the Thief of Forbidden Manuscripts

part 17

What?! See through a cat? How? That's weird.

At this moment, the cat jumps onto Sami's table and focuses its gaze on him as if reading his mind, then the old man continues talking through the thoughts in Sami's mind, "A common child on a train to the Tower of the Dead? That's the real wonder, Sami.

Did you know my name too?
If I can see through an animal, will I not be able to read your thoughts and know your intentions? I am Shimon, the holder of the banner of magic, and meeting me is an honor beyond honor that you will be proud of one day as you write your biography for your grandchildren... You made a big mistake by leaving your castle, and if I hadn't retired from magic, you would be a goner."
Meanwhile, Sami's hand under the table is shaking as he tries to take his wand out of his sleeve, very slowly so as not to attract the attention of the magician, who continues: "Don't risk using that wand in my presence, boy, it may be a very powerful wand against other wands, but not against me."
The boy steps back as he thinks about how to get out of this predicament... but whether to give up or take a chance. The old man is blind, but his appearance, the way he sits, and his overconfidence suggest that he has a long history in the world of magic, and he is the holder of the banner of magic, although the boy does not yet understand what this means! The best thing to do right now is to go along with the old man, because facing an opponent whose strength you don't know is a risky venture.
" Sami asked, "What do you want from me, gentleman?"

The same thing you want.
Do you want to see Raanun too?
Who? That idiot. If I wanted to see him, I would have freed him a long time ago and killed him myself, but how can a boy like you, who looks so bright and intelligent, not know what he wants?
I don't know what you mean, sir.
Aren't you curious as to who is travelling with you on this train? Isn't that why you took that risk in front of that guard?
Yes, sir.
By the way, it was a very good trick, but it doesn't work two times in a row, so beware.
The magician reaches out to grab the tea cup, but his hand is looking in the wrong place and Sami is watching the situation with great interest. After two attempts in which the magician is unable to grab the cup, the cat quickly turns and looks at the location of the cup. The magician locates the cup accurately and grabs it, and the cat turns back to the boy and continues to stare at him.
The magician continues: "Maybe I need another cat for emergencies... Now remember, curiosity is not in this world, Sami, and if my granddaughter Dina were a female, I would immediately release this body and gift it to her to live inside it for another sixty years, and don't forget that I have retired from magic, so rest assured."
"Sami swallowed hard after hearing these words, "Now what are you going to do with me, Mr Shimon?"
Nothing, I will let you go because I am now on a meeting with a very important person, and remember not to enter the last compartment because it carries living corpses, and as for the way to return without the guard noticing, you have to wait until the next station and when the train stops, get off and go to your compartment and when you are in front of it, jump into it before the train moves.
Yes, gentleman, thank you for your guidance.
Sami stands up and is about to leave when a crow lands on the chair opposite the magician and turns into a short, hunchbacked man with a bushy black beard and says, "Am I late?" To which he replies, "No, you're right on time."
He quickly exits the compartment and stands in the space between the compartments and looks through the glass on the door of the economy class compartment and sees a lot of passengers of all kinds...
He hesitates to enter at first, before he gets an idea to appear strong enough to avoid both the curious and the bad guys, he removes his hood and becomes visible, then takes his wand out of his sleeve and prepares a very scary black cobra snake that wraps around his head like a turban or a crown while its head is raised and its mouth is open with long fangs ...
A good idea but not ideal because having a snake on his head in this way will arouse curiosity and attract a lot of attention.
The best solution is to make it invisible and only appear if things go wrong...
He uses his wand again to make it invisible, then opens the door and enters the economy class compartment, which is a long compartment with many chairs facing each other on both sides and a narrow corridor separating them. The first thing that catches his attention is the seating of quadruplets, two boys and two girls in their late teens, dressed neatly, with red hair and many freckles on their faces, and on the table they put a Ouija board and play a game of asking a lost soul a question.
Holding their hands in a closed circle with their eyes closed, they say, "Tell us, spirit, are you happy in your afterlife?" The small triangular piece of wood with a glass circle inside moves and stops over the "no" sign.
"Huh, idiots" ... This is what the boy says as he turns his face away from them and looks across the room where a big, fat guy is sleeping, snoring loudly and a lot of saliva is dripping from his open mouth in a very disgusting sight.
He takes two or three steps forward and notices a person sitting alone with a chessboard on the table, playing against an invisible presence.
Then he looks at the opposite table where a lady wearing a lot of jewellery and a big hat is sitting opposite a small fat child who is eating greedily from a bag of sweets placed in front of him. The lady is alert and turns towards Sami, who quickly turns his face and continues his progress when he finds himself facing a chunky man who looks dwarfed by a huge goat, but the aisle is narrow and Sami has to step back or move towards the crying girl who is sitting alone.
Suddenly the boy finds himself sitting in the empty chair opposite the girl, as if someone had pulled him up and sat him down by force, he looks at her and she slowly raises her head as she wipes her tears with a white handkerchief and squeezes it into a glass placed in front of her, ...
He focuses his gaze on her ugly, bloody, dimpled face, disgusted by all those warts, those black moles, that huge, pink nose as if she had the flu, even her facial features are asymmetrical!
That huge, swollen nose can't fit in that long, thin face!

"Am I ugly, kid?" One sentence was all the girl said, then she fell silent, waiting for an answer from Sami, who didn't understand and didn't know what to answer. Should he tell her that she is ugly as the owner of the ugliest face he has seen so far, or should he compliment her out of politeness and morality because she is not responsible for the details and features of her ugly face?
The boy is silent and thinks, but his silence lasts too long and the girl says again, "Are you deaf, boy? I'm talking to you, and I asked you a question, am I ugly and hideous?"
Sami tries to grab the stick from the middle and says: "In fact, Miss, the true standard of beauty is the beauty of the soul, and the rest ... "She interrupted, hitting the table between them so hard with both hands that the glass that was previously filled with tears spilled, "Forget flattery and courtesy, my question is clear and simple. My question is clear and simple, am I ugly?"
"No, miss, you are beautiful, and you have eyes whose beauty is matched only by the eyes of the Reem deer," he replies.
The girl is crying so loudly that everyone in the compartment, she covers her face with both hands and rests her head on the table.
"What's your problem, miss?" asks Sami.