Through a Mirror, Darkly

Chapter 5

Charles was between a rock and a hard place when it came to the Case of the Missing Dead Friend. It made no sense for him to stay back with Edwin and do research and send Cat and Monty out to gather supplies. So it was inevitable that he'd end up paired with either Monty or Cat for the magic shop excursion.

He honestly wasn't sure which one would be worse, but he certainly was not enjoying being on the errand with Monty. The only consolation is that Monty was not happy about it, either.

"You sure you know what we need? I don't want to be away from the office any longer than we have to. We have to get this done," said Charles as he made a point of walking as quickly as he could.

Monty struggled to keep pace. He was forced to sprint to keep up with a ghost who not only had longer legs than him, but also didn't need to breathe. "I was the familiar of a very powerful witch. And guess what? I paid attention. Esther worked magic you've never before. Magic you wouldn't think was possible. So I think I know what I'm talking about."

"Good for you," groused Charles as he kept on walking at a breakneck pace. "Keep up, Feathers."

Monty fell behind and Charles kept going.

A second later, he heard a loud caw and felt the swish of wings next to him. Charles looked up to see Monty in crow form flying ahead of him.

"Son of a..." Charles muttered under his breath.

Suddenly, it was a race to the magic shop. Charles sprinted down the street, searching intensely for a mirror. But either there was a dearth of mirrors on this particular street, or his desperate searching had made him blind to them.

Charles took a corner at full speed. If he'd been visible to humans, the crowd would have jumped out of his way like he was a detective in a 70s cop drama chasing down a suspect. But as the humans couldn't see him, they just continued about their business as if a ghost wasn't in a footrace with a crow.

Charles could have phased through the people, but that would have required him to slow down and concentrate. Instead, he weaved through the crowd as best he could, jostling a few people who blamed the person next to them.

Just when he thought he had somehow beaten Monty despite the bird's ability to, well, go as the crow flies, he rounded the corner to see Monty perched on the sign for Alice's Magic Closet.

Monty let out a pleased little caw, then fluttered down into the alley next to the shop. There was a strange noise and another caw of frustration, then he emerged from the alley in his human form. He looked a bit disheveled and his clothing wasn't exactly the same as before he transformed. It seemed he hadn't quite gotten the hang of switching back and forth between human and animal form. "I win," Monty declared.

Charles rolled his eyes. "Wasn't aware we were playing a game," he muttered, though he was the one who had initiated said not-a-game. He started toward the magic shop, then spun around and advanced toward Monty.

Monty startled and backpedaled, eyes wide.

"Before we go any further, you and me are going to clear the air, yeah?"

Monty opened his mouth to say something, but Charles held up a finger.

"You've been rude to me since the second we met. And the fact that you're still being rude to me is bloody rich considering how you betrayed Edwin."

"I helped you!" said Monty, his eyes going wider and a bit shiny. "With your bag!"

"Naw, naw, don't you put on that puppy-eyed shit with me, bird boy. You did, and that's the only reason I'm not putting my foot down about having you about. But I have every right to be suspicious of you. So what's your problem with me?"