Page 46 of Slouch Witch
‘Pet.’
‘Fine. But keep those damn claws to yourself.’ There was a pause followed by a hiss of pain. ‘You little bastard.’
I could almost hear Brutus sniggering. I grinned and pulled my aching body out of bed. If I thought I’d feel refreshed after a good night’s sleep, I was sorely mistaken. I hurt more today than I had yesterday. How was that even possible?
I yanked on some clothes and padded into the living room. Winter, whose hair was adorably mussed up, handed me a cup of coffee. ‘I hope you don’t mind,’ he said. ‘I made myself at home.’
‘Not as long as you bring me hot drinks,’ I said cheerfully. I was particularly enjoying the fact that he was wearing casual jogging bottoms and a tight T-shirt that he’d pulled from his gym kit in the boot of his car. It made a nice change from his immaculate suits. Not to mention that his new attire showed off a great deal more of his body than he normally displayed. ‘You can make me breakfast too, if you like.’
‘I would but all that seems to be in your fridge is a wrinkly apple and three slices of rather unappetising looking pizza.’
I immediately brightened. I’d forgotten about the leftover pizza. Yum. I took a gulp of coffee and headed into the kitchen to heat it up. Brutus followed me, giving me a baleful glare.
‘My sofa,’ he hissed. He was obviously annoyed that Winter had dared to stretch out and sleep on his territory.
‘It’s not your sofa. I paid for it.’
‘My sofa.’
‘You really don’t need to repeat every single thing several times over, you know. I’m perfectly capable of hearing you the first time.’
He jumped onto the counter and, with his eyes fixed on me, pawed at the cup of coffee I’d just put down. Before I could stop it, it slid onto the floor. The cup smashed and I yelped as hot coffee splashed over everything, including me. Brutus twitched his whiskers and sauntered away while Winter, alarmed, ducked his head in. ‘What happened? Is everything alright?’
‘It’s fine.’ I grabbed a cloth and began dabbing ineffectually at the mess. In the end, I gave up. There were more important things to worry about. ‘Look, I keep thinking about sceptre. It doesn’t make sense that Diall or anyone else would go to this much trouble for it. Unless the ulterior motive was to kill you, stealing it was pointless. And frankly, there would have been easier and more reliable ways to put us both down than a sewage tsunami.’
Winter gave me a grim look. ‘I’ve been thinking the same thing.’
‘Do you think—’ I began, before hesitating and cocking my head. ‘Hang on. Can you hear that?’
Brutus, from the corner, arched his back. With dilated pupils, he leapt onto the floor and darted for the front door.
‘Don’t worry,’ Winter said. ‘I know who this is.’
Puzzled and more than slightly wary, I followed him. From the other side of the front door there was a faint scratching sound. Brutus was now on full alert, the fur across his spine on end and his tail puffed up like an old-fashioned feather duster.
‘Winter,’ I cautioned.
He turned and grinned at me, his features suddenly boyish. ‘Don’t worry.’
I watched as he unbolted the door. Brutus scarpered to the other end of the small hallway, his claws scratching the wood floor in his haste, although he was obviously determined not to hide. A moment later, with a small kittenish meow, a white, long-haired Persian strolled in, head butting Winter’s legs and demanding attention. My mouth dropped open. ‘Is that…?’
‘My familiar.’
I scratched my head. ‘I thought you lived on the other side of town.’
‘She’s pretty smart. I called to her last night after you went to bed.’
This was some dedicated moggy. Despite her fluffy, delicate appearance, her temperament was clearly similar to Winter’s. She also had extraordinarily blue eyes to match his.
‘What’s her name?’ I asked, finding my voice.
‘Princess Parma Periwinkle.’
I tried very hard not to giggle. It didn’t work.
‘I’ve had her since I was ten,’ Winter informed me sniffily. ‘When my magic abilities first appeared. I was rebelling against my parents and I had a vivid imagination.’
‘Mmm.’ The fact that familiars live far longer than normal house cats means that their names are often amusing – but rarely on this scale.
