Page 11 of Cats Never Fly

“Oh, don’t be rude.”Ishook my finger at her. “Youknow that’s not nice.Nowwhere wasI?”Icleared my throat.

“Nomore songs.”

“Oh, honey, don’t clench your teeth like that.You’llhurt yourself.”Ileaned forward. “Youseem a little stressed.Ionce dated a troll, soIunderstand about troll families.Ilove my mom, but you trolls are next level.Youare all about your strong matriarchs.Itis truly impressive.I’mguessing you don’t have your own clan yet, hey?Areyou still living with dear oldMom?Doyou want to talk about it?”

Mostof that was true.Sortof.Ihadn’t actually datedWendell, but he’d come into my old bar all the time and cry in his ale whileIserved him.Forthe record, trolls don’t tip well, but they can drink a lot.Itkind of worked out at the end of the night.Aslong as he sat at the bar and didn’t take up a table where the staff had to deal with him,Iwas happy to pour his drinks and listen to him.

“Oh,Iknow… it’s the ‘50s you’re not fond of.Howabout ‘DancingQueen’?”EverytrollI’dever met had a thing forABBA.WhenMammaMia!came out, the trolls had been the first ones through the door.

Thetroll’s face softened in interest for a moment before she scowled again. “Nosongs.Nosinging.”

Shehit the side of my crate with her plump palm.Themagic on the bars hummed but didn’t zap her or me.Thecage itself jostled a bit, butIwasn’t worried.Trollsdidn’t have magic, at least not the kind that could do anything to the crate.No, whoever had put the spells on the metal bars, it hadn’t been a troll.

“Areyou sure?Itdoesn’t have to be ‘DancingQueen’.Whatabout ‘TakeaChanceonMe’?That’salways a crowd favorite.”

“Stoptalking.Stopsinging.Stopit all.”

“Orwhat?”Okay.Mostpeople wouldn’t goad their captor—at least that’s whatIwas sensing from my fellow prisoners, based on the way they were cowering—butIwas a dragon.Ididn’t have to listen to anyone.

Thetroll’s bulbous nose crinkled as she sneered. “Iwill come in there and?—”

“Oh?You’regoing to open the crate?Honestly, that would be swell.”Iclapped my hands in delight and grinned asItwisted and made a half-assed attempt at stretching. “I’mgetting stiff sitting like this.Iwouldloveto stretch my legs.”

Thetroll snarled as she shoved a cattle prod through the bars.Isnatched up the end of it, brought it toward my mouth.Iinhaled sharply, then spewed a blast of fiery electricity along its length.Thecrackling current shot up the metal.

Contraryto what the prod’s design specs undoubtedly said, the insulating protective grip wouldn’t confine all electricity to the metal rod—at least not when a dragon produced the electricity.Myfiery electricity zinged over the surface of the prod until it reached her hand, then continued up her arm.Itonly stopped when she dropped to her knees in pain and pulled the prod out of my crate.

Apparently, no one told her my species of water dragon had not only fire, like other dragons, but also power surges like electric eels.Somepeople were victims of their own ignorance.

Thereek of burning flesh made me cough.Iwaved my hand in front of my face.Ihated when that happened.Itwas such an unpleasant smell.

Sheshrieked, cradled her hand, and sprinted for the door.Well, given her size, it was more like a clunky trot than a sprint.

“Bye.”Iwaved cheerily at her retreating back.

Ismiled at my fellow prisoners, who were now looking at me with the same wariness they’d shown the troll when she first arrived.

“Okay, now, where were we?Oh, yes, we left off at ‘SplishSplash.’Iwant to hear the people in the back, so remember to sit up straight and smile.Alright, everyone,I’llcount us in.Anda one, two, three, four…”

Chapter Four

SIMON

It’dbeen months sinceIfound the whistle, andIstill had told no one about it.MamasuspectedIwas keeping a secret, but she didn’t press me for details.Notyet.ButIdoubted her restraint would last long.She’dheard about my visit to the police station all those months ago.Ihadn’t even finished giving my statement when she blew up my cell phone.

Atthat time, she’d accepted the same storyItold the police, but she was getting suspicious now.Evenwhen she was in her human form,IsworeIcould envision her tail twitching back and forth as she studied me.Itwouldn’t be long before she pinned me down about it.

Hercuriosity was legendary.Thatshe hadn’t found out about the whistle already was surprising.Itfelt like a lifetime had passed sinceIfound it by the tunnel entrance.

Somuch had happened since then.

Notonly had the wolves gone back to the inn to stealmore things, they’d gone on to blow up the tunnel.I’dheard some awful things had happened out at their pack lands too.Clive,Warren, and our younger twins had gone out there to snoop and scavenge after the police had finished their investigation.Theysaid the place reeked of blood.Ishuddered at the thought.Ihadn’t gone out with them, butIstill had nightmares about it.

ButIwas losing more sleep over my whistle than my nightmares.

AndMamahad noticed the bags under my eyes.

Atbreakfast this morning, she’d asked me over for supper, claiming it was to make sureIhad a hearty meal before heading out for the night.Thatwas a lie.Weboth knew it.Shewanted to corner me and unravel my secrets without my brothers around to distract her.SoImade up an excuse.Ifelt guilty for lying to her, but…Iwasn’t ready to say anything yet.