Blessedly, the creature listened. He even ran out behind me when I opened the door.
The suns were dull in the sky, shrouded by ominous grey clouds. I shivered.
“Bram! It’s time to come home, buddy! Where are you?” I ran through the woods surrounding my cottage, not surewhat direction I was heading in but trying to cover as much ground as possible.
Where would he have gone? To find a comfy place to nap? To visit his siblings? To terrorize some townsfolk?
I ran faster. My thighs throbbed with the effort.
A streak of black crossed my path, stopping me up short.
The damned cat.
“Fates!” I hissed. “I almost crushed you! What are you doing?”
The creature hissed at me, baring sharp canines. And then he stepped purposefully toward one side. His eyes never left my face.
“What do you want, stupid cat?” I asked, irritated. I moved in the direction of town, planning to rush to Kizzi’s. Or Fiella’s, if the first stop proved useless.
The cat hissed again and took another step in that direction.
“Are you trying to tell me something? Am I losing my mind again?”
His tail swished.
“I need to find Bram.” I tried to dodge the cat, to continue on my path, but he glared at me with an intensity that a critter shouldn’t be capable of.
A cold sweat broke out on my forehead.
With a heavy sigh, I relented. “Fine. I’ll follow you.”
With a growl that was a little less menacing, the cat took off through the woods, hopping nimbly over sticks and branches, hardly making a sound.
I followed.
“This is crazy,” I muttered to myself. Louder, I shouted, “Bram! Where are you, Brambleby?”
The trees passed in a green and brown blur as I rushed past them. I tried to scan the forest for signs of a green dragon, but I was afraid to lose the small black cat.
For some reason I couldn’t understand, I trusted the cat to lead me where I needed to go.
I screamed until my voice broke. My calls came out tangled and snarled, cracked at the edges.
My heart rate picked up until my chest throbbed uncomfortably.
After agonizing minutes, the cat led me to the edge of the forest where the trees began to thin.
The sound of gurgling water filled my ears, almost drowned out by the thudding of my pulse. The cat came to an abrupt halt, staring up at me expectantly.
“What?” I asked. “Is he here? Bram!”
I didn’t see the little green dragon anywhere.
Thunder cracked somewhere overhead. I nearly jumped out of my skin.
The smell of petrichor and wet earth filled the air.
And then rain began to pour. Bramhatedthe rain.
