Page 60 of Sprite Wedding
“Not necessarily,” he countered. “The magic might have lowered your inhibitions.”
“It made me strip on a cruise ship!” I shouted.
He pointed to his chest. “I didn’t control what you did when you were under it.”
I was ready to grab his little neck and wring it.
“Something might have reminded you about a familiar time in your past,” Ursula explained. “And that’s why you acted on it.”
It didn’t seem like a good explanation to me. Then I remembered the song that had triggered it. “Dancing With My Elf.” I had danced with Zoe to that in the club. And we’d joked around about it at home since then, sometimes dancing freely in the living room.
I groaned. None of this seemed warranted. A flash of gray darted out from the shadows and behind another bush.
“Shadow,” I called. “Is that you?”
“It looks like Shadow,” Zoe said.
Concern for my beloved cat shifted my focus off the sprites. “He must have slipped outside.”
“He must be freaked out by everything going on back here.”
Indeed. “His owner turned to stone, and unfamiliar beings are flying around his back yard.” I abandoned my strife with Marty to go find Shadow. I couldn’t bear him running away in fear.
“Come on out, buddy.” I crouched beneath a bush and attempted to coax Shadow out. “Let’s get you back inside. I promise to give you extra treats.”
I turned over my shoulder to see what must be spooking him. The sprites had left.
“Everybody’s gone,” I assured Shadow in a soothing voice. “Don’t worry, it’s safe.”
Shadow ran out from beneath the bush to me. He meowed and rubbed against my legs.
“Hey, little buddy, I missed you.”
Shadow’s reply was a loud purr and aggressive head bumps against my hands. I took the hint and rubbed his face and chin with more vigor.
“He missed you, too,” Zoe remarked. “I’ll let the Network know what happened with the sprites.”
“Good plan.” I pet Shadow again. “Thanks for keeping me company out here. Let’s go inside where I can shower you with affection and treats and food.”
The two of us headed inside. Shadow nudged me for food, rubbing back and forth against my legs so much that it was hard to move forward.
“Hold on, little buddy.” I navigated around the four-legged, furry obstacle and gave him some treats.
His water bowl was full, but his plate was empty. That wasn’t unusual. Shadow could lick his plate clean as long as it wasn’t pate. I turned to Zoe, about to ask her if he’d been fed.
“Don’t worry, we’ve been feeding Shadow,” Zoe said as she joined us in the kitchen. “He had his dinner.
“Ah, he’s probably trying to trick me into feeding him again.” I gave Shadow a couple of more treats.
“I love seeing you two like this—a massive dragon who turns to mush around his cat.”
“Who wouldn’t turn to mush around this lovable furball?” I stroked Shadow’s back and then turned to Zoe. “He snuck out today and sat on top of me while I was in stone.”
“Did he really?” Zoe leaned back, and her eyes widened. “How did I miss that?”
“Because he’s a sneaky little dude.” I rubbed his chin some more. “Aren’t you, Shadow-bear?”
Shadow purred in reply.
