I pulled myself up a second time and clambered onto the narrow strip of land with shaky feet. I stood at least fifteen feet off the ground with no idea how to get safely down.
Both cats whipped their heads up and turned toward me.
A wicked smile flashed across Tom’s striped face as he dodged to the right in a similar fake-out to the one Merlin had pulled on him in the alleyway. He wriggled free and summoned a massive ball of fire. A second later, he catapulted the thing straight toward me. I jumped to the ground, no longer concerned with how I would take the fall.
The important thing was to not die.
Just before I smacked into the earth, a gentle stream of wind caught me and lowered me gently. Merlin had saved my behind, literally.
Unfortunately, Tom had counted on Merlin shifting his attention to rescue me, and now their positions had reversed.
The enormous orange tabby straddled my Maine Coon, swinging his paws wildly as he batted at Merlin’s face, chest, anywhere he could reach—attacking the very source of his magic.
“Oh, Merlin, did you think you could win?” he jeered as he struck out at Merlin and sent him flying.
This was all my fault. If I’d just stayed put…
I choked on a sob but refused to make a noise. I’d cost Merlin too much already. At least he could escape with his life. He still had his family. Luna, the kittens…
Luna’s bright white fur caught my attention as she stalked across the field, closing in on the dueling cats. She didn’t have any magic, so what was it she planned to do?
I got my answer in short order when she crept up behind Tom and sank her claws and teeth right into his neck.
Tom flailed against her, but she held tight, impossibly strong. She wasn’t only taking his magic, I realized as Tom’s slack body fell to the field. All the life had been drained right out of him. Luna had done that.
She’d ended this duel by breaking every rule in the book.
“Luna,” I cried, racing toward the cats. “What did you just do?”
“He was losing,” she said simply with a shrug.
“But you killed him!” I argued as tears splashed down on my cheeks. So much had happened in such a short span of time, and I was having a hard time processing it all. “Why did you kill him?” I barked out.
“Merlin needs his magic,” Luna said coldly, then turned on me with claws extended. She leapt toward me, her eyes red with rage.
I took a step back, but it wasn’t enough to escape the oncoming attack.
Luna fell upon me, and everything went black.
17
The next thing I knew I was struggling back to consciousness in a very unfamiliar place.
Standing.
Chained to a boulder.
On top of a mountain.
Oh, boy…
I yanked against my chains, but they had zero give.
Merlin.What had happened to Merlin?
My eyes strained as they scanned the darkness, at last landing upon a small metal cage, not unlike the kind a human would use to trap a skunk or raccoon that had gotten too close to the house.
Merlin lay unconscious inside.
“Merlin! Wake up!” I whisper-yelled. Even though I didn’t see anyone else up here with us, our captor could still be nearby. We needed to find a way to escape before it was too late.
“How did we get here?” I asked him, but still he didn’t stir. That’s when I remembered.
Luna.
She’d killed Tom and then turned on me. But why?
Merlin moaned in his sleep but didn’t acknowledge my pleas for help. At least I knew he was alive, even though he wouldn’t be helping me make an escape plan any time soon.
I struggled against the chains again, grunting and pulling until I ran out of breath.
“Give it up,” a deep and eerie voice commanded from somewhere nearby. “You can’t win.”
I scanned the summit but couldn’t see anyone.
“Who are you? And why have you brought us here?” I shouted into the darkness.
“Pretty demanding for someone who has no options left,” the voice said with a cruel chuckle. Well, at least he found this entertaining. I, however, was not amused. I also couldn’t place the voice. It was familiar and strange at the same time.
My eyes narrowed in on the sound and finally spotted a black cat perched at the edge of the mountaintop.
Beside the cat, a cauldron flared to life, glowing a hideous swampy green.
“Mr. Fluffikins?” I asked cautiously. But hadn’t he departed for his own town with Drake in tow? And wasn’t he supposed to be one of the good guys?
The cat spun to face me, backlit by the brewing magic.“Recognize me now?”
The cat’s chest was pure black, its eyes a bright glowing green. Mr. Fluffikins had a tiny patch of white on his chest and golden orb eyes. This wasn’t him.
But what other black cats did we—?Oh.
“Dash,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Took you long enough.” The dangerous illusion witch simpered at me as if this were all a game. “But then again, I believe you know me better like this.”
A poof of magic obscured my view. When it cleared, a no-nonsense police officer scowled back at me. This was the original form in which I’d met Dash, as the cop investigating my old boss Harold’s death. Of course, it had all been a trap. As an illusion witch, Dash could take on any form she pleased.
At least I’d always thought of Dash as female since I’d first met the illusion witch under the guise of a police woman. Now, however, I was almost certain the black cat was male. Wait, why was I wasting time trying to figure out pronouns for a cat who almost certainly wanted to kill me?
Think, Gracie. Think!
“Where’s Luna?” I demanded as I broke out into a cold sweat.
Another cloud of magic filled my vision, and out stepped a pure white cat with glistening blue eyes.
“I’m right here, dear,” Dash said in Luna’s voice.
I should have known. Luna would never betray us. It had been Dash the whole time—or at least since we’d entered Nocturna.
I tried to lunge forward, but the chains held me securely in place.“What did you do with her?”
Dash shifted back into her natural form. A plain and unassuming black cat.“I don’t see why it matters. You’ll never see each other again.”
“Tell me where she is!” I yelled, fighting against my chains with renewed fervor.
“Relax. Enjoy your last few hours of life. If it helps settle you down, I can assure you that the white cat is just fine. You on the other hand? You’re going to die.” Dash let out a dry chuckle. I’d never wanted to smack an animal so badly, not even the zombie squirrels who had tried their best to kill me earlier that day.
Dash looked up and silently studied the night sky full of stars for a moment, then said,“You all could have lived, you know? My plan was simple. Get you to Nocturna to see the blood witch. Take said blood, and none of you would ever be the wiser. I could have carried out this plan with zero casualties. But now because of you, many will die.”
I swallowed hard, unsure of how I would get out of this one, especially without Merlin’s aid.
Right now, I needed a miracle.
18
“Let me go,” I demanded, refusing to die silently—or at all, if I could help it. “Nobody has to get hurt. We can end this all now.”
“And why would I do that?” Dash asked, returning to the glowing cauldron and studying the brew.
“Because deep down you’re good,” I chanced.
Dash laughed bitterly.“Someone has been watching too many fairy tale movies, I think. Because I can assure you I’m bad to the bone.”
The notes of that famous old song played in my mind, and I cursed the black cat for adding a catchy ear worm to my current list of problems. I shook my head to regain clarity, focus. Only one thing mattered right now, and that was escaping.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked. “What’s in it for you?”