Page 21 of Cats Never Fly

“Ifyou’d listen for a minute, you might.”Thedragon shook his head at me likeIwas the ridiculous one.

IfIwas in my shifted form, my tail would be twitching like crazy about now.

“IfIagreed to your terms now, the magic might sense we are done and send me back beforeIcould finish the first line of ‘TuttiFrutti’ andI’dbe no further ahead thanIwas before.Ican’t risk that.Notyet.”

“But—”

“Ican’t return there empty-handed.Iwas running out of my regular repertoire of upbeat songs, and the ‘80s hair bands and ballads have never been my jam, you know?Andas much asIhate to admit it, music can only do so much.”Ogdenshivered. “Honestly,I’dprefer to stay here, but that can’t happen either.Ineed supplies and a plan.”

“Idon’t understand.”Washe trying to confuse me?Orhad the summoning magic broken his brain somehow?

“Wedon’t have long.FromwhatIremember…”Ogdentilted his head to the side and stroked his chin. “Ithink most summoning magics stay active for about three, four, or seven hours, depending on the strength of the coven.”

“Withouta coven?”Iasked, althoughIwasn’t sureIbelieved any of this.Andyet, what other explanation for his sudden appearance could there be?

Heeyed me and nodded likeI’dsaid something important. “Abit of an unknown, isn’t it?”

Abright beam of light flashed over us.

“Whatin the name ofMagicis going on,Simon?”

“Oh, uh, hey,Van…Uh,Imean,ChiefClark.”Isquinted into the light and inched away fromOgden.CouldImake it to the tree line beforeVancaught me?Probablynot.Theguy was a hellhound.Hisjob was allabout policing everyone in town and catching people who ran, particularly if they were doing something wrong.Ihadn’t meant to enslave a dragon, but wouldVansee it the same way?Myscalp tingled as panic screeched up and down my spine.Iswallowed hard. “Uh…How’sit going?”

“Whois the naked guy?”

“Uh, this isOgden.”Iglanced at the dragon. “Ogden, this isVanClark.He’sthe hellhound in charge of our local police.”

Ogdeninhaled, as if to confirmVanwas a hellhound, then his eyes lit up. “Perfect.Iwould like to report a crime.Oh, andIneed to make a call.”

Drat.

“Ididn’t mean to do it.Iswear,”Iblurted.

Fursprouted all over my body.Iwas seconds away from bolting, but running away wasn’t a long-term solution.I’dnever been more than a few miles fromWillowLake.Itwas allIknew.Icouldn’t imagine trying to make it out there in the world on my own.Catswere supposedly independent creatures, but this cat shifter liked the comforts of home.

Iwas no alley cat.I’dnever survive.

Evennow, my instincts told me to run back to my apartment… or to my parent’s place.Ugh.Iwas so predictable.IfIescapedVannow, he’d know how to find me.Infact, all the hellhound would need to do was phone my mama.She’dturn me in with a slap on the back of my head for her troubles.Popswouldn’t snitch on me, butMamaheld us kittens to higher standards.

Ogdencast a confused look in my direction.

“Someonebetter start talking.”Van’swords sounded more like a growl.Hisfiery gaze, betraying how close his hellhound was to the surface, peered at me from his shadow-covered face.

“Iwas kidnapped,”Ogdensaid.

“Ididn’t know.Please.Believeme.Ididn’t know.”Myheart was beating so fast.Toofast probably.Likea ticking bomb counting down to detonation.

“Simon?Areyou saying you abducted this man?Didyou take his clothes too?AndhereIalways thought you were the best of your litter.”Vantsked likeI’ddisappointed him.

Ogdenhuffed and clapped his hands twice to get our attention. “Quittalking.Bothof you.Thisis important.Iwas kidnapped and held in a place with a bunch of other supes.Simonsaved me by summoning me.Nowwe need to get to work.Preparationsneed to be made.Ihave until the summoning magic time runs out to do that, soI’llneed your help.Ican’t leave everyone there either.”

Igaped. “Someonekidnapped you?Besidesme?”

“Itsurprised me too.”

“Okay.We’regoing back to the office.Allof us,”Vansaid, pointing at me. “Thatmeans you too,SimonRivers.”ThenVanpointed atOgden. “AndI’mfinding you some clothes.”Thehellhound shifted his flashlight.Littleblobs of color danced over my eyes as they adjusted to the dark again.

Whatwould my mama say when she found outI’dbeen dragged into the police station alongside a naked man?