I didn’t want to get up. Only a couple more days until, hopefully, we’d be closed for two days around the solstice. Plus, Indigo would be back.

But today, my comfortable bed kept me locked under my heavy blanket, even as the sun streamed in from above.

Something leaped onto the end of my comfortable hiding place near my feet and padded up next to my leg.

“We have the same number of tasks to get done, whether you get up now or not,” said the Cat.

I couldn’t see him, but I felt him move closer to my head.

“It doesn’t matter to me how long it takes, but each one needs to be done before the holiday.”

“Ugh,” I grunted as he pulled down the top of my blanket and stared directly in my face. Cat breath washed over me.

“I’m getting up.” I finally sat up and yawned while stretching upward.

It wasn’t until I was in the hot steamy shower that the Cat’s words sunk in. From there, I quickly finished washing my hair, getting clean, and then yanking on clothing.

“Cat…” Yet, he wasn’t in my room anymore. Instead of rushing, I took my time lacing my boots up and brushing out my hair. It hung damply down my shoulders.

I decided to do something about it and tried to focus on the energy inside my core. This time it only took a second to find the magical ball. Now, directing some of it to my hair took a little longer. I imagined my hair perfectly dried with my wavy curls. Warmth washed over me as energy left my chest and faded.

“Sable?”

The Cat’s voice caused me to open my eyes as I wobbled.

“What did you do?” he asked, staring up at me as I sat on the end of my bed. He leaped closer, staring at my head with his head tilted to one side. Totally cute, if I wasn’t completely panicking that I’d fried my hair.

Yet, when I reached up, my fingertips touched soft curls.

My only mirror stood over the sink, and I headed that way.

“I decided to try something…” My voice trailed off as I stared as intently as the Cat had. My dark curls were there, nice and springy, with very little frizz. Yet, my hair had also turned a deep purple. Almost an amethyst color.

“You look like you did when you colored your hair,” said the Cat, following me.

“I didn’t mean to do that,” I said, touching the ends of my hair. It still felt soft. “I’m not upset about it, but I didn’t mean to…”

The Cat wound around my feet, and I bent down to pick him up.

“Let’s do breakfast, and you can explain to me what you meant about the tasks-getting-done-no-matter-what comment.”

The cat sniffed at my hair, and I ignored it.

“You have realized that time passes differently in the shop, correct?” he asked right near my ear.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Kind of.”

“The task list takes the same amount of time to do, even if we rest in between.”

“Where do we go for my days off?” I finally asked.

The Cat didn’t answer as I climbed down the stairs and turned toward the kitchen. Needing my hands to make breakfast, I set him on the counter.

“We aren’t exactly anywhere; we just are,” he finally replied.

“So right now, we’re just hanging out in space, outside of time?” I asked, trying to wrap my head around what he was saying.

The preheated oven beeped and a pan already sat on the counter right next to a package of bacon. I chuckled to myself as I laid it out on the pan before tossing the pan into the oven.

“Something like that.”

After washing my hands, I pulled some frozen waffles out of the freezer, letting my mind come up with my question.

“What’s around us?”

“The Leylines,” said the Cat, without a care in the world.

This time I paused, thinking of everything I’d learned so far about them. No matter how I thought about it, it didn’t make sense that we were just chilling inside them.

“We’re surrounded by magic, is what you’re saying?”

“Yes, and no.” The cat shook his head. “We aren’t inside the leylines, just in a place most people can’t access. Only Travelers can.”

“And us.”

The boots I wore were copies of a set made for a Traveler, if I remembered correctly.

The waffles I popped into the oven on the rack above the bacon. They’d taste faintly like the delicious smoked meat, but I didn’t care. Bacon and maple syrup was a gift.

“Is that where Betty’s magic comes from? The leylines around us, that we aren’t inside of…”

“The magic of the shop comes from the artifacts we have stored, ones that are being destroyed for the greater good, and the ambient mana in the air here.” The Cat stared at the oven as he spoke.

“So, while we rest here time doesn’t pass…” Sometimes it felt like time passed, and other times it didn’t. More than once I’d gotten the day of the week wrong when we checked back in on my homeworld. Especially when I sent an email, I always had to triple-check the date.

“Mostly.”

That wasn’t helpful.

The oven timer went off, and I carefully grabbed the pan out with an oven mit. The waffles needed another couple of minutes, so I laid the bacon out on paper towels to rest.

When I turned back to the island, the maple syrup and butter were already out, along with plates, and a fork with a knife for me.

“Thank you, Betty.”

The Cat glared at me for a second, then I removed the waffles, setting one on his plate. They were giant, crispy on the outside and hopefully fluffy on the inside.

I buttered both waffles and cut them up into bite-sized pieces before I drizzled the surgery goodness over them. The bacon I left on its platter and just set it between us.

“So, what task is waiting for us today?” I asked after taking a bite of crunchy bacon.

“Some writer is visiting.”

I tried to remember what the shop had looked like as I came out of my room, but realized I hadn’t glanced over the balcony.

“An event, or just a random person?”

The Cat’s tail flickered in the air as he ate, not answering me.

I’d also forgotten to make myself some caffeine before breakfast, but surprisingly, I didn’t have a caffeine headache. I resolved to fix the caffeine deficiency as soon as the food was properly devoured.

***

I’d slipped up and spoken about the magical nature of the shop, because nothing stopped me. It wasn’t until she kept asking questions that I realized some of these weren’t things she should know. No mortal should.

And then she used magic on herself for her hair, and it worked.

I’d felt the draw of mana, along with the intent. I hadn’t expected it to work.

Now, though, her hair glimmered with mana. Though she didn’t notice that, only the color.

I wondered what the Professor would see when she glanced at Sable now. Hopefully, she’d get a chance before it wore off. Whatever was happening, I needed to understand it. To protect her.