by Steve Vernon
Merilee shook her head, then sighed. No, she was going to have to talk with her big sister Angelina, who would probably look on Merilee’s nightmares as yet another personal failing.
But Angelina was one of the most powerful witches Merilee knew—strong enough to generate thunderstorms when she got really mad.
Not that Merilee resented her sister’s easy access to magic. Much.
Merilee shivered again, sitting up in her bed, having to reassure herself that all was well. A sliver of light from the streetlight in the alley outside slid through the gap in the curtains to her left. Past the foot of her bed stood an ancient wooden bureau. On top of it was her metal jewelry stand full of dangling earrings and necklaces, a beautiful porcelain bowl holding her bracelets, and a cute fetish-toad carved out of sandstone that had been a souvenir from her visit to NewMexico.
To the left of her bureau was her closet door, firmly shut. It wasn’t that she believed monsters could come through it—Angelina had made sure that Merilee’s house was too well guarded for some stray portal to manifest inside. Still, it always made her feel better to sleep with the closet door shut.
To the right of the bureau was the door leading to the rest of the second floor of Merilee’s house, which stayed open. She only ever closed that door when she had visitors staying with her. It didn’t even have a lock on it. On the adjoining wall stood the door to her bathroom, also firmly shut.
Merilee shook her head. Everything looked and felt fine. She didn’t smell smoke, just the remains of the trout she’d fried in lemon and butter for dinner.
Then she glanced at the glowing red numbers of her alarm clock, sitting on the white end table to the right of her bed.
1:23 AM.
1-2-3.
An inauspicious time to wake up from a nightmare.
1-2-3. Go?
A loud thunk came from downstairs.
What the hell was that?
Merilee slid from her bed as silently as she could. She tiptoed to the door of her bedroom, then paused in the threshold and listened.
“Would you watch it?” came whispered words.
“Sorry, boss,” came a second voice.
A third voice piped up. “Sorry.”
Shit. Three men downstairs. (Merilee didn’t question that they were men—it was just something she sensed.)
What did they want? Were they here to rob her? She’d locked her front door, hadn’t she? She’d never bothered setting up too many physical barriers for her home. She’d always concentrated on the magical ones, as her sister had instructed her to, carefully following along the written out instructions for how to “arm” her house.
It wasn’t as though Merilee anticipated any magical attacks. She didn’t have that much power. No one would think of her as a threat.
Unlike her older sister Angelina.
What the hell had she done now?
“Come on,” Merilee heard the boss whisper. “Let’s get her.”
Shit. They were coming for her.
Why? She knew it wasn’t for anything she’d done.
Merilee glanced quickly around the room. She couldn’t set up a portal and transport herself somewhere else. That would take a lot of power, time, as well as ingredients that she didn’t have at hand. She couldn’t fly out of the window—even the strongest of witches didn’t have that capability, no matter what the myths and popular TV shows said. She didn’t have the strength to hide herself in a shadow. Any bright light would dispel that illusion immediately.
Hell, she couldn’t even hide in her bathroom. She’d never put a lock on that door either.
This was her house. She was supposed to be safe here.
But she had to hide. Or, escape. Something. And quickly.
She heard steps on the spiral staircase.
Automatically, she closed her bedroom door, not because it would stop anyone, but at least to slow the men down.
Merilee’s brain froze. What could she do?
She looked wildly around her bedroom.
Transform! Yes! The one spell that usually didn’t fail her!
Merilee stepped away from the door, going to the foot of her bed. A transformation spell took power, but not much time. Plus, it needed only a single ingredient: something from the creature she intended to become.
She didn’t have any feathers in her bedroom, so she couldn’t turn into a bird. No wolf’s teeth or bear claws, either.
What she did have was a plush, stuffed cat toy that always sat on the chest at the foot of her bed. It had soft gray fur, green eyes, with the tip of a pink tongue just sticking out of its white snout. It had been a present from one of her numerous cousins, a joke gift with a teasing note about the toy being the easiest familiar she’d ever find.
Despite the stinging realization that Merilee wasn’t strong enough to draw a familiar to her, she still kept the toy.
It would have to do.
Merilee wrapped both her hands around the plush toy and urgently whispered the spell. The toy shrank, making her lose her grip for a moment. She stuttered, then continued.
Had she just messed up the spell?
A dark cloud sprang up around her. She blinked, but couldn’t see anything. She didn’t remember that happening before. She continued the spell anyway. She folded in on herself, compressing herself downward.
The men gathered outside her door as Merilee found herself reaching down, her hands, no, paws, now touching the braided rug at the foot of her bed.
Lights came on, blinding her.
She yowled angrily at them.
“What the hell?”
The men had rushed into the room, finding only an empty bed and a very pissed off cat.
They didn’t appear to notice the empty plush animal that had once been a stuffed toy also crumpled on the floor.
Merilee crouched down, still growling low in her throat. She glanced over her shoulder.
Huh. Long white hair? She flexed a paw. And six toes. Weird. The plush toy had been covered in gray fur. She’d assumed that she’d just take its form.
“Where she’s gone?” fumed the one who Merilee assumed was the boss.
Thing One replied, “Probably just flew away.”
“Damn it!” the boss said. “I told you we needed to be silent when we broke in here.”
“Think she’s gone to warn her sister?” Thing Two asked.
“Probably,” the boss replied. “Come on. Let’s see if there’s anything worth taking.”
“What about the cat?” Thing One asked. “Probably her familiar. Look at those green eyes.”
Merilee found herself bristling, the fur all along the back of her shoulders rising as the three men stared at her. In her human form she’d had hazel eyes, along with olive-toned skin.
“We ain’t equipped to take her,” boss replied. “Probably scratch your face off if you grabbed at her.”
Merilee hissed at them, just because she could. Then she raced scampered past them, running so fast down the spiral staircase that she felt slightly dizzy when she reached the bottom.
She had to hide, at least until they were gone.
“That answers that,” she heard the boss say behind her.
Everything looked so big! The comfy chair at the foot of the stairs loomed over her. The end table, covered with her latest jigsaw puzzle, was twice her height. She could still smell the remains of the wood fire she’d had in the fireplace at the end of the room, though it had been more than a month ago. Along with a jumble of other scents that she didn’t have time to sort out just now.
Where could she hide? Not under the big purple sofa that rested against the front windows. Though it was huge, the legs were too squat, and it sat too low. Behind it, however…
Merilee dashed around the back of the sofa.
Dust bunnies assailed her. She really was going to have to find a stronger cleaning spell. She stepped past the biggest of them, then delicately sat, her tail wrapping itself automatically around her front p
aws. She’d placed herself about the center of the couch, too far in for anyone to grab her from a side.
And waited.
She found herself licking herself, grooming her chest.
Ugh. Gross.
But it felt so soothing, so she found herself doing it again.
It actually wasn’t that bad. Besides, how else was she supposed to clean herself?
Eventually, the men tromped down the stairs and out the door. They opened and closed it several times. What were they doing? Were they letting others in? Or were they carting her stuff away?
Merilee bristled, but remained quiet. The smell of the cool night outside tickled her nose.
Finally, silence reigned through the house.
Merilee sagged with relief. Oh thank the Goddess, they were gone.
She still made herself wait for what felt like an endless amount of time but was probably less than five minutes before she snuck around the edge of the couch.
Damn it! They’d fooled her! Thing One crouched just past the corner of the couch with a large widespread bag in his hands, ready to grab her.
Idiots had left the door open, though.
Merilee streaked past the man. He wasn’t quick enough to even touch her fur.
She fled out into the night.
Dew-soaked grass wet her paws. She was so glad it was May and not December! So many scents struck her senses, fresh dirt, hard concrete, spilled beer down the gutter, flash of brakes on a car, bruising gravel.
In a flash she hid again, under the rose bushes of Mrs. Murphy, across the street.
She heard the men curse at each other. She found herself laughing, a weird bobbing of her head expressing the emotion.
Huh. Maybe cats didn’t laugh that often.
Merilee waited until the men had left, then raced back across the street and into her own backyard.
She wasn’t sure how she’d be able to get back into her house. Maybe the men had left the front door unlocked.
No matter.
Merilee found she couldn’t say the words to the transformation spell out loud. She did vocalize, though, sounding like a cat in heat. She tried to keep her voice down, but couldn’t.
Hopefully she wouldn’t wake any of her neighbors.
However, when she finished the spell, nothing changed. She remained a white cat, crouched down in her backyard, the concrete patio blocks cold under her four paws as well as her butt.
She tried again, this time, not caring how loud she was. She felt the urge to move, to pace, but she made herself sit still.
Nothing happened.
Not even a glimmer of magic passed by her.
Did she have to be able to say the words out loud? Human-type words? But how could she? She had a cat mouth. She couldn’t articulate such syllables. Maybe she needed a vocalization spell? She would need ingredients for that!
As well as opposable thumbs.
One last time, Merilee tried to reverse the transformation spell, this time, pacing counterclockwise in a tight circle.
It felt much better to move while doing magic. Was that why she’d always had such a tough time with magic, as her mother and sister always stood stock still when they cast a spell? She’d have to remember that, and try walking, or at the very least, swaying when she did magic.
Wind rustled her fur as she paced and yowled, sending chills down her spine and shooting her tail straight out behind her.
At least she caught a whiff of magic this time, smelling like lavender butter cake.
But she didn’t feel changed in the least.
She sat down again, finding herself automatically grooming her long fur.
Now what?
She sighed, a short, expressive cat-sigh.
She’d planned on contacting Angelina first thing in the morning anyway. She had to warn her sister about the robbers.
May as well just show up on her doorstep.
Perhaps her big sister wouldn’t laugh too hard when she saw her.
Merilee paused by the side of the street, panting. She resisted the urge to sprawl across the warm blacktop. She’d just muss up her fur, again, and have to pause to groom herself. Again.
The day had dawned with a clear blue sky and an overly-hot sun. During the night, she’d been grateful for her long hair. Now, it was far too hot. White fur wasn’t the best color either. It kept getting dirty.
Cicadas buzzed in the tall grass that rustled beside her. Butterflies flitted above her head. She’d had to fight the urge to pounce and chase after them.
At least she wasn’t hungry—she’d killed the mouse before she’d been able to stop herself. The warm blood had soothed her throat, and the taste, well, it hadn’t tasted like chicken, not exactly, but close enough.
However, she was still miles and miles away from Angelina’s house, though Merilee had walked most of the morning.
Try as hard as she could, Merilee just couldn’t make her little legs go any faster. Sure, a cat could sprint really fast, particularly when someone was coming after them.
They just weren’t made for traveling long distances.
Merilee had never walked to her sister’s house. Like every right-thinking person, she drove everywhere.
Besides, Angelina lived on the other side of Rochester, to the north, in one of the nicer neighborhoods. Not quite a gated community, but close. While Merilee lived closer to the railroad, on the poorer side of town.
Angelina worked as a legal assistant, while Merilee just drove a school bus.
No one would hire her now. Not while she was a cat. What would she do if she couldn’t change back?
Merilee didn’t want to admit to herself how much she felt, well, at home, as a cat. It just seemed to suit her better.
However, she didn’t want to live as someone’s pet. She still wanted her freedom. She shivered despite the heat.
She needed shade. And water. And her human legs, damn it!
She heard a car approaching from behind. She slipped off the side of the road, hiding in the tall grass.
She didn’t know if the robbers who’d come to her house earlier were still searching for her. She had to assume they were, however.
A long-haired white cat making its way down the road was just too easy, and obvious, a target. Plus, Rochester wasn’t that big of a town, not really. There weren’t that many ways to get to her sister’s house.
Merilee paused, sitting her butt down on the cool earth and bringing up one paw. She immediately licked it and wiped her face with it before she could stop herself.
The pads of her paw had been pink earlier, before she’d spent the morning walking dusty roads. She stopped herself from licking it clean. Barely.
It took some thought to figure out how to flex her paw and bring her claws out. She assumed it would happen automatically if she was fighting someone.
Sharp, hooked talons came out from all six toes, plus the one up her leg—a dewclaw? Was that what it was called?
They sure looked deadly. She almost wished she’d let the robbers closer, just so she could have sliced one of them open.
The fur along her front leg went all the way down and covered the top of her paw. Was she a Persian? She assumed so, given the mass of fur.
The car that she’d heard coming down the road slowed, then pulled to a stop. The doors opened.
“Here, kitty kitty,” she heard.
“Shut up, you!”
That was the robbers. And the boss.
Damn it! They were still after her.
How could she hide? She needed shadows. Something to blend into.
Shadow. Darkness. Shade. Coolness. Black.
The words rung through her head. She found herself pacing again, a close, tight circle.
Black. Dark. Gloom. Shadow.
A shiver washed over her. Darkness stole her sight. A shiver raised the hair along her spine and bushed out her tail.
The words looped around again. She found herself sitting.
The loud
sound of footsteps though the tall grass drew nearer.
Merilee remained rooted to the spot. Magic sprang up around her, a pixie curtain smelling of fresh cedar and sweet strawberries.
She’d slice those men to pieces if they grabbed for her.
The darkness dissolved. Bright sunlight shone down on her head again, heating up the space between her wide perked ears.
She tensed, ready to fight or flee if they came after her again.
The sound of steps stopped. She looked up at them, expectant.
“I told you that wasn’t her!” said the boss.
They tromped back to the car. It moved away.
Merilee blinked. What had just happened?
Then she looked down.
She no longer had white fur. Instead, she was black as coal. Short haired, finally.
Huh. How had she done that? It hadn’t felt like a human spell.
Maybe it was a cat spell. Could cats do magic?
Did she have to learn a whole different set of magical incantations and rules?
She sighed. Angelina had always accused Merilee of being lazy, telling her more than once that she had power and just needed to apply herself more.
But Merilee found magic, well, boring. All those long lists of ingredients to memorize. And spells. And incantations. And…
Did cats not have to memorize spells? Or at least, not like humans? Did magic come more naturally to them?
What else could she naturally do as a cat?
For the first time in a really long time, Merilee felt excited about magic, like she had when she’d been a teenager and just coming into her power. There had to be things she could do. She just had to figure out what.
Cats regularly appear out of nowhere, tripping their owners up.
It hadn’t taken much for Merilee to figure out how to generate a cat-portal and to transport herself. She’d needed focus and pacing, but no yowling, to make a small, cat-sized oval of blue light appear.
The first few times she hadn’t been able to transport herself very far. First it was just across a yard, then from one end of the block to the other. Gradually she’d increased the distance, until this last hop had been half a mile at least, and she stepped through the portal into Angelina’s backyard.