Any Other Name (The Split Worlds) - By Emma Newman Page 0,39
property. Her feet were throbbing; the stupid shoes provided for her honeymoon had slight heels and she wasn’t used to walking miles in them. “My kingdom for my old trainers,” she said with a sigh and rested her forehead against the door.
There was the familiar sound of a key turning twice in the lock and the door opened. She could see the Shopkeeper through the haze marking the threshold between Mundanus and the Nether. His eyebrows shot up with surprise. “Catherine!” He beckoned her inside.
She took off her coat and hung it up before realising what she’d done. The Shopkeeper locked the door. As she’d hoped, the shop was shut to customers. “How are you?”
“I’m very well, thank you,” he replied, returning to his usual spot behind the glass counter. As always he was dressed in a bow-tie and tweed suit, his white hair neat. A different leather-bound book was on top of the counter but she couldn’t see the title on the spine. “And you?” He frowned at her. “Catherine… you’re wearing a dress. With flowers on it.”
She pulled a face. “I know. Things could be better. I… There are two things I wanted to ask you. First: do you have any Charms that could make me an artist?”
“Which medium would you like to work in?”
“Painting. And I have to be really, really good.” It was doubtful she could find a way back to her life in Mundanus before the painting was due.
“Do you paint or sketch already?”
“No.”
He pursed his lips. “I have various Charms that could help with certain skills but it sounds like you need everything… I do have a few things I could combine but there would be side-effects.”
“I don’t care, as long as I can paint.”
“I can give you a combined potion for an eye for colour, form and beauty, increased manual dexterity, improved concentration and a substantial boost to your raw creativity, but I can’t give you anything that will make you able to hold a brush correctly or make the best decisions in terms of subject and composition.”
“But I don’t have time to learn that.”
The Shopkeeper peered over the top of his glasses at her. “This isn’t just a new hobby, is it?”
Cathy shook her head. “It’s really important.”
“Well,” he said, pushing the glasses back up the bridge of his nose, “I have heard about a very rare Charm that can supposedly make one truly artistic but it has to be made to order. I take it from the way you’re looking at me you wish to place one?” When she nodded he went back to the counter. “It will take somewhere between three to four weeks. Do you still want the combined potions too?”
“Yes! I’ll take… ten of them.”
“Ten!”
“Well, they’ll run out, won’t they?”
“Each one will be effective for a number of hours. I wouldn’t recommended consuming more than one per year, otherwise–”
“It’s fine. Really. Ten. Charge them to my husband’s account, unless there’s something I need to pay myself?”
“You’re in credit, actually,” the Shopkeeper said, much to her surprise. “You overpaid me for the Luck Egg. A kiss of genuine gratitude and affection is worth a huge amount. They’re very rare.”
She almost kissed his cheek again, before remembering the curse. “I am genuinely grateful. Will it take you long to prepare the potions?”
“I’ll do it straightaway and Letterboxer them to you as soon as they’re finished. We’ll settle up for the Charm once it’s in. What was the second thing you wanted to ask?”
“I was hoping I could renegotiate with you, perhaps take my old job back and–”
“Wait a moment! I thought today was your wedding day. Am I mistaken?”
“No,” she said, holding up her left hand.
His lips matched the colour of his hair. “What in the Worlds are you doing here?” It was as close to a squawk as she’d ever heard out of his mouth. “Have you taken leave of your senses? Where is your husband?”
“I have absolutely no idea.”
“Does he know you’re here?”
“Of course not.”
He gawped at her. “What… why… what…”
“We had a row, he left and I–”
The Shopkeeper covered his ears. “I don’t want to know, Catherine, I mustn’t know, and I must ask that you leave, immediately!”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want them to find you here once they start looking for you. Bad enough that Poppy tracked you down to my shop. If Iris did as well they would ask very difficult questions indeed.”
“But I don’t have anyone else I can ask! I don’t want to get