She woke up with drool hanging from her mouth that seemed to drop down to the blanket wrapped around Cassandra in the sitting room chair. Across from her on the couch is Clare lying asleep, cover-up snoring like a thunderstorm. Staring around, confused about how she has gotten to the chair, only remembering healing Clare on the floor before blacking out.

"Oh god, I feel like a Mac truck hit me." Rubbing her forehead from the headache that seems to be behind her eyes. The smell of fresh coffee tickles her nostrils as she spots a cup of steaming hot Joe on the coffee table next to her.

"I don't know or care who keeps supplying me coffee. You are a lifesaver." Muttering as she took a deep sniff before taking a sip. "Hmm, just the way I like it, you remember." Toasting the cup to the room.

The headache seems to be fading as her stomach starts to growl, reminding her that it has been a day, maybe more, since she ate anything. Her eyes spot the glass cover platter on the table full of donuts and pastries. Slipping forwards and grab a cream-filled long John. Taking a bite and savoring the taste before sipping her coffee. She wiggles back into the chair and almost purrs like a cat over how content she is at the moment.

After closing her eyes to enjoy the moment, her eyes snapped wide open as she sat down the coffee cup and fled to the bathroom with the urge to pee hit upon her.

After an hour, she came back out, drying her hair. Although she did rush in to use the bathroom, she could not resist taking a shower. Sandra always had a weak bladder growing up, and Cassandra's thoughts were that maybe this body is not used to the coffee yet. And praying she does not have a health issue. Cassandra did a slight heal on herself while on the toilet.

Don't you judge her? How many people play games or read on their phones while sitting on the toilet. If Cassandra were to ask other mages, she would feel pretty sure that many of them would have practice spells or read spellbooks while taking a dump.

Once again, her clothes seemed to be clean and folded when she got out of the shower. The idea of being scared lost itself when the thoughts of someone wanting her dead. She would have been dead on her first day if someone in this house wanted her dead.

She grabbed a cup of coffee by her chair, checked on Clare, and saw that she was still sleeping. Snatching a cherry-filled pastry and leaving the sitting room for the Study. She paused next to the door to the Study. Smelling the flowers in the vases on small tables on both sides of the door before opening the study door. This time, the magician carved in the door is performing a card reading act: blindfolded, wearing a top hat, and holding an Ace of diamonds.

Shaking her head about how much her mentor had, an old carver came in and carved each door, taking the old man ten years to finish all the projects before he passed away. The carver's daughter got to go to school to become a nurse because her mentor paid for the schooling. Her mentor said that the old carver would not accept the full payment that the work was worth. John Ocello was the old man's name.

Cassandra smiles, remembering just a few weeks after starting working in the magic house as a puppeteer on her twenty-first birthday. The old man gave her a hand-carved puppet she named King Leo. It was her present from the old man. The old man taught her how to carve her puppets. After his death, his daughter gave Cassandra all of her father's tools.

She stops to stare at the door remembering the carving was different the last time she came here. Her memory seems fuzzy, shaking her head. She shrugs before pushing the door open as the smell of leather, old books, and furniture polish tickles her nose. As she steps into the Study, to her right is the closet wall, which takes up half the room with a painting of dogs playing poker around a table.

A circular room that is part of the library that should be three stories high is in the space behind the coat closet that is part of the Study. In her memories, it was full of bookshelves of books collected over the hundred years or more on magic tricks, lore, and who knows what else. She can see a white mist blocking the second floor of the tower. Signing, she remembers reading a book on growing roses and making a derby go-cart. Seeing the small stairs that lead to the second floor stopping in the mist on the second floor, she shivers upon seeing that mist.

Turning, she spots the large oak desk that the original owner of the house brought over from Europe. Walking over and played her hand along the top of the desk. The dragon dip pen holder and ink were still in their spot. The nameplate in front of it is blank. Other than that, the top of the desk is clutter-free.

Her eye opens with joy at seeing an old friend, the leather-bound chair that came with the desk. There must be over a thousand hours of falling asleep in that chair working on the Magic House's accounting books. It brought tears to her eyes, remembering. Sitting in the chair, she opened the desk drawers and found a ream of paper on both bottom drawers.

One side had lined paper, the other side blank paper. A set of Accounting books is in one of the drawers showing a deposit of ten thousand silver, calculating it to one hundred gold Crowns.

Looking through the other drawers finding, cards and envelopes, paper clips, rubber bands, tacks stapler, and staples. A few more office supplies. Hopping up and checking a panel on the wall and seeing a lot more office supplies behind the panel on shelves, she signs in relief.

Looking behind the chair at the wall and seeing the large painting of the house's founder. The founder is standing with a staff in his hand, and a large book is open, floating in the air. The old man with a trimmed white beard always reminded her of a fit Santa. Ichabod Croft, the builder of the house and collector of all things magical, magician extraordinary. If memory serves her right, Ichabod Croft disappeared one day over a hundred years ago. She felt the edge of the frame and pulled it open like a door revealing an old safe from the late eighteen hundred. Her finger deftly flew as she turned the dial to the numbers she long ago memorized. The safe door opens with a thunk noise, revealing a large book like the one in the painting.

"Oh, my!" She whispers loudly.

Sitting the book with a thud on the desk, she tries to open it, only for the book to remain shut. Turning back to the safe, she pulled out a scroll and a wooden box carved with men and women at a bank. Seeing that the box was locked, she set it down and the scroll on the desk and found an envelope inside addressed to her. Sucking in her breath, she sat down and opened the envelope, pulling out a letter in the most beautiful handwriting she had ever seen. She had worked on her writing since she was a kid in grade school. But this was elegant.

Dear Cassandra King,

I am your great, great. Oh hell, I'm your great grandfather. You may be confused about finding the house. Just know it has been around longer than our family has been around. There is a scroll that is a contract to the house. Every generation, one of our family members dies. The house will summon them into the body of someone who died to become the house owner in another world. The world you are in is one of the thousands that is scattered across the many worlds and dimensions. Yes. Earth is one, but you can not go to Earth yet. You must master the house and complete the deeds. Only then can you visit other Houses. Know this Granddaughter. The house is built upon good intentions. It will not abide by evil. If you or anyone have an ill will to the house, it will respond in kind. Sign the scroll. It will open more of the house to you and allow you to open the grimoire to access spells and deeds. The spells you will learn will be spells it deems worthy of your abilities. I hope one day to meet you at my house.

Your grandfather Ichabod Croft.

P.S. Gather loyal friends, build connections, and above all, complete the deeds!

Tossing the letter on the desk, she hurried to unravel the scroll staring at the beautiful manuscript. She began to read through the scroll and realized it was a deed of ownership to the house and an agreement to complete Deeds to open up its many rooms and rewards. Failure to complete tasks is losing a room or reward. Soul bound ownership upon signing.

All she can see is a box at the bottom of the page with a sticky note, "Thumbprint in your blood is required."

Hesitating for a moment, she opens the middle desk drawer, grabs a safety pin, pricks her thumb, and presses it in the box. When she pulls her hand away, a thumbprint appears, and a glow spreads out, covering the whole paper, blinding her for a moment. When her watery eyesight came back, she blinked her eyes. Seeing the scroll is rolled up on the desk, and the book is missing.

"No, no, no!" Standing up, combing her fingers through her messy hair, and staring around the room, seeing a few more leather chairs and a large wooden globe sitting between the chairs on its own stand.

Movement caught her attention over by the library. It is a large book floating in a swirl of color, light, and mist. She was about to head over there when her hand brushed the box knocking the lid open. Inside the box are gold, silver, and copper coins. Staring at the open box, she pulls out a gold coin from her pouch and compares the gold Crowns in the pouch to the gold Crowns in the box and can see they are the same. Setting the Crowns on the desk as her attention turned back once more to the floating grimoire. Walking over to the book, she circles the book several times before stopping in front of the book. On the leather-bound covers are a magician hat and wand. It is not the pointy hat of a wizard but the top hat that magicians use in their acts.

Cautiously laying her palm on the book, it began to glow. She pulls her hand away from the book. The book stops glowing. Looking around and grimacing, she squints her eyes close and quickly presses her palm on the book. A blue-white light explodes out, enveloping her, then fades slowly as it gathers in her chest where her heart resides. The book opens, brushing her hand to the side, peeking with one eye, and signing with relief. She bends forward and starts reading the page.

"Book of the Magic House. House Owner is Cassandra Keep. The title is Light Mage, also called Illusionist, Magician, and Puppeteer. One resident, one guest, and one unseen servant cost ten crowns a month."

Looking around the room, frowning, "A bit expensive, are we not?" Shaking her head as she continues to read.

"So you are working at one hundred percent coverage," shrugging.

"Guess that is good to know." Turning the page, seeing that the house supplies cost about one hundred Crowns a month as for an allowance to run the house and other expenses.

"Twenty-eight stars earned and zero stars used."

"Four rooms are open in Magic House. The Foyer, the Sitting room, the Study, and the Library. There is several add on, like the bathroom and pastry service and drinks in the Sitting room."

Shaking her head up and down as her hand cup her chin and her index finger tap her lips as she studies the book. Frowning, "four Crowns per month maintenance for the rooms! Oh, nice. I have to read the room description for other expenses and maintenance!"

Rubbing her forehead, she flips through a few pages, barely looking at them. Until she saw a drawing of the door to the Magic House caught her attention.

"The Door's current location opens up at the City of Korda in an alleyway off H street using the back door of Jill's Rugs. So that was the door I used the key in that unlocked the house. So how do I move the door?" The book's pages turn on their own and stop on an image of a globe.

Reading the description under the globe. "The globe is used to change the door location by moving the magnifying glass over the location you desire, by using the other magnifying glasses to pinpoint a door to be open. Only doors that you have been to or research can be open."

Straightening up and looking at the large globe in the middle of the room. Before she started to move to the globe, the pages turned on their own, grabbing her attention.

Her eyes grew big as she read the page. "Warning! Special Deed Event! Do you wish to perform the deed? The danger level is green. What the hell is danger level green?" Before she even finishes, a category of colors appears on the page below the deed.

Pursing her lips as she read out loud. "Gray is easy, and green is equal in strength. Oh, great! Blue looks harder, then white and red is super hard, and black is impossible! Why don't you just give me a percentage chance on doing the deed!" Glaring at the book.

The wording change on the book to show the deed danger level as fifty percent successful.

"Guess that better than one hundred percent failure. Okay, what is the deed? Oh God, I am talking to a book!" Slapping her forehead as she watches the words appear.

"Save Jill, Owner of Jill's Rugs. She is taking the brunt of your escaping. You have one hour. The reward is one Star. Plus, an unknown reward. Failure is Jill's death." Straighten up.

"Oh! No! I can't let someone die because I pick a random door!" A look of horror appears on her face.