P.A.W.S.

by Debbie Manber Kupfer

  “Josh is going to be working with Mandy,” explained Danny, “so you’re stuck with me, I’m afraid.”

  Miri found herself blushing. Secretly, she had hoped Danny would continue her training. She liked spending time with him in these classes, even if he did ignore her the rest of the time.

  The classroom door opened, and Lilith strutted in.

  “OK, Danny, I’m here. Can we just get on with it?” asked Lilith. What was going on? What was she doing here? thought Miri.

  Danny answered Miri’s unspoken question. “I asked Lilith to join us today for our outside exercise. She has certain skills as a feline that I think you could learn from.”

  “Okay,” Miri nodded. Her heart felt heavy. She knew it didn’t make sense, that she was just being immature, but she really wanted this time alone with Danny, even if was only as a teacher.

  “Have you found your special skill yet?” Lilith asked Miri haughtily.

  “No,” Miri admitted.

  “Mine’s prescience,” said Lilith. “I can sense in my whiskers when a significant event is about to occur. I knew, for example, that a new member was going to arrive at P.A.W.S. today. So I was able to warn Jessamyn in advance so that she would be ready to welcome Mandy when she came.”

  Miri wasn’t sure there was anything to this. Surely Jessamyn could watch for significant events in her scrying bowl. Yet Danny didn’t contradict Lilith, so Miri let it go.

  The three of them left P.A.W.S. together and walked out into the park. Danny explained today’s lesson. They were going to practice long-range communication between shapeshifters. The three of them, Danny said, were going to separate and walk to different parts of the park and then pass a message between them.

  Miri had done stuff like this before with Josh but always in her animal form. Danny wanted to practice this kind of telepathy in human form, which was a much harder task. But as the three of them were all feline in their essence, they should be able to accomplish this, at least according to Danny.

  Miri was still skeptical, but she was anxious to get away from Lilith, who always made her feel small and stupid, so she was happy when they separated and started walking in different directions through the park. Miri chose a long and winding path. It was fall, late October, and there were leaves on the ground, pretty browns and reds. Miri resisted the urge to turn feline and run through them.

  She realized with a start that this was absolutely the first time she had been on her own in Forest Park since she had arrived at P.A.W.S. It was actually rather pleasant, she thought; good to have some time to herself to mull over the stuff she was learning at the institute.

  Miri wondered briefly if her uncle had given up his search for her. At least Jessamyn hadn’t called her to her chamber a second time to say they’d had more news. She also wondered about Mandy and had a sudden thought. Miri remembered the scraps of material Josh had found in the Turtle Playground. There must be some kind of connection. Miri felt sure of it. She made a mental note to mention this to Josh later; that is, if she could pry him away from Mandy for a moment. Weird, she thought, it almost feels as if I’m jealous, but that can’t be true. She had never thought of Josh as anything but a friend...

  When Miri was sure she was far from Danny and Lilith, she sat down on a bench. She was supposed to wait for Lilith to contact her and then she was supposed to pass her message on to Danny. Miri doubted it was going to work. She had never yet achieved such long-range telepathy, but it was nice out here anyhow, and she sat and watched the squirrels playing in the leaves. She tried to listen to the squirrels’ thoughts, but as they were just regular squirrels, not animagi, it was just a jumble, though she did vaguely make out the word “nuts.”

  Miri was so caught up in her thoughts that at first she did not notice the woman who sat down next to her. She looked to be in her 30s, though she dressed like a much younger woman, with ripped jeans, a leather jacket, and combat boots. She had purple spiky hair, tattoos, and piercings. Involuntarily, Miri flinched and started to get up. The woman leaned forward and put her hand on Miri’s arm. Her breath stank of stale cigarettes.

  “Hello, Miri,” she said. “Do you know who I am?” Miri shook her head.

  “I’m Nora Katz,” she replied. “I’m your mother.” Miri stared at her. How could that be? This woman couldn’t be her mother. Why? Why would she have left her all those years before and reappear now? And how in the world did she know she would be here in Forest Park on this bench? It made no sense.

  “I’ve really missed you, Miri. You know, I never wanted to give you up. I never had a choice. But now I want to make up for lost time. Come, I have my car parked around the corner. We can go and have a coffee and a bite to eat and get to know each other. Maybe I can take you shopping? Get you some new clothes?”

  “No, I don’t think so,” Miri replied, and started to get up. How dare this woman waltz into her life now after being missing in action for so many years?

  Nora grabbed her arm. “Don’t be like that, Miri,” she said. “I want us to be friends.”

  “You should have thought about that fourteen years ago!” Miri replied, angry now. She broke free of Nora and started running across the park. Mentally she screamed, “Danny... Lilith... Josh!”

  Miri thought she might have heard a faint reply, but she was not sure. And anyway, it was too late; two boys jumped out at her from nowhere. They grabbed hold of her and pushed her to the ground. Miri closed her eyes and desperately tried to change into her cat form, but something was stopping her. She felt a mental force beating down on her mind, preventing her metamorphosis – an alien force, canine and powerful. This had never happened to her before. Nothing had ever prevented her from transforming. Miri was very, very scared.

  Nora had caught up with them now. “I’m sorry, Miri,” she said sweetly, “but you have something that belongs to me... and, well, that just won’t do.” She reached down under Miri’s shirt and pulled out the amulet and tore it from her neck.

  “OK, lads,” she said to the two boys who were holding Miri down. “Time to go.”

  Chapter 22

  Drowning. That’s what it felt like to Miri. She could not breathe. A part of her had been wrenched from her body. It was as if she had lost her soul. She sobbed uncontrollably. It was gone! Gone! She lay on the sodden grass. There didn’t seem to be any point in moving, in doing anything ever again.

  Miri understood that physically she was not hurt, but emotionally it felt like she would never be whole again. Where could she go now? How could she go back to P.A.W.S. if she was no longer a shapeshifter? She had no magic independent of the charm as far as she could tell. There was no way she could ever become an animagus.

  Tears were pouring from her eyes. She tried mentally to call out to Danny and Josh, but it was gone, all gone. Without the charm there was no telepathy, no communication whatsoever. Miri could hear nothing in her head. Just silence.

  She felt completely disoriented. The park seemed so large. She had no idea where the Jewel Box was from here. And, well, she thought, I don’t have any business going there anyhow.

  An hour later, she was still lying there. She knew she should get up, go somewhere, but she had no idea where to go.

  “Hey,” said a familiar voice, “what happened to you?” Miri looked up, and Danny was looking down at her, concern in his eyes.

  “It’s gone, Danny,” she sobbed. “She took it.”

  “Who? What?”

  “She said her name was Nora. She said she was my mother. She took my charm, Danny. It’s gone! I can’t change anymore.”

  Danny sat down next to her and gently took her into his arms.

  “It’s okay, Miri. We’ll get it back,” he said, with more kindness in his voice than Miri believed he was capable of. “She won’t be able to use it, Miri. I’m sure she thinks she can, but it won’t work. I know that for sure. When I was studying to become an animagus, I read a lot about shapeshifters and their charms. The charm has to be g
iven willingly to work. Your grandmother chose to give it to you, Miri, not to your mother. It won’t work for her.”

  “But what if Omama had meant to give the charm to Nora? What if she only gave it to me because she didn’t know where Nora was?”

  “I don’t believe that,” said Danny. “Everything you’ve told me about your omama makes me believe that she loved you. There was no mistake. She meant to pass on the amulet to you.”

  “You really think so?” Miri asked, looking at Danny.

  “Really,” he nodded. “Now, come on. The sooner we get back and see my mother, the sooner we can get your charm back.”

  “But how can I go back to P.A.W.S.?” asked Miri sadly. “I have no magic.”

  “Yes, you do,” said Danny. Very gently he moved the hair back from Miri’s eyes and traced her face with his fingers. He looked deeply into her eyes, leaned forward, and slowly, deliberately, he kissed her. To Miri, it felt like the whole world was exploding inside her. She had dreamed about this moment ever since the day she first saw Danny in the dining room in P.A.W.S., but she never truly thought it would happen. His kiss was soft and extremely sweet.

  As they moved apart slowly, Miri noticed something in her peripheral vision – a white and fluffy something, darting away.

  Chapter 23

  Nora sat on the huge, king-sized bed she shared with Alistair, staring at the charm. She remembered this amulet. Her mother used to wear it under her shirt – always. Was it really possible that she had been a shapeshifter? That she had been able to turn herself into a cat? There had always been cats around their house while she was growing up. She had kind of thought of her mom as the crazy cat lady, but that she was actually one of them, that was hard to believe.

  Yet she had seen Alistair and the others in his pack turn into wolves. If there were werewolves, why not shapeshifters? Alistair had told her that this was her destiny, that her mother should have passed on the charm to her, and that she only passed it on to Miri because Nora wasn’t there. Alistair said that if she put on the amulet, she would reclaim her destiny, and that she and Alistair could be truly together, that they could build a new world together.

  She should be excited. She was finally so close to what she had yearned for. Why, then, was she so scared? Nora gazed at the charm, and the silver cat looked back at her. It felt cool in her hand. The door opened, and Alistair walked in with a leering smile on his face – victory! Had it really been that simple?

  “So, my darling,” he gloated. “Are you ready for your destiny?”

  Nora hesitated, suddenly wanting desperately to delay the moment when she put on the charm.

  “Alistair, sweetheart,” she said, putting on her most seductive voice. “Maybe you’d like to celebrate first?” She patted the spot on the bed next to her.

  Alistair gazed hungrily at Nora but continued. “You know what would be interesting?” he said. “To see you wear nothing but this charm.” He walked over to the bed and sat down next to Nora and took the chain in his hands.

  “So the wolf gains mastery over the cat! And gains power beyond all recognition!” he chanted, his eyes gleaming.

  Nora trembled, terrified beyond reason now. Alistair took the chain and fastened it around her neck

  ***

  Suddenly Nora was sinking, sinking, sinking... She was back in her childhood room in the Lower East Side, surrounded by Barbie dolls and dress-up clothes.

  “Mama” she called. The door opened. She expected to see Mama, but instead, a gray cat with green eyes walked into the room. She seemed vaguely familiar, but Nora could not remember from where. The cat jumped onto Nora’s bed and walked straight up to her so that her green eyes were staring into Nora’s.

  “No, Nora,” she said simply. “It’s not for you. It belongs to Miri. You must return it.”

  She reached forward with her paw and touched the amulet that was around Nora’s neck, and suddenly Nora was burning.

  ***

  Nora woke up screaming. It must have been a dream, surely. But the fire in her chest was real and was growing worse by the second – burning, burning.

  “Take it off! Get it off me! Alistair, please, please! It hurts!” But Alistair just stared at Nora. Finally, the pain was too much to bear. Nora ran to the bathroom and locked herself in and then tore the charm from her neck. Breathing hard, she dropped it on the counter by the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. There, burnt onto her skin, was the image of the amulet. There was a cat etched onto her chest.

  Chapter 24

  Miri was wandering through her old neighborhood of the Lower East Side in Manhattan. The streets were strangely deserted of people, but there were cats – everywhere, cats – black, tabby, gray, white, tortoiseshells, Persians, Siamese – all different cats, all around her. They watched her in silence with yellow staring, unblinking eyes.

  As she walked, she was approached by a familiar feline. “Suzy, is that you?” She was thin and malnourished, her black-and-white fur matted and dirty. “Oh, Suzy, I’m so sorry. I never meant to leave you.” Suzy nodded and continued walking, and Miri realized that she wanted her to follow her.

  She walked up to a shuttered building scheduled for demolition. Now there were tears in Miri’s eyes as she realized it was her building. Miri had grown up in this old apartment block. She followed Suzy up the steps. Suzy nudged the door with her nose and it fell open, the door barely on its hinges. They walked inside.

  The building was empty; the downstairs apartment where Jenny had lived, long vacated. Suzy started making her way up the stairs towards their old apartment. The door was open. Miri walked inside. Everything was exactly how she had left it four years before, except that everything was now covered with a thick layer of dust.

  A mouse ran across the kitchen floor, and Suzy pounced on it hungrily. Miri walked slowly through the deserted rooms of her childhood. Finally, she reached the bedroom that she had shared with Omama.

  On the bed was the gray cat with the green eyes.

  “Oh, Omama!” Miri cried. “It’s gone. Nora took it. I’m so, so sorry.”

  “Miri, mein Katzel, it’s okay. Everything will be all right. She can’t use it, Miri. You’ll get it back and then you’ll be stronger, stronger than you ever were before. It’s your destiny, Miri, yours and yours alone.” And then before Miri’s eyes, the image of the cat began to fade away.

  “Omama, wait...”

  “Goodbye, Miri... be strong.” And then she was gone.

  Miri woke up sweating. She was back in her room at P.A.W.S. The room was silent except for the sound of Lilith’s breathing as she slept in the top bunk, curled in a ball in her cat form. (Miri never had learned how to do that and wondered if now she ever would.)

  In the morning, she had a meeting with Jessamyn. Danny and Josh kept telling her, over and over last night, that she shouldn’t worry, that she would get her charm back, but she didn’t really believe it. She was deeply scared they were just saying that to make her feel better. What if she never got it back? She wouldn’t be able to stay here. Where would she go? She doubted if David and Cynthia would want her back. They never really wanted her to start with.

  And then there was Jessamyn. Miri was terrified about what she was going to say to her. After all, she particularly told Miri to keep the amulet safe. Miri felt like a failure, a fraud. If she’d really had magic, surely she would have been able to protect herself. She was deeply confused too. Who were those boys with Nora, and why had she been unable to transform?

  So many unanswered questions. Maybe Jessamyn could help her – maybe.

  Miri closed her eyes again. She thought about her dream, willing herself to go back to the gray cat with the green eyes, but it didn’t work; she was far away now. Instead, she thought about Danny. Since yesterday, she had gone over and over that moment when he had kissed her. Was it possible he actually liked her? Or had he just been trying to make her feel better after she had lost her charm?

  Lilith had b
een even colder to her since yesterday. Miri was sure it had been Lilith she saw watching her and Danny. She was sure Lilith knew about the kiss and now had yet another reason to hate Miri’s guts. But everyone else had been really nice, even Mandy. It’s different for her, though, thought Miri. She still thinks that being a wolf is a curse. She could not possibly imagine how Miri felt, like she had lost part of her soul.

  ***

  Four hours later, Miri was outside Jessamyn’s chamber. Gingerly she knocked on the door.

  “Enter,” came Jessamyn’s voice from inside.

  Miri walked cautiously into the room. She noticed that the enchanted floor had changed seasons since she was last there. Now, instead of grass and wildflowers, there were mounds of different-colored leaves that crunched underfoot, though she was sure that if she were to reach down and try to pick one up, the illusion would melt away.

  The scrying bowl was once more on the desk, but Jessamyn today was in human form; her expression stern, the lines on her face accentuated.

  “Come, Miri,” she said. “We have work to do.”

  Miri stopped, still unable to face Jessamyn. Her face crumpled, and tears formed in her eyes.

  “I’m so sorry,” she cried. “I should have stopped her.”

  “Tell me, Miri, did you try to change form?” asked Jessamyn in a calm, but firm, voice.

  “Yes, but… I couldn’t.”

  “What exactly happened, Miri, when you tried to change?”

  “I… uh…”

  “Take your time, Miri. Think.”

  “Well, I felt something – someone? Someone was trying to stop me change. And it worked. They were more powerful than me, a lot more powerful.”

  “Your mother?”

  “No, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t her. It felt male, very strong. Canine?”

  “Come, let us scry.” Jessamyn stirred the silver bowl and muttered a few words:

  “Taispeáin dom an mháthair de Miriam Katz.”

  She beckoned Miri to look into the scrying bowl. Reluctantly, Miri moved forward and peered into the bowl, terrified at what she might see. The face of Nora looked out at her, and Miri let out an involuntary gasp.