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“Must be all the yoga,” I told her.

Alice had taught us all a few yoga moves, but I just couldn’t make my body contort in that way. Cadence and Andromeda were much better at it. They didn’t look like complete fools doing it, not like I did. If I weren’t so damn stubborn, I would have stopped trying.

Alice smiled. “Yoga: good for the body, good for the mind, good for the soul.”

“But bad for the ego,” I muttered.

Alice set her hand gently on mine. “You’ll get it eventually.”

I had a wicked thought. “Say, Alice, have you ever tried teaching yoga to your husband?”

“Long ago, but he found inner peace too boring to hold his interest.”

I laughed. That sounded just like Colonel Fireswift.

Angel glanced at us, then contorted her body into a pose even Alice couldn’t have managed. Then my cat continued with her grooming, moving on to her wings, a souvenir from our time in the Lost City. She could now summon the wings at will, just like an angel. She really was living up to her name. Angel was a true angel cat.

“That is one impressive feline,” Andromeda said. “What does she eat?”

“You know, the usual cat stuff. Cheesecake. Oranges. Ice cream sandwiches.”

Alice’s brows peaked. “The usual, you say?”

“Angel also hunts the typical suspects, of course. Turkeys, rabbits, ducks. Now that she’s larger, she’s venturing into larger wildlife. She’s sometimes gone for hours at a time, hunting.”

“Or maybe she found herself a boyfriend,” Andromeda suggested.

“Now that’s a thought. Good for her.” My smile faded. “But where would the poor girl find another cat her size? Where could she ever hope to find a companion who can keep up with her, another cat who hunts deer, not mice?” I plucked a cheese-and-cracker sandwich from the coffee table. “Such is the burden of being a kick ass woman, Angel,” I told my cat. “We can all sympathize.”

My cat meowed once, then hopped onto the table and took a piece of cheese for herself.

I patted her head. “That’s right, treat yourself to some comfort food.”

“Talking to cats now, Leda?” Calli asked as she sat down beside me.

“Calli, so glad you could join us. Have a snack.”

She selected a healthy apple slice. My foster mother always set a good example.

“I have a job for you.” I wiggled my eyebrows up and down. “A really good one.”

Calli had been nagging me to give her something to do. She got bored if she didn’t have any work to do—or people to take care of.

“I need you to contact as many bounty hunters as you can trust. I’m appointing you my Head of Freelance Stuff.”

“A very important-sounding title,” Calli commented.

“Give yourself any title you want.”

“I think I’ll go with the Director of Acquisition and Reclamation.”

I whistled. “Fancy.”

I handed Calli a folder of missions Alice had put together from today’s petitions. Colonel Fireswift’s wife was so orderly and organized. That must have been one reason he was so in love with her.

“There are a few good jobs in here,” I told Calli. “A search and rescue operation to start. And a few missing person cases. I’m sure I’ll soon have more for you.”

Calli leafed through the folder. “Sounds pretty straightforward.”