The Cat's Eyes.
The Case Files of White and Doorchester’s Magic Shop.
Logan House Publishing Presents.
From the World of We Were Heroes.
The Case Files of White and Doorchester’s Magic Shop.
The Cat's Eyes.
By J.R. Logan.
The Great Lakes Hero Association had issued Beth Wilcox an apprentice hero license. And a court mandate to study magic under the wizard Curt Doorchester. But Great Lakes had work for her to do. One job was going to yard sales on the weekends.
Beth walked along with the Witch Hunter Neil Holt as he showed her the ropes for magical antiquing. "Magic is uncommon, but spellbooks seem everywhere," Neil said.
"If it's a danger, then ban the books," Beth said.
"That has political-social issues. Heroes do not get involved with politics. Also, too many people don't even know that books are magical. You could order them to turn in all magic books and get piles of old forgeries. So we go around the yard sales and flea markets," Neil said.
"I know when books are real, and so can you. We'll buy a magic book for a few bucks, learn the Spells, and resell it on the wizard collector's market. How much depends on the book," Neil said.
The second sale that day was in the Historic District. Old houses, old money, a yard full of furniture, boxes of books, and lots of old glassware. "Emily said to keep an eye out for uranium glass?" Beth said.
"Yeah. Vampires love the stuff; it glows green under UV light," Neil said.
Beth rummaged through a box. There were a few books she would have bought. She loved to read, but Curt had buried her in an occult reading list that seemed to have no end. She felt the mana as her hand brushed the binding. She pulled out a leather-bound tome without a title or mark. The paper had a ragged edge. Beth ran her hand over the leather. It felt warm to her touch.
"Got one," She said.
Neil looked over her shoulder. "Don't open it until we're back at the shop."
As they left, Beth paid $3 for the book. The woman running the yard sale smiled. "That was my mother's old book," She said. "Mom always said it was a Spellbook. Her mother brought it over from Europe. I need to make some space."
Beth held on to the book until they got back to the car. Neil had a lead box for magical items in the trunk. They locked the book up before leaving.
"Is it dangerous?" Beth asked. Her experience with an unknown magical book was still fresh.
"If it is, we'll drop it off at the Arcane Library or give it to Curt," Neil said.
Back at the shop, Curt looked the book over. "It's a rebinding of a Victorian herbal medical book with theories on spells. And there's one spell in here." He read it over and handed the book to Beth with the spell open. "You can have this one," He said.
"Eyes of the Beast? What do I do with it?" Beth said.
"Read it. Again and again until you understand it inside and out," Neil said.
For the rest of the day, Beth read at the counter, interrupted by the occasional customer. Magic spells with simple effects could have complicated evocations. This spell used the caster's mana. That made it simple. And it's not likely to activate from a touch like the last book did. The spell didn't need odd items for the casting. No altars, candles, circles, or sacrifices. Except for an animal subject who would be unharmed. The spell linked the caster's vision to the animal.
Beth read the spell over a few times. She thought about each step of the evocation. It was all verbal and not longer than a hundred-word poem. It would be easy to memorize.
By nightfall, Emily took over the shop counter. Beth ran upstairs to look for Chauncey. He was usually at the top of the stairs, where he could trip people. But the stairs were empty. In the kitchen, Beth found the treats and shook the tin, but nothing, no cat. She called downstairs. "Emily. Is Chauncey outside?"
"No."
Beth checked Mary Robin's room. The young girl had not seen him for hours. Curt checked Emily's coffin and under his bed. No cat.
Beth went back to her room to lie down on her bed. "Time to take a nap," Beth said. He'll come out, she thought.
"Meow."
Chauncey was up on the bookshelves. He lay on his back, looking at her upside-down. The cat rolled over, stretched his wings, and jumped to the bed. Beth sat on the floor, offering Chauncey the treats from her hand. The spell was ready in her mind. Her cell phone was off. She said the words.
The language of arcane rolled off her tongue. Magical elocution had been the first lesson Curt had taught her. She practiced the basics every day. Chauncey looked back at her and purred with the flux of mana. She touched his forehead between the eyes. Her world snapped into an overlapping double vision. She looked down at Chauncey, and he looked back at Beth.
With her eyes closed, the double vision cleared up. Only Chauncey's sight remained. "Now I get to see where he goes. What does a winged cat do?" Beth said. The cat climbed into her lap and fell asleep.
The End.
White and Doorchester’s Magic Shop stories can be read at Logan House Pub on Substack.
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