The two of them raced towards the looming shelves, Effie grabbing a tablecloth from one of the reading tables on the way.
Mrow!
The shadowy apparition disappeared over the gap above the storeroom door at the back of the library’s main floor.
‘Okay, it’s trapped now,’ said Effie. ‘There’s no way out of there.’
‘I thought ghosts weren’t bound by things like walls and ceilings,’ whispered Theo.
Good point. Effie pulled out her huge ring of library keys, flipping through them as quietly as she could. Oh goddess, it was pointless.
‘Can you turn around for a second?’ she whispered. ‘I can’t open locks under pressure. It’s a whole thing.’
‘Um, sure.’ Theo sounded baffled, but he did as he was asked.
Shielding her wrist with one hand, she used her magic to pop the lock while feigning opening the door with her keys.
‘Just like magic,’ he said, turning back at her signal.
The storeroom was silent. Banker boxes and propped-up tables made a dark, angular skyline at the back of the room, and props from story time and seasonal displays bristled on chairs and stands at the front.
Effie stepped into the room, breathing as quietly as she could. Nothing.
Then at their feet, sudden movement.
‘It attacked me!’ howled Theo, grabbing at his leg. ‘The ghost has furry little paws! And sharp little claws!’
‘Furry little paws and sharp little claws?’ repeated Effie, mirth welling up inside her. All this for...
‘A cat,’ said Theo, wincing.
‘A cat,’ said Effie, piecing together all the clues from the past few weeks. The holes in the window screen, the flowers pushed from shelves, the scratching noises, the weird hacking sounds, the glowing golden eyes.
‘Well, it’s better than a ghost,’ Theo pointed out, rolling up his trouser leg to reveal several long slashes, as if a tiny Freddie Krueger had attacked him.
‘And fluffier,’ agreed Effie, laughing. Her laugh was interrupted by a tiny, high-pitched squeak, and then another. Kneeling, Effie ducked under the table, where atop a scarf from the lost property box, four tiny fluffy heads bobbed awkwardly.
‘Not just a cat,’ marvelled Effie, her heart swelling. ‘Kittens!’
Chapter 28
A WITCH’S FAMILIARS
Bonnie
Bonnie lived for Saturday nights, but this one had been particularly epic. It was 2 a.m. when Bonnie pulled her Cadillac into the driveway, ears still ringing from DJ Scarecrows, and the thudding memory of the bass still pounding in her chest. The moon was at its peak, and stars threaded the sky, bobbing and bowing between the reaching arms of the trees that lined the street. It was the peace she needed. The bar had become wild and unruly as the so-called witching hour approached, although quietly she thought that had had less to do with witches and more to do with the cocktails being enjoyed. Bonnie had cut off a record seven people, including Bowow and Winston, Dierdre from Second-Hand Magic, and Freddie Noonan of the perfect lawn fame.
It wasn’t just that the crowd had become raucous. The Silver Slipper was a bar, after all, and some degree of wild and uninhibited behaviour was to be expected. It was more that Bonnie was having to be everyone’s mom, making sure they weren’t overdoing it on the cocktails, and helping them remember their own addresses (and not to text their exes until they’d sobered up). That, and the fact she hadn’t had a day off for over a month now.
Having Clark around made things a tad easier, at least when it came to breaking up imminent brawls, but it wasn’tlike she could just hand everything over to him. Especially not the spells. As demand for the cocktails grew, so too had the demand on Bonnie’s powers, and she was feeling like she had when she’d tried to cram a whole year’s worth of study in the day before her final exams. She’d almost been able to see through space and time. There was only one other person who could pick up the slack with Uncle Oswald’s recipes, and she’d be beyond furious at the suggestion.
Speaking of that one other person, Bonnie certainly hadn’t expected her to still be up when she pushed open the front door.
Effie’s usual bedtime was approximately when the sun went down, or so it seemed to Bonnie. Her sister was very proud of the fact that she’d figured out the scientifically ideal time of day to switch from coffee to herbal tea, something she probably had a spreadsheet for. So, seeing her not just awake, but fully dressed, was quite the shock.
Although Effie did seem to be tending to a cat, so at least that particular part of the equation was on brand.
‘Wow,’ said Bonnie. ‘Your transition to witchy cat lady is complete.’
