freenovelworld Episode Two Hundred and Forty-Six: Nothing will stop me
Episode Two Hundred and Forty-Six: Nothing will stop me
I ran.It was the only thing I could think of to do before the safe areas faded. I couldn’t deal with the barrier again, and I didn’t dare use my magic.
Moving as fast as I could, I almost stumbled as I broke through the fog into dim sunlight and green grass.
A massive tree towered overhead, putting everything but the one in the darkened sky to shame. Thick roots stretched out from its base, and the green canopy almost blocked out the sun completely.
“The towering forest,” I whispered, thinking of the lands the Cat ruled, or rather, had ruled, all those ages ago. The domain stuff I didn’t really understand, but it was him, and he was it.
A whimper cut through the silence.
I froze.
It came again.
This time, I launched into action, racing closer to the noise. One thick root blocked my way, and it took way too long to climb over it. At the top, I gasped. Then I promptly slid down the other side.
I clutched the mug tightly to my chest, but slammed onto my back and the backpack that contained Lorestone. He moaned.
A whimper rose from a black cat curled around a tiny sapling.
“Cat?” I asked in a small voice, as I stepped closer.
The root I’d fallen over wiggled closer to the tiny tree, and another whimper slipped from the Cat. Light barley touched the sapling from the canopy overhead, and roots crowded in from all directions.
Taking a risk, I let the smallest pulse of my fate magic go.
The ropes in my chest stretched out. One to the Cat… and through his body to the massive tree. The other to the sapling.
“Oh, Cat,” I said, moving closer and kneeling next to him.
The words of the fates rose in the back of my mind. .
“Sable?” The voice sent a shiver down my spine, as a single eye cracked open. Green, but not as bright as I knew.
“I’m here, you dumb Cat,” I said. I reached out to touch, him but my hand passed right through his body.
“Sorry, I’m sorry. I should… have trusted you…” His body flickered with each word he spoke.
“I know, it’s okay. I forgive you,” I said. My gaze landed on the small, struggling sapling, then the coffee mug in my hand. “The curse is broken.”
I didn’t expect a reply and he didn’t give one. The roots wiggled harder this time, but his Cat form shook, holding it back. His domain wanted to stretch out, but if it did, it would… I couldn’t even think of it.
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“I’m gonna fix this,” I said, suddenly determined. I reached out to the small sapling, and started digging with my hands. First a line around it, going deeper with each pass. Dirt covered my hands.
A weight of magic pressed down on me. Watching, judging. Something not of the Cat, something else.
Another press came from the roots, and this time the Cat’s body faded, only leaving an impression in the green grass.
I dug faster.
Then I tried to pull the sapling out. It didn’t want to come.
“Betty, trust me. I’m here, I promise.”
A groan rose from the tree itself, and I yanked with everything I had, freeing the poor sapling from the ground. Then I stuffed it into my coffee mug.
The land itself roiled under me as the roots smashed through the spot I’d been kneeling. For a moment, bright sunlight blanketed the area as far as I could see. Then, everything went dark.
I clutched the little tree to my chest, suddenly feeling roots inside my soul, searching. They touched the glowing sun in my chest, taking sips of my magic.
The Cat’s warning about Betty eating magic, and the fact that I’d just removed her from the Cat’s domain, collided in my head.
Energy lagged inside me as the shop pulled on it. But I did not pull away.
“Betty, I trust you,” I whispered.
The light around me faded as I found myself in the shop, sitting on the floor. Everything else was greyed out.
“I’m here, how can I help?” I asked, trying to figure out what to do next.
A picture floated to the top of the floor next to me. The one Indigo had drawn, with me, the Cat, herself, and Betty. Her family.
Instead of a sapling, I pictured the espresso machine. The warrior who protected us, the warmth from the hot tub and the smell of bacon cooking in the oven. Movies on the couch, and lessons on the table.
Customers coming in, and figuring out how to help them.
I pulled on every ounce of magic inside me. The golden glow of the fates, and the stability of stones. All of it I sent into the machine forming at my feet.
“I am the Shopkeeper!” My voice rang out as warmth sparkled on my chest, coming from my necklace. It ticked up from warmth to a blaze of heat, all of it passed from me into the machine.
Then my bracelet responded. Just a whisper. “Like this.”
Betty took over as the rest of the room formed around me. The front of the shop. The tall bookcases on one side, along with the massive counter and register. The espresso machine moved, taking its rightful place on the counter.
Then windows formed high up on the ceiling, and in the wall on the front of the shop.
Last, a door. An archway on the right side of the shop. Another room stood beyond it, and a scent of the forest rushed through the space.
“Sable?” A tall figure, with pointed ears and bright green eyes, peeked in, then stepped inside. As he did, he suddenly became a black Cat, glaring at his feet. That didn’t stop him for long, before he rushed to my side. “You saved my child. You saved Betty… ”
“Of course I did,” I said, still trying to wrap my head around what had just happened. My mug suddenly appeared on the counter, next to the espresso machine. The stars turned and twisted on the surface, sparkling almost like real stars in the night sky. “I’m the Shopkeeper.”
“Sable… I’m sorry,” he spoke softly, and stared up at me. “I should have trusted you, and then I…”
“You messed up, and that’s okay.” I gave him a pat on the head. I slid my backpack off and set it on the counter.
“I’m actually free of this place. I’m no longer bound,” said the Cat, sitting down on the counter. He glanced back at the archway on the side of the room. “That’s my domain, on the other side.”
I chuckled. “See? We broke the curse, and now you aren’t required to be here all the time.”
The Cat glanced back at me, and frowned. “But now you’re stuck here.”