you sure are right there. Too bad our good friend didn''t seem to care.¡±


    ¡°Killian walked out?¡± An impressive feat considering that the heady injury was just the most obvious injury on him. I found it hard to believe that he would have been able to conceal the limp he walked with.


    The Nurse nodded, frustration clear on his face. ¡°It''s not the first time either. He''ll be back in a week in some beat up shape. Anyway, can I go leave now?¡±


    ¡°There''s actually something else I wanted to ask.¡± Hannah placed herself in the Nurse''s way, staring the older man down.


    Great, another change of plans. And here I held hope we would just cut this visit short early and head straight to Linth. Just what sort of tangent was she going to go on now?


    ¡°Too bad.¡± The Nurse looked unbothered. It was difficult to tell but beneath that white coat of his, he was quite well built for a Nurse. I couldn''t have imagine this was his first job.


    However as unsociable and hostile as he appeared to be, he didn''t seem dangerous. The sarcastic air and cold glares he handed everyone were probably just that. If he really wanted to hurt people, he probably wouldn''t be a Nurse.


    ¡°I get that you hate sight of me, but could I ask a favour?¡± Hannah didn''t budge from her spot, which made it very awkward for the Nurse trying to pass by. ¡°Otherwise I''ll set my cat on you.¡± I wasn''t entirely against pestering the Nurse.


    ¡°I will kick you and your cat into outer orbit if you''re not careful.¡± I was now entirely against being anywhere near the Nurse ever again. ¡°Is this going to take long?¡±


    I couldn''t think of anything off the top of my head that the Nurse could do for Hannah. Was she going to ask for more painkillers? If her arms were in pain, she''d done a good job at hiding it.


    ¡°It might.¡± Hannah shrugged. ¡°Depends whether you answer a yes-no question with a yes or a no.¡±


    ¡°No. Are we done now?¡± The Nurse deadpanned.


    Hannah made a face like she''d sucked on a sour lemon. ¡°So we''ll be here for hours then? That''s fine with me. I''m told I have will of steel.¡± Hannah chimed primly.


    ¡°Steel melts and we''ll see how your determination holds up after I hang you by your legs over a fire.¡± The Nurse''s eyes twitched as lips turned into a strained threatening grin. It was shocking considering their love for making threats of physical violence that these two didn''t get along better. ¡°Fine. Come in my most esteemed guest of the hour and take a seat.¡± The Nurse sighed sarcastic and stepped out of the way.


    The Nurse went back to his desk whilst Hannah sat on the nearest spare bedside chair. I lingered in the doorway, half expecting the Nurse to make a break for it. Instead the gaunt fellow tapped his fingers tiredly on the surface of his desk.


    And then there was a stand-off of sorts. The two glared at eachother through the silence. Hannah looked as though she were trying to read his mind with her eyes.


    ¡°Are you going to ask me any time soon or do I have enough time to finish reading this book I started?¡± The Nurse didn''t quite shift uncomfortably but he was now looking towards the tantalisingly unobstructed exit.


    Hannah cleared her throat. ¡°Well, this is a little on the spot. Do you mind, maybe, just maybe, going a little easier next test so I don''t lost AN ENTIRE WEEKEND.¡±


    Ah, yeah that made sense. In fact it made more than sense that this was what she asked for considering how peaceful her last weekend was.


    With a lot of gesturing and barely held back frustration and anger she embarked on a long rant. ¡°Do you have any idea how hard it is when you throw up everything you eat and drink for three entire days?! I go through an entire pantry looking for just one thing I can chew without regretting it. My head feels light and I can barely move for long periods of time. It goes on for so long it makes me feel pitiful and weak. And when I fall to the floor, I ask myself, why get up when it''ll happen again next weekend? What are you trying to do? What have you found out? Do you really even need me for this? I have to practice and study my magic. It''s the entire point of this deal. I drag myself back up but I barely have enough focus through the pain to do anything. You and Mather look at me like utter garbage. It''s humiliating to come back to dickeheads like you two-¡±


    ¡°Dickheads?¡± The Nurse frowned. He kept his expression skilfully neutral, a sight that would have been dissuading if Hannah was looking him in the eye.


    ¡°-Oh yeah Mr I-can''t-stand-the-sight-of-you. Oh I''m sorry to bother you mister high and mighty who has so much better to do with your life. Bet you don''t even feel a shred of responsibility over the time you steal. You passionless piece of human garbage.¡± Despite the content of her words, Hannah, perhaps encouraged by the Nurse''s expression, spoke with as much calm and composure as she could manage.


    The Nurse, who really wasn''t doing himself any favour by doing this, interjected again. ¡°Nobody would be happy to see a student roll up at their door with charred limbs.¡±


    ¡°Yeah well I wasn''t happy either! Maybe if I had those weekends, just maybe I''d have time to revise and research ways to get better at magic. I''m trying my hardest from rock bottom. I don''t expect you to understand, you''ve never had an image of yourself you believe in so much it has to come true. If I can''t study magic, it isn''t just me I''m letting down, it''s the very blood in my veins. This is everything to me but instead of helpful tests to cure my condition, you shove poison down my throat and write notes when the obvious happens.¡±


    Week after week, month after month, I suspected this would happen. So liberating was having a weekend to herself again, to lose them right away would be the absolute worst. Worse than charring her arms.


    I was surprised. I''d expected, even hoped, not to be there when the snap happened. Here I had been at her side almost the entire time trying not to get involved. Not involved in my caretaker''s personal problem. It felt like I could blank out an eternity with this curse. But that wasn''t the same for everyone else around me.


    Hannah met the Nurse''s eyes and earnestly asked, ¡°Are the tests really just about killing me?¡±


    The expression on the Nurse''s face froze. He opened his mouth as though to say something, but paused before finally. ¡°Very well.¡± He answered. ¡°I''ll do what I can.¡±


    For all that Hannah had said, to be given such a short and ambiguous reply momentarily caught her off guard.


    ¡°Insults aside, you should be expected to have breaks. Not just one-off days under exceptional circumstance. I''ll discuss it with Mather.¡± The Nurse actually agreed. I wondered whether he really meant it but a moment later he asked, ¡°Is there anything else I can do to help?¡±


    ¡°Anything else?¡± The question came out of somewhere unexpected. So much so that it was difficult to assess it''s sincerity when the person asking spoke with such a calm tone. Hannah hesitated for only a moment. ¡°Everytime I come in here you look like you''re about to dissect my cat. Stop that. Now.¡±


    The Nurse clicked his tongue in frustration and turned his cheek with a grimace like a child. ¡°Fine. Anything else?¡±


    Wait what? Really?!


    ¡°Could you not look at me like I''m what my cat dragged in?¡±


    ¡°It''s hard to tell sometimes with the condition you show up.¡± None the less, I objected as well since I was usually the one being dragged around. ¡°But fine, I''ll try to be less hostile. It''s a bad habit anyway.¡± He seemed genuinely in pain at the idea of changing his attitude but otherwise conceded with no more protests or complaints.


    The ease with which he answered was surprising to both me and Hannah. He simply sat there, calmly listening and asking that same question over and over. It took the momentum out of Hannah''s snap almost completely.


    It felt like he had prepared for this moment far more than Hannah. Fair enough, for Hannah this seemed a spur of the moment thing, but this should have been a surprise for the Nurse as well. Unless of course, he had common sense. Wouldn''t anyone be able to predict the stress being placed on Hannah, let alone the Nurse who was a part of the tests?


    ¡°Anything else?¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Hannah, like me was somewhat put-off by the Nurse''s all to easy and calm compliance. Once more staring at the Nurse in an attempt to psyche him out, she came to the two conclusions. ¡°You''re either lying about all of this-¡±


    ¡°An understandable conclusion to draw.¡±


    ¡°-Or you, the most hostile Nurse I know, feel guilty.¡± Hannah furrowed her brows in disgust at the thought. ¡°Who are you and what have you done with the real Nurse?¡±


    Ever so slightly, the corners of the Nurse''s lips lifted for a brief moment. ¡°I am, quote, ''a passionless human piece of garbage'', yes? Well I suppose you''re close to the truth. Mather probably looks like the brain of this experiment, doesn''t he? That guy is a piece of work. Pushing for the most harmful methods like that as though it was common sense that they bring the fastest and best results. It''s no wonder he is a washed up scholar on the road to nowhere.¡± The Nurse mused, twirling a pen in his fingers. ¡°Your deal with Mather is that in exchange for your participation in the tests, Mather acts as your patron of sort and you get into the academy on a recommendation. Those were good terms you negotiated.¡±


    It was probably difficult to accept that compliment given the last ten minutes. ¡°I know people with my condition are rare.¡± I had been under Hannah''s care for about twelve years and she''d been quite secretive about deal, including when she was negotiating it.


    ¡°Right, you have something called Spellnull syndrome. It''s name is a bit misleading but it was coined before the discovery that some people with the syndrome could still use physical patents. It''s got some hereditary links but you''d be hardpressed to figure out which side of the family this came from.¡±


    ¡°My dad''s probably.¡±


    ¡°Yes, when in doubt blame dad. Anyway, it seems fairly rare but considering how many people can invest their time to study magic in this society, the estimate of the number of people who have it is around five percent or so. To most, it''s nothing devastating. But for noble families, this can have a direct influence on succession so they pay through their noses to find a way to treat it. Nobody knows how to do it successfully.¡± So it was a lucrative field of study if someone could just make a breakthrough.


    Hannah listened patiently but she knew all of this from her own personal study. ¡°Getting involved in trials seemed like the best way to get cured if that''s even possible.¡±


    ¡°Right, don''t get your hopes up though. Mather is new to this field, he relies on me who has been researching this for a long time.¡± It was beginning to look like Mather wasn''t the brain of the trials at all. ¡°My current situation is rather... interesting.¡± A hint of bitterness seeped into the Nurse''s voice. As to be expected from someone without a medical licence trying to run legitimate trials. ¡°I struck a deal with Mather, similar to yours, but I didn''t realise how much of a bastard he was. Sorry, it''s unfortunate that I came to him first. This could have been avoided if I got to know him better first. On paper, he''s in charge of the tests, and he uses my own unique position to strongarm me into taking the tests in directions I don''t agree with.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Hannah rightly had a few bones to pick with this. ¡°So you don''t have a medical licence? How did you get this job then?!¡±


    ¡°I lied.¡± The Nurse dead panned. ¡°I was told to lie actually. I have all the experience so the heaadmaster didn''t want to lose me. I think they hoped I''d become a professor in some medical field one day. My problem isn''t that I don''t have the licence, it''s how I lost it. I''m not going to go into that though.¡± A familiar unsociable air returned for a moment but with a wince and a sigh he forced it back.


    The Nurse definitely possessed quite a few skills up his sleeve as well as some length of medical knowledge. Enough to make the title of Nurse seem quite inappropriate. So the headmaster knew he didn''t have a licence, but told him to lie anyway. He joined the academy, met Mather, and the tests were born from that meeting.


    Although more than likely the Nurse had been looking for people to hide his experiments behind for quite a while. If only he''d picked someone a little better. Then again, better people probably didn''t want the risk. If the Nurse was reported running these tests, it''d probably be pretty bad for him and the person who was hiding him.


    ¡°I''d like to apologise again, I knew the pain you were going through. I will try again to talk to Mather but this time I will be a lot more forceful.¡± I still didn''t know whether to trust the Nurse or not. I mean, he did lose his medical licence. ¡°We''re both stuck in a nasty deal with Mather, however it''s mostly my fault.¡±


    ¡°I have just one more question.¡± Hannah raised her hand. ¡°Who are you really?¡± We didn''t even know his name. Everyone simply called him ''The Nurse''. Nobody had ever spotted him outside the Triolo, nobody had ever spotted him outside that long white coat of his, which admittedly doctors, not Nurses, would wear. ¡°This is really not how I expected this to go, you know?¡±


    ¡°I''m ex-military.¡± He answered calmly. ¡°Even the best laid plans rarely survive first contact with the enemy.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said you hated the sight of me, but you''re being so helpful.¡± It certainly wasn''t consistent of someone so mean was so willing to be kind all in the same day.


    ¡°I hate the sight of everyone, try not to take it personally. I''m just trying to take a little responsibility here and there. However, come in again with charred arms and you''ll have to fix them yourself. I''m not covering for idiots.¡± Ah yes, that was far more like the Nurse. ¡°Listen, the objective is something you should fight for, yes, but running away is better than dying. Don''t throw yourself into a grinder, even if believe you absolutely have to. Because either decision you''ll come to regret so just make sure you make the decision that leaves you intact.¡±


    This felt like something I''d been trying to tell Hannah for ages. Run away. Nobody had to give up on their dreams, but they didn''t have to force horrible experiences on themselves to make them come true either. It was stupid to believe that with pain came gain.


    ¡°Now are we done?¡± The Nurse asked. ¡°I have somewhere I need to be.¡±


    Hannah looked like she was having trouble finding anything to say. ¡°Yeah no, we''re done I think. Wow. You''re actually not a dick.¡±


    The Nurse rolled his eyes. ¡°If we''re done why are you still here? You know I can''t lock the door with you still inside? Shoo, shoo, go away, me no like you.¡± He tried to wave Hannah out the door. Just as she reached the door he spoke again. ¡°Oh and Hannah, I don''t keep grinders here, it doesn''t help people rest.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    As per Hannah''s promise, we visited Linth''s den. The erudite daughter to the headmaster had probably kept her nose in a book since the moment she woke up. Perhaps that was the first time besides possibly visiting the canteen for food, she''d had human interaction that day.


    It really did feel like this den was a port in a storm. A safe harbour. I was curious about what Linth''s reaction would be if she found out I could speak. She didn''t seem to mind that I was a black cat so there may be hope that she wouldn''t mind that either.


    But to reveal myself now would probably raise an eyebrow at the least. Once Linth knew the cat was not a cat, but actually another person, she''d probably retreat from the world even further with a new intense set of trust issues.


    Yeah, even if there was no danger to myself, it was probably not a good idea to scar Linth.


    Rumours of Mather continued into the next day and for a while after. He didn''t stop hanging around Riker''s office, which only exacerbated people''s suspicion.


    Perhaps if I had lifted my head once or twice, I''d have heard even more rumours concerning Killian and Mather. But that was yesterdays job and it probably wouldn''t be too good for other students to spread rumours around how my ears were creepily following the conversation around the room.


    Hannah had another meeting with Jean. Checking up on Hannah seemed more of a priority than ever and spot-checks on the scrolls she carried around was probably going to start to feel like a regular occurrence.


    And through it all, there wasn''t a sight or whisper of Riker in the Triolo. She was well and truly gone.


    After lunch, Hannah got curious and decided to visit the practice field.


    There playing the same game as before, were two teams of apprentices in protective gear. Enviable would be the last word I used to describe their position. Running around a field on a sunny day in protective gear, shouting at one another. It was exhausting just to watch.


    And receiving far more attacks than any other player was Killian. He had a tense smile on his face. Most teams looked to be divided in pairs or trios. That way they could defend against the ball being propelled their way by magic much easier. In Killian''s case he was front, centre, and alone.


    He was the very tip of the arrowhead formation his team was in. And so he would natturally absorb more attacks. It looked like his own team were presenting Killian as a sort of offering.


    And then the ball came his way once more. The sweat drenched boy stood his ground and extended out his hands. He didn''t try to dodge. Despite it''s considerable initial speed, the ball slowed down as though it were trying to force its way through a wall of water.


    By the time it reached Killian, it landed safely in his hands.


    ¡°Redcrow, you''re out!¡± The professor called. Touching the ball wasn''t allowed.


    What the hell was that? If he could slow the ball down like that he could have easily moved out of the way.


    After walking off the pitch he stood apart from the game still raging on. Spotting the witch and her black cat, he paused for a moment, probably to consider whether he wanted to talk to us or not before shrugging away his doubts.


    The only sign of any injuries was a slight limp in his left leg.


    ¡°Yo.¡± He waved to Hannah. ¡°What brings you here? Does the witch have a crush on one of the players and is secretly watching afar?¡± He laughed as he patronised the one person he really shouldn''t.


    It was a good thing he was saying this from the other side of a fence otherwise he''d have needed knew shins after Hannah was done with him. ¡°Funny.¡± She deadpanned. ¡°I can tell you''re a really popular guy.¡±


    ¡°Ouch.¡± Killian winced. ¡°Yeah that''s on me. Not the best opener.¡±


    ¡°How did you slow the ball down?¡± It was like her to be curious about the inner workings of magic. It never ended in a satisfying answer, but any question might hold a valuable nugget of information for the future.


    ¡°I slowed it down with magic, duh.¡± That was beyond an unsatisfying answer. That was an answer that dipped into furious territory. ¡°Man if looks could kill.¡±


    ¡°You have a funny way of saying thank you to the person who took you to the Nurse''s office.¡± Like steam building up in a kettle, seething frustration was building up beneath Hannah''s words.


    ¡°Yeah you definitely helped me out back there.¡± Judging by his expression, it wasn''t a happy memory he was recalling. ¡°Not my proudest moment.¡±


    Sensing an opportunity to drive a nail into the kid, Hannah grinned. ¡°It was honestly kind of funny. I really loved the bit where you called me ''mum'' and asked me to wake you up in another ten minutes.¡±


    ¡°Haha, now I know you''re lying because my mum refused to even look at me for my entire childhood!¡± Every word that fell out of his mouth confused me. It was incredibly off putting. What was this nonsensical mess of a creature on legs? ¡°Well jokes aside, do you really want to know what I did back there? It was nothing special.¡±


    ¡°Maybe to you.¡±


    Killian sighed. ¡°Well fine. I compressed the air in front of me, so it naturally slowed down.¡±


    ¡°You didn''t force it back?¡±


    ¡°What good with that be? That ball was being moved by the combined power of three frontrow shooters. It''d be too much work to wrestle the ball from their control.¡± Killian stated matter-of-factly. ¡°Because the efficacy of control degrades with range, the air was densest infront of me, whilst their attack was at its weakest. Being a bit of a dick, I decided to taunt them by catching that shot which was clearly meant to knock me on my arse.¡±


    ¡°I see. Do you think you could do that on a physical patent?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh...¡± Killian seemed to real at the odd question but shrugged. ¡°Probably? I don''t do physical patents myself but I wouldn''t expect it to be impossible. Complex, sure, but not impossible.¡±


    Complex was the key word here. Nothing Hannah could do with her scrolls could be too complex. There was, after all, limited space on the scroll for design.


    ¡°Wouldn''t you rather I just teach you how to do it, if you''re studying magic that is. Which I assume you do because, ya''know, you''re the great witch of the Triolo. Can I pet your cat by the way? I could totally use that as bragging rights.¡± The boy trailed off on a tangent which I was nonplussed with.


    Who did this brat think he was? He didn''t even have permission to speak to me let alone touch me. The thought of him running his hands across my fur sent shivers of revulsion down my spine. I could picture him with a content look on his face, taking advantage of my cursed form.


    No, he did not have permission. I would not allow it.


    Hannah threw a glance down at me and sighed. ¡°No, don''t touch my cat. If he didn''t kill you, I probably would.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I''m probably being a bit too forward for a stranger. Sorry.¡± Killian scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. ¡°My name is Killian Redcrow. You seem a bit aloof from the rest of us so I''m guessing you don''t know much about me.¡±


    ¡°The would be most hated person at the academy at the moment if it weren''t for Mather.¡±


    ¡°Wow, very harsh. Probably very true as well. Honestly, didn''t expect you to know.¡±


    One corner of Hannah''s lips lifted to form a sly smile. ¡°I didn''t, but nothing escapes the ears of my cat.¡±


    ¡°Well those rumours we take for jokes are looking more true by the second. Not gonna lie, I''m a little nervous right now.¡± Killian Redcrow probably had no clue how much of that was a bluff.


    ¡°My name''s Hannah. Try not to get yourself beaten up again, okay?¡±


    ¡°Oh my, is this concern from a witch.¡± Killian steadily walked his way closer to the grave with every joke.


    ¡°Die.¡± Hannah deadpanned.


    ¡°Redcrow, you''re back on.¡± The professor called from the other side of the field.


    Killian was being called back not a second too soon. ¡°Well bye then. I''ll probably see you around.¡±


    Hannah sighed with relief the moment his back was turned and he was back on the field. A sentiment I could fully understand.


    This whole encounter threw doubt on why this guy was beat up in the first place. For his personal beliefs? No, not a chance. This guy was just a straight up idiot.

 12 - In need of happy safe space

    Just one last time, praying for a miracle, Hannah was on her way to check Riker''s office. Despite the numerous confirmation she''d be gone for at least a month. Despite numerous rumours that it was Mather''s new haunt. Despite my better advice.


    It''d be nice if we could drop this issue entirely. It was comparable to a dog left at home pawing at the door their owner left to work through in a useless attempt to try and get them to come back.


    Perhaps that was a bit harsh.


    If I had fingers to cross with I''d be doing them. As much as I hated everyone''s fixation on luck, but my gut feeling was telling me to avoid this office building. I''d quickly come to associate it with work and other bad things.


    Ah but t''was all in vain for standing before Riker''s office, looking concerned and ill at ease was none other than Riker herself. Her ruined coat folded over her arm, she stared into her office with an expression that screamed ''I am not okay with what I am looking at''.


    ¡°Professor Riker, are you okay?¡± It was a silly question, especially when we knew of at least one reason why she wouldn''t be.


    I drew back behind Hannah so as not to make presence too obvious. She seemed to dislike me and her distrust could spillover into her interactions with Hannah.


    Riker didn''t immediately spot me but never the less she flinched at the sight of Hannah. ¡°Ah, Hannah. How are you?¡±


    ¡°I''m doing better.¡± Hannah shrugged. It was understandably non-committal answer considering she had quite a few things to be happy and upset about. ¡°By the way, a couple of students blasted a ball through your window. I hope it didn''t mess with your stuff.¡±


    ¡°I actually had noticed the big hole in the window.¡± The Professor probably couldn''t fail to notice it. ¡°Do you know who the students were?¡±


    ¡°I only saw Killian Redcrow. He was hurt so I took him the the Nurse''s office.¡± This was a few days ago. ¡°There were other boys but I didn''t see them.¡±


    Riker didn''t look particularly angry. If I was her, revenge for my window would be first and foremost, however she clearly had something else weighing heavily on her mind.


    Thinking about it, in that office there were probably plenty more precious things than the window. Wasn''t it Jean who said a lot of the professors who come here were washed up scholars? She also said Riker was the exception. The spare tables in her office were still littered with the strange components that were there before.


    ¡°Did you see him looking through my desk? How about the other boys, do you think they did?¡± The questioning was a little intense. I''d never seen someone look all that frightened by the contents of their desk. She made it look like her embarrassing photo collection from her childhood was locked in one of the drawers.


    Hannah shook her head. ¡°Killian? No way. He was concussed when I found him. Although...¡± She paused thoughtfully. ¡°I don''t know about the other boys. They uh... They sounded like an unpleasant bunch of guys but I don''t think they''d take anything with them if they messed around.¡±


    Killian, even concussed, was filled with blithe that would make anyone doubt his mental acumen. In my humble opinion, the group of boys we didn''t see seemed shrewd. Anyone who would isolate a classmate to beat them up seemed to be cut from the same cloth as a thief who''d steal stationary from someone''s office.


    Hannah continued. ¡°When I came in here and found Killian, I guess your desk looked messier.¡±


    ¡°How so?¡±


    ¡°Well, there was more paper scattered about. Is something missing professor?¡± It definitely felt like Riker was dancing around the subject of being the victim of theft.


    The Professor looked crestfallen. The dark bags beneath her eyes which had been present the last we saw her were still there. She twitched and squirmed nervously leading me to seriously doubt people''s ability to chill even on a day off. Just what had she been doing the last few days? Juggling knives on fire?


    Granted, someone such as I who wanted to sleep the world away probably was not the best example of learning to relax. I think in my case, it was more self-imposed apathy than chill.


    If we were going to be any help, Riker would need to come clean. I quietly wished she wouldn''t. My attitude on extra trouble was well known. ¡°I''m... I''m just a little scared someone''s been going through my office whilst I was away.¡±


    Yes. Many people. One in particular comes to mind. Riker probably didn''t know since she''d been away for so many days.


    Naturally there was only one suspect to point towards. Of course the rumours didn''t say he''d been caught going through her desks but never the less...


    ¡°I''m not sure.¡± Hannah answered.


    Are you serious?! I wanted to grab her by the legs and shake her around the corridor. Had my eavesdropping the last few days been for nothing?! Was Mather hanging around Riker''s office just a funny rumour to her?!


    ¡°It''s probably nothing. I shouldn''t get students involved.¡± Riker scratched the back of her neck sheepishly.


    ¡°Professor, if there''s anything I can do to help you I w-¡± Hannah was cut short.


    ¡°Professor Riker? I had not expected you to return so soon.¡± The voice that echoed through the hallway was like that of a gentleman, but belonged to one of the last people I''d use the word to describe.


    Riker looked past Hannah who seemed to shrink away. It looked as though any moment she''d hold as much presence as a generic portrait painting hanging from the wall.


    Mather stood at the end of the corridor, the air about him impossibly different than when we first met. He seemed a few inches taller and wore an obnoxiously gentle smile on his face.


    And then it clicked. Hannah may well have held back from implicating Mather. Quite smartly too. Even if she was unaware he was standing behind her at the time, the position of power he had made him someone unwise to accuse to skulduggery. At least, I hoped that was the case.


    That very same guy who was running unethical and sadistic tests on a student with an interesting medical condition sounded quite a bit like the kind of guy who''d enjoy stealing stationary from coworkers.


    ¡°Professor Mather.¡± The tension from Riker''s face eased visibly. What sort of person could relax around this guy? ¡°Oh I''m just checking up on things. I''ll be gone before you even notice.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Professor Mather let out a laugh. ¡°Nonsense! We all miss you here at the academy. The break room is a little less interesting without your strange obsessions. Still, you should be prioritising yourself. You''ve worked non-stop and we are all concerned for you well-being after what happened.¡±


    Riker''s cheeks flushed a little red. I suppressed the urge to vomit.


    Hannah was looking away rather distantly, perhaps projecting herself into a happy safe space where her abuser was not here and pretending to be a nice person.


    ¡°You don''t need to come back everyday to check up on the academy. We''ll be right here looking after the place until you return.¡± Mather promised. Certainly it was possible he was hanging around her office to make sure nothing happened to her personal effects.


    Professor Riker looked relieved with Mather''s guarantee. ¡°Thank you. Just one question though?¡± As she smiled cheekily Mather shoulders sank with a sigh.


    ¡°The window?¡±


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    ¡°I caught some students from the practice field throw a force ball through it. Sorry, we''ll have it sorted in no time. It''ll be like it never happened when you come back.¡±


    My ears peaked up. He''d caught the students who threw the ball. Of course that may well have just been a little exaggeration to make himself seem a bit more knightly.


    But that was probably how the rumours started. So what really happened. Did he catch the students in here or did they catch him in here?


    ¡°Redcrow was among them. The usual suspect involved in troublemaking.¡±


    Hannah must have come back to us when she couldn''t stomach being here any longer. It was probably only the chance to talk to Riker that had kept her here but Mather seemed unlikely to budge any time soon.


    She quietly excused herself and I followed behind her until we were out of the hallway. She fell back against a wall and took a long deep breath.


    I felt queasy for an entirely different reason to Hannah. The way Riker looked at ease, or maybe even respected Mather, who to my eyes could well have just been putting on a front, made me feel sickly.


    ¡°Come on. Let''s go.¡± Hannah muttered to me as she walked exhausted down the hallway.


    Since I was not entirely in control of my life, I followed.


    We left the the building and made a turn towards the usual conspiracy spot I''d hopped not to see again.


    When we got there the shadow of the office building loomed over us. The cries from the training field seemed distant to my ears.


    ¡°Gods I hate that dick.¡± Hannah slammed her fist against the side of the building. A moment later she pulled it back with a bit of a wince.


    ¡°Uh... Is your fist okay?¡±


    ¡°It''s a good thing I can''t feel pain that well because that would have hurt.¡± Hannah grinned nervously.


    Thinking back on it, the Nurse had given some good warnings. ¡°I think the Nurse said the magic would last for as long as your arms weren''t fully healed.¡±


    ¡°Well I''ve delayed that by a day or two then.¡±


    ¡°Congrats, you''re a dumbass. W-wait it''s just a joke don''t kick me!¡± I retreated from the fierce glare Hannah shot Hannah.


    She furrowed her brow and cracked her knuckles menacingly. ¡°What did I tell you about jokes?¡± Her shadow loomed over me as she grinned.


    ¡°That you''re a jerk about them or something?¡±


    ¡°Man you really are digging your grave today.¡± She sighed sadly. She scanned the area around her and then satisfied with the amount of privacy we had, asked, ¡°Do you think someone is snooping around Riker''s office?¡±


    It wasn''t unusual for people to turn paranoid when they reached a breaking point in stress. Although what came first, the stress or the paranoia? ¡°She definitely seemed scared or nervous. Even just being around her office seemed to upset her. I would say that she believes someone is snooping around her office.¡±


    Hannah paused to digest this. She couldn''t seriously be thinking of helping, right? Sure it was an opportunity to get on Riker''s good side, but the obvious suspect was someone she couldn''t annoy.


    Mather hanging around the Riker''s office couldn''t be a coincidence. But the more I thought about it the more Mather got on uncharacteristic well with Riker. But that might just have showed how little I knew about Mather.


    ¡°Why would anyone do that though? What''s there valuable enough steal?¡± At least nothing that looked overtly valuable. Probably no jewellery. I didn''t know the value of the components she strewn about the extra tables in her office but Riker didn''t seem especially interested in them.


    Why would anyone do that? Do you think anyone''s snooping around Riker''s office? It sounded like she wasn''t even considering the obvious suspect.


    Surely she knew-


    My ears picked up the trampling of grass and voices nearing. Young, delinquent, they probably belonged to other students.


    Looked like this was really a popular spot for conspiracy brewing and shady deals, I wanted to joke.


    Hannah noticed my ears twitch and shook her head with a sigh. We were bound to be interrupted once or twice if we carried on trying to have conversations at the Triolo.


    ¡°Is the coast clear?¡± I heard a voice ask.


    ¡°I''ll check now.¡±


    And the first boy rounded the corner. He froze to the spot one he saw me and Hannah.


    ¡°What''s up Kyle?¡± The rest of the group lagged behind him.


    There were five boys. Four we didn''t know and one that gave me and Hannah both a good idea of what was going on.


    Somewhat mute stuck right in the middle of the four boys, was Killian. He probably didn''t have much choice in his situation.


    Both groups froze to the spot, quite unsure of what to do with eachother.


    In their minds, they probably wondered things like, ¡°how do you play it cool?¡± and ¡°we have to make sure Killian doesn''t rat us out.¡±


    In Hannah''s mind she was probably wondering things like ¡°really, now?¡± or ¡°I''m supposed to stop this from happening, right?¡±


    I was just wondering things like ¡°who should I bet on if Hannah if a fight breaks out.¡± Hannah clearly had them outnumbered one to four. One to five if Killian felt exceptionally stupid today.


    It stood to reason that the one that seemed likeliest to dig a hole for himself completely ignored the mood and called out with a cheeky grin. ¡°Oh Hannah, how you doing?¡± Killian waved. ¡°Do you mind leaving, we were booked for a table of five here and you''re kinda in our spot.¡±


    I wondered whether he was just like this when he was happy.


    ¡°Well I guess I can''t argue with that.¡± Hannah shrugged. ¡°I could leave you with your ''friends'' if you want.¡± Killian''s expression tensed in an instant.


    One of the boys decided to speak up. ¡°Yeah do you mind leaving? We need to speak to Killian in private.¡±


    Well, if it was me in control, but since it was Hannah although she promised to leave she remained firmly rooted to the spot, glaring ahead of her.


    If that boy had just kept his mouth shut Hannah probably would have left. We could have all ignored and brushed his existence and pretended in some fantasy world Killian wasn''t being dragged here to get beaten up. But he had to open his mouth.


    ¡°I need to speak with Killian.¡± Hannah declared.


    All four boys winced. ¡°Can it wait?¡± Kyle their leader puffed out his chest and smouldered. ¡°We got him first.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can see that.¡± Hannah shrugged. ¡°Sucks for you because I need to speak to Killian. You''re not going to stop me are you?¡± She squared her shoulders up to Kyle.


    I sat back, watching in silence.


    What was he going to do? Beat her up? Realistically, they''d win. Never the less, that after they''d finished their beat-down where both Killian and Hannah would go to the faculty with eachother as witnesses and report them would be the bit where they lost without a doubt.


    Although considering Killian had never been too pressed to make his bullying known I wondered whether it would go down like that. He had given these boys confidence that he wouldn''t fight back.


    But that wasn''t the case with Hannah.


    She continued to glare. ¡°Look I don''t have all day. It''s not like whatever you five are gonna do in your own personal time can''t be done in an hour, or maybe tomorrow, or a week''s time. But y''know what I can do? I can''t talk to someone who''s head''s been kicked in. So scram, I''m talking to Killian first.¡±


    The boys looked to eachother before Kyle narrowed his eyes. ¡°Lady, you are crazy. Just get out of our way would you or...¡±


    His threat turned to muttering as Hannah turned her back on him, calmly walked over to me, her eyes fixed to my spot. She picked me up much to my distress and made her way back to the boys.


    ¡°See this?¡± She held me out in front of the boys. ¡°What''s this?¡±


    I met their eyes and tried to mentally beg them to spare me.


    ¡°It''s a black cat?¡± The boys looked to eachother as though Hannah had shown them something really distasteful.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Hannah nodded. ¡°You''re right.¡± she then kicked the nearest boy between the legs.


    ¡°Fuuuu-¡± He crumpled to the floor.


    She passed by the surprised boys and grabbed Killian''s wrist. ¡°Come with me.¡± And she ran, brooking no argument from the boy or me as I hung over her shoulder, my claws dug into her cloak.


    What the hell?! I wanted to scream. But as I saw the boys look to one another and yelling after Hannah, I couldn''t help but laugh even if I knew it would be just more trouble at a later date.

 13 - Superstitions

    Escaping was no problem. The boys must have been still reeling from the absurdity of what just happened. By the time they gathered together the will to give chase, Hannah and Killian were both back in the very open and public campus.


    It wasn''t long before we lost sight of them. I was relieved. I couldn''t have imagined them giving up the chase after their leader was kicked between the legs so hard.


    Where had I been in this entire thing? I had been attached to Hannah''s cloak, claws dug in and praying I wouldn''t fall off.


    After they''d both recovered their breath and I was pried off Hannah, there was a brief silence as we stood idle in the centre of the campus.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Hannah turned her attention to Killian. The boy hadn''t protested or thrown a joke our way the entire time.


    ¡°Yeah it''s just uh... Could you maybe not have hit him so hard? Even I felt that.¡± He turned white at the thought of the nauseous pain the boy named Kyle must have gone through.


    Hannah rolled her eyes. ¡°I suppose you wanted me to tickle him instead?¡±


    Killian straightened up and lost his smile. ¡°Look, I get that you played the hero, but I''m not gonna thank you for making the situation worse.¡±


    She barely flinched, as though she expected this kind of treatment to begin with. ¡°I guess your idea of making things better is to not do anything at all?¡± She replied airily.


    ¡°No, that''s not it. I...¡± Killian trailed off before shaking his head ashamed of himself. ¡°I''m sorry, that was again, a little too forward of me. It''s just everybody seems to want a piece of my ass these days so I''m bad with people.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I can see that. Anyway, I don''t trust you not to get into trouble so stick with me today.¡±


    ¡°See, always after a piece of my- Oww okay, okay sorry.¡± Killian retreated a few steps after Hannah kicked his shin.


    ¡°Do you have free time?¡± There were probably a few things Hannah wanted to ask him. This was a good opportunity to do so.


    ¡°Yeah. For an hour probably.¡± I wasn''t sure what Killian did at this academy. I assumed he was taking some sort of apprenticeship.


    ¡°Good. follow me. We can talk about stuff along the way.¡±


    Killian hesitated. ¡°On the way to where? Will there be shin kicking involved because I''m not sure I want to follow.¡±


    Hannah looked behind her and shrugged. ¡°There''ll be less shin kicking than if I left you with those four boys.¡±


    By this point I''d come to the realisation any hope of never seeing this boy again was a fool''s hope. Shame really, Hannah didn''t need another friend. We had Linth after all. What did Killian bring to the table besides a cart load of personal problems?


    Linth brought a lot to the table so long as I was lying on that said table with my belly exposed.


    This curse really had to go. Any more of this and I was probably gonna start doing cat things like cleaning my fur with my tongue. The very thought of me doing that as if there was nothing wrong with the world sent shivers down my spine.


    With Hannah at the lead, Killian and I followed.


    ¡°Do you always take your cat with you by the way?¡± Killian threw and uneasy glance my direction. ¡°I mean, it adds a whole new meaning to ''that person brings bad luck''.¡±


    He avoided the shin kick directed at him with a proud smile but Hannah followed it up with barely a moment of hesitation with a jab to his side. ¡°Don''t. Call. Adam. Bad. Luck.¡±


    If anything, it was the other way around.


    ¡°Y-yeah...? Man you make it really easy to learn your red lines.¡± Killian winced with pain.


    Hannah continued with a hard glare. ¡°Look at him. Is that was bad luck looks like to you? Is that what the table leg looks like when you stub your toe? Or how about when you knock a mug off the kitchen counter, does the shards magically make the shape of a cat?¡±


    The very concept of bad luck was ridiculous. Granted, there were always things outside of people''s control. People needed some phrase or set of words to convey their sympathy for someone who was not entirely in control of their life. ''Luck'' was that phrase.


    But it was like fate. Was fate not just the collective subconscious will of every player in existence, with every tiny action of theirs, setting a near unavoidable path for others to walk in life?


    However fate and luck were used in strange ways. It seemed almost like an excuse sometimes. To avoid a person''s culpability in the results of their own stupidity, they''d claim it was luck, or it was fated to happen.


    I wish I could say all that. What irked me was that Hannah was the one fighting my battle. When confronted with an obstacle she tended to go for what could be described at times as an explosive solution.


    Killian recoiled at Hannah''s onslaught but as they walked through the corridors he nevertheless continued. ¡°No, but every superstition has a grain of truth. And before you punch me even harder this time, give me a chance to explain.¡± He caught Hannah eyeing his side and shins again but managed to buy himself precious seconds with his plea of mercy. ¡°This has a little insight into my childhood included.¡±


    ¡°Is it necessary?¡±


    ¡°I''m kinda hoping that despite the constant threat of physical violence we can be friends. Friends who beat me up are an upgrade from what I had before. I could even call it climbing the social ladder!¡± What a sad and tragic thing to say. ¡°Anyway, I''m the third son of my family. My family is strict with inheritance. There''s the heir-my eldest sister-, the spare -my younger older sister-, and then there''s about four other kids including me. But, mum and dad only care about the heir and spare. The rest of us are sent to branch families. We''ll get a small financial settlement when mum and dad retire but in the meantime we don''t get as much support. I come from the eastern marches by the way.¡±


    The Kingdom of Tallis had a rough time defending its borders. To the North were the clans. To the east were the nomad steppes. From what I understood as the lazy apolitical cursed cat with a talent for eavesdropping I was, these marches were quasi-autonomous regions ruled by influential families in the kingdom''s stead. Hannah''s own homeland was the Amarinth Marches to the north.


    A few clans along the northern border had grown friendly with Kingdom of Tallis. Tens of years ago it was annexed into the kingdom peacefully but not without protest. This wasn''t popular with the rest of the northern clans who adventured south to reclaim Amarinth. By the time the kingdom had stopped looking for a diplomatic solution, most of their loyal subjects in the region had been displaced or killed, leaving only a disloyal and contested stretch of land to rule over.


    ¡°Oh no, a noble who has lost his silver spoon.¡± Hannah answered sarcastically. ¡°You said insight, not essay. What''s this got to do with Adam?¡±


    Hannah was someone who could sympathise with both the kingdom and the clans. The kingdoms guaranteed a comfortable life and the clans didn''t persecute people they believed to be witches. However it was by no means a safe place to live. Constant skirmishing between communities settled by the Kingdom and the clans made the place unstable. The free northern clans would test the borders constantly with raids and the threat of invasion. Retaliation would be swift.


    It would have been a nice place if it weren''t for all the fires and swords. I could tell Hannah held a little bit of a grudge against the nobles of Tallis and the Free clans for the situation.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Killian shrugged. ¡°It''s stopped you from kicking my shin so far. Now you''re just throwing sarcastic comments my way. See? Already climbing the social ladder.¡± I had to applaud this guy, he was being very honest. ¡°Anyway, so they had a babysitter look after me. She''d often say ''just between you and me, I am a witch and if I catch you with another stolen cookie in your mouth I will turn you into a tree''. She terrified the life out of me and thinking back on it, she probably was a witch.¡±


    Humans didn''t have ears that perked up like cats. Despite that, I could tell from little twitches here and there Killian had caught Hannah''s interest. ¡°Turn you into a tree?¡±


    ¡°Apparently witches can do that. They have a style of magic completely alien to ours. But they keep it secret to their covens. She... Actually showed me when nobody was around.¡±


    ¡°And suppose I believe you that your family would hire a witch to looks after you, what''s this got to do with my cat?¡±


    Killian lifted his lips in a sly grin. He knew he''d caught her attention and was proud of it. He dodged her request for an explanation. ¡°Witches and black cats go hand in hand don''t they? According to the Church of Tallis, magic as we know it was created by the seven and taught to humans to fight the monsters created by the arch-demon. The arch-demon obviously lost, but being the symbol of sin and evil, the church claims it''s still alive. Hiding in the shadows, it''s said the arch-demon with the last of its power made black cats, the familiars of witches. The black cats then taught the witches the secrets to create monsters. And the barest minimum a witch needs to weave their evil spells is a single fresh lead from and oak tree.¡±


    Hannah remained quite for a while. Her lips were pursed shut. Despite being a self-proclaimed witch, she couldn''t do that. Hell, she couldn''t weave ''normal'' spells.


    And that was why black cats were disliked. They were seen as messengers of the arch-demon. It was a stupid and ridiculous thought. As far as I could recall, I had never once run across some ancient evil commanding me to do its bidding. And really? Cats as evil messengers? I mean they couldn''t even talk! What were they supposed to do? Purr ominously at their owners?


    Witches got it a lot worse. At least in the Kingdom of Tallis, everyone seemed to be of one mind about them. Suspected witches were turned over to the Order of Ice, the most respected order of spellcasters in the kingdom. Hannah''s own mother and father, a witch and warlock, had to leave her in the care of her grandparents and flee Amarinth for their own lives because of this.


    Her grandmother was perhaps the most fierce witch of Amarinth. Well respected and protected by the clans living there, if the Order of Ice knew about her they probably avoided her for a good reason.


    And so Killian''s fanciful story of how he was raised by a witch hired by his well-respected family could be nothing but that, a fanciful story.


    ¡°It''s a fun story, but it''s more likely you read that than were told by an actual witch.¡± Hannah sighed. ¡°In fact, if you''d actually met a witch, they''d probably have told you a different story.¡±


    Killian looked as though the wind had been taken out of his sails. ¡°Well, yeah I can''t argue with that. But if you''re a witch, then it makes sense you''re followed around by a messenger of the arch-demon.¡±


    It made sense according to the church. A part of me vehemently denied that the arch-demon would bother wasting its time on such a lame project after being beaten by the seven gods. That same part of me disliked the idea of calling the seven ''gods''.


    ¡°Wow, what a wonderful casual conversation we are having.¡± The sarcasm in Hannah''s voice evident. ¡°So now not only is Adam bad luck, but now messenger of the one and only arch-demon?! Do you ever wonder why everyone hates you?¡±


    Killian gave it a moment of pause before answering honestly. ¡°Well if you ask anybody else, it''s because I don''t believe anybody but a noble should learn how to use magic Owww-¡± He spent the next several second hopping on one foot and clutching his side.


    ¡°You called my cat a symbol of all the world''s evil!¡± Hannah snapped. Thankfully they were outside the campus. In fact, we seemed to be heading in the direction of Linth''s den so we were in the more quiet area of the Triolo.


    I was a little exasperated. Black cats were the symbols of bad luck because they were messengers of the greatest evil to have ever existed. How did that wild belief start? What weird substances had the priests been smoking that day?


    Yeah, this could only be explained as a bad trip involving a black cat. After all, it''s not like cats could talk.


    Did I? No... surely I didn''t. Surely I wasn''t the origin of this.


    ¡°You are on very thin ice.¡± Hannah gestured just how thin that ice was, the distance between her thumb and her finger practically microscopic.


    ¡°You''re putting up with me a lot better than I thought you would.¡± I agreed. ¡°So I''m gonna guess and say you''ve already heard what I think about magic.¡±


    It''d be a bit awkward for Hannah to believe only nobles could learn magic. ¡°I don''t care.¡± She curtly answered. ¡°Nobody is going to stop me from learning it.¡±


    I would argue that nobody really needed to.


    Although if anybody barged in whilst she was revising and slapped the study book out of her hand, they''d be punched in the face before they could get half way through explaining why she didn''t deserve to learn magic.


    ¡°On Friday, I found you in Riker''s office. Did you accidentally take anything from her desk with you?¡±


    ¡°Weird question but no.¡± Killian paused again and thought. ¡°At least I don''t remember. I usually double check everything I have on me after getting beaten up. I don''t remember coming home with anything weird.¡±


    Hannah took that answer in stride. It was to be expected.


    Great, so she were taking up the job of finding Riker''s thief as well. She didn''t even know what was stolen. Riker seemed certain at the very least her office had been tampered with.


    Which to be fair, it had. There was a new hole in the window.


    Hannah crossed her arms and frowned. ¡°Well what about the boys that came with you. Maybe they took something with them before they left.¡±


    ¡°I doubt they''d be interested in new stationary.¡± An overall useless answer. Under Hannah''s glare he cracked and gave a better reply. ¡°Okay, I didn''t notice any of them going through Riker''s desk. You can probably guess why.¡±


    Well to me it was an open and shut case. Mather was the person doing the snooping. He was the one who according to rumours, was always hanging around Riker''s office.


    ¡°Hmm...¡± I could practically see Hannah''s brain spark. ¡°So was there anybody else you saw?¡±


    Killian scratched the back of his head thoughtfully. ¡°Yeah actually. Mather.¡±


    Yes, the obvious suspect.


    Hannah raised her hand to rub the newfound tension in her forehead. ¡°Well I can''t do anything about him.¡± She muttered.


    By the troubled look on her face this was something she''d already suspected. It''d be meaningless to get into Riker''s good books if she simultaneously entered Mather''s bad books.


    ¡°So we''ve been walking for a while and now we''re in the creepier quieter part of the Triolo.¡± Killian came to a stop and looked up at the cathedral, closer than he was comfortable with. ¡°You''re not planning on sacrificing me to the arch-demon, are you?¡±


    ¡°That''s a very tasteless joke.¡±


    ¡°Oh that''s funny, you don''t exactly strike me as religious. I mean, I figured since you hadn''t complained and you go around with a black cat, you preferred witches over churches.¡± Sound reasoning since both rarely went hand in hand unless one was being thrown onto a pyre.


    ¡°Witches are by nature superstitious. Go figure.¡±


    ¡°Okay, but that doesn''t answer my question of where we are going.¡± Killian turned his head left and right, scanning the unfamiliar part of the Triolo.


    I would have thought this would be a popular spot to get beaten down by his classmates. It was nice and secluded.


    Hannah stopped outside a familiar disused building. Pausing, she quietly pondered over whether this was the right thing to do. ¡°Well, I know two people who don''t have many friends so...¡±


    No.


    NO NO NO NO.


    Not my dear Linth! She did not need to meet this blithering punishable by death waste of effort. No, my poor dear Linth would never even survive first contact. I was completely against this. We would witness that timid girl already too shy to step outside of her den die inside.


    I planted myself between the entrance to the building and two of them and met Hannah''s silent stare with a weighty glare.


    A cold wind blew. I could feel it''s chill run through my whiskers. A moment of calm followed, filled only by the static tension of a frosty silent standoff.


    ¡°Your cat is kinda creeping me out here.¡± Killian muttered. ¡°Are you seeing this?¡±


    ¡°Quiet, the adults are talking.¡±


    Hannah was at least partially right there. This was no place for that idiot.


    No words needed to be talked. Intent could be read in eachother''s eyes. Even the most subtle twitch wouldn''t go unnoticed. An empty space sat between us loaded with an invisible conflict.


    ¡°Out of the way.¡± Hannah crossed her arms and looked down her nose at me. This was the ultimate challenge. The crossing of arms and slight puffing out her chest was like that of a veteran martial artist refusing to budge at the door. Her looking down her nose at me was a clear attack on authority in a wider societal hierarchy.


    ¡°Not a chance.¡± People who crossed their arms were often warding off their vitals because they felt threatened. I rooted my paws into the ground and kept my tail from swaying which could have been interpreted as a sign of anxiety and weakness. Who was she to look down on me? She had amounted to little in life whereas I could say I amounted to something on the basis it warranted cursing me to take the appearance of a cat.


    Sparks flew. Neither side could give.


    I needed to protect Linth. At all costs.


    None of that really happened. I sat down, Hannah walked over me and opened the door, beckoning Killian in.


    Not gonna lie, this hurt me a little.


    It felt like all strength had been taken out of my form. With just one move, not even subtle, she had demonstrated how small and insignificant an obstacle I could ever amount to be.


    Another breeze rolled by, sweeping it''s cruel chill through my empty form where strength should have been, threatening to push me over like a wilted flower.


    ¡°Try to hide your disbelief, but I''m not very good with people.¡± Killian laughed nervously as he walked past.


    ¡°What? Really? I''d have never have guessed.¡±


    ¡°Something to do with everything that comes out of my mouth sounding like crap. Is your cat okay? I''m getting an intense aura of depression from him right now.¡±


    Nah man I''m fine. I''m just a pathetic weak cat who can''t do anything. It''s completely fine my guy, move along.


    Hannah glanced down at me and shrugged. ¡°He''ll get over it.¡±

 14 - "Friendly" and "Normal".

    One of the things I noticed about Linth''s den was that things rarely moved around. She had it setup the way she liked it. There were new additions to her book collection every now and then. Eventually she''d run out of shelf space and have to get more.


    I wondered how she dragged all the furniture up here by herself though.


    For all I knew, she lived in this room. As such, it was a special place to her. Any place I napped was a special place to me so I could sympathise. And we both probably preferred our special place not being invaded.


    So when Killian followed Hannah into Linth''s den with curious eyes looking to and fro, Linth froze up. She might as well have forgotten how to breath.


    I leaped up onto the table, hoping that my presence would counterbalance Killian''s. She seemed much more at ease when there was some sort of animal to help distract her nerves. She should probably invest in a soft toy.


    ¡°So this is where you were taking me.¡± Killian eyed the shelves lined with books and regarded Linth with a curious stare. ¡°I get the feeling I''m intruding.¡±


    Hannah waved away Killian''s concerns. ¡°Well your ''friends'' won''t find you here. I stopped this guy from getting beat up this morning. Do you mind if he stays here and in sight so my work doesn''t go to waste?¡±


    The way she talked was like she half expected Killian to throw himself into someone''s fist the moment he was out of sight.


    Both the den owner and the intruder met eyes. Linth cracked under the pressure of Hannah''s stare. ¡°Fine. Sorry.¡±


    Despite getting the answer she wanted, Hannah despaired at Linth''s timidity. ¡°What are you saying sorry for? We''re the ones invading.¡± That was a rare bout of self-awareness. ¡°But whilst he''s here, he''s going to be nice and behave like a normal friendly person, aren''t you?¡± Hannah addressed Killian as though she were addressing a dog.


    If he so much as dared made Linth feel any more uncomfortable, I''d haunt his life for the rest of his days with bad luck.


    Killian scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. ¡°Right, yeah. Should I introduce myself? That''s what friendly ''normal'' people do, right?¡± He nervously tried to laugh off the pressure being exuded from Hannah''s judging gaze. ¡°My name is Killian Redcrow. I''m an apprentice here and I''ll try not to be a bother to you. In fact, you can ignore me. Just pretend I don''t exist.¡±


    Linth shifted uncomfortably. With Hannah appearing to be grading her on her social skills, poor Linth looked ready to break. The comforting refuge of a book was right in her hands. If she ignored the boy though that would be an instant fail.


    ¡°Now it''s your turn Linth. You can''t hide your nose in a book forever. Time to learn how to make friends.¡± Hannah stood at the end of the table as though she were mediating a deal between two different political parties.


    Killian laughed nervously. ¡°Oh you really weren''t joking about that then.¡±


    She had brought two people I didn''t think compatible at all together to be friends. The normally loud and blithering Killian, and the timid erudite Linth.


    A part of thought this was stupid. They didn''t need to be friends. Linth was happy with her books and Killian was hardly complaining about being beaten up weekly. This weird obsession of everyone with relationships daunts me. But I come from a perspective where I only need to care about my relationship with Hannah.


    ¡°Well if what you said about us hoping to be friends was true, then you''re gonna need to befriend Linth. And Linth, this is a good opportunity for you to come out of your shell. It can be depressingly quiet in here.¡±


    Linth flinched at Hannah''s honest verdict. ¡°Sorry...¡±


    Killian paused, an expression of confusion and surprise on his face. ¡°Wait, did you say her name is Linth?¡± He looked between Linth and Hannah which only made the former retreat further into her chair.


    If Linth was gonna try any harder to hide in her book, she''d end up being thrown into a portal-fantasy genre story.


    Hannah nodded after Linth''s prolonged silence. ¡°Yeah. This is Linth, she''s a bit timid. Likes to hide from the world. Be gentle on her, okay?¡± Said the person putting her on the spot.


    Much to Killian''s credit, he seemed to absorb those words. It was clear his attention made Linth retreat so he relaxed his posture and focused on Hannah. Linth would come out when she was ready. ¡°Right. This is a pretty cool place you two have. Do you mind if I take a seat?¡±


    ¡°Everything in this room is just Linth''s but I crash here everynow and then.¡± We were familiar enough with this room to know where everything was by now.


    I sauntered towards Linth and sat down beside her. She was a bit too distracted to give me much attention as she glanced up at Killian everytime he so much as moved.


    I, in a sense, envied her. She had an entire room to herself. Everything she seemed to want was here. She could take a walk to the canteen if she ever needed food or snacks and it didn''t seem like anyone besides Hannah and I ever came to bother her. She was living the life I wanted to. She was in a sense, a gleaming symbol of what I wanted to be. Reclusive, seemingly independent, and unapproachable.


    Of course, being a black cat I should have been quite unapproachable already. Should have been.


    Killian glanced out the window. It''s shutter, open, let in light and gave a nice view boats bobbing smoothly up and down the estuary. ¡°How did you find this place? I mean, it''s not like you''re not allowed to come here. It''s just there''s not much reason. That and... well... Don''t you get creeped out walking here? The cathedral is so close to this place.¡±


    Hannah gave me an odd look after she received Killian''s question. Coming to think of it, I didn''t remember how we came across this place.


    She drummed her fingers on the table surface and rested her chin lazily on her other palm. ¡°It was mostly Adam. Linth''s been here a while. She just wanted somewhere to stash her collection of books. I found this place thanks to a certain scaredy cat.¡±


    What? I really didn''t remember this. What was with calling me a ''scaredy cat''? The person who terrified me the most was definitely Hannah.


    Linth momentarily came out her book to scratch behind my ear. I hadn''t expected it so I had to fought the urge to jump. ¡°Adam is not a scaredy cat.¡±


    Naww stop it you. Wait, stop patronising me! I''m not a cat at all dammit!


    Hannah watched the fuss I received with a cold stare that sent shivers down my spine before continuing. ¡°It was mostly Adam. It was during my second week at the academy and I decided I''d go see the cathedral up close. The furthest you can get is this side of the drawbridge. That place is built like a fortress. Didn''t even make it that far before my cat bolted in a panic from his usual hiding place in my satchel.¡±


    ¡°You sometimes carry your cat around in your bag?¡± Killian grinned, picturing it. I was surprised he hadn''t seen her do it before. ¡°Man what a comfy life he lives.¡± Oh this guy had no idea.


    I couldn''t say I remembered getting close to the cathedral. Half of me doubted the truth of this story. But the story had caught my attention.


    ¡°I chased after him. He sai... I''m not sure but I think someone scared him? I looked around but I couldn''t see anybody. I ended up chasing him all the way here where we came across Linth.¡± Hannah gave a story that resonated eerily in my head. ¡°Ever since then, he just acts like it never happened. It''s like he''s genuinely forgotten about it.¡± She stared me dead in the eyes, just watching my reaction.


    For a moment, I forgot how to think. It was as though my mind ground to a halt, stuttering and struggling to process.


    Surely this story was nothing. It was possible this was a bluff to throw me off. It wasn''t like I could openly refute this tale. Well I could but the conversation wouldn''t be about the story anymore.


    ¡°Your cat was right to get scared.¡± Killian seemed to believe this story. ¡°If there''s one thing that''s more bad luck than a black ca-ahem- stubbing your toe on a table leg, it''s that cathedral. Do you know the full story about it?¡±


    ¡°I''ve heard bits and pieces, I''ve been curious but never really trusted the rumours.¡± Hannah didn''t quickly pick up rumours. She wasn''t connected to all that many people here. Most of what she knew instead came from her land lady.


    ¡°Um...¡± Linth quietly lifted her hand. ¡°I have a book about it, I mean, only if you want. Sorry...¡± She quietly lowered her hand under the joint stares of Killian and Hannah.


    Killian looked to the shelves behind her. ¡°That would be useful. Can I borrow it for a second? If you don''t mind that is. That''d be really helpeful and you''d be totally an amazing person and I''d be entirely indebted to you.¡± I wasn''t sure whether showering someone in completely insincere and exaggerated praise counted as being friendly but Killian tried never the less.


    Linth got up and examined the shelves behind her. She picked a particularly hefty looking tome and brought it over.


    It was a leatherbound book which looked well looked after. Despite the care the pages had yellowed and stained, a testament to its age.


    Killian furrowed his brows. ¡°This is... a collection of journals on the Hexan plague.¡±


    ¡°I thought um that maybe you two would want to read what started the rumours. Sorry.¡± Linth bowed her head apologetically.


    Perhaps what Killian was looking for was something a little more superstitious. This tome looked more like a collection of medical journals and first or second hand accounts.


    ¡°Right. Well...¡± Killian stared dauntingly at the thick tome.


    Hannah pulled the book over to her and flipped through to find an index. ¡°Well you''re either going to tell me the story yourself or I''m going to spend the next three hours reading this thing.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°No offence, but I wouldn''t wish that on my worst enemy.¡± Killian threw an apologetic look towards the red-faced Linth.


    ¡°I''ve got other books.¡± Linth said in a barely audible mutter. ¡°But I thought you guys would like the real history.¡±


    Sadly for Linth, real history didn''t make for nice stories.


    As Hannah flipped through the thick book Killian shrugged. ¡°Well I guess I have no choice. Just so you know, my storytelling skills are renowned the world around so consider this an-¡±


    ¡°Oh here it is. So they quarantined approximately one thousand infected people up inside that cathedral and lifted the drawbridge. To make sure nobody escaped to reinfect the population, they left forty guards inside the cathedral who irreparably destroyed the mechanism and stopped the infected from trying to break out.¡± Hannah cut in. Her finger traced line after line of text. ¡°It''s nice when there''s a good index.¡±


    It never took Hannah that long to find what she was looking for in a book.


    ¡°R-right. Yeah.¡± Killian cleared his throat. ¡°And according to some, when the city was building the cathedral-¡±


    ¡°The Triolo actually predates most of the city.¡± Linth lifted her voice. ¡°Sorry. Please continue.¡± She shrunk back into her corner again.


    Pausing only for a second to reflect, Killian continued as if that interruption had never happened. ¡°Okay, so before the city ever existed. Fine. So the legend goes that the grand priest who was overseeing the construction received horrible nightmares. In his sleep he saw the Arch-demon talking to him, threatening him not to continue in this project because the Triolo was being built upon the Arch-demon''s final resting place. It promised a thousand curses and bad luck for untold generations if the Triolo was ever finished and lived in to worship the seven gods. However, the priest was steadfast in faith and-¡±


    ¡°Final resting ground of the arch-demon?¡± Hannah lifted her head from the tome as though this was the first time she''d even noticed Killian was talking. ¡°The Arch-demon isn''t dead. In the far north, the seven gods placed it''s body beneath the ice where it would remain locked and helpless for all eternity.¡±


    Killian gave Hannah a long lingering stare which she met for barely a few seconds before returning to reading the tome. He cleared his throat again and continued. ¡°According to some, the Arch-demon hated the construction of the grand cathedral on this site and so cursed the Triolo. For as long as worship of the seven happened on this ground, the Arch-demon brought about disaster after disaster. And the latest, the Hexan plague, hit pilgrims and the priesthood the worst. For superstitious cityfolk this was the last straw. They had no idea what the clergy were doing hiding away up in the cathedral, only allowing the most zealous pilgrims to visit, but for them this would be the last time priests would be allowed to hide in their warded communities around their churches. They stormed the Triolo with pitchforks, torches, accompanied by soldiers of the at the time Viceduchess, and locked all the infected and clergymen of the city inside the cathedral. The Church of Tallis who they thought had grown corrupt and lost touch with the cityfolk were banned from ever preaching in the city again. Ten brave guardsmen-¡±


    ¡°Forty.¡±


    ¡°-sacrificed themselves and vowed to watchover the cathedral to make sure this cursed ground was never trespassed again. And so, that marked the last time the Triolo was ever used for decades until...¡±


    ¡°Until the Kingdom sponsored an academy here.¡± Linth finished the story.


    ¡°Bingo.¡± Killian shot her the thumbs up. ¡°Kasper has fallen behind the rest of the kingdom in terms of development so this was government''s answer. I don''t think the person who made the decision cared much about the history of the place. The Viceduke has always been in fierce opposition of the capital using it for anything but if I remember right, he was handed an ultimatum. Accept the academy being set up there or the capital would forcibly rebuild the Church of Tallis'' presence in the city.¡±


    The relationship between the Viceduke and the nobles in the capital sounded a bit strenuous.


    ¡°Just like the story promised, if this site was every used again it would wake up the evil slumbering here. There''s been all kinds of rumours of shadowy figures patrolling the site at night. They are called the Oathsworn and if they catch you you''ll be infected with the Hexan plague for trespassing on this cursed ground. Oooo scaary.¡± Mostly only Linth was listening, although she had a rather disappointed look in her eyes. Killian having come to climax of his story looked left and right for feedback, but barely anyone made a comment. ¡°Scary, right? Right guys?¡±


    Hannah flipped another page of her tome and wistfully commented. ¡°Besides the weird political tangents and the failure to reconcile your story with reality, I''d say your storytelling skills should be renowned around the world for being crap.¡± A harsh verdict delivered very bluntly.


    Killian laughed, surely to hide the pain. ¡°Right, but it was a very unnatural plague. It came up practically out of nowhere.¡±


    ¡°You mentioned pilgrims, right?¡± Hannah lifted her head. ¡°Well around the time trade with the archipelago seemed to be rising. So there was more travel and spread of faith. There were a lot of pilgrims coming back and forth, carrying their diseases with them. Most agree it was probably a new disease from the eastern islands we''d never had before. Most of the islanders who caught it showed only mild symptoms after all.¡±


    Hannah had only been reading the book for about five minutes, but she''d singled out most of the articles she was interested in. She was a fast reader. Either that or she knew that in a collection of academic journals, rather than slog through every article, it was better to skim for the ones that actually interested her.


    Killian fell back into his chair defeated. ¡°Yeah, but wasn''t it a bit too targeted? If it was a disease that unfamiliar to us then, from what little I know, shouldn''t it have ripped its way through the general population?¡±


    Hannah paused and frowned. She deliberated a few moments, thinking of an answer. He''d asked a question she was trying to figure out herself.


    Linth shifted in her spot. She put down her book, took a deep breath and scratched the back of my ear. ¡°I think...¡± She gathered her strength. This time for sure, she thought, this time for sure she wasn''t going to say something stupid. ¡°The pilgrims were encouraged to live an ascetic lifestyle. The priests and their clergy usually live in warded communities around the church. To visit a priest, you need to prove your zealous. Pilgrims would preach to show their faith, but not many commoners ever got into the infected communities.¡± Linth had spoken more in the last thirty seconds than she had in the last ten minutes. More than I ever expected she would over the course of the hour.


    I was truly, deeply, proud.


    Hannah looked up at Linth and thought it over. Killian too considered it for a few moments.


    ¡°The church does encourage priests and pilgrims not to engage in basal desires. I can''t imagine living such a stressful lifestyle.¡± Killian shook his head at the thought.


    ¡°The Hexan plague wasn''t limited to Kasper. It spread to a lot of cities around the world but most of those struck were the deeply religious communities around churches and out of the way monasteries.¡±


    It was this habit of these churches and their clergymen to isolate themselves from the commonfolk that probably contributed to their fall from grace in this city.


    There weren''t many of that style of churches in Kasper anymore. People were still faithful to the seven gods but it wasn''t preachers from the church of Tallis that were holding sermons anymore.


    ¡°The churches here are quite different from where I''m from. They''re very open. Nobody has to ''prove'' their faith to see a priest. You can just drop by for a sermon at any time. It''s really weird. It feels almost like a completely different religion.¡± Killian, as a noble''s son, was probably thinking of the consequences of this rather than the novelty of it.


    ¡°As long as nobody starts fighting over it, I don''t care.¡± Amarinth had been a disaster. For the few years I spent there, it was the worst place to take a nap if you liked peace and quiet. Neither I not Hannah were eager to revisit that kind of world again.


    Despite the strange mood of the conversation, Linth practically glowed with pride that she''d contributed something. Killiant noticed this.


    ¡°Man you''ve got a lot of really good books here. How did you get your hands on so much academic stuff?¡± Killian looked genuinely awed.


    I wasn''t sure why. Books were surely in abundance. And besides, was it that impressive to have such a horde? I knew if the libraries let her, Hannah''s room would be filled with borrowed books, most of which would take me a solid month to read.


    Hannah closed the medical tome and put it aside. ¡°Is it really that amazing? There''s a lot of books like these at the library.¡±


    ¡°But they normally don''t let you borrow them.¡± Killian pointed out. ¡°Imagine letting just anybody borrow books that let you learn magic. I don''t think people realise just how dangerous that would be.¡±


    I''d often wondered if anybody had thought that bit out. Self-taught spellcasters couldn''t possibly be as disciplined as academy produced ones. Hannah was practically self-taught. Most of her scrolls were home-made. She burnt her arms testing two of her scrolls out for the first time in an exam.


    Linth provided a different opinion. ¡°If more people learnt magic, if more people studied it, I''m sure we''d learn its secrets faster.¡±


    I knew Linth was the headmaster''s daughter. There was a possibility that Killian knew this as well.


    From what little I understood, this academy did things differently compared to those around the nation. Firstly, it opened its doors to anybody who could pay the tuition or find a sponsor. The tuition was still expensive meaning not everybody could study. Without this policy, Hannah would never have been able to study here.


    The cynical part of me spoke out that it wasn''t a desire to be progressive, but simply that without it the academy would not get enough students. The local noble families would probably avoid it because it was built on cursed ground. Anybody else might send their children to study at more prestigious academies rather than a new one far away in Kasper.


    The headmaster might have been more liberal than anyone else, but likely most of the academy management and oversight was not.


    Rumours of Mather''s prejudice against lower born students certainly suggested it. His was probably not an isolated case. The Nurse, Riker, Jean, they all probably bore some similar views even if not spoken or acted on.


    Killian accepted Linth''s argument as reasonable but didn''t drop his beliefs without one last counter. ¡°But everyone will be open to learn those secrets of magic, regardless of intention. Ninety nine spell-casters using their skills mindfully aren''t going to counterbalance the one who uses their skills to do irreparable damage out of malice.¡±


    And that was a hard argument to counter. I was inclined to agree. One bad guy with the element of surprise would be all it took to destroy the work of the other ninety nine and more.


    Hannah who''d listened patiently long enough spoke up. ¡°So, let me get this straight. The library doesn''t want to let me borrow books on how to stop blowing up my arms, because it thinks I might blow up someone else''s.¡±


    An entirely reasonable argument. The librarians were definitely in the right here.


    ¡°Even when you word it like that, I find it hard to argue with the library''s decision.¡± Killian laughed nervously. ¡°My sides are still sore from your punches. If the academy librarians are stopping you from roasting them, good on them- Hey now put the book down.¡± Killian cowered beneath the table as Hannah aimed the thick tome his direction.


    ¡°Umm please don''t! That''s really valuable.¡± Linth cast her pleading eyes in Hannah''s direction. ¡°I think the actual reason why they um, really don''t like you borrowing books is because of your name. Probably.¡±


    ¡°My name?¡± Hannah lowered her tome with a doubtful look.


    Killian lifted his head again and grinned as though nothing happened. ¡°Yeah, I mean it''s clearly Anna spelt wrong. It''s like Jeff spelt Geoff.¡±


    For his teasing he received a withering stare. ¡°Quiet Killian, the adults are talking.¡± Hopefully for the last time, Killian was shut up.


    Hannah was a fairly common name from where she came from. I couldn''t see how a name could bother someone that much.


    ¡°You see... They probably think that you um... Well... You come from the northern clans.¡±


    ¡°So they think I''m a spy whose going to spread the highly top secret knowledge of how to make outdated practice scrolls.¡± Hannah raised a brow, half dumbstruck.


    But in all honesty, it didn''t sound that strange. Killian''s beliefs about magic were probably quite universal to the country. If teaching people freely within the country could be seen to have dire consequences, it was a no brainer that they believed sharing their knowledge on magic outside their country would be just as bad if not worse.


    Although it was awkward way of phrasing it, Hannah was right. That is more or less what they feared. It didn''t matter if this was true, the risk was there in their minds.


    Often reality was never more frightful than whatever image of horror it inspired in people''s heads.


    Rather than take this poorly, Hannah slumped her head exhaustedly. ¡°Man, you guys really are a pain. But I guess if this is what you guys do to try and stop the world from getting worse, then I can''t blame you.¡±


    ¡°I don''t believe them.¡± Linth stood up, her chair scraping across the ground. The sudden outburst practically put everyone on the spot. She fidgeted a few seconds before sitting back down red faced. ¡°I mean, you try so hard and you always follow the rules. If you understand what I''m saying. Um, sorry for bringing it up.¡± She mumbled.


    Silence followed for a painfully long time. There seemed to be a desperate gap in the conversation everyone knew they needed to fill up. Hannah didn''t know what to say. Linth looked too flustered to speak. This was the first time Linth had properly lost composure so neither party knew what to say.


    Well, I suppose that''s why I was here. I guess it was time for me to act like a cat unable to read the mood. Maybe I''d push a book of the desk or start trying to ambush my own tail. Moments like this were a job for m-


    Killian whistled in awe. ¡°Well, I ship it.¡± All eyes turned to Killian again. ¡°What? That was adorable. Hey I said something nice don''t aim that book at me!¡±


    I knew letting this guy in here was a bad idea.

 15 - The most disliked joker

    ¡°Well I''ve got to go back to practice. It was nice meeting you, Linth.¡± Killian waved his goodbye as he left. A little too cheerfully he left this sanctuary to the outside world where he no doubt would be ganged up on again.


    The moment he was gone, both Hannah and Linth let out a sigh of relief. I felt their pain.


    ¡°He''s not bad.¡± Hannah tried to reason with her better self.


    ¡°Just a little... Too weird.¡± They looked to each other and came to a quiet agreement.


    Killian was very forward. When he wanted to talk he didn''t hold back. He was joking but at times he showed consideration for others. But in my gut I suspected it was disingenuous. Because above all else, he seemed outwardly a go with the flow kind of person. He was probably just playing along.


    Hannah was quite the opposite. She often spoke her mind bluntly. She didn''t go with other people''s flow, but set her own. Sharp tongued and bad tempered, if anyone bothered her then she''d make sure they knew.


    And then there was Linth in the middle with her childish timidity. And yet if those shelves were anything to go by, she had a burning curiosity and love for reading.


    The silence was palpable with Killian gone.


    ¡°I should probably get back to studying.¡± The tall wall between her and her dreams wasn''t going anywhere at this rate.


    ¡°Um... How is your studying going? If you don''t mind me asking.¡±


    I could answer that. Poorly. Things that weren''t about studying kept happening.


    ¡°Pretty good. Well, it''s looking better.¡± Hannah corrected herself. The distant expression on her face made me wonder whether she was trying her hardest not to think how poorly it had been going.


    There had been no breakthroughs. It was endlessly going over the same material she had at hand. I wouldn''t be surprised if she''d memorised word for word the texts she had at home.


    ¡°Maybe I should ask Jean if she can lend me more help.¡± Hannah leaned back in her chair, mulling over her options.


    ¡°I don''t think that will work.¡± Linth''s cryptic reply caught Hannah''s attention.


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    Linth chewed her lip as though internally admonishing herself. ¡°It''s just, well, you know, umm... Sorry.¡±


    She floundered like a fish out of water with all the composure of a child caught with her hand in the forbidden cookie jar. Hannah decided to throw her a rope. ¡°Just a feeling?¡±


    Linth nodded. ¡°Yeah. That.¡±


    Perhaps to escape the invasion of further uncomfortable silence, Hannah decided she''d take a walk to the canteen. It was close enough to lunch time anyway.


    Linth''s place was at her den. We''d never come across her anywhere else.


    As we walked through the quieter parts of the Triolo, there was a question on my mind I''d been meaning to ask. The sight of the Cathedral looking down at us reminded me of something that had been mentioned earlier.


    ¡°That story you talked about.¡± I spoke up out of the blue. My ears told me there was next to nobody around. Not even birds nested in this part of the Triolo.


    Hannah glanced behind her. ¡°Oh, about how we found Linth?¡± I nodded. That story had bothered me. ¡°Yeah, it''s one hundred percent true.¡±


    ¡°How we met Linth?¡± Was that what it was about? ¡°Why is now the first time I''ve felt like it''s been brought up. This isn''t some kind of prank, is it?¡± I pushed through a rising haze in my thoughts. It was entirely possible this was a prank. But there''d be some giveaways if this was some sort of confusing joke. Hannah would be smiling for starters.


    But why was I asking? It was just a story about how we met Linth. I didn''t really need to know or remember.


    No, but I should remember. I was curious. Wouldn''t anyone be curious if they''d forgotten how they met a friend? There was another element to the story. We hadn''t just stumbled across Linth, we were visiting the ca-


    It was a long time ago. What can I expect? Of course I''d forget. If it was anything I really cared about, I wouldn''t have forgotten.


    That was... True. I couldn''t argue with that. But as much as I liked the taste of smoked salmon and ham, I couldn''t actually remember how they tasted despite how much I loved them. Things slipped from people''s minds no matter how much they tried to fight it. But this didn''t have to do with ham. What did it have to do with again... There was me, Linth, no wait there wasn''t a Linth yet. It was me and Hannah and we were on a walk. But didn''t I get scared? I saw some-


    Man, you haven''t had breakfast yet have you? She forgot about that again.


    Hannah suddenly turning to face me snapped me back out of my thoughts. She was at the edge of her patience over something. ¡°I''ve brought it up loads of times. Loads. Why do you keep forgetting? I''ve brought it up so many times but you kept forgetting.¡±


    I pause for a moment, unsure of what she''s talking about. ¡°Forgetting what?¡±


    ¡°The story! Oh my gods you are the worst cat a witch could ever ask for!¡±


    ¡°The story? What story? Where''s this coming from?¡± There was a twisting feeling in my gut and a haze in my thoughts. It was a familiar haze. We had been talking about something. Were we talking about some sort of story?


    One moment she looked just about ready to kill me, but the next moment her expression of frustration abated. ¡°Adam... Is there something wrong?¡± The tone was charged with concern.


    Something wrong? There wasn''t anything wrong. Well besides me being cursed to look like a cat, all was well and truly good with the world. Well mostly good if you removed the people who lived on said world from the equation.


    ¡°This happens a lot Adam.¡± She crouched down, bringing herself closer to eye level. It was a difficult task considering my height.


    ¡°What happens a lot?¡± I felt patronised but I kept myself from snapping. Somewhere deep down, I knew she was right.


    What were we talking about?


    Don''t think about it.


    Don''t think about what?


    ¡°Nevermind.¡± Hannah shook her head with a disappointed sigh.


    A tightness gripped my chest. This was wrong. Something was wrong. What were we talking about it? I needed to know otherwise this chance would pass me by into oblivion.


    No, don''t get up. Don''t stand up and turn your back. Remind me. Remind me of what? I''ve forgotten. But I need to remember. Remember what? Open your mouth Adam, stop her from walking away.


    But what would I say?


    What did I want to say?


    And suddenly the haze disappeared. I was left standing where I was. Hannah was walking away, fists clenched and with a sour expression on her face. And for whatever reason, I couldn''t remember why.


    We continued to the canteen, sat down, and Hannah had some lunch in eerie silence. Of course, it''s not like we would ever chat openly here but even so the silence felt uncomfortable.


    The canteen was always one torturous experience for me. Tables of lunch trays and students with their heads turned towards eachother. They were perfectly distracted. And yet I knew the result of stealing food.


    I could beg for food. That usually yielded results. But Hannah didn''t like it and I certainly didn''t like the idea of begging for anything.


    Spacious and wide, this room could well have been a mess hall for the clergymen who once lived here. The tantalising scent of meat drifted it''s way into my nose from the connected kitchen.


    It was still early for lunch so the canteen wasn''t packed. Even saying that though Hannah stood out by sitting alone by herself when so many were sitting in clusters and idly chatting.


    And then a familiar face came to sit down next to us.


    ¡°So feel happy about rescuing Killian?¡± He set his lunch tray down and shot Hannah a spiteful glare. He had walked towards us with a curious limp in his legs.


    Hannah returned the glare and he instantly crossed his legs. It was Kyle. I shrunk back guardedly. There was the possibility he was here for revenge. He was alone and in a very open and public space though so the suspicion abated.


    ¡°Aren''t you supposed to be in practice or something?¡± Hannah pointed out. ¡°Killian left earlier. You two share the same classes right?¡±


    Kyle didn''t answer immediately but his expression did sour at the mention of Killian. ¡°Why you...¡± He gritt his teeth, holding back his anger. ¡°You kicked me so hard I can''t walk properly.¡±


    ¡°Oh really?¡± Hannah raised a smug eyebrow. ¡°Bruised are they?¡±


    ¡°It hurts to walk.¡±


    ¡°I did notice the limp.¡±


    I felt the undeniable urge to curl up into a ball and cease existing. With every word she dug a hole for herself, deeper and deeper.


    Had it not dawned on her that this guy would be further trouble down the line? But she was in a foul temper. Every crack of her verbal whip helped ease her bad mood.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Kyle, for what it was worth, sat there and took it. At the very least, he hadn''t stood up and thrown a punch yet. ¡°Please stop,¡± He pleaded. ¡°You''re being a real dick about this. What did I do to you?¡±


    Hannah tapped her finger impatiently on the desk as she rested her chin on her palm. ¡°I guess, not much really.¡± She admitted after a reluctant pause.


    Hmm... She was distracted. I wonder if I could...


    I shrunk back to my spot the moment Hannah threw a loaded glare in my direction. I wouldn''t be stealing any food today then. At least, not from Hannah anyway.


    ¡°Yeah. That''s right. Nothing. Nothing at all and I get kicked in the nuts. You''re a dick.¡± Kyle announced a little too loudly. His voice was boisterous. He was a big lad with a big presence.


    ¡°You were going to beat someone up. Was I supposed to sit back and do nothing? Stopping that is reason enough for any sane person.¡± Hannah leaned up in her chair, crossing her arms.


    A deep scowl twisted Kyle''s face. ¡°That Killian isn''t a very nice guy. You probably have no idea what he''s like.¡± From where we were sitting, Kyle didn''t seem like a very nice guy himself. ¡°Okay okay, let''s be civil here. I don''t want to pick a fight with you.¡±


    ¡°I''m not surprised-¡±


    ¡°No, seriously. Stop. Don''t be a dick.¡± Kyle growled. ¡°I''m not joking here. I''m coming here offering a white peace. Just shut up and listen.¡±


    This was definitely worth hearing out. We could get back to things that really mattered after accepting this peace.


    Hannah furrowed her brows, not appreciating being talked over. ¡°Fine. Just so you know, I''m gonna get up and leave the moment you start talking about witches or bad luck.¡± It was an easy request. ¡°On friday, you were in Riker''s office right?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Yeah. I won''t hide it.¡± So his was the same gang who beat up Killian and left him there in Riker''s office. ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°Did you steal from her office?¡± Tactlessly, bluntly, unashamedly she might as well have just straight up accused him.


    I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs that it was obviously Mather and not Kyle.


    ¡°What? No! Why would I do that?¡± Kyle shook his head, dumbstruck by the sudden question. ¡°What the hell man? If anybody is gonna steal anything it''d be Killian!¡±


    The accusation caught us both by surprise.


    And then a third lunch tray hit the table surface. ¡°Hey Kyle, how come you''re having all the fun talking to the witch all by yourself.¡±


    Hannah immediately stood up.


    ¡°Wait, hold up, don''t go! Ah damn it Teel you dumbass!¡± Kyle launched a rant at the new entry to the conversation.


    Just as Hannah stepped away from the table, she sighed and sat back down. The other two fell into silence with Teel, the new boy, looking rather exasperated.


    Kyle let go of Teel''s collar. The new boy was a lot smaller than Kyle. He wore glasses and I didn''t recognise him from the gang that accompanied Kyle that morning. He had a genuine friendly smile on him, even if he was a little taken aback by Kyl''e outburst.


    ¡°Oh I''m sorry, do you not like the rumours?¡± To Teel''s question Hannah answered with only the most deadpanned glares she could muster.


    Kyle let out a sigh. ¡°It''s just a joke. Nobody actually thinks you''re a witch.¡± Hannah was not going to feel better about that.


    Teel scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. ¡°I''m the one who started the rumours actually. Sorry if you didn''t like them. I just thought it suited you.¡± Just like that, Teel went from Hannah''s bad books to her good books in one swift motion.


    I had to fight to suppress my laugh at how hard Hannah struggled to keep a stoic unfriendly glare on her face.


    ¡°If Teel is bothering you, just give me the word and I''ll throw him into a bin.¡±


    ¡°No it''s fine.¡± Hannah waved away Kyle''s threat. ¡°Maybe I''ll cast one of my trademarked ''curses'' on him later.¡±


    ¡°Trademarked?¡± Teel tilted his head quizzically.


    ¡°Teel, are you here just to piss me off?¡±


    This was the liveliest lunch with Hannah I had ever seen. Most of the time, her table was empty. The invisible walls between her and others evident. And yet here we were. Kick one guy between the legs and the walls came crashing down.


    Despite going on and on about how Linth needed to learn how to make friends, Hannah herself had evident deficits in that area as well. Killian, Kyle, Teel, all new people were making themselves known.


    ¡°Anyway, ignore Mr Grumps here, my name''s Teel. It''s nice to talk to you for the first time.¡± Despite his joking attitude, I could tell just from Teel''s eyes he was sincere.


    Never the less, this was still someone who spread rumours about others in their spare time.


    Hannah hesitated as Teel stretched out his hand. ¡°I''m Hannah. Likewise I guess?¡± She lamely shook Teel''s hand.


    Kyle watched this exchange with an ambivalent expression. All too fast he''d been sidelined as Teel and Hannah began making small talk. For a solid three minutes, he barely said a word before finally. ¡°Teel, I was trying to talk to Hannah about something serious before you came.¡±


    ¡°Oh c''mon, it''s not like I could start a convo myself with the third most popular girl at the Triolo.¡±


    ¡°Number three?¡± Hannah raised an eyebrow at Teel''s mysterious deceleration.


    Teel grinned slyly. ¡°I''ll let you in on a secret if you promise to keep it.¡±


    Who was she going to snitch to? The Nurse?


    ¡°Here at the academy, I am the chairman of the unofficial popularity charts and you rank in at number three.¡± Teel shot Hannah congratulatory finger guns. His enthusiasm died a little when he noticed Hannah''s disapproving stare.


    I on the other hand wondered what sort of criteria were these people being ranked by. That Hannah the bad-tempered would rank in at third place in a popularity contest made me pretty suspect of some sort of bias from the chairman.


    Teel, sensing the heat rising from Kyle next to him and the judgement rising in Hannah''s gaze, tried to quickly change the subject. ¡°So what were you two going to talk about?¡±


    ¡°None of your business.¡± Kyle menaced.


    ¡°He was going to tell me why everyone is picking on Killian.¡±


    Teel raised a brow in surprise. ¡°Meaning you don''t know?¡±


    ¡°I heard he had some problematic political views but that''s about it.¡± Hannah trailed off. ¡°Why? Is there something else I should know?¡±


    Teel laughed nervously and Kyle winced. They looked at eachother as though asking where they should even begin.


    I got a very bad feeling rising in the pit of my stomach.


    Kyle started. ¡°firstly, he''s a thief.¡±


    ¡°They found a classmate''s missing necklace in his luggage during a dorm inspection.¡± Teel elaborated. Teel was the counterbalance to Kyle''s bluntness.


    That certainly was new news to us. We didn''t have to take it at face value though. ¡°It could have been planted there.¡±


    ¡°No, he owned up to it.¡± Teel dismissed Hannah''s defence quickly. ¡°He didn''t have much choice. She knew it was him who stole it. Apparently they grew up together and she claimed he''d always been quite nasty like that.¡±


    ¡°He''s still not given up on that necklace.¡± Kyle grumbled to himself.


    Still, being a thief didn''t warrant the sort of reprisal they had planned for him. They had gotten the necklace back, right? All that needed to happen was to make sure he never stole it again.


    Hannah crossed her arms, her lips pursed shut and a strained look on her forehead. She probably didn''t understand what this had to do with her. If I was in Hannah''s head, she''d probably be thinking something along the lines of ''that sounds like a you problem.''


    ¡°He might be a really nice guy, uh... sometimes? I dunno but here''s the thing.¡± Teel pressed his finger on the table as he leaned forward. ¡°He can be really nasty.¡±


    ¡°He just doesn''t get the message.¡± Kyle stabbed at the food on his tray. ¡°The shit he said to her and then to us? Somebody had to teach him a lesson. The last straw was when he punched her. I don''t care if you believe our side of the story or not, but if you try and step in and stop us again like this morning, you''ll be picking a side.¡±


    At Kyle''s overt threat Teel jumped in, arms raised. ¡°Woah there, let''s not be too hasty. Picking fights is one thing but making new enemies is another. Let''s be chill and friends here.¡±


    Hannah had patiently listened to everything that was said. If she was shocked, she didn''t show it.


    I on the other hand hadn''t expected this. People are complex things. They had many faces and many sides that only came out in certain environments. Like switches connected to invisible mechanisms, people were unpredictable. Never assume when meeting a stranger for the first time you''ve really met them.


    This could all have been a lie. But if so, Teel and Kyle were both in on it. It felt unlikely. Teel didn''t seem the kind of person to harbour malice. Kyle was being straightforward and blunt with his issues. Never the less, people''s perspectives were fickle and prone to bias. How small were the odds that they let their perspective be influenced by Killian''s side of the story? Or if that blithering idiot had half a braincell to even give one.


    Hannah didn''t look particularly shaken by Kyle''s threat. Finally after a long spell of silence she let slip her thoughts. ¡°I just don''t see why I should care?¡± This took them both by surprise, but she didn''t give them time to recover. ¡°What''s going on here is between you guys.¡±


    ¡°You don''t care that Killian stole from and hurt my friend?¡± Kyle lurched upwards from his seat.


    Teel began to shy away nervously. ¡°Guys, peace yeah?¡±


    With tension once again rising, a single look from Hannah made clear what she thought of Kyle. ¡°You got the necklace back, didn''t you? So what''s the problem?¡± Before Hannah''s composure, Kyle looked like a child about to throw a tantrum.


    ¡°He punched my friend!¡± Kyle had a good point. This was not an alienable perspective to Hannah who had chased down a gang of children for attacking me despite her being in a bad condition at the time.


    ¡°And you beat up Killian again and again. So you''ve got you''re revenge, haven''t you?¡± And yet Hannah continued. Conflict felt inevitable if this new attitude of hers didn''t go away.


    ¡°Would you just sit back whilst your friend was being insulted to their face?¡± Kyle asked with barely concealed venom in his tone.


    Hannah narrowed her eyes and turned her cheek apathetically. ¡°How long has this been going on? If your friend is still finding new ways to feel insulted by what Killian says, that''s her problem.¡±


    Ah geez, why did she have to say it like that?


    That friend of Kyle had been physically and verbally assaulted as well as stolen from. It didn''t matter how much time passed, Killian''s presence would always unsettle and upset her. I didn''t know who Kyle''s classmate was, but I could sympathise with their pain.


    I felt like I could trust Kyle and Teel as well. At least, I felt like I could trust these two far more than Killian. But then again, I''d already described Kyle''s gang as opportunistic for beating Killian up in Riker''s office.


    ¡°If I have to chose between two evils, I''m going to end up losing either way. So I don''t care.¡± Hannah lifted her tray of half eaten food off the table. ¡°You two can fight it out. Just don''t do it infront of me.¡±


    She left Kyle and Teel behind. Kyle looked tempted to chase her down there and then but raised voices had already gotten the attention of quite a few students. It''d have been a bad look for a fight to break out in the canteen, and thankfully Teel was there to pull on Kyle''s shoulder before he took one step too far.


    Hannah left her tray in the canteen and headed out with a stormy expression. ¡°Why me? Always me.¡±


    Knowing her, she hoped that both Kyle and Killian would miracilously take themselves out in one epic battle so she''d never have to look at them again. At the very least, that''s what I was hoping for anyway. I had to sit through that conversation in hunger whilst they chose to gossip instead of eat the perfectly fine food they had on their trays infront of them.


    At the pace Hannah was walking, I had to run to keep up. This was awkwardly difficult. One step from her covered a distance of four steps from me.


    She waited the rest of her break out pacing back and forth in the library. A rather bored librarian rested her cheek on her palm as she lazily flipped through an open book on her desk.


    The library was massive. Shelf upon shelf of books reached as high as the ceiling. It would be impossible to reach for the top without a tall stepladder. The only one who knew where everything was, was the librarian with her index.


    Nobody was allowed into the library with their bag. If the Librarian caught you smuggling a tome out under your clothes, apparently that was licence enough for the academy to suspend you.


    The methods they used to keep tomes with more restricted access out of reach of the students was ingenious. They kept them literally out of reach. The only stepladder was kept in view of the librarian.


    Despite being a library, the place was far from quiet. The was always a subdued amount of background noise. Idle chatter from groups studying around tables, and every now and then a professor would appear to return or borrow books. They''d flash some written form of consent to do so from the headmaster.


    Hannah, not having been born with the blessing of great height, couldn''t just lift the tomes she was eyeing off the shelves. Climbing them would lead to a suspension.


    Whilst Hannah perused the shelves, simmering in quiet anger, I sat some distance away.


    It was definitely something I said, I decided. At some point, or in some way, I must have said the wrong thing. This ire was definitely directed at me.


    I didn''t have much evidence for this, but after having spent twelve years around Hannah, I could pick up the subtleties. The clues were in the small things. Her walking speed, how long she held doors open, and just in general a refusal to even look at me.


    She was acting like she didn''t have a cat. That''s was fine with me. Vaguely. Admittedly, I was a little nervous thinking about how when I''d next be fed.


    I got back up onto my feet and decided to roam. There was little point in sticking to one place.


    Sauntering beneath the shadows of the shelves, I seemed to go unnoticed. This place might have been fun for me if I had thumbs to help me go through the literature gathered here.


    Passing by shelf after shelf, always with my eyes and ears open to anyone approaching, until I drew to a stop at a quite despairing sight. It was a sight that reminded me of why I was kinda glad in this form I didn''t need to get involved with so many people.


    Standing, open book in one hand and a strange metal object in another, was Killian.


    Hannah hadn''t noticed. She was on the opposite side of this shelf and I imagined if she pulled out the right book in the right place she''d catch a glimpse of joker.


    He had lied about going to practice. But that wasn''t all. I recognised that metal object to be similar to the many that I''d seen heaped on the tables in Riker''s office.


    Mentally I cursed. In the back of my mind, a smug phantom of the Mather I was eager to accuse laughed indignantly at me. Right next to the professor, an imaginary Kyle yelled ''I told you so!''

 16 - A primer

    The library was a quiet and sacred place of learning and rest. That was assuming that the librarian wasn''t completely tyrannical or the visitors weren''t as loud as dogs in a howling competition.


    As such, from where I sat there was always a subdued hum of chatter. Rather than completely mute, I''d say the noise was gagged here. Hannah studied the books along the shelves in complete and total silence.


    Getting Hannah''s attention in her foul mood was difficult. I could hardly call her name in a public place. Although saying that, if anyone heard someone call her name nobody would assume the cat was the one who had spoken it. Presuming they were sane of course.


    So instead I sat next to her, staring up at her, eerily never breaking eye contact. It was an incredibly low effort way of catching her attention. She could shrug it off and I''d be completely screwed.


    But she probably would be interested in what I had to show her.


    When she noticed my stare she tried to ignore it for a while. Eventually she closed her book bitterly and decided with much trepidation to follow me.


    I led her around the bookshelf and sat down by the corner. She raised her eyebrows at me, wondering what was the point of interrupting her reading to walk just four meters down the shelf.


    I tried my hardest not to roll my eyes. Why else would I get her to follow me if I didn''t want to show her something? Take the hint dammit.


    Sauntering calmly, I rounded the corner of the shelf to the opposite side and glanced back at Hannah.


    Killian was still there, immersed in his study. Standing by the shelf on his own with a strange object in one hand and a book in another.


    Tiredly, Hannah rounded the corner whereupon she caught sight of Killian. The sight drew out of long suffering sigh.


    She made to turn around, a sentiment I would have completely understood. But she would miss the point if she did that so quickly so I placed a paw on her foot.


    I really didn''t think this would work however she noticed and stopped. For simply putting a single paw on her boot, she was gave me a very austere glare.


    Look at what''s in his hands. I tried my best to mentally communicate this but there was only so much emotion I could express to another human when I had the face of a cat.


    I made the best of my situation. Rotating my ears as though pointing. Which probably looked very weird. Which to my credit, was the point.


    It didn''t look like Hannah had noticed what was in Killian''s hand. But with heavy steps she approached the boy. ¡°Killian.¡±


    He froze up, practically forgetting how to breathe. As I watched carefully, I noticed one or two things about his demeanour that seemed off.


    ¡°I thought you had practice.¡± This line of questioning wasn''t what I hoped she''d open with.


    It took a few moments for Killian to reply. And even when he turned with a playful grin, his expression was somewhat tense as he subtly pocketed the strange object that was in his hand a moment ago. ¡°Yeah huh, practice? Me? Man yeah well you know me, Killian the model student. Would never miss a class in his life.¡±


    ¡°So you''re skipping class?¡± Hannah translated his blithering into normal human words.


    ¡°Didn''t you hear the bit where I said I was a model student?¡± Killian gestured to the book in his hand. ¡°I mean look at me, using my free time to study like a good little boy.¡±


    I couldn''t tell whether it was his usual attitude or whether there was something else, but the way he talked bothered me. The way he smiled and his often strange body language as he joked on. It reminded me a bit of a clown.


    Hannah didn''t immediately reply, instead crossing her arms and tapping her fingers thoughtfully.


    ¡°Something up?¡± Killian asked. ¡°Where''s your usual oppressive threat of violence or verbal skewering of my self-esteem?¡±


    ¡°Killian, we''re in a library. Stop being so loud, people are trying to study.¡± Hannah rubbed her tense forehead. ¡°You''re giving me a headache.¡±


    ¡°Ah right... Well if you don''t mind then I''ll uh... I''ll be somewhere else.¡± Killian took a few slow steps backwards as he gestured away from Hannah.


    Mission failed it seemed. Hannah hadn''t notice-


    ¡°Killian, what were you studying just now?¡±


    The boy froze up once more. ¡°Errrrrr.¡± The sound rolled comically out of his mouth for a painfully long time. ¡°What do you mean?¡± I''d never seen someone feign innocence so badly. It was like he was putting on a pantomime act for children.


    ¡°What you put in your pocket.¡± Hannah delivered very bluntly.


    ¡°Ah right. You mean this?¡± Killian dangled up a purse.


    ¡°That''s your wallet. Try your other pocket Killian.¡±


    Killian lamely fished around in his other pocket and brought out the strange object. It''s dimensions were all square. There wasn''t a single soft edge. It''s metallic surface had designs etched on the surface. It was awkwardly shaped. It wasn''t large enough to be considered and art piece but it wasn''t small enough to think of as strange jewellery.


    Adopting the most childish grin on his face, Killian declared. ¡°Ah you got me, this is a bomb.¡±


    Oh, well if that was the case there was no way he could have stole that from Riker''s office. I mean who keeps bombs lying-Wait a second that''s besides the point! Why does he have a bomb?!


    Hannah paused. ¡°A... Bomb?¡± Was the word really unfamiliar to her? Bomb, y''know, as in remote explosive device.


    ¡°Ah nevermind. I was joking anyway.¡± Killian waved away Hannah''s muted reply and pocketed the item again. ¡°It''s actually a part to a large physical patent primer. I asked my family to send me one to help in my studies.¡±


    ¡°Aren''t you an apprentice?¡± Hannah asked. Apprentices usually learnt to weave spells themselves, not study physical patent use.


    Killian shrugged. ¡°It''s not that hard to imagine how knowing this stuff would be useful, right? Most apprentices graduate to become physical patent operators. About six in ten physical patent failures are caused by faults in the primer. It''s a pretty important component of the spell and as an apprentice, it''s hard to come to appreciate.¡±


    Practically everyone besides Hannah seemed to be able to weave spells innately with practice. All the time they were creating patents on fly without using any physical tools. It seemed to be a running theme that a lot of spell casters didn''t seem to understand how spell weaving worked.


    This frustrated me. It felt like a lot of spell casters weren''t respecting magic.


    The silence was awkward. The bad mood Hannah was in had still not abated. Killian fidgeted nervously likely for more than one reason. ¡°Well, it''s just me thinking of my future. Apprentices usually graduate to be patent operators because no physical patent is ever made perfectly. That''s where our trained spell dexterity comes in to compensate for production error. Um, could you stop glaring at the floor? You weren''t in such a bad mood this morning y''know.¡±


    ¡°You can blame my cat.¡± Hannah growled. Slowly, I backed away. ¡°And now someone''s practically thrusting their amazing innate ability to weave spells in my face like an erect pe-¡±


    ¡°Shhhh!¡± The librarian interrupted at a truly fortuitous moment.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Killian gave an apologetic whisper as the Librarian headed back to their desk. Killian continued with his voice barely quieter than before as soon as the Librarian was out of sight. ¡°I don''t quite get it. ''Innate'' spellcasting isn''t the problem. Practically anyone can do it unless-ooohhh nevermind. I''m gonna shut up now.¡± The scrolls, the rumours, everything slid into place mid sentence.


    Meanwhile Hannah stood there, arms crossed with an unamused expression on her face. ¡°Problem?¡±


    ¡°None.¡± Killian shook his head.


    Hannah gestured with her hand. ¡°Then by all means continue telling me how ''practically anyone'' can weave spells.¡± The words were spoken with a serrated edge.


    Killian winced. ¡°Ahh yeah nah. Isn''t the weather nice today?¡± Whistling innocently, he moved his arms to guard his sides.


    The conversation lulled to a stop. And for a moment it seemed like it would end with none of the questions I was curious about being asked until Hannah glanced at Killian''s neck. ¡°Hmm...¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Killian asked, probably nervous about the idea of being strangled to death.


    ¡°Didn''t you use to have a necklace?¡± As the question left Hannah''s mouth innocuously, it punched both me and Killian in the gut.


    He froze up and his smile sharply vanished. His entire demeanour cracked apart as his expression was replaced with a subdued glower.


    ¡°You used to go around with a fancy necklace.¡± Hannah kept her expressions fairly muted, making it hard for me to judge whether this was some elaborate bluff or not. We''d only met Killian a few days ago.


    Killian appeared to bite back the first words that came to his mind. Smouldering with the power of a thousand suns, the malice emanating from his glare sent shivers down my spine.


    ¡°I''m guessing you lost it?¡±


    ¡°Lost it?¡± He parroted, his words like the hiss of a kettle releasing steam. Judging by his reaction, Kyle''s story was probably true. ¡°No, that necklace is mine. It was stolen from me. That necklace was given to me by my father but that bi-¡±


    ¡°Shhhh!¡± the Librarian made a second appearance, slicing through the tense air of the discussion with an steely authoritarian gaze that only a pissed off Librarian could give.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± Hannah apologised as the Librarian warned there would not be a second warning.


    That Librarian had a sixth sense for profanity. Was that a skill all Librarian''s possessed?Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Hannah held the same stoic unimpressed impression she wore when Kyle snapped. ¡°I''m guessing there''s a long story to this.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there is. I''ll tell it if you really want to know but don''t for a second think that I ''lost'' my necklace or it ever belonged to anyone else.¡± A reasonable request over having our ears talked off lamely like last time. ¡°I never got the chance to wear the necklace here. How''d you find out about it?¡±


    Hannah paused, her bluff called, and quick on her feet shrugged. ¡°You wore it at least once right? I vaguely remember that I think.¡±


    For a moment, I wondered why Hannah was carrying on this bluff. But the Librarian didn''t look like someone who could be ignored more than twice. Anymore trouble, and that was it. It didn''t seem safe to admit here that we''d heard Kyle''s side of the story.


    In a fight between Killian and Hannah, I''d bet on Hannah one hundred percent of the time. However Killian was a practised spell caster. I didn''t quite know what that entailed but it probably meant a fight with him would end up one-sided.


    The impression Hannah had left on me of magic after she burnt her arms was not a nice one.


    Before Killian could say much more Hannah looked down at her feet to me as though she just remembered something. ¡°Ah geez, sorry Killian I forget to get lunch for my cat. We''ll have to talk another time. Get in the bag Adam.¡± She crouched down and opened her satchel. I perked my head up a little too hopefully before I realised I was being used as an excuse to leave.


    ''Get in the bad Adam''. Wasn''t that a little too blunt?


    I leapt into the satchel. The pace she''d been walking earlier had been murder on my tired legs to keep up with. This was probably the most opportune moment to escape without annoying the Librarian or getting involved further with Killian''s problems.


    Killian paused before he opened his mouth. Reluctantly he muttered under his breath. ¡°Fine. I need to calm down anyway.¡± Gone was his joking demeanour. Skilfully, he got his expression under control, muting any sign of emotion as he attempted to go back to his book.


    I prayed to the seven angels that we''d never have to deal with boys ever again. We left the library behind us.


    Hannah had a peculiar way of studying lectures. Especially practical demonstrations of magic. After the library visit, much to my dismay we didn''t actually go to the canteen to feed me. We hung about until it was time to head back to class.


    Spellnull syndrome as the Nurse explained pretty much guaranteed Hannah could only cast a spell with the appropriate physical patent. Not everybody has spare physical patents lying around.


    A fairy popular spell was the ''fairy candle''. Like a flame burning at the end of a candle wick, the spell would illuminate light from the tip of the caster''s finger. With a little dexterity and know how, the Fairy Candle could even move and appear to float. As practical as it sounded, it''s use for utility was somewhat diminished by it''s constant need for the caster''s attention. A slight break in concentration could cause a flicker.


    However homework for this class which Riker was supposed to teach was to make a physical patent that would assist the caster in using the spell. A so called Fairy box.


    This sounded like a job for Hannah. Sadly, Spellnull syndrome''s influence didn''t ease up here either.


    More complicated patents meant more production errors. These errors had to be made up for by the casters spell weaving dexterity and uh oh, Hannah had none. In other words, it was either produce a flawless physical patent from scratch or miraculously cure herself overnight to finish this piece of coursework.


    Despite the bleakness of her options, Hannah steeled her gaze and tried her best to study the material infront of her. Her notebook was full of meticulous notes, line after line scribbled down, diagram after diagram dissected in her own scholarly art.


    Any patent so large and complicated it couldn''t fit on a scroll would probably have too many human errors to be useable for Hannah. There was a good reason more than likely a good reason why this patent needed a box rather than a scroll to work.


    And as I tried to curl myself up further into a ball to fend off this headache, I felt a certain amount of relief. It just so happened that today had been thoroughly unproductive so I was sure she would enjoy this wall of difficulty she could grind her head against to forget her other frustrations.


    I still didn''t know what had been bothering her this morning.


    And so the day continued like any other. Lectures went on into the day until mid evening. And when there were none left it was time to leave.


    ¡°It''s Friday tomorrow.¡± Hannah stopped at the gate and stared out across the city.


    Tomorrow we''d learn whether the Nurse would stick to his word. Trends suggested the only appreciable person on the planet right now was Linth. Jean hadn''t exactly done much to upset us recently either.


    The festival just around the corner had snuck up on us. It''d start this weekend and last until the following weekend. The final day of the festival was a significant one of the religious calendar although I couldn''t remember why. Probably something to do with a saint. It was always a safe bet to assume saints were involved.


    On the second floor of a building close to the city''s suburbs, where the river passed nearby and the cusses of sailors could be heard muffled in the distance, a witch studied whilst her cat lazily napped on the kitchen counter.


    Or at I was trying to nap anyway. Burdened by uncharacteristic restlessness, I quit trying to nap and instead decided to study what Hannah was up to. Her scholarly studies would be just the sleeping aid I needed.


    ¡°So... What are you doing?¡± She''d had her head down in her notebooks for quite a while.


    She tapped a finger on the worktop thoughtfully and then sank her head. ¡°Grinding my head against a wall.¡±


    ¡°I can see that.¡± That piece of homework was quite cruel for someone of her condition. But so long as she could keep her sponsor, she would be allowed to turn up to lectures. Whether one passed or failed simply depended on whether they could take the exam or not. That exam could be taken at their own leisure.


    There would naturally come a point where the lectures became so tiresome that students would need to take advantages of magic licences to get study aid.


    Curses upon me for daring to ask this question, but in the interests of boring myself out I''d do it. ¡°What bit are you stuck on?¡±


    Hannah didn''t like the implication she was stuck at all, but there was no way she could hide it. ¡°I''m not ''stuck''. I''m just problem solving.¡± Laughing at that comment wouldn''t have done me any favours so I kept quiet. ¡°The problem is the Primer.¡±


    I paused, mulling over what I''d learned over my time here. ¡°The primer is the bit that kicks the spell into action, right?¡±


    ¡°Very vague, but yes.¡± Hannah turned her attention back to her notebook. The complex diagrams jumping out at her like hostile snakes. ¡°A patent can be broken down into components. It''s the arrangement of components and their timing of activation that determine a spell''s effects. The first component to be activated will always be the primer. The primer''s purpose is timing all the other components of the patent. It has to be perfect with no room for human error.¡±


    ¡°Ouch. Sounds like a pain. Enjoy.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your input oh wise and generous Adam.¡± Hannah sighed.


    ¡°Well I''m a cat. I don''t know anything about magic.¡±


    ¡°You admit to being a cat only when it''s convenient.¡±


    ¡°Hrrk.¡± She got me there.


    It was a joke but if she took it seriously then I''d just admitted to being a cat. I should really not joke about that. It could be turned against me very easily.


    And then I remembered something. ¡°Jean said a while back that the scroll you used during the exams was filled with errors in the Primer. Is that why it exploded?¡±


    ¡°Which scroll?¡± Hannah avoided looking my way. As much as she tried to act inconspicuous, she had still been complaining about her arms feeling numb.


    ¡°Should I recount the entire events of that day for you?¡± I threatened. ¡°I remember waking up after being yanked off my bed-¡±


    ¡°My bed actually and no, don''t recount the events of that day. It''ll only piss me off more about how selective your memory is.¡± She muttered. ¡°Yeah I admit it, that spell''s Primer was full of problems. But even so, it''s my most successful attempt at turning a three dimensional patent design into a working two dimensional one.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn''t really have described that as ''working''.¡± Unless of course it was by design she''d burned her hands up to her shoulders.


    ¡°Maybe I''ll test it out on you next?¡± She threw me a menacing glare.


    ¡°Point taken.¡±


    If the primer was that important, how come it the spell even fired up?


    As though sensing the question in my mind, Hannah answered. ¡°The primer was faulty, but it just so happened to activate the components in a close enough order for it to have effect. The big issues was that I couldn''t control its vector. Something someone without spellnull syndrome probably wouldn''t have had a problem with. How can I even set a precise vector on a two dimensional design anyway?¡±


    So she''d played the lottery and won?


    ¡°But I used two scrolls, remember?¡± Hannah let a sly smile slip out. ¡°Both ''worked'' except I couldn''t control the vector. Which hypothetically speaking, if I solved, meant I could use these spells as well as any innate caster and prove my brilliance.¡±


    ¡°I''m doubtful. That was the first time you used those scrolls. The next attempts might not work.¡± That was especially the case if she had to make them perfectly without any human error. ¡°I guess if you had some tips from Riker, that''d make it easier.¡±


    My comment took the smile off Hannah''s face. Instead she crossed her arms and tapped her fingers thoughtfully. ¡°Yeah. But I don''t know. If it were that easy, scrolls that did those kinda of spells would be about. There''s no mention of anything but practice scrolls. A big problem for scrolls is that paper is a flimsy material which burns up quite easily. I''d never be to cast a Fairy Candle with a scroll that''d practically evaporate half a second into the spell.¡±


    ¡°So the options are as I understand, start a physical patent science revolution on your own, or get some helpful tips from Riker. Maybe if we solved some of the problems stressing her out she''d come back and you''d have enough goodwill points to ask favours.¡± A devious plan. But it was on that give and take bases which many relationships were built.


    ¡°We?¡± Hannah raised a curious eyebrow at me.


    ¡°Slip of the tongue. I meant you.¡± I mentally cursed myself.


    ¡°So you want to help me?¡± She asked the question with genuine surprise. For some reason, I actually found the surprise hurtful.


    ¡°I mean, I could.¡± I let out a yawn and stretched my back. ¡°I''ve got nothing better to do.¡±


    ¡°Correction, you do nothing.¡± Again that was quite hurtful. It was the speed with which she clapped back with these comments that surprised me.


    If she was going to be like that I guess I wouldn''t he-


    ¡°Well if you do anything useful I guess that means I''ll make sure you get breakfast every morning.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I am at your beck and call.¡± Pride could get stuffed. Nothing could beat a few good slices of ham to wake up to. Just thinking about it got my mouth watering.


    ¡°Well?¡±


    ¡°Well what?¡± I snapped out of my daydream. ¡°Oh right. I was sure it was Mather who stole from Riker''s office. The rumours as well as my gut instinct telling me that this sort of thing was just characteristic of Mather.¡±


    Hannah frowned and then shook her head. ¡°I can''t really do anything about that. Without his sponsorship I wouldn''t be here. It''s not like we have physical evidence.¡±


    ¡°He''s not a very nice guy and besides, he''s keeping you here as a specimen, not a student.¡± Although I wasn''t sure I could vouch for Mather''s being the main suspect anymore. ¡°My second suspect is Killian.¡±


    ¡°So you believe what Kyle and Teel said?¡± Hannah shot me a curious glance. It wasn''t like I''d noticed something about the boys'' personalities that she hadn''t. Besides, that''d be a very flimsy thing to base my opinion from.


    ¡°No. Killian was studying something in the library that looked suspiciously like the stuff Riker left heaped on her spare tables.¡± Although according to Killian, he''d got it sent from his family. And yet Killian had claimed his family didn''t value him as he was neither the heir nor the spare. But something about that felt wrong.


    ¡°I didn''t notice. Yet again, you have very selective memory if this is true.¡± Hannah sighed. Geez at least look thankful for the information I was giving. Granted, nothing would compare to catching the thief in the act of course.


    It irritated me how much my memory was coming up in conversations today. But was it worth threatening my breakfast over though? Nah.


    But I had to say something. It was a little odd how certain I was over an object I caught sight of for just a few seconds. ¡°If it never came up again, I probably would have forgotten about it by tomorrow. If I filled my head with all the boring trivia I''d collected over my life, I''d be dense enough to sink through rock.¡±


    ¡°Suuuureee.¡± That was patronisingly long. ¡°Well, I''ll probably be busy tomorrow throwing up everywhere, so why don''t you come to academy with me and stalk Killian for the day?¡±


    Fridays meant more experiments.


    The idea irked me. My instant gut reaction was to go no. There could be no good way anybody would react upon being stalked by the personification of bad luck. Of course, I just had to not be caught.


    ¡°Well I was actually hoping I could see what your tests were like?¡± I offered a counter plan. I didn''t think she would accept ''I was actually hoping on just not going anywhere and sleeping all day'' as an alternative.


    Hannah gave it genuine thought, which frightened me for a moment because I wasn''t sure whether her tests would be anything pleasant to watch. ¡°I really wouldn''t if I were you. It''s not fun to be a part of and I imagine it''s not fun to watch either.¡± She looked worried over me for bringing it up. ¡°You don''t want to be there Adam. Trust me.¡±


    What are they doing to her? A cold chill ran through me. And for a moment that burning question was all that was on my mind until Hannah changed the subject.


    ¡°After all that what we''ve heard about Killian, I''m not sure. He seemed kind, if a little insincere when I first met him but now...¡± It wasn''t that long ago we''d met him. We hadn''t spent that much time around him. But it didn''t take long for people to conjure impressions and make new relationships. ¡°But if he''s up to anything suspicious, let me know.¡±


    ¡°So you really expect me to stalk Killian... Geez this breakfast better be good.¡± It felt like I was playing that part of the helpful pawn here.


    ¡°Well I''ll be too busy. Besides, stalking is left best for black cats. Don''t you feel a little thrill about this? It really does feel like we''re a witch and a familiar concocting a conspiracy.¡± Hannah grinned.


    I couldn''t say I agreed. ¡°I mean, we''re just investigating some petty theft right? Where''s the thrill in that?¡±


    ¡°A lot of traders have come for the festival recently. I''m sure there''ll be quite a few market stands tomorrow morning selling cured ham for Witch and cat duos fighting crime. Just saying.¡±


    ¡°Fine, this is incredibly thrilling.¡± I deadpanned.

 17 - A dive into turgid waters

    Before Friday morning could come, I''d need to take a long nap.


    The idea of stalking Killian left a bad taste in my mouth. Fridays were usually my days off. I could laze about the house napping on the empty bed with no recourse. There was a time in the afternoon where the suns rays shone down perfectly on the bed sheets, making it possibly the best nap spot in the known world.


    There were however rules. Technically I wasn''t a cat. I was a living breathing sentient creature and it was just a tiny bit weird to be sleeping in the same bed as me. Therefore the only time I really could nap on the bed was when Hannah wasn''t around. Those moment were quite scarce.


    Closing my eyes and willing myself into slumber, I tried to push past the thoughts about an unpleasant tomorrow. That night I found myself in the heavy embrace of dreams.


    When I next opened my eyes, I wasn''t in a familiar place.


    The wind lashed at my body as I stood on a rooftop towering over a metal megapolis of a city. The skeletal forms of obliterated buildings littered into the horizon like some sort of graveyard.


    Smoke billowed from craters and all across the maze of wide streets and narrow deadends caused by debris, flashes of light both small and large erupted spontaneously.


    I had but a small moment to observe before the wind roared and a gust of force nearly ripped me from the side of the man made spire overlooking the landscape.


    Frantically I searched with my claws for anything I could catch a grip on as a dense mass of black miasma, so gargantuan it felt like its shadow would never leave as it passed overhead.


    The creature screamed in a language I couldn''t recognise. From its belly hundreds of forms dropped into the graveyard of a city, still being lit up by fire. In return, projectiles that screamed with fire as they traced through the sky battered against the great shadow relentlessly.


    The wind settled only after the sheer vacuum left by the creature''s gargantuan form was filled.


    ¡°Finally, the Diemwnt have are here!¡± I heard someone yell nearby. ¡°Please oh gods have mercy.¡±


    I became aware that I couldn''t move my body. I felt trapped as a witness to the scenes unfolding before me.


    I could feel relief that was not my own at the sight of the black mass. It was alienable enough for me to understand this relief was not my own. In the distance I spotted four great metallic floating monoliths, caricatures of the human form with wings of wrought iron to keep them aloft. ¡°Why won''t you leave us alone!¡± I felt my own hoarse voice scream.


    I was pulled into the embrace of a nearby person whose presence I was only faintly aware of.


    Why was I here? What was I doing here? In but brief moments of clarity, as though my real consciousness were in the throes of a struggle, I questioned the dream before me.


    I was not cat, but a little girl. I had hands and fingers, not paws and claws. I felt more vulnerable and terrified than I''d ever been as a cat. My parents were right besides me. We were hiding here at the top of this spire like building as the bad men worked their way up past whatever stragglers they found to kill us.


    But the Diemwnt were here now. They''d save us. With fang and claw they''d rip and tear the evil-


    A scream cut my thoughts short. I pushed my head further into the embrace, hoping to drown out the noise. Reciting my beliefs like a mantra that I''d be saved and this was indeed not the end, I fought my hardest to believe that any second now the heroes of the story would appear.


    However the screaming didn''t stop. Nor did the smell of fire or the heavy footsteps of the men hidden in their iron juggernauts, washing us away along with our hopes with searing fire. The heat turned to engulf me last, the pleading of my parents fruitless on these cold monsters. I felt relief that it was all coming to an end.


    There''d no longer be crawling through a ruined city, or starving for food, or my parents fighting. It was finally all over. But I desperately wanted to know. One burning question was on my mind fuelled by the unfairness of those stolen fun years of my life I knew I had lived but felt so alien I could no longer recall.


    Why were humans so cruel? If only somebody would just wipe them all out.


    ¡°Wake up.¡±


    ¡°Nggnnn... five more minutes pls.¡± Rather lamely I attempted to shake off the voice calling from the other side.


    My senses were shocked awake when a slice ham was practically stuffed up my nose. I wasn''t sure whether I should be happy or angry.


    Hannah''s shadow loomed over me. ¡°You know the sight of you sleeping so contently really pisses me off, right?¡±


    I lifted my heavy head as Hannah whipped away the slices of ham that were dangling infront of me. It was too early to think let alone come with a retort. I just wanted my ham. But the day would not stop for me.


    What was I doing? It was Friday. Ah right, I''d been promised breakfast in return for my services. Today I was going to stalk Killian.


    With a hollow numbness in my chest, I wondered where in my life I had gone wrong to end up like this. With not much memory of my past to go by, I just quietly assumed this feeling of meaningless wasting my time was another symptom of my curse.


    These were symptoms that could be cured with the repeated and timely application of the treatment called ''feeding''.


    ¡°Honestly,¡± Hannah sighed.


    Stretching myself awake, I reluctantly fought off the morning pull back to sleep. ¡°There''s relatively few employment options for my kind.¡± After finishing my stretching, I sat back down, looking around me.


    Hadn''t I slept in the kitchen? What was I doing here on the end of Hannah''s bed? No wonder she was in a bad mood.


    ¡°I mean, yeah there''s not much you can actually do. But is it much to ask you stay awake and suffer along with me? You know I find lectures and people''s personal drama boring as well, right?¡±


    ¡°Then you understand why I''d want to sleep through it.¡± I replied much to her chagrin.


    Hannah glared down at me and then promptly ate the ham in her hands.


    ¡°What?! Hey that''s mine!¡± I protest. ¡°We had a deal damnit!¡± It was my breakfast by right!


    Hananh waved off my protests. ¡°I''ll feed you when I see results. Stop complaining, I never let you go to sleep starving anyway.¡±


    ¡°You know breakfast has a special place in my heart! The same goes for ham! What you''ve done is more than just stabbed me through the heart. You''ve... You''ve stabbed me through two hearts!¡±


    ¡°Oh stop being so dramatic. Let''s get back to doing things, maybe?¡± Hannah walked past my tantrum and back into the kitchen. I followed behind her sadly with little else to do.


    It''d been a week and a day since the failed licence exam. She''d be returning this Friday to the Triolo with both arms intact and no easy excuse available to not fulfil her social contract of being experimented on. Sadly, common sense appeared not to be a viable excuse as she lacked any at all.


    We left fairly early in the morning. One belligerent witch with her hungry cat stowed away in her scroll stuffed satchel. The streets were busy. Now that market stands had been set up along the main streets, there was less space to manoeuvrer through the foot traffic.


    Permission to start selling wouldn''t be given until tomorrow. But that didn''t stop the influx of peddlers and merchants setting up. Porters carrying cargo and wagons stowed away were a common sight. Sailors were fresh off the boat, their tanned skins or fair hair as exotic as their foreign words and merchandise.


    The variety of alcohols available in local taverns and inns were no doubt larger than what would be available any other time of the year.


    Sadly, the weather wasn''t too kind. Intermittently it showered just long enough to dampen the ground but never left a pause long enough for it to dry up.


    It''d been decided for me that when we arrived at the Triolo gatehouse we''d split up. She''d head to the Nurse''s office and I''d look for Killian.


    Before I had even begun I was hit with a wave of exhaustion. For a spell after Hannah went out of sight I couldn''t muster the enthusiasm to wander far from the gatehouse.


    There was simply a numbing pain in my chest that at some point my life had gone horribly wrong for me to be wasting my time with chores like this. It was a feeling I couldn''t quite shake.


    But breakfast was breakfast. My beliefs on smoked ham were no secret. That being said, maybe I should develop new tastes in the future? A few plain slices smoked ham breakfast was quite bland and... well... Almost too cat like.


    I''d have to think about it later. With a dream and a road of fulfilment laid bare before me, it would be worse than wasting time not to do anything.


    Firstly, find Killian. That would be the hardest part. Or at least I assumed. I had a good nose and brilliant hearing but I didn''t keep track of who smelt like what. I always felt that would be invasive.


    I assumed optimistically that he''d be practising outside. I couldn''t imagine magic practice being called off due to mildly irritating weather. Alternatively he could be skipping, in which case my best bet might have been to check around the library.


    My search was called off early once I realised going outside in even intermittent showers was unpleasant. Fur soaked, I slipped back indoors.


    I''d search the library first then.


    Shacking myself off, annoying a student who was unfortunate enough to be standing nearby, I traced a path to where most of the knowledge in the Triolo was stored.


    Along the way, I tried to steer clear of everyone''s path. Walking with Hannah had meant I had a giant whose shadow I could walk behind to avoid being stamped by others. That''s not to say nobody was observant enough to notice little old me, but it was surprising how many didn''t.


    Mather was one of the people who didn''t. He walked past me at an eager pace wearing a proud smile on his lips, I couldn''t stop the shiver running down my spine.


    Is that the way he always carried himself when human experimentation was on the rota?This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Pushing aside my irritation I proceeded further through the campus. As the Library came into sight I was faced with the next challenge world had in store for me. The Library was closed.


    Great.


    There was nothing for it but to just wander the halls and hope for the best. The search had hardly begun and it''d ground to a halt.


    For two hours I failed to make any progress. I''d ran out of ideas and I''d ran out of space to wander around. In fact after two hours of mindless wandering around the campus I was surprised I hadn''t found him.


    I could have carried on for another two hours and probably gotten the same results. I could have tried returning to Hannah but I disliked that idea as well. Hannah''s warnings ominously replayed in my head. I didn''t really want to risk being around for whatever experiments she was going through.


    My options however, weren''t limited. I didn''t have to slave away fruitlessly. Two hours was enough.


    Far out there in the quieter parts of the Triolo, Linth was probably sitting in her den all by herself reading a book. Honestly, who could fault me for wanting to hang out with her? As Hannah said herself, she didn''t have many friends so it would naturally be a good thing to socialise.


    Of course I couldn''t talk to her but it was the thought that counted.


    It would involve a brief stroll outside but I wouldn''t need to worry about being stepped on at all. Maybe Killian wasn''t going to show up at the academy today and we''d grossly overestimated what results we''d get out of today.


    Concluding there was not much left to be done, I left the campus and headed north. Being rather shameless, I swept away whatever fragments of guilt from my mind without much effort.


    This was the option in which A: I didn''t have to stalk Killian. And B: I could hang out with Linth. I couldn''t see a way I could possibly lose. Well, that was assuming that Linth could keep her mouth shut about this to Hannah. But that would be some other day''s problem.


    The hymn of chatter in the campus grew ever distant as I walked. The buzz of life couldn''t seem to breach into the bubble surrounding the quiet part of the Triolo. Even the sailors on their ships were silent as they passed beneath the shadow of the Cathedral on their boats.


    There were no birds nesting here, no stray cats or lost dogs. The few buildings and stone piers near the river presumably had been abandoned for decades despite their appearance. However when I looked up at the towering fortress overlooking us all on its hill, I couldn''t say the same for it.


    Deep in my gut I felt nervous. As though the archaic structure itself were staring down at me. It knew that today I was audacious enough to walk in it''s presence alone and unaccompanied.


    What was I thinking? A building was a building. If I were to believe it was a sign of bad luck, then I''d need to accept that for myself as well.


    I hurried further along the path pausing when I came to the door to Linth''s building. Since nobody was coming or going, there wasn''t any opportunity for me to slip inside. Most of the windows on the ground floor were shuttered shut or too high. Linth was on the second floor. Even if I hurled my body against the door she wouldn''t notice.


    ¡°Damn...¡± I sighed. Nothing was ever easy.


    The world did not care. It''d make you work for your good ideas. After you''d worked yourself down ragged, you''d wonder what was so ''good'' about your idea in the first place. I wasn''t going to fall into that trap. A good plan, a good idea, they were the ones you didn''t have to work for. They were the ones that worked themselves whilst you reaped the results.


    It looked like I''d have to abandon this plan as well. It was a shame but hardly the end of the world. My backup plan of finding somewhere pleasant to nap was always there. In fact, it was the plan that always had my back. Relatively few times had I needed to put in effort to take a nap. The nap rarely caused problems of its own either.


    Or at least, that''s what I would''ve done. But the gnawing sense that I was wasting my time hadn''t abated since this morning. It gave me pause and left my uneasy.


    What exactly did I even want to do? ''Not this'' was apparently the only answer I could give. I wanted to be doing something else. Always something else.


    And then I heard the door handle behind me rattle. I had but a few moments to jump out of the way of the door as it swung outwards.


    Had Linth miraculously sensed my unease and come down to rescue me? Was this proof that our bond transcended the physical world?


    Ah no, it was just Killian.


    Wait, what?


    The door swung outwards, obscuring me from view. He stepped out and paused. Quietly he sighed and looked around him. As the door shut behind him I swore he might spot me but by standing very very still I somehow minimised my presence enough for him not to notice me.


    I swore that some people were just blind to me and didn''t know where to look. If they just looked down at their feet.


    Relief washed over me the moment he started walking away. And then the questions came.


    Why was he here? What had he been doing? Where was he going? Should I follow?


    Looking between the shut door and Killian''s back, I reluctantly understood that the world had now made even the idea of napping seem irresponsible whether I liked it or not.


    Just as I was about to give in, the world had decided to slap me by showing me Killian.


    There wasn''t much for it. If I wanted to know answers to my questions, hanging around here wouldn''t be how I found out. With the door closed behind me I wouldn''t be able to inspect around Linth''s den. I''d have to follow him back to the campus. Wait, where was he going? He wasn''t heading back south to the main campus. He was instead walking to the disused buildings by the river.


    Just from his gait I could tell he wasn''t on a casual walk. Had he been talking with Linth? I swore there and then if he had been blithering like usual to poor Linth I''d mince his ankles. But there was no easy way to head back and check.


    From a distance I followed. Stalking came second nature to a cat. They were light, they could walk with their body high off the ground so as not to disturb the grass or low to crawl nimbly through dense foliage. The obvious problem was my fur colour. Black on green stood out. Sticking to the long grass and dense foliage that hadn''t been cut back for a long time, I hoped the wind would mask whatever noise generated by my movements.


    Killian readjusted the sack he carried over his shoulder. It was small but bulky. He slipped into one of the abandoned buildings and for a moment I was left there in the cold. This was enough, right? Both Hannah and I could check this building later and see if we found anything.


    The thick smell of alcohol permeated the building, making me wonder whether somebody was hiding a truly decadent amount of gin here without academy permission. That had to be the case.


    The sack Killian was carrying certainly didn''t look like it had been filled with bottles of alcohol. Not to mention distilled alcohol like gin was really expensive and Killian didn''t seem like he got a massive personal allowance from his family.


    Abandoning the mission here would be fine. That being said, some questions may forever go unanswered.


    I searched around the building. It was connected to the river by a stone pier. Ships would have docked there and offloaded cargo into the building a long time ago. Perhaps the priests who used to live up in the cathedral had been hiding rampant alcoholism in their ranks. I couldn''t blame them. If I lived such a boring reclusive life, I wouldn''t want to be sober through it.


    It looked like there was somewhere I could jump up onto the pier. There was a chance I could get into the building. Doing so meant going into the mud along the river banks first.


    Great. Now I would need a bath next.


    I leaped up onto the pier and came face to face with another door to obstruct my entrance. I subdued my frustration. So much for sticking toplans that didn''t need work. Never again would I go near rivers or their mucky banks.


    The door swung open wide to my surprise. I dove for cover behind a stubby stone pillar that could have been used to tie boats to the pier. Killian still had his sack slung over his shoulder.


    He looked out over the river, a pained smile on his face. Firstly, he took off his boots tucked them in the shadow of the building near the door and then rolled up the sleeves of his trouser legs.


    Don''t you dare, I desperately prayed, however he ignored my mental pleas and jumped off the pier into the shallow water and landed on his feet.


    Dammit, it was like the world wanted to spite me. He moved along the pier until I couldn''t see him at the angle I was hiding at. The sound of Killian wading through the water came to abrupt halt, followed by the sound of metal scraping against stone and then silence.


    I peered over the edge and saw only empty water. I was tempted to throw his boots into the water out of spite but I held back.


    If I was going to follow I''d need to figure out where he went. I couldn''t see any obvious escapes for him above the water. The walls of pier were made out of stone. I supposed it saved money having not to replace woodrot. It was a shame this place was never used. Or at least it wasn''t supposed to be used anyway but somebody was definitely hiding alcohol here. Home revenues and customs would have a field day if they knew about this.


    There was no passage above the water I could spot him using. But what about under the water? Ah geez, this really was the best moment to abandon the mission. Like hell was I going to swim in that river. Not a chance. No way.


    I''d come this far. This was result enough, right? I could tell Hannah that Killian was, um, well he was, errrr. He had to be doing something right? Having come this far I still didn''t know. Too bad because that water looked very unhealthy.


    ¡­


    A cold wind blew across the pier as I continued to stare down into the murky depths. Killian still wasn''t coming up. This definitely felt like I was stumbling across something important. But didn''t the city pour its sewage into this river?


    ¡­


    This pier was a pretty good spot for a nap.


    Ah for fu-


    Fine!


    I dove in.


    The cold embrace of the river water was to be expected, unpleasant. I was practically diving head first into the city''s sewage outlet after all.


    But this dive wasn''t a fruitless endeavour. There was a metal grate that looked to be some sort of sewage outlet beneath the pier. It might have been connected up to the entirety of the Triolo. The bars looked just wide enough for me to slip through but an error in judgement would be lethal. I''d drown in this turgid river water if I got stuck.


    Eugghhhhhh! Why was I even doing this?!


    This could have been Hannah doing this, not me. I was just a little old cursed cat. This was not the job people should put on their elders. I''d earned my dues in life. Presumably. Probably. Surely the karmic gods should show mercy on my current plight.


    That was assuming karmic gods even existed. I''d heard people were far easier on black cats in the south. They even had a god with the face of a cat. Maybe there was a trade ship I could stow away on and escape this lame existence of mine.


    A for gods'' sake, I couldn''t believe I was still going to try follow Killian. An error in judgment would just mean sweet release.


    I went for the grate. They were disgustingly well lubricated. I wondered whether the great harbour fire of Kasper had anything to do with the fact the river was so polluted it was practically flammable.


    I rose up slowly for air after passing through. Rising my eyes and nose to break the surface, my first sight was Killian wringing out his shirt.


    ¡°I don''t know why I bothered to roll up my sleeves. This is why I brought a spare set of clothes.¡±


    I descended back into the murky pool hoping not to be spotted, lungs in an argument with my brain over the decisions it had decided to make today. Dammit why couldn''t he just move on?! I was suffocating for air here!


    More to the point, what the hell was he doing? Judging from the brief sight of the ceiling, I figured we were beneath the foundations of the pier. I''d assumed there was some sort of sewage system but never knew where the outlets were, nor that anybody would travel them.


    However, not to imply that I exactly knew the taste of fresh sewage, but having this murky water practically thrust up my sensitive nose I was fairly certain this wasn''t a sewage outlet. I hoped for both mine and Killian''s sake.


    Hannah had described this as ''thrilling''. I''d describe this as downright humiliating. I was waiting for some deadbeat to wring his clothes dry whilst I slowly suffocated for air. I''d sold myself incredibly short for a few measly pieces of smoked ham in the morning.


    The dark murky depths were becoming unbearable. When I breached the surface cautiously again, Killian was heading down the tunnel. Slowly, I slid out of the water and out into the darkness.


    Fresh air had never tasted so good.


    The only light in tunnel was coming from the fairy candle dancing at the tip of Killian''s finger. This place was chillingly cold. Heat rose and whatever else was left was being carried out by the water. The water run in a deep ditch through the centre. This tunnel''s purpose was perhaps getting river water to the wells? That would mean this wasn''t set up as a sewage system.


    I assumed that the wells that used the water from this system weren''t in operation. But knowing the stupidity of people, I wouldn''t be surprised if they were.


    Fur soaked, morale at an all time low, I followed behind Killian. In the darkness of these tunnels, I finally found use for the colour of my fur.


    It was a little difficult to approximate the direction we were headed. But if this was a water system, then I could guess roughly where this was going. And when the thought crossed my mind the darkness ahead seemed somehow denser.


    I''d need to keep track of where I was going. The network of tunnels seemed expansive. Getting lost would be a pain.


    Ahead, Killian came to a halt at an apparent dead end to the tunnel. It had narrowed to the point where he had to wade into the water being carried through the network, submerging himself up to his waist.


    He tied the sack around over his shoulder and let the candle go out. He felt along the wall for bumps just deep enough to rest his feet on and began climbing upwards.


    I sat down and watched him as he ascended up and out of sight.


    ¡°Shit.¡± I muttered. I''d gone as far as I was willing to go. Going further would just be too difficult. I''d never be able to claw myself vertically up that stone wall even with the bumps to help. I was matted with damp and no doubt the wall was just as slippery.


    But I''d found out a few things. It appeared as though Killian visited the cathedral often. That had to be where he was going. A personal project of his perhaps?


    I got up onto my feet again and turned to leave.


    This had been a colossal waste of time but like hell was I going to let myself climb up that wall just to break my neck. The game was over. I was done. I quit. Time to go home and-


    However the darkness ahead seemed impenetrable, like a dense miasma or a storm of coal dust. The hairs of my fur stood on end as a feeling I never knew I was familiar with rushed over me. It made me freeze motionless, catching my breath in my throat like a coarse ball of ice I couldn''t swallow.


    What''s it doing here? I didn''t understand.


    Run.


    What even is it? Such a thing couldn''t even exist. Whatever hid behind that shadowy veil was just a creature of make belief. There was no way such fanciful things could exist.


    Don''t try and understand. Run.


    It''s first step forward kicked my stalling mind into gear.


    We aren''t ready for this. Just run.


    Climbing high vertically up a slippery stone surface risking fall and breaking my neck? I could hardly convey in words how eager I was to get started right away.

 18 - Thank you shadow demon

    The only way was upwards. For all intent and purposes, the path I''d walked to get here no longer existed. It''d been swallowed up by the entity that had stalked behind me unnoticed. And here I thought it was just me doing the stalking today.


    My instincts commanded one thing.


    Don''t go back. Don''t look back.


    Otherwise something more calamitous than death would occur.


    But the only way upwards was a vertical shaft. The walls of which were layered with bumps, slippery with grime.


    I was equipped with cats claws and whilst they were great at climbing up trees and curtains, sheer stone surfaces were not its forte.


    If I was going to climb, I''d need to pray to whatever great cosmic forces there were out there that these humble claws of mine could dig into stone.


    Diving into the water, I thrashed my way to the dead end Killian had scaled minutes ago. Planting my claws onto the bumps, they cut through the grime and found purchase.


    With a solid pull I launch myself upwards, reaching out my paws for a new place to claw onto. But often my body slid off the wall before it could get a proper grip and back into the murky depths of the water I fell.


    The only dim light coming through into the tunnel was coming from above. I dared not look behind me. But my paranoia screamed at me that any second now I''d have something breathing down my neck.


    These claws were no good. There was no way up. There had to be another way. I fought past the fear to look behind me.


    A short distance of three meters away, there stood a creature hidden in nebulous darkness, as though it were made from angry coal dust. It could vaguely be described as humanoid in shape. Its knuckles reached down like mauls to its knees.


    If I stared long enough I felt like I''d be able to make out definition through the darkness. I''d see claws and fangs, a thick matt of fur and scales, I''d see a real living breathing relic of-


    Run. No time to think. Just run.


    But I was cornered.


    No, wait. It hadn''t stepped into the water yet. It just stood there imposingly by the lip of the channel. It''s size wasn''t nearly as intimidating as the chaos of confusion it conjured in my head.


    Only humans were recorded to be able to use magic and monsters were simply the stuff of legend. This was a person. A living breathing in the flesh person. It had to be, right? But this magic was beyond what I imagined a human capable of. To completely obscure their appearance, to erase their scent, and to mute all sound. A person capable of such a thing could only be equated to a monster.


    I needed to calm down. My lungs heaved for air demanded by an overactive mind and tensed muscles. It had to be a person. I''d never give a human the dignity of scaring me like this. I just needed to puff my chest out and get a gri-


    Oh shit it''s moving! It made a slow deliberate step, leaning closer and tilting its head. Every instinct and whisper in the back of my mind now screamed in chorus.


    Don''t think, just run! I just need to run.


    Ah just shut up! I''m trying to think over here!


    It leaned forward, reaching one long arm overhead to the wall to stabilise itself as it began slowly lowering its head closer. There were no recognisable marks to its face. No burning red eyes or maw lined with snow white daggers. It was just an oppressive darkness that swallowed up everything.


    I can''t let it take me back.


    I sank as low as I could go into the water until my paws touched the layer of dirt and mud that''d built up on the bottom. I dug my claws in and pulled, throwing my body like a missile through the water. My lungs burned, greatly dissatisfied with my brain''s decision and ready for mutiny.


    Until the shadow overhead had disappeared far behind me, I wouldn''t lift my head up again. Dim light soon turned into total darkness. I found myself crashing into walls more times than I cared to remember. Time dragged on. I never felt like I was going fast enough.


    It was only when I was absolutely sure I would drown otherwise, I dragged myself up out of the water. Spluttering for air, I weakly looked both ways. Nothing but total darkness. I was surrounded by it.


    With not even dim light, I''d never be able to tell where I was going, where I''d been, or whether I was going to run headfirst into that thing again. But I was certain I''d swam a great distance away. If it was genuinely chasing me though, it wouldn''t be far away.


    Grappled under confusion and paranoia, the stress of the situation would ordinarily have made me keel over. This was a hopeless situation.


    But was it even real?


    Quietly I clung to the hope that if I closed my eyes firmly shut and waited a few seconds, somewhere, something about my situation would improve. This hope that the natural due course of the world during a bad situation is improve on its own was without a doubt stupid.


    When such crises were left unresolved, rock bottom became the new status quo. That would mean staying here, half submerged whilst the rest of me gasped for air. All the while on the lookout for a ''darkness'' I expected to be somehow discernable in the total absence of light.


    Naturally, if my fate was such then I should just find a comfortable spot to lie down, close my eyes, and wait until time washed away the city above and collapsed this tunnel network. Assuming of course, the darkness didn''t claim me.


    This is just paranoia.


    The moment I realised I was under the cathedral I started to feel queasy. It''s got its fair share of rumours. That place is more bad luck than any bad cat could be.


    My mind was playing tricks on me.


    A ''magical'' darkness? Yeah right. Oooo spooky scary darkness that wants to eat me ooo. Man that was pathetic.


    I should get out of here.


    There was no telling when it would be back. ''It''? What ''it'' was I talking about? No wait, I hadn''t just swam through murky water and half drowned myself for no reason. It began to hurt to think.


    I was following Killian.


    I saw him climb up the wall. The wall which I tried to climb up when I noticed that thing behind me. The thing. Of course! Don''t lose focus.


    Don''t think. It was paranoia. A lapse in judgement. There''s no good in remembering it. We lost track of Killian. That''s how we ended up here.


    No... Good... In... No no no no. That''s not right. This isn''t right at all. Something''s wrong. Something''s very wrong.


    I saw Killian climb the vertical tunnel. How could I lose track of someone walking around in the pitch black with a fairy candle? It''d be like losing track of the sun on a clear day! I wouldn''t exert myself like this over a little bit of paranoia. Work is my arch-enemy.


    Through the haze I battled. I wanted to grip my head and shake myself free of this feeling.


    What was this?


    It was the curse. It had to be the curse. I didn''t know why or what this thing was trying to do. I could feel whispers of voices in my mind, asserting their thoughts onto me.


    There''s no way the curse could do this.


    Each thought presented itself as my own. Forced me to recognise it as my own. Desperately, I tried to keep a clear picture of events in my head. It was agonising to battle each contradiction.


    I would lose. Eventually my focus would slip. This was an uphill battle. In my many years of life this couldn''t have been the first time I fought a memory war against my curse. But more than likely, I''d lost every single time. That was a truly terrifying thought. And this realisation would evaporate within the hour and I''d go back to being the same docile Adam the cruse wanted me to be.


    It was revolting. Disgusting. Who dared do this to me? I''d crush their heads in an iron vice.


    If the curse didn''t want me to remember, then I''d do everything in my power to work against it. This thing had had my throat in its grip for years. Even if it were to end in failure, or the consequences last forever, I''d fight it for the few hours I had the will left to.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Thank you nasty evil shadow demon. You''ve jogged my memory somewhat. I remember I wasn''t always this lazy.


    Linth was having a terrible day. It had gone disastrously. Awfully. Cruelly. Every second had been torture.


    Her fortress of solitude, her one place she could rely on for isolation, had become the haunt of new people. Not all bad of course. Hannah was terse and blunt with a well meaning heart wrapped in thrones. There were days when Linth put down her book and wondered where Hannah was and what she was up to. She brought her cat of course and that was an instant positive.


    Lining the walls were her treasures. In the Kingdom of Tallis, most books barring fiction were treasures. They prized their books. Knowledge in any field of industry was a weapon with which the Kingdom could use to undercut its rivals. There were even some restrictions on the trade of historical fiction.


    Her den, filled with historical biographies, encyclopedias of trivia, and possible heretical superstitions would be enough to make most people a bit nervous. It was unthinkable that a normal person would be allowed this wealth of knowledge to their exclusive personal access. Without a doubt, somebody was looking out for her.


    Sadly, their protective shadow made her feel more tense than safe.


    The Friday morning had passed by uneventfully. She drunk tea whilst reading, occasionally looking out the window at the scattered showers and smiling to herself that she had all she could ever want inside. Her breakfast at home with her family had included the usual brief of politics her family was so invested in. The festival had certainly brought its own pressure through her father''s work.


    Thankfully she wouldn''t need to leave her den until late this evening. Rarely did she need to make errands for snacks. No, she had secret compartments hidden around the room. In the table, under the chairs, in her sleeping bag, even behind some of the books. She only ever had to leave for snacks once a week.


    Although she didn''t spend as much time living in this room as the presence of the sleeping bag might have suggested, her family complained that she was acting too withdrawn. They were so stiff, playing the game of politics. She could recite off the top of her head the families of the local nobility, their connections to what ministers, and their affiliation and interests in what political and mercantile faction within and out of the kingdom. It was this intense training that encouraged this fear of people in her.


    Just what sort of people existed out there that she needed to know every facet of their affiliation and reach of their power? She''d been encouraged to believe every interaction gone wrong was one in which her family could lose everything.


    So she disliked being around nobility. She disliked being around anyone ever since she''d been taught even casual conversations contributed to the great game of politics.


    Every day should pass pleasantly so long as the outside world remained out there. When she was alone, she was the only player in this game.


    Knock knock. Who was that at the door? It was Killian Redcrow.


    Not the heir, not the spare, but never the less, a noble. Not to mention his opinions on class emancipation was diametrically opposed to the position of her family. A family raised to ministry position on merit and only some nepotism. Her father, the head master of academy, had skilfully woven his way through the upper class society to land him his position despite being of common birth. Sadly it wasn''t the ministerial post he''d hoped for but he was adamant he''d rise or at least leave produce an heir that could rise further for him.


    He was also self-taught in magic. An incredible near impossible feat. But he was simply that great.


    If her father caught glance of this meeting, he''d probably subtly remind her to be on her best behaviour.


    But why was Killian coming alone? Where was Hannah? They''d only met once before and Linth didn''t feel much of a connection with him. Sure he was nice but she was entirely uncomfortable with idea of spending any time alone with him. He was just too talkative, exuding a social pressure that was almost crushing, even when being considerate.


    He sat down for a cup of tea, apparently just looking for somewhere to hang out. She worried that her den was starting to attract too much attention.


    At some point the conversation, lead mostly by Killian, changed topic to the Triolo. Specifically, he was asking about the cathedral. Nobody was allowed to visit there for cultural reasons. The academy punished harshly anyone who was caught sneaking into that place. It happened rarely, or so she''d been told. Obviously built as a fortress, there weren''t many obvious ways to get in once it was closed off from the inside.


    ¡°I can''t believe that place is stills standing. I bet it''s some kind of ancient magic. You know, they say the witches of old could mould trees into stone fortresses.¡± More uneducated nonsense. At a first glance anyone would be able to tell it was just incredibly well built.


    Every second of the conversation, Linth was grinding the gears of her head thinking of the things she shouldn''t say and couldn''t do. Desperately she wanted the conversation to be over as quick as possible.


    ¡°Nobody knows what it''s like on the inside. The cathedral that is. Some people say it''s a maze. Some people say the bodies of the people locked up in there still shamble through the great halls.¡± Those were all scare stories by the locals. One of the reasons why it was important never to disturb the cathedral. That way the city didn''t turn on the academy in it''s already tentative position.


    Should she agree? Should she disagree? Should she correct him? What if he didn''t appreciate it? She kept her replies short. She hoped it didn''t seem curt or rude but in her mind the more she spoke the more risk of saying something stupid.


    She wanted to correct him. She wanted to go ''actually''. Anybody should be able to appreciate being told the truth. But she could picture her father calling her doing something like that rude.


    ¡°So it''s called a ''cathedral'' right? But most of the other religious buildings around here are called ''churches''. What''s the difference? Is it hierarchical? It has to be right. I mean look at the cathedral and look at churches. You can tell which one views itself to be most important by it''s size. The cathedral practically screams ''look and me!''.¡±


    He took another sip of his tea as he carried the conversation practically all on his own. If there was one thing she could be happy with, it was that he expected very little participation from her. Even his questions were more him just voicing his thoughts.


    Still though, did he have to be so loud? Did she need to be his talking practice? This couldn''t have been a very satisfying or engaging conversation to him. He was probably going to start running on steam and eventually there''d be an awkward silence that would feel punishing.


    Beneath the table she pinched the back of her hand. She shouldn''t find just one person so intimidating. She''d contributed nothing to the conversation so far. Even if it was just a small gesture, she had to do something. She''d be kicking herself if she sat there doing nothing but nod all day.


    However all she had to her advantage were her books. That and a detailed knowledge of the kingdom''s internal politics taught to her by her father. But she refused to go near that latter one. She much preferred to talk about books.


    There was nothing for it. Committing to making a small gesture felt like a leap across a canyon. She reassured herself that all it was was two new friends sharing what they knew about the cathedral. That was all. In fact, friend making would make Hannah happy and even though Killian being here was her fault, Linth was sure Hannah had brought him here for this reason.


    ¡°I have a book on the cathedral.¡± She voiced abruptly. At least it felt abrupt to her. In fact, it felt so out of place she was ready to hit Killian over the head with a book in the hopes he''d forget.


    Killian, who she assumed was not much of a reader lifted his head up a little too enthusiastically. ¡°Oh really? Like on the cathedral itself?¡±


    She nodded. His surprise surprised her. Wasn''t it obvious she''d have a few books like that?


    ¡°Woah, does that mean you have books on the inside of the cathedral?¡±


    Again she nodded and went to get the book best for the job. If he wanted to know, it''d be safe to go with the most detailed book she had, even if it was a mental grind to chew through.


    Killian whistled with awe and he flipped through the pages. ¡°It even has maps... Now isn''t that useful.¡± He smiled quietly for himself. ¡°I''m pretty sure it''s breaking the rules to have all these books here.¡± He noted as he looked around the room.


    It made Linth jump. This den was her family''s one Achilles heel. It was an abuse of the headmaster''s position that he let his daughter keep all this academia unsecure in her den. Abuses of public office in the kingdom were treated like treason.


    ¡°Ah but don''t worry about that.¡± Killian casually waved away tried to wave away her fears as though he could see them. ¡°I wouldn''t rat you out. Your family is pretty much the one good exception to the rule.¡±


    What rule? Linth was far too nervous to ask. There was just something in the way he said that last comment that made her feel uneasy. But Killian''s promise brought with it some relief.


    ¡°Do you mind if I borrow this book though?¡± He smiled.


    And all relief was cut short. He stared right through her, never breaking eye contact for a moment as he asked permission to take her book as though he were asking her what the weather was like.


    ¡°If you say yes, I''ll leave you alone. But if you say no, you''re gonna be stuck with me for quite a while.¡± He laughed jokingly. And yet for some reason she didn''t feel like it was a joke. It felt like a scarily accurate threat.


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    ¡°Oh goodie. You''re the best, helping a friend. I can see why Hannah likes you.¡± After that, Killian didn''t stick around for much longer.


    As soon as he left, Linth spent the next two hours reflecting on her performance during the conversation. Killian hadn''t just shown up for no reason. It felt all too obvious his motive was borrowing a book.


    It was frustrating. This feeling of disappointment in herself that she hadn''t seen her exploitation coming was biting deep.


    She tried to calm her nerves, reassuring herself that nobody would come here with ulterior motives again. This was a place free of the game of politics. Just drink some tea and lose yourself in books, Linth, and the world of politics will stay on the other side of that door.


    But as time past, her anxiety didn''t abate. Redcrow was quite an influential family in the militaristic faction. They controlled the eastern marches and were subsidised heavily for their involvement in the defence against the free cities, and the nomads. What if-


    Crash!


    Two hours after Killian had left, the sound of chaos erupted outside her door. It sounded like something was throwing itself around the corridors in a fury until thud! Her door shook.


    She froze on the spot. Was it a burglar? Some sort of mafia fight happening in the quiet part of Triolo? The latter one was obviously an irrational fear.


    But silence followed for an eerily long time.


    Scratch, scratch, scratch. Something scratched against the wooden surface of the door. Like nails against wood. It couldn''t have been a rat. No way could a rat have made such a loud crash earlier. What was it trying to do?


    And the door handle began to slowly turn until clink. The door opened slightly ajar.


    Linth felt an immediate urge to get up and firmly shut it. Another part of her wondered with morbid curiosity just what she''d see if she waited for the door to open.


    At the very least, it was taking her mind off the conversation with Killian.


    The door inched open slowly. And through the small gap, she saw a black shadow.


    Covered in grime, a terrifying furry face with two angry golden eyes peered through the gap.


    ¡°Adam?¡± She didn''t know what to expect. A dirty black cat had just clawed open her door and was staring at her with incredible intensity. It could have been a stray. Adam never strayed too far Hannah. Did that mean Hannah was visiting? Linth couldn''t imgaine Hannah leaving her cat in this state.


    This black cat looked like the kind that inspired their reputation as bad luck.


    ¡°Adam, is that you?¡± She didn''t know why she asked again. It wasn''t like it could ta-


    ¡°Yes. Also, I''m very sorry in advance.¡±

 19 - Missing justification

    It had taken me a long time to get out of that labyrinth of a water network beneath the cathedral. It involved a lot of bashing my head into walls and falling into water as I tried to navigate my way in total darkness. Thankfully, just enough light passed through the water near the grate for my exit to shine dimly like a light at the end of the tunnel. But it was a miracle I even navigated my way to the grate in the first place.


    All the while I grappled with a curse which I felt was turning more and more audacious in its attacks.


    It serves no purpose to remember this.


    Truthfully speaking, it didn''t. Which was why I was going to throw this story onto the closest person. I would break several of the rules that were imposed on me by the curse and myself


    It sucked that she was the closest person nearby.


    Only our caretaker ever needs to know the truth.


    That again was probably true. But at the same time, how could I let anyone know the truth about me if even I didn''t know myself.


    There''s a reason why I have this curse. I must follow it''s rules.


    And there was a truth more sour to swallow than concentrated lemon drops. Deep in my gut I knew this to be the case. There had to be a reason why I had this curse. The more I fought against its grip the more I felt like I was coming close to finding why I shouldn''t be.


    I was straining against chains. Chains that served a unique purpose. I felt like I catch glimpses of their purpose the more I wrestled with them.


    It was hard work. More effort than I''d ever put into anything in my entire life presumably. Hannah made determination look easy even if she didn''t bring in good results. This was the closest I''d ever gotten to being able to sympathise with her bullheadedness.


    It wasn''t fun to be doing this. I didn''t see how I''d benefit. Spite was probably the motivating emotion here. There was probably very little material gain from this course of action.


    Pain kept my thoughts sharp through the haze. Without a shred of grace I''d slam my body against whatever obstacle I could in order to keep my focus. Running at doors with all the intent of making a hole through them until I could feel the shock reverb back through my skull and into my tail.


    All this work until I eventually clawed the door open, my body climbing the sheer wooden surface to the handle fuelled by desperation and all the resentment I''d carried towards doors my entire life.


    As the sharp clink alerted me that the mechanism had opened, my thoughts gave way to pause as my four feet hit the ground again and the gap slowly widened, giving me a view of the room.


    This is not allowed.


    Allowed or not, Hannah was both too busy and far away for me to talk to.


    We''ll traumatise her.


    We certainly wouldn''t end up making Linth happy, that was for sure.


    ¡°Adam?¡± Linth''s voice shook me back to reality.


    Words caught like a boulder in my throat, I paused.


    We should stop now before anybody gets hurt. It''s far safer for to forget.


    It was far safer to forget. Certainly for me. I could end up dissected if this went wrong. Not that Linth would try, but the more people knew then the more scalpels would start gravitating me as though they were in a magnets pull.


    But if Linth or Hannah did betray me... The thought sent shivers of indignation down my spine. Humans were proven to be duplicitous or incompetence. Often both. Each was capable of lying, of cheating, of murdering, of betrayal, of the most horrible and contemptible crimes even against the rules of nature. If they betrayed me, then-


    ¡°Adam, is that you?¡±


    My mental faculty ground to a halt.


    I''m Adam.


    That was right. I was Adam. Just what the hell was I thinking? I felt like just for a moment, I was slipping into something else. My own voice, my own thoughts, I felt them change. Not from the influence of the curse, but of my own volition. For a moment, I lost discipline.


    What would I do to them? Linth was standing right before me. I forced myself to look her in the eye and dared myself to finish that train of thought.


    I couldn''t.


    But I also couldn''t lose sight of why I came here.


    ¡°Yes. Also, I''m very sorry in advance.¡±


    I had to apologise. I was about to swing this girl''s world around a bit.


    Linth froze to the spot. It wasn''t a voice she recognised. She looked above and past me through the gap for a person who wasn''t there.


    ¡°Down here, Linth. The black cat. That''s me.¡± My mouth didn''t move when I talked which sure added to the confusion. If I tried to talk through the vocal box of a cat, it''d be a thing of horror. The benefits of this curse were more like mitigations to some of its downsides.


    If there was an opportunity to backtrack, to abort mission so to speak, that was it. I''d passed it and I was now going all in.


    This reaction was about as much as I expected. She barely said anything. In this situation, what was she supposed to do?


    As I moved, a breeze blowing through the building shut the door behind me. I jumped up onto the table and sat near the edge opposite Linth.


    ¡°Linth, you''ve got to hear me out. I don''t have time to explain everything. No that''s not right. I will have time soon. Eventually. But not at the beginning of this conversation.¡± I was wasting valuable time just trying to fill in the silence. But with my thoughts so broken up, even now that I''d come this far, I didn''t know where to begin.


    Linth pinched the palm of her hand, probably hoping the pain would wake her up. ¡°Is this real?¡± Shock and confusion sometimes left people''s eyes looking vacant. In an unfamiliar situation, what past experience did the mind have to act upon?


    ¡°Hrrk... I''m sorry I don''t have time to explain. But before I forget this I need to tell you. Make sure you remember and tell Hannah. There''s a powerful spellcaster walking around the beneath cathedral and I think they are connected to my curse. Linth? Are you listening? Linth!¡± I snap, finally eliciting a frightened response from the girl. ¡°You. Have. To. Do. This. Please, you''re the only one I can rely on.¡±


    If I had time, I''d beg, I''d plead, but I didn''t.


    Linth backed away from me slowly. ¡°Cats don''t talk.¡±


    ¡°Lin-¡± I felt my patience giving but it would do me no good. How far would getting angry or forceful get me with someone slipping into denial. Not very far at all. ¡°Look, I know I''m not the most handsome talking cat around, and this is probably pretty weird considering all the fuss you gave me whenever-¡±


    Linth turned as white as paper at the memory.


    ¡°Ah I really shouldn''t have brought that up.¡± I could feel my previous thoughts eroding. Memories were slipping from my grasp and had been doing so for sometime. ¡°Look, you''ve got a lot of books on crazy folklore and religious stories. Use that to fill in the blanks. Oh, and don''t tell anyone else. Only you and Hannah know right now. Just don''t forget about... The...¡±


    Crap, what did I want to tell her? There was something important that I needed to make sure I didn''t forget. It had something to do with the cathedral.


    ¡°W-w-w-well I''m pretty sure talking black cats are bad luck.¡± The sight of Linth reeling at the sound of my voice was quite hurtful.


    She was fine with black cats, but talking black cats was where she drew the line. ''Bad luck'' once again reared its ugly head in the way people looked at me. I didn''t need an oracle to tell me that our future relationship would probably be quite rocky.


    No no no, I was going off topic. I needed to get my thoughts in order. What was I here to talk about?


    We found Killian sneaking into the cathedral.


    Right, of course.


    ¡°Listen, this is really important. Think of it from my perspective.¡± I tried to reason. ¡°There''s a list incomprehensibly long filled with reasons why I wouldn''t want to reveal I can talk. Understand my plight?¡±


    I could feel bitter frustration rising in the pit of my stomach. Something felt wrong here. Was I going off track?


    For better or for worse, Linth was no longer glancing towards the exit. She was either very reluctantly willing to hear me out, or was paralysed working her brain hard to rationalise what she was seeing in front of her.


    ¡°I need to talk about Killia-¡± I caught myself midsentance. Something felt wrong. This wasn''t what I wanted to talk about, was it? I was sure it had something to do with my curse.


    Why would I need to tell Linth about Killian sneaking into the cathedral? It wasn''t like her life depended on it. It wasn''t something I''d easily forget either.


    ¡°It''s... About...¡± I grappled for the right words. But they weren''t coming to my head. ¡°Why... Why am I here?¡±


    Why had I revealed I could talk to Linth? What was the point of this?


    I looked up hoping to find the answer on Linth''s face but all I could see was the shock I''d instilled in her. This day would not be one she would forget easily, I was sure.


    To have done this, I certainly needed a reason. Doing without reason wasn''t my style. Combined with my slothfulness, it meant I always needed a really good reason to open my eyes in the morning. Surely I had a reason for doing this. I must have had a big one.


    My headache only grew as time passed by. No voice in my head could come up with a reasonable explanation as to what the actual hell I was doing here.


    ¡°I... I um...¡± This was frustrating. Almost too frustrating. I felt a heavy tightness in my chest. ¡°I''m really sorry Linth, I''m not sure why here.¡±


    ¡°Are you really Adam?¡± After seconds of confused and painful silence passed, she finally asked with a steadiness in her voice.


    ¡°Yeah. I''m Hannah''s ''friend''? I guess you could call me that?¡±


    ¡°And-¡± She paused, leaning in a little closer as if to examine me closer. ¡°And you really are a talking cat?¡±


    Surely that was evident by now. ¡°Nobody''s hiding behind that door, you know? Hannah''s not making funny voices underneath the floorboards to play a prank.¡±


    ¡°Oddly specific.¡± Linth muttered under her breath as she glanced under the table. ¡°You said, um, something about a curse.¡±


    ¡°Did I?¡± My head felt dizzyingly light. ¡°Well I imagine it takes a lot of funny magic to make a talking cat.¡±


    Linth looked down at me apprehensively before shaking her head. She opened her mouth, but really had to work up the courage to speak out her next words. ¡°How long have you been a, um...¡±


    ¡°Talking cat?¡± I finish. It was the natural thing to wonder in her position. ¡°Well, I''m not really a cat. Please don''t call me that unless you have to.¡±


    ¡°But how long?¡± She insisted on this line of questioning despite my tentative attempt to tiptoe around the topic.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    I sigh. ¡°It''s impolite to ask a woman their age. A few decades... at least.¡± Linth looked ready to faint. ¡°Hey hey hey I wasn''t ever planning on revealing it okay! Don''t collapse now!¡±


    She took a few wobbly steps back before settling against the bookcase.


    ¡°Come on, it''s not that bad if you think about me as being an ordinary cat that can, well, talk. Sure I''m not exactly very pretty right now but-¡±


    ¡°But you''re not a cat, right?¡± She cut in despondently. This entire time she''d been running her hands across me thinking I was just a cat. An ordinary, innocent, very dumb cat. And there in lies where the shock was coming from.


    Once, a long time ago, I was forced to wear a collar with a bell on it for my caretaker. She was old and had a nasty sense of humour. But the reason why she did it was because the sound of the bell relaxed her. She grew old and old until her time to die was nearly upon her. On her death bed she revealed two things. She loved the sound of the bell and whenever she heard it she smiled. After all, when she found me, I was a scruffy wounded ball of fur that could barely move.


    Now wasn''t that sweet? Well, she then revealed the next thing.


    That collar was made from cat''s leather. She thought, for some reason, that this was funny.


    Ever since I have refused to wear leather collars. When something so innocent has a nasty twist it''s hard not to despair or feel upset.


    ¡°Weeeellll... No.¡± I was probably going to need to repeat that I wasn''t a cat a lot.


    ¡°You''re probably a pervy overweight middle aged white man being punished for his crimes against humanity.¡± Linth landed her words like a sucker punch from a demon.


    Wow. Where did the ''pervy'' part come from? ¡°That''s totally not true. I don''t remember who I was before I got cursed, but I could well be a woman for all you know!¡± Did that make the situation better? Probably not. But this wasn''t what I was here to talk about. ¡°Do you by any chance know why I''m here?¡±


    Linth looked like she''d just been slapped. That was a cruel thing of me to ask, I realised. How would she know? I could understand how she''d take offence from that.


    ¡°Maybe... Maybe I should go?¡± I suggested. ¡°I don''t feel very well.¡± This gnawing bitterness and frustration that had been growing in my chest was surely the shame I felt for my actions. ¡°I, uh, I''m not sure there''s anything I can say to justify this. I should really go. I''ve walked all this mud into your den.¡±


    Again, I wondered to myself about what the hell I was doing here.


    I got up shakily, mind numb from mental exhaustion. I was lame, pathetic, and horrible. After revealing I could talk, I couldn''t even word a proper apology.


    I turned to leave, bitter at my own performance. I hoped Hannah kicked me all the way to the moon for this. That way there''d be a suitable distance between me and any of my disasters.


    ¡°Ah, hate to ask you this.¡± I ground to a halt just before the exit to the room. ¡°Could you open this door and let me out?¡±


    Linth was staring at me, not quite sure how to respond. I didn''t want to be here. At the very least, I could count on her tendency to overthink things to give me a big enough opening to escape.


    But that aside, how the hell did I get in here in the first place?


    It was for the best to leave. Conversational skills and tact were needed to navigate that precarious topic. Whilst blunt, Hannah was a whole lot more considerate than me. It would be a good idea to tell her so she could get this mess sorted as soon as possible.


    The walk back to the campus was fraught with anxiety. My usual attitude of leaving today''s problems for the tomorrow''s me really only worked when it was small things out of place.


    The weather had still not cleared up. Cold rain helped flush away some of the muck and grime that had begun to dry on my fur. Horrible taste of the river water was still lodged in the back of my nose.


    Ordinarily, I''d be nervous about catching a glimpse of the tests run on Hannah. If she wasn''t in the Nurse''s office, I''d abandon my search. Killing time in a city filled with nasty children sounded more pleasant. She''d managed to give the impression that horrible torture was involved in the tests.


    As gracefully as a sopping wet ball of fur could, I leapt through the window conveniently left open all times of the year and into the office building. Come monsoon or blistering drought, that window would remain steadfastly open. Even if there was a swarm of locusts or it was raining snakes, that window would not close an inch.


    Surely people noticed this open window as they passed. All the others were closed. Did everyone just assume that this particular window was outside of their jurisdiction? Was it booby trapped?


    These questions gave me a break from thinking about my other disasters today.


    I came to a stop outside the nurse''s office. The door was closed. And since I wasn''t some sort of hissing raging ball of insidious fur straight from a horror story, I wasn''t even going to try and open it.


    No. I was a creature who was composed at least in part out of spite.


    I began pawing at the door. If anybody was here, they''d notice. But if the Nurse was away doing the tests somewhere else, I''d have wasted my time. But if a student with a serious injury showed up, that''d be even worse. Someone had not thought this through. They should definitely hire a second nurse.


    I knew they were here though. My sensitive ears caught dull chatter and footsteps on the otherside. Someone got up from where they sat, their chair or stool scraping across the ground as they rose. Slowly they moved to the door.


    What would I see on the otherside?


    Clink. The door opened. It was the nurse.


    He stared down at me with an expression that I relished. He, the Nurse, was opening the door for me, his number one most loathed animal.


    I sat down. Outside the room of course. For you see, I was composed of spite. That and as I tilted my head to see further in the room, I noticed that Hannah had all four limbs.


    In fact, Hannah had all four limbs, all her hair, fingers, toes, clothes, and nothing else out of place. If I were to guess, the entire time I''d been swimming through mucky water, she''d been relaxing in the Nurse office not doing much.


    No, that wasn''t true.


    She was eating some lunch she''d gotten from the canteen.


    Where''s the pain, Hannah? Where''s the weakness and inability to keep down your food? I don''t see any needles or scalpels, Hannah. There was an empty bucket nearby her feet. There was also a tray of vials on the Nurse''s desk but he looked in the process of tidying up his medical cabinet and putting them all back.


    Now this in of itself, was not bad. In fact, it was quite relieving that no gruesome torture was taking place. But I''d still been under the impression I''d be seeing horror here and-


    And the Nurse just shut the door. I took a bit too long to get inside.


    I pawed at the door again and he opened the door for a second time, having not budged from the spot. He shot me a warning through his glare. This would definitely be the last time he opened the door.


    I wandered inside.


    The Nurse shut the door behind him with an exhausted sigh. ¡°That''s a little creepy.¡±


    ¡°My cat''s just faithful.¡± Hannah spoke in-between chewing.


    Perhaps that''s where the real problem was in this situation. She''d been sitting here having a picnic whilst I''d been swimming in the city''s pollution problems.


    I shot her a quizzical look. If she didn''t do something to explain soon I was going to yank the food out of her hands.


    In return she glanced towards the Nurse. Although his resting face was a scowl, he looked an awful lot more angry. The air about him was sort of... Simmering. That was the impression I got at least.


    ¡°Does this mean I can go?¡± Hannah asked hopefully.


    The Nurse set down a glass vial into his medical cabinet and sighed again through grit teeth. ¡°I don''t know. Can you?¡±


    ¡°You should become a teacher.¡± Hannah was noticeably upbeat.


    ¡°Perhaps the situation hasn''t dawned on you yet. But remind me again, who sponsors you to study here?¡± Mather was absent. I was under the impression he had to be here.


    Hannah didn''t reply. Her expression did turned ambivalent.


    ¡°You and me have been stood up.¡± The Nurse cursed.


    I looked between the two. The tests had clearly not taken place. Evidently Mather must have played an important role in the tests for them not to carry on in his absence.


    ¡°Well he doesn''t exactly bring much.¡± In a running theme, the world or more specifically, Hannah countered my assumption.


    Shaking his head heavily, the Nurse closed the medical cabinet. ¡°Technically, he''s running the tests and I''m the observer. Everything these tests produce, he owns.¡±


    ¡°That''s a pretty harsh deal.¡±


    ¡°Is it?¡± The Nurse furrowed his brows. ¡°Whether the credit goes to the professor or the queen of Tallis, people will be able to reap the rewards.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Hannah wore a sceptical look. ¡°Neither of those two seem very generous in my experience.¡±


    Folding his arms across his chest the Nurse shot Hannah a hard glare. ¡°This is going to happen again.¡± The Nurse said with the foreboding of an economist during a recession. ¡°You will need to find a new sponsor. Looks like he''s not interested in our exchange anymore.¡±


    Hannah''s eyes slowly widened with a mixture of emotions. The Nurse was not joking. ¡°Shit.¡±


    ¡°Indeed.¡± The Nurse sighed. ¡°I''m in the same situation.¡±


    ¡°Well I''m sure you''ll do fine. Show some pity to the girl who has to ask for sponsorship to attend a magic institute when she can can''t use magic without spell aids.¡± Hannah sighed.


    ¡°I don''t envy you.¡± The Nurse admitted.


    ¡°In that case, do you think you cou-¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The Nurse looked down at Hannah with such disgust I could have been convinced she just asked for his soul. ¡°Do you have any idea how much that would cost? I''m a Nurse. They can''t even pay me on time let alone a decent wage.¡±


    Ah the troubles of the employment market.


    Hannah returned his demeaning look with one of her own. ¡°Get a better job you lazy slouch. Time spent complaining is time spent not making money which you can spend on sponsering me.¡± How ruthlessly capitalist. ¡°You said you were in the army, right? Maybe I could get the money together on my own if you taught me how to mug people without leaving evidence.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± The Nurse growled. ¡°You''d probably screw it up and implicate me anyway. Besides, I know one kid in need of training more than you do. He''s the only exception I''d be willing to make.¡±


    ¡°Exception to what?¡±


    ¡°I gave up fighting quite a while ago. I earned my out.¡± The Nurse''s tone was forceful and strained.


    ¡°Huh... Sorry for asking.¡±


    The Nurse had always walked with a peculiar lethality that I wouldn''t have expected for a nurse. Sure, whilst a Nurse could kill their patient with relative ease and were often in a really convenient position to be able to do so, pushing air bubbles discreetly into someone''s veins to encourage a heart attack didn''t hone the reflexes.


    He was tall, and whilst his long white coat hide his figure, his muscles were probably quite well defined. It might have been dramatic to say so, but his negative attitude was probably consequence of his previous career.


    ¡°I''m guessing you mean Killian.¡± Hannah noted dryly. ¡°I think he shows up here slightly less often than I do.¡±


    ¡°But always in bad shape.¡± The Nurse finished. ¡°Sometimes you do have to fight your way out of a bad situation. You teach other people how to treat you. Everytime he shows up, I can tell he took a beating without putting up a fight.¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°Because if he was putting up a fight, he''d have taken my offer. And a kid with his level of energy would have brought at least one of his attackers to a hospital bed with him.¡± The Nurse noted harshly. ¡°I hate seeing violence as much as the next man- No, maybe the problem is that the next man and the ones after all love violence. They can''t get enough of watching it or that infamous fantasy of winning gloriously. But from where I''m looking, that boy isn''t putting up a fight at all. Violence or no violence, if Killian doesn''t do something then he''s going to be stuck in his situation until he graduates.¡±


    Hannah pauses for a moment, mulling over the Nurse''s words. ¡°Is that advice really meant for Killian?¡±


    Once again the Nurse frowned at one of Hannah''s questions. ¡°It''s not meant for you. I''d like you to try a little less. At least wait until I''ve quit my job before you try another stunt like roasting your arms.¡±


    ¡°They are healing very nicely, thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°That''s good. You took my advice properly then. The best way to have healthy arms though would be not to roast them in the first place.¡± The Nurse had a point that was hard to refute. Hannah really had brought it on herself.


    Hannah was probably going to end up breaking her arms again punching a wall as soon as she learned what I''d done to Linth though.


    I wasn''t sure whether I wanted this conversation to end sooner or later.


    The Nurse cursed under his breath. ¡°Listen here, even I want a life y''know? I can''t spend every waking second of the day stuck inside this office treating people''s stupidity. Don''t you dare get yourself hurt over the festival. I want to be able to enjoy one holiday. Is that so much to ask? Just one holiday!¡± Not so much pleading, but rather growling a warning like a captain to his troops, the Nurse''s expression darkened as he talked.


    ¡°You know for someone who''s so ''do no harm unto others''-¡±


    ¡°At least not directly in a way authorities can prove.¡±


    ¡°You sure didn''t hold back in the tests.¡± Hannah glared. ¡°I get that it was mostly at Mather''s request but still.¡±


    The Nurse fell silent. He looked to the door. ¡°The tests probably won''t happen anymore if Mather''s is cutting us loose so I should admit to you here and now.¡± The air in the room grew suddenly a lot more tense. ¡°They were pointless.¡±


    Pointless? I could see Hannah''s mind stall at those words. ¡°What do you mean they were pointless?¡±


    The Nurse sighed. ¡°We... I know so little about magic, about your condition that I might as well have been treating you with water. So I should apologise for all the time and effort you wasted.¡±


    ¡°Oh...¡± Hannah mouthed. It was quite a pathetic reaction. She looked as though she''d been drained of all colour. But credit where it was due, I was impressed she hadn''t descended into a flying rage. ¡°I guess that was always a possibility.¡± She admitted.


    Meanwhile the Nurse quietly went back to his medical cabinet and started pointing out vials. ¡°This is an anti-inflammatory. That is good for hang-overs. This here is a catalyst I can use to repair nerve damage in your shoulders. With this I can give a soldier the eyesight to see clearly up to a distance of four hundred meters so long as with this, I treat the internal bleeding around his occipital lobe.¡± The Nurse went on and on. ¡°But everysingle one of these needs to be administered in a specific way, in a specific order, to match the many variables unique to a person''s body. What I''m saying here is-¡±


    He had his back turned the entire time but I could feel the shame he had behind his hidden stoic expression reflected in the glass.


    ¡°-it''s all had no effect. I might as well have run these tests with tea and water.¡±


    Damn. The Nurse wasn''t even going easy. He was really hammering it home. ''White lie'' was clearly not a concept familiar to him. I couldn''t help but feel like this harshness did more to put himself at ease than it was in consideration of Hannah''s sacrifices.


    ¡°That''s not true.¡± Hannah spoke up. A twist that turned my head upside down. There was clear conflict in her eyes. She was probably torn between saying many different things in her given situation. There was probably a real possibility she was going to leap up off her chair and punch the guy square in the face. But she bit back her temper. ¡°I mean this hurts. God damn what you''re saying hurts. But you can only say that in hindsight.¡±


    I wasn''t sure I agreed with her on that one. This felt like some wishful denial. An attempt to fend off reality. If the Nurse said it was pointless, I believed him because he was in a position to know.


    But the Nurse wasn''t having any of it. ¡°I''m sorry Hannah, I shouldn''t have waited for you to snap under the pressure of my research. This is how I lost my medical licence in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Hannah mouthed again lamely. ¡°So you really could have just treated me with tea and water. So it was a con all along. I''m guessing you went this far just so you could pretend to Mather you were doing an experiment. Man and here I thought you actually knew what you were doing...¡±


    I could see the steam rising steadily. I could see the pressure building. Alarms were blaring. Whistles were screaming. The place was ready to blow. I stepped away from Hannah, a movement which the Nurse noticed and seemed to understand.


    Crash. I''d never seen so much weight put into a single step before. I felt the ground shake and heard the medical cabinet rattle as Hannah stomped her way, her eyes hidden behind her hair as she closed the distance between her and the Nurse steadily with clenched fists.


    The Nurse didn''t react. He had seconds to. Plenty of time of time to attempt something. But he stood there firmly.


    Slam. Hannah drew to a halt with one final step. Although she was shorter, she somehow managed to stare down at the Nurse. She drew in a deep breath and ¡°Too bad. Maybe you''ll accidentally stumble across the cure with your next victim.¡± Slam. She turned on her feet and headed towards the door. ¡°Adam, don''t fall behind.¡±


    Ah shit.


    Thanks for that Nurse. I looked behind me as I followed in the shadow of my giant. This was really going to make explaining what I''d been up to much more difficult.

 20 - Brewing trouble

    She walked with a thunderous temper, her fists balled like boulders. Following in the wake of the moving storm, I pondered whether now was a good time to report what I''d been up to.


    More than likely though, all other matters have been thrown on the back burner for a while.


    Without a sponsor, Hannah was at risk of being dropped from the academy. Calling it a spit in the face would be too mild.


    During times like this, Hannah sped ahead. She didn''t stop her aggressive pace until just before the exit, someone accidentally stumbled out of their office and into her path.


    Hannah swerved, dodging the flinching Riker by a narrow margin. This interruption ground her to a halt both physically and mentally.


    ¡°I''m sorry, I wasn''t looking where I was going.¡± Riker apologised despite not being at fault.


    ¡°Ah...¡± Hannah regained her composure just enough to make that noise. She could see reflected in Riker''s face how she must have looked. ¡°No, that was my fault.¡±


    Having caught up, I peeked inside the office. It looked a lot tidier than before. The window had been fixed and the clutter on the tables had been stashed away somewhere. Her desk looked orderly, no long covered with stray pieces of paper.


    Both Hannah and Riker felt the awkward silence. ¡°Um... Have you been cleaning up professor?¡± She asked to fill in the silence.


    Riker nodded and laughed nervously. ¡°Tidying up? No just moving the mess somewhere closer to home.¡± Despite being tense, she seemed a little more cheerful today. ¡°I''ve got lots of work to do from home. If you''ll excuse me...¡±


    ¡°Right, yeah.¡± Hannah stepped back to let Riker pass.


    I stared up at Hannah dumbly. I wanted to ask her why she didn''t ask Riker for help then. Hannah, meeting my gaze simply rolled her eyes.


    The sudden appearance of Riker had done a bit to douse the flames of Hannah''s temper. She slowed down and the once disorderly raging cogs of her mind whirred with deliberate and pensive thought. Coming face to face with another person during times like this helped put attitudes into perspective.


    Despite the downpour wetting my fur and her clothes, Hannah led us back back at our ''favourite'' conspiracy brewing spot behind the office building. Hopefully, this time we wouldn''t be interrupted by Killian.


    Even beneath a clouded sky it felt like Hannah had a tall shadow. ¡°Well?¡±


    ¡°Well what?¡± She seemed to be expecting something. Forgive me for not looking forward to the verbal beatdown that would come of explaining what I''d done to Linth, but I was hoping to talk about that bit when she''d calmed down.


    ¡°Well what do you think?¡± Again she pressed me but we weren''t exactly two peas of a pod. I couldn''t just pluck her thoughts out of the air and read them. ¡°About what just happened.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you mean about you almost punching the Nurse? I''m honestly surprised you didn''t.¡± The Nurse had been too blunt in his confession.


    Hannah shook her head with a sigh. ¡°Is now the time for joking? We''re standing in the rain here so put away your stupidity and hurry up.¡± The cheek on her to get angry about standing around somewhere she''d taken us to.


    ¡°Rude but okay. What did you want to ask my opinion about?¡± I could confidently say that whatever she asked about, I probably wouldn''t know what to say. My mind was lingering still on when I should break the news about Linth knowing I could talk.


    ¡°Don''t give me that look. You can be smart sometimes.¡± Hannah fixed her hood over her head and muttered to herself. My sharp ears picked up the rare compliment and I realised she was really wasn''t asking for more jokes or half-arsed comments on her situation.


    If I had to guess what this was about, it''d be losing her sponsorship. However I was ignorant to the deal she''d struck with the academy. This was the equivalent of asking a priest for advice about the weather.


    I''d seen Mather this morning. Without picking his brains, I wouldn''t know why he hadn''t turned up. But the Nurse felt there was a strong case that Mather had lost interest. The two were more familiar with eachother than us. Perhaps there''d been an argument between them.


    ¡°Hmm...¡± But what would be the right thing to say? My track record with handing out advice was quite bad. But wait, did it have to be me that gave the advice? ¡°Hannah, I don''t really know much about your arrangement with the academy. You should probably talk to someone who is actually a part of the academy administration, not a talking cat. I don''t think the academy is going to kick you out because Mather isn''t sponsoring you anymore. I mean, you''ve been here for a while now.¡±


    ¡°I won''t get kicked from the academy, no, but I won''t be able to stay.¡± Her knuckles where as white as ice. ¡°Losing a sponsor means the academy will stop paying for my accommodation. I''ll have to find work.¡±


    ¡°Well, that doesn''t sound like the end of the world.¡± Optimism was important here. As long as she didn''t lose hope, I was sure she''d eventually find some work.


    Hannah''s expression twisted with frustration. Visibly she bit back the urge to snap. ¡°Maybe not for you. But I''d have to put my study of magic on hold. If that''s going to be my life, I might as well marry and raise a family with some dull headed guy with all the personality of a plank of wood age and then die a wrinkly old hag who never accomplished anything in life.¡±


    So that was the future she envisioned if her studies failed. Well it was good to know she had a fallback plan. ¡°I don''t know if that would be worse than heading back to Amarinth.¡±


    ¡°No. Not a chance. I''d rather cut off my limbs than go back there.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It''s a pretty miserable place compared to the rest of the kingdom. Why not go visit Jean? She might be able to give some advice. Her office is in the better part of the Triolo so you know, she''s clearly higher up on the hierarchy.¡± Office placement was perhaps the greatest determiner of workplace hierarchy.


    ¡°Fine. I guess that''s a start. But I really feel like punching something right now.¡± I backed away slowly. ¡°Bring Kyle here. I''m going to settle this argument once and for all.¡± She pointed downwards with her thumb, eyes ablaze like wrath tarnished stars.


    ¡°Kyle? Ah I''m not sure about that. Maybe you''d like to beat Killian up instead?¡± My once pristine fur cried out for revenge for the indignity it''d suffered on my quest.


    ¡°Don''t tell me you were right about Killian...¡± Any minute now she''d start cracking her knuckles.


    ¡°I don''t know if he''s stealing from Riker''s office, but I followed him and he''s up to something inside the cathedral. There''s an intake to a water network beneath the abandoned stone pier north of here. It goes under the cathedral. He''s hiding something up there.¡±


    More worries and concerns to investigate were not what Hannah was looking for. ¡°Sneaking into the cathedral is breaking so many rules. I''m pretty sure it''s a cirminal offence in this city. But still, you had one job. I wanted a yes/no question answered and you couldn''t even do that.¡±


    ¡°Do you think I''m going up there?! I could get stuck up there. There''d be just me, roughly a thousand dead bodies, and Killian. Breakfast isn''t worth that! Now can we move somewhere else? I''m freezing to death here in this rain.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Hannah''s own cloak was practically drowned with excess weight. ¡°There''s just one last thing I''ve got to do here.¡± She swelled her chest as she took in a deep breath.


    Thud. The weight of her frustration channelled through her fist and slammed against the wall behind her. One solid punch. One weighty blow against an imaginary opponent, against this infuriating world. She let her fist drop to her side.


    ¡°That hurt less than I thought it would.¡± Shaking her fist, she examined the newly opened cuts on her knuckles.


    ¡°Hannah! The Nurse said don''t hurt your arms!¡±


    ¡°Don''t bring the Nurse back into this. I''ll have to punch the wall again now.¡± No, she really didn''t. People challenged me with the most puzzling of behaviours.


    ¡°Look, I know you''re having a moment, but about that deal we made yesterday about breakfast-¡±


    Thud.


    ¡°Maybe another time then.¡±


    Walking under someone''s shadow was difficult when distracted. What if Linth told other people I could talk? Doubtful. She was probably grappling with the idea she''d gone insane. And either way, it wasn''t like she talked to many people.


    Having flocked for shelter, some dangerously oblivious students blind to my presence were pacing through the corridors.


    Sadly, students would not be able to greet the festival this weekend under clear skies.


    As we exited the otherside of the campus to make our way to Jean, I noticed the traffic on the river was far less busy. With barely a stir in the wind and the nearing dark rumbling in the sky out over the sea, it would have felt like the calm before the storm if not for the all ready present downpour.


    Rain really ruined everything.


    Hood up and protected by a soaked cloak which, thankfully, was made of tightly woven wool, Hannah traversed the path to Jean''s office. Unlike last time, the building looked much busier.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    The building that housed Jean''s office was large. It accommodated the meeting rooms and the offices of the administrative staff. Unlike the building that housed the Nurse''s office, professors weren''t encouraged to turn their offices into personal workshops and labrotories here.


    Greeting us was the uncommon sight of spell casters from the Order of Ice. Masked and robed, they moved mechanically guided by dispassionate eyes. Escorting them as they were exiting the building was Jean.


    ¡°Here''s a list of all the applicants for intermediate exams. And here''s copies of next years applicants to study.¡± Jean extended two documents as thick as tomes.


    The two spell casters looked down at the documents as they caught the rain. A few seconds passed before the closest reached for it. ¡°This was not the intended purpose of our visit.¡± They spoke in their strangely monotone voice.


    ¡°Yes, however we''ve seen a rise in the number of students with interesting backgrounds and, therefore, the highest priority is to get them processed so we know how to proceed with their education.¡±


    The two spell casters looked to eachother and exchanged a wordless agreement. ¡°Understood.¡± They deposited the files into their robes and turned in our direction.


    Jean didn''t even wave goodbye as they left. Such pleasantries were unnecessary.


    Hannah hesitated at the sight of the spell-casters who could well have been the same two who oversaw her basic exam. Sheltering between her feet, I couldn''t get a good look at the expression on her face. The Spell-casters didn''t give us so much as a glance as they passed us by. I felt some sort of revulsion shiver down my spine. They really were strange.


    I knew they did admirable work overseeing spell-casters. The Kingdom of Tallis saw far fewer magic related accidents and disasters thanks to their efforts. But who could blame other countries for not welcoming them so easily as the Kingdom? They were an enigma and their footmen seemed inhuman.


    Ahead, Jean waited by the door. Having caught sight of us but still a little too far away to call out. Instead she gave a small wave. This set Hannah in motion again to close the distance.


    ¡°Hello Hannah, can I help you?¡± Jean asked with a cheery smile.


    ¡°What were you talking with them about?¡± Hannah''s human ears hadn''t picked up the conversation they''d had.


    Jean''s shoulder sank as she exhaled in a sigh as heavy as her workload. ¡°Academy business. So many papers. My fingers are covered in papercuts!¡± She puffed out her cheeks indignantly. ¡°I should have a payrise!¡±


    ¡°Right. Well actually there''s something we really need to talk about. I''ve got a big problem.¡±


    Jean shook off the exhaustion and her cheery demeanour all too easily returned. ¡°I don''t mind so long as it''s helping my students.¡± After looking Hannah up and down, she insisted that they talked inside in her office. ¡°Look at Adam. Aww you poor cat. All wet and cold and covered in mud. Hannah, you really need to look after him better.¡±


    Yeah, you hear that?! Finally someone who understood my plight.


    The chill assaulting my body soon relented. It''s siege broken beneath shelter. Wherever we walked, a trail of water would lead straight back to us.


    ¡°Ah sorry Hannah. Go to my office I''ll be with you in a second. I''ve just got to talk to someone.¡± It was far livelier than I remembered it ever being here. Chatter bounced off the corridor walls for a brief moment as Jean slipped into a busy meeting room.


    We continued to Jean''s office on our own only to find that Jean had locked her office behind her.


    ¡°Well this sucks.¡± Hannah muttered.


    I sat down and turned my attention to the idle chatter in the building. Distant voices intermingled, creating a crackling hum that was hard to distinguish individual conversation from. There were more people here than I thought.


    ¡°Hannah.¡± The sound of an unfamiliar voice caught me by surprise. Eerily, a middle aged man dressed in a fine coat coloured purple and brown had snuck up on us. An idea that was preposterous considering I could hear the through the floors of the building.


    Hannah quickly straightened as I realised something about this man''s characteristics seemed familiar. ¡°Headmaster.¡±


    ¡°I can''t help but notice you''ve brought a river inside with you.¡± His tone as dry as his clothes much to my jealousy.


    ¡°Sorry, I couldn''t help it.¡± With every pause came the stress to fill in the silence. ¡°I''m really thankful for letting you letting me study at your academy.¡±


    The Headmaster paused, the corners of his lips lifting slightly as though amused. ¡°Is that so?¡± Despite his able appearance, he walked with a cane capped with the metal engraving of a dog''s head. His eyes drifted from Hannah to me and lingered for some time. ¡°Getting a better look at you myself, I don''t see much credence to the rumours surrounding you.¡±


    ¡°What rumours?¡±


    ¡°The rumours are that you are a witch. I advise against playing into those rumours. I would stay very quiet about any likeness or heritage you share with witches.¡± The Headmaster''s words cast a dim shadow over the conversation. ¡°As you should well know, the Kingdom of Tallis takes a dim view of that magic tradition and it wouldn''t help the academy''s position if it were accused to teaching witches. Wouldn''t you agree?¡±


    His eyes were balefully cold, his imperious glare flattened any resistance or notion this was just a random topic. The razor edge tone in his voice was none other than the very edge Hannah was standing on and the only push she needed to fall was to admit she''d been calling herself a witch.


    It was a scary to imagine that those playground rumours had reached the Headmaster''s ears.


    ¡°Right. Yes of course Headmaster.¡±


    As soon as the words left her mouth the Headmaster''s visage lightened. ¡°Well in that case, we''re glad to have you. I''m aware of your condition. I''m interested to see what you''ll create in order to overcome your circumstance.¡±


    Fwoosh.


    From nowhere, a jet of hot air lifted from the floor. In an instant, my fur was as dry as Hannah''s cloak after it had settled back down.


    Without a word or motion, the Headmaster had used magic. I god damn knew these spell-casters didn''t need to yell embarrassingly to cast and I was confronted with living proof!


    ¡°Now then, good day to you, Hannah.¡± He passed without lingering for long, leaving Hannah and I slack-jawed.


    We couldn''t take our eyes off his back as he walked away until he was out of sight. He felt powerful. Unreasonably powerful. Sure all he''d done was dry us off, but that magnificent bastard sure was smooth about it.


    That was Linth''s father. The two couldn''t be anymore different. But now I at least partially understood. I too would be a nervous wreck if I had to spend most of my life around him.


    Wait... That could very well be the man who dissects me if Linth tells him I can talk. I had no doubt in my bones he would.


    As though reading my thoughts, Hannah mumbled, ¡°make sure that guy never finds out you can talk.¡±


    Sorry Hannah, I had a lot to answer for the next time we found somewhere more private to chat.


    ¡°Sorry for the wait. Oh, did I lock the door? Sorry, my hands act on their own sometimes.¡± Jean appeared once again, knocking herself lightly on the side of her head for apparent forgetfulness. In her hand she had a new folder of paper.


    Opening her office up, she instructed Hannah to take a seat whilst she put the folder away somewhere safe.


    ¡°I saw the Headmaster on the way here. We passed eachother by. He''s as rude as ever.¡± Jean small talked as she pulled her desk chair to sit down. ¡°You seem nervous. Did something happen?¡±


    ¡°How... What would happen if I lost my sponsor?¡±


    ¡°Oh. That serious.¡± Jean leaned up straight in her chair. ¡°Well, the subsidiary you receive from the academy would be placed under review. And considering your condition, the review committee wouldn''t be favourable towards you.¡±


    ¡°Right, well is there anything I can do to solve that?¡±


    ¡°They''ll look at a list of your achievements. The academy would consider funding students for study who show great promise. They''d expect you to have passed your intermediate licence and be applying for a professional practitioner''s licence.¡± The news was damming, and as such Jean kept her tone level and her explanation clear.


    ¡°Well what if the Headmaster stepped in.¡±


    Jean leaned back in her chair with consternation stretched across her face. ¡°How can I put this...¡± I was willing to bet there was some reluctance to bad-mouth her employer. ¡°It''s his job to say that.¡± She leaned forward, interlocking her fingers on her desk in a very business like manner. ¡°But the Headmaster would only be one voice on the committee, if he decides to place himself there at all.¡±


    If he didn''t have that much influence, then what was the point of being Headmaster?


    ¡°He often delegates decisions like this to his staff.¡± Jean continued, filling in the silence as Hannah strained to find something to answer with. ¡°The Headmaster is a political figure despite his low ranking ministerial position. His opponents bay at his feet like a pack of stray dogs, running him ragged until he collapses from exhaustion. We''ve just received news, well, a demand really, from high ranking noble patriarch. Have you heard of Heron Greatwell? He''s planning on holding seminars for the senior students on industry opportunity. I would... not visit those seminars if I were you.¡± Tentative warning aside, what did this have to do with the current situation?


    ¡°So there''s not much chance of me keeping my subsidy?¡±


    ¡°Well hold your horses. If you let your thoughts run off on you like that it''ll be difficult to corral them back for you to focus.¡± Jean huffed.


    Hannah furrowed her brow. ¡°Jean, you''ve really got to work on your metaphors.¡±


    Jean lifted a finger and adopted a matter-of-fact tone. ¡°Well what I am saying is, how do you know Professor Mather is going to stop sponsoring you? Things have been going well for him recently. He may be in a very good mood if you talk to him about your concerns.¡±


    ¡°No, I really don''t think so.¡± Hannah shook her head at Jean''s optimism and explained how the Nurse had agreed they were both about to be cut loose.


    ¡°I see. So even the Nurse had a deal with Mather. That''s surprising.¡± Jean muttered.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°When the tests are run, who does the work?¡±


    ¡°I''m not sure I''m allowed to say.¡± Hannah answered. Perhaps it was for fear of losing the last of Mather''s respect. Or perhaps it was to protect the Nurse. Most likely the latter.


    ¡°I see. If that''s the case...¡± Jean trailed off, the unspoken words and conclusion bouncing around in her head. ¡°I should probably tell the Headmaster.¡±


    ¡°Tell him what? Don''t just leave sentences unfinished. Some of us want to know what''s going on.¡±


    Jean didn''t seem too phased by Hannah''s glare. She had a calm and collected look to her. ¡°It probably isn''t too serious...¡±


    ¡°Oh come on! Don''t just carry on with this conversation on your own!¡± Her protests fell on deaf ears.


    ¡°I think you should prepare a list of professors you can ask to be your sponsor.¡± Jean continued as though she the last ten seconds had never happened.


    ¡°I really don''t like it when people change the topic so obviously.¡± Hannah pointed out. ¡°And besides, there aren''t any professors besides you that I''m that casual with.¡±


    Jean laughed nervously, the thought of being Hannah''s sponsor and personal tutor bringing forth a warranted feeling of stress. ¡°Perhaps Riker.¡±


    ¡°What did you mean before about Mather being in a good mood?¡± It''d taken that long to process the comment, that was how preposterous the idea was. That guy was probably only in a good mood when his favourite puppy-kicking circus was in town.


    Overtime, my mind had steadily demonised Mather to the point where he seemed the kind of guy that only shed tears of happiness when he reminisced about the good old days of when child beating was legal. In comparison to the monster Mather in my head, the real Mather was probably quite a chill dude.


    ¡°It''s not my place to say...¡± Jean once more trailed off.


    ¡°Jean, you love gossip. In fact, I bet your job here is just gossiping. You probably run the master class of gossip.¡± And the rumour master Teel was probably a student.


    Being called a gossip, Jean winced. ¡°That is sadly very close to the truth. But it''s still not my place to say.¡±


    ¡°Jean, the thought of this man being in a good mood grinds my gears more than losing my sponsorship. No, in fact, because I might lose my sponsorship this makes his happiness even more of an affront to my world. There''s already loads of rumours going around about him. What''s one more?¡± Hannah ruthlessly prodded the muter Jean.


    After sustained bombardment, Jean finally cracked. ¡°Riker and Jean look like they might become an item.¡±


    After dropping that comment, there was a long painful silence.


    ¡°Wow.¡± Hannah fell back into her chair. ¡°The world really is full of little miracles. But I can''t help but ask, why would I want to know this?¡±


    ¡°You''re the one who insisted! Don''t just lean back disappointed as though I was the one hyping this up!¡± Jean snapped. ¡°This is workplace politics. The likes of you don''t belong here. Of course you don''t get it! I knew you wouldn''t get it. That''s why I didn''t want to tell you!¡± Jean also fell back in her chair. ¡°The day isn''t even over and yet why do I feel so exhausted?¡±


    ¡°Tell me about it.¡± Hannah sighed.


    The conversation soon died down. Jean, overworked, was hard pressed to return to said work. Hannah, stressed out, was hard-pressed to look for the right answers. And neither had much left to offer each other.


    We left the way we came as Jean sifted through the new folder of papers she''d been handed by coworkers. Hannah looked ready to go home and collapse on the closest bed.


    Whoever Heron Greatwell was, he''d thrown the administration into a buzz like a hive of hornets. But we had bigger things to worry about. I for one, had some scalpels to avoid.

 21 - Existential dread to sure stomach aches

    Sheltering within Hannah''s satchel was none other than me. Despite being bone dry not more than half an hour ago, Hannah''s cloak again clung heavily to her.


    The rain had done a lot to empty streets. Even so, there were peddlers who''d broken the trade ranks to start selling early on the festival grounds. Frequently, arguments broke out between the local guard and these traders.


    ¡°The festival doesn''t start until tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°You can''t tell me when I can and can''t sell. It''s a free country!¡±


    ¡°The Viceduke''s orders are law. Petition them with your grievances.¡±


    ¡°Oh please, the Viceduke just wants to vampire off the profits of honest merchants. The sales tax during the festival is unreasonable!¡±


    ¡°I would watch your tone, sir.¡±


    Two guards let the familiar indignant cries of the merchant fly right past them as they forced the peddler to close business until tomorrow.


    ¡°Another one.¡± Hannah muttered.


    That was the fifth argument we''d seen on the way home today. Whilst there was an undeniable buzz about the festival, the faces of the merchants and peddlers were glum and frustrated.


    ¡°It wasn''t like this last year.¡±


    I didn''t particularly remember last year. We never took part in the festival.


    Arguments were also breaking out by the piers. Sailors shouted over the side of their boats down at the inspectors watching like lions.


    ¡°Every year! People of Kasper appreciate fine goods! We sell at good price!¡± One captain shouted. His accent thick, and judging by the short shape of his boat, he originated from the archipelago.


    ¡°The tax applies to outgoing and inbound goods.¡± The inspector said apathetically. ¡°The Viceduke''s orders are clear. No goods enter or leave the city without inspection.¡±


    ¡°This is thievery! Extortion!¡±


    ¡°The tax is the same as last year and the year before.¡±


    Perhaps it was the sudden change of weather grinding on everyone''s nerves. But ships moored on the banks couldn''t even turn back to sea with the threat of storm off in the distance.


    ¡°No goods on boat. Just people.¡±


    ¡°Then why did you say you were selling items at a good price?¡±


    The captain cursed beneath his breath as he was pulled back from the side of the boat by his cringing quartermaster.


    From what I understood, the main point of access to the continent for the archipelago was this river which could carry trade further inland to the kingdom. Kasper oversaw this point of entry and the Viceduke''s agenda was to curb smuggling.


    Go figure that this agenda wasn''t always popular. When smuggling was rampant, amenities were readily available and often cheap. On the other hand, when smuggling was cracked down, tax revenue was high and thus public investiture typically higher.


    The war between magnates and bureaucrats in short.


    Being a cursed cat, I was na?ve to politics. After all, it was hardly like I could walk up to a minister and ask their views on VAT and Import tax.


    The sight of home brought relief to my humble old bones. As soon as we walked through the front door to the building, Hannah savoured the warmth.


    ¡°Oh dear.¡± The Landlady caught us on the way in. She lived on the floor below us. We entered, letting in enough breeze to tickle the wind chimes hanging from the ceiling. ¡°I''ll go put more wood on the central heating for you deary. You need to dry off.¡±


    The main entrance to the building lead to a large usually empty spacious hall. Here there was a cosy fire and a chair for the land lady as she worked away at her next knitting project. The tenants had to go past her and up the stairs to arrive at their blocks.


    So the Landlady always had a good view of who was coming in and out and in what state. Interestingly though, I don''t recall ever catching sight of any other tenants.


    Hannah looked conflicted between escaping up the stairs or warming by the fireplace as I slipped out of her satchel.


    This room had a warm rustic appeal to it. It was the sort of cosiness you expected from an old lady''s home. The chairs were cushioned, the fireplace crackling warmly casting the room in a dull glow. Hanging from the walls were wreathes and wind chimes. Above the fireplace, there was a mantelpiece where little ceramic statues of cats were either watching regally or curled up sleeping.


    ¡°Do sit down for a cup of tea. You''ll catch a cold if you don''t warm yourself up by the fire.¡± The Landlady who had no right to be carrying that amount of wood for her age spoke.


    ¡°No, it''s okay. I''ve got a few things to do.¡±


    ¡°Oh come now, I''ve already got the kettle boiled by the fire. Five minutes of rest can''t hurt you now, can it?¡± With each stoking of the fire, embers chocked up through the rising smoke and out the chimney. Her gentle yet insistent prodding broke down Hannah''s resistance.


    Seeing this, I wandered closer to sit by the fire. Five minutes couldn''t hurt and besides, the floor was comfortably warm here. This was a prime nap spot.


    ¡°Looks like Adam has already made up his mind.¡± The Landlady chuckled. ¡°I''ll pour you a cup of tea. My treat.¡±


    The Landlady would''ve offered biscuits and muffins if she had any at hand. She seemed to delight in company.


    ¡°All right. Just this once.¡±


    ¡°My my, just this once? I suppose I''ll have to make the most of it then.¡± The Landlady set the kettle back down by the fire. ¡°How is your studying going?¡±


    Hannah sat herself down on a stool next to the fire after hanging up her cloak by the door. She accepted the cup of tea and paused for a moment to savour the heat now coming through to her cold hands. ¡°Studying? It''s going okay. Not bad I guess.¡±


    The Landlady nodded. ¡°You''re a bright child. An asset to us all, I''m sure.¡±


    ¡°I don''t know about that. The academy might get rid of me soon.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, what a shame dear. I''m sure it''s not your fault.¡± The Landlady reassurance had little substance and yet wise old ladies could be very convincing with their encouragement. ¡°You can stay as long as you''d like. Problems like this will seem small compared to what you''ll have to face in the future.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± That wasn''t exactly the most heartening encouragement, granny.


    ¡°It''s not the problems you see coming on the horizon which hit you hardest, it''s the sudden ones that catch you with your knickers down whilst you''re on the loo.¡± She chuckled as she prodded the fire with her poker.


    ¡°Granny, I''m not sure anything like that''s going to happen to me.¡± Hannah frowned with words mixed with equal part disbelief and hope.


    The Landlady raised a brow at Hannah''s sureness. ¡°Maybe not. But nevermind me all doom and gloom. The rain really brings out the worst of me.¡±


    Her situation was somewhat tragic. The Landlady lived alone. No relatives or family, just a large house and some disparate tenants. The Landlady surrounded by all this empty space, empty rooms, in such a large building, seemed quite lonely.


    She must have been quite rich though.


    After the tea was finished both Hannah and I went upstairs to our floor.


    As soon as she got through the door she went for a chair by the dinning table and fell into it with a pained groan.


    ¡°Why is Granny sooo nice?¡± Thud. She fell sprawled out across the desk, boneless.


    It was an odd sight to say the least. By now she''d be unpacking her satchel, maybe preparing food or setting herself up to study.


    Instead there she was. Like a deflated balloon hanging off the side of the table.


    I leapt up onto the table to get a closer look. ¡°Hannah?¡± I voiced quietly, aware that Granny was still just downstairs.


    ¡°Mmm?¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Suffering.¡± To breathe was to suffer, to suffer was to breathe. That was very much the impression she was giving here.


    This irked me. Of course, everybody gets exhausted after a long day. Her expectations had been subverted, bad news had been heaped onto her, the meaning of her suffering threatened, and her career path dug up.


    I wasn''t surprised. This was to be expected. But I didn''t have to like it.


    Where was the poster girl for determination? Dog-headed willpower which brought disaster after disaster and yet was never dissuaded?


    I wasn''t concerned though. I wasn''t worried nor anxious for her. After all, I''d never get that invested in the lives of my caretaker. They were there only for the blink of an eye. Their names, faces, and the time we spent together were fleeting. There was no point in getting invested as I waited for this curse to end.


    ¡°What?¡±


    And yet as I found myself placing my paw on her head, pushing my claws into her forehead in an attempt to annoy her, I couldn''t get over how much I hated this sight.


    What if she became burned out?


    She looked up at me barely reacting.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°You''re annoying.¡± I casually comment.


    ¡°What?¡± This time there was a little more tension in her voice.


    Are you trying to annoy me? Her glare wordlessly asked.


    Yes, I answered as I sat infront of her and repeatedly batted my tail against her nose.


    ¡°Can''t I have a day off even once?¡± Everyone deserved a day off, granted, but I''d quite like it if she could explain things to Linth before she broke down.


    ¡°Have a day off when you''re dead.¡± I was the one who''d crawled through a river of muck, after all. Sure the news she''d received was probably to her akin to being told the gallows was waiting for her. But that gallows was still weeks, maybe months away.


    Her head sunk once more. Was this the effect of tea? Was the power of Granny so powerful it could mellow Hannah''s flames into melancholy?


    Granny, I know you think you were doing her a favour, but this was probably not what you intended.


    No, this probably was what Granny intended. To rest her feet by the weary fire with a warm cup in hand. To encourage people to slow down and walk life at an easy pace. But Granny, you take life in the slow lane because if you go any faster it will all be over. Hannah had still had fuel so butt out.


    I leapt off the table and onto the kitchen counter. My ineffective strategies crumbling before Granny''s shadow, I needed to do something a little more annoying.


    To put it one way, encouraging the cat out the door had made it more certain it wanted to stay inside. The cat being Hannah and outside being work in this metaphor.


    I knew of a relatively good way of lighting a fire under her again.


    ¡°Well, I suppose now is the perfect time for you to give up on magic.¡± I commented airily as I pawed the fruit bowl closer to the edge.


    Slowly, surely, Hannah rose in her chair and stared at me coldly. With my back turned, I couldn''t see it. But I could feel it. Two holes being bored in the back of my fur.


    ¡°I mean realistically, what can you do? You move forward, you trip, your face lands in mud. You get up but it starts raining. You take another step but you lose a boot to the quagmire beneath your feet. To your left and right, people tread the ground you have to wade through as though they were walking a smooth cobbled road. Your heart burns with indignation, you yell internally ''if I try harder, I will make it'' but the disparity in the ground you burn your soul to cover and the distance they make in the world kills you more than the effort to move your enfeebled limbs. Time will erase your progress. Better to sit down and let it happen.¡±


    The fruit bowl hurled itself off the table all on its own. Witnesses might claim that it was under duress from a cat''s paw, but they should be ignored.


    ¡°Oops. Teehee, I''m such a clutz.¡± I look over my shoulder to Hannah without a shred of remorse.


    ¡°You know, you really are a dick.¡± Hannah stared down at the scattered fruit. ¡°Do you have any redeeming features?¡±


    ¡°Ehhhh...¡± Redeeming features? That''s probably a pass. Remorse and shame were as alien to me as walking on the moon. ¡°Maybe I''m trying to get you to give up. For the last two weeks, I don''t think you''ve had a single success. And yet, the problems keep mounting up. All that''s been happening is one problem showing up after the other without any easy workable solution.¡±


    ¡°And how is giving up going to help that?¡± She shot me a hard glare.


    ¡°If you give up, being kicked out of the academy doesn''t become a problem. If you give up, do you really need to care about people stealing from Riker''s office? If you give up, Kyle and Killian can abuse eachother whilst you take a nice long refreshing nap in the sun. Does Linth really need new friends? She''s fine and what comes to her later in life is her own doing. Shame about the Nurse, but wasted hours are just wasted hours when you learn to put them behind you.¡±


    ¡°Not everybody can curl up into a ball and sleep their long life away.¡±


    But could I even do that? ¡°Nobody can. A child could kill me after all. Without a caretaker, I''m just bad luck. So what if I can talk? Will that actually help me or will it enthuse my dissectors? I can be crushed with a single step. Rolled over by a careless wagon. Ribs broken, legs smashed, neck snapped, organs crunched, and wholly starved. How am I supposed to fix this? I don''t even have opposable thumbs. But I can enjoy some life if I nap under the sun with a belly full.¡±


    ¡°That''s just contended subsistence. No dreams or aspirations. No goals or milestones. I''m not going to be like that.¡± The hiss of her words was like the steam rising from a boiling kettle.


    And the conversation hit a lull, tension ripe in the air like the still of a storm.


    But the fact there was a storm, was my victory. A minute ago, she''d been struggling to find the motivation to work. Now she was struggling to help back the urge to strangle me for accussing her giving up.


    I pushed an empty cup off the kitchen counter.


    ¡°Stop pushing shit off the edge!¡±


    ¡°Oops. Teehee. My bad.¡± Was that really necessary? I might have actually gone too far. In reflection, maybe I was bordering on bullying here. No, without a doubt what I was doing was nothing short of emotional abuse.


    There was nothing wrong with giving up. There was nothing wrong with taking a rest. To surrender to the passage of time. Having no dream or aspiration was not inherently evil as no matter what, a person would pass through life''s milestones whether they ran full sprint or proceeded with a gentle pace.


    But people with narrow focus only looked ahead and could only see the milestones they hadn''t passed, whilst behind them the flags of victory gathered unnoticed and unappreciated.


    Objectively, Hannah was a brilliant person. I say objectively as I would never become emotionally invested in one of my caretakers. Only a day out of her care after she burned her arms and I''d ended up attacked by children.


    Hannah''s first priority after being released from the Nurse''s office was to chase down the gang of children who hurt me. I believed this was what friendship was. A relationship in which two parties endeavour in a pact of trust to please and look after eachother in life.


    Of course, there was a flipside. Chasing a stranger''s children and threatening them with violence in retribution was inherently evil to most if not all societal norms. But it was the thought that counted.


    And despite loathing my guts, despite butting heads, she still looked after me. I couldn''t think of a caretaker who had been more at odds with me and yet put up with me this long.


    ¡°You can give up Hannah, but to be honest...¡± it wouldn''t suit you.


    ¡°I''m not going to give up!¡± She snapped before I could finish. ¡°But I really feel like grabbing you by the tail and swinging you out the window!¡± Crack. She exercised her knuckles.


    ¡°H-hey now. I was just about to say something really nice.¡±


    ¡°Should have started with that then, shouldn''t you?¡± She stopped infront of me, at full height with her chest pumped out with her hands loaded at her hips.


    ¡°I was just trying to annoy you. Please don''t kill me! You looked like you were about to give up so I wanted to light a fire under you!¡±


    ¡°I was just resting because of a stomach ache! Oh my god you absolute dumbass!¡± She pointed her finger damningly down at me.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I''m a very busy woman! I didn''t want to spend half an hour chatting to Granny so I drank the tea as fast as I could. Look! Look at how burned my tongue is!¡±


    ¡°W-what?!¡± Why then, had I opened my mouth?


    Why then, had I tried to bul-ahem-encourage her?


    Why then, was I about to admit she was my favourite caretaker in quite a while?


    For a fucking stomach burn?!


    I wanted to grind my head against a wall. If I curled up into a ball hard enough I could hug myself out of existence.


    Isn''t this what happens when I try to give advice? Heartfelt, honest, genuine advice. Decades of mistakes had not taught me my lesson. I''d said some mean and embarissing things.


    Without shame? Without remorse? Who, me? I would never live this down. This conversation would be a thing of nightmares.


    Finger still aggressively pointed down at my face buried deep in my paws. ¡°Here''s a tip, dumbass. Look up the dictionary definition of encouragement next time. I think you''ll find it''s about ''giving hope'', not existential dread.¡±


    ¡°Noted...¡± I replied very weakly. ¡°Now please make it painful as possible so I carry this lesson to the afterlife.¡±


    ¡°Are you kidding me? What if I hurt my hands. The Nurse said to wait for them to recover.¡±


    The cheek of her saying that after she''d punched a wall.


    ¡°Although I could just use my legs... Maybe we could reenact that bit you talked about about being crushed with a single step.¡±


    ¡°Please do.¡± Maybe if I try my hardest not to think about this, I can stop this scene being burned into my memory forever. But dead people don''t feel shame or regret. Hello, otherside? I''d like to book an appointment.


    ¡°Honestly, Adam, do you know the difference between ''nice'' and ''cruel''? If you''d settled with a ''you can do it'' or ''I believe in you'', the results would have been so much better and it wouldn''t have taken even half the time or been a quarter as embarrassing. Instead you had to complicate things by being a dick.¡± The verdict was clear. The executioner needed no guillotine with which to cut me, for it was on my own petard I''d be hoisted.


    Surprisingly, Hannah walked away. Although it shouldn''t have been to surprising. As much as she threatened me, she''d never carried out any act of physical violence on me even once in life.


    Off into the pantry she went as she prepared dinner for the evening. Rummaging with a huff and a deep scowl. Her situation not helped by the stocks running low. We''d need to go out shopping tomorrow.


    On the subject of tomorrow, I probably should tell her. But what if- No, if something bad happened, I could remember that instead of that awful time I bullied a student for having a stomach ache.


    ¡°Hey uh... Hannah.¡±


    ¡°Not listening so don''t bother.¡± Her voice rang from the pantry.


    ¡°Linth knows I can talk.¡±


    ¡°I said I''m not listening.¡± Not the reaction I was expecting. She continued, determined to ignore me.


    ¡°No seriously though, I screwed up big time. Linth knows I can talk.¡± I hoped she didn''t ask how it happened because I was still puzzling that bit together. Although if she carried on ignoring me that wouldn''t be a problem.


    Hannah backtracked slowly out of pantry. ¡°Sorry, say that bit again?¡±


    ¡°Linth knows I can talk.¡±


    ¡°Ah right.¡± Hannah nodded to herself as she digested that piece of information. ¡°Well... if she''s okay with it, do you think she could look after you from now on?¡±


    Ouch. That hurt far more than it should have. Ignoring the twang of pain in my chest, I forged on. ¡°She knows I can talk, but, um-¡±


    ¡°You did explain to her, right? You did sit her down and talk her through it, let her ask question, and then answer them calmly like a responsible adult, right?¡±


    ¡°Well... Not exactly.¡± As far as I recalled, I ran into her den, stuttered out a few words in a haze, realised my mistake, and ran away.


    ¡°Just what is you deficit?¡± Her glare was unequivocally hateful. That was an expression I''d never seen, a look in her eyes I''d never felt pointed at me, and a genuine intent to harm. ¡°Linth. Is. Our. Friend. But isn''t it so nice of you to repay that in kind. Was it the usual existential dread you dished out on her or did you just traumatise her so thoroughly she will never be able to look at house cats the same way again.¡±


    Both? I caught myself before I answered. Death had her scythe around my throat. No threat of violence was uttered, for with death''s dark shadow cast over me, such pleasantries were unnecessary.


    Now was not the time to dig myself a hole. Unlike humans, cats didn''t need the full six feet of depth.


    ¡°Adam, we''ll sort this out tomorrow. But in the meantime, I think you need some time alone to reflect. Outside.¡±


    ¡°Understandable.¡±


    I couldn''t complain. I wasn''t in a position to complain. Seconds of reflection were all I needed to understand that.


    This punishment was awfully light.


    Gracious even.


    I had just enough self-awareness to see reality. This sentence was not dished out by the often grey decision-making of a jury. No. This was a judge holding my actions up against the cast-iron universal laws of decency.


    Huddled beneath a windowsill beneath the very building I''d been exiled from, the warm light from the first floor beaming out softly above me whilst I attempted to shelter from the rain.


    Well at least I wouldn''t need a bath anymore. There were more comfortable ways to get a shower.


    Clink. The shutters to the window above opened and the kindly shadow of the Landlady cast over me.


    ¡°Perhaps you''d like to come inside, Adam?¡± The Landlady looked down at me, her offer certainly tempting.


    But I didn''t move.


    This was penance. Remorse? Shame? These were feelings I should learn.


    Sorry Landlady, but leave me be. I looked the other way. Closing my eyes to warmth and comfort of sanctuary.


    But how did she know I was here?


    What evil deed did she think I was accused of?


    Probably pushing over the fruit bowl and making a mess. That''s what an ordinary cat would do. Little did she know that I was not an ordinary cat.


    But I had pushed over the fruit bowl so she did have me there.


    Me sticking to this punishment was, admittedly, entirely symbolic. After all, I had just enough self-awareness to know who I was. I''d lived a long life. Did Hannah think this was the first time a caretaker had thrown me out like this?


    No. Probably not.


    And I''d never learned from each time either. After all, I wasn''t a very good person. Consideration was something you had when you paid attention to life and its nuances. I slept through it. I''d continue to do so. I was composed of spite and sloth, with my only motivator in life being slices of ham or smoked salmon.


    Right now, this moment. It was nothing but the blink of an eye. I wouldn''t remember it. And if I did, it''d be a vague recollection at best.


    The root of my problem, my sloth, would never be destroyed. What good was trying when all you are is a talking cat? What made me run from explaining things to Linth, was my own laziness. The daunting idea of having to explain my situation was in of itself exhausting. Better to run and leave it to someone else.


    But that laziness has also saved me from problems as well. I had to commit to it. Never doing, never saying anything out of place so that I''d never need to clean up after myself. Half-arsing laziness was a sure way of causing trouble for myself.


    Lesson to learn, in the future I should never ever talk to anyone but my caretaker. Nobody but my caretaker should ever figure out I could talk.


    There was always the option of running away. It may be a few days or weeks going it alone, but I could find another caretaker far away from this mess.


    ¡°You know, Adam, it''s a good thing I''m not housing any other tenants right now.¡± The Landlady looked out across the street, lips lifted in a calm and collected smile. ¡°Because the floors and walls are built quite thin.¡±


    Closing the shutters, leaving that odd last comment to linger in the air, she left me out in the cold.


    What did she mean when she said the floors were thin?


    ¡­


    Oh for fu-

 22 - The Festival

    When the sun rose to greet a new day, I was already back inside. As Hannah prepared breakfast for herself, I pondered in my head whether I should tell her about the Landlady also knowing our secret.


    I dismissed it as, quite frankly, this process was getting quite repetitive.


    ¡°You better hope Linth is at the academy.¡±


    On a weekend? Linth? Not a shadow of a doubt in my mind that she was there. I couldn''t picture her being anywhere else other than in her den. I was vaguely aware she must have lived some sort of life outside her lair, but that place wasn''t just setup for weekday stays. I''d spotted the sleeping bag.


    Hannah had woken up earlier than sunrise to drag me back in. Whether this was due to concern for my well being or just to confirm I hadn''t fled from my responsibility, I didn''t know.


    My mouth watered as she worked at the kitchen counter. Thoughts lingered on the idea our deal from before may even be upheld despite my mistake.


    A slice of ham sailed through the air as Hannah tossed it over her shoulder. ¡°Here, you ''earnt'' it.¡±


    Tracking my target, I prepared to catch it.


    Ham in my mouth, I deigned it best to shut up rather than question her generosity.


    Whilst I lapped up the lingering taste on my paws, Hannah threw on her cloak and satchel. The weather had improved overnight, the storm passed by south of Kasper. Hannah''s choice in clothing was never the less half motivated by style.


    ¡°Adam, you done?¡±


    ¡°I''m gonna need to ride in your satchel. There''s a festival going on out there.¡±


    Hannah pursed her lips shut. Her verdict to my plea withheld behind a lingering stare.


    ¡°Fine. It''s better than seeing you get squashed.¡±


    We left out the door, descending the stairs to the first floor and past the empty living room. Granny had probably gone out shopping.


    We entered the streets. The life of the city was now being concentrated into its public plazas and long avenues. The crushing number of attendees going shoulder to shoulder as the merchants fought fervently for attention looked like the perfect picture for the city. Labourers, merchants, nobles, guards, they could have all been represented in one still image on Kasper''s finest streets.


    The festival was taking place some distance away from the cathedral. A deliberate choice by superstitious local planners.


    Fine items of jewellery glistened in the sun. Precious metal woven like strands of silk to make jaw-dropping works of art. Not to mention, the glass work necklaces were unparalleled. Glass fox heads hung on cords like large glittering dew drops for all to see. Elsewhere a vendor sold beautifully cut and colourful agates which if held up to the sun would shine royal purple or deep crimson. The craftsmanship of the archipelago islanders was not to be underestimated.


    The inner magpie I never knew lived within me was dancing with joy. Despite an absence of practical use, I couldn''t deny that jewellery did look pretty.


    But it was nothing compared to the sultry scents that brushed up seductively against my nose. Fish, meat, fresh bread. Smoked salmon, gammon, brioche, sugardough. I would slay the seven gods to feast on such fine delicacies.


    Ah but the people! Really, the people made it all.


    Locked in bitter battle over what was worth what, merchants taking children for every coin to their name. The social power of the individual became apparent here. Father competed with son. Couples despaired as they fruitlessly searched on with their anorexic budgets for glorious works of art to represent their love which supposedly transcended the material realm.


    Yes, the people really made it. But then again, I''m a lazy, spiteful creature who could be described as a ''real bastard''.


    Sure, humans were sometimes difficult, dangerous, or downright hostile, but their creations filled the world with colour and flavour. Maybe the world would be a better place without them, but it would certainly suck not to have brioche and gammon in ready supply. Watching wild sheep graze all day on a humanless paradise would remind me of these indulgent manmade amenities then absent from the world.


    ¡°When do they burn the wooden effigies?¡± I poke my head out from beneath the satchel flap.


    ¡°Next weekend. Now be quiet.¡±


    I slipped back into the satchel. Even if not for pleasure, Hannah was still going to be walking through the festival. On occasions like this, she''d normally be complaining about the noise as she was trying to study hidden away in her living room.


    The scrolls I was sitting on hadn''t seen much attention over the last few days. A symptom of being swamped by petty meaningless little quarrels and arguments which would probably amount to nothing. That was the real travesty. So much time wasted on nothing.


    Greeting us ahead was the silence of the gatehouse to the academy grounds. It felt like a dive in to sanctified serenity after wading through the festival grounds.


    Lectures didn''t take place on weekends. This meant little to the staff who had to prepare and grade materials ahead of schedule. But today the faculty had given themselves permission to enjoy themselves.


    ¡°This is... peaceful.¡± The outdoor practice fields were empty. There were no gossiping students or watchful faculty. Only the distant celebration kept my thoughts company. That and Hannah.


    ¡°I thought I told you to be quiet.¡±


    ¡°It''s not like anyone is around.¡± I reply dryly. ¡°I don''t think the ghosts of the cathedral knowing I can talk will pose any problems.¡±


    ¡°I''m pretty sure one of the symptoms of the Hexan plague was deafness.¡±


    ¡°Oh so that''s that then.¡±


    Man what a way to go. Losing any of the senses can be extremely distressing and disorientating.


    I once had a caretaker who went out into the mountains to harvest herbs. She fell backwards and hit her head, losing her eyesight. If she hadn''t taken me along, she might not have made it back home to recover. Whenever I thought about what it meant to lose one of the senses, I thought of her.


    Of course, my heroics were nothing but coincidental. If I had stayed at home and she hadn''t come back, I probably wouldn''t have looked for her and she would have died alone on that mountain. I wondered if I''d even think to question myself about her fate. Would I have even learnt to regret that kind of inaction?


    That put my value as a person into perspective. The kind of perspective I wasn''t comfortable looking from.


    We continued to hurry on our way to Linth''s den. Paying not much attention to the area around us, we entered her building abandoned for all but one room.


    When confronted with the door to Linth''s den, not a sound coming from the other side, Hannah hesitated. She was not so fortunate as I to be hiding in the satchel.


    With a steady hand, she did something she rarely every did. She knocked on the door.


    There was no reply.


    Moving her hand to the doorknob, the turned and gently pushed.


    Despite it being a weekend, sat at the table as I knew she would, staring nervously from behind a dense book, was Linth. Probably hoping the knock on the door would disappear, but today was just not her day.


    ¡°Hi.¡± Hannah forced a smile.


    ¡°Hi...¡±


    Standing awkwardly by the door got rather tiring. After forcing a rather meek smile, Hannah changed approach abruptly from cautious to her usual bluntness. ¡°Right, so my cat can talk.¡± She offered a pause in which Linth could speak up, but the girl remained steadfastly quiet. ¡°But well, the thing is, he''s not a cat. He looks like a cat, he probably smells like a cat, and maybe even tastes like a cat. But he''s not a cat. You see, Adam here, is a dick.¡±


    Not sure I liked where that went.


    And with that Hannah turned her satchel upside down, dropping me to the floor.


    ¡°And to be honest, I don''t actually feel like explaining because that''s not my job.¡± Hannah brushed her hands of me. ¡°Honestly, Adam, why did you have to put me in this mess as well.¡±


    Where was this coming from? I stared up bewildered at Hannah who instead of explaining things politely, was using the opportunity to verbally assault me. ¡°Hey hey hey, it''s not like I intended for this to happen!¡±


    This might not have been the best place to start an argument, but there was an awkward silence that needed filling whilst I padded for time to find the right words to apologise.


    ¡°So it was an accident? You just ''accidentally'' decided to traumatise our friend for life.¡± Any attempts at defence would be mercilessly sliced through as they rightly should be. ¡°Let''s say for instance, you accidentally stub your toe on a table. It''s still your fault. Whether you knew what you were doing or not. That table was hardly running full speed at you. ''It was an accident'' is not a defence.¡± This was more than cutting through my defence.


    This must have been a fairly awkward thing for Linth to watch. ¡°It''s... um... It''s okay guy-¡±


    Squirming more than a little now, I must have looked like quite the pathetic creature. ¡°Stubbing a toe against a table doesn''t quite compare to the situation at hand. That''s a very strawman argument.¡±


    ¡°G-guys, please, it''s ok-¡±


    ¡°You''d never know the pain of stubbing your toe against a table leg as a cat. I''m envious of you, really. To be a talking cat must be bliss.¡± No longer aiming for my meagre guard, she stabbed for my weaknesses.


    ¡°I''m not a cat dammit!¡± She had said so just moments before!


    Were I just five feet taller, Hannah and I could settle this argument like gentlemen, outside.


    ¡°G-guys. Please, stop. My sides, are cramping.¡± Linth was holding her hand up to her mouth, trying to contain her laughter, with her other wrapped around her stomach. ¡°It''s just too funny.¡±


    Both Hannah and I shared a look and a smile.


    All according to plan.


    In between telling me to be quiet on the way here, Hannah explained a plan of action which seemed almost too bizarre to work. A plan to make me appear less the personification of bad luck, and more human. And it went a little something like the above.


    The effects were, admittedly, heart warming. It was such a contrast to her first reaction to knowing I could talk.


    There wasn''t fear, panic, or shock. There in front of me was someone laughing as though they''d just seen a bizarre comedy routine.


    I guess I''d also get a chuckle out of watching a pet owner argue with their pets like this.


    This feeling was so different from being stared down at. It was in sharp contrast to the nightmare where I couldn''t utter a word for fear of bodily harm, let alone joke like this.


    ¡°Linth, I''m sorry.¡± Hanging my head in a bow of apology, anxious not to waste this moment. ¡°I shouldn''t have to-¡±ld you I could talk? No. That wasn''t right. That wasn''t the issue. ¡°I... Shouldn''t have hidden my identity to you.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Yeah, that was right. The damage was not the reveal of deception, but the deception itself. Never should I have allowed her to treat me like a peculiar house cat. But at some point, especially with Linth, I should have been able to tell that she wouldn''t have reacted all that badly to knowing I could talk.


    ¡°It''s okay.¡± She lowered her hand, revealing her flustered smile. ¡°I think I understand. But um, I was just a little shocked. But I know you wouldn''t reveal a big secret like that unless you had to.¡±


    Hannah decided this was the perfect moment to interject. ¡°I''ll sell him to you for chicken tikka sandwich.¡±


    Wow, was that really all I was worth?! On the other hand, chicken tikka sandwiches from the canteen looked pretty good. That might have bene the highest praise I''d ever received from Hannah.


    ¡°No thank you.¡± Linth shook her head. ¡°But um, before I ask questions. There''s something I need to say.¡± Her smile from moments ago was replaced with a tense nervousness. ¡°I haven''t told anyone else about this. Um. But, Adam, there was something really important you wanted to tell Hannah.¡±


    Really? This was new news to me.


    I looked up to Hannah who nodded. I suspected she thought she knew more about this than I did. ¡°She said it herself. You wouldn''t reveal a big secret for no reason. So there had to be a reason, right?¡±


    Linth looked to me as though she hoped that jogged my memory. ¡°I''m sorry, Linth, I don''t really know what your talking about. Was it something to do with Killian?¡±


    But it couldn''t have been. Nothing I needed to say about Killian wasn''t said to Hannah in person.


    She shook her head. ¡°No. Hannah, Adam wanted me to tell you that um, there''s some sort of spell caster going around the cathedral. He said they were connected to his curse.¡±


    Her words set my mind into a tailspin. I didn''t remember this at all. Linth wasn''t the kind to just joke like that. This had to be some sort of misunderstanding.


    Hannah barely even flinched. ¡°I see. I think I understand what happened.¡±


    ¡°What... What is Adam''s curse? Who is Adam really?¡± Linth asked, having now the composure to ask the questions that had been simmering in the back of her mind.


    Instead of giving a satisfying answer, Hannah merely shrugged. ¡°Who can say? He never seems to be able to remember.¡±


    ¡°How old is he?¡±


    I couldn''t answer that question. Not to mention, it was quite a rude thing to ask.


    ¡°Guys, please don''t talk about me like I''m not here.¡±


    Hannah leant back against the door frame. ¡°I met him twelve years ago. He looked and sounded exactly the same back then. Adam is the name I gave him. The thing is, I can ask about his curse but a part of his curse is not being able to give answers. So there''s not much point asking about the Adam''s past because his curse gets in the way. Trying to get anything out of him is like fishing in a salt lake. Just treat him like a talking cat for now.¡±


    ¡°For the last time, I''m not a cat! Also, again, I''m here in the room with you two.¡± Geez, for someone with so many questions to ask, she could at least direct them at the right person.


    Linth got up off her chair and moved to her bookshelves. ¡°That''s so crazy.¡± She said with a face of mixed consternation. ¡°Curses like that... They are like something out of a fairytale. Does this mean there are people who can do this sort of thing?¡±


    ¡°Whoever this spell caster is, I don''t think this is the first time Adam has met them.¡± Ah yes, Hannah, don''t ask me. Of course I''d remember something as big and important as that. My thoughts were a daze of sarcasm and frustration towards this conversation. ¡°Linth, it''s probably a good idea not to think about the curse too much. You''ll learn a lot more about Adam now that you know he can talk.¡±


    I lift my head eager to change the subject. ¡°On that note, are you one hundred percent sure you didn''t tell anyone else?¡±


    Seriously, who would believe a spell caster to do with my curse was wondering around? No human could have lived that long. It hurt my head to just to entertain the idea.


    Best not to think about this.


    Best not to think about this.


    Linth, still searching her bookshelves gave a worryingly non-commital answer. ¡°Um... Probably.¡±


    ¡°Probably?¡± Hannah straightened herself up again with a ''here we go again'' look on her face.


    ¡°Well. Yeah. I didn''t tell anyone. And um, well...¡± She looked back our way with a pained smile. ¡°It''s hard to hide something''s wrong from people who know you well.¡±


    ¡°Trouble with your family?¡± Broached the subject.


    Linth sunk her head in despair. A smile still on her face in an attempt to dismiss concern which didn''t match the rest of her body language in the slightest.


    Besides knowing that the headmaster was Linth''s dad, I knew just about as much about Linth''s family as Hannah. That is to say, I knew next to nothing.


    I looked up to Hannah, but at some point her gaze has drifted over to the window. She paused before wandering to that side of the room to get a better view. ¡°Hmm... It really is a sunny day out. Let''s go on a walk, it''ll make you feel better I promise.¡±


    Sunny with a gentle breeze. An ideal day for a nap. Shame about the noise.


    ¡°But there''s a festival going on.¡± Linth protested. ¡°I don''t handle crowds well.¡±


    Hannah continued to stare out the window towards the river. ¡°No, I don''t like crowds either. But it''s a good idea to get a change of scenery every now and then.¡±


    ¡°But what about Adam?¡± Linth rightfully worried about the well-established danger crowds spotted with children posed to me.


    ¡°It''s all right, he can ride in my satchel like usual. You can also talk to Adam later.¡± Hannah''s gaze moved and lingered meaningfully on me. There was quite pleading in her eyes. ¡°If we''re going to go, it''s got to be now so we don''t miss the festival.¡±


    That was oddly insistent. No, this wasn''t just a spur of the moment ''let us all go enjoy the festival together like friends'' kinda thing.


    ¡°It''s all right, Linth. Being in the satchel means I don''t have to walk. I can just... stare... enviously at all the people buying festival food.¡± The world is a big place filled with plenty of food other than ham and smoked salmon, all waiting to be tasted.


    Hannah strolled up to Linth, not giving her much time to protest. ¡°Come on. I haven''t been to any festivals since I came here. But well it''d look a bit pathetic to go alone with your cat, right?¡± She caught Linth''s hand shamelessly.


    Oh woe is you Hannah. Not even the slightest bit of pity for the cat that has to be seen with you.


    Linth looked between Hannah and her hand. ¡°What if we get lost?¡±


    Hannah rolled her eyes. ¡°Then I can just hold your hand the entire time. Now let''s get out of here before we both die of... old age.¡±


    As abrupt as a decision as it was, Hannah led Linth out of the room whilst I trotted behind.


    Exiting the building, we turned southwards back in the direction of the main campus. Hannah would spare passing glances behind her as we travelled through the mostly empty halls.


    Hannah''s gut instinct had told her to leave with Linth as soon as possible, that at least I understood. Something had caught her eye outside the window.


    The other possibility, which seemed more of a convenient excuse than anything, was that two friends were enjoying a festival. And to be fair, whether Hannah was dragging Linth away from her den for one reason or another didn''t matter so long as they both did actually enjoy the festival together.


    And although there was worry in the back of my mind which would surely make any festival food scraps thrown my way taste a little bitter, Linth hadn''t picked up on Hannah''s concern like I had. Which might have been a blessing.


    Instead, Linth was preoccupied staring wide eyed like a frightened lamb at the dense crowds around her, clutching on to Hannah''s hand as though she were hanging off a cliff edge.


    Now out of the campus, Hannah noticed the obvious unease. It made me feel guilty just watching. This didn''t count as kidnapping, right?


    ¡°Hey, should we head for somewhere quieter?¡± Hannah as promised, didn''t let go of Linth''s hand. He ability to do so was in question though.


    ¡°M-hm.¡± Linth nodded. ¡°So many people.¡± Constantly recoiling like a cat with a garlic stuffed nose at the slightest threat someone might brush up against her.


    ¡°All right. There should be a public garden by the suburbs.¡±


    Blessed relief. That promised satchel ride hadn''t happened. Everytime someone''s foot came within inches of my body, I nearly jumped.


    Not to mention, being a black cat in what was coming to midday heat was not fun. Especially when said black cat was running all over the place.


    We arrived at the public garden. It was essentially a glorified park where visitors were trusted not to bring any children or pets that''d pull up the flower rows in a frenzy.


    Rows of arranged flower beds, occasionally broken by flat open areas of grass beneath the shadow of picked bare apple orchids. The rain before had left a scent specific to wet grass, sickly and sweet in the air.


    ¡°Want something to eat?¡± Hannah asked after she sat Linth down on a park bench.


    ¡°I''m fine.¡±


    ¡°I''ll eat hers.¡± I whisper from the shadows beneath the park bench.


    ¡°All right. Well I''ll get three just in case.¡± Three what? She didn''t say. ¡°Adam, look after Linth. I''ll be right back.¡±


    ¡°Linth I will lay down my life to protect you.¡± I declared a lie that couldn''t be further from the truth.


    Hannah left both of us here. Whilst not packed with people, it wasn''t empty either. Most of the people who were visiting had come with the same idea in mind, to escape the chaos. So respectfully, they kept to their small groups.


    ¡°Is it okay for you to talk to me in public?¡± Linth might have looked quite odd. A long girl sat on the bench muttering to a black cat.


    ¡°So long as I whisper.¡± My voice was a conjuration. I could moderate its volume and even location of origin. ¡°But it just isn''t a good look for you to be seen muttering to a black cat.¡±


    There was an ensuing silence as we both waited for Hannah to return. The gentle breeze carried with it the smell of pollen. Bees buzzed busily from flower to flower. Branches swayed and leaves rustled like waves falling on a beach.


    ¡°Adam.¡± Linth leaned forward. ¡°Can you sit up here?¡±


    I guess I could. Emerging from the shadows beneath the bench, I pounced up a level and sit besides her.


    She slowly, hesitantly reaches out her hand. ¡°Is it okay for me to touch you?¡±


    ¡°Even after you know I can talk?¡± It was a surprise to be asked this.


    ¡°You were the same person back then as you are now. Even if I didn''t know that.¡±


    ¡°Yes but-¡± It was hard to argue. But she knew I wasn''t a cat. Treating me like a cat despite despite knowing otherwise would feel like a betrayal to myself if I let it happen.


    But Linth occupied a very strange place in my mind. She meant no harm by it, which in of itself would not be excusable, but since it was Linth I was willing to compromise.


    ¡°Sure. I guess I will grant you the honour of touching my fur.¡± Indeed, my magnanimity was truly to be admired.


    Ah yes, a little to the right. That''s the spot.


    Her hands were already scratching behind my ears and my cheek. ¡°You did it on purpose.¡± She muttered.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°You know.¡± I most assuredly did not. ¡°Well, um, whenever I had trouble talking to Hannah, you''d distract me.¡± She probably had a lot more on her mind she wanted to talk about than this, but this seemed the easiest for her.


    Interesting theory. I suppose when she put it like that, I did do that sometimes. It was just difficult to watch her and Hannah talk. Wolves and rabbits had a more equal power dynamic than those two.


    Linth suddenly stopped. I looked up, noticing she was staring over at a group of four guardsmen walking through the garden at a brisk pace.


    Three were dressed in similar motley brown with leather tunics. The fourth stood taller, wearing a metal breastplate over her chest and royal purple cape over her shoulder.


    It didn''t seem particularly interesting, however Linth''s eyes were fixed on the guard in purple.


    The four marched with a purposeful gait, the guard in purple leading from behind as the four discussed. Although some distance away and growing still, I tuned my ears with some success into their conversation at the behest of my gut instinct.


    ¡°-complicates things further. If we don''t find these criminals, valuable knowledge and talent to the kingdom will have been lost. Are the guard certain it is the clans behind this?¡± Her warhammer hanging at her belt slapped her side with each imperious step.


    ¡°Guard captain Brecker was only able to interrogate the professor for a short amount of time before he passed out due to his injuries.¡± The most senior looking of the motley brown guards answered back. ¡°His injuries are severe and a recovery in the next few days unlikely.¡±


    ¡°He was abandoned by his co-conspirators?¡± The guard in purple shot back with a spiteful smile.


    ¡°Yes. Captain Brecker believes this is a sign the conspirators and their hostages are still hidden in the city.¡±


    ¡°The storm probably cocked up their escape plan. They thought they could be in and out, taking advantage of the traffic and be able to leave before the festival started proper and the entry points were more vigorously checked.¡±


    ¡°So the knights will cooperate?¡±


    ¡°Did you think we''d abandon citizens of the kingdom? Some may disagree, but Kasper is as valuable as any interior city.¡± They hurried west and out of earshot leaving me with a few questions and somewhat relieved I didn''t have to deal with that mess.


    Incidents like this during a festival were probably some of the worst.


    The knight in purple and the motley brown gang of local guards were going to handle this as quietly and quickly as possible.


    ¡°That was a Kingdom knight.¡± Linth muttered. ¡°Did you... hear what they were talking about?¡±


    ¡°What makes you think I did?¡± As if I would be the kind of person to sneakily eavesdrop on every conversation that went on around me.


    To our right, a girl was proposing to her partner. To our left, three children were making up new kinds of berries they wished existed.


    ¡°Your ears.¡± Damn, she had me.


    These twitching and turning little buggers were acting on their own. It''s not like I wanted to listen in. But how would I purposefully deafen myself when I had ears that sensitive?


    Hannah came back up the path, diverting Linth''s attention.


    ¡°I got three crepes.¡± Th-three? As in one for me as well?! I thought she was joking.


    I could bounce with joy. Except whilst this ''crepe'' thing sure looked colourful with its berries and fluffy cream wrapped in thin pastry, I was cautious about its taste. After all, there was no meat.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Linth accepted hers graciously.


    ¡°No problem. I feel a little bad for kidnapping you.¡± Hannah then set the second one down next to me. ¡°Here, Adam. I bet you thought festival food was just more ham, smoked salmon, and brioche.¡±


    Well she wasn''t technically wrong. That was what caught my eye this morning. This crepe did smell quite sweet.


    ¡°Do cats usually eat stuff like that?¡± Linth eyed me approach my crepe for a cautionary nibble.


    ¡°Aren''t you forgetting something? He''s not a cat.¡± Hannah whispered that last part away from me. ¡°Besides, he''s got a stomach of steel. He''ll eat anything.¡±


    ''Anything'' wasn''t quite right. Throw a rat at me and I''ll throw my disgust back at you. My palette was quite human.


    To bystanders, it must have been quite the odd sight. Sitting between two girls on a bench in the swaying shadows of a clean picked apple tree, removed slightly from the path, was a black cat nibbling on a crepe.


    Incidentally, the girl proposing to her partner stopped midway through after spotting me. Fearing this was an omen, she made the biggest blunder and might have hurt her partner in her blunder. This belief in this myth of bad luck was self-perpetuating.


    ¡°Anything interesting happen whilst I was gone?¡± Hannah must not have noticed the gaurds.


    ¡°Apparently there''s some gang going around kidnapping people. Or so I''ve heard.¡± This crepe thing was actually pretty damn good.


    ¡°Kidnapping?¡± Linth couldn''t suppress the nervous concern in her voice.


    ¡°Yeah. The knights and local guard are on it though. None of our business.¡±


    Scratch my previous statement, this crepe was way more than pretty damn good. I just wished I had a big enough mouth to appreciate the full combination of texture and flavours at play.


    Hannah crossed her arms and stared up into the sky. ¡°Hmm...¡±


    So this was real festival food. I''d forgotten. Most of my caretakers were from rural communities. They didn''t go to these fancy festivals in the big city often. If Hannah wasn''t going to eat hers, then I''d be happy too. Not only was my stomach lined with heat treated steel, it was very spacious as well.


    ¡°Hannah?¡± Linth, cream on her cheek, glanced over.


    Deep in thought, Hannah screwed her eyes shut for a moment before a devilish smile overtook her. Her look practically screamed ''I have a very cunning plan''.


    Oh no. This never ended went well for me.


    ¡°I think I know where what the guards are looking for is.¡± The glint in her eye was was an equal mixture of foolhardy hope and dogged determination.


    I must have jinxed it when I said it was none of our business. I should have known Hannah would take that for a challenge.

 23 - Alcohol and cigars

    Hannah''s cunning plan hinged on two things. Knowing where the hostages were and subsequently knowing where the kidnappers were.


    But to remind, we didn''t know who was kidnapped and who was doing the kidnapping. It could be with some confidence ruled out that the guards would act on Hannah''s hunch. They''d need something more substantive during a time where they are already bsuy.


    Of course, I was operating half under the assumption that it would be the guards who''d be dealing with the hostages if Hannah''s hunch paid off.


    Now, as per usual, I was wondering just what the hell this had to do with me. Sure, yes, kidnapping was and is bad. But so was ending up in trouble ourselves.


    Linth didn''t object so long as it was Hannah insisting. I could object but I''d be brushed aside like a three second minor headache.


    Hannah had an ''idea'' of where the kidnappers were. She just needed to confirm.


    ¡°This could be dangerous.¡± Linth no longer seemed to mind the crowds of the festival now that something else was dominating her mind.


    ¡°It''s okay. We only need to confirm they are there. And I know just the person for that job.¡± Hannah grinned whilst I swung about in her satchel.


    We were going at a brisk pace on path back to the academy. Linth was being dragged along by her hand.


    ¡°Do you mean Adam?¡± Her tone barbed with much welcomed concern.


    ¡°Yeah. He was practically born for this job.¡± Hannah was in for a bit of a surprise when she let me out of the satchel to hear my thoughts on the subject. ¡°Don''t underestimate a witch and her black cat, Linth. We''ve got tricks up our sleeves.¡±


    And she was back to calling herself a witch despite the headmaster''s warning.


    I couldn''t help but feel like the success of this plan operated entirely on my performance. It had nothing to do with the witch in this supposed partnership. And quite frankly, the witch''s favourite ''trick'' is to threaten people with overwhelming physical violence. It wouldn''t do well here.


    We passed through the packed avenues and city plazas. The delectable smells failed to wrestle for my attention. The glittering jewellery managed to catch my eyes about as much as mundane river pebbles.


    I''d stalked Killian. I''d done a bit of eavesdropping. But how the hell was I going to get past kidnappers? I''d had the shit kicked out of me by children. One wrong move and that was me done and out.


    This was incredibly unreasonable.


    The familiar chill running down my spine meant alerted me that we were back at the Triolo. Passing beneath the shadow of the gatehouse always left me feeling uncomfortable as though I were being watched.


    They both stopped to catch their breath. I took my opportunity to slip out of the satchel.


    ¡°The sun will freeze over before you convince me to do this.¡± I hissed.


    Hannah furrowed her brow. ¡°I''m not asking you to go in guns blazing, shining axe in one hand and holy hammer in the other. Just go where I tell you and tell me what you see. Chances are, it was just smugglers.¡±


    ¡°What are you-Oh. I see.¡± Before we''d taken Linth away from her den, Hannah had spotted something out the window in the direction of the river. Those abandoned buildings were rarely if ever used by the local smugglers, but international ones aren''t going to be influenced by local superstitions.


    Hannah seemed convinced in what she saw. Whilst I had reasons plenty to doubt her mental faculties, I didn''t doubt her eyes.


    ¡°See, Linth? He already knows what to do. I saw some guys hanging around one of the abandoned buildings by the river. Whilst he''s going to check it out, we''ll go and find someone to get some help. Even if they aren''t criminals, they are still trespassing.¡±


    ¡°Down by the river? But that''s so close to my home.¡± I didn''t know how I felt about Linth calling that den her home. ¡°The guards should know about this.¡±


    Hannah winced at the suggestion. ¡°Yeah, preferably the guards. But we should make sure first. I''m pretty sure you can''t drag guards into the Triolo without a really good reason. We''d need a member of the academy faculty to back us up.¡±


    The Triolo had been left abandoned despite its strategic importance. The harbour for larger ships had been moved down the estuary whilst the piers for smaller crafts had been moved up past the Triolo. These weren''t small building projects. Perfectly emblematic of how dedicated the local authorities were to avoiding anything to do with the Triolo.


    The students studying here could easily find themselves forgetting this. But the Triolo was the site of origin for a plague and for the inciting incident that started a war. Not to mention, it served as the personal palace to two different emperors. They were the last emperors of their respective empires following their nations grizzly collapses.


    The Kingdom of Tallis was a successor kingdom to one such empire. It was ancient history for the world for all but a few nations, but the Kingdom and its ''imperial cities'' still counted themselves as citizens of that long deceased regime.


    ¡°I''m not doing it.¡± I wasn''t willing to budge in the slightest.


    ¡°If you don''t, then I''ll just do it myself. But I''m not very good at sneaking.¡±


    ¡°Go right ahead.¡± I turn my cheek. Threatening to do her own dirty work could only backfire on herself.


    ¡°Don''t do that!¡± Linth protested. ¡°You could get hurt.¡±


    Hannah tutted. ¡°It could just be smugglers. But if what I saw really was a kidnapping and I needed proof, this would be the way to get it, right? Time is of the essence.¡±


    The local guard would corroborate that time was of the essence.


    ¡°I could always bargain.¡± I was not completely unreasonable or heartless. What I didn''t know couldn''t harm me, but now that she said she was willing to endanger herself, I could hardly turn a blind eye.


    Hannah drew in a deep breath and pondered. ¡°What would a talking cat want, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°I don''t know. Maybe you should find a talking cat instead.¡±


    ¡°I''ll let you spend an entire week at home instead of coming with me to the academy.¡±


    ¡°Done.¡± I didn''t even need to think about that. An entire week of napping peacefully?! Hell yes!


    ¡°Wow,¡± Hannah chewed her cheek. ¡°I''m a little pissed you answered that so quickly.¡± She glared down at me before sighing and moving on. ¡°Well, that''s the plan. Any complaints?¡±


    Linth looked between us like she was trying to work out a puzzle. ¡°Are sure Adam? It could be really dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Death is a small price to pay for some peace and quiet.¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, we get it.¡± Hannah swept my comments away. ¡°We''ve got a plan. So let''s get moving.¡±


    And with that, we split up again.


    I had an idea of the direction I needed to go. Now with time to myself, I quietly hoped this was Hannah''s paranoia getting the better of her.


    But alas, much to my chagrin that was not the case.


    The buildings by the river at first glance seemed abandoned. That was until I came to one building reeking of alcohol. The very same abandoned structure I''d stalked Killian around before the unfortunate adventure into the sewers.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    It''s white stained stone walls stood tall. High above, dirty windows let in lithers of light through layers of weathered grime. The only entrances I spotted were a set of double doors at the front and a small door around the side. That was if we excluded the doors from the pier jutting into the river.


    Spacious enough to hold dubious amounts of alcohol, and judging by the smell, it did. I walked around the walls, my tail brushing against the surface.


    I expected nobody to be next to the double doors. Presumably, they were barred from the inside. Such was the way of double doors in abandoned warehouses. It was a given they''d be blocked. I inched my way to the side door, faint whispers of voices scratching my ears.


    The side door was slightly ajar. Through the gap, I met the eyes of a peeping individual. His expression gaunt and dirty. He was likely both bored and frustrated.


    Obviously he was on lookout.


    If this turned out to be the group of kidnappers, I''d never hear the end of Hannah''s gloating.


    Please just be smugglers.


    But there was only one way to confirm, and that was to see inside.


    I sat by the door, staring up at the individual. If he was a local, the mere sight of a black cat would be sending a nervous sweat down his back. The last thing his trespassing needed was some bad luck.


    He noticed me and his tiredness ebbed away. A reaction that was admittedly unexpected. A certainly was not local.


    After cautiously eyeing for any other witnesses, the lookout opened the door further and attempted to coo me in. I didn''t know whether to feel pity for his naivety or disgusted over being patronised.


    I settled on an even mixture of both which I forced back down into the pit of my stomach. Concerns about my safety should be highest priority, not whether someone was treating me like a common house cat.


    I declined his offer, opting instead to head towards the riverbanks where I could leap up onto the pier. Being ignored seemed to hurt him a little. Generally, wherever the church of the seven graced people with its influence, people were distrusting of black cats.


    Black cats in scripture had connections to the Arch-demon, enemy of the seven. Churches tended to differ by whether the seven were gods, or angels, or other. Sometimes instead of seven, there were five, or three. But there was one constant, and that was the Arch-demon.


    However whilst all tended to agree, Arch-demon=bad. They couldn''t figure out which of the seven was the best. A hotly contested topic among clergy. In the kingdom, they settled it with them all being equal. It was just depending on the priest giving the sermon, there were some that were more equal than others.


    The kingdom''s internal religious issues at the moment wasn''t to do with worshipping the right god, but more to do with what an organised church should look like. There in lied some of the friction between Kasper and the interior.


    If the knights and guards were right in their guess, then he was from far up north. The theory was supported by his complexion, but far be it for me to draw conclusions on that alone.


    The clans worshipped more animistic beliefs with far eastern influence from the times of yore when great waves of nomads migrated from the far steppes. They didn''t subscribe to the belief magic was gifted by the seven to fight the spawn of the arch-demon during the age of monsters.


    And so, black cats were not viewed as bad luck up north. Never the less, they preferred their fat tabby cats and for that they were unforgivable. I subscribed to a belief gingers had no souls, and that was evidenced by all the tabby cats I''d ever run into.


    My pointed ears picked up subdued conversation. It''d been a while since I''d heard Euanu, one of the languages of the northern clans. It was the most commonly spoken language in the north. It wasn''t uncommon to hear it spoken in Amarinth. Hannah and I were both fluent.


    I leapt from the mud and onto the stone pier, also abandoned. A new addition however, was the graffiti written on the doors. This building had been marked.


    Scanning for a way to see inside, I feared for a moment my only way in was the pliable lookout. But stacked against the walls was the detritus of worn down and rotting empty wooden crates and barrels.


    It could have been possible, under the threat of wretched splinters, to see inside.


    To be patronised, or to put in effort. Those were my dreaded choices.


    I wasn''t going to enter the warehouse unless I absolutely had to. It would be pretty pathetic to get stuck in there.


    Hannah had definitely given me the worse job. Well, better me doing this than Linth.


    ¡°Splinters it is.¡±


    And splinters it was. I picked up quite a few as I leapt up from the top of the debris to hang at the high window.


    Claws latched onto the frame, not enough of a ledge to climb up and perch on, I took solace in that my body was quite light. Lifting my head high enough to see past the stain on the window to see a dimly lit interior was quite the effort.


    Like in the water system below, dim light was all I needed.


    Three, no four people. One lookout, two in the centre of the room playing cards at a table, and one leaning over the banister up the stairs to what might have been a foreman''s office, smoking a cigar.


    Motionless on the floor next to the two playing cards, was what I could only presume to be a hostage.


    After all, you wouldn''t just tie and gag your fellow man and leave them there as a joke. Just the palpable air of despair wafting from their crumpled form was making my nose curl. I never knew despair could smell so toxic.


    Oh wait, that''s alcohol.


    I couldn''t see some of the interior walls for all the stacked kegs of alcohol in the way. It was the last thing I focused on before my arms tired and I fell back into the pile of splinters.


    Maybe I should have taken the lookout''s invitation up. The kidnappers were probably clans like the guards said. They looked pretty bored, which was a bad thing for a clansman to be.


    So Hannah was right and that only annoyed me. There''d be sunshine and rainbows coming out of her arse for days now that she''d been proven right.


    I should be glad. Happy even. Finally one of her hunches were right. She might even get a reward for busting a kidnapping.


    Sadly, I was too busy wincing with pain from being impaled. It was like rolling in a pile of glass shards.


    I shook myself off, slipped off the pier and onto the muddy riverbank, and turned back south.


    I crossed paths with Hannah outside the main campus. She had following behind her, Linth, who looked like she felt perpetually out of place, Jean, who wore a stoic expression instead of her usual cheeriness, and the Nurse, who looked about as impressed as one would expect for someone who thought that breathing and suffering was synonymous.


    Not quite the backup one would ideally want to bust open a hostage situation.


    A Nurse who disavowed violence after his retirement. A civil servant advisor who could, with much effort, spin your coffee with her mind. A shut-in whose wrestling experience extended to turning pages. And finally, Hannah, the self-destruct device.


    Thankfully, all the adults needed to do was see the situation for themselves and then talk to the guards. Unfortunately, as was clear from their expressions, they wanted to be anywhere but here.


    ¡°Remind me again, why am I here?¡± The Nurse grumbled towards Jean.


    ¡°Right place, right time.¡±


    ¡°That only matters when a good thing happens. I''m the academy Nurse. The hell do you expect me to do? Take their temperature?¡±


    Jean rolled her eyes. ¡°No, but it''s reassuring to have you around in case anything happens. Given your... history. But I don''t think it''ll be hard to get trespassers to move along. Probably just a boat that''s docked in the wrong place.¡±


    Shaking his head, the Nurse kicked the ground. ¡°Here''s to hoping these two just have a really bad sense of humour. I''m not sticking around if a fight breaks out.¡±


    It didn''t look like they knew there was a hostage situation. Otherwise I wasn''t sure the Nurse would be acting so belligerent.


    Hannah spotted me and peeled off from the group.


    ¡°Where are you going?¡± Linth called out.


    ¡°Go on ahead, I just spotted my cat.¡± Hannah waved the others ahead as she made her way to the dense grass off the beaten path I decided to nestle myself in.


    It was far enough away to have a muted conversation.


    She crouched down over me. ¡°Well?¡±


    I held back commenting on her apparent lack of concern for my health. I''d just been investigating possibly heinous and evil criminal activity.


    ¡°You were uh, you were right.¡± I muttered beneath my breath.


    A glint of pride entered her eyes even as she kept her face muted of expression. ¡°Say again? You were mumbling.¡±


    ¡°Fine! You were right. It''s the kidnappers. They are down by the river in one of the abandoned pier buildings. It''s an old warehouse smugglers must have used to store alcohol before their operation got busted or something.¡±


    A smile leaked onto Hannah''s lips but credit where credit was due, she didn''t gloat. ¡°They can''t be local if they are hiding near the cathedral.¡±


    ¡°They are clans.¡±


    ¡°How many?¡±


    ¡°I counted four.¡±


    ¡°Think we could take them?¡±


    ¡°Are you stupid? Of course we can''t. They are clansmen. Each one is built like a cinderblock outhouse. When I checked, they were smoking cigars and playing cards around a body they had stuffed in a sack. Oh jee, I don''t know, maybe we could ask them kindly in between them beating the shit out of us to maybe just leave?¡±


    ¡°We?¡±


    ¡°Figure of speech. I''m obviously not going to get involved.¡± Unless one of them had cat allergies, I was next to useless.


    ¡°Fine, no fighting. We''ll get the guard involved once Jean and the Nurse see for themselves.¡± Hannah came to a far more sane conclusion. ¡°I know this is a lot to ask Adam, but could you keep an eye on the hostage for me?¡±


    ¡°Who? Me? Do I look like I could do much against four adult humans?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, I know. And I know this is asking a lot. But I don''t want the hostage getting hurt before help shows up. It''s just, you know how clans are. The kingdom and the clans are arch enemies. We''ve both lived in Amarinth long enough to know how casual murder comes to both sides.¡±


    ¡°And if I get hurt?¡±


    ¡°I''ll do everything I can to compensate. So Adam, please just keep an eye on things. I know you can do it. You''re good at looking out for people.¡± She bowed her head in an honest request for help.


    ¡°I uh. Huh.¡± Words seemed to escape me for a moment. Whatever gave her that impression?


    What a laughable joke that I''d look out for one of them.


    But it''s not like I could say no. Because the price of inaction could well be a regret that bites like a stomach parasite for a hundred more years.


    ¡°Flattery will get you no where.¡± I break the silence. ¡°Just tell me, and I''ll do it. Don''t start bringing ''friendship'' into our relationship. It''ll ruin the fun of constantly insulting eachother.¡±


    A moment of lapse perhaps, a moment of panic or concern. A return to the life she lived in Amarinth. A notion, a threat, a shadow that could humble even Hannah''s sharp edges.


    There was a moment of pause before Hannah sighed and shook her head. ¡°You really are a dick, you know that? And here I was asking nicely and you say something like that. Fine, have it your way.¡± She looked down at me with a look of disgust. ¡°You knew there was a person in danger back there and you decided to run away? Wow, you''re a useless cat. Get out of here before I throw you by your tail.¡±


    ¡°I''ve changed my mind! Go back to asking nicely! And for the last time I''m not a cat!¡±

 24 - A hissing ball of spiteful fur

    After telling Hannah everything I''d seen, I was sent back to spy on the group. My job was to make sure nothing happened to the hostage.


    Four clansmen against one cursed cat would be laughably one sided. That much was as clear as day.


    I chased ahead of Hannah''s group. How they were supposed to spot the lookout before he spotted them, I didn''t know. But it was time for me to take up that lookout''s invitation.


    I could hardly ensure the hostage''s safety whilst there was a thick stone wall lined with alcohol kegs between us. Realistically, I could hardly ensure the hostage''s safety even if that wasn''t between us.


    The lookout was still by the side door. After the building came into view, I hugged the wall until I came into the lookouts view.


    This time, he was an awful lot less inviting after having already been rejected once. But it wasn''t like he was going to slam the door shut right before I forced my way through the gap. He may have been a kidnapper but he wasn''t heartless.


    Slipping into the building and nimbly avoiding the lookout''s hands, I searched deeper inside.


    Just as I''d seen from the outside, the building contained a large open area for storage, now mostly empty. There was little compartmentalisation apart from what was probably the foreman''s office overlooking the space.


    Counting again, I spotted four. Each shared a similar northern complexion. The two, still playing cards, chatted away in Euanu. One short and scowling, the other tall and thoughtful.


    The air was thick with the smell of aged alcohol. Faint wisps of cigar smoke danced from the stairs leading to the foreman''s office.


    It was only when I moved further in did the kidnappers notice my movement. As I neared to inspect the hostage, the two cardplayers lifted their heads from their game. They must have been having a long day because their eyes tracked me, hungry for some entertainment.


    ¡°Cath.¡± Said Shorty, looking between his friend and the lookout.


    The lookout turned back to face his compatriots. ¡°Sori, nath e dod mewn ar ben ei hun.¡± He apologised for my sudden unwarranted appearance.


    Shorty and his friend tracked my movements across the floor. It was unnerving to be scrutiny to their interest considering how slight the effort they''d need to expend to hurt me.


    I''d been here for barely minutes and I was already impatient for the guards to show up. Judging by the clansmen''s abnormal interest in me, they''d been here long enough to get bored of card games. One would wonder why they hadn''t left or made any demands yet.


    They tensed a little, as I neared the hostage lying facedown near their feet, but made no motion to kick me away.


    These weren''t like the locals, thankfully. Black cats didn''t send them into some sort of primitive superstitious paranoia. To them I looked like any other cat.


    The hostage was bound. Arms behind their back, legs tied up. And probably gagged as well. However, they weren''t blindfolded.


    For a moment, I thought they''d been knocked out. But as I skirted around their head, they stirred.


    Lifting rather bleak red eyes, exhausted from stress, she stared up at me. She probably hadn''t been fed or watered for quite a while, and her situation was taking a harsh mental toll on her. But what shocked me the most was that I recognised this person.


    It was Riker.


    I blinked twice, staring for any feature that could dispel what could have been an illusion. But no matter how many times I looked away and back, she was still Ricker.


    Well shit. Now isn''t that something? Forget gloating, Hannah is going to carve a life size statue of herself in honour of the time she saved Riker.


    But this didn''t make sense. The chances of this were astronomically small.


    Besides, wasn''t she supposed to be with Mather right now? Jean had implied the two had plans for the festival.


    So where was Mather? Well if they''d kidnapped Mather as well, I wouldn''t be surprised if they decided to throw him in a canal early. In fact, as awful as it was to say this, a part of me wanted to joke that this was probably going much better than her date with Mather ever could. Harsh statements to make about someone I didn''t know very well.


    But then again, I disliked Mather. He was pompous, arrogant, and not in the slightest bit sympathetic to Hannah''s pain.


    I shook my head clear of these thoughts. There was a time and place.


    And besides, there was a decent chance that the person who tipped off the guard was actually Mather. The guards had mentioned interrogating someone who they''d identified as a professor. Likely a professor of the academy. Therefore, it was possible.


    ¡°Gad e fod.¡± Came the gruff and strict voice of a clansman smoking cigars on the stairs. He had a distinctly mafia boss like air to him. He was senior to the rest, and as was clan custom, held more authority.


    His commands to leave me alone soured the mood of the two card players.


    One, short and stocky with stubble one day shy from being counted as a beard, replied with venom in his tone. ¡°Pa mor hur dy chi mynd i gadael ni yn y tywyll? Sdim byd da ni i neud ond chwarae cardie and edrych ar pen ol pert ferch ma.¡± He gave a sharp kick to Riker''s rear.


    Riker bit her gag and closed her eyes, withholding a response. Her expression a mixture of disgust and fear. She hadn''t noticed my presence. It wasn''t hard to wonder why she might be distracted in such poor company.


    Great. They couldn''t just be kidnappers. No, no, they had to be kidnappers AND arseholes. I suppose both came hand in hand depending on the perspective.


    The second card player, a woman with her hair braided back close to her skull, rolled her eyes but kept quiet.


    A mix of frustration and impatience would reach a boiling pot that''d result in disaster. A mutiny.


    In my opinion, Riker didn''t have many options. I certainly wouldn''t want to struggle in her position. To draw attention to myself by making trouble would be tantamount to signing up for a beating.


    But that was syngamous with losing control of one''s life. Surrendering it to the aggressor. And as time went by, nerves began to fray, the panic and stress mounted. Riker would eventually snap or be snapped.


    I looked towards the side door, hoping to see somebody burst through with a shimmering axe in one hand, and a warhammer of justice in the other. But in absence of such a person, this situation was poised for disaster.


    Whilst I deliberated on what to do, Shorty knelt over Riker and shot a lascivious look up at boss. ¡°Dyw hi ddim yn becso be sy''n digwydd os mae hi dal yn byw, ye?¡±


    They only needed her alive? Interesting. That was probably the reason why they hadn''t left yet. Smuggling a human outside Kasper without witnesses or fuss was near impossible right now.


    The Boss, with a sour expression sighed, stubbed his cigar on the banister and merely mumbled. ¡°Gwna be ti moin.¡± Sometimes, general''s let their soldiers pillage and plunder recently conquered territory to keep them from mutinying at a later date.


    Well, shit. I glanced to the door again. If somebody was going to stop Riker getting harmed, this was around the time they should kick down the doors and declare their objections.


    I was fluent enough in Euanu to understand what was about to happen to Riker. A horrid thing that women dread. A trauma that could tarnish the sun in the sky. A despicable torture that even thinking about makes my skin crawl.


    Shorty picked up Riker who was in the midst of fighting two battles. One of token struggle, and the other, a gross mental one of trying not to anger her kidnapper.


    Nobody else in the room intervened. I looked to each person. Not even Shorty''s friend made a move. She showed disgust but turned her eyes like it couldn''t be helped.


    Seriously? Not a single person?


    I stood frozen to spot, more aware than ever of my own height against these four giants. But I had to ask myself, why was I getting these thoughts? Her dignity wasn''t worth my life.


    So long as she was alive, it didn''t matter what happened. So long as someone, anyone interferes before it goes too far... Too far? Surely we passed that point after she was kidnapped.


    But I knew how unlikely a saviour was. Even if the kidnappers had been spotted without the lookout''s knowing, it''d take way too long before the guard would arrive here. Minutes, seconds, crime often happens before the good guys have even gotten up and finished breakfast.


    They were four, and I was one. The end result would be obvious. I couldn''t win this fight. I couldn''t intervene. Well I could intervene so long as I didn''t mind being used to decorate the walls.


    A part of me wondered why I even should have to intervene. The worst of humanity was a side which the best of humanity had to fight. Why did I, as small as I was, have to be the one to step in and intervene? If the good guys aren''t here, then that''s their failure.


    Shorty pressed himself against Riker, opened his mouth to speak in terse common. ¡°You behave. Or your children die.¡±


    Her children? How extensive was the failure of the good guys that they had even failed to protect children. Cruelty seemed like human art form, to be able to threaten a person''s children in order to make sure they don''t struggle as their being broken down.


    Any resistance in Riker stopped. But the horror in her eyes only widened. She looked around the room, and as though for the first time, spotted the black cat. And I''d never seen such despair.


    Bad luck. It was so obvious and clear by the way her eyes seemed to glaze over. The gods had sent her a sign that she was facing true evil. That this was the work of powers beyond her control.


    And I that power''s messenger, it''s observer, it''s ally.


    I an ally to the cruelty of humans.


    I could feel each individual follicle of hair stand on end. The indignity, the unfairness, the sheer gall of this person to dare blame me for this. To hate me, to scorn me, when her aggressor was literally behind her.


    And yet I''m at fault?


    I can''t stand it.


    But there was more. There was shame. Because to sit back and be an observer to persecution, is tantamount to encouraging the aggressor.


    If I sat here and did nothing, if I turned and looked away, nothing would change. I would be a part of humanity''s worst.


    I can deal with being called bad luck. But this is just too damn far.


    Then let''s give ourselves a little more permission to act out.


    The gang got quite the surprise when they heard a heavy thud against the locked double doors. All eyes turned in anticipation, people rooted to their spot, and Riker took the opportunity to cry out.


    Is someone behind the door? Has someone found us? Questions raged like wildfire in the clansmen eyes. Fires of paranoia that burned up all previous thought processes.


    The resistance had to stop. As Shorty wrestled to silence Riker, his second surprise caught him completely by off guard.


    A black ball of fur and fury clawed up the side of Riker and descended upon Shorty. Hissing and spitting, I clawed at ever soft spot of his face. Sharp claws met soft skin. Humans would regret not evolving a tougher hide. Drawing blood from the many hard shallow rips.


    Cursing loudly, Shorty fell backwards and released the bound Riker who slipped to the floor. ¡°Gah fuck!¡± He uttered a curse universal to most languages.


    The world spun around me as Shorty struggled. But as he made to move me, I dug in. I made my message clear, struggle and I''ll tear deeper. Ironic considering the threats to Riker he''d just made.


    ¡°Cai dy ceg!¡± His friend wrestled with Shorty to grab a hold of me. Shorty tried his hardest not to cry, even as his friend told him to shut up.


    The battering against the double doors had spooked them thoroughly. It continued, mounting pressure on them.


    Boss had moved down the flight of stairs to said doors, hand hovering over his dagger as he commanded the cardplayers to deal the commotion. The lookout looked torn between what he should do. I had the wits about me to keep track of each person in the room.


    Hands bore down at me like giant vipers seeking to entangle their prey. Recognising an unviable position, I tore myself away from Shorty''s face.


    My heart throbbed and blood rushed throughout my small body. I backed away slowly, hissing a warning to shorty and his friend. Approach at your own risk.


    Blood still dripping from wounds that''d leave a pretty set of scars, eyes cradling anger and rage, Shorty glared down at me.


    I glared back. Bad luck? No, I''m something different. Don''t patronise me you hairless apes. You lowly creature dragging your knuckles on the floor as you walk, your brains leaking like putrid slime from your ears.


    You are the creatures with only rot and wanton destruction to your name. Not me.


    Don''t you dare look down at me. I won''t let anyone attach your cruelty to my being.


    I glanced over to Riker. I''d saved her momentarily from humiliation. I, a black cat, had done so. A gift from me to her, given out of spite.


    Shorty''s friend looked back to Boss. They shared a quiet nod. A shiver ran down my spine.


    I needed to back away, maybe defuse the situation by making them think I wasn''t worth the effort. So long as the battering on the door continued, they''d have bigger things to deal with. They''ll want to back away, to stop the commotion.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Tawelar fucking cath na.¡±


    Shit.


    Shorty spat out blood that dribbled down his nose and marched forward before his friend had even given the command.


    Each stride was easily five times larger than mine. And as ashamed as I was to admit it, I froze to the spot.


    I just needed to tear him to shreds though. It was nothing I couldn''t handle-


    But I''m just a simple black cat.


    Reality slapped me coldly. A line whispered that parted the red mist with ease. And once more, I was made very aware of our utterly unfair height difference.


    He pulled his leg back to kick me across the warehouse. Only my most basic instinct pulled me aside. If only I''d moved sooner.


    The kick caught me hard. It didn''t strike me square, but it didn''t have to. The force only needed to twist my body. Pulling my back, crushing the wind out of my lungs. Making the world spin and disorientate me.


    I wasn''t punted far, but the pain that raged across my body lit fires of indignation.


    Arrogant hairless ape. I''ll peel you layer by layer!


    But I''m just a cat.


    A headache strangled my resistance. I must have hit myself hard. Confusing thoughts raged in a bitter battle, making even the the most vitriolic of political debates seem graceful in comparison.


    Finding my feet again was hard, but I had to. My hindlegs didn''t seem to want to cooperate.


    Shit. This had been a colossal error of misjudgement. I''d picked a fight with a human. Me. Lazy old me. Stupid old me. Soon-to-be-dead old me.


    What had I gone and done this for? This was the worst case scenario. The one I should have avoided no matter the cost. And hell, avoiding it wouldn''t have cost me anything. Nobody was threatening me into action.


    But even as the reasons escaped me, even as the emotions that fuelled my resistance evaporated to gas, I could feel their after touch. I knew I was right in what I was doing. If it wasn''t to save Riker, then it was to take my anger out on Shorty.


    Having lost my bearing, the battering against the door stopped. There had been no one on the other side. No help threatening to rush in and expose the kidnappers. That had simply been a trick of mine. The same illusion that made my voice. I should have gone with something bigger.


    If only I was bigger, if only I was stronger. If only I didn''t have this damn curse. I stared up indignantly at the approaching Shorty. I fought a fight a fight which I would never not feel bitter about losing. This was about so much more than this human could ever understand.


    But at the very least, I left my mark. Blood oozing from his face like puss. Even limited by this curse, I was still the thing of nightmares. Someone''s nightmares.


    Shorty lifted his boot over my head.


    This is stupid. Why did I even try and stop him? What am I even talking about? Spite? Is that really a reason to act? To live? I died for spite. I died because Hannah gave me this stupid job. Because Riker looked down at me. Humans were involved with every step of my misery.


    The boot came down, ushering in a wave of crushing darkness.


    It fell down on all my body, pushing me to the floor. Gently. Warmly.


    I opened my eyes. Above me was not a boot, but a body. It was Riker.


    Shorty spat out insults and curses and kicked again and again. His friend rushed over to him to pull him away.


    Each kick had weight thundering against Riker''s sheltering form. I could feel the force going straight through her. Every yelp, every shock of biting pain. Until finally Shorty was pulled away.


    They stood in silence, waiting for more noise from the double doors. None came. They all breathed a sigh of collective relief except for Shorty. His friend knocked him over the back his head for the commotion he''d caused.


    Riker remained hunched over me. Drawing each pained breath. In my head, I wondered whether I should thank her or hate her.


    To look down at me like bad luck, and then to do this. It frustrated me. Ground every pretentious thought in my head to a halt.


    I let my head fall. Gazing up at the dark, oh so dark ceiling, waiting for time to pass by. Painfully, slowly, each second dragging.


    Riker slumped onto her side, deciding, much to my annoyance, to wrap her arms around me. As patronising and downright insulting I found it, I didn''t have the strength in me to fight.


    Riker was probably looking for something soft and comforting to hold on to. But I wish she held a little more gently. My body wasn''t in great fighting form at the moment.


    It didn''t help my self-reflection along anymore. Human cruelty? What a pretentious idea. I''d been wrapped up in a fantasy. To think I''d needed my imagination to feed me delusions that I was somehow spiting in the face of the formless mass that was ''human cruelty'' in order to persuade myself to act.


    That was what it took.


    Hannah would probably be torn between repulsion and patting me on the back for what I''d just done. On the one hand, that was some embarrassingly cringey thoughts for someone like myself who should be the down to earth one. On the other hand, I''d just stopped Riker from getting assaulted.


    Woot woot, yay me?


    I felt like I''d come face to face with something I was trying to hide. Just how deeply I looked down on people.


    This reminded me a little of how I first met Hannah.


    Twelve years ago in the back alleys of a town called Grigo. I''d been hissing and spitting hell and fury at three children who''d cornered me me with sticks and stones.


    If I recall correctly, dark thoughts were crossing my mind back then.


    I was half of a mind to scream at them in words they''d understood. To throw caution to the wind at last and act freely upon my grievances. To give them a horror story they could cherish like a childhood memento all the way through to old age in the form of nightmares.


    Sarcastic comments weren''t the only things I could use the illusion for. Any sound, anywhere, any volume. However, a cat that can scream so loud it paralyses people requires something of a heavy response so I usually kept that to myself unless it was an emergency.


    That would have been quite useful a few moments ago, actually.


    But those kids were saved by the timely intervention of a child named Hannah. The children were no more than momentarily distracted by the young girl who came charging down the alley fists first.


    She ended up punched and kicked herself. But she yelled and screamed with such fury, she frightened the three older children into a full run. After which, she grinned with triumph despite her appearance.


    Barely asking my permission, she picked me up and limped me back to her grandparents.


    No justicar in angelic armour, but a human of flesh and blood willing to spill a little of their own for someone else.


    I stared up at the inky black ceiling. Its deep dark blackness seemed unnatural. As though it were an observer to me.


    This darkness. It seemed odd. Strange. What is this? A cacophony of whispers raised in my head, and yet none could provide an answer beyond.


    I turned to look elsewhere about the room. Shorty was currently being made fun of by his friend as she picked at his face wounds. Boss had returned wearily to the steps of the stairs to strike up another cigar.


    Was it really a trick of the mind? Nobody else had noticed.


    Neither Boss, Shorty, or his friend had looked up. How long had this darkness been watching? Wait, where''s the lookout?


    Crack. The side door swung open with a hefty kick.


    I swivelled my head around and caught sight of two men struggling in the doorway.


    ¡°Nobody move!¡± Came a familiar voice, booming through the warehouse as he marched forward through the door. ¡°I have your friend held at knife point.¡± Arm wrapped around the lookout and a knife up to his throat. Everyone jumped to attention at the sight of him.


    Just when I thought things were over. Riker stirred, a little drained for someone who might about to be saved.


    ¡°Arosa. Neb symud.¡± Boss commanded. He muttered some curses in Euanu as he dropped his cigar. His hand once again returned to his dagger. His command for his comrades not to move cut through the air.


    ¡°Drop your weapons.¡± The Nurse growled. Behind him, Jean entered, her eyes darting around the warehouse taking in the situation. I couldn''t see any guards behind them.


    What had brought them here?


    It must have been when I was causing a commotion. They could hear it from outside. Especially the noise coming from the locked double doors. Shit, I''d forced them to step in early. There was no way those two could handle four clansmen.


    Or so I thought but the clansmen didn''t so much as move let alone utter a word. They waited in anticipation for Boss'' command. Shadows of muted hostility fell over their faces as expected for someone seeing their friend held at knifepoint.


    ¡°I said drop your weapons.¡± The Nurse repeated himself. His tone austere, as though it were made for this very moment.


    ¡°Nurse, look over there.¡± Riker tapped the Nurse on the shoulder and pointed in our direction.


    Glancing over, the Nurse gave a very tense nod to Riker. ¡°If any of you move, this knife finds a new home. You understand what that means at least, yes? Violence is a universal language shared between us all.¡±


    But as I examined him further and further, I noticed odd peculiarities. The Nurse''s face was drained of colour. His grip on the lookout looked shaky. His eyes darted left and right, fearful of reprisal.


    Every few seconds the lookout would squirm, and the Nurse would hastily force him back. But the Nurse must have realised, his resolve was slowly being tested. And it didn''t look like the Nurse had it in him.


    Half way to meeting Riker, the lookout squeezed out a few words which made the Nurse curse. ¡°Ewch am dani. Byddai''n iawn.¡± The lookout confidently declared as he pushed back against the Nurse.


    By the time Jean was crouched down next to Riker, both the Shorty and his friend had drawn their weapons and were ready to respond.


    Boss jumped over the side of the banister and landed with a confident thud on the hard ground. Like the strike of a gong, it seemed to spurred his comrades into action.


    Shit, is it me or is this day really going to hell in a hand basket?


    The Nurse struggled to keep his hold up until the lookout bashed his head against his nose. Spluttering, he stumbled a few steps backwards as the lookout got loose and snatched his dagger back off the Nurse.


    ¡°Nurse! What are you doing?!¡± Jean cried as Shorty and his friend advanced on her. She fumbled at the bounds by Riker''s feet as she squirmed, still gagged.


    The Nurse paled further at the sight of conflict. He lurched backwards avoiding one swipe, and then a second. But eventually his back feel against the kegs of alcohol. The distance he kept collapsed as the lookout chased at him like a wolf chasing a dear.


    Jean stumbled back up onto her feet, but panicked over the sight of two armed individual closing the distance. She fell backwards and Shorty was quickly upon her, dagger to her throat.


    At this moment, Hannah showed her head in the doorway. ¡°Jean! Nurse, do something!¡± However the Nurse was busy avoiding being stabbed himself. Eyes turned to Hannah. She shuffled for scrolls in her satchel.


    It was happening so fast. Both mentally and emotionally drained, I could barely keep up with the deteriorating situation.


    You idiot! I wanted to scream at Hannah to get out of the way. My guts spun harder than they ever had. Of all the decisions, hers to get involved in this and fight was amongst the most idiotic.


    I forced myself up onto my feet. It didn''t matter if there were so many witnesses. I couldn''t just stand by and watch this situation go to hell. Besides, whose going to think in this situation what happens next is because of that black cat.


    Funny how desperation makes you forget your own pain. I found new strength in my legs.


    The lookout lodged his dagger into an old keg. Strong alcohol gushed out from the new gap, emptying over the floor. As the lookout struggled to retrieve his dagger, the Nurse slipped away.


    Weren''t you in the army?! Stop running around like a rat and fight!


    Jean wrestled with Shorty, fighting against the knife threatening her throat. But unlike the Nurse, she didn''t have a military background. Her hands were accustomed to pen and paper, not daggers and wrestling.


    ¡°Jean!¡± Hannah screamed again. She planted a scroll down onto the alcohol soaked floor.


    Shorty''s friend changed direction and ran to the doorway, either sensing something was wrong or just to take care of the third newcomer. However, Riker, her legs now free, threw her weight against Shorty''s friend and they both collapsed in a ball on the ground. The Boss scrapped his dagger out from its sheath, eight inches of metal heat treated with malice, and ran at the Nurse''s back.


    Both Jean and Nurse were in a situation where in the next seconds, they could well die. If such a thing happened, next it''d be Hannah.


    The warehouse was avalanched in an unholy screech. It blasted for a solid five seconds. It battered relentlessly and forced everyone to writhe.


    Where could this source of hateful noise have come from?


    Hannah met my eyes, and grinned through the pain. A wholly inappropriate reaction considering the situation. How she was deriving any amount of enjoyment from this fight was beyond me. She took my trick, and turned it into time.


    Thrown off balance, nobody could react before Hannah placed her thumb on the primer of her scroll.


    A sense of overwhelming forebodding washed over me. Now was really not the time to burn self destruct. We could really do without her patented scroll magic right now.


    ¡°Iksum!¡± She yelled. The scroll lamely burned to a crisp on the alcohol soaked floor. She brought back her hand, unexpectedly a healthy colour, and cursed as she shook it.


    Oh thank whatever guardian angel out there that was working overtime. Her scroll, had burned up. Its patent, broken down, burned up bright and fast. She''d certainly felt a singe, but nobody else had noticed.


    Hannah fell backwards with a yelp, causing me to lose the focus on my scream. Hovering over the floor, spreading with growing tenacity, were flames. Licks of violent orange appearing over near translucent blue, spreading as though carried by some unseen currents.


    Where had the flames come from? They spread wherever alcohol had spilled from the dagger adorned keg. Everyone who noticed eventually turned, watching the unexpected sight of fire. Their minds rumbling to assess the threat.


    Should I be concerned about the other guy with the knife, or the fire? Everyone asked themselves as the fire enveloped the surface of the floor...


    And began to climb the wall of alcohol in a hungry quest for fuel.


    The few seconds of silence were broken with ¡°Fucking bacardi?!¡± The Nurse let the words slip.


    ¡°Pawb ar eich traed, nawr!¡± The Boss screamed, getting the attention of all the clansmen.


    ¡°Well, isn''t that just nice...¡± Jean groaned. And then kicked the distracted Shorty between the legs.


    He was long overdue one of those.


    ¡°Everyone out, now!¡± The Nurse shouted. The clansmen seemed to agree as the blue flames rose.


    The warehouse began to fill with an intoxicating smell, dizzying to inhale. I picked myself up but my back legs limped to hold my weight. Like hell was I going to stay in here when that explosion rocked the warehouse.


    Jean rolled Shorty off her, stood up and ran to support Riker. The lookout had abandoned his dagger and was proceeding to hastily toe hop his way out of the flames.


    When Shorty''s friend rose to fight Jean, having not got the memo about fire, Jean made some quick hand signs.


    Pulled by Jean''s spellweaving and carrying flames, the alcohol sprung in a spray at Shorty''s friend who reflexively retreated backwards. Jean helped Riker up onto her feet and guided her towards the exit, dissuading pursuit.


    The Nurse sprinted past the tip toeing lookout, not minding the heat. He reached Hannah before anyone else. ¡°This place is about to become an inferno, kiddo. I told you to stay out of this.¡±


    Hannah nodded. ¡°Excuse me? I just saved your lives.¡±


    Hey hey! What about me! As much as I tried to push my legs into action, I wouldn''t make it over the flames now covering the floor infront of the doorway.


    ¡°Somebody needs to get Adam.¡±


    ¡°Look, there''s a fire-¡±


    ¡°I''m. Going. To. Get. My. Cat.¡± Hannah forced each word out before she ran past the Nurse.


    Hannah raced across the warehouse floor as the fire spluttering out the broken keg began to intensify.


    Just before she reached me, the Boss slid into view, reaching out his arm which practically slammed into Hannah''s stomach like a weighty steel ingot as he hauled her up onto her shoulder.


    ¡°Guh! Le- Let me down!¡± Hannah mounted a weakened struggle as the Boss commanded the other clansmen to follow. He''d already lost one hostage, he sure as hell wasn''t going to let this opportunity slip.


    The Boss staggered back a few steps when a flaming dagger slammed into his shoulder.


    The Nurse, standing next to the wall of kegs so close the flames were singing his stubble and eyelashes shouted. ¡°Run!¡±


    Both Jean with Riker and the lookout were out the door. The Nurse began making his own way.


    Hannah rolled off the Boss'' shoulder and dropped to the floor. Recovering, she dashed towards me heedless of danger.


    Now, as stupid as she was acting, I wasn''t in much of a position to complain. I found myself quite happy when she scooped me up.


    I felt my strength begin to slip. My next few moments, weren''t mine to fight. My, albeit, evidently suicidal knight was fighting those moments for me.


    Both Shorty and shorty''s friend ignored the Boss'' shouts to stop Hannah and went for the door themselves. When we were just a few steps from the door, the broken keg exploded outward.


    Not a moment too soon did we escape as the first kegs cracked and spilled additional fuel to the fire. The Boss was sprayed with the shrapnel of wooden shards and nails as he passed through the door behind us.


    Someone had just lost thousands of coins worth of alcohol. Ironically, they were going to need a stiff drink after this.


    Now in the open, I expected the fight to continue in earnest. However as soon as the clansmen had left the warehouse, their will to fight was sucked straight out of them. Everyone who left the warehouse found themselves very quickly grappled and wrestling into a hold.


    The only ones who escaped being grabbed by a guard were Riker, Jean, and Hannah. People who the guards assumed immediately had nothing to do with kidnapping. Sadly, the Nurse had just had that kind of face.


    ¡°Someone mind telling me what in the seven am I looking at?¡± The knight dressed in purple who I''d seen at the park had made another appearance. She stood at the forefront of an outfit of stern looking guards. Standing behind her were Killian and Linth.


    ¡°Oh wow, Hannah, I did not expect to see you here.¡± Killian stepped out from knight''s shadow. ¡°I mean, Linth told me but still.¡± Linth stared, intimidated at the smoke billowing out the door to the warehouse.


    ¡°Killian? What are you doing here?¡±


    The clansmen gave a token effort to struggle against the guards who outnumbered and out equipped them.


    ¡°Check over the civilians. Make sure the suspects are disarmed. Clear everyone away from the fire.¡± The Knight issued her commands. ¡°Wait, hang on a second.¡± She laughed as she caught sight of the Nurse. ¡°Been a long time lieutenant? How''s civi life treating you? The Nurse that kills strikes again.¡±


    All energy drained from the Nurse''s face. ¡°I really don''t want to talk about it.¡±


    ¡°I''m glad to see you too.¡± The Knight slapped the Nurse on the shoulder. The guard looked to her confused as to whether she should let the Nurse go. ¡°Take him with us. He''ll be useful.¡±


    The more the Knight prodded, the more the Nurse coiled up deeper in despair.


    ¡°Should I release him, sir?¡± The Guard asked.


    ¡°Nah. It''s less fun that way.¡± The Knight grinned.


    ¡°You are possibly the one person I missed the least.¡±


    ¡°''Possibly''? Let''s make that a definite.¡± Two old comrades bantered.


    The clansmen were being dragged away one by one. The intervention of the guards had come later than I''d wanted. I''d assumed Linth had gone to get them since I hadn''t spotted her during the fight. But Killian dispelled that notion.


    ¡°Well you see, Hannah,¡± Killian placed a hand over his chest with exaggerated sas to answer her previous question. ¡°I, a responsible adult, found trespassers in the Triolo early in the morning. I did the responsible thing, and went straight to the guard. You know, like a sane, normal, responsible person would. Which, might I add, I am.¡±


    Hannah glared up at Killian. ¡°Are you picking a fight with me?¡±


    ¡°I, um, I found them on the way here.¡± Linth looked Hannah up and down. ¡°I''m sorry I was so useless.¡± She bowed her head.


    ¡°No it''s fine, Linth. Really, I didn''t want you fighting.¡± The idea upset both me and Hannah.


    ¡°Is Adam okay?¡±


    I''m gonna be honest with you Linth, I''ve seen better days.


    Hannah shifted me in her arms. ¡°Adam? Are you okay?¡±


    And how exactly am I supposed to answer that? I stared up at her. ''Well actually, I am pretty pissed at the way my life has been going recently''. Sure let me just say that in the presence of the tens of people gathered here.


    I weakly turned over, pointing my back to her. I didn''t even want to look at her. This was the last time. The absolute last time I went along with one of Hannah''s plans.


    Hopefully, someone will come along soon and explain to me how any why this all happened.

 25 - Eager to go home

    Sadly, the world isn''t so nice that after throwing a curveball it''d show up at the doorstep the next day to explain itself. Answers needed to be sought.


    All of us were subject to some level of scrutiny from the guard. Maybe if the warehouse hadn''t been set ablaze, the guard might have asked us to come back and talk when it was a little less busy. However fires on rivers which valued traders operate on can''t just be ignored as just ''one of those things''. Everybody, even if for now in this early stage of investigation it was a token effort, needed to interviewed.


    But the guards were also busy as well. Killian and Linth got the benefit of the doubt as they weren''t involved in the fight. When Hannah and consequently I were brought back to the nearest guard station for questioning, Linth decided not to leave us. Jean didn''t have much choice but to stick around.


    Killian decided he could hear all about the fine details some other day and decided to split away from the group. He had that luxury since he, along with Linth, wasn''t involved in the fight before the fire.


    Riker was taken to see a medic and the Nurse was abducted by the knight-captain. The former I could understand, the latter left me a little confused.


    During the interview, Jean did most of the explaining. About how they heard commotion inside the warehouse. How they believed without intervention someone was going to die. And how absolutely nobody had any clue whatsoever about how the fire started. All the reasonable things you''d need to tell the investigator to get away with putting yourself in harm''s way and possibly making the situation worse.


    Not that the guard investigator opposite looked like they believed Jean''s story on the fire. The guard was reclined back in her chair, a notepad in hand. She skilfully maintained a neutral expression where appropriate, and her sharp eyes showed an intellect keen on catching us out.


    This casual interrogation was happening quite public. Nobody had been shuffled into a small featureless room and given the criminal treatment yet. Other citizens and merchants were also waiting in the same hall as us, bringing with them their own grievances. The low mumble of a busy reception formed the backdrop to this casual interrogation.


    I had since been wrapped up in Hannah''s cloak, cradled on her lap. It would have been an awfully kind gesture if it wasn''t sweltering. Combined with the pain in my back and lower body from Shorty''s hard kick, the heat was was like salt to a wound. But escape was difficult due to afore mentioned injuries. Hannah planned on keeping me bound up until we got back home.


    The guard opposite tapped her pen thoughtfully on the clipboard, a motion she made when pondering how to word the next question. ¡°So the fire that saved the day. Was it started on purpose?¡±


    Hannah would claim yes and that she was quite proud of what she''d done. In fact, she was going through the motions of puffing out her chest with pride just as Jean stabbed a pencil into her leg beneath the table before she could finish opening her mouth.


    A very subtle way of telling her to shut up.


    Reading between the lines, what the guard was really asking for the fourth time so far, was whether we started the fire on purpose. The appropriate answer to which was not a plea of guilt.


    A fire on the banks of a popular river for merchant traffic could quickly cause thousands of coins worth of damage and disruption if the wind was blowing in the right direction. It had to be treated seriously. Especially considering the fire had been started, albeit arguably on accident, by a student without even a basic magic licence. That last bit was something nobody on our side should be interested in admitting.


    The guard raised a suspicious eyebrow towards Jean and Hannah, noting their strange expressions with muted curiosity.


    ¡°I think it started by accident.¡± Jean restated, offering no further explanation. ¡°Will we be here for longer? I''m concerned about my students well-being. They''ve barely had a break since the fight.¡± It was hard to believe from the composure Jean held, that she had been struggling against a knife to her throat not too long ago.


    Linth, even though she hadn''t even been involved in the fight, looked the most worn down. She''d barely uttered or spoken a word. Just stared down at her feet, blanking out the world around her.


    The guard nodded, noticing Linth''s pallid face. ¡°All right, just one more question then.¡± She scribbled something down on her notepad and flicked to another page. ¡°You said there was a ''scream'' that incapacitated everyone in the room. Could you elaborate?¡±


    Hopefully Jean couldn''t.


    That would be a hard thing to explain. But nobody could look down at the injured cat they probably barely noticed in the fuss and go ''yeah, it was that guy.'' But nobody saw anybody else cause the scream. I was reasonably confident but even so the consequences of discovery could be quite high.


    Jean''s smile thinned at the memory. ¡°I don''t remember it well myself. One second, someone''s dagger was thrusting down at my neck and then the next... There was just this aweful noise. It felt like it was coming from right next to me. Everyone felt it.¡±


    ¡°And did you see anyone screaming?¡±


    ¡°No, it didn''t feel um... I know this is going to sound childish. But it didn''t sound human. It was like the wail of a banshee. The kind of thing you hear in fairy tales.¡±


    That was by design.


    The guard gave a dry laugh. ¡°Childish? Stranger stories have come out of the Triolo. Do you think it was some kind of magic? A distraction perhaps?¡±


    Jean hesitated to answer. ¡°Maybe. But if that was the care, bearing in mind I''m no expert, the caster either simultaneously cast multiple patents for this sound near each person in the room, or miraculously had a single physical patent prepared ideal for the setup. In both cases, they''d have needed to be in the room.¡±


    And yet, not the most bizarre thing this curse of mine has given me. After all, if that amazed her, I would hate to see her reaction to knowing I wasn''t originally a cat.


    I could feel Hannah tense beneath me. This wasn''t just a small trick I''d hidden.


    ¡°During the time in which you were all incapacitated, the fire then started.¡± The guard recounted from her written timeline. ¡°Do the two events coincide?¡±


    Not intentionally, no. I wanted to cause a disruption, but if that was the objective then Hannah certainly capitalised on my scream on make one bigger than I''d thought to.


    Hannah''s scrolls always burned to a crisp after use. Laying it on a surface coated with rum was ill-advised. Hannah didn''t even need to use one her self-destructive scrolls. A simple practice scroll with no effect could burn up just as well.


    Jean made an effort to show she was giving it some thought. Pausing, recounting the events in her head. ¡°Possibly? I''ll read into it in my spare time and let the guard know.¡±


    What Jean and the Nurse saw of the chain of events, I wasn''t sure. Hannah, to my recollection, was first to recover from the scream. But I didn''t doubt from the way Jean was acting that she had an idea of who was behind the fire.


    The guard straightened herself up and nodded. ¡°Well, that concludes it for now. There are some odd peculiarities in this case but we''ll let you know if we need you again. I have all your names. You are free to go for now.¡±


    Jean immediately stood up. ¡°Come on you two. Time to get you back home before you get into more trouble.¡±


    Hannah and Linth followed Jean out the station and back out into the broad daylight. It felt oddly refreshing on my fur.


    I was eager to get back home. Very eager.


    By now news had probably reached the locals of the fire. The first thing they''d have noticed was an ominous plume of smoke emerging from infront of the cathedral. Since then, the festival didn''t have that same cheery air as far less locals were out on the street.


    A small crowd was gathering outside the guard station. Two guards stationed near the gate oversaw and engaged with the locals. In this early stage, how the guard acted publicly could have a crucial influence on how the mood developed, and so the guards acted cooperatively, answering concerned questions as best as they could.


    Tens of unanswered questions niggled in my own mind. But life these days seemed to raise these questions sooner than provide the answers.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Jean stopped in the middle of the street, looking Hannah and Linth up and down. Jean, kept her dress code refined. But her collar was scuffed, and the her clothes had been dirtied after being thrown down on the warehouse floor.


    Linth looked like she''d run a mental marathon two days in a row. Constantly, she averted her eyes and wilfully tried her hardest not to notice the people passing us by.


    Hannah had a strange glow to her. Whether it was the fact she held her head a little higher or the unsociable stoic expression was a little softer, I wasn''t sure.


    ¡°Where should I take you to, Linth? Home?¡±


    ¡°She can stay at my place for a while if she needs a break.¡± Hannah offered without a shred of self-awareness.


    Jean shook her head rightfully. ¡°I think it would be better for her to return home.¡±


    Hannah looked the quiet Linth up and down and then nodded. ¡°Yeah. Fair enough.¡± She approached Linth and flicked her nose, getting her attention. ¡°Sorry Linth, it''s my fault you got involved in this.¡±


    It was a hard apology to swallow. Unlike me who was quite used to being thrown around by Hannah, Linth rarely had her nose anywhere but lodged between the pages of a book. ¡°No, it''s okay. I mean, you might have saved Riker''s life, right? I just wish I''d noticed them earlier. All you did was look out the window and spot them, even though they were hiding so well in the warehouse.¡±


    Hannah blanked at Linth''s reply before suddenly laughing. ¡°Actually, I got really lucky. Well, not really. I''ll never be able to wash that image out of my mind.¡±


    ¡°What, um, what did you see?¡± Linth asked as Hannah went from grinning to wincing.


    ¡°I saw one of them, well, y''know, around the side of the building.¡± What a horrible sight, Hannah grimaced. ¡°I mean, when you have to go you have to go but still, doing it out in the open? I guess they didn''t want to stink out their hiding spot.¡±


    To think that was how they got caught.


    Perhaps that was how Killian found them as well. I could picture the boy crawling out the water intake beneath the pier and getting an eyeful of something very unpleasant above.


    Jean just shook her head. ¡°You really are nothing but trouble.¡± She rubbed the area above her brows as though trying massage a headache. ¡°I still want to talk to you, Hannah, about what happened. But I''ll let you get some rest.¡±


    ¡°Rest? What you talking about? After what happened, I feel powerful.¡±


    Jean gave a slight smile. ¡°Show me your hand.¡±


    ¡°This one?¡± Hannah extended out her left.


    ¡°You''re shaking.¡± Jean continued, her smile still gentle. ¡°Go home and get some rest. I''ll walk Linth home.¡±


    Her hand sure was shaking despite her smile. Hannah pulled her hand back slowly, looking down at it like she''d just been hit by an unexpected betrayal. ¡°Uh right. Yeah. I guess I should go home then.¡±


    ¡°Yes. And make sure to look after you cat.¡± Jean added.


    Sagely advice there. Make sure to feed me.


    It felt very much like the still after a storm on our way back. Although the commotion of festival was as vibrant as this morning, a small lull had developed in the afternoon.


    It made walking back a quieter endeavour.


    We arrive back at the house just in time to catch the Landlady leaving.


    ¡°Oh Hannah, how are you dear?¡± She greeted us with a pleasant smile, noting with some small interest me wrapped up in a cloak. ¡°Riding in luxury, I see.¡±


    Hannah smiled in polite greeting. ¡°Kinda. He''s had a rough day.¡±


    ¡°I hope you accomplished what you set out to do.¡± Granny glanced down at me for a moment as she spoke.


    In all the commotion, I''d forgotten the intended purpose of our journey was to apologise to Linth. Poor girl must be going mentally through a meat grinder. In the end, I had managed to apologise.


    ¡°Are you going to visit the festival?¡± Hannah asked, noticing the empty basket hanging beneath Granny''s arm.


    ¡°Doing some shopping. Should I get you anything dear?¡±


    Ham please. But of course she''d never say that.


    ¡°Ham please.¡±


    Whaaaaaaa.


    ¡°Oh, and a letter came for you this morning whilst you were out. I''ve left it on the landing for you as well as some treats.¡± She winked as she passed us.


    ¡°Take care.¡±


    ¡°And you.¡±


    We entered and retrieved the letter on the landing on our way up to our stay. The letter, was housed in a plain envelope on which in elegant writing bore Hannah''s full name. It even included her middle name, something only those close to her knew.


    But the familiar handwriting alone was enough to identify the sender.


    Next to the letter, a few small snacks had been few. Three cupcakes, freshly baked.


    ¡°You can put me down.¡± She could hardly carry all of that.


    ¡°It''s fine, I''ll balance it all.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, on my head. I can walk anyway. You coddling me like this feels weird.¡±


    Hannah refused. Instead, she put everything away in her satchel. It was a short journey, so hopefully the cupcakes wouldn''t be ruined. ¡°''I can walk'' he says. You''ve barely stirred in this cloak. You''re going to tell me what happened when we are inside.¡±


    I was getting a vague feeling of deja vu. ¡°If I tell you how I got hurt, are you going to run off and try and break their legs?¡±


    ¡°I might.¡±


    ¡°What if they were a child?¡±


    ¡°I would settle with traumatising them.¡±


    As happy as I would be to see Shorty in grievous amounts of pain, it was satisfying enough to see Jean kick him hard between the legs. ¡°It''s a bit late for that anyway. They are in guard custody now.¡±


    We made our way back into our stay. She set me down in the cloak on the dining table. My body screamed at me for even attempting to free myself from this cloaks''s heavy woollen embrace.


    ¡°Hannah, you''re pacing.¡± Back and forth she went. It was quite unnerving.


    ¡°I''m just thinking.¡± She replied, stopped, pulled out a chair, and sat down. ¡°Now tell me what happened.¡±


    I told her the story that had happened in the brief time we were apart. As plainly, as unadorned as possible. ¡°I tried to stop a clansmen from assaulting Riker. They kicked me. The end.¡± I summarised it up for her.


    ¡°Well, I guess I did tell you to protect the hostage. Still I didn''t expect you to run at him hissing and clawing. Was it the one who left with a face looking like he''d been mauled by a rake?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that''d be him. Just the thought of him is making my blood boil.¡± His expression of anticipated glee when he was about to assault Riker made my stomach curl. The capacity to derive pleasure from such malice had all the hallmarks of evil. Hypocritical as it is, me being quite spiteful, taking that amount of pleasure in others pain is just repugnant.


    ¡°Wow, so he pissed you off that much, huh?¡± One corner of Hannah''s lips raised into an amused half smile. ¡°That probably explains it.¡±


    ¡°Explains what?¡±


    ¡°Well, normally you don''t do much. In a crisis, I always thought you''d be more likely to run and hide rather than fight. You''re quite skittish and cautious, like you''ve got a twelve point plan you apply to any dangerous situation you''ve got to exhaust before you start fighting back.¡± Hannah, my caretaker of twelve years, had likely made a whole slew of observations about me I was unaware of. ¡°But, not only did you start a fight on someone else''s behalf, you even showed one of your tricks you''ve been hiding even from me.¡±


    I assumed when I did it, there''d be some reprisal. Some sort of investigation that raised the heat a little. But that was, in reflection me being paranoid. Several assumption had to be made before I became the likely suspect behind the scream.


    But Hannah knew better because Hannah knew me.


    ¡°It''s not really a trick per say. When I talk, it''s not like I''m using this cat''s mouth of mine. It''s an illusion.¡±


    ¡°But what I didn''t know was that you have a lot more control of that illusion than you like to show.¡± Hannah wagged her finger at me, tutting like I was some child. She was taking this very well. ¡°Between your distraction and my magic, we saved the day.¡±


    Uh what? Your magic? As in the accident?


    ¡°What did I tell you, Adam?¡± She puffed her chest out with pride. ¡°Never underestimate a witch and her black cat.¡±


    No no no, there was something wrong here. ¡°Okay, firstly, don''t call me a cat. I refuse to let you coin that catchphrase. Secondly, your magic? Your scroll burnt up because the patent was flawed.¡±


    ¡°The sparks of which ignited the alcohol.¡±


    ¡°You can''t claim you failed on purpose.¡±


    ¡°Failure is measured by consequence. And I think you''ll find, I saved four people''s lives today, including your own.¡±


    ¡°Burnt down a warehouse and traumatised your best and perhaps only friend.¡± I added.


    ¡°The irony of you calling me out on that is not missed.¡± She huffed. ¡°But, let me put it another way. Would the academy kick out the student who saved the day?¡±


    That was hard to say they would. Possibly, just possibly, this was good press for the academy. ¡°I think we''ll have to wait to see what Jean has to say.¡±


    Although getting the credit would involve owning up to causing the accident and I was quite certain that wouldn''t go well.


    At the very least, she might be Riker''s good books now.


    She was in a very bright mood considering what had happened. Her smile fell for a moment. ¡°I bet it will feel better than this.¡± Her eyes veered off as though pulled to the sight of a far off future.


    ¡°What will feel better?¡± Curiosity pulled me in.


    ¡°The day I prove I can use magic as good as anyone else.¡± Her words were loaded with longing. ¡°I''ll admit it was half an accident, Adam. But when it happened, when my scroll lit that fire, I felt like I could just pretend for a moment I had cast a real spell. Not one that''d burn my arms, or one so weak all it could do is push an egg onto its side. A genuine, real spell.¡±


    The mood of the conversation changed. The source of the brightness to her discovered. She''d tasted it. She''d sipped on the wine of her dreams.


    Even though I felt her pursuing this path was a waste of effort. So much more could be gained in proportion to the work she put in if she devoted herself to some other life goal.


    I still couldn''t stop myself from feeling a little proud of her. I resolved then and there, that even if I forgot her name, I would not forget the happy face she was making as she sat at the table, staring towards the open shutters.


    ¡°Well, even if it was half an accident, your spell did save my life. So uh... thanks.¡±


    ¡°And thank you for your distraction in the fight. I couldn''t have done it without you.¡±


    The area around my chest tightened.


    Following that, there was an awkward silence that came with two people unfamiliar with thanking and complimenting eachother. In an argument, at least there was a pattern. A bitter back and forth. Should we just sit there and carry on complimenting eachother?


    ¡°The letter.¡± I blurt out.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    ¡°I mean, what if there''s something important in the letter?¡±


    ¡°Oh right.¡± She reached into her satchel and pulled out the letter. At the sight of the handwriting on the envelope, her grip tightened. ¡°Maybe I''ll read it later.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure? It''s from her so it could be important.¡±


    ¡°One thing at a time, Adam.¡± She set aside the unopened letter. ¡°I''m living my own life now. She can wait. Besides, I promised the next time I had anything to do with her again, I''d prove her wrong.¡±


    After her parents fled Amarinth, they left her in the care of her maternal grandparents.


    The most defining character in her life during her childhood had to be her grandmother. She was easily the most powerful woman in all of Amarinth. If not in sheer strength, then in character. Without a doubt a witch, and an incredibly patriotic and proud one at that.


    The Order of Ice, even if they knew about her, wouldn''t have been able to lay a finger on her. Otherwise the entire province of Amarinth would be up in arms the very next day.


    Although austere at times, she raised Hannah to stand up for herself and walk her path heedless of what others think of her. But their relationship hit a great hurdle when the Hannah''s condition came to light.


    After all, to her grandmother, this couldn''t have been anything but a sign from the world that her granddaughter was destined for other things than magic.


    And to Hannah, who could only see her destiny in magic, living with her grandmother became a very unpleasant arrangement.