49: Practice

The ominous pressure got the attention of everyone in the other room. They all rose from their chairs, eyes locked onto the doorway leading into the kitchen, waiting for what was causing it.

It didn’t take long before I saw a shadow—one that should have been solid—shimmer almost like smoke. Deciding to get this over with without too much panic, I stored one of the Thunar steaks, leaving three on the plate. Then, I scooped up a large portion of mashed tuber and placed it on the plate. All the while, Liane’s eyes never left the spot where the shadow moved.

The others had carefully approached the doorway by now. Jackson, Hari, Milo, and Jen stood there, all looking around, but noticing that Liane’s eyes were locked onto a single spot.

With a sigh, I lifted the plate full of Thunar and mashed tubers and placed it on the ground, just a short distance from where I saw the movement. Sure enough, inky black smoke exuded from the shadow, and the form of the Shadow Cat appeared. It looked around briefly before locking eyes with me as I stood next to the food.

“It’s all yours. Enjoy,” I said, walking away with as much composure as I could muster. It was easier said than done; adrenaline rushed through my body, and my legs shook. But as I walked away from the cat, I caught a glimpse out of the corner of my eye—it ate everything in two bites, glanced around one more time, and then sank back into the ground.

Everyone stared at the spot where the cat had been, then turned to me. Jackson’s jaw was hanging open.

“What… what?” Jackson stammered out.

At that moment, the pressure we’d all felt faded, and the room went back to what it was before—except now, everyone was a little shell-shocked. Well, everyone except Jackson, he was very shell shocked. It confirmed the theory that the cat was indeed following me.

“Food’s ready!” I said, trying my best to remain calm.

“Wait, what? How can you just act like that is normal?” Jackson said, still looking between me and the spot where the cat had disappeared.

“There’s nothing I can really do about it, right?” I shrugged, carrying two plates, with Milo and Liane grabbing the other four and bringing them to the table.

Liane was carrying the one I had marked as mine—just so I’d remember which one I didn’t infuse.

“Crisplet, are you going to stay in there for now?” I asked the little elemental as it seemed to be playing in the oven, receiving the usual burst of sparks indicating a yes.

It took a while for Jackson to calm down enough to sit.

“That… that was an adult Shadow Cat, not a young one,” he said, his voice shaking slightly. “Going by that pressure, it’s beyond anyone in this city, and maybe even the capital. How? Why?” He sank into a chair, clearly struggling to process what had just happened.

Liane, with her mouth full, just pointed at his food. “If you don’t eat that soon, I will.”

That seemed to be all the prompting Jackson needed to take a bite. He chewed thoughtfully, then muttered, “I just don’t get it.”

“You and all of us, I’m afraid,” Jen said, her voice calm. “We can’t explain it. But it’s safe to say that our assumptions were correct—it’s following Trevor. For what purpose we don’t know, but you felt its strength. What can any of us possibly do?” She continued eating without looking up.

“Nothing…” Jackson responded quietly, his mind clearly still on the Shadow Cat.

In an attempt to shift the conversation, I asked, “Sooo, what buffs did you get?” My eyes turned mainly to Liane, who was always one of the first to check.

“Fire Immunity, +3 Endurance, +2 Intelligence… and it seems I’ve unlocked an ability temporarily?” Liane said, squinting at her status screen. “Sprint… Huh, that’s a first. We’ve never had an ability before.”

Jackson sat up straight, his eyes narrowing. “Buffs? Oh, that’s right, I remember reading, minor sta—” He leaned forward, his focus shifting as he scanned his own status. Then, his eyes widened. “What?!”

“You said everyone’s classes in the office—I assumed you knew about this?” Jen chuckled.

“I knew the kid had access to a rare class, and that he was a chef,” Jackson admitted, scratching his head. “But the details of what he can do are limited. I didn’t even know he had a fire elemental until he walked into my office.”

“But an ability…” He muttered to himself, his eyes growing distant as he pieced it together. “The only class that can provide you access to an ability is Runescribing.”

“Tastes so good, by the way, Trev,” Liane said, giving me a thumbs up. I agreed—the fish was cooked perfectly. It had a rich flavour, and the garlic butter mash complemented it perfectly.

“Tea?” I asked, pulling the pot out of storage. The lemon tea would go really well with the fish. Liane and Jen both nodded in agreement, and the others seemed to follow suit after the reactions. After pouring three cups, Liane got it refilled, reheated by Crisplet, and used the last of the dried Infused Lemon Tea Grass. Eventually, everyone had a cup in front of them.

This led to yet another stunned moment from Jackson as he saw the buffs from the tea stack with those from the food, adding Moderate Speed to the list. I saw him mouth the word “speed.”

“You… can provide a moderate speed buff?” His eyes widened as he processed the realisation.

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“Oh, now it’s making a lot of sense…” He trailed off, finally understanding.

“Yes, now you understand why we needed a private kitchen, and why he’s under constant protection,” Hari said, his tone serious.

“I do… I do. Wow… just wow. And he’s early level?” Jackson shook his head. “You can use the kitchen anytime. I’ll instruct the house staff to continue to stay away while it’s in use. I don’t think Old Gael would survive seeing that Cat. The shock might kill him,” Jackson said with a chuckle.

Once dinner was done, we said our goodnights to Jackson, cleared up our mess, and collected Crisplet from the oven. We made our way back to the inn, enjoying the satisfaction of having cooked. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Shadow Cat was once again on a killing spree. I could only hope it wasn’t in the city. I let out a nervous chuckle.

“What’s up?” Jen asked, looking at me.

“Oh, I can see from my notifications that the Shadow Cat is on another killing spree. I just really hope it’s happening somewhere far from the city,” I explained.

Milo snorted, and Liane shrugged. “Hopefully it’s over in the dock section of town, at least,” she said, before being hushed by Hari.

“We don’t want it to kill any part of the city,” he said diplomatically.

Pulling up my notifications, I saw that a lot had happened.

Notifications:

You have reached Level 4 in Chef’s Pantry

You have reached Level 4 in Infused Flavour