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Kitty whimpered on my knee and continued to say something was hurting her.
Panic shot through me. I didn’t know how to deal with a poorly kitten. I didn’t even know where the nearest vet was.
“Kitty, tell me where it hurts.”
“My back. It hurts.” She sniffed and snuggled closer to me. “Tell it to stop.”
I moved my hand over her little back. I could feel her spine and carefully checked to see if anything was amiss. I had no idea what I was checking for, but it seemed the right thing to do. I moved my hand to the side of her spine and gently checked that area.
I stopped. What was that? I checked it again. Yes, there was definitely something there which was running parallel to her spine. I put my hand on the opposite side of Kitty’s spine. The same small ridge was there too. It felt hard, almost like bone. Was it bone? If so, why would she have bone structures like that at the side of her spine?
I remembered what Kitty had said about flying with her mum. I thought she’d been joking about that. But what if ...? No, that was ridiculous.
Kitty whimpered again, and I decided I had to use magic on her. I imagined the pain leaving her body, and for her to be smiling again. My fingertips tingled and I ran them slowly over Kitty’s back and the peculiar ridges.
A few seconds later, Kitty sighed happily and said, “It doesn’t hurt now.” She let out a little chuckle and added, “It tickles.”
“Has all the pain gone?” I asked.
She nodded. “Thank you. Can we play hide and seek now?”
“Perhaps later. Kitty, can you tell me about flying again. You said you went flying with your mummy.”
“I did. I had to sit on Mummy’s back because my wings haven’t come in yet. Mummy said they will soon, and then I’ll be able to fly like her. Can I hide first? I’m good at hiding.”
I touched the area where the strange bones were and said, “Is this where your wings will be?”
She nodded.
I took a moment to digest this information.
A flying cat.
Well, of course. Why wouldn’t there be flying cats in this magical town?
I wondered if I could tap into Kitty’s memories and find out where she used to go flying with her mum. That might help me to locate her. I recalled how I’d once taken on the memories of a butterfly. I’d felt as if I’d turned into the butterfly as it flew over Brimstone. Gran had performed the spell for me and warned me it could be dangerous. Luckily, everything had turned out okay.
Kitty looked up at me. “Where’s my mummy? Have you found her yet?” Her little chin wobbled.
It was bad enough seeing Kitty so upset; her mum must be going through a terrible time without her baby.
I wondered if I could perform a simpler version of Gran’s spell?
There was only one way to find out.
I lifted Kitty up so her face was level with mine. I said to her, “I want you to remember when you were flying with your mummy. Can you do that?”
Kitty nodded enthusiastically and then closed her eyes. Her mouth moved into a smile.
I placed her on my knee again and kept my hands on her. I closed my eyes and tried to pick up on her memories.
A joyful feeling washed through me and made me laugh out loud with sheer happiness. I looked through Kitty’s eyes and realised she was flying high above green fields on the back of a creature. I shared the safety and love that washed over Kitty. A quick glance at either side of the creature she was flying on showed huge wings flapping slowly. I looked around us and tried to work out where we were. I saw a set of mountains getting closer, but I didn’t recognise them.
I was abruptly taken out of my trance by Kitty crying.
“Mummy! I want my mummy.”
Guilt attacked me as I realised what I’d done. I’d made Kitty remember being with her mum, and now her sadness was even worse.
An idea came to me.
“Kitty, would you like to fly on my broomstick? We could look for your mummy in the sky. She might be flying around looking for you.”
Kitty sniffed and nodded. “I think she is looking for me.”
“Come on, then. Let’s see if we can find her.”
We left the apartment taking my broomstick with us. It was getting dark outside and I hadn’t realised how late it was.
I put Kitty on the broomstick and sat behind her. We lifted off. I knew there were some mountains to the west of Brimstone and thought it would be a good idea to head that way.
Kitty had other ideas as we flew over Brimstone town square. She said, “What’s that house over there? That big one with the sparkling bits?”
“That’s Blythe’s house. You haven’t met her yet. You’ll like her. She’s very kind.”
“Can we meet her now? She might know where Mummy is.”
I had one of those moments where I felt like slapping myself. I should have asked Blythe about Kitty earlier. Blythe knew everything about everyone in Brimstone. She was bound to know where Kitty had come from, especially considering Kitty was a flying cat. Blythe probably knew a family of flying cats who resided in some mountain cave somewhere.
I aimed the broomstick towards Blythe’s house.
As we went closer to Blythe’s magnificent house, I saw the front door opening and two figures coming out. It was Luca and Astrid. Astrid was waving her arms around and talking about something. Luca was striding forward and seemed not to be listening to Astrid. I didn’t want them to look up and see me watching them. Astrid would accuse me of spying on them. I aimed my broomstick towards the back of the house and lowered it until I was on level with the roof gutter.
Kitty said, “What’s wrong with that path down there?”
I looked at the path in the back garden. Like the rest of Blythe’s property, the bricks were red in colour with sparkles of gold in them. But the path that wound through the garden beneath us did look different. Well, one section, in particular, looked different. It was red, but there weren’t any sparkles in it. Also, it was slightly wonky at the edges, almost blurred.
I had a sudden feeling that something was wrong.
I flew us down to the path and landed beside it. As I did, I heard a commotion coming from the street. There was a crashing sound, followed by raised, angry voices. I ignored it. I didn’t have time to be concerned with arguing residents.
I put my broomstick on the grass and sat Kitty next to it. I told her not to move. She gave me a solemn nod.
Taking small steps, I moved to the part of the path that didn’t look right. I lowered myself and reached out a hand. I moved my hand a foot above the path until I felt something.
There. I sunk my hand into the invisible silky material. I had felt the same material before. It felt like the same material I’d found in the bushes. Was it Alan’s cloak? I took a deep breath before carefully pulling the material towards me.
I stared at the dead body in front of me.
Footsteps sounded behind me and Blythe knelt at my side. She nodded at the body and said, “I see you’ve found Alan.”
