Page 21 of The Nowhere Witch
“Any plans, you know, beyond this? I’d imagine someone as strong as you are would have some.”
Ah, now all the questions made sense. Seemed everyone, from the sneers to the nods, was afraid I was going to rock the boat around here.
“I really don’t. I’m just playing it by ear.”
He let out a small laugh, as if elated to hear I wasn’t determined to take over Xest single-handedly. Who did these people think I was? All I wanted was a nice little space to call my own, a job to pay the bills and maybe have half the population of Xest stop sneering at me.
9
Better shoes were in order for my new job. My heels were aching, and there were squishing noises coming from my feet. By the time I got to my place, it felt like I was walking in a slushie.
Nailed to the door was a long yellow scroll, nearly as tall as I was. Was I getting evicted already? What the hell was this? I ripped it off and brought it inside with me.
Letter from the Office of Immigration and Naturalization. You are hereby notified by the authority of all things magical in Xest that you need to present yourself first thing tomorrow morning regarding permanent residency in Xest.
The text became so tiny after that, I’d need a magnifying glass to read it. At the bottom was a raised seal.
Where was I supposed to present myself? Did I need a lawyer? Were there lawyers in Xest?
I rolled the thing up and headed back out.
I found Zab at the Watering Hole, his favorite bar, conveniently located within spitting distance of his place. He was at his favorite table with his friends, all of whom I’d met before.
He was having a drink. All the people at the table were familiar and greeted me with a smile. At least I was still welcome here.
“Zab said you were back. Sit! Have a drink!” Ab said, smiling like this might turn into date night suddenly. Berita was already pouring me a drink.
“I’d love to, but right now I need to steal Zab for a minute. Bit of an emergency.”
Zab stood, looking guilty already. “It’s the dust bunny, isn’t it? What did it do?”
“No. I’ve got that under control. This is much worse.”
“Worse than the dust bunny?” he said softly. Zab waved me outside. “I might not be back, so don’t wait for me,” he said to his friends.
“We should go upstairs,” I said, motioning in the direction of his place. The letter would be a little conspicuous spread out on the sidewalk.
“What’s happened?” he asked as soon as we got inside.
I pulled the yellow parchment out and unrolled it onto the floor. “This. I’m supposed to meet with them tomorrow morning. I’ve never heard of them before. Do you know what this is? Is it a trap?”
He took the scroll, which was hitting his feet. His eyes enlarged and he did a fast intake of breath. “Wow. I’d heard of them, but I’ve never heard of anyone actually going to see them.”
“Why now? Why didn’t they come for me before this? I was here for months before. I’m back for a couple of days and I get that?” I put my fingers to my temple, trying to keep a clear head over things and not think the worst.
He looked up, biting his lip. “I don’t know, but maybe it’s nothing. Maybe you had to be here a certain amount of time cumulatively?”
My guess was no. The list of people who wanted me gone was only half the population of Xest, would take a day to write down, and even then, I’d probably miss a few. There were people who hated me and I’d never seen their faces before. Zab was an optimist by nature. I could’ve plopped him down in the middle of an amusement park filled with princes and princesses and he’d feel right at home. I, on the other hand, mentally lived in the savanna, waiting to get eaten. I had a bad feeling that this situation was more tigers than royalty.
“Maybe I shouldn’t go.”
Zab gasped. “You have to go. You can’t blow this off. You’ll get kicked out of Xest.”
“Shit. Shit. Shit.” I walked around the room, wishing his place was bigger so I had more space to pace.
He tried to follow me but decided to take a central location and just turn with me. “Look, don’t worry. I’ll take the morning off and go with you. We’ll figure this out. It’ll be okay. You can meet me here in the morning, since the place we have to go is in this direction, according to the instructions.”
I grabbed the paper back from the table he’d left it on. “What instructions? I didn’t see anything.”