Chapter Five

A Feline Fiasco

“Alistair?” I said, more voice barely above a whisper. His hand ran across my shoulders as if to check if I were truly there.

“Ma’am. Sienna Montgomery, I’m glad my train arrived when it did. Are you alright?” His voice was low and quiet, yet powerful. Yet I tore my eyes away from the amber glow of his to peer into the crowd. The tail of a black coat disappeared just as I looked, and with an inward sigh I knew Damien was out of my reach.

Yet, his mysterious words remained burnt into my brain. Why attack me, then warn me Damien?

“Sienna?” The Familiar’s powerful voice broke through my daze, the sound of my own name snapping me back to reality. I looked back to my saviour, a blush blooming in my cheeks despite myself. Most Familiar’s were tall, strong creatures but, Alistair was perhaps even larger than Robert. He was thinner, yet it was not doubt powerful, lean muscles flexed beneath his black coat. His hair was a deep, coal-black, waves tucked behind his ears and running down to shoulders. Shadows crept beneath his amber eyes despite the alert look on his face. A few black freckles sprinkled his nose, a his dark brown skin that was beautiful even beneath the harsh yellow light of the gift-store. I felt my throat catch a touch, and looked away to the grimy floor.

“Yes?” I croaked, my voice small. I tried very hard to ignore his hand on my shoulder, or how close I was to his chest.

“If you’re quite alright, may I ask where the nearest ramen place is?” Alistair asked.

I looked back up at my saviour and twitched my nose. “Let’s make it my treat.”

~

We walked past the piers and against the cold ocean breeze of Sydney Harbour foreshore as we both slurped our take-away ramen down. Sliding his satchel down beside him, Alistair inhaled his noodles in a way that I suspect would make Robert proud. However, he walked without the same confidence and without the threatening aura that my old Familiar always seemed to carry.

Maybe that’s a good thing.

I found a step right by the water that overlooked the more beautiful parts of the harbour, including the Sydney Harbour Bridge itself. Crowds of tourists bustled about, eager to snap photos and move on to the next big thing. We sat close, my thigh touching his rather warm black coat.

We sat in silence for a while, enjoying the murmur of the crowd, the food and lull of the waves softly lapping against the break-wall. Every now and then, I managed to sneak a glance at my new guardian. Despite the intensity of his eyes, they was a softness to them. It seemed he was always thinking of something, his attention pulled somewhere far away. It tickled my curiosity. I wanted to know more about him. More than what some manilla file could tell me.

“So, Alistair. Have you been a Familiar before?” I asked, my voice a touch quieter than I wanted it to be. I cleared my throat and chucked my takeaway bowl in the trash. The distance in his eyes closed, and he seemed to fixate on the seagulls hunting about the steps for dropped morsels of food. He took another moment before he responded.

“Twice.”

I waited for him to elaborate.

He did not.

I couldn’t bear to let the silence stretch on, so I jumped to my feet.

“I was wondering…how did you know I was trapped in the snow globe?” I asked, putting my hands into the pockets of my pink jacket. Alistair still refused to look me in the eyes. Instead, he continued to watch the seagulls. Even as he spoke, I watched as his human iris shrunk into that of a cat’s eye. It made my stomach twist.

“We Familiar’s are adept at sniffing out danger. We have no bond, but magical artefacts are obvious. They have a certain…smell. Robert told me you would be waiting for me, so when my train arrived and you were nowhere to be seen I went looking for the woman Robert described. I found the snow globe and the scent of your perfume could only assume you’d been trapped inside.” Alistair said, his thumb tapping on his leg.

“Uh. Robert described my perfume to you?” I asked, a wave of embarrassment washing over me. I knew it made logical sense for a Familiar to identify their charge with a recognisable sign such as scent and yet it was embarrassing all the same. Alistair nodded and I spun around to stare at the water.

Oh, god. I need to stop blushing like I’m some teenager talking to her crush for the first time. I’m his boss and, well he seems like he really knows what he’s doing. He’s a bit odd but so am I. I should get to know him more before I decide anything.

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“Holfast has sent my employment contract on the wings of one of their Red Sparrows. It’d be nice if they could use email.” Alistair said, curling noodles onto his chopsticks. I chuckled and nodded.

“True. They’re very outdated and honestly, I doubt they’ll ever change.” I said with a shrug, the tightness in my stomach easing.

I’m starting to have a good feeling about you, Alistair.

I gave him a small smile, and he returned the same. The moment was cut short when a young girl with shining golden hair swept past the both of us and snatched Alistair’s satchel. Quick as a cat Alistair leapt to his feet and whipped around with a ferocious hiss.

“That’s mine!” He yelled, the boom of his voice scaring the crowd of tourists. They eagerly parted out of his way as he raced after the thief. Heart thundering, I followed. Well, as quickly as I could in my Doc Martens. Pavement and stone slipped underfoot as I weaved through the crowd, shoving aside backpacks and sweaty teenagers out of my way, charging after Alistair’s black coat. The thief moved quick as the fox, slipping into an alley and darting down the street. We followed quick as we could, the ocean wind howling past my ears and whipping into my eyes.

Alistair followed the golden-haired thief through the streets, never faltering from his target. I began to draw back, running out of steam with every sudden turn of a corner. Despite his keen focus, we were losing her.

Ah, shit. Need to think, what do I have on me? Hmm…right! One vial of Shifter’s Shimmer.

I skidded to a halt as we rounded into another alley.

“Alistair wait!” I shouted. To my surprise he halted and spun around at my shout. I waved him over and motioned to a black cat curled up happily asleep on top of a garbage bin. Panting, he looked to me incredulously. I pulled the vial from underneath my shirt popped the cork.

“Shifter’s Shimmer will let us catch up with her, we just need a few hairs,” I said, prodding the black cat awake. The feline wrinkled its nose and stretched with a yawn as it rose. It only occurred to me in that moment that I wasn’t entirely sure how to go about politely asking a cat for some of its fur.

“Uh…” I mumbled, fiddling with the vile. Alistair crouched, sweeping his cloak behind him. The cat regarded him from a moment and gave him a soft meow. In that low voice of his, he spoke to the cat in an odd, raspy language. He paused with every other word like he was rusty and was trying to remember what came next. The cat gave a few meows and reply and tugged some fur from his belly. Alistair murmured a reply and took the fur with a grateful nod.

It was my turn to give Alistair an incredulous look.

“You speak Felinix?” I asked, unable to hide the surprise in my voice. I stuffed the fur into the vial and popped the cork in. Alistair simply shrugged with a small, shy smile.

As the fur mixed with the potion it glowed, fizzling with glitter. My heart raced, anticipating both the chase and the feeling of the potion working its magic within me.

Not often I drink my own work, but, hey this calls for it. Besides, they’re only worth up $35.

“This’ll help catch our thief,” I said. I took a swig of the vial, drinking half. Alistair took the vial and drank his half and quickly the magic took hold. I felt it vibrate all throughout me, shimmering over my skin like a sun-shower. In a burst of glitter, we transformed.

The first thing I noticed, was that I had a tail. It was pink, fluffy with a white tip.

The second, was that we were already running. On four paws we followed the heavy scent of Sichuan peppercorn that clung to the thief’s clothes. Alistair was a black cat with white paws, leading the way as we raced up and down the streets of Sydney. Our paws scrabbled up roofs and down fences, dodging dogs barking angrily from yards and wove and ducked under pedestrians’ feet until we reached China Town. My senses exploded with sound and smells, dragons and their pearls watched over us as we trotted through the busy crowds. Alistair, a much larger cat led the way. With a few flicks of his tail, he motioned to a spice shop to the left of the square. The smells were the most complex and heavy here. Cautious now, I followed at a tail-length behind as Alistair crept into the shop. Spice racks filled the shop, with sacks of rice piled on a wood palette. A young girl sat behind the counter, air-pods in while she scrolled on her phone. The shadows curled around us as we padded through the shop, desperately trying to seek out some other sign of the thief. Without the scent of peppercorn, I was forced to rely on my other senses to sniff her out. Keeping to walls of the store we skirted the old carpet and slipped past the counter to the staircase behind. With feline grace, we leapt onto the old wooden handrail and skittered up the second floor.

We leapt onto the landing and pushed our way into the little storeroom. Alistair brushed his tail against me, crouching low as we entered the musty room.

“That’s two odd looking cats.” A voice hissed through the low-light.

In a puff of glitter and cat fur, I transformed back into my normal self. And I was left on the floor on all fours.

Alistair sprung up beside me, brushing off his coat with a low, rumbling growl. The blonde-haired thief tossed Alistair’s satchel over to him. He caught it with ease, but the anger in his scowl did not subside.

Even in the low light, is clear to see she was beautiful. Her golden hair ran like honey-golden threads of sunlight down her shoulders, framing a sharp jaw that accentuated her humourless smirk.

“I reiterate. Weird looking cats,” She scoffed.

“Why’d you steal his bag?” I asked, balling my hands into fists.

She clicked her tongue. “I’m not the thief, Sienna. Liam Montgomery is. He bears something within him that is not his. Where is he?” She asked. Fear shot through me like a bolt of lightning. The ends of my fingertips felt fried, the words sluggish and unnatural in my mouth.

But I would do anything to protect my brother. Not even my own fear would stop me. So I let my face betray nothing.

“He’s in Holfast for his crime. He’ll remain there for the rest of his sentence until the Council announces his trial. Thanks for reminding me,” I said, willing my voice to not waver.

She’s not a witch. At least, I don’ think she is. There’s no reason for her to know of the inner workings of Holfast…or that a prisoner escaped the council.

The thief clicked her tongue again. She leant forward, some of the light coming from the window revealing her face. There was something deadly in her eyes. A hunger, a need I couldn’t quite understand.

“We’ll find him, Sienna. And when we do, he’ll give it back.”