“I’m afraid so.”
Drew nodded and lifted himself up onto one elbow, then reached out with his other hand to press gently against the pale-purple gem. “What’s this?”
“Just some bling,” Zach said, not wanting to go into his history with Oberon and his imprisonment.
“It’s pretty,” Drew murmured. He then seemed to wake up a little more and realise what he was doing as he yanked his hand back and turned away to scramble out of bed. He picked up his phone and illuminated the screen to check the clock, and then swore and hurried to the bathroom. “Crap, I have class in twenty minutes! I’m going to be late!”
Zach watched as Drew rushed around the tiny apartment, tripping over his feet as he shoved books into a backpack whilst simultaneously attempting to pull a pair of jeans on over the boxers he’d slept in. He watched as Drew then turned blindly to grab his phone and could see his shins were about to smack painfully against the bed frame. Without even thinking about it, he directed his magic towards the bed, sliding it across the room by two inches, just enough to prevent the collision. Completely unaware, Drew hefted his backpack onto his shoulder and then turned to face Zach.
“So, um, what are we going to tell people?”
“Tell people?” Zach asked, deliberately being an ass about it as he knew exactly what he’d meant.
Drew waved a hand between the two of them wildly. “About this . . . about you. Who are you? Why are you suddenly at university? Why are you hanging out with a loser like me when you’re obviously super cool.”
Zach’s lip curled up into a smirk. “Super cool?”
Blushing, Drew looked away. “You know what I mean. No one will ever believe I’m friends with someone like you.”
Once upon a time, Zach would have corrected Drew. He would have assured him he had worth, that he was someone people admired, but eons of having the goodness within him quashed had changed him. Instead, he shrugged and said, “Then perhaps we should avoid having any questionsasked at all.”
“How do you plan to—” Drew’s mouth dropped open and his eyes went wide as Zach shifted into the shape of a brown and white cat before his eyes. Zach looked up at Drew, now towering above him, and wound his way between his legs. “What the fuck?” Drew uttered.
Nowthisis super cool, don’t you think?
“Argh! What the fucking fuck? How are you doing that?”
Zach projected his chuckle into Drew’s mind.It’s really rather simple. Instead of speaking out loud, I’m speaking directly into your mind. We’re trying to avoid questions, not make people start asking them about a talking cat.
Drew sat down heavily on the edge of the bed, breathing hard. “This is not happening,” he whispered. “Thiscannotbe happening.”
It can and it is,Zach said.Now come on, you’re going to be late.He nosed at the opening of the backpack, nudging the zipper open even further, and then he gracefully jumped inside, making himself as comfortable as possible on the pile of books.
Taking a deep breath, Drew got to his feet. “Right, okay, class. I have to get to class.” He glanced down at Zach’s head peeking out from the top of the backpack and then shook his head. “I’ll deal later. I’m going to be late.” And he hurried to the door.
Demon Pussy
Drew hadn’t thought his situation could get any freakier, but the soft purr coming from his backpack said otherwise. He’d gone from thinking the world was a rather normal place to knowing that demons were real, magic was real, and not only was he now bound to a demon, but apparently magic ran in his family and he might have the ability too. He could barely concentrate as he sat in his lecture, his eyes constantly darting down to his backpack, then around to the people sitting near him when Zach began purring louder. What the hell was he doing? Was hetryingto draw attention to himself?
The lecture finally ended and the noise of forty people getting to their feet and leaving the lecture hall deafened any noises Zach made. Drew slowly packed away his book, tucking it carefully to the side of the backpack so he didn’t crush the demon, when he suddenly became aware of someone standing over him. He looked up and saw that it was Gwen, one of the girls who was in his study group. “Hi, Drew,” she said brightly. Her long blonde hair was loose around her shoulders today, and she waswearing jeans and a VIU Mariners tee, looking every inch the stereotypical student.
“Um, hi, Gwen.”
She looked between Drew and his backpack and said, “So, I couldn’t help but notice some funny noises coming from your bag. Whatcha got in there?”
“Nothing! Nothing at all!” he cried.
“Uh-huh. Sure.” Her hand darted down to grab his bag, and Drew lunged to stop her, but he wasn’t fast enough. She dragged the backpack over to herself in triumph and went to open the zipper. “You know, I’m pretty sure it sounded like a cat.”
Before Drew could reply, a white and brown paw shot out of the bag, claws extended, and took a swipe at Gwen. She shrieked and pulled away from the bag, sucking her finger into her mouth where a drop of blood was welling up from the scratch she’d received. “What the hell, Drew? Do you have some kind of demon kitty in there?”
Wanting to laugh hysterically, as that wasexactlywhat he had in there, Drew bit his lip hard to contain it. “He’s not good with people, okay, and you probably scared him by yanking my bag around.” He opened the zipper and looked inside. Zach jumped out of the bag and into his arms and then turned to glare at Gwen.
“I didn’t know you had a cat.”
“I only got him yesterday,” Drew explained. “He kind of followed me home. Didn’t give me much choice if I’m honest.” In his arms, Zach purred loudly and rubbed his face against Drew’s chest.
“He’s very cute,” Gwen said. “I love the brown patches of fur. And these two tufts almost make it look like he has horns!” She reached out. “Can I pet him?”
