Chapter 32 Kitty Litter
KITTY LITTER
The Lincoln sisters took their seats. Melody remained standing.
The silence that followed was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Something went ‘crunch’ in the midst of it.
We all looked at Oscar. The demon had bitten into a biscuit.
He chewed and swallowed. “What?” he said defensively. “I skipped afternoon tea.”
Finnic leaned closer. “You got another one of those?”
Daria looked like she was considering hexing the dwarf and the demon.
“I owe this Alliance an apology,” Melody said stiffly.
Her voice didn’t waver, though I could see what it was costing her to keep it steady.
“I sat in that chair under false pretenses and lied about the Lincoln sisters’ whereabouts.
And I obstructed the investigation into their disappearance.
” She swallowed. “I know the subjugation magic doesn’t excuse what I did.
I should have fought harder. I should have found a way to—”
Maude tapped her cane impatiently. “Oh, for heaven’s sake girl, sit down.”
Melody blinked.
“Yeah, you’re giving me a crick in the neck,” Petunia muttered not too unkindly.
Maude fixed the fae-witch with a stern look. “You were under a spell that would have broken most witches within days. The fact that you lasted weeks and still managed to drop hints to Samuel and Abby tells me everything I need to know about your character.”
Viola nodded. “We don’t blame you.”
“Not even a little,” Petunia added.
Melody’s composure crumbled. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she sank into the nearest chair.
Finnic produced a handkerchief that looked suspiciously clean for a dwarf who’d probably been drinking since noon and wordlessly passed it across the table to the witch.
Melody took it and pressed it to her face, her shoulders shaking.
Daria stared at the scene like someone who’d walked into the wrong room and couldn’t find the exit.
“This is just lovely,” the Alliance chair said in a glassy voice. “Now. About Abigail’s involvement in this matter.”
I swallowed. Someone stating my official name like that could only mean impending trouble.
Samuel lowered his brows at Daria. “We already addressed that topic.”
“I believe you’ll find the minutes show we were interrupted,” Daria countered with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
My wolf and I studied the door and were calculating how fast we could vamoose out of there when Pearl jumped on the table, padded to the center, and sat down.
The cat immediately commanded everyone’s attention, including Bo’s, who stuck his head over the table like he was about to watch one of his gory true crime shows.
Victoria shot the cat an uneasy look. Samuel tensed beside me.
Pearl’s gaze found mine across the table. Her sapphire eyes held something I couldn’t read. Something that made my wolf go very still.
“I’ll get straight to the point,” Pearl said. “As most of you already suspect, Abby’s ability to resist the Thornwick witch’s magic, break the Black Chalice Rite, and undo its subjugation bindings are not standard luna traits.”
The room went deathly quiet. My pulse quickened.
Daria narrowed her eyes. “What are you saying?”
Pearl’s tail swished once. “I’m saying that Elizabeth Rochester Hawthorne possessed a similar ability.
One that was never formally recorded in any pack archive or Alliance document.
” She paused. “Not many people know this, but Elizabeth could also manifest a humanized version of her white wolf. I would like it if that information never left this room.” Her eyes shrank to slits as she stared at Oscar.
The demon’s dominion of darkness withered a little.
My heart thumped violently in my chest.
Elizabeth Hawthorne could do what I do?!
Somehow, my wolf’s silence was even more ominous than if she’d reacted.
Victoria’s face had gone pale. Samuel’s hand found mine under the table. The weight of what Pearl had just said settled over the room like a held breath.
Before anyone could respond, a violent hissing sound came from Daria’s direction.
Finnic stared at the Alliance’s chair for a moment before scratching his cheek awkwardly. “I mean, I get the news of Abby’s new abilities constitute a full-blown code-brown situation, but that reaction seems a bit over the top even for you.”
Daria sighed heavily. “That wasn’t me.”
She bent and lifted something onto the table.
It was a pet carrier. The expensive kind, with ventilation holes and a secure latch. Something inside it hissed again.
I got instant ominous vibes. From the way the rest of the Alliance subtly recoiled, so did everyone else.
“Now, if we could move on to the matter of what to do with the Thornwick witch,” Daria said briskly.
“Following the battle at the property where the Lincoln sisters were being held prisoner, Esmeralda Thornwick was transformed into a cat. It appears the combined magic of six witches channeling three ley lines, with the Hawthorne luna acting as conduit, resulted in an irreversible transmutation.”
A somber silence ensued. Oscar passed Finnic a biscuit.
The carrier made another angry sound.
Daria pushed it farther away from herself. “We have a dark witch who is likely permanently trapped in the body of a cat. One who still carries residual vampiric magic from the rite and whose bodily fluids have exhibited minor corrosive properties.”
“Minor corrosive properties?” Tatiana repeatedly worriedly.
“She peed on my Harley on the way here.” Daria glared at the carrier. “It’s going to need a paint job.” The carrier glared back.
“Wow,” Bo said with morbid glee, his tail swinging.
“From the multiple accounts I’ve recorded of the battle, she is also stronger and faster than a normal cat,” Daria continued. “Significantly so.”
“And meaner,” Bo contributed unhelpfully. “She tried to scratch my nose with her death mittens.”
Daria shot me a sour look. I muzzled Bo with a hand.
The Alliance chair drummed her fingers on the table.
“Which brings us to the question of custody. She can’t go into standard Alliance containment.
The vampiric element makes her a cross-jurisdictional concern.
She needs a supervisor with the strength and experience to manage a supernatural feline exhibiting hostile tendencies.
Someone with strong vampiric abilities.”
Every head in the room turned toward Barney.
The vampire went very still. “No,” he said in a deadly tone.
“Barnabas—” Daria began.
Shadows came to life around the vampire. His pupils bloomed with crimson.
“Absolutely not,” he growled.
He might as well have been talking in Klingon for all the effect this had on the Alliance members.
“You’re the most qualified person in this room,” Gregory pointed out patiently. He counted on his fingers. “Eight hundred years of experience. A pureblood vampire with extensive knowledge of dark powers. Not to mention superb supernatural reflexes.”
“Save the flattery,” Barney snapped. “I don’t do cats. Besides, I don’t have the space.”
“You live in a mansion with seventeen bedrooms,” Wendall observed.
“Yeah, surely you can spare one for a small animal,” Portia said.
Barney’s expression darkened. “A small animal who tried to claw my eyes out.”
“She tried to claw everyone’s eyes out,” Samuel pointed out reasonably.
Finnic carefully examined his nails. “Melvina would love a pet.”
Barney flinched. His scent told me Finnic had found his kryptonite.
“Don’t you dare bring Melvina into this,” the vampire said in a dangerous voice.
“She has a particular fondness for black cats,” Finnic continued, undeterred. “She’ll probably love it to death.”
“We live in hope,” Maude muttered.
The carrier yowled, a sound of shocked protest.
Pearl strolled across the table and stopped in front of Barney. “You know you’re the obvious choice, Barnabas,” she said calmly. “I’ll even visit and give you and the dwarf advice on how to manage her.”
Victoria didn’t look thrilled by this suggestion.
Barney regarded Pearl for a long moment.
“Fine,” he ground out. “But I want it on record that I am doing this under protest.”
“Duly noted,” Daria said. “The protest and the acceptance.”
Barney reached for the carrier with the enthusiasm of a man collecting a ticking bomb. The moment his fingers touched the latch, the carrier erupted in a frenzy of hissing and rattling.
He opened the door a crack.
A black paw shot out and raked four lines across his hand.
Pearl trotted over and swatted the black cat sharply on the nose.
“Bad kitty.”