Familiar!

Chapter 9

"I shouldn't be surprised, not after what we caught you doing." Kathleen was drawing on the table top with her finger again, circles this time.

"Caught me doing? What was I doing?"

"Playing with power."

I just looked at her and motioned for her to go on.

"The one time. The first time. When you were feeding power to your truck. That was a really bad thing for you to be doing."

At my blank look she sighed in frustration.

"I wish someone had taught you something, anything."

"Hey, I didn't know. I still don't know what you're talking about."

Another sigh as she continued to draw more circles, this time with arrows pointing at them.

"You're a Mage. A strong one. You can do things I've never heard of anyone being able to do." Another arrow, this time pointing at me. "But you're dumber than a five-year-old when it comes to magic."

"So, tell me what I don't know. What was so wrong about whatever I was doing to my truck? The battery's bad."

"It's not the battery."

"Of course it is, it keeps losing the charge overnight."

She sighed again. "It's not. You were siphoning off the power in the battery. What you did was reverse the siphon and put power back in. I could feel it. My mom could feel it and she got mad at you for it because anyone with half an ounce of magical ability could also feel it. If they wanted to, they could come looking for the idiot who was advertising he was easy prey. If someone had, they'd have found us too!

"Then you went and got even stupider by trying to drug me and my sisters and my mom killed you for it." Kathleen narrowed her eyes at the memory. "I wasn't very happy about her doing it either. The power she used probably drew more attention to us than what you were doing."

"Me? What'd I do?"

"You were acting like a jerk with a new toy. Then you tried to kiss me after I told you no." This time when her eyes narrowed they were pointed in my direction, golden flames flickering in the depths. "I'm not a Kitty. Get it?"

"Hey, I was dead at the time. Remember?" I held up my hands, not quite sure if I was joking or not.

"You weren't dead when you stole my clothes and tried to force me into bed with you." The flames in her eyes roared until they were molten gold. "You tried to force me. Force me! I am not a Kitty! I wouldn't be your Kitty anyway, even if I was a Kitty, because you are a stupid jerk!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." I waved my hands defensively again to cover my surprise at her over the top mood swing. What was it with her? One second she was nice and we were just talking, the next she was a raving lunatic and screaming at me.

"Slow down. Just who was it who nearly beat me into a coma anyway? Oh, I remember, mostly. It was you. Twice. So, forgive me for not being in control of myself at the time, it was your fault my head was bashed in and I wasn't thinking straight."

She glared at me and I lost my temper. I wasn't the one who'd screwed up my life, she was. Her and her mother. I'd been fine until they came along and inserted themselves into my life without even asking me if I wanted them there.

"Besides, no one would want you, either as their Kitty or otherwise. You're so stuck up you won't even accept an apology. I wrote you a note and said I was sorry. Did you care? No. All you did was shred it."

"A note? Saying you're sorry? You? That's just another lie. You've always lied. Cream, food, catnip. Lure, tease, addict, trap." Her voice switched to one of mimicry.

"C'mere little Kitty. Nice Kitty, see the goodies I have for you? Yum, yum. Here's some catnip too. Now let me catch you so I can enslave you and steal the power you can get for me."

Her voice changed to a snarl. "You're a thief. And a liar. All Mages are thieves and liars. You especially because you made me think I could trust you. You lied about that too. You performed magic on me without my permission!"

Without me even really wanting one, another ball of magic appeared over the table. Kathleen jumped to her feet, her chair tipping over as she stumbled backward, fear in her eyes. Abruptly I also stood up as Kathleen hooked her fingers into claws, the anger on her face overlaying the fear as she spread her hands apart.

"Prae . . ."

I waved my hand in her direction, putting her into a stasis before she could complete the incantation for her protective shield. I looked around my wrecked house at the damage and mess. This was all her fault. From the first, it'd been her fault. Before they'd shown up, I'd been normal. Normal as a kid, normal as an adult. I'd had a normal job, a normal house, a normal life. Normal, normal, normal. Then they'd moved in next door and turned everything upside down.

They'd beaten me, killed me if Kathleen was to be believed, resurrecting me only to beat me some more and wreck my house. Then, they'd allowed someone else to try to kill me, wrecked my house again, and it was supposed to be my fault? I hadn't done anything except be nice to them and yet I'd been the one to pay for everything. Well, not anymore, I was done paying for their fun and games.

Moving the energy ball to the center of the room, I raised my hands. Screw appearances. Screw the neighbors. Screw everyone. I want my normal life back and everyone else can just stop sticking their noses into my business and leave me alone.

Grasping reality, I visualized what I wanted. My house. The way it was. The way I wanted it to be, clean, tidy, and no more cat toys. I shoved the visualization into the energy ball and ripped the real world apart, reforming it into what I wanted.

"Ahhhhhh!" I poured all my anger, frustration, confusion as well as the emotional hurt and pain I was feeling into what I was doing. There was a pulse and then a wave of energy flowed over me like a hot breeze, expanding outward before it dissipated into the night air. The world blinked and my house was restored. No more smoke or smell. No more burnt walls or charred and destroyed furniture. The windows and door were all in their proper places again. No more ruined carpeting or broken glass on the floor. Restored. As it was. As I wanted it to be. Except for one thing.

With the last of the power from the orb, I deposited Kathleen outside my front door. Closing the door I released the stasis around her.

". . .sidiem meum." She completed her spell casting and I could feel her shield spring into existence right outside my door. A moment later there was a thud on the door followed by angry exclamation of my parental history. Before she could open the door I turned the deadbolt lock to the latched position. The sound of spitting, hissing, kicking, and clawing at my door followed me to my bedroom where I lay down on top of the covers on my bed and closed my eyes.

It was pitch dark when I woke. Something wasn't right. Shifting, I prepared to get up to find out what was wrong when my hand touched warmth curled up next to my hip on the bed. The unexpected encounter in the blackness of my bedroom made me freeze for a moment before I realized what, or who, I was touching. I put my head back down on my pillow and relaxed.

"I'm sorry." Gently I stroked the cat on my bed, her fur sliding smoothly underneath my caressing fingers. "You were right. I'm a stupid jerk."

A soft purr was all I got for an answer.

She was gone when I woke in the morning. The spot where she'd been was cold. Another dream. I needed to stop taking the pain pills, they were messing with my head. It just seemed so real that when I woke up I wanted to believe it was real. Even though it couldn't be.

A thump from the living room told me someone was out there. I couldn't think of who that might be so I got up to investigate. Had the hospital sent a visiting nurse to check on me? They'd said they might.

The noise was from Kathleen and she wasn't alone in the living room. Mr. Espinoza was there helping her hang my curtains over the window.

"Oh good, you're awake."

At my appearance Kathleen looked over her shoulder at me. She had a black smudge on the side of her nose extending to a smear along her cheek and a white handkerchief tied over her hair. There was a trash barrel half-full of unidentifiable burnt things in the middle of the room with a broom and a shovel leaning against it.

"What are you doing?"

"Mr. Espinoza is helping me finish cleaning up." She clipped the curtain rod back into place and jumped off of the chair she was standing on. "I didn't want to run the vacuum until after you woke up again. It's not as bad as it looked last night."

"What are you talking about?"

"Seriously, it isn't that bad." Kathleen gestured to the room. "The only thing that was destroyed was an ugly plant stand you had by the door. It just looked like a lot more was burned because it was spread everywhere. Scrubbing the walls with the pine stuff under the sink took off the soot and I finished using upholstery cleaner on the couch after you went to bed."

"Kathleen did a good job. I can hardly tell anything was damaged." Mr. Espinoza complimented her with a nod in her direction.

"Last night I almost would have sworn a bomb had gone off in here, but it's not actually as bad as it seemed yesterday. There was a time when a bunker fire in Korea made us believe we'd lost a few men to it. But, once the sun came up, we could see it was just packs and blankets making us think there were bodies in the shadows. Same thing now as then. Daylight helps a lot in these kinds of situations."

I moved further into the room. I didn't understand what they were talking about. What were they doing in my house? Kathleen flicked her fingers in my direction, fending me off while wrinkling her nose at the same time.

"You stink like smoke. And you look like you slept in your clothes."

My reflection in the mirror over the couch proved her right. There were creases in my shirt, sheet wrinkles on my face, and my hair was sticking up in places.

"You can go wash up. Your girl and I got this." Mr. Espinoza smiled at Kathleen.

"Not my girl." I denied everything as I watched my image in the mirror rub my sleep numbed face. At least I was healing, the black eye was gone and my head didn't hurt this morning like it usually did.

Mr. Espinoza looked me up and down and then at Kathleen. "If you say so."

"I say so." Kathleen flapped her hands at me and pointed toward the bathroom down the hall. "Go away."

Without knowing why, I went. There was a chuckle from Mr. Espinoza as I left the room.

"Yep, definitely not your girl."

"And, just what would you know about it anyway?" Kathleen snipped at him as she grabbed the vacuum.

"You see these gray hairs of mine? I got them from years of dealing with pretty girls like you. All doe eyes and denials while they stole . . ."

Kathleen toed the switch and drowned his voice with the whine from the vacuum.

They were sitting at my table drinking coffee when I finished shaving, brushing my teeth and showering. I'd changed into fresh pants and shirt too. Mr. Espinoza was telling Kathleen tales about his time in the military while she listened with her elbows on the table. At my reappearance she jumped up and poured me a cup of coffee, placing it on the table across from where she'd been sitting, Mr. Espinoza between us.

Without comment, I sat in the empty chair next to Kathleen and slid the coffee cup over until it was in front of me. Lifting the cup, I took a sip while looking at her over the rim, making a small grimace over the lack of sugar.

"Not your girl." Kathleen glared back at me before softening her gaze slightly.

"Didn't say anything." I switched to look at Mr. Espinoza. "Thank you for helping me."

"No problem. If you don't take care of your neighbors, they won't take care of you when you need help."

"You've been helping me, and my mom, for as long as I can remember."

Mr. Espinoza nodded solemnly as he got to his feet. "I never had anybody except a nephew who's got a prison record and gang tattoos. I just tried to make sure you didn't make the same mistakes."

He held up his hand as I started to rise with him.

"You got this so I'm going home. You stay and keep your girl company."

"Not his girl." Kathleen repeated herself.

Mr. Espinoza flashed a grin at her before heading for my front door.

"You could do worse. Daniel's a good man."

"Still not his girl." Kathleen called to his departing back.

We watched him through the front window. He paused and changed direction slightly to avoid the car which slowly cruised into the cul-de-sac and made a U-turn before leaving again.

Chapter 10

The sound of a door closing brought my attention back inside my kitchen. Kathleen had slipped away while I watched Mr. Espinoza go home, softly closing the back door behind her as she eased outside. I opened the door to call her back, I wanted answers to my questions about why she'd been in my house, but she disappeared with a flick of her tail, clearing the backyard fence in one leap.

Reluctantly I closed the door and sat again at my dining table to finish my coffee. My house felt empty again. I remembered feeling the same way in one of my dreams. Nor did I even consider it odd she'd turned into a cat before running away again. People didn't do that so that had to be another delusion. It was obvious it wasn't real and I resolved to not take any more of the pills. Hopefully the effects wore off soon.

Another car cruised through the neighborhood, pausing slightly as it passed my driveway. I noticed it because it was unusual. Most traffic made U-turns at the corner rather than drive down the short street into the cul-de-sac and then turn around. This meant we rarely got traffic from people who didn't live here. Most of the neighbors didn't drive anyway, taking the metro bus from the stop on the corner where the school bus also stopped to take on or drop off school kids. So, cars on the street were unusual.

My neighborhood was quiet. And I liked it that way. Of the eight houses on the cul-de-sac, I knew five of the families who lived here. I'd grown up with their kids, fought with them on occasion, played in the street, climbed the trees in their yards and generally had a great childhood within the boundary of my little street.

Over time, my childhood friends had all moved away. I'd stayed because my mom hadn't had anyone else except me to take care of her. I didn't have anywhere to go anyway. Then Mr. Fernandez had died and Mrs. Fernandez sold their house. The new neighbors were middle-eastern and never came outside. Their garage door opened in the morning, they drove away, and then came home in the evening, the garage opening and swallowing the car before closing again. They even had a yard service mow the grass once a week instead of doing it themselves.

The house on the corner was boarded up and abandoned. That had happened over a decade ago and no one had lived there since. The other house next to Mr. Espinoza's was a rental with people moving in, staying awhile, and moving out again a few months later. I never learned any of their names. The only kids on the block were Katya and Katrina next door and they didn't play in the street. Like I said, my little neighborhood was quiet.

A third car cruised in and turned around. Okay. This was ridiculous, three in one day? In less than an hour? Something was happening. I opened my door and looked down my driveway at the car. It had four occupants inside who were staring back at me. Kathleen's mother was standing at the end of her driveway, with her arms crossed, looking at the car too.

When I stepped out on my porch, one of the people in the car excitedly turned to the others and pointed a finger at me. Mrs. Black glanced in my direction before giving the car a twitch of her chin to tell them to leave. They left, motoring down the street and turning right at the corner without stopping at the intersection.

"They're coming to look at you." Kathleen's voice came from behind me.

Involuntarily my lips curled into a smile, she'd come back. I swivelled and could see she'd changed clothes while she was gone. She smelled like jasmine again too.

"Why? I'm nobody special."

"You can do things and you don't think you're special?" She sighed heavily. "A lot of people would give several years of their lives to be able to do half of what you did yesterday, and you didn't even think about the consequences that would result."

"Consequences? What consequences? What are you talking about?" I was confused. I was just an ordinary guy, not some celebrity. No one cared what I did.

Kathleen spun me the rest of the way around.

"Listen to me. You have to stop doing what you're doing. Okay? Just stop doing it. Or someone we don't want to find us is going to come here and ruin our lives."

"It is too late." Kathleen's mom interrupted her. "They already know and are coming to see if he is strong enough to keep what he has made."

"What I made? I haven't done anything. I've been sick."

A frustrated groan from Kathleen made me pause.

"What?"

"You used a lot of power in a very short period of time. That leaves a disturbance other Mages can also feel. On top of that, whatever it was you did last night also changed the magical nature of the whole area. Everyone who felt what you did probably wants to know who you are. That's why they're driving by." She looked at her mother. "He needs training."

Mrs. Black quirked an eyebrow at her daughter.

"I . . ." Kathleen hung her head. "Can't."

Kathleen's mother's face flashed anger and she raised her hands in my direction as she'd done once before.

"No!" Kathleen stepped between us. "You'll only make it worse!"

"After all I taught you, you choose to submit to the first Mage you find? Be a Kitty for someone like him?" The sudden disgust in her mother's voice surprised me.

"I'm not a Kitty." Kathleen raised her arms and began to glitter like gold in the sunlight.

Golden Kitty, my head told me silently.

"See me. I am not bound."

"I can feel the binding. I can smell his power on you, Kit."

"I am not bound."

A look of shock appeared on Mrs. Black's face as she scanned Kathleen. Quickly she scanned me from head to toe, making me feel like a piece of meat, a worthless piece of meat not deserving of being fed to rabid dogs, as she did it. She scanned Kathleen again and then returned to me. She did this several times, each time switching between us quicker and quicker as her face showed disbelief.

"This is impossible! It cannot be done. Yet . . . it is there!"

"What?" I asked them both, noticing yet another car turn onto the street.

"Inside." Kathleen's mother herded us into the house as she also saw the newcomers.

I resisted even though she wanted us to go into my house.

"Daniel!" Kathleen's voice was insistent. "We need to go inside."

"Why?"

"Because some of those who are coming to look are not our friends. We shouldn't give them more information than we have to. Tactically, that's pretty dumb."

We went inside and sat at my dining table, Kathleen and her mother crowding together across from me. It was very different from when Mr. Espinoza had been there earlier, the silent expanse between us making me feel like I was being examined by aliens after being abducted.

"We're not aliens."

Kathleen twitched her lips at me right after the thought crossed my mind. Her crooked grin appeared as her mother looked at her in shock.

"You can hear him? Without physical contact?"

"Sort of." Kathleen admitted it after a moment of embarrassment. "When he was attacked, I tried to warn him without realizing what I was doing. Ever since then I know what he's thinking if I concentrate."