Page 118 of Wicked Magik

Yup, this was George.

I held him to my chest and petted his head.

How did George get here?

George’s tail flicked back and forth while I walked out of the kitchen. Do I talk to Veylor about this? Would he know how a cat from earth came here? Is the portal broken?

When I stepped into the main entrance of the home, I saw Benedict coming down the main stairway. “Vesper, how are you… Shadows around us, that is a brightly colored feline.”

George meowed again.

“This is George, he’s from the funeral home, where I used to live. I want to know how he got here. Can cats cross through a portal? Is it broken now? How did he find me?”

Benedict's smile was reassuring as he lifted his hands in a placating gesture. "No need for alarm, Vesper. The portal remains intact. Cats possess a unique sensitivity to magical thresholds. They've always been able to slip between realms with remarkable ease. Quite the clever creatures."

Benedict approached cautiously, extending his hand toward George. The cat sniffed once, then pushed his head against Benedict's palm. "Cats have always been creatures between worlds," Benedict said, his voice dropping to a reverent tone. "Legend says they once thrived here in great numbers until they discovered Earth's portals. They chose to stay there, seduced by human affection and regular meals. Most fascinating though. In our realm, thousands of years ago, they spoke as we do."

My mouth dropped. “They spoke?”

Benedict hummed thoughtfully. "Humans have made them so simple-minded, now they're just plump pets. Seriously, check out this belly." He bent down to stroke George's tummy, but George wasn't in the mood. He retracted his paw and swatted at Benedict with his claws extended.

Benedict gasped. “You nasty thing!”

“That’s rule one with an earth cat, you don’t pet the belly. If you called me fat, I wouldn’t let you pet my belly either.” I pulled George away and rocked him in my arms.

Benedict wiggled his eyebrows. “You’d let me pet your belly?”

Oryx stomped into the room and snarled. “Not as long as my hearts beat.”

George let out a meowing snarl of his own and jumped from my arms. He scampered across the floor and ran up the stairs.

"Splendid. Another creature shedding all over my furniture," Benedict sighed, examining the thin red lines across his palm. He dabbed at them with his fingertips, and when he moved his hand away, I noticed the scratches had already begun to close. "I assume our feline visitor is now a permanent resident?"

Fascinating.

“I suppose?” I shrugged my shoulders. “I still don’t know how he got here.” I stared up the stairs where George was staring down at me, his tail flicking. He seemed awfully comfortable in a place he didn’t know very well.

Or did he follow me here and has been in this realm the whole time?

Benedict sighed. “The ladies will be excited. I’ll let them know so they can make a shrine for him. Women and cats, I don’t see the appeal.”

I held in my chuckle, and Benedict straightened his vest and strode away.

Oryx licked me on the cheek and pulled me up into his arms, not even asking to pick me up. “I want a story time. Come with.”

I rubbed Oryx’s chest with my hand, feeling the off-rhythm beats within his chest. “You do now, big guy? We haven’t had library time in a while, have we?”

With all of us spending our time separately we don’t get the unlimited time we used to. I never thought I would miss that, but I did. If I come to forgive Veylor more, perhaps we can all spend time together, like a family.

That warmed my heart more than I wanted to admit.

Oryx carried me to the library, it’s brightly lit, but instead of it being empty, Veylor is sitting in the chair by the fire.

What’s he doing here?

“I told Veylor about your interactive stories.” Oryx hunched his shoulders and his ears hung. It was a sign that I usually thought of him as being embarrassed or shy. “I wanted him to listen too.”

When reading to Oryx I would change the voices of the characters. I didn’t realize he liked it that much.