Page 32 of Moody as a Minotaur

What if…?

What if I told him? If he knew, he’d understand what we were hiding.

Or he’d run, screaming, straight into the hunters’ arms and start working to annihilate us.

I remember watching a cartoon years ago, where the character had an angelic being on one shoulder and a devilish one on the other and they argued back and forth. I could relate. Today was one of those days. One was saying, “No. Not Parker. Parker isn’t like those other humans.” And the other was saying, “If you thought you could trust him, you would have already told him you’re a minotaur. Humans aren’t trustworthy. Period.”

Before I could decide what to say to Parker, movement outside my window caught my eye. I swung around to see what was happening. Two cats strolled along the ramp in front of my window that led to the cat door that connected to my office. I’d installed the door for Simon, but neither of these felines was my security guard. I hadn’t seen Simon’s brothers shifted very often, but I bet these were Clive and Warren, two of Simon’s littermates.

They were obliviously talking to one another as they strutted up the ramp with their tails straight up in the air. The very tips flicked back and forth with each step like they didn’t have a care in the world. Paws, a powerful cat-like creature who hung around at the Willow Lake Inn, could speak non-stop without regular humans being able to detect that he was magical, but regular cat shifters didn’t have that luxury.

Since a cat shifter’s shifted form matched that of a non-magical animal, seeing them fully shifted wouldn’t be a problem. But talking? Normal cats didn’t speak like humans. If Parker heard them talking, he’d be exposed to magic. After that, he’d be able to see under the magical glamour that protected all supes. I had to stop them.

I bolted from my chair.

As I charged across the room, I could see I was already too late. I darted around my desk and put my body between the cat door and Parker.

“Well, we’ll just have to convince Levi,” Clive said as his furry feline head pushed through the flap.

“I still think we should have talked to Simon first,” Warren said.

Neither of them whispered. Neither of them had poked their head through the flap to make sure I was alone. Had they already forgotten we were supposed to be extra careful right now?

As soon as Clive was inside, he greeted me. “Hey, Levi. We’re here to talk about Simon’s hours this weekend. We’ll work them instead because Ogden says he’s refusing to come out from under their bed.”

Then Clive froze as if finally realizing something was wrong. He tilted his head to look at me.

“Uh, Levi? What’s the matter, man?”

“Keep going, asshole,” Warren said, ramming Clive with his head from behind. “You’re blocking the door.”

“Levi looks constipated or something,” Clive said, then his gaze flitted to something to my left. “Oh, fuck… Abort. Abort.”

He tried to push out through the flap when Warren was still trying to push his way in.

“Get your fat ass out of the way!” Clive shouted.

“What the fuck, Clive,” Warren grumbled as their small cat bodies got stuck in the narrow opening.

Warren looked around. His eyes widened in obvious shock. Then he was scrambling backwards. With Clive and Warren both going in the same direction, they managed to get outside. They stumbled off the ramp and landed in a pile of fur and legs. In the next moment, they were running. Clive raced toward the parking lot, while Warren went in the other direction. A second later, Warren had doubled back and followed Clive.

I didn’t move.

Black spots danced in front of my eyes. A high-pitched ringing in my ears obliterated any other sound. My lungs screamed for air.

“What the ever-loving fuck was that?”

10

MAGIC IS REAL AND OTHER SURPRISES

PARKER

There were things in life I hoped I’d never experience, and, although I’d never been a Boy Scout, I’d decided years ago that I would be prepared for them. Just in case. I don’t know if I’d always been like this or if it was leftover programming from those summers with Nana.

So, if I ever was stuck in a broken elevator where I was plummeting to the ground? No worries, I had a plan. Coming face to face with a shark? No problem, I had a plan. Swarmed by a group of ninjas determined to assassinate me? Again, I’d be okay because I had a plan.

I will admit that my plans weren’t always practical or feasible. But… meh. Whatever. The important thing was that I had a damn plan.