"The shadow behind the shadow. The hand inside the puppet. The whisper before the scream." Elder Thornberry leaned forward. "Look closer at what you hold, seer-child. Some maps show places. Others show purpose."
Delilah turned the compass over in her hands. In the flickering light, she noticed a faint etching on the back of the case—an intricate sigil resembling a knot with no beginning or end.
The moment her fingertip traced the pattern, pain lanced through her skull. The alley disappeared, replaced by a kaleidoscope of images:
Mayor Grimble's missing gavel, glowing faintly in a dark corner.
A silver athame vanishing from Zelda's shop counter while her back was turned.
An ancient book floating from the library's restricted section.
The compass itself, being slipped from a velvet-lined box.
Each stolen item pulsed with energy, threads of light connecting them like a constellation. The pattern they formed was incomplete—missing pieces of a larger design. And behind it all, a shadow watched, patient and hungry.
Delilah gasped as the vision released her. She blinked tears from her eyes, the pain receding to a dull throb.
"Elder Thornberry, I saw?—"
The bench was empty. The old man had vanished as completely as if he'd never been there at all.
The compass needle steadied, pointing firmly in one direction—toward Sam Wolfe.
2
Delilah stepped into Zelda's cottage and immediately ducked as something whizzed past her head.
"Sorry!" Zelda called from somewhere behind a towering stack of books. "That was just a mild protection charm. It gets confused when people enter during a mercury retrograde."
The cottage hummed with magical energy. Bundles of herbs hung from ceiling beams, filling the air with a symphony of scents—sage, lavender, and something that smelled suspiciously like burnt cinnamon toast. Delilah navigated around piles of spell books and what appeared to be a miniature volcano bubbling with purple lava.
"I brought the compass." Delilah set her purse down on the only clear spot on Zelda's massive oak table. "And I had a vision."
Zelda emerged from behind the book tower, her auburn curls wild as if she'd been electrified. She wore mismatched socks and an apron that read 'Kiss the Witch' with the 'W' crossed out and replaced with a 'B'.
"Let me finish this mood tea first. It'll help us think." Zelda sprinkled something into a cast iron pot that immediately released steam in the shape of tiny dancing elephants.
Delilah pulled out the compass, placing it carefully between a crystal ball and what appeared to be a petrified toad. "The needle keeps pointing to different locations around town. Places where things have gone missing."
"Hold that thought." Zelda pointed to a roll of parchment on the floor. "Could you spread that map out? We need to mark the theft locations."
As Delilah reached for the map, a gray blur launched itself onto the parchment. Fat Bastard settled his considerable bulk directly in the center, tail swishing imperiously.
"Fat Bastard, move your fuzzy ass," Zelda scolded.
The cat yawned, showing impressive fangs, and proceeded to knead the map with determined paws.
"We's comfortable heres," Fat Bastard announced. "Maps is fo sitting."
Delilah grabbed another map from a nearby shelf. The moment she unrolled it on the table, Fat Bastard abandoned his first position and leapt onto the new map with surprising agility.
"Every time," Zelda muttered. "It's like a magical law—cats must sit on whatever you're trying to read."
A white cat with gray splotches appeared from nowhere, landing silently on Delilah's shoulder. Before she could react, Boba Fett had delicately removed one of her dangling crystal earrings.
"You's gots pretty things," Boba purred, backing away with the earring. "Boba keeps its safe."
"That's not how safety works!" Delilah lunged for the cat, who evaded her with practiced ease.
