Dog-Eared Delinquent

Chapter Twenty

“The cruel irony is that the less one practices magic, the stronger she becomes,” Bethany explained as we settled into my home library side-by-side. Octo-Cat sat on my lap, but I’d asked Nan to sit this one out. As much as I loved her, I felt this moment needed to be private.

“It’s all part of the great balance,” Bethany continued as I stared at the trees swaying in the gentle winds outside. “It helps to keep the power-hungry from becoming too powerful. Keeps the magic world hidden and safe.”

“Moss mentioned some of this,” I said, nodding along as I recalled my time in the fishbowl.

“As I already said outside, the fact that I’m a non-practitioner makes my magic abnormally strong,” Bethany continued. “But I’m not an expert in harnessing it. I can try to transfer some of it back to you, but it might not work.” She swallowed hard. “You could also get hurt.”

“It’s worth the risk,” I said without hesitation, petting Octo-Cat as I spoke. “I’m ready.”

“Our best chance at getting this to work right is to recreate the scene at the will reading as closely as possible. That’s why I brought you the jacket.” She nodded toward the blazer which sat crumpled in my lap, then picked up the reusable cloth shopping bag she’d brought inside with her.

The moment I saw what came out of that bag, I jumped to my feet in sheer terror. “Keep that thing away from me!” I screamed as I stared at the old office coffee maker, refusing to so much as blink until it was safely put away. It had almost killed me the first time, and I didn’t doubt it could finish the job today.

“We need to recreate what happened that day,” Bethany reminded me. “I’m sorry, but it’s the most surefire way to get this to work.”

I shivered violently as I regarded the evil appliance. Could I do this? Could I face this deep-seated, albeit very rational, fear and live to tell the tale?

Octo-Cat meowed and rubbed himself against my ankles. When I reached down to pet him, I found that he was purring. He gave me a sandpaper kiss, then jumped back into the window seat and rubbed his head against the coffee maker, keeping his eyes on me the whole time.

I smiled despite my fear. “If he believes this will work, then so do I. Um, do you mind if I close my eyes first?”

“Do whatever you need to do,” Bethany said, situating the coffee maker near the closest outlet. “I took the liberty of fraying the power cord some. Thought it might make for an easier electrocution.”

Oh, joy.

Octo-Cat mewled again. He believed in me, believed in us. I’d do anything to protect that even if it meant walking head-first into danger—which, apparently, it did.

Bethany put both hands on my shoulders, and I felt a warm, pleasant sensation transfer from her to me through the blazer. “Are you ready?” she asked, pulling her hands away.

I nodded, clenching my eyes tight as she guided me toward the coffee-making death trap. Octo-Cat stayed at my side every step of the way, and when I couldn’t find the cord with my eyes still closed, he pushed my hand in the right direction.

There was only one thing left to do.

With a deep breath—one I hoped wouldn’t be my last—I picked up the power cord and jammed it into the outlet. When the burst of electricity shot through my body, I collapsed and fell unconscious with a smile.

“Angie? Angie? Are you okay?” Bethany asked, cradling my head in her lap as I came to.

“What happened?” I asked. My mind felt… fuzzy.

“Did it work?” she asked excitedly, disregarding my question entirely.

Bethany helped me sit up, and I glanced around the room. We were at my house in the library I had claimed as my own special sanctuary. But why?

Octo-Cat approached me carefully, almost as if he could catch whatever I had. “Yuck,” he said. “You still smell like that basement.”

Tears filled my eyes and suddenly I remembered everything. “You can talk,” I said, sobbing freely.

Bethany cheered and pumped a fist in the air.

Octo-Cat shook his head in amazement. “Of course I can talk. I’ve always been able to talk. But now you can listen again. Oh my whiskers, I have so much to tell you.”

“It worked,” I sobbed. “I’m magic again.”

Bethany placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I think you’ve got it all wrong. Don’t you see? You’re not magic, but the bond you two share is.”

“This sounds like an episode of the Care Bears,” I quipped.

“My Little Pony would be the more recent reference,” Bethany said with a shrug. “But sure, Care Bears, yeah.”

I gave her a tight hug despite the fact sarcasm simply dripped off her. “Thank you so much for helping us.”

“Hey, don’t get too friendly there,” Octo-Cat warned as he wrinkled his nose in disgust. “She’s a dog, too.”

“You’re a dog? Like Peter?” I asked.

She nodded. “I can become a pit bull. I did it a few times in my school days to scare bullies away. Bully breed, indeed,” she said with a dry chuckle.

“So what happens now?” I wanted to know.

Bethany sighed and looked toward the door. “Unfortunately, I need to go.”

“Okay, but I’ll see you at work tomorrow, right?”

She shook her head. “I have to leave Glendale, I mean. Now that magic has been exposed, it isn’t safe.”

I’d be sad to see Bethany leave but understood her position. “What about Peter and Moss? Are they going, too?”

“Peter’s coming with me just as soon as I bail him out. Moss, on the other hand, will… Well, he’ll be around for a while.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Peter turned Moss in to the cops so that he could plea out of felony charges.”

“Figures,” I scoffed, thinking of neither man-animal fondly now that the worst was over.

“I’m taking him to Georgia. It’s kind of like the magic capital of the world.”

“Atlanta?”

“No, a much smaller town called Peach Plains.”

“Can you do me a favor before you go?”

“I’ll help however I can, but remember, my magic isn’t very focused.”

“Can you do that memory thing on me?” I begged her to understand. This was the only option for me now.

Bethany stared at me in confusion. “Why would you want that?”

I shrugged even though I’d already made up my mind and knew I wouldn’t be changing it any time soon. “I liked the world better when it made more sense. If the magic is leaving, anyway, then I think I’d rather not remember it.”

Bethany thought about this for a second before nodding her agreement. “But you do understand that you also won’t remember why you can talk to your cat? And that if anything ever goes wrong again, you won’t know who to turn to for help?”

I considered this, but it wasn’t enough of an argument to sway me. “We’ve become good friends. Haven’t we, Bethany?”

Bethany smiled at me and gave me a quick hug. “Of course.”

“Then just check in on us every so often. Make sure we’re okay.”

“I can definitely do that,” she promised. “Now, before I try this, you’re sure you want to forget all of it?”

“All the magic stuff, if you’d please.”

Bethany raised one hand and made the whirling hand gesture I’d seen both Peter and Moss use before. Soon I wouldn’t remember any of it.

I watched her fingers dance gracefully before me. Bethany had always been so delicate and dainty. It was pretty hilarious that she could secretly turn into a pit bull. I liked knowing that, even if it wouldn’t last much longer…

“There,” Bethany said, blinking at me curiously. “How do you feel now?”

“A bit light-headed,” I answered, wondering why I suddenly felt so dizzy. “Can we open up the window and get some air flowing through here?”

“Sure,” she said, kneeling down on my cushy window seat and cranking the glass open. Funny, I couldn’t even remember asking her over, let alone what we’d discussed during our visit so far.

“Ahh, what a beautiful day it’s turned out to be,” Octo-Cat said, inhaling the sweet summer air.

We both stuck our noses out and took deep, contented breaths. I closed my eyes and let the sun kiss my face. What a perfect day it had been. I couldn’t remember much about it, but knew I was happy—and also that I was blessed beyond measure.

“What’s that cat doing?” someone asked from so close it startled me.

“Do you think he’s going to eat us?” another voice wondered aloud.

“Stop asking questions and fly away to safety,” a third said.

I opened my eyes just in time to see a trio of gulls launch themselves off the roof.

I desperately wanted to ask Octo-Cat if he’d heard them, too, but Bethany still stood nearby and she didn’t know our secret.

I knew one thing for sure, though. Those birds had talked…

And I’d understood every word they’d said.