“Cat?” I asked, yet he didn’t move. I reached out to touch him and there was something in the way. It made my fingertips tingle. My head snapped back to Lady Twilight, wondering if she had any idea.

Her head tilted to one side, staring at the Cat. Her eyes had gone completely dragon. Magic pulsed around her, clearly distorting her outline.

My concern increased, and the skylights dimmed. Indigo chirped twice, asking what was happening.

Lady Twilight frowned, then nodded. She took a step back, clearly somewhat agitated, but tried to smile at Indigo. “Little one, how about you take the dragon stone back to your hideaway? Stay there and guard it until we say you can come out.”

Indigo chirped in fear, but glanced at me first. I quickly nodded. The Elder knew something I didn’t, and she didn’t want Indigo here right now. Finally, the little dragon flew toward the far wall and the door before vanishing into her private area.

Lady Twilight took another step back, her form shimmering, then she vanished, except for her eyes. They hovered in the center of the open area, along with that strange power swimming around her.

The bells on the back of the door screamed as it slammed open. In stumbled someone in a red cloak, with dark eyes burning like coals. A pale face stared at me and I realized who it was. It was the man who had dropped Indigo. He had been the one asking about the Cold book we had destroyed.

“You!” He pointed a finger at me. “You must call them off. I can’t go anywhere! I’m in hiding, stuck slinking from one hole to the next. Dragons are circling closer and closer, nearly on me!” He stepped toward the counter. “You will fix this!”

Anger rose in me, like a molten metal flowing from my chest to each of my limbs. Power pulsed inside my chest. “You kidnapped a baby dragon from its mother.” The words shot out from between my lips like a physical force. “You are working with the demons.”

The man threw back his head and laughed. His form twisted. Pitch black horns grew from his head, and scales trickled down his face, as large sharp teeth formed. “You know nothing of demons.”

The demon, now in its true form, didn’t notice the dragon eyes moving closer, or the increase in angry power at my words. The open area wasn’t empty anymore as he took another step toward me. Suddenly, the form of a purple dragon came into view. Her wings were folded tight against her back, and her claws were outstretched in front of her. She was clearly restraining herself, and still filled the whole center of the shop.

“You will pay for what you have done!” My voice rang out again, stopping his forward movement just as the dragon appeared. The energy inside me waned, and the shop shifted around me, readying itself.

Yet, I wasn’t the one to launch an attack at the demon.

Lady Twilight moved first, faster than I could have imagined. Her claws surrounded the demon and a low growl filled the room that I could feel in my bones. The hair on the back of my neck raised, and terror trickled down my spine at the sight. Nothing remained of the strange, but kindly, older woman. This was a full dragon Elder, in all her power and anger. Everything in me screamed to run, to flee this creature in front of me, but I stood firm. I had to believe the dragon would not harm me, and I had to be here for Indigo, for the Cat, and for the Shop.

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“This is the one my clan searches for,” growled the dragon.

I nodded my head, words stuck in my throat as I managed to somehow still stay standing behind the counter. All of my anger was gone, replaced by instinctual terror.

The demon struggled, fire coating his body as his cloak shimmered. A tail flickered out and magic flickered from his fingertips, spreading down his body. He vanished, but the dragon didn’t react at all, only tightened her claws, making the demon reappear right where he’d been.

“Well, such a present you give to me Lord. I will remember this.” Lady Twilight’s eyes turned toward the Cat, who still said nothing. He remained in his spot, not moving. She bowed her head, and then the two of them were gone. Nothing remained. Not a trace of her magic, the terror, or the demon.

The anger was back in a flash, but I let out a slow breath to steady myself. “What just happened?” I asked.

The Cat didn’t reply.

I turned to face him and took a step forward. Then, suddenly, he collapsed to the counter. It was like all the bones in his body were gone and he was a puddle of black fur. “Cat!” My hand touched his side and found him still breathing. His body trembled, and I didn’t know if I should pick him up or not.

My concern won out as I picked him up and held him to my chest. “I got you, you’ll be okay…” I whispered as I held him close. What to do?

“I’ll be okay,” he mumbled.

“What happened?”

He let out a sigh, his small head resting on my shoulder. “I disobeyed.”

The words hovered in the air as I tried to figure out what he meant. Who did the Cat answer too? Based on all I knew, the only thing I could figure was it had something to do with the book. He answered to the book?

“And let me guess, you cannot say what you did?”

He twitched at the question but didn’t answer.

I nodded to myself and didn’t let go of him as I sat back down on my stool. “Hey Betty, can you lock the door? I think we’re done for the day.”

The sound of the front door’s bolt rang as it snapped shut, and I relaxed. I realized we had one more member of our family that was missing, and I wanted all of them here. “Indigo, it’s okay to come out again…” I called out toward her hideaway.

Indigo’s head peeked out to check before she launched herself into the air. She circled around us twice, chirping, but I couldn’t follow what she was trying to say. Her MP3 player was clenched in her claws as she flew upward toward my bedroom.

Once she was out of sight I got up from the chair. My mind was still racing, trying to figure out exactly what had happened. “Let me guess, you weren’t supposed to ask Lady Twilight to stay, and that was the trigger…” I didn’t even phrase it as a question, since it had been the last thing that happened before that weird power had gathered around him. The book hadn’t wanted the dragon to stay. That would have meant I would have been the one to face the demon, maybe even alone.

I slowly climbed the steps toward the second floor, then down the hallway to peek into my room. Indigo was in her cat tree, her tail sticking out of the hole. She didn’t seem to be upset about what happened at all. I continued around the balcony and headed toward the plants and the rooftop deck.

Bright sunlight spilled from the windows and I sat down in a chair that I swore hadn’t been there before. It was next to the Cat’s cat tree, and the bright sunlight warmed the space. I scratched behind his ears as he stopped trembling in my arms.

“No matter what, I am here for you, Cat.”