“Sully found this,” Summer said as she took the collar off her wrist and handed it to Tori.
“Morti?”
“Yeah.”
“So you think…what? That the cat you saw might be Morti? And he might have gotten out of the house?” Tori surmised, handing the collar back.
“Yeah. I mean, I don’t know, but without a number or an address, I felt I should check to see if the only cat I’ve seen so far in the neighborhood has been lost.”
“You live backed up to the woods; there could be a billion cats around and in that neighborhood. For all you know, Old Lady Midnight might have a cat—maybe named Morti Rat,” Tori concluded.
“That would kill two birds with one stone, wouldn’t it? I think if Ms. Midnight had a cat, I would certainly have seen it by now and Sully most definitely would have sniffed it out. He certainly liked barking at the one in the house next door.”
“The chances of this Morti being the cat you saw in the window are one in a billion. You know that, right?”
“I do, but it also gives me an excuse to check out the neighbor to see if the cat I saw is okay,” Summer said.
“So what you’re really saying is that you want to snoop around. See what’s up with this neighbor.”
“Kind of.”
“You know me, I’m all for snooping,” Tori said.
“So you’ll come with me?”
“Sure, but why me? Why not take a sexy blond vampire with you?” Tori suggested with a wink.
“What do I need a vampire for when I’ve got my ninja friend to protect me? Isn’t that why you’ve been taking Tae kwon-do for all these years? To protect me?” she said, making karate chop movements in the air in front of her. “Besides, I’m a little confused about Jackson,” she admitted.
“No, I did not take twelve years of martial arts to protect you, but to make myself nimble and strong LIKE a vampire,” Tori giggled. “What are you confused about? I thought it all went rather well…even ended with a kiss if I’m not mistaken.”
“Yeah…it did, and the kiss was amazing, but…” Summer paused.
“But what?”
“I don’t know, I can’t help but think he’s keeping something from me.”
“Like what?”
“I’m not sure. It’s just that certain subjects seem to send him into ‘duck and cover’ mode. We’ll be having a perfectly innocent and interesting conversation and the next thing I know, he won’t say a word,” Summer explained.
“He’s just shy, girlfriend. You’re making too much of it,” Tori said.
“Maybe…but it’s weird. He seems to know an awful lot about dragons and puzzle boxes,” Summer told her.
“Puzzle boxes? How did you get on that topic?”
“He saw the box that Sister Mary Louise gave me the day of graduation—the envelope from whomever dropped me off at the orphanage? You know the one.”
“Oh, right. The crazy box that has no way inside,” Tori recalled.
“Right. According to Jackson, it’s a Japanese puzzle box.”
“Cool. So it does open?”
“Supposedly.”
“I take it by that comment that he didn’t open it for you,” Tori said, tossing a chip into her mouth.
“No. He said something very Confucius-like…I think it was something like, ‘solving the puzzle is part of the path to the secret within.’”
“I can only point the way, Grasshopper. You must walk the path yourself,” Tori said in her best ‘Kung Fu’ blind Master Po imitation.
“I know, right?!” Summer said, laughing. “But he did show me the first move.”
“So he knew a lot about puzzle boxes, there’s nothing creepy about that.”
“No, but when I pointed it out, he clammed up. Same with the dragon scale—you were there. Didn’t it seem a little strange how he reacted to my asking him how he knew all this stuff about dragons?”
“He said he read about them.”
“Yeah! But he seemed really uncomfortable when I asked him.”
“Maybe. It could be nothing too. Or maybe he had some bad experience with revealing too much about himself too soon. I don’t know, but I certainly wouldn’t worry about it,” Tori said.
“You’re probably right. It was a great kiss,” Summer said and flushed.
“Yeah?”
“Definitely. Oh, and I spoke to Daniel last night.”
“Oooohhhh! The dreamy fallen angel? What did he want?”
“He wanted me to stop seeing Jackson,” Summer said.
“Really? Why?” Tori licked her spoon of its last remnants of chocolate pudding.
“Not sure. He just said I shouldn’t be consorting with vampires,”
“Wait a minute. Wasn’t he the one who said he couldn’t interfere with which direction your life took?”
“Yes, but apparently dating a vampire is ‘endangering’ my life,” Summer retorted.
“Sounds pretty bogus to me,” Tori said. “Seems like he gets to pick what he deems to be important, and you don’t get any say in the matter. It almost sounds like something a jealous boyfriend might say.”
“Exactly,” Summer said, stamping out a flame that had ignited near Sully’s nose.
“Did you tell him that?”
“Not in those exact words, but I pretty much told him I thought it seemed to go against what he told me last time we spoke.”
“How did he react?” Tori said, gathering up her litter from lunch.
“He was tripping over his words and then just up and disappeared.”
“Yup. Sounds like he’s got a crush on our new town vet,” Tori said.
Summer followed her to the trash can with Sully right behind her. “I’m not a vet yet. I’m an intern.”
“Whatever,” Tori said as they walked back to the office.
*****
Armed with antibiotics, a fresh fire extinguisher and a very tired Sully, Summer headed home with Tori. She didn’t really have a plan per se, aside from knocking on the door and seeing what happened.
It wasn’t exactly what you might consider a creepy house, but it was certainly in worse shape than the mansion. At least the mansion was sound with its damage mostly cosmetic—nothing a good power wash, a coat of paint, taming of some overgrown shrubs and vines and some minor repairs to the porch couldn’t fix. This house, on the other hand, needed real work. The porch seemed to lean to one side and there was no hint noticeable as to what color the house might have been at one time, only that it had white trim once.
Maybe it was the sight of the large-bellied cat in the window that day not so long ago that burned in her mind, but Summer didn’t like it here. She couldn’t explain what it was that disturbed her—it was just a feeling.
It was apparent, though, that Tori wasn’t liking the feel of the place either as the two of them crept slowly up the walk to the disintegrating porch. Tori looked at Summer; Summer looked at Tori, and both seemed to be asking the other the same unspoken question—should we be doing this?
Summer nodded and took a deep breath as if somehow it would fill her with some much needed courage. Tori did the same and took the first step toward climbing the unstable-looking stairs. Slowly they crept up step by step, cautiously noting the stability of each board they stepped on. All the drapes and blinds were pulled and no light showed from within, but then Summer had never seen any lights on in the place at all, which is why she had been so surprised when Dr. Stuart said the owner had rented the place. She’d never seen a car or any means of transportation. Quite frankly, the appearance of the cat in the window had been the only indication there were ever any tenants at all.
Finding what courage she could muster, Summer knocked on the door. Silence was the only answer they received. Again, Summer knocked. They both listened for any movement from within, but neither heard a thing, not even a meow.
Tori went into a familiar Tae kwon-do stance for what Summer was pretty sure would be for a sidekick. “Shall I kick
it in?” she joked.
“NO,” Summer rebutted. “How in the world would we explain that?”
“Nobody is here, we take a quick look inside, maybe rescue a cat, then run like the wind,” Tori said.
“That’s your plan? Run like the wind?” she said, scowling.
“Works for me.”
“Didn’t you learn anything from living with the nuns all your life?” Summer scolded.
“Sure. I do the deed, I go to confession, I do my penance of the rosary nine times with a couple extra Hail Mary’s and everything is cool again,” Tori said.
Summer shook her head in disbelief. “How about we DON’T break in and we just leave a note?”
Tori thought and said, “That works too. However, my plan sounds more exciting.”
“Your plans usually are AND usually often against the law to boot,” Summer admitted as she wrote a small note on the back of an envelope from her pocket which said.
Dear Neighbor,
I found a small red collar in our yard with MORTI on the name tag. Just wondered if it might be your pet’s collar.
Your neighbor (in the cottage)
Summer
She slipped the note into the mailbox. Tori had taken up peeping in the window, her hands cupped around her eyes, her nose pressed to the dirty glass. Summer grabbed her by the arm and headed to the cottage.
*****
Waving goodbye to Tori, a warm summer breeze kissed Summer’s skin, giving life to the skirt of her sundress. The scent of jasmine and pine rolled from foothills and lingered for a moment—she closed her eyes and enjoyed it, and then it continued on its way.
She climbed the familiar steps up to the mansion’s massive door and rang the doorbell. As she waited for an answer, she hoped Ms. Midnight would be in an agreeable mood.
The door creaked open and the usual scowl greeted her with a “What is it?” but before Summer could respond, Ms. Midnight’s eyes spied Sully at her side. He sneezed and ignited a small pile of leaves on the porch. Summer jumped into action, stomping the tiny blaze out with her shoe. Ms. Midnight seemed to be completely oblivious to the flames and cradled Sully’s head in her hands and rubbed his jowls and chin.
“My sweet, you’ve gone and caught yourself a cold, haven’t you?” she said to Sully.
He responded with a stuffy, “Yup.”
“Well, I know how to fix you up. I used to make it for your mother when she was just a little older than you. You know, I found her orphaned when she was young, just like you,” she told him.
“You did?” Summer asked.
“I did. Didn’t I tell you that?” Ms. Midnight replied sweetly to Summer.
“No. Ms. Midnight, would you like to sit with us in the garden? Maybe we could talk a bit?”
“I’d love that, child,” she said.
They made their way to the weathered bench near the thriving medicinal garden, and all the while, Ms. Midnight chit chatted with Sully, her slow but steady steps crunching with each footfall on the finely crushed rock of the path.
Before they sat, Ms. Midnight put her hands on her hips and took a long look at the garden before her. The breeze swept past them, making the herbs large and small, young and old, bow and sway as if to some unheard melody. Pungent and delicate scents mixed together as they made their way to the onlookers and Summer named them to herself as each made themselves known to her. Roses, sage, um, lavender, rosemary, lilac, and…
“Lemon thyme,” Ms. Midnight said.
Summer’s head turned to the woman as she seated herself on the bench.
“But how did—?”
“How did I know what you were thinking? It’s a bad habit of mine. Been doing it since I was a child—drove my sister crazy. I’m quite sure you have the gift too; you just haven’t accessed it yet.”
“Oh, I don’t think so. I’ve never been able to read anyone’s mind—ever.”
“Not yet,” Ms. Midnight said, petting Sully and gazing at the garden as if somehow it was feeding her. She drew in deep breaths and closed her eyes. Summer didn’t know how to respond to Ms. Midnight and watched as the woman enjoyed the sweet smells of summer.
Ms. Midnight finally broke the peaceful silence of nature. “The dragon scale around your neck has awakened the magic within you.”
Summer’s tongue felt as if it had grown as big as a shoe and her mouth was so dry she could barely swallow. She couldn’t have responded even if she could have found the words.
“Haven’t you heard nature calling you?”
“Nature calling me?” Summer asked, confused.
“Yes, the animals of the forest around you, your pup—these are just the stirrings of your magic.”
“I don’t have any magic,” Summer said assuredly.
“Oh, but you do, child. You most certainly do,” she said, patting Summer’s thigh lovingly.
“But I don’t understand.”
“Don’t you fret. When your magic is ready it will make itself known, but for now, just enjoy getting to know the nature around you.”
Summer was more confused than ever. Was Ms. Midnight of her right mind? The last time she had been this way, she had seemed completely sane and made sense until the end when she had mentioned the rat and the hat, or was it a broom—she couldn’t remember.
Ms. Midnight stood and said, “Now let’s get a little something to help your pup get rid of this cold.” She set her sights on a nearby plant. Though her skin seemed almost translucent and loose over nonexistent muscles, she plucked here and nipped there with great strength and expertise.
“Hold out your hands, child,” she said, placing stems, leaves, roots and flowers within the bowl shape Summer made with her two hands. With each item she gave explanation and instruction.
“Oolang black tea contains powerful expectorant compounds that help clear mucus from deep within the chest and the caffeine is a great bronchodilator.
“Chamomile takes the edge off the caffeine and is known for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic and antispasmodic properties.
“Thyme has antiseptic properties that help heal the infections.
“Eucalyptus cools inflamed tissues and eases congested lungs.
“Rose hips are high in vitamin C and make it taste better.
“Lastly, marshmallow and licorice roots help calm the fire and soreness in his throat.
“You can administer this one of two ways: seep all the ingredients in hot water, making a strong tea and then pouring it over his food, or burning it all into ash form and sprinkling it atop his food. Both will work, but Ms. Ash preferred the sprinkling of ashes,” she said, cupping her fragile-looking hands around Summer’s and smiling. As she did so, she noticed for the first time the pet collar still around Summer’s wrist.
“What is this?” she said, rotating the collar until the tag was showing; but before Summer could answer her, Ms. Midnight said with excitement, “You’ve found him? Why haven’t you said something earlier?”
“Found him?” Summer repeated, puzzled by the exclamation.
“The RAT.”
“Morti…is the rat?”
“Of course he is, didn’t I say that?”
“Well, yes, but no…I mean you just said it, yes, but you didn’t mention it before,” Summer stammered.
“Either I mentioned it or I didn’t—which is it, child?”
“No. You didn’t mention it before,” Summer clarified.
“I sometimes forget things, though I absolutely hate to admit it. I just…” She paused for a long moment and Summer thought she was losing her again as she had the last time she started talking about the rat and the other thing.
*****
Summer spoke tentatively, worried that she was about to be confronted by the sour version of the strange but sometimes lovable Ms. Midnight. “Morti must be a very large rat to fit in this collar. Maybe I should get a larger cage,” Summer said, speaking out loud but more to herself than anyone else.
“A rat? Why would you think Morti is a rat?”
Though kindness still showed on Ms. Midnight’s face, Summer was quite sure now that Ms. Midnight had gone back over to the crazy side where she frequented her time. “Because you keep referring to him as a rat,” Summer explained.
“No, child. Not a rat, the RAT,” Ms. Midnight said.
“What?” Summer said, completely confused by the conversation.
“Didn’t I explain this?”
“No,” Summer said plainly.
“You poor thing. No wonder you’ve been running around catching rats and looking at me like I’m crazy.” She chortled.
“The RAT is the Reliquary of All Thaumaturgy.”
“Thawma…what?” Summer asked.
“Thaumaturgy—Magic.”
“And a reliquary is a—” Summer tried to untangle the knot of words tossed at her.
“A reliquary is a vessel,” Ms. Midnight explained.
“So Morti is a vessel…”
“Yes.”
“Of all magic…” Summer said, trying to understand.
“That’s right,” Ms. Midnight confirmed.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Midnight. I just don’t understand. Is Morti a living thing?”
“Of course he is,” she laughed as if it were ridiculous to think otherwise.
“But he’s not a rat, he’s ‘the’ rat—a relick—”
“A reliquary of all thaumaturgy. That’s right,” Ms. Midnight said.
Summer wasn’t sure if she was any less confused than when they first started this conversation. “Ooookaaaaay,” she said with a great deal of doubt. “Can you…describe the RAT to me?”
“Of course I can. He’s incredibly annoying, arrogant, deceitful, and narcissistic,” Ms. Midnight exclaimed.
“Um…that’s very descriptive, Ms. Midnight, but I was hoping for something a little more…physical,” Summer said.
“Of course, how silly of me. He is large, shaggy, and rather chubby. He has green eyes, mostly black hair, and did I mention—he’s a cat?”
“The RAT is a cat,” Summer said in disbelief.
“Yes. A very disagreeable cat. Indeed. Didn’t I mention that?” Ms. Midnight said, flustered.
“No. No, you didn’t,” Summer said incredulously.
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