GDT Arcane Books is a small store on the main street of Arcadia. The space it now occupies has been empty for as long as Toby can remember.
The sunshine is bright and the air warm as he and Darci linger in front of it.
"So ready to enter a world of mystery and magic?" He asks her in a dramatic wavering tone.
He wiggles his fingers and eyebrows for emphasis.
Darci giggles at his theatrics and then holds her arm over her nose as if she's hiding behind a cape.
"After you, my dark lord," She says using a terrible Dracula accent.
"Now now!" Toby tries to sound business like. "We're looking for wizards here not vampires."
"You're no fun," Darci says poking him in the side.
Toby chokes on the laugh he's been holding in.
"Hey not the sides! You know I'm ticklish."
Darci smirks.
Sensing danger Toby quickly darts into the relative safety of the store.
He pauses upon entering, eyes struggling to adjust to the dark interior. The store is two stories joined by dark wooden spiral staircase. Not an inch of the walls is visible through the shelves. They overflow with a multitude of books of all kinds. Strange knick-knacks and oddities flicker and peer from any space between the books. The few plants cluster around the window vying for the little natural light.
"Woah."
Toby is somehow shocked to not see dust covering everything. How did they get all of this in here so quickly?
"Yeah," Darci agrees in a hushed voice coming in behind him.
"Welcome to GDT Arcane Books." Says an accented voice from behind them. "We have all your magical and mystical needs. Anything I can help you with?"
Toby jumps a little and turns around.
To the left of the door is a desk and behind that desk is a darkhaired teen who looks like maybe a highschool senior or a college freshman. A black cat with a strange white marking on its chest is perched on his shoulders.
Toby sputters for a moment before Darci takes over.
"Hello..." She pauses and her eyes scan the cashier's name badge. "Douxie. Do you have anything about Merlin?"
"Hmmm," Douxie taps his chin and the cat climbs across his back to his other shoulder. It squints at them through eerie gold eyes before settling to washing its face with a paw. Toby realizes with a start that the cashier's eyes are same color as the cat's.
"We have quite a few. Are you looking for novels, mythology, legends, theories, or poetry?"
"Mythology, legends and theories would be good," Darcie says.
"Ah! Are you doing some research?"
She nods.
"In that case you will want to go to the second level, back of the last shelf. Would you like me to show you?"
"No. We're good," Toby quickly cuts in.
"Okay, let me know if you change your minds."
The bookstore has an incredible variety of books from trashy vampire romance novels with oil paintings of shirtless men on the cover to large volumes that look like they were unearthed from the runes of a castle to what appear to be academic textbooks. If someone had told Toby that this shop had literally every book relating to magic he would have believed them.
The two of them make their way upstairs. Toby has to keep himself from drooling of the wicked awesome crystals that were displayed all over. Does he have plenty of amethysts and emeralds? Sure. Would he take more? Heck yeah! Anyway these ones just have a gleam to them that draws him in.
They reach the shelf and by unspoken agreement Darci starts on the right side and Toby on the left. They slowly work their way in pulling out books at random and leafing through them.
Eventually Darci finds a book comparing different narratives of King Arthur and Toby a book about the origins of Merlin. It doesn't seem like enough so they move to the shelves on the back wall that are labeled "Magic". If magic is real –and they are certain it was- they need to know what they are up against and how to fight it.
"What about this one?" Darci says finally.
Toby comes over to look at the book she is holding.
"An Introduction to Basic Magic and Wizardry," The title reads.
Toby snorts.
"Sounds like a textbook," Toby says.
They open it and peruse the table of contents. There are sections labeled things like:
"The Evolution of Magic", "The Where and When of Beginning Practicing the Mystic arts", and "Who's Who: the Different Types of People that Use Magic and What Sets Them Apart."
Toby stares at it for along moment and finally says:
"This really sounds like something Strickler would assign us."
Darci hums.
"Right?" She tucked it under her arm. "I'm going to buy this one… If I can afford it… There isn't a price tag. What kind of store doesn't have price tags?"
Toby shrugs.
"I'm look just a little more."
"Okay. I'm heading down to see what this costs."
Toby is left alone in the top floor of the book store. It isn't too bad as far as bookstores go, he decides. Maybe it's the timeless feel. New books and old books live here side by side. He feels like if he stays here a thousand years might pass on the outside or maybe just 5 seconds. (Perhaps if he digs deep enough he could even find the things he's lost.)
Finally, at the bottom of the shelf, a worn leather-bound volume catches his eye. Toby carefully pulls it out and examines it. It's called "A Treatise on Trollish Geology." It's written by someone named Dictatious Galadrigal which is one of the weirdest names ever. And the translator's name is just as strange. The title sounds super dry and boring but when he opens it the pictures are vibrant and draw him in. Beautiful gems the likes of which he's never seen before. Even if it's probably fantasy he wants to read it.
He tucks the book under his arm but rather than making his way down the stairs he hesitates. He peers over the railing and sees that Darci is happily petting the cashier's cat. He has some time then. He wanders along the shelves peering at strange knick knacks and oddities. He's half gawking, half looking for something. What he's looking for he isn't sure.
"Toby?" Darci's calling him.
He starts toward the stairs. He pauses and glances back for a moment before making his way down.
"Ah… A Treatise on Trollish Geology," The cashier says. "Haven't read that one myself. I do need to let you know that book isn't for sale. It's actually a rental. Is that okay?"
Toby blinks but nods.
"How much is it to rent?"
"It will be eleven dollars a month plus a deposit that you will get back after you return the book in good condition. I will also need you to fill out a slip with your name and address."
"Okay." He actually doesn't mind coming back. He can't say why but he still can't shake the feeling there is something here he's supposed to find.
The bell rings as the duo exits the store. Douxie and Archie watch for a moment, waiting to see if they would come back in. They don't.
Archie hops down from Douxie's shoulder and puts his glasses on.
"An odd duo, don't you say?"
"Yeah," Douxie says with a frown. "Did you notice anything?"
"Well the short one lives with a lot of cats," Archie says, tail flicking. "Two males and three females. One of them is…"
"Anything magic related. They were able to pick out those books so they must have some ties to the magic world."
"Mmmm… Yes... but it's faint. They both have potential but in different areas."
Douxie nods.
"We'll keep an eye on them then. We could certainly use more wizards in Arcadia. We've barely set up and there's already more odd stuff than anywhere else we've lived."
"Indeed," Archie says. "They are a bit young to be helping out, however."
"I know… perhaps in the future." Douxie moves out from behind the counter and starts to work on stacking more books. He chuckles. "I'm always tempted to give out some random personal trivia fact about Merlin whenever people look for books on Arthurian Mythology."
Archie sighs.
"Well for the sake of our continued secrecy I am glad you are showing restraint."
Douxie eyes him curiously.
"Are you sure there are changelings in Arcadia?"
"There is a Trollmarket," Archie says matter-of-factly. "Where there is a Trollmarket there is bound to be at least a handful of changelings monitoring it. Trolls are nowhere near as sneaky as they think they are and it is to the benefit of changelings that no one knows about trolls."
"True."
Just then the bell rings at the front door. Archie puts his glasses away and shifts to all fours before jumping back up to Douxie's shoulder.
"Welcome to GDT Arcane Books," Douxie says as he emerges from behind the shelves to greet the customer. "We have all your magical and mystical needs. What can I help you with?"
The customer who just walked in is a tall red-haired woman. She has a lined and worn face but the sharp blue eyes that watch him from behind a pair of glasses are calculating.
Out of the corner of his eye he sees Archie sniff the air and then bristle.
Fortunately spending a few centuries doing customer service does wonders for one's poker face, so Douxie keeps an easy and relaxed smile on his face.
"I just wanted to come in, since you are new in town," She says, turning in a slow circle. "This is a very nice store."
"Are you looking for anything in particular?" Douxie asks.
He would really like a clue on her motives.
"Probably nothing that you have," She evades with a chuckle. "So I'll wander around a little."
"Of course! Let me know if you need anything… Mrs..?"
"You may call me Dr. Lake," She says.
Interesting phrasing there. Archie's tail tightens around his neck.
"I go by Douxie," He responds with an easy smile.
Dr. Lake nods and then strolls off into the shelves.
Once she is out of sight Archie and Douxie exchange a glance. The cat hops off his shoulder and then to the floor behind the desk. A moment later, Douxie spots a small black fly buzzing in the direction Dr. Lake had gone.
Douxie debates finding an excuse to work on the shelves in the area Dr. Lake is but decides against it. It's better to let Archie do the spying.
A half hour passes before the woman leaves the store. She doesn't purchase anything but she does ask about their rental system so Douxie suspects she might be planning to come back.
As soon as she's gone, Archie buzzes back to the desk and transforms back into a cat.
"So," Douxie says. "What's got your hair up on end? Find out anything interesting."
"Maybe, but most importantly, I'm sensing traces of Morganna's magic from her."
Douxie stills, the book slipping from his suddenly nerveless hand.
"Like possession-type or…"
"I don't think it's a possession," Archie says. "But we should definitely find out all we can."
"Did you see any themes in the books she was looking at?"
"A lot of stuff about the fair folk, a few books about basic magic, one about theories on the ties between language and the invocation of spells."
"Hmmm." Douxie taps his chin. "An interesting set. What do you think she's up to?"
"Sounds like a deal gone bad to me," Archie says. "That or she's learning to use Their magic. Or she's made a deal with one of Them and is preparing for interactions with others. It's hard to say with how little we know."
Douxie sighs.
"Why does Morganna have to crop up again? Can't we be done with her?"
Archie rubs his head on Douxie's chest.
"We knew she wasn't really gone. Those with the Old Blood do not die easily. Even if they are part human."
"I know," Douxie says.
Absently he rubs at his wrist. His nails lightly scratch the shiny raised patch of skin peeking out from under his bracer. Archie places his head over the scar and Douxie starts stroking him instead.
"So what do you think we should do?"
"What we have been doing," Archie says.
"Keep watching and waiting?"
Archie nods.
Douxie sighs. Sometimes being a wizard is not all that it's cracked up to be.
Author Note:
The Best Wizard finally joins the tale!
Hi there it's been a hot... side eyes the update date... 2 years since I've posted on this story but never fear I haven't abandoned it. I'm just easily distractable.
Hopefully I can get back into the swing of writing again. (As always I am looking to improve my writing and welcome friendly critiques)
Be sure to tell me what you think and I'll see you next update!