"I know why he needs me now; he will never find me."
Inside the flying car, on their way back to Eddie's house, Catherine stated. She had narrated to Eddie her story with Billy and he had not liked it. He had even wanted to go back to the shop and give the man a beating he would never forget.
"What if he finds you again?"
"Then I will deal with him when that time comes." She declared before turning to Eddie with a fondly smile, "Eddie, have you ever been a friend to someone born with magic?"
"I do not know, Catherine. I have been friends with people but I have always learned that they had magic only after they were out of my life."
"I see. Eddie, I come from a family of magicians in Machan District. The gift we have is very special since nothing can be hidden from us."
"How is that possible?"
"Our gift gives us the ability to see anything hidden by magic. We can also hide things and no magical power can find them. For a very long time, our family members were used to hunt treasures and they were used to store the treasures they found. This led to the deaths of our family members. It is when we were on the verge of dwindling that one of our ancestors two thousand years ago took with him the remaining people and fled to Machan which is our home today."
"He escaped with a wizard who he had saved in the past. With the help of the wizard, he made laws to protect our people from malevolent individuals. It is these laws that have made our people wealthy today. It seems Billy learned of my background and need my help somehow."
"Why did you seek his help if your family is that wealthy?"
"A clan of wealthy people has its problems. One thing we do is store treasures for some wealthy individuals at astronomical fees. If we are to be used to find treasures, we are to be paid huge amounts of hogs. We find treasures for ourselves as well and we have lots of it. This may seem like a blessing but Eddie, it is a source of surreptitious schemes. I did not want to die by the hands of my own people. I chose to lead an independent life here at Noya. Going back home would mean tying myself to debts that would have costed me my freedom."
"Why can't he directly go to your family? If you can help him, then your people can."
"Getting to my home in Machan is not easy. It is protected by spells from the wizard my ancestor had migrated with. He also has descendants who for a long time have been working with my people. They also protect that place in several ways. To get there, one has to bypass a lot of magical tests they have put in place. Again, one has to pay a lot of money just to rent our services. While Billy is wealthy, his greed and other underhanded activities can get him thrown away by the magical tests in place. He cannot risk it."
"Then how can you help him, in case his intention is to get to your home?"
"We are immune to the spells that protect our home. We can bring people along."
Catherine's answer had made silence drift in the vehicle. They were a few minutes away from Hill Valley and because of their discussion, she had intentionally slowed down. After a long silence, Eddie asked. "Have you personally made any money from this gift of yours?"
"We are buying raw materials for a business we are yet to start, is that not using my gift?" Catherine gave a sly smile which revealed bewitching dimples on her cheeks.
She was one beautiful girl and Eddie sometimes wondered why some girls would be created to be that beautiful. Because of girls like her, people thought he was a lady's man. What they did not know was the fact that he had very few friends and among those few, ladies were many. Talking about romantic relationships, he was so poor at wooing that whenever he opened his mouth to give it a try, he would be rejected forthwith. These are the ladies who ended up being his friends.
"I am looking up to what it will bring us. I also have magic."
"You do? What kind of magic?" Catherine looked at him expectantly.
"I am a spirit painter."
"What?" She gasped at his declaration, "Eddie, that is the rarest form of art magic."
"Yes," He smiled, "What it earns me in a single session is enough to sustain me for two years."
She said nothing until she stopped at the entrance of his apartment. Before he left, she gave his arm a slight tab before saying mischievously, "You should be having your own home with that skill. I will visit to get a painting."
"You are welcome, Cathy." He rolled his eyes with a side smile before walking to his house leaving an indignant Catherine in her vehicle. She clearly did not like being called Cathy.