Anyone who has ever snuck out of a police center with a witch that didn't even know what a security camera was, knows it's a hard task. If you've ever been in this situation, you'd understand the frustration and adrenaline that was coursing through Kat's body right then.
And the urge to pull out your hair!
Hell, Kat was even willing to pull out her entire fur, and when Bella got distracted – and not for the first time! – by traffic lights and Kat wondered if turning human and being able to claim her True Mate really was worth the gray fur. First, it had been Milla's lava lamp. Then the fact that a plastic card could open doors. And now---
Traffic lights…!
Karma, Kat thought, resigned to her fate. Has to be karma for breaking out a prisoner!
It was the only thing that made sense at this point, while she guided the witch to "somewhere where the moonlight hit". Bella had been clear in her instructions to where they needed to go after they broke out. Apparently, she needed moonlight to strengthen her magic, and then there was something about a "hut"?
Kat wasn't sure.
But she knew exactly where the perfect spot was. It was just a few blocks from the Marshal's office there's an office building with a flat rooftop and a view of the city and forest that was to die for. As a cat, she loved to come here and enjoy the scenery. The blend of nature and human creations made the place peaceful and serene. A little further down the road – half an hour or so – and you were in the center of town with all the neon lights and signs filling the night sky with an aurora-like light. But you had the peace and sounds of nature at your back.
It was perfect!
Kat guided her to the fire escape and easily jumped up the first steps, graceful and with predatory precision. Bella, however, glared at the contraption as if she suspected it to fall apart any second now.
"You sure this is safe?" she asked, and Kat detected a slight tremor of unease in her voice. She wanted to roll her eyes and tell her to "just do it", but she didn't. She instead tried to remember that Bella was new to this world, and to her, the sight of a metal ladder must be equally terrifying and fascinating to her as electricity was. So with some calm, coaxing words of encouragement Kat got her up the stairs and onto the rooftop. And was quite pleased with herself when Bella gasped with astonishment.
"It's beautiful!" she muttered--- and for a split second, Kat sensed something different about her. Something real and unguarded. Like when she talked about her sisters.
Kat wasn't an idiot. There was something guarded about Bella and while she'd never met a witch she wanted to stick around, Bella was something else altogether. Yes, she had that cold and distant air about her that kept you at a distance. As if everything human about her was trained and didn't come naturally.
Forced and practiced…
And then there was this!
The glint in her eye when she watched the city lights merge with the stary night sky. The almost child-like innocent that ever so slightly tilted her lips upwards in a breathtaking smile that made her look like an angel.
She truly was a stunning creature…
"You like it?" Kat asked, hoping to tease the witch a little bit. Instantly the walls that Bella seemed to have temporarily forgotten came back up and the mask of indifference slipped back into place.
"Yes, this will do," she said stiffly and squared her shoulders. Almost immediately Kat missed the angelic being she'd been just moments before, but she didn't comment. Perhaps that's the price any human had to pay to be a witch. To give up their humanity. And suddenly, Kat actually pitted the witch. Because what's she'd seen of Bella so far didn't speak of a vile and bottomless cruel person. But someone desperate and willing to do whatever it took to right a wrong in her past…
Bella turned and faced the moon, her brows furring in concentration as she held up her hand.
"Hut, turn your back to the forest and your front towards me," she chanted and seemingly started to draw with her fingers in thin air. "Hut! Hut! Hut!"
"Isn't that--- holy cow!" Kat began asking but cut herself off when out of nowhere a cottage-like building appeared out of thin air. "Where did that come from?"
It looked like something of a Lord of the Ring set and any moment she expected a hobbit to jump out. But this building had a square door - big enough for a human – and was round, with no corners. Almost like a mushroom, but with a turfed roof and made out of withered-looking wood planks. It also looked like it would be knocked over by the slightest breath of wind…
"The first thing a witch learns is to make her own Hut," Bella grinned, sounding ever so pleased with herself, and walked up to the door. "It's a magical sanctuary for witches that are only available to the witch who created it and anyone who she deems worthy to see it."
"Wow!" Kat allowed, following her inside. The second she stepped inside her jaw dropped. Not only was it a lot bigger on the inside than on the outside, but it was also a lot lighter and cozier than she'd expected from a witch. Where she expected low, ominous lighting, the hut was actually lit by a huge fireplace and what looked to be a million candles floating around. Books littered every single wall with thick leather bindings, but each one of them was bright and colorful. In the back, behind a counter, were jars and colorful crystals stacked all the way to the ceiling. But whereas Kat expected the jars to be filled with toad slime and rattails, they were instead filled with mixtures of herbs and roots that gave the room a sweet and earthy scent. The carpets on the floor were pretty and equally colorful and while all the furniture inside was mismatched it all went together in an organized, chaotic way that somehow seemed to scream the "real" Bella all the way through…
"This is so cool," she mused, jumping up on the counter--- and just then caught Bella's amused look. "And I sound totally lame. Sorry."
"You sound like a human," she replied without even a hint of judgment. "Come in! And welcome to my humble abode."
"It's bigger on the inside," Kat noted, while Bella walked around, her fingers draping over the backs of the books, while she was reading the titles.
"It's magic," she explained, picking out a book and returning to the counter. "Now, let's see what we can do for you, shall we?"
She worked quietly for a long time, all while Kat watched her. She'd picked up what looked like a simple crystal, but when she chanted a couple of what sounded like Latin words, she then dipped it into a golden liquid. Instantly it started to boil, and Kat let out a small gasp, worried that she might burn herself. But Bella didn't even seem phased and even smiled when the water went from golden to purple. White smoke rose up from the bowl, but when Kat tried to sniff it, it smelled just like water.
Was all of this just a trick?
"There," she said with a tired smile and pulled it out. "Done!"
Kat gaped. What once had looked like an ordinary white crystal had transformed into a beautiful, circle pendant with an hourglass in the middle of it. The sand inside was currently all on the bottom side and while she still didn't understand the significance of it, she still marveled at how it actually looked like dusts of gold, than ordinary sand. The glass itself shimmered blue, indigo, and violet, depending on how the light hit it and the circle holding the hourglass by the middle looked like some sort of black metal that she'd never seen before.
So--- NOT a trick!
"One last touch," Bella continued, picking out a long piece of leather-like rope and tying it to the pendant. "This will adjust to your smaller neck when you're a cat and longer when you're a human."
Kat hadn't thought of that, but hell, she wasn't thinking anything much of anything right now. As Bella stepped closer and picked her off the counter and put her on the flood, her heart was beating so fast, she worried it might evacuate her chest altogether. If this worked, she was going to be human again! She was going to be able to speak to her mate and---
Without any unnecessary antics, Bella put the pendant around her neck and the long-forgotten tingles of a shift surged through her body. Kat gasped as she went from being a cat one moment and the next---
Her hands trembled as she watched ten pink fingers right in front of her. The colors around her were even brighter and lighter than before, and the roughness of the carpets under her feet felt ticklish all of a sudden. Bella held her, as she stumbled to her feet, the strangeness of being human again felt right and wrong at the same time. Her knees – she hadn't had knees in what felt like forever! – wobbled and she had to sit down almost immediately. A moment later she felt Bella wrap a blanket around her shoulder and a mirror was thrust into her hand.
"Voila!" she sang out and grinned, watching Kat's stunned expression as she saw herself for the first time in 5 years. Her big brown eyes were as dark as they'd been back when she'd been human last, but her face was a little different. Her features were a little more defined and while she hadn't been underfed by her mate, five years on her own could be seen on her body. She's lost some weight and gained a couple of scars. Her black hair was longer and--- oh god! She was NOT about to look down to see what the rest of her unkempt body look like after five years!
But she was in serious need of a razor!
Or a loan mower!
Shaking her head at her own ridiculous thoughts, she started laughing. A laugh that soon turned into hysteria, because of the many, thick and suffocating emotions running through her.
"I'm human again," she whispered, her voice rough from the tears choking her and the many years she hadn't used it. She was human again, and apparently, her vanity was her first priority! She hadn't learned anything in all her years of being a cat, she thought with mirth--- and then laughed. Because despite how stupid it sounded, it was one of the things she'd missed. She missed doing her hair, picking out clothes, going shopping--- everything she'd taken for granted for all her life…
And now she ached to do it all again!
To have problems that only women understood. To gossip and laugh with friends. To bake and to have a glass of wine. To find love--- or rather, convince her mate to mate with her during a full moon so she could get rid of the curse once and for all.
Now she had a chance to do that…
"For now," the witch said, standing in front of her again, handing her a warm cup of something that smelled sweet and bitter at the same time. "But remember: it will only turn you back to a human temporarily," Bella warned, a look of grave importance on her face. "If you want it to be permanent you need to get rid of the curse. See the hourglass?" She gestured at the pendant hanging around Kat's neck. "You can turn it at any point you like but know, it can only make you human for 6 hours at the time. And if you spin it, you can't turn it around again until the sand has run out. And that's usually twice as long as you were human."
Her fingers still trembling, Kat picked up the pendant and studied it closer. On the side, there was a trigger-like mechanism, that enabled her to spin the hourglass around at will. Not that she was eager to become a cat again, but it was good to know that she at least had some control over her animal form again.
"So, if I'm human for 4 hours," she replied and watched as the sand trickled down into the bottom at what felt like an alarming rate. "Then it takes 8 hours before I can turn back?"
"Yes," Bella replied, looking pleased that she didn't have to repeat the instructions. "So do mind the time and remember the six-hour limit."
"How do you know it's six hours?" Kat asked, unable to hold her curiosity.
"You'd rather I explained it in the moon's rotations?" Bella shot back, her hand going to her hip, and shot it out, making her look regal and composed, despite being dirty and in torn clothes.
"Nope, I'm good! Thank you," Kat quickly uttered, taking a sip of the tea that Bella gave her. And realized with some surprise that it was actually really good. She felt her muscles grow stronger and the trembling of her hands stopped. She could even breathe easier and greedily she took another sip. Hell, the witch could make a fortune selling this stuff!
It was amazing!
"Good!" Bella exclaimed and with a come-hider motion of her finger, a chair came rushing at her like a puppy, eager to serve. It stopped right next to the chair where Kat sat – the shifter still wasn't sure if she was in a witch's hut, or if she accidentally had ended up in a Disney movie! – and with a wide eager smile, Bella sat like a student eager to learn. "Now! The 21st century. What do I need to know?"
Oh--- right!
Kat had almost forgotten her end of the bargain. And suddenly the small hourglass seemed like she'd drawn the short end of this deal after all. Because how the hell did you explain the 21st century to someone who wasn't even around when the steam engine was invented?
"Erm," Kat hummed, trying to think of something to say while looking around. Which gave her an idea of the first thing that had to change! "Well, for one thing, you need a new Hut," she explained, gesturing to the window where some of the city light still could reach them.
"What's wrong with this one?" Bella said, sounding a little defensive. And rightfully so. The hut was cozy and inviting and had they been somewhere in the middle of the Amazonas, it would fit right in.
But here…
"Your house sort of stands out from the rest," Kat said, and walked to the window, gesturing outside. "See? All the houses around us look like that, and---"
"Oh, I see," Bella murmured thoughtfully and while she seemed reluctant at first, she shrugged and grinned, like it wasn't such a big deal. "Can't have that, now can we? Verto!"
Frowning, Kat didn't have a clue to what the word meant, but gasped out loud, when the walls began to move and transform. The room became bigger and wider until it fit the entire rooftop of the building.
"We'll need two separate bedrooms and bathrooms. A kitchen, a living room, and a dining room…"
As Bella rattled off the lists of things that were needed and just like that, they became real. Walls, furniture, and everything you ever needed magically appeared as she said the words. The rugs found new places and the fireplace moved to the living room. The chairs and table walked into the kitchen and her magical books made themselves comfortable at the back, while the counter divided the living room into two, one looking all about relaxing and lounging while the other looked like an alchemist office space.
"Dr. Strange go home," Kat muttered amazed as the floors under her feet moved and expanded. Everything looked very much like what she'd imagine a condo in the 1700s might look like. It took some time, but with a few suggestions and images from an old magazine, Bella had completely transformed the hut into a modern-day loft apartment.
And a big one at that.
Water and electricity were another story, however…
"Why would you want to charge your phone?" Bella frowned, as Kat tried to explain the concept of overhead lights and electricity. And like a damn idiot, she'd brought up phones!
"And what's a phone? Are they dangerous?"
Kat wanted to groan and hit her head on something. Preferably hard! Yeah, try and explain electricity to someone who wasn't there when it was invented!
"It's a small device, like this one," she said as patiently as she could and showed her a picture of a phone in the magazine she'd been using to modernize her friend's home. "We use it to contact our friends and family who are far away. Like sending a letter only we can talk to them directly."
"Magic?" Bella asked aghast.
"I don't understand the science behind it, but I'm pretty sure it's not magic," Kat sighed, feeling so out of her league it wasn't even funny. And hell, she'd grown up with most of this stuff. "Erm, it has a wide variety of functions. It's a calendar, an alarm clock and you can message your friends and family by the."
"And you have all of that," Bella gasped, pointing to the picture again, an awed expression on her face. "In this little device?"
"Yes," Kat replied, feeling like she was finally getting somewhere. Until---
"Effingo," the witch said, with a child-like eagerness that surprised Kat a little. But sure enough, the second Bella waved her hand over the picture the two phones disappeared off the page and landed in their hands. For a hot second, all Kat could do was gape. That was amazing! And hell, this took shopping-spree to a whole new level, it made Kat dizzy just thinking about it. No, she wasn't a material girl, but still---
"They seem to be broken," Bella said, sounding confused. Kat checked hers and sure enough, they were missing a sim-card.
"They're not broken," she exclaimed in relief. "They just need a sim card. We'll get one of those at the store or something, don't worry about it."
"Oh," Bella sighed and--- and suddenly looked so completely crestfallen, it made the shifter's heart ache to watch her. She dropped the phone on the counter and turned, walking to one of the many windows with a beautiful view of the city below.
"What's wrong?" Kat asked, worry in her voice as she walked over.
"Things used to be so simple," Bella confessed although she didn't know why she did. Hell, she didn't even understand why she felt like this. Magic had always been in her blood, but watching Kat see it all hadn't just been fun with had parked that same unfamiliar feeling in her chest that he'd felt with her younger sister. And the longer it lingered, the more aware she became of the sliver of magic that hung around Kat.
Just like her sister.
She didn't dear touch it. She knew what was going to happen. She'd feel the same jolt of strength and power she'd felt before, but she didn't understand it. It wasn't that witches WANTED to harness their powers from misery and chaos. It was the only way they COULD strengthen their powers. Sure, some said that there was no magic as powerful as love, but that was nothing but an old wives tale; even back when Bella was a modern girl.
Everybody knew that!
Some humans romanticized the idea and wrote about magic, which could be broken by true love's kiss or an act of true love. But that's all it was.
A fairy tale…
Yet, knowing all of this, Bella couldn't help but feel that whatever she had discovered had something do to with that. All the new emotions inside of her, her want to please Kat--- and the disappointment when she realized how far out of her element she was in this new world, it wasn't even funny…
Everything used to be so simple when she didn't feel like this!
A failure!
"Now, I can't even make a communication device without---" Bella growled, wishing she hadn't made the device in the first place. But the way Kat's eyes gleamed when she talked about it – as she remembered something good – all Bella had wanted was to give her a piece of that back.
A piece of her old life and everything she'd lost…
Frustrated with herself, she huffed and bit back a tear of frustration. Cursing, she angrily rubbed it away. She was a witch, damn it! Witches didn't cry when they got upset. They plotted and schemed and made sure that they got the last laugh and more power. They didn't feel this---
Human!
"Hey! Don't think like that," Kat said and strangely her presence next to her gave her some strange sense of comfort she didn't know she needed right then. "Rome wasn't built in one day and I promise you, no matter what, I won't leave your side."
"You won't?" Bella asked, puzzled that someone – especially a complete stranger – would ever make such a promise. "But what about your soul mate?"
At that Kat smiled.
"You just gave me a chance to actually ever be with him," she said, with no hesitation or doubt in her voice. "Bitch before dicks and all that."
"I don't understand," Bella frowned, confused. "Why would a she-dog come before a males' reproductive organ?"
Kat had to bite her tongue not to laugh out loud.
Oh, her new friend needed all the help she could get…
"Come on," Kat nudged her, pulling her toward the counter again. "I want to tell you all about pluming and then, I'm treating you to a full spa treatment. How does that sound?"
"Spa?" Bella echoed, not sure it sounded like something she wanted to indulge in.
"You'll love it, don't worry about it," Kat quickly reassure her. "Besides it's the least I can do as a thank you for everything you've done for me. Before I turn into a cat again…"
Bella couldn't help but grin at the joke--- only to quickly wipe it away again. Stunned at what she'd just done, she gave herself another mental shake.
No…
No, she couldn't afford to grow attached to this creature. Her powers were already weakening, and she couldn't afford any more distractions. She needed her strength to go back in time and save her little sister.
She had to…
Yet, as Kat helped her create plumbing in her new Hut, she couldn't help but think that the past wasn't going anywhere and if she got her powers back tomorrow or the day, the fact of the matter was, that she WAS going back to save her sister. And when she hours later got treated to a spa by her shifter partner in crime, she realized that there might – perhaps! – be other things in life more important than power…