“So, there’s nothing else connecting Escoffier to the school?” asked Sylvie. Her fingers brushed across the napkin in her pocket.
“No.” Kitty raised a brow. “Why?”
“I was just curious,” said Sylvie, trying to shake off the man’s warning.
Kitty pointed down the slope at the end of the garden toward a low-lying building. “Here we are. Pip dorm.”
It was much smaller than the towers housing Brindille’s official students. But even from a distance, Sylvie could see that care had been taken to make the students—who would call this home for the next six weeks—feel welcome. Warm lights made the windows glow like eyes on a jack-o’-lantern. Fragrant bushes of lavender and chamomile lined the entrance.
They made their way down to the building.
Two fuzzy kittens with white and ginger hair were curled up at the foot of the door. They opened their eyes and began to meow.
Sylvie knelt.Cute welcoming committee.One of the kittens brushed its body across her knees. “Hello, little guy!” She stroked him between the ears.
“Munchin cats. J-Jingles helped me pick them out b-before he p-passed.” Kitty dabbed at her eyes. “That one’s Secret, and the other is Sauce.”
“Secret and Sauce?” Sylvie stroked the purring kittens. Was it her imagination, or did they smell like …marinara?
“They’re named after one of my favorite recipes. It helps me keep Pips on the straight and narrow.”
Another whiff of garlic and oregano wafted toward her.Definitely not my imagination.
In fact, a fine dust—like bits of dried tomato—was now clinging to Sylvie’s fingers. She tried to brush it off. Little red flecks lifted off her fingers and floated in the air.
Sylvie tried to grab them, but they slipped nimbly between her fingers.
Kitty slid on a pair of spectacles, eyeing the specks as they twirled up. “Secret Sauce may be a simple spell, but it’s quite good at revealing things people might want to keep hidden. I used to have newcomers eat a spoonful when they arrived. But that wasn’t always efficient.”
The smattering of sauce suddenly landed on Sylvie’s backpack.
Kitty frowned.
A sinking feeling hit her.It can sense my phone!
“Kids would hold the sauce underneath their tongue or spit it out when I wasn’t looking,” Kitty continued as she inspected the bag closely. “That’s when I came up with marinara dust. You don’t even have to eat it, just brush a bit on the cats. No one has been able to resist yet.”
The flecks of sauce melted between the teeth of the zipper and vanished.
Uh-oh!
This reminded Sylvie of the time she did a nosedive off her skateboard and chipped a tooth. In fact, something told her this was about to end just as badly. Sylvie forced a smile. “That’s really clever.”
“Mmm-hmm. You don’t mind if I have a look inside?”
Sylvie tried to swallow the lump that had lodged like a gumball in her throat. “Uh, of course not.”
“You’d be surprised at the things Pips try to sneak in here. Sneezewort-laced taffy, spell books.” She fished around inside and pulled out a glowing screen.
“My phone!” Sylvie tried to sound surprised. “I thought I left it at the diner!”
A smattering of sauce was now splattered across it.
“I must’ve put it in there and forgotten.”
Kitty raised a brow. “Yes. That must be it. Well, I’ll be holding onto it for now.”
Sylvie’s phone vanished into the same drooping pocket asYour Cat Reincarnated.
