Page 17 of Cats Never Fly

“Oh, that sounds rather dirty.Ididn’t know you were kinky,”Isaid with a grin.IfIdidn’t get upset at her threat, maybe she’d leave him alone.Idoubted that ruse would last for long, though.Ineeded to save my little unicorn friend, but how?

Hewas too sweet to torture.Hedidn’t whimper or cringe like most of the other creatures.Hejust slumped in his cage and stared at the troll like getting tortured was nothing new for him.AndIwanted to destroy whoever had taught him that.

I’dstart with this troll.

IfonlyIcould figure out what to do.

Asif anticipating my plan, the troll stood close to the other cages instead of in the middle of the aisle like she had last time.Ididn’t have a clear shot at her.Damnit all anyway.IfIblasted electricity at her from here,I’dhit another cage.Thelast thingIwanted to do was electrocute the poor unicorn.Theelectrical currents would zip over the bars and zap him, because he didn’t have a choice but to sit on the crate with his bare ass like me.

Wait.IthinkI’dread about a kink like that.Hmm…Maybeshooting an electrical current through his balls wouldn’t be so bad.Maybethe little unicorn would be into something like that.

ThenIremembered the smell of flesh burning whenI’dzapped the troll earlier and changed my mind.Iftoo much of my electricity ran through the cage and hit the unicorn, things would be bad.Noone wanted their family jewels cooked.

ButIstill had my fire.CouldIsend it, without its electric sidekick, through the bars in both our cages without hitting the unicorn?

Iopened my mouth to try it, when a tingling sensation rolled over me.Mytoes curled.Thehair lifted from my nape.Myfingers twitched.

Thenthe air shimmered and twisted.

Whatwas happening?Thiswas not normal.Wasthe troll a distraction?Werethey piping in poisonous gas?

Oohh.

Coulda person feel squishy?BecauseIfelt squishy and rubbery and light.Toolight.Ihadn’t tried drugs since the ‘60s.Theyhadn’t done much to me, probably becauseIwas a supe, so it’d been a rather blah experience.Butthis was whatI’dalways imagined it would be.Psychedelicswirls wrapped around me in a way that suggested colors could be tangible.Brightrainbows spun hypnotically in front of me, making me dizzy.

Ooh…Itotally understood the word groovy now.Totallygroovy.Farout.Tenout of ten.Wouldrecommend.

Thenmy vision whited out for one long moment before everything—my sight, the weight of my body, everything—rushed back.Atingling sensation coursed through me.Igasped, only to have water rush into my mouth and nose.Waterdragons couldn’t drown, but inhaling water unexpectedly still made me choke for amoment before instinct took over.Mybody shifted into my dragon form.

Allthose happy, pretty, swirling colors vanished.Iwas one hundred percent sober now.Instantly.Howdisappointing.

Mydragon undulated and whirled through the water.Anindistinct tugging sensation dragged me upward to the surface.Ierupted out of the water and gulped in the sweet tasting air, letting it fill my lungs.Mywings snapped open, andIlifted myself upward into the air, swimming as easily in the air currents asIhad through the water.

Ididn’t understand what had happened, butIwas free.Nocrate.Notroll.Nocattle prod.Itwas time to fucking celebrate.

Butfirst,Ihad to find out whyIwas here and whereherewas.Theair reeked of magic and after being held in a magically reinforced cage,Idoubted this change heralded anything good.AsIrose higher, some invisible tether latched on and tugged me back down.Iflapped my wings harder, but it didn’t work.Icouldn’t go any further.

Whatthe fuck was going on now?

Chapter Six

SIMON

Alittle shock of electricity zinged over me.Myskin vibrated until every little hair on my body stood on end and my hands trembled.Ilowered the whistle.

Whatwas that?Iscanned the shoreline but didn’t see a mage practicing magic out there tonight.

Athick ripple rolled over the calm surface of the lake.Itstarted way out in the middle.WasitWeston?Thelocal merman swam in the lake a lot.Ormaybe it was?—

WhateverI’dbeen thinking dropped out of my head like a bowling ball through tissue paper as a large shimmering creature breached the surface of the lake in an explosion of water.Itshot straight up into the air.Waterglistened over its body before the droplets fell like a fine mist to the lake below as the creature went higher and higher into the air.

Thatwas notWeston.Ora fish.Ora tentacled supe like the couple who owned the bakery.

Igaped.

Itwas a dragon of some kind.Ora basilisk?

No,Iwas right the first time.Ithad to be a dragon.