She hissed. But he called you Monday, desperate for you to take some signs around your neighborhood. And tonight, even though you told him no before, you went to the debate.
“He said it was the most important night of the campaign.”
He says that about every campaign stop.
I frowned and pursed my lips. That wasn’t true, but she did have a point. Tim had been calling me more and more for meetups and outings. Some people in town were thrilled that two of Celeste’s grandchildren had come back to Woods Crossing and wanted to talk about her. He knew that people wanted to talk to me about living in her house and running the shop.
“You’re exaggerating,” I pointed out. “But…maybe I have let the campaign take up too much time. I’ll tell him I need to stick to Tuesdays and Thursdays only.”
As if she’d been waiting for me to admit that, Jade dove into the food and began devouring it. I gave her a tiny pat on her head and stood up. The city offices provided a meal at the debate, so I wasn’t hungry, but I wasn’t sure I could sleep either. My eyes strayed to the neglected spell books on my coffee table. Even just the thought of practicing spells made me tired, though, so I went to bed.
The next morning as I walked to the shop, I heard footsteps behind me. There were always pedestrians on Main Street, but not usually until later in the morning. I turned, but didn’t see anyone.
I looked down at Jade, who had decided to accompany me to work that day. She gave me a meaningful look, then shook her head just the smallest amount. It was a signal, telling me not to say anything.
“I think I’ve got a rock in my shoe,” I said, inventing a reason for stopping and turning. I knelt and dug around in my shoe for a few seconds, then pretended to flick a pebble away. Keeping my head down, I moved my eyes up just enough to see the pavement in front of me. A flicker of color appeared in the air, a sort of brownish, leathery color.
It was a pair of shoes.
I stood slowly, my heart hammering. Someone was following me, using some kind of invisibility cloak or spell. Not knowing what to do, I started walking again. Sweat trickled down my back. What if this person tried to follow me into the shop?
Moving quickly, I rushed up the steps to the shop door. I’d already unlocked it by sticking my hand into my purse and gripping my wand, saying the unlock incantation in my mind. Scooting Jade through with my foot, I turned and slammed the door hard. I heard a muffled thump.
I locked the door and crept to the window, my heart hammering.
Whoever it was must have seen me watching because I didn’t see anyone appear. Keeping my eyes glued to the floor outside, I watched the pair of shoes flicker into sight now and again as the person turned and walked to the sidewalk and down the road.
“Jade, can you follow that person discreetly?”
On it.
I let her out and watched her trot down the sidewalk. She was good at hiding, slinking into the shadows under the eaves or darting into an alley as needed. As I watched her, I felt a twinge of guilt. The invisible person had seen her and knew she belonged to me. If they caught sight of her, what would they do?
I had to remind myself that Jade was tough. She wouldn’t have taken on the task if she didn’t feel confident in her abilities.
The day passed at a crawl. I jumped any time a customer came in. I worried about Jade the entire day. I hadn’t expected her to stay out so long.
The minute the clock hit five, I rushed around, turning off lights and cleaning up. After I’d locked the door and re-checked the barrier spell, I ran for home. Fear clutched my heart as I approached the old townhouse. I hoped Jade would be there, waiting for me.
A vicious yowling and spitting met my ears as I approached the front door. My heart hammering, I followed the sound to the side of the house. A tall, thin person lay sprawled out on the lawn. Jade had whoever it was by the ankle, her teeth sunk deep into the flesh.
I stood there, transfixed with horror, watching as Jade fought to keep hold of the intruder. The person gave an unearthly shriek and kicked out their trapped foot. The heel of the shoe made contact with Jade’s face. She let go and fell back, stunned, while the culprit stood up and ran.
I screamed.
Chapter Twenty
My hands shook as I touched Jade’s head and neck and shoulders. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, but I figured I’d be able to tell if there were any serious injuries.
Her orange eyes opened then focused on me. She let out a weak meow. I burst into sobs and picked her up, not caring if she got mad at me for treating her like a cat.
“Jade, are you okay? Please just say something.”
She gave another meow, this one disgruntled. I’m fine.
Though she was irritated, I still took my time putting her down. It took immense self-restraint not to check her over again. With a little hiss, she got unsteadily to her feet and wobbled for a few steps before she straightened out again.
“Does anything hurt?”
Jade gave her entire body a little shake, as if she were getting water out of her fur.
My head hurts a little bit. But I think it was only a glancing blow.
The tears started up again. I sat on my rear on the grass, my arms crossed over my chest. “I shouldn’t have sent you out. I’m such a jerk!”
Crying won’t fix anything. Let’s go inside.
She trotted up the stairs and waited for me to unlock the front door. As soon as we got inside, I marched straight into the kitchen and got out half a block of cheese and several crackers and put them in Jade’s bowl. She attacked them with even more enthusiasm than normal, which I took to be a good sign.
I should get hurt more often if it means I get crackers and cheese.
I let out a weak laugh as I set a bowl of water next to her. She gulped it in huge amounts, taking almost the entire bowl. I frowned as I watched.
“Have you been following that person all day?”
She shook her head. I lost track of them around noon and spent a couple hours trying to pick up the trail again. I gave up and came back here to see someone working a spell on the barrier.
I gasped, bringing my hand to my mouth.
