pheromones
that flowed from the man. It almost made her gag. "There must be
something that William Connoley has that you do not have," she
said. "My paper states that."
"Hah, dear lady," Bert said, leisurely stepping
towards her. "William and I go back a long time. I know what he has
for sale, as he obtains most of his merchandise from my store. He
is, how could I put it, almost my personal travelling
sales-representative."
Hilda closed her eyes and tried to keep her
calm. Magic is not allowed. Magic is not allowed. The words spooked
her. This, she knew, was going to be very difficult. "I have to
know where William Connoley is." She spoke the words slowly and
clearly, as friendly as she could. Without magic, she had to stay
in control and put up with any misfit that came on her path, in the
annoying way that ordinaries did everywhere.
"Can I first offer you some tea? Or coffee,
perhaps?" Without knowing it, Bert had spoken a magical word.
"Coffee. Yes. Coffee is good." Hilda was
grateful for this break. "Do you-", she started, but did not ask
about the extra Arabica. This man would not know, he was not
magical.
"Do I what, dear lady?", Bert asked, his charm
offensives blasting and his most dazzling smile on his face.
"Oh. No. Nothing. Just... coffee." Hilda
emphasised her wish by nodding a few times and repressed the
revulsion.
"Very well. Please, browse around, make yourself
comfortable on the sofa if you want. I'll be back soon. With the...
coffee..." He spoke the last word as if he tried to turn the sound
into an aphrodisiac.
To Hilda it was the ultimate turn-off, something
that made her want to scream and turn the man into a toad and flee
from this place. Instead, she just nodded and turned to the long
lines of books. Instinctively she located the books about magic.
Randomly she took one and looked through it, after placing her
broom against a rack.
Bert came back with two cups of instant brew,
and his heart jumped for joy to see the woman still standing there,
obviously entertained by a book, as he heard her grin and giggle.
"Dear lady," he said, in a voice as husky as he could muster, "your
servant." He had intended to add: "And your coffee", but the first
two words startled Hilda, and that was the start of bad news for
Bert. As he said "your servant", she had already closed the book
and was turning towards the man behind her. Quickly. With the book
at face-height.
The impact of the big, bound book against Bert's
skull was shocking. He uttered a muffled "oompf". His head turned
away from Hilda, his body following suite. The two cups of instant
coffee suddenly became either very hot or very heavy, because he
dropped them to the floor.
"No magic," Hilda told the unconscious man,
whose body was obeying the laws of gravity. She looked at the
grimoire that had had this dramatic effect. "At least I assume that
hitting someone with a book about what they call magic here was not
included in that line, otherwise I am majestically screwed."
Carefully she stepped over the body that lay in
a heap on the floor and found her way to the small kitchen annex
toilet. Locating a bucket was not difficult, but filling it became
a problem. There was no pump or well inside the small space, and
through the tiny dirty window she could not see anything that
resembled one either.
"The use of magic is forbidden, or from the town
you will be ridden." The words laughed at her, taunted her. She
could not fill the bucket using magic, nor with anything she
recognised. Drawing on all her willpower, she walked back to the
store and looked at the motionless body. "And I thought you were a
gentleman. Goes to show."
A very unhappy Hilda paced the bookstore. She
had gone to the door that had the "Open" sign shown to this crazy
world and turned that around, decreeing that the store was
"Closed". At least that would give her some peace and time to
think. Waiting until the man regained consciousness was not her
preferred option. He might not take
that flowed from the man. It almost made her gag. "There must be
something that William Connoley has that you do not have," she
said. "My paper states that."
"Hah, dear lady," Bert said, leisurely stepping
towards her. "William and I go back a long time. I know what he has
for sale, as he obtains most of his merchandise from my store. He
is, how could I put it, almost my personal travelling
sales-representative."
Hilda closed her eyes and tried to keep her
calm. Magic is not allowed. Magic is not allowed. The words spooked
her. This, she knew, was going to be very difficult. "I have to
know where William Connoley is." She spoke the words slowly and
clearly, as friendly as she could. Without magic, she had to stay
in control and put up with any misfit that came on her path, in the
annoying way that ordinaries did everywhere.
"Can I first offer you some tea? Or coffee,
perhaps?" Without knowing it, Bert had spoken a magical word.
"Coffee. Yes. Coffee is good." Hilda was
grateful for this break. "Do you-", she started, but did not ask
about the extra Arabica. This man would not know, he was not
magical.
"Do I what, dear lady?", Bert asked, his charm
offensives blasting and his most dazzling smile on his face.
"Oh. No. Nothing. Just... coffee." Hilda
emphasised her wish by nodding a few times and repressed the
revulsion.
"Very well. Please, browse around, make yourself
comfortable on the sofa if you want. I'll be back soon. With the...
coffee..." He spoke the last word as if he tried to turn the sound
into an aphrodisiac.
To Hilda it was the ultimate turn-off, something
that made her want to scream and turn the man into a toad and flee
from this place. Instead, she just nodded and turned to the long
lines of books. Instinctively she located the books about magic.
Randomly she took one and looked through it, after placing her
broom against a rack.
Bert came back with two cups of instant brew,
and his heart jumped for joy to see the woman still standing there,
obviously entertained by a book, as he heard her grin and giggle.
"Dear lady," he said, in a voice as husky as he could muster, "your
servant." He had intended to add: "And your coffee", but the first
two words startled Hilda, and that was the start of bad news for
Bert. As he said "your servant", she had already closed the book
and was turning towards the man behind her. Quickly. With the book
at face-height.
The impact of the big, bound book against Bert's
skull was shocking. He uttered a muffled "oompf". His head turned
away from Hilda, his body following suite. The two cups of instant
coffee suddenly became either very hot or very heavy, because he
dropped them to the floor.
"No magic," Hilda told the unconscious man,
whose body was obeying the laws of gravity. She looked at the
grimoire that had had this dramatic effect. "At least I assume that
hitting someone with a book about what they call magic here was not
included in that line, otherwise I am majestically screwed."
Carefully she stepped over the body that lay in
a heap on the floor and found her way to the small kitchen annex
toilet. Locating a bucket was not difficult, but filling it became
a problem. There was no pump or well inside the small space, and
through the tiny dirty window she could not see anything that
resembled one either.
"The use of magic is forbidden, or from the town
you will be ridden." The words laughed at her, taunted her. She
could not fill the bucket using magic, nor with anything she
recognised. Drawing on all her willpower, she walked back to the
store and looked at the motionless body. "And I thought you were a
gentleman. Goes to show."
A very unhappy Hilda paced the bookstore. She
had gone to the door that had the "Open" sign shown to this crazy
world and turned that around, decreeing that the store was
"Closed". At least that would give her some peace and time to
think. Waiting until the man regained consciousness was not her
preferred option. He might not take
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