Chapter 5
Chapter five
Blindly following my instinct turned out to be not the greatest of decisions because I'd barely entered the room when I bumped into an elderly man in slacks and a cardigan who had a French bulldog by his side. “I'm so sorry,” I apologized.
“That's alright, no harm done,” he replied. He peered down at his dog, who stared fascinated, at Cosmo.
Cosmo returned the intense gaze. I could sense it from the shift in my arms.
Cosmo meowed.
The Frenchie moved.
Cosmo meowed again.
The dog flung himself onto the ground and rolled over as if he was expecting my cat to rub its belly.
“What a friendly dog”, I said.
“Alphonse is very sweet-natured, although usually he isn't that keen on cats.”
Another person approached us, and Alphonse jumped into an upright position.
“My cat likes everyone, so I think they're sniffing out that kind of vibe.” We smiled at each other as he stepped aside so I could walk past him.
Then stopped me. “Are you staying at Blooms B&B? I believe I saw you stepping out.”
“Yes.”
He beamed. “And my daughter says I need new spectacles. Well, I'll see you at breakfast. I only hope you’re not planning to bid for the same items that I do.”
“We'll see,” I said. I introduced myself and Cosmo.
“What a charming name,” he said. He held out his hand. “Paul Russo. Pleased to meet you.”
We briefly shook hands before Alphonse reluctantly allowed himself to be led away.
Cosmo and I continued our search. This time, I was watching my surroundings.
The far corner by the window that was calling out to me had attracted a few more people as well. I noticed the mayor going through a vinyl record collection.
A woman my own age wearing a silk turban in orange and a matching ankle-length dress was glaring daggers at his back.
A slightly younger woman in jeans and a crop top, with a bleached pixie cut, sneered, although I couldn’t say which of those two that was aimed at.
The last person blocking my view of the corner was a young brunette in jeans, with a ponytail and sparkling chandelier earrings, reminding me of art deco.
With Cosmo firmly in my arms, I moved closer.
I caught a glimpse of a mahogany radio-gramophone cabinet I took to be dating back to the 1920s and an even older ebony box inlaid with mother of pearl, the size of a shoe box.
A third item peeked out behind it, but all I saw was less than an inch of a velvet-covered corner.
One of these items had to be the one I came here for. I moved closer, and all of a sudden, it was as if a shutter had come down, blocking my powers.
All that was left were a cloying sensation and a weird humming noise in my ears. I almost dropped Cosmo as I shook my head to get my eardrums free.
An intense witchfire wave surged over me. It lasted less than ten seconds but during these moments, I struggled to stay upright.
As suddenly as the burning heat had come, it dissipated. But the humming increased and my steps grew heavier with every single one I took until I'd reached the corner.
I peered over the shoulder of the young woman with the chandelier earrings, yet I could not figure out which of the three objects I needed to buy. The signal had stopped.
How was that even possible? I sank down onto a visitor's chair, or at least I hoped it was put there for this reason. Surely nobody expected auction visitors to bid for a scratched plastic folding chair in butter yellow.
Cosmo purred at me. The humming in my ears stopped. At least something I was grateful for.
“What a peach you are,” I heard a silky voice behind my back.
Cosmo preened and meowed. Obviously, the woman had sparked some universal male vanity in his soul. I hadn't seen the speaker yet, but I got the most vivid picture of a slim blonde in a silver evening dress in my head.
She looked so much like a classic movie star with her wavy hair, the sparkling dance shoes, and her silk frock that I couldn't stop smiling at the vision. I had no idea if she was dressing up for a costume party or just followed her own drum, but I definitely approved of her style and so did Cosmo.
Unless... was it my magic that allowed me to see her clearly in my mind, or was she the one who had put me under her spell?
I swiveled around. She wasn’t there. Instead, a bald old age pensioner shuffled around where I’d expected the glamorous woman to be. I blinked in confusion. Something was off here.
Fresh air might clear my head. A chat with my familiar might be useful as well to get a handle on things and for that I needed privacy.
As I rose and stride to the exit, I heard the blonde stranger again. “See you later, Cosmo.”
I stopped so fast, I bumped my hip at the sharp corner of a cocktail trolley and yelped. How on earth did she know his name? He’d only meowed at her, since I was the only person he communicated with in human language.
The stranger must have used magic.
I remembered something I’d read in a book. Wasn’t it the naming of things – or creatures – that gave you power over them?
I stumbled on, driven by the urgent need to escape for a moment, until I’d regained my mental balance.
On my way out, Cosmo dug one claw into my arm and whispered, "Papers."
It took me a second or two to catch on.
He wanted me to grab an updated catalog with the reserve bits from the desk. I did.
Outside, I took a deep breath and counted to ten. Then I put Cosmo down. "Let's head for the green, if there is one," I said in the cheerful voice of a woman used to talking to her pet.
With an unerring sense of direction, Cosmo led me to a pleasant, secluded park the size of two football pitches.
A playground with a sandpit, swings, and rocking horses bolted to the ground told me it was popular with young families, but luckily dark clouds were gathering again.
Thus, we had the place for ourselves, unless we counted a woman leading her small dog to the exit.
I sat down with Cosmo on a bench underneath a large oak tree that sheltered us from view. I picked a leaf, rubbed it, and inhaled the scent.
"That's better," I said.
"What was going on?"
I shivered. "You mean before or after? Everything was fine until I felt as if somebody had clogged my ears with...” I didn't even finish the sentence.
“Somebody used witchcraft to hide occult objects,” Cosmo said.
“So, I wasn't making things up in my mind?”
“No, Bex. We have competition, and whoever they are, they don't want anyone else to get their hands on the book.”
“That’s too bad for them. They weren't fast enough. I’m quite sure that I've narrowed it down to two lots. Or maybe three. There was another item half-hidden by the box that I haven't seen properly.”
“Excellent,” he said. “I'm glad all that training I gave you paid off.”
“Speaking of paying.” I opened the catalog with the price listings and stifled a groan.
“What is it?” he asked.
“We’re in trouble. Look at that!” I pointed a finger at the listing for an RCA Victor radio gramophone cabinet from 1929. “It’s got a minimum bid of $7000, and I’m sure it’s going to sell for at least five figures. It's one of the candidates.”
I searched for the ebony box. It only held a reserve price of $800, but from what little I had seen, it should also easily fetch a four-figure sum. I saw my savings dwindle to next to nothing if I wanted to stand any chance of acquiring them.
And then there was the third item, where I’d only glimpsed the corner. If I couldn’t verify where the spell-book was hidden, I might have to buy all three lots, not to mention Jimmy’s Chesterfield armchair.
There must be a way to narrow it down. I asked, “That cloaking, is it only going to work if the person who cast the spell is actually in the building, or can they control it from somewhere else? Like Ms. Vine with the upkeep of the protective spells that my aunt set up ages ago?”
Coso pondered. “It depends, but I think it'll require the person to be at least close by. Otherwise, it would have made much more sense to seal off any magical vibes from the building or the objects before the auction house opened for the first viewing.”
“That's a great point,” I said, cheering up. “I think we should go back later for another glimpse and hope that the other witch has left the building. I also think I know exactly who it was.”
“You do?” Cosmo gazed at me with open admiration, a rare occasion.
Now I was the one preening. “You wouldn’t have noticed but there was someone hiding themselves from me.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I saw her clear as day with my back towards her, and when I turned around, poof! She’d become invisible.”
“Poof?” he asked.
"Yes. Like a stage magician, when there’s a burst of smoke and lo and behold, the stage is empty.”
“Can you describe her to me?"
“Absolutely. Young, blonde, beautiful silver silk evening dress, as if she’d stepped right out of a vintage movie or magazine.” My smugness vanished just like the blonde had done. I’d liked her.
“And you saw her with your own eyes ?”
“She was talking to you. And -” I made a significant pause. “She called you by your name.”
“But you saw her?” he repeated.
“Only in my mind, but as clear as day. I’m a witch after all.”
“I’m impressed.”
“That I identified the woman we’re up against? It wasn’t that hard in this case, to put two and two together. What was hard was not dropping you when that enormous witchfire wave hit me.”
“It wasn’t her.”
I gaped at him. “It has to be. She became invisible.”
I paused my discussion with Cosmo when the young woman with the chandelier earrings entered the park and moved in the direction of a second bench close to us.
She seemed to be muttering to herself, as she too studied the catalog. I obviously wasn’t the only one shocked by the estimates and reserve bids.
Cosmo rubbed his head against my shoulder and softly spoke into my ear. “Close your eyes.”
I followed his order. And just like that, in my mind the stunning blonde reappeared, chatting with the brunette.
I opened my eyes. The blonde was gone.
Cosmo murmured, “Don’t worry, Bex. She knows my name because I told her, when I was meowing. She understands me. And you only see her when you use your witchy senses because Adriana Darling is a ghost.”