Page 19 of Waifs And Strays
‘I don’t know how long I’ll be, but three hours’ maximum.’ I pointed to the bag that was now hidden in the shadows. ‘Make sure that stays there, where nobody can see it.’ Then I held my breath, opened my mouth and swallowed the clump of fur.
It tickled as it went down and I choked slightly but there wasn’t time to clear my throat. The magic was already taking hold.
It started with a tingle, like electric sparks running through my veins. Goosebumps rose across my skin. As my nose started to twitch and the altered light forced me to shut my eyes, my blood fizzed. It had been too long since I’d felt this rush of power.
My body rose off the ground and I started to spin and tumble. I forced myself to relax; it was far less painful when I simply allowed it to happen. The heat that enveloped me was both welcomingly familiar and disturbingly uncomfortable. Iheard my bones crack, and a moment later I was jerked rigid by a searing pain but it was only a brief spasm, over almost as quickly as it had begun.
Then I was back on the ground, albeit on all fours. Everything looked different. I wasn’t just a cat lady, I was also a cat-sith. My kind were so rare that I’d never met another.
Miaow.
Viewing the world through cat eyes always took some adjusting to. I rarely shifted into feline form during the day because colours were confusing in daylight, especially reds and oranges, and every colour looked more washed out than usual. Some ultraviolet light seeped through to add to the confusion. Dark colours were easier and my feline night vision was extraordinary, even though it took time to get used to.
When I’d first realised what I could do, I’d spent most of my hours as a cat feeling wobbly and sick. It had taken considerable determination to push past those sensations, and even now I had to use the first moments of every transformation to slowly blink and focus before I moved.
He Who Roams Wide understood this and waited patiently until I was ready before touching his nose to mine. I miaowed in response. Cats don’t typically miaow at each other, but despite my temporary body I wasn’t really a cat and He Who Roams Wide knew that. He gave a brief purr and settled down by my bag. I knew there was a good chance he’d wander off at some point in pursuit of a shadow, but he’d stay reasonably close to this spot until I returned. It was far more than I had any right to ask for.
I stretched out, tested my feline limbs and made sure everything was in order. My gnawing fear that it had been too long since I’d transformed had vanished; I was a cat once more – and damn, it was good to be back.
Inclining my head to He Who Roams Wide, I padded out ofthe alleyway. As soon as I emerged there was the flap of wings and I registered a bat flying overhead. I didn’t need to get close to know it was a vampire but she wasn’t interested in me, so I wasn’t interested in her.
I dropped my gaze and focused on the high wall surrounding the MacTire mansion. It was angled in such a way that it would be difficult for most people to climb over. The biggest threat to any werewolf pack was other werewolves and most of their defences were designed to prevent incursions from competing packs. Although werewolf security took other Preternaturals into consideration we weren’t a priority, which was why I’d managed to sneak inside so easily when I’d killed Bruce MacTire. It was why I’d sneak inside so easily now, too. One day werewolves would stop being so inward looking and realise that others posed a real threat, but not today.
After his father’s assassination, Alexander MacTire had asked EEL how we’d gained access so that he could plug the holes in his security but I knew that, as per its strict policy, EEL hadn’t told him. I could saunter into the MacTire stronghold and nobody would be any the wiser. It was almost too easy.
I examined the wall, checked again that the street was empty and calculated my approach. Eyeing the top, I bunched my muscles and scaled the wall with an ease that would have horrified the architect who’d designed it. It was a great deterrent for werewolves but cats? Not so much.
The top was three inches wide, which was more than enough room for me to pause comfortably and survey the scene below. I couldn’t grow over-confident, though; despite my current form, my aim was to remain unseen.
A well-lit courtyard lay in front of me and a gravel path led to the front door of the main building, situated so that it was impossible to avoid. It would be difficult to prevent my paws crunching on those tiny stones but ingress by the door was myonly option because all the windows were bound with magic designed to repel intruders. I had to slip in through the front, and that wouldn’t be easy given the two guards positioned on either side of the path, but all I really needed was patience.
I walked around the wall towards the eastern side, away from the guards and the front door. There was a narrow gap here between the exterior wall and the side of the mansion and I jumped down easily and landed on all fours in a patch of garden that was choked with weeds. Nettles and thorns scraped irritatingly against my fur and I sprang towards a less-weed strewn corner where I could wait for my chance.
The guards were obviously bored. The one nearest me was turned away so I couldn’t see his face, his fingers drumming out a rhythm as he listened to an ear-worm song in his head. The other guard was staring ahead with a vacant expression. People had low attention spans and no guard could stay alert without a break for more than two hours. Very few organisations factored that into their security planning, which had made my old job far easier than it should have been.
The guards’ distraction emboldened me and I stepped slowly out from my hiding place. I hugged the walls of the main building, keeping out of the light. Neither of them noticed.
Soon I was in a puddle of darkness less than a foot away from the door. I sat back on my haunches, preparing for another long wait but I was in luck. The courtyard gates opened and Quack and Ribbit strode in.
The two guards snapped to attention. ‘Here for your drubbing?’ the nearest guard enquired.
Ribbit scowled and stopped, but Quack was more sensible and ignored them in favour of opening the front door and stalking inside. ‘We’ve done nothing wrong,’ Ribbit said, taking the guard’s bait.
‘Oh yeah? I heard you got your arse whupped by a little oldlady who smells of cat pish. By the looks of you two, I heard true.’
I didnotsmell of urine, cat or otherwise, and I wasn’t a little old lady but I didn’t take umbrage. Instead, while Ribbit bunched his fists and spat out a weak rejoinder, I darted through the front door.
‘You weren’t there,’ I heard Ribbit sneer behind me. ‘There were five of them.’ It was a pathetic lie even by brawny werewolf standards and the guards knew it.
‘Fivelittle old ladies? Oh my!’
I smirked inwardly and took shelter underneath a bureau. It was just as well because Quack turned and snapped at her colleague, ‘Stop being a wanker and get over here. We’re already late.’ Then her nostrils flared and I froze. She’d obviously scented my presence despite the bandages across her nose, which were no doubt the result of our previous encounter. ‘And you two ought to do a better job. Some kind of animal is in here.’
‘We’re not Rentokil, love,’ one of the guards laughed.
‘Yeah, that’ll be your job once the boss is done with you tonight,’ the other one chuckled.
Although their words were harsh, their tone was good natured; those bored guards had to get their kicks somehow.
