“Well, this is your plan, so what next?” Merlin asked, beaming up at me. It seemed our little talk in the kitchen had softened his demeanor some, thank goodness.
“We should see the blood witch,” Luna said. It wasn’t like her to interrupt, but I understood that tensions were high between her and Merlin. She probably just wanted to get this little trip finished as quickly as possible.
I nodded.“Yes, that’s what I was going to say, too.”
“Then let’s go.” Luna trotted down the cobblestone walkway, leaving us to follow.
Merlin and I exchanged curious glances before following after her. The sooner we got this over with, the sooner we could find a way to exterminate our zombie problem once and for all.
As we strolled through the darkened streets of Nocturna, a few friendly cats called out to us. But nothing could stop Luna on her quest to reach our destination without delay.
As we rounded a corner, my toe caught a crack in the stone path, causing me to stumble and fall to my hands and knees.
“Are you all right?” Merlin asked, racing over to examine my skinned palms.
I let out a slow, shaky breath. It stung, but not bad enough for me to request magical aid.“I’m fine. It’s just a bit hard to see without any lights,” I offered as I slowly rose back to my feet.
“We have the moon to guide us,” Luna said, tilting her head to the sky.
“Yes, but I don’t have night vision like the two of you,” I reminded her. The feline residents of Nocturna didn’t need artificial light to see, which resulted in some paths being better lit than others. The one we had just turned onto had nary a lantern or lamppost to be seen.
“Right.” Luna sat and waited for me to get my bearings before continuing on.
Our little party had almost made it to the old covered wagon where the flame-point Siamese had his blood witch consultancy when a shadowy figure exploded from the alleyway and pounced on Merlin.
“Ah-ha! I knew you couldn’t hide forever,” a fat orange tabby snarled.
As a young Maine Coon, Merlin hadn’t quite reached his full size. However, it was rare to find any other cats who were larger than him. Somehow, though, this chunky assailant seemed to outweigh him two to one.
“Get off him,” I shouted and stomped my foot while Luna watched the scene unfold from several paces away.
“This scaredy cat owes me a duel,” the orange chonker decreed, clueing me in to his exact identity.
“You’re Tom,” I said, pointing at him with an angry, shaking finger.
He flashed us a wide smile, showing off his pointed fangs.“Gee, what gave me away?”
“We have nothing to fight about,” Merlin ground out, still trapped beneath the larger cat’s bulk. “Luna made her choice, and it wasn’t you.”
“That’s right! You tell him!” Luna called out but kept her distance. “Now, please leave us. We have somewhere we need to be.”
Tom scoffed at her request.“More important than this? I think not. I’ve been waiting weeks to put this guy in his place. Where you been, Merlin?”
“I have a life outside of Nocturna. And if memory serves, that’s the whole problem in the first place.” Merlin growled, then jerked his head to the side in a fast fake-out maneuver.
Tom toppled off him, giving Merlin the chance to escape his hold. Now both cats stood with their hackles raised, facing each other as they hissed wildly.
“You’re jealous,” Merlin bit out.
“Nah, I just don’t like to see good things happen to bad cats,” Tom countered. “Now, are we going to do this right here in the middle of the street, or what?”
“No, no.” Merlin glanced toward Luna, and she nodded reassuringly. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Let’s take this to the fields.”
Tom took a step back, then lowered himself to a sitting position.“I’m counting on you to be there,” he said without taking his eyes from Merlin. “Five minutes, or you forfeit.”
“You have my word,” Merlin replied with a slight bow of his head.
And with that, Tom flashed a sinister smile, blinked twice, and disappeared into the night.
14
Luna tiptoed over to Merlin and me.“Come. We have to be quick. There’s still time to visit the blood witch before that thug returns.”
Merlin mewed morosely and hung his head in shame.“I know you want to keep me from fighting, darling, but you know what happens if I forfeit.”
“What happens?” I asked, feeling so out of the loop when it came to Nocturna’s unique methods of conflict resolution.
“An All Paws Bulletin will go out to every single witch in the area. By refusing to fight, I’ll have effectively surrendered my magic, and it is their right to take it from me.” Merlin spoke passionlessly, as if he’d already accepted the worst possible outcome. It wasn’t like him at all.
I shook my head emphatically. I’d believe in my cat enough for both of us, if that’s what was needed. “We can’t take a risk like that. Jeez. I’m so sorry, Merlin. I shouldn’t have forced you to come back here. You tried to warn me.”
The Maine Coon lifted a paw to silence me.“No. This is my fault entirely. I shouldn’t have egged Tom on. I knew he was jealous, and still I took great pleasure rubbing my happiness in his face.”
“But the blood witch…” Luna mewled pathetically.
“We can visit him once this is finished,” I told her. I got that she didn’t want Merlin to fight, but she could at least admit the hypocrisy rather than trying to act like she had other reasons for wanting to hold him back.
“What if you lose?” I asked Merlin somberly. As much as I didn’t like it, we had to consider all possible outcomes. If Merlin lost the magical duel, he wouldn’t die, but he would be left forever without his magic… And where would that leave me?
Merlin sighed.“Then I’m willing to bet the zombie master will be far less interested in what I do going forward.”
“Well, that’s one way to solve the problem, I guess.” I forced a smile because I knew Merlin needed someone in his corner and Luna was oddly detached at the moment.
“In truth, I’m lucky that Tom didn’t put out the APB the first time I disappeared. My guess is he’d find it far more satisfying to land a few good strikes of his own than to simply rob me of my magic due to a technicality.”
I nodded slowly and glanced to Luna. Her blue eyes were wide as she took everything in, but still she remained silent—letting Merlin decide this one for himself, no doubt. Luna wanted Merlin to let her make her own decisions about what was safe versus what held more risk than acceptable, and now she was returning the favor.
“Is there anything we can do to help you get ready?” I asked after a brief moment of silence passed.
“Yes.” He rose to all four feet and stretched. “I need you to remain as close to me as possible once I’m on the field while also keeping a safe distance from harm.”
“How will I know what that is?” Too close and I’d put myself at risk. Too far away and I’d put Merlin at risk. This was not going to be easy, but it was the least I could do.
Merlin rubbed his head against my shin.“I don’t know, but I’m trusting you to figure it out. Your presence will give me an advantage over Tom. He doesn’t have a familiar, which means only I will have access to extra reserves if needed.”
Oh, that was right!
Maybe we could win this thing after all. It could all come down to me. I could save Merlin’s magic, and then once he defeated Tom fair and square, we wouldn’t have to be afraid to return to Nocturna.
Finally my status as his familiar meant something; it gave me a bit of power—power which I fully intended to use for the greater good.
With any luck, Merlin would clinch a quick and painless victory, and we would still have the time we needed to visit the blood witch before the morning sun came out and put the city into a slumber.