I couldn’t help Trinity other than to offer some comfort. I made sure she had a quiet place to recover herself. She refused anything to drink, though I forced some water on her. She had been out in the heat for a bit. Chai, even iced, isn’t nearly as hydrating as water. I got her settled at our usual table in the back, thankful Cade and Greg had been so intent upon cleaning everything.
I learned the specialty library was closed until the police finished their search. Several of the witches in line for drinks had felt Trinity’s little spell. They continued to look curiously at us, wondering what we were discussing even as I got her settled at a table.
Fortunately, most people were local and knew all of us. Clay Bridges took his coffee over and sat with Trinity for a bit, just talking to her. Clay runs the feed store a few blocks over. It was definitely a major event for him to get out of his store and grab something. He’s the kind of older man who likes his coffee hot and black no matter the weather. I suspect he’d love it if I made it so strong you could stand up a spoon, though he’s assured me mine is okay as it is. Just okay is not what a shopkeeper wants to hear.
He and the Lyons family have been friends for years. Clay might live out on a farm a few miles from town but he had made a point of being active in his younger years and had even sat on the town council at one point. Now, his store took all his attention, but he remained popular in town, and, if you knew him well enough and asked nicely, he could give you the low down on almost any thread of gossip.
I worked hard pulling drinks. Cade made sure Greg had backup when he needed it at the register but kept the back area clean while grabbing supplies from storage. People grabbed bottled water from him before he could even put a case of it in the cooler. I’d have to order some extra the next day or I’d run out.
I did a small spell to make sure I remembered before going back to pulling drinks.
The crowd dissipated around the time Mrs. Ainsley and her companions finished their allotted time. The small trio wandered slowly out of the room when Cade let them know their time was up.
“That Kitika is such a lovely girl. I have her on my shortlist of potential familiars,” Mrs. Ainsley said. She smiled sweetly at me, waiting to hear my opinion.
While I was pleased, I had a niggling sensation that something wasn’t quite right. She seemed like such a sweet older woman and Kitika needed someone to dote on her, but I had a tight feeling in my gut.
“Well, we’ll see how things work out. You mentioned having other places to visit?”
Mrs. Ainsley was only too happy to tell me more than I wanted to know about her visiting schedule, which sounded absurdly busy. She and her friends were looking at the parrot rescue, the goat rescue, and even the horse familiar breeders. The latter surprised me. Horses took a lot of work and few people were willing to let just anyone care for them.
I greeted the next group while Cade went to pull drinks. Six non-magical people, three guys and three girls. The two tallest of the guys were holding hands. Two girls, one of which looked like one of the guys, were giggling together. The final couple was a young man and a girl. Probably college students off for the summer and looking around for something to do. So long as they abided by the rules of cat café, I was fine with it.
I headed into the cat room to straighten things up and make sure the cats had everything they needed. Magic tingled around me. I wondered if it lingered from Mrs. Ainsley and her crew. The people who had just come in hadn’t indicated an interest in a familiar and when they’d registered online, I hadn’t gotten any hints of magic.
“I think they’re non-magical,” I told Mason.
Kitika had no desire to bond with an ordinary person so it was unlikely that she’d come out of her house, though she’d been loving on Mrs. Ainsley.
Jelliane didn’t like that old woman at all, Mason told me, speaking of Mrs. Ainsley. She’s certain there’s some negative energy around her. I’m not sure how she was so certain when Kitika thinks she’s fine.
“Could it be ill-health?” I asked. I didn’t know Jelliane well enough to know how accurate her impressions were.
Mason paused, thinking. He clearly hadn’t had a good hit. The door behind me opened before he could give me an answer.
Greg normally doesn’t allow anyone in until I’m done clearing. Drawing my hand away from Mason like a guilty child, I turned.
It was the girl with the boyfriend. They were both in shorts and sandals. They had their drinks, expensive specialty frozen coffee drinks. Her dark hair swirled messily around her shoulders.
The girl was pointing at Kitika who was hiding in her favorite little cubby.
“The cats will come out for you if you sit down,” I said. Greg and Cade were busy with the rest of the drinks, making more fancy things, so perhaps they didn’t understand that they were supposed to wait.
The girl didn’t even look. She continued walking towards Kitika, reaching in to touch her.
I heard Kitika hiss.
“I said that you need to wait until the cats come out to you.” I put my hands on my hips. All the felines were racing to their perches, out of reach. Kitika was huddling back in the little house.
The girl turned to look at me. “What do you know?” Such attitude. I was sorry I’d let these people in.
“I know because I’m the owner. If you can’t follow the rules, then you’ll have to leave.”
“I spent my money. We can do what we want.” The girl stood up, drawing herself up like she was spoiling for a fight.
“No. Actually, you can’t. There are rules here.” I wasn’t worried about her. A quick spell and she wouldn’t touch anything. However, her attitude riled me.
“Don’t talk to my girlfriend like that!” the guy was also drawing himself up. It would have been funny in another situation. I’m maybe five-three and he was barely an inch taller than I was. He had the beginnings of a beard, but it was so thin you didn’t notice it until you were up close. Unfortunately, I stood far too close to him.
I gestured with my hand putting a protection spell on myself and all the cats.
“Last warning,” I said. “You can sit down and let the cats come to you or you can leave.” Not that any of the cats would be foolish enough to spend any time with these two. There had to be a way to pre-screen the ordinary folks who came into the café.
The girl rolled her eyes and copied my quick gesture. I felt a hint of magic surge around her, magic flowing easily, but unfocused, so no protection spell was created. From the amount of magic around her, it wasn’t that she didn’t have the power. Most likely she had no idea what the gesture was supposed to do. Great. An untrained witch.
First, someone is murdered in the town and then I meet a teenage witch with more attitude than training.