The drive over was short and bumpy, thanks to Parker’s erratic behavior behind the wheel. This time I was actually happy to see the dark office complex, because it meant we had made it to our location without the epic car crash I’d half-anticipated.
Inside Paranormal HQ, Parker guided me in the opposite direction we’d gone that morning. A series of long halls delivered us to a large, echoing space where all the furniture had been cleared away and the carpeting ripped out.
“You’re definitely not getting the security deposit back on this place,” I mumbled, remembering the time I’d forfeited one of my own, thanks to an ill-fated attempt at candle making. Incidentally, that was not a hobby I’d decided to keep.
I turned toward Parker to see how my joke had gone over, but before I could meet his eyes, we were joined by a new arrival.
Mr. Fluffikins hopped down from a hole in the ceiling where one of the hanging tiles had been removed. He landed with a thump right in front of me, proving definitively—at least to me—that cats always landed on their feet.
“Good evening,” he purred, appearing rather pleased with himself, if not with me.
“Thanks for bringing her to me, Barnes,” he said, offering Parker a curt nod. “That will be all. Dismissed.”
“Wait,” I called after his departing form, but either he didn’t hear me or he didn’t care.
I glanced back toward the black cat with growing discomfort. Something told me he wouldn’t be gentle in making my big introduction to magic.
“Human,” he said, flicking the tip of his tail rhythmically as he regarded me. “It is time to—”
“My name’s Tawny,” I informed him.
His eyes widened as if my speaking my name had somehow been an insult. “That’s not important. What’s important is that—”
“Actually, my name is kind of important, and I’ll thank you to use it.” If I didn’t put some rules in place now, I doubted I’d be able to introduce them later. And if I was going to be around long enough to do this Town Witch thing right, then I definitely needed to at least push for him to use my actual name.
Mr. Fluffikins rose to all four feet and paced a circle around me. “That’s a rather tall demand from someone who still hasn’t been cleared of murder.”
“Actually it’s a fairly simple request. You’re asking me to learn magic and temporarily fill in for a witch. All I’m asking is that you treat me with a little respect.”
The cat stopped, cocked his head to the side, and watched me with swirling golden eyes.
We both remained silent, unwilling to budge. As far as I was concerned, I had more leverage here. He may have magic, but he also needed me—and it had to be me for some reason, even though I had no idea why.
After what felt like a small eternity, the cat finally laughed. Not just a small chuckle, but a side-splitting display of amusement.
“You won’t go easy on me, I see. I hope you know I’ll extend you that same courtesy. So Tawny it is, but keep in mind, your future demands will be met with far more resistance.”
“Thank you,” I said between clenched teeth. Even though he’d finally given in, I still felt on edge. Why couldn’t Parker have stayed with us? It would have been so much easier, having a friendly face along for the ride, even if he, too, was still largely a stranger. But I’d take the handsome cop over the scary magic cat any day of the week.
“So what now?” I asked when Mr. Fluffikins didn’t make any effort to explain himself.
“Well, now,” he said, while studying the unsheathed claws on one of his front paws. “Now I grant you temporary access to magic.”
“Magic,” I repeated, relishing the power of the word on my tongue.
The black cat nodded and schlinked those claws back into his paw. “It won’t be a perfect match for Lila’s, but it will be a fair replica and should allow you to temporarily fill her post. That is, unless you actually did kill her and have already absorbed her magical legacy.”
“I didn’t—” I was promptly cut off by a strong gust of wind that tore through the room and knocked me off my feet.
Ouchy ouch ouch. Everything hurt. My head, my chest, and especially my butt.
“What was that?” I screamed. He wanted me—needed me—to help him, right? So why was he attacking me all of a sudden?
Mr. Fluffikins opened his mouth, but instead of answering my very reasonable question, he unleashed a pulsing plume of fire.
It whipped out fast and determined, flying toward me much faster than I could ever hope to move even if I wasn’t already knocked flat on my rear.
Then in a split instant, the flame disappeared, right before crashing into my face and turning me into a melted ball of wax.
“You’re crazy!” I shouted, but fear made my words sound jumbled and drunken. “Let me out of here!”
Fluffikins laughed as he took slow deliberate steps in my direction. I took a deep breath and braced myself for whatever came next. We both knew I didn’t have a snowball’s chance in Miami of coming out the victor here.
But, oh, what a way to die!