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“You’re the scrawniest, oddamn misfortune to come across, you know that?”

The cat in question stared at me with a look that could only be described as utter satisfaction He was an orange tabby with a pale, fluffy mane that made him look like a miniature lion and a coat that had randoles He looked older than Methuselah, even though he was only a little over three The spirit within the cat, however, was not young

I shook the hand he had all but shredded, flicking droplets of blood across pristine white tiles “I should let you starve, you ungrateful wretch of a thing”

The cat blinked, hisin the shadow-filled kitchen It wasn’t my kitchen, and it certainly wasn’tMonty—one to Melbourne to have the external fixation devices on his leg rein full rehabilitation Nearly two months had passed since the soucouyant had kidnapped and basically broken him—or at least his left tibia—and between the hospital stay and his inability to move about with any sort of ease, he’d been less than pleasant to be around Much like his cat, really

Thankfully, the run of foul spirits and de the Faelan Reservation—the only olf reservation in Victoria, and one of seven in Australia—had gone from a tidal wave to a trickle We’d only had a couple ofthat tiional Witch Association representative who now lived here, and who’d once again stepped into the vacant reservation witch position until Monty regainedwith them

I dumped the rest of the tin’s contents into the cat’s bowl, then rose and did a wide detour around hi across to the sink so I could run water over the wound The cat bent, took a sniff of the fish, then raised a paw and pushed the boay, a look a disdain on his face

“Listen here, buddy, you erous little paw, but she’s not here today You eat what I give you, or you starve”

The cat studied me for a moment, then rose and, with a flick of his fluffy tail, stalked from the room

“Felines,” I muttered, and thanked God my familiar was not only human, but also my best friend Generally, familiars cahtmare—or a spirit No one really knehy Belle had becoh to find out I’d certainly never questioned it—ould I, when her presence in my life was the only reason I stood here today?

I turned off the tap, dried the wound, and then dragged the first aid kit out of the pantry After spraying the three deep slashes on the top of my hand with antiseptic, I tossed the first aid kit back, then filled up the ungrateful feline’s water bowl Thankfully, Belle was back toone down to Melbourne to see the latest incarnation of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and had decided to stay overnight rather than do the late-night drive back to Castle Rock—so she could resu duties The wretched cat seeo into berserker h the door But then, aside fro spirit talker; if the cat did decide to flex his claws and cause soe, she could certainly return the favor Clever spirits did not mess with her