"Willow's Missing Tail" 13

Perfidia looked at the large tome on Martha’s bookshelf. “This thing is going to follow me around? For how long?”

“Until it decides you’re a capable companion for Chaos.”

“Huh and it was at my house when Daphne entered; wasn't it?

"I think so."

"So…do you think it can it tell me what went on when Jon arrived?”

Martha didn’t know if it could or would.

“I guess you can ask it.”

Perfidia stepped up to the book but she wasn;t sure how to address it so she went for casual.

“Hey book; Can you show me Daphne and Jon in my home?”

The book shook with what could have been laughter.

“Is that a yes?”

The book appeared to sigh, expanding outward and then inward, before it flew from the shelf.

“Where’s it going?” Perfidia asked watching it fly from the room.

“I’m not sure but we should follow it."

Willow, Chaos and Ram also curious, followed their humans following the book.

 

The book had landed on Martha’s kitchen counter.

“Should we approach it?” Perfidia whispered when they stepped into the kitchen.

“Maybe,but walk over slowly.” Martha whispered back.

The book began to flip its pages until it settled on one. Then a beam of light shone over one sentence on the page.

They stepped closer to read it and it was Martha who spoke it out loud.

‘All is seen, recorded and weighed pending final acceptance of familiar's placement.’

“Okay, so it sees all and it judges,” Perfidia groused, “but did it see Daphne and Jon at my house?”

The book again shook with that strange laughter and lifted off the counter into a perpendicular angle. Its pages became a screen; it had recorded its time at Perfidia’s home.

Perfidia watched the images with intense focus.

 

Daphne opened the door to Jon and in a voice that purred, she invited Jon in to wait for Perfidia, who she knew wouldn’t be coming.

Perfidia’s eyes narrowed with annoyance when she saw Jon accepting Daphne’s invitation and stepping inside.

“Is he still there?” Perfidia demanded.

The image on the page fast forwarded to show Perfidia’s living room.

Jon was sitting on the sofa but he had a perplexed expression on his face as Daphne sidled up to him on the couch, offering him a glass of wine.

“No thanks,” Jon said and stood up, “I’m going to go but please tell Perfidia I was here.”

“But you’re perfectly welcome to stay and wait for her, and if she’s very late I know Perfidia has enough bedrooms.”

“No…that’s kind of you?” he said in an uncomfortable, questioning tone, “I’ll try to reach Perfidia on her phone; though I think it's turned off,” he mumbled the last.

"Really, you should wait."

"No, just tell her I’ll be back tomorrow. It was a…pleasure to meet you Daphne.”

He walked quickly from the room to the front door and left.

Daphne gave a wicked cackle and smiled at her parrot.

“Too bad he didn’t taste the wine Sahara, it would have taken him right to Perfidia, and led us to Avery. I’m sure he’s with Martha and Perfidia, using their help to keep me from finding him…but I will find him Sahara. You know I will!”

The image blurred and the book closed it cover.

 

Perfidia smiled. “So, Daphne isn’t after Jon.”

“I told you not to worry.”

“She just wants Avery.”

“Yes; it sounds like she’s wanting some kind of retribution.”

“I wonder what he did to make her this vengeful.”

“We should have asked Avery for more details of what transpired between them.”

“Or…we can help Daphne find him.” Perfidia suggested.

Martha wasn’t about to take a side but it did seem Daphne had a strong dislike of Avery; there had to be a reason for it. “When Avery sends us his new location; I’m all for visiting him and getting to the crux of the issue with Daphne.

“Sure, we could wait for that or…we could find Daphne and ask her.”

 “You want to go to your house and confront her?”

“Yes, and I think the sooner the better. I know we can’t use your meadow because of the sibling war with Thistle but...maybe Chaos can get us there.”

“That’s a possibility; if your familiar has the kind of talent needed for that.” Martha agreed.

 Perfidia looked at Chaos. “Can you open an entry way into my home?”

Chaos looked at his human and appeared to consider the question. Then he looked around Martha’s kitchen and his eyes settled on the pantry door. He blinked once and the pantry door shook for a brief moment.

“Did anything happen?” Perfidia asked.

“Open the door and see,” Martha suggested.

Perfidia walked over to the pantry door and opened it then she giggled and waved Martha over. “Look Martha; it leads into my kitchen’s pantry from yours; they’re connected.”

 

They both stepped into the multi home pantry and Perfidia gently cracked opened her pantry door. She saw her kitchen and it appeared to be empty; she opened the door wider. “I’m home,” she whispered.

The parrot, quietly sleeping on the curtain rod opened its eyes and began to Squawk.

“Intruders…Squawk…Intruders!”

Daphne ran into the kitchen and nearly collided with Perfidia. She stopped and took note of her cousin's unwelcome expression. Then she noticed Martha and three cats stepping into in the room from the pantry.

“Good evening Cousin,” Perfidia said with a smirk.

“Perfidia…it’s been awhile.” Daphne replied with a mirror smirk.

“Only because you didn’t wait for me at my store; you broke in and left with some of my inventory, and a stolen familiar.” Perfidia said sourly.

“Oh, sorry about Willow. She wasn’t much help anyway,” Daphne said to Martha, by way of an ungracious apology.

Willow hissed at Daphne from her position at Martha’s side and her tail tick-tocked at the ready just waiting for a command to strike.

“Why would you think she would help you?” Martha asked.

“It doesn’t matter anymore and your potion cousin,” Daphne said turning back to Perfidia, “Well that didn’t work well either; it only lasted a few minutes; it wasn’t much good.”

“Sorry to disappoint you but it wasn’t for you, and why are you in my home?”

“I hoped to capture Avery in the meadow and, making this the only way out, he'd have to confront me but some how he eluded me again. He isn’t in the meadow anymore is he?”

‘No," Martha answered.

“Any chance you’ll tell me where he went?” Daphne asked looking from Martha to Perfidia with hope.

“Not until we know why you’re after him Priscilla,” Perfidia said; her tone held no compromise but the name sparked the annoyance she was hoping to.

“I don’t go by that name anymore cuz. It’s Daphne now.”

“Too bad; I still see a spoiled child named Priscilla.”

Daphne frowned and eyed Sahara. She wondered if the parrot had enough power to make them all disappear; or at the very least, her very angry cousin.

Martha was sure she could read Daphne's unkind thoughts.

“We’re not going anywhere and unless you want an uneven fight, you’d better tell us everything you’ve been plotting and why.” Martha said in a reasonable but implaccable tone.

“Fine. Let’s sit down and I’ll tell you.”

“I’ll brew us some tea,” Martha offered.

“That’s kind of you,” Daphne said, not expecting the kindness and although her smile muscles were rusty, she did try to smile.

Martha brewed one of Perfidia's better blends and they all sat down at the large kitchen table.

“Now, tell us why you’re doing all of this.” Perfidia prompted.

 “Three years ago I was working on a business plan when I met Avery.”

“A business plan for what?” Perfidia interrupted.

“For Shadows, my solutions company.”

“Solutions for what,” Perfidia asked with suspicion.

“You know…solutions for those pesky problems that crop up; problems that need unusual help to resolve…subtly.”

“So, like Avery’s business Incognito, you'd help people by havoc.” Perfidia accused.

“That’s just it Perfidia, Avery’s business didn’t exist; he stole mine! He stole my business plan.”

“How did he do that?” Perfidia scoffed.

“You’ve met him you know how suave and smooth he can be.”

Martha nodded but Perfidia shook her head, she didn’t find him appealing at all.

“Anyway," Daphne continued, "he’d wined and dined me and showed such interest in my business plan that I was smitten. Avery, as you know, has an uncanny way with birds too and he hired all the staff for me. Then he helped me find a place for my business but then, on the day it was to open, everything was gone.

“What do mean gone?” Perfidia asked.

“The files we’d painstakingly gathered on potential clients, all the office-bird staff, my business plan, all of it had vanished along with Avery. Everything and everyone was gone except for Sahara. She stayed loyal to me.”

“I’m sorry; we didn’t know any of this,” Martha said and poured more tea into Daphne’s cup. She caught Perfidia’s confused look and shook her head. She didn’t think it was a good idea to tell Daphne what Avery had said about her trying to steal his business.

“Look, I know the betrayal made me bitter, very bitter, but it’s taken me over a year to find him. I was furious when I found his location and he wasn’t in his office, but I stole back all the files and tried to convince the staff to follow me, but they wouldn’t. I was surprised to see the file on you Perfidia, to see how you were part of a hired havoc.”

‘Yeah, it was an intriguing summer,” Perfidia groused.

“Well, finding that file on you and Martha gave me the information that led me to your store and Martha’s house. Learning that Willow had a sibling helped me form a quick plan of revenge, but again Avery was one step ahead of me. So, if you’re here to ask me to stop, I can’t. I have to make him pay for what he did.”

“What do mean you learned of Willow’s sibling? Do you mean it was in Avery’s file on me?” Martha asked.

“Yes, the file had lots of information on both of you.”

Perfidia and Martha exchanged dark glances.

“Do you have the file?” Martha asked.

“I do.”

“Can we see it?”

“Of course. Sahara!” She called to the Parrot,”

Sahara flew down from the curtain rod to the back of Daphne’s chair.

“Go get the file on Martha and Perfidia.”

The parrot flew away but was back in a minute with a large file in its claws. It dropped the file on the table and flew back to the curtain rod.

Martha opened the file and Perfidia leaned over her shoulder to read it. Not five minutes into reading the report, both women had eyes glowing with fury.