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With him hopefully distracted while he searched for her near the entrance, she could slip to the shelf, retrieve the items, and hurry to the passage. She’d just have to be careful of his flailing tail. At its current size, it could knock her down faster than a set of dominos.

Paige bit her lower lip as she pressed herself against the shelf and began to inch forward. She neared the end, staring at the pantry shelf loaded with colorful containers.

Not only would she need to scan each shelf carefully to find the several items on her list, but she’d need to avoid the cat’s tail while searching.

Paige licked her lips as she peered around the corner at the cat lying in wait. With his ears pressed against his head, he peered around another shelf in search of his victim.

Paige tiptoed from behind the shelf, gnawing on her lower lip as she closed the gap to the pantry shelf. Dickens’s tail flicked toward her, and she leapt over it like a swinging jump rope, flailing her arms to stay balanced as she anticipated the next swish.

After successfully dodging the tail, she continued her journey, step by painful step until she reached the shelf. It rose far above her head. She scanned the list and then the shelves she could reach, hoping the ingredients she needed were on her level.

She side-eyed the rolling ladder at the end of the large unit, praying she wouldn’t need it. With a finger stuck out, she used it to scan the bottles, tins, and plastic containers.

She found the Eye of Newt and the Wool of Bat before the cat’s tail swished again. A wobbly leap saved her from being knocked over by the tree-trunk-sized appendage, but with two containers clutched in her arms, the task became more difficult.

She blew out a long breath as she steadied herself, her eyes flicking around the shelf in search of the three additional items she needed. She found one and added it to her armload before searching for the others. After two more passes of the shelves on her level, she did not locate the final two items.

A curse escaped her lips as she tiptoed to the rolling ladder and set the ingredients she’d collected on one of the steps. She grabbed the yellow metal poles and pushed the ladder toward the pantry’s center.

The wheels squealed and screeched as she shoved it.

Paige froze, wincing as the sound echoed throughout the archive. She shot a glance toward Dickens.

His head whipped back to stare in her direction. She wrinkled her nose as she hurried to push the rolling ladder farther toward the pantry and scurry up the steps.

If she found the ingredients quickly enough, she could make a run for it. She located a tin marked Powdered Snake Tooth and continued her search for the last item.

As she leaned forward to scan the shelf, the ladder jolted under her. She clutched at the side rail to stay upright, twisting to identify the source of the movement.

The ladder screeched along again, rolling a bit before stopping as an oversized furry paw batted at it.

“Dickens! Get away! Shoo!” Paige shouted, waving her arms in the air at the massive cat.

The cat curled his paw, tilting his head at her as she flung her hands at him. He cocked his head the other way and reached for the yellow metal ladder again. He bopped it again, sending the ladder screeching across the concrete floor.

Paige sank down, grasping at the railings with both hands to hang on as she swiveled across the space. The ladder rolled to a stop near the end of the shelf. Paige gasped a few breaths while she tried to steady her nerves.

A large yellow canister in front of her eyes sported the label Pixie Dust. Paige reached for it, her fingertips catching the corner.

Behind her, Dickens wound up for another swat. With a grimace, Paige lunged for the container, grabbing hold of it and hugging it toward her chest before the ladder careened wildly across the floor again.

One of the ingredients on the lower step toppled off and rolled across the concrete until it hit a shelf. Paige sank to sit, squeezing her eyes shut as the ladder trundled recklessly around, bumping off shelves and spinning on its wheels in a haphazard fashion.

“Dewey!” Paige screamed. “Help!”

The ladder slowed to a stop, and Paige snapped her eyes open. She scanned the area around her. No cat.

Maybe she could make a run for it. She rose to stand and stumbled down the steps. Her knees wobbled beneath her as she struggled to focus, dizzy after the intense amusement park-like ride.

She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, trying to remove any of the lingering wooziness. With a deep breath, she loaded her arms with the other ingredients. Before she could step to the floor to retrieve the final wayward ingredient, a fuzzy paw grasped the railing and tugged.

The ladder barreled toward the cat as his claws wrapped around the metal railing. Paige leapt from the moving object and sprawled onto the floor below, smacking her chin off the cold concrete. Her glasses flew off her face and skittered away.

“Great,” she groaned as she tried to push herself up to her hands and knees.

She felt blindly around for the plastic-rimmed spectacles. As she squinted at the floor in search of them, her world turned upside down.

A hard shove smacked her side, and she tumbled across the floor, rolling until she hit a shelf. She shook her head as she tried to sit up. A massive object waved over her.