Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

SIMON

I groaned.

My head ached. My body ached. Everything ached.

But I was alive.

How long was I out? Was the bear still stalking me? Was Ogden already lost to me?

I lifted my head and tried to push up on my paws. The world tilted as my legs gave way under my weight. Nausea churned through me. It took everything I had to open my eyes and try again.

My front legs shook as I managed to lift my front half up off the jagged gravel lane. Then I tried to get my back legs to work. They didn't. I dragged them behind me, clawing forward. Needing to move. Needing to get help.

I collapsed again.

It took three tries before I could stand, but at least my back legs were under me this time. They wobbled, but they supported my weight .

How was I going to track Ogden in this condition? I was so screwed. No . I wouldn't give up. I couldn't. Ogden was counting on me. I needed to do better. I had no other choice.

I tottered forward one step. Then two. Then my limbs crumpled again.

I wanted to cry and scream and yowl, but none of that was going to help. The next time I tried to stand, it was easier and faster, and I even lurched forward five steps before falling. I stumbled over the pouch. The one Ogden was supposed to be wearing. I don't know why I bothered, but I picked it up in my mouth again. I clenched my teeth around the fabric and forced myself to move again. And again. Over and over until I finally reached the main street that skirted the front of the building.

The cop car was there.

Just seeing it filled me with rage. How could someone kidnap Ogden when the police officers were right there ? They were supposed to protect us.

I staggered to the vehicle. They didn't even notice me. I yowled. I thought about jumping on their windshield so they couldn't ignore me any longer, but my body yelled no way . Instead , I opted to drag my claws down the driver's side door.

The door flung open, whacking me hard enough to send me sprawling. I lost the pouch again.

" Fu …dgesicle…" I groaned, almost letting out a swear word before I caught myself.

" What the fuck?" The officer apparently wasn't raised by someone like my mama. This woman had no problem cussing as she reached for her gun and sniffed the air. " It's the cat shifter. Simon ."

Her partner darted around the car and fell to his knees beside me. I hissed half-heartedly as he reached for me.

" What happened?"

" Og …" I panted heavily. My lungs weren't working right. Each breath I took or word I tried to speak had pain exploding through me like fireworks. But I had to do this. Ogden was counting on me. " Gone . Taken ." I groaned.

" Jesus …" the officer muttered.

The other one was on her radio, calling for backup and an ambulance. When she finished, she said, " Stay here with him, I'll go…"

" Greta , don't you dare go in there without backup. Greta ? Fuck … Son of a… Fucking Fuck …" He looked torn between staying with me and following his partner.

" Go ," I wheezed. " They … took… him… out… through… apartment… Find him…"

The guy nodded, then jumped up and followed Greta . I doubted they'd find anything. That stupid bear and his cohorts had obviously stashed a getaway car somewhere close, and I'd already been around the three sides of the building with roads and lanes and hadn't seen them. I must have been unconscious for a while after my jump.

My heart raced as every harrowing millisecond of my fall crashed over me again. But I was alive. And now people were looking for Ogden . I prayed it was enough. I lurched toward the stupid pouch with the tracker in it again. I don't know why, but it felt important to keep it close. I was probably wrong about that. After all, it hadn't helped yet—and Ogden was already gone, so what would I even do with it now?—but I couldn't shake the compulsion to take it with me.

A moment later, the two officers raced back to the vehicle.

" Grab him," Greta said.

" Shouldn't we?—"

" He's a cat shifter. If he survived the fall, he'll be okay."

" I'm sorry if I hurt you," the officer said as he scooped me off the asphalt. Then we were in the car with sirens blaring.

So loud. It hurt my already aching head.

The officer had put me in his lap and was petting me. I wanted to protest. Ogden should be the only one to pet me. But it felt nice as he ran his fingers gently over my ribs and my legs and— Oh . Wait . He wasn't petting me, was he? He was checking for broken bones.

" How are you doing?" he asked. " Do you remember me? I'm Constable Keats , but you can call me Conrad , and this is Sergeant Glover . You probably heard me call her Greta . You wouldn't know it to look at us but we're cousins. You're Simon , right? You are going to be okay, Simon . You're safe now. Can you tell me how you feel?"

I huffed and opened my eyes just enough to look at Conrad . He seemed young to be a police officer, maybe even my age. He looked so sincere… and more than a little freaked out.

" Better ," I said. " Getting better."

And amazingly, it was the truth.

With each minute, I felt stronger and less achy. I wasn't sure if that was my magic fixing me, or if my cat's innate ability to survive was at play. I prayed my magic wasn't stealing Ogden's . Still , I was sure I'd lost one of my nine lives. A hollowness had settled in my chest where my magic lived. Instinctively , I knew that feeling had nothing to do with the injuries I'd sustained when I'd smacked into the earth from the top of a tall two-story building. How had my brothers survived losing one of their lives so many times?

" Good . That's good, Simon ," Conrad soothed. " Can you tell us what happened?"

Right . I needed to do that. Before I could start, we swung wildly to the left and Conrad grabbed me hard to stop me from flying off his lap. Greta cursed from the driver's seat and updated someone over the radio. Did that mean we were chasing after the a-holes who had Ogden ? Yeah . That made sense. I should have figured that out when they picked me up and threw me in the car.

Huh . Maybe I hadn't been knocked out for as long as I thought.

My chest wasn't hurting quite as bad as it had earlier. And my breathing wasn't as labored. I could do this.

" We were on the rooftop," I whispered, because it wasn't as hard to push out words. " A demon… opened a portal. Mage , human, bear… and… and…" Why couldn't I remember who else was there? A mage, a human, a bear… It sounded like the start of a bad joke. Then I remembered I'd thought that when it'd happened. " And a troll came out. The bear killed…" What was his name again? " The bird."

" Wesley ? "

" Yeah ." I tried to nod. Pain ripped down my spine. Okay . Not doing that again for a while.

" Anything else?"

" Something was wrong with Ogden ." Every word was a chore to push out, but I needed them to know what had happened. " Couldn't shift. Couldn't move. Made him sleep. I hid. Others took Ogden down the stairs. Bear tried to kill me. I jumped."

Conrad swallowed hard. " And the demon? Where was he? Why didn't he open another portal?"

" He opened the portal to get everyone on the roof." I'd said that already, hadn't I ?

" Why didn't they use a portal to leave too?" Conrad asked.

" The mage said it was a risk. The demon left through the portal. Didn't see him again. The others stayed to move Ogden ."

Greta cursed. " The van disappeared. Conrad , can you see it?"

Conrad's attention snapped to the road. " No ."

" Damn it." Greta slammed her hands on the steering wheel. Then she called in their location, letting everyone know we'd lost the vehicle we'd been chasing. The car stopped abruptly and again Conrad had to hold me so I didn't go flying. Greta jumped out of the vehicle. Conrad shoved me off his lap and followed his partner. We were in the countryside now, although we couldn't be that far from Aspen Bay . They returned a few minutes later.

Neither of them jumped back inside to continue the chase.

" What ? "

" We fucking lost them," Greta snapped. " I can't smell anything out there."

" Was it them? Are you sure?" I asked Conrad while Greta updated whoever was listening on the other end of her radio.

He nodded. " We followed their scent trail to the street over. Got there just as they were getting into the van."

" Ballsy move, carrying him so far," Greta said. " It's like they were taunting us."

" Probably thought no one would be out downtown to see them and normally they would have been right."

" We'll wait here for the others. Hopefully with more help we can pick up their trail."

I closed my eyes and let my head drop onto the seat. I wondered if even Mama would swear at a time like this.