Page 82 of Cats Never Fly

“Idon’t know how you escaped, butI’mhere to take you back,” the troll sneered. “Iwould have preferred to kill you and strip your carcass of scales, but apparently you are too valuable.”Shewas trying so hard to be tough, but she came across as whiny.Infact, she sounded a lot likeWarrenwhenMamamade him return something he’d stolen.

Istuck my paws through the gapI’dmade between the lid and the box.Icurled them over the edge and braced my hind legs.IfIcould leverage myself just right,Imight be able to jump onto the troll.IfIknocked her down, maybeOgdencould do something.Hismagic wasn’t listening to him right now, but maybe he could flop on herand pin her down.Hisdragon was way bigger than she was.

Thena large dark being stepped through the portal.Thebeing’s power oozed across the rooftop.Itlooked a bit likeGagein his demonic form, except this supe was black instead of red.Thedark creature—he had to be a demon—surveyed the scene and then nodded toward the portal.

Ogdenstruggled harder against whatever magic was pinning him to the cushions.

Thenthree other forms stepped through the portal.Onewas a mage, one a bear, and the last was… a human?Italmost sounded like the start of a jokeClivewould tell.Mostof his weren’t funny, and this one wasn’t either.Andwhy would a human be here?

“Good,” the mage said with a satisfied nod. “You,” he pointed at the demon, “go back and prepare the dragon’s cage again.Obviously, you fucked up the magic on the last one and that’s how he got free.Don’tfuck up again.”Theor elsewas left unsaid.

Thedemon dipped his head in acquiescence, then stepped through the magical doorway, returning to wherever he’d come from.Assoon as he was out of sight, the portal vanished.Theremaining four supes rushed toOgden.Thescent of magic increased.Ogdengroaned and thrashed, but he was no match against the powerful magic they wielded.

Agiant shape descended from the sky, circling lower and lower until it landed in a flurry of feathers on the roof.Thegigantic bird transformed to a manIrecognized from the photoVanhad shownOgden.ThiswasWesley.

Howdifficult would it be to claw his eyes out?Ididn’tthinkIcould murder anyone—even him—butIcould maim him.

“Youhave him again,” the traitor said. “Giveme my money.”

Thetroll snorted.

“Youwouldn’t have known he was up here ifIhadn’t told you,”Wesleyargued. “Andyou wouldn’t have been able to portal here without my help.Itook the risk.Iflew over and put those ground up leaves in his mouth while he was sleeping.Youcouldn’t have done this without me.”

Hadhe missed seeing me?Iwas a lot smaller thanOgden’sdragon, even in my human form, so maybe he had.Ifhe had seen me,Ididn’t doubt he would have turned me over to gain their favor.

“Lookat the amount of crushedDracaenaon the ground.Youwasted at least half of what we gave you.Youcouldn’t even get that right.”Themage turned away fromWesley.

“Andwe’re the ones who have to do all the work to get him back where he belongs,” the human complained.

“Wait…”Thebear lifted his nose and his face distorted in a partial shift. “Ismell another.”Hesnarled at the traitorous bird shifter. “Isthis a trap?”

“What?”Wesley’seyes bulged. “No.Ofcourse not.Iwould never…”

“Gus,Iam tired of his games,” the mage said, sounding bored as he sent a significant look toward the bird.

Thebear grinned at his new prey.Histeeth elongated as he closed the distance between them.Wesleybacked up.

“Whatare you…?No.Wait.Ijust want my money.That’sall…”Featherserupted from his skin as he started to transition to his animal form.

Thebear lunged for him and sank his teeth intoWesley’sneck before the bird shifter could fully transition or utter another plea or protest.Thesickening sound of breaking bones and the distinctive smell of blood gushed through the air.Ichoked back the bile that rushed up to my mouth.I’dwanted the traitor hurt, but…

But…

Ihadn’t been prepared for what that meant.

Ihadn’t been prepared for him to die.

Thebear opened his mouth andWesley’spartially shifted body landed with a thud on the patio.Hewas a mess of feathers and distorted body parts.That’swhenIheard it… the gurgling breath.Thewet, spluttering noise.Thebird wasn’t dead, likeI’dthought.Notyet.Butsoon.Everyoneknew it.Ashifter could survive a lot of injuries, but not something like that.

Bloodbubbled out of his mouth with each breath he struggled to take.Hisclothes looked like they were sinking into his skin.I’dnever thought about what it meant to shift with our clothing on.Itwas just something we shifters did.AndnowIdoubtedI’dever be able to shift again without remembering whatWesleylooked like right now.

Myfuture nightmares would featureWesley’sdying and mangled body,Ijust knew it.Trembling,Iforced myself to look away.Icouldn’t help him, butIcould still helpOgden.Hewas in trouble.Buthow wouldIdo anything against someone who killed effortlessly and without remorse?Icould kill a field mouse like nobody’s business, but a person?No.

Apulse of light pulled my attention away fromWesley.Whenthe glow faded,Ogdenappeared in his human form, naked and vulnerable.Ididn’t know how they’d done it, but he was no longer struggling against them.Hewas eerily still.Fromwhat the intruders had said,Iwas confident they would keep him alive, but what if they hurt him?Hewas so vulnerable right now.Theycould do a lot of damage to him before his injuries would be dire enough to end his life.

“Whydo we have to do this?Whycan’t we take him through a portal?” the human complained.

“Shutup,Edgar,” the mage snapped.