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Next to her, Dickens licked the food off the hardwood. Paige sucked in a shaky breath, taking an extra moment to recover from the odd incident. She ran a hand down the cat’s back, hoping his soft fur would steady her nerves.
She climbed to her feet on wobbly knees and stumbled to the window. She stared down into the alley, scouring the shadows for a hint of the red she’d just spotted moments earlier. Empty. Nothing was there.
She reached a hand over her shoulder to her back and slipped it below her tunic. The ragged edge of the wound scratched at her fingertips. She winced as the laceration stung again under her touch.
“What is happening?” she breathed.
With a shake of her head, she tore her eyes away from the street below and turned to face her bedroom. Her shoulders slumped as she stared at the mess.
Gooey gravy still shone on the dark hardwood despite Dickens’s best efforts to clean up the food. With a sigh, she righted the upended dish, revealing a new pile of beefy bits.
Dickens chowed down on the fresh meat as Paige slogged into the kitchen to wash the brown residue from his bowl and set it in the drainer to dry. She bent over, rummaging through the cupboard under the sink, and pulled a roll of paper towels and cleaner from within it.
After returning to her bedroom, she stared at the sticky splotch on the floor. Dickens had already left it behind in favor of a spot on the bed where he could groom himself.
“You didn’t do a very good job,” Paige said as she sank to her knees and sprayed a generous amount of the pine-scented cleaner across the floorboards.
She tore off a wad of the absorbent sheets, balled them up, and rubbed them across the floor.
Her mind turned back to the strange event that prompted her to dump the dish and create the mess. What was happening to her? Why did she have the strange scratch on her back? And what caused her strange reaction?
Dickens had seen something that disturbed him, too. He’d hissed and growled.
“But what?” Paige questioned aloud as she sat back on her heels.
She scrunched her nose to inch her glasses up on her face.
Dickens trilled, his yellow-green eyes resting on Paige.
“What did you see, Dicky?”
The cat warbled again, twisting onto his back and stretching a paw toward her. She studied the animal, trying to glean any information but quickly gave up.
She squashed up the dirty paper towels and collected the cleaner as she rose to stand. “I don’t know, Dickens. And you aren’t talking. So, I guess we’ll never have answers.”
Dickens righted himself and returned to licking his paw and rubbing it across his face.
“Well, unfortunately,” Paige said as she crossed the room, “I’ve got to run, Dicky. I’m pulling an all-nighter with my new partner.”
She returned the cleaning products before darting back into her bedroom where she tugged off her tunic and replaced it with a camisole and hoodie. “You’re not going to believe this, Dicky. He’s a dragon!”
After switching her leggings for a pair of sweats, she hurried to the door and turned back to face the cat. “Did you hear me? A dragon! Only he’s tiny. A little bigger than you. One day, I’ll introduce you.”
The cat narrowed his eyes at her and offered a meow.
“Don’t worry, he doesn’t eat cats.”
The tabby rolled onto his other side, putting an end to the conversation.
“All right, well, don’t expect me back. We’re getting pizza!” she called, waving overhead as she crossed the apartment and grabbed her tote.
She stepped into the hall, plowing into a dark figure looming at her door.
“Oops, excuse m–“ Her words cut off when she recognized her upstairs neighbor, Devon. “Oh, hello. Gosh, sorry, I’m always running into you!”
He flashed her a grin, revealing his perfect white teeth. “Don’t worry about it.” He eyed her from head to toe. “You heading out for the evening?”
Paige winced as she realized she likely looked like a vagabond in her less-than-stylish sweat outfit.
