Now You See Me

by Debbie Viguié

  “We’ll move to one of the tables outside,” Hannah said, standing up. “Tell our waitress where we are.”

  He bobbed his head up and down.

  Opal picked up the cat gingerly, afraid it might get scared and clawed her. It just purred, though, its sides heaving. She carried him outside and Hannah sat down at a table.

  “I didn’t know you had a cat,” she said.

  “I don’t,” Opal said.

  She set the cat down on the ground, expecting him to take off. He stood there staring at her. She sat down in a chair across from Hannah and a moment later the cat jumped up on her lap and laid down.

  “It looks like you do now,” Hannah said.

  “Hey, you need to go home,” Opal said to the cat.

  It meowed softly and put its head down on her knee.

  “Okay, that’s just weird,” Opal said. She should push the cat off her lap, but part of her didn’t want to.

  Hannah frowned. “Some magic users have cats. Maybe it’s Mal’s?”

  “I’ve never seen him with a cat or heard him mention one.”

  “The cat just likes you I guess. Maybe he realized you stuck up for him back in there.”

  Before Opal could respond Hannah waved. She turned and saw Ginger and Annie approaching.

  “Aww, who is the cutie?” Annie said as she sat down next to Opal.

  “He’s adopted Opal,” Hannah said as Ginger sat down on her other side.

  “Have you named him?” Ginger asked.

  “He just got here. I don’t think I’m keeping him,” Opal said. “Besides, I’m sure he already belongs to somebody.”

  The waitress brought Hannah and Opal their order and then hastily scribbled down orders for the other two before disappearing back inside.

  “So, where are we going dress shopping?” Opal asked.

  “Midnight, it’s this store with all the best dresses,” Ginger said.

  “It’s just around the corner from here,” Annie added.

  “Is it a reference to Cinderella, having to leave the ball at midnight?”

  “I’m pretty sure it is,” Hannah said. “There’s definitely a whimsical motif they have going on.”

  They spent the next half hour talking and consuming their muffins and coffee. The little cat fell asleep on Opal’s lap and she became afraid every time she shifted her weight slightly that she would wake him. He slept soundly, though.

  When it was time to go she carefully reached down and picked him up. He opened his eyes just wide enough to glare at her as she put him on the ground. She stood swiftly before he could try jumping back up.

  They walked to the corner, turned and walked halfway down a short block. They came to a stop in front of a store with gorgeous dresses showcased in the windows. Something bumped the back of Opal’s ankle and she looked down to see that the kitten had followed her.

  “Go home,” she said to him.

  He just sat down and looked up at her.

  “Don’t worry,” Annie said. “It takes Heather forever to choose a dress. By the time we come back out here he’ll have gotten bored and wandered off.”

  “I don’t take forever,” Heather protested.

  Ginger rolled her eyes. “Please. Last year you tried on every dress that was your size.”

  “And some that weren’t,” Annie added.

  “We were in the store for six hours,” Ginger said.

  Heather rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” She opened the door and marched inside.

  Opal cast one last glance down at the kitten and then followed Heather a bit reluctantly. Once she stepped foot in the store, though, she was instantly transfixed.

  “This place is magic,” she breathed.

  “Near enough,” Hannah said with a laugh.

  Each rack was designed so the dresses faced outward so you could see the entire thing at a glance without having to pull it out from in between the dresses on either side. Beyond that dresses were grouped by color. White, cream, and silver dresses were at the front on the left side. Black and gold dresses were at the front on the right side. Then starting on the left and working around to the right the dresses were grouped in the order of the colors of a rainbow starting with the most brilliant red and ending with the deepest purple. Pink dresses of every shade were wedged between the red and orange dresses and turquoise dresses were similarly positioned between green and blue. At the very back of the store she could see that there was a raised platform with mirrors around it. On either side of the platform the walls held jewelry.

  “Holy cow, where do you even start?” she breathed.

  Ginger and Annie had come in behind her.

  “Why, with your favorite color, of course,” Annie said.

  “But remember to browse the others, too. Sometimes you’ll find something you just have to have in a color you wouldn’t expect. I got this awesome salmon colored dress last year,” Hannah told her.

  “Good to know.”

  “Okay, let’s scatter and meet at the dressing rooms in fifteen,” Hannah said. Before anyone else could say a word Hannah headed straight for the gold dresses. Annie moved in the direction of the pink dresses while Ginger made a beeline for the blue ones.

  Opal just stood, taking it all in, while she tried to decide where to look first. Normally she would have gravitated toward the green or red dresses, but something seemed to be pulling her toward the black ones.

  She wove in and out of the stands, admiring the different dresses, and was impressed by the variety. She was eyeing one in particular, a long, velvet gown that was form fitting and had a high slit on the right side. She walked around behind it and then stopped in her tracks as she saw the perfect dress.

  It was knee-length with a full skirt, sweetheart neckline, and criss-crossing straps on the back. It was made of black satin and the skirt was covered in tiny silver stars that looked like they were showering down.

  Magic.

  That was what it looked like, pure and simple.

  She held her breath as she looked for one in her size. She found it and grabbed it. She started to head back to the dressing room, but she still had more than ten minutes before she was supposed to meet the others. She danced uncertainly from foot to foot for a moment before heading over to at least look through the red dresses.

  Ultimately she found two very pretty red dresses that would have been sorely tempting if it weren’t for the black and silver dress. Still, she grabbed her size in both of them just in case.

  She walked to the back of the store. Ginger and Annie were already there, each holding at least half a dozen dresses. Moments later Hannah arrived, clearly straining to hold up what had to be at least twenty dresses.

  “You’re trying all those on?” Opal asked incredulously.

  Hannah nodded and then frowned. “Where are the rest of yours?”

  ‘This is it,” Opal affirmed.

  Hannah shook her head. “Dress shopping. You’re doing it wrong.”

  Three hours later they each had selected a dress that they could all agree on. Opal was thrilled that the black and silver dress had fit her perfectly. She’d felt elegant and mysterious while looking at herself in the mirror as she modeled it. Annie had selected a fuchsia dress that was part of the first batch of dresses she’d tried on as well. Ginger had ended up with a white dress that made her look like Marilyn Monroe and Hannah ended up with a deep purple dress that was very form fitting.

  Opal had looked through the rest of the store, hoping to see something she could possibly wear to the magic show, but couldn’t find anything that seemed like it would work. She decided to check the clothes that she’d brought with her to see if anything there worked. Things had been so chaotic the last couple of weeks she wasn’t even entirely sure what she’d brought with her and what she’d left behind.

  They exited the store and she heard a small squeak before something rammed into her ankle. She looked down and saw the black kitten, rubbing his head against her leg like his li
fe depended on it.

  “What on earth?” she said.

  “He waited for you,” Ginger said.

  “I think that means he’s yours,” Hannah chimed in.

  “He’s not my cat,” she protested.

  “Try telling him that,” Annie said.

  They started walking and the cat stayed right next to her. At the corner she and Hannah parted ways with the other two and headed for their car.

  “Mal is going to love that dress on you,” Hannah said as they passed an alleyway between two large buildings.

  The hair on the back of Opal’s neck stood on end and she heard the kitten hiss sharply. She twisted her head and saw a man with shoulder length blond hair standing in the alleyway, hands in his pockets, watching them closely. She could swear that it looked like his eyes were glowing green.

  “Who is that?” Opal whispered as Hannah turned to see what she was looking at.

  Hannah turned back, eyes narrowed. She began to walk faster and Opal was happy to keep pace. The kitten trotted as close as he could, bumping into Opal’s ankle every second step.

  “His name is Jonas.”

  “He’s creepy.”

  “He’s a Trickster. His whole family is permanently camped on the dark side.”

  “Why was he staring at us that way?” Opal asked.

  “No good reason, that’s for sure.”

  “Which one of us was he staring at?”

  “I don’t know. Either. Both. There’s no love lost between my family and his, that’s for sure, but everyone knows I’m not a magic user. He could have just as easily been staring at you since he hates Mal.”

  “Who doesn’t hate him?” she said before she could stop herself.

  “A lot of us,” Hannah said softly after a long pause.

  “His dad tried to get me to break up with him,” she said, needing to talk to someone about it. At least Hannah understood.

  “Are you kidding me?” Hannah asked, eyes widening in surprise.

  “Nope. I had dinner over at their house last night. It would have been hard to have been more awkward.”

  “But why? I mean, he had to have seen the ring, he had to know the kind of commitment Mal made when he gave it to you.”

  “He seems convinced that Mal is going to be killed soon and he said I shouldn’t have to live with all that grief just because I kissed the wrong boy.”

  “That’s awful!”

  “That’s what I thought. Mal didn’t seem overly surprised, though.”

  “I think Mal lives in a perpetual state of expecting something bad to happen,” Hannah said.

  “Because it does?”

  Hannah didn’t say anything.

  Opal glanced behind them, relieved that the creepy guy was nowhere to be seen. Part of her had been convinced she’d turn around to find him right there like in some kind of bad horror movie.

  A moment later they arrived at the car. As soon as Opal opened her door the kitten jumped inside. She grabbed him off her seat and put him on the ground before hurriedly getting in and closing the door.

  “You really don’t want a cat, do you?” Hannah commented as she put the key in the ignition.

  “It’s not that. I’ve just...never had a pet. And I don’t know how my aunt would react to me bringing a stray home.”

  “How did she react to the first one?” Hannah said with a smirk.

  “The first...oh, Mal. Very funny.”

  “I thought it was.”

  Hannah started the engine but before she could put the car in gear there was a flash of black and the kitten was standing on the hood of the car. He stared through the window at Opal and then started scratching at it.

  “Um, okay. The cat’s coming with us,” Hannah said.

  Opal opened the car door and before she could move the cat had jumped down and then up into the car and on her lap where he promptly laid down.

  “Okay then, I guess I have a cat,” Opal said as she closed the door. As she said the words she felt a sense of peace wash over her. She began to stroke the kitten’s back and he purred loudly.

  “So, what are you going to call him?” Hannah asked.

  Midnight.

  The word popped into her mind and looking at him it just felt right. “I’m going to call him Midnight Kitty,” she said.

  “Because he followed you to the dress store or because he’s black as night?”

  “Because that’s his name.” Opal blushed. “I’m sorry, that had to sound really weird.”

  Hannah laughed. “Not in this town. Around here you have to try a lot harder than that to be weird.”

  “I guess so. Do all magic users live in this area?”

  “Not by a long shot. They’re scattered all over the planet. Some live in communities while others isolate themselves. There are some places like Salem that are hot spots, though. They tend to attract magic users for whatever reason.”

  “Do you plan on staying? You know, after high school?”

  Hannah shook her head. “I like it fine here, but I’d like to see other places. I’m applying to colleges all over, but I really would love to go to California. A cousin of mine moved out there when I was a kid and it always sounded so glamorous.”

  A couple of minutes later they pulled up outside Opal’s house. When she opened the door the cat jumped out and marched up the steps before sitting down on the welcome mat on the porch.

  “Smart cat,” Hannah said with a grin. “Somehow I expect him to ring the doorbell next.”

  “Then I should get up there before he does,” Opal said.

  She got out of the car, grabbed her bag from the trunk, and waved to Hannah before climbing up the stairs. When she pushed open the door the kitten scampered into the house ahead of her. After closing the door she headed into the kitchen where she found her aunt at the table perusing some papers.

  “Did you find a dress?” Tanya asked without looking up.

  “Yeah. I found something else, too.”

  “What?” her aunt asked, looking up.

  At that moment Midnight Kitty scampered across the threshold.

  “Him,” Opal said. “He kept following me and would not take no for an answer.”

  The kitten skidded on the floor and crashed into Tanya’s leg. Opal held her breath as her aunt stared down at the little ball of fur. Midnight Kitty looked up and let out a tiny mew.

  “Aren’t you the cutest little thing?” Tanya said, reaching down to pick up the kitten. She petted him for a few seconds before looking up at Opal. “You’re sure he has no owner?”

  “All I know is he seemed pretty intent on making me his owner.”

  “Okay. I’ll drop him at the vet’s in the morning, have a health check done, and see if he’s chipped. If everything looks good, you can keep him.”

  “Really?” Opal asked, excitement surging through her. Until that moment she hadn’t let herself get her hopes up.

  “Really. We’ll have to get some food and a litter box this afternoon. I can run to the store in a little bit and get those. Have you picked out a name yet?”

  “I was thinking Midnight Kitty.”

  “It suits you,” Tanya told the kitten who reached out and patted her nose with a tiny paw.

  Her aunt put him back down on the floor and the kitten scampered back over to Opal who scooped him up with her free hand. Holding both him and the shopping bag she turned and made her way upstairs.

  Once in her room she put Midnight down on the floor so she could pull the dress out of her shopping bag. She carefully hung it up in her closet, admiring again the way the stars seemed to shimmer.

  She started glancing through the rest of the closet, looking for something she might wear to the magic show. It wasn’t looking promising. She pulled out a long, black skirt and turned to put it on her bed. Maybe she could find a top that would look really good with it.

  Midnight had jumped up on her window seat and was staring intently down at the street.

  “
Cool view, huh?”

  She walked over and scratched the kitten behind his ears. His entire body was tense, like he was getting ready to pounce.

  “What are you looking at? Did you see a bird or a-”

  Opal froze as she stared down at the street. There, beneath her window, was the Trickster from the alley.

  19

  Opal yelped in surprise. Midnight hissed. As though his head were being pulled by invisible strings the Trickster slowly looked up until his head had fallen impossibly far back onto his shoulders. He stared up at her and slowly opened his mouth wide until it appeared to be a great chasm instead of a mouth.

  She stumbled backward, hand fumbling for her phone. Once she got hold of it she frantically tried to call Mal, but her fingers hit every name on her favorites except his. She opened her mouth to tell the phone to call him and no sound came out.

  Midnight threw himself at the window, hissing and scratching the glass as though ready to claw the man’s eyes out. Opal kept backing up, terrified that at any second the Trickster would be levitating outside her window like some bad horror movie.

  Suddenly she heard a sound coming from outside, a low keening that made the hair on her arms and the back of her neck stand up straight. For a moment she thought about taking off her ring. That would surely bring Mal straight to her. With her next breath, though, she worried that something like that was exactly what the stranger wanted.

  He can’t get in. He can’t get in. She kept reciting it like a mantra over and over in her head. Mal had warded the place. He’d said so.

  Maybe this guy could break them. What did she know? A week ago she’d had no idea magic was real and now she was being stalked by some wacked out guy who was probably just trying to scare her to get at her boyfriend.

  She dropped the phone, bent to snatch it up, and her fingers finally hit the right name. She brought the phone to her ear just in time to hear Mal answer. She hurled the phone in frustration as she realized it was his voicemail. He must have his phone off.

  She backed up until she hit the wall. Her window rattled as though something was banging on it. Midnight flew off the window seat and dashed under the bed.