9781618851307WitchsBrewShayNC (41 page)

“I’m sorry. I don’t have any cat food. Go find a mouse.”

She couldn’t believe something that big actually meowed
instead of rumbling its demands for food. She half expected the darn thing to
roar its displeasure, but the cat bailed off her chest and disappeared as if it
understood her command.

Now
it was back, and Saylym could swear she saw something long and slender with a
few damp, scraggly hairs, sticking out of its mouth.

“Is
that a rat’s tail, I see?” she asked faintly.
Gross!

A
look of smug satisfaction glittered in the cat’s yellow eyes. He gave a loud
gulp. “Not any more. Now don’t get all female on me. You told me to find a rat.
So I did.”

“No,
I told you to find a mouse—” Saylym froze. She widened her eyes. “You can
talk!” she squeaked. “You talk! Oh. My. God! You sound just like Humphrey
Bogart.”

The cat stood up on two feet, yawned behind a big paw as
if bored and walked closer toward her—on two feet.

“Well,
of course I can talk. I can walk upright. I can even cook in a pinch, but don’t
expect me to do it. I’m your
Futhar
, and I confess I stole old
Humphrey’s voice years ago. I mean hell, he’s dead. He and Bacall can’t boogie
any more. Right? Besides, I can imitate the voice of any
illumrof
movie
star.”

“Right.”
Saylym nodded her head
. “Futhar?”
She simply must learn the meaning of
that word
.

“Familiar
is probably the term you’re…
familiar
with.”

She
swore the big cat grinned at her and of course, she must be seeing things. He
couldn’t possibly walk about on two legs. She blinked. She really must get her
eyes checked, and soon. “Oh, no. No, this isn’t happening. Familiars belong to
witches…and I’m
not
a witch. I’m not. I’m not a witch. Hummmmm.”

“Cupcake,
I don’t wanna piss in your Toasties or anything equally droll, but witches
actually belong to familiars, not the other way round, and you, my dear, are a
witch. A very sexy one, too. No wonder Talon lusts after you. Why, if I didn’t
prefer felines, I might try to get in your pants myself. Whaddaya say, Toots,
think you’d be interested in a piece of Tom cat?”

Saylym slid off the barstool, flapping her arms at him as
she side-stepped around the big cat. “No! Absolutely not. Shoo! Shoo! Get out
of here, kitty.”

The cat flattened its ears, dropped onto all fours, and
arched its back.
“Shoo?”
He sounded mortally offended. “As in shoo fly
or shoo chicken? I think I’m going to throw up.”

Saylym blinked at the sound of indignation in the cat’s
voice. She stifled the moan that threatened to leap from her throat. Why was it
that every time she was alone, something walked or talked to her that
wasn’t
supposed to? “I’m going to kill Talon.”

“Because he wants to get in your pants? Sweetie, he’s only
doing what comes natural to a
waken
when a witch is in heat.”

“In
heat?” Saylym blinked. “In heat! For crying out loud, I’m not in heat! And damn
it, I’m not a witch!”

“Call
me Topaz, baby. And, oh yeah, you’re definitely in heat. Very hot. I’d say
you’re going to melt the socks right off his Royal Highness. Probably melt his
wand, too.”

Saylym
edged around the cat. “What do you know about it, you little fur ball?”

“Little? I’ll have you know, I’m one of the largest of my
breed.” He rolled his eyes. “And I
know
, because I slept beside you last
night. Your body wafted off all those rich pheromones that just turn a
waken
to stone, as in
hard-on
, Toots.
I’m surprised Talon hasn’t kicked in your door and done the nasty with you
already.”

Saylym shook her head. “I don’t believe this. I’m going to
my bedroom to get dressed. And
you
, cat, stay out of my room and off my
bed!”

She
muttered beneath her breath as she slammed her bedroom door behind her.
Apparently, closed doors were no barrier against
Futhars
, because the door
slammed inward, and Topaz strolled in, pausing to lick a paw. “I go where you
go, cupcake. You’re mine now. I accepted you and you accepted me. We’re
lifetime partners. I’m your
Futhar,
and
Futhars
stay with their
masters or as in your case, mistress.”

“Fine,”
Saylym yelled, hands on hips.

“Hey,
cut the racket! I’m trying to sleep!”

Saylym
whirled to glare at the fierce blood-shot eyeball on the headboard of the bed.
She pointed her fingers at the bed, wiggling them. “Oh,
shut up!”

Sparks
flew from her fingertips and hit the eyeball dead center.

The
oversized lips parted and let out a howl.
“Ahhhh!
Me eye! Me eye! Yee’ve blinded me eye! Ahhhh!”

Saylym whirled to look at the cat. “Oh, my God,” she
faintly. “I murdered its eye!”

“Shazam!
You go, girl,” Topaz rumbled in a Gomer
Pyle voice.

The big cat rolled his eyes as Saylym crumpled to the
floor, in what he assumed, was a thing known as a faint.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Rebecca Nurse, Susannah
Martin, Elizabeth Howe, Sarah Wildes and Sarah Good were tried for witchcraft
and condemned. In an effort to expose the witches afflicting his life, Joseph
Ballard of nearby Andover enlisted the aid of the accusing girls of Salem. His
action marked the beginning of the Andover witch hunt.

~Rebecca
Nurse

“Oh Lord,
help me! It is false. I am clear. For my life now lies in your hands…”

~Salem Witch Trials

June 29 to Mid-July, 1692

Sanctuary

“Okay,
Prince, now would be a good time to pop in,” Topaz yelled, eyeing the little
witch’s pale face with a degree of curiosity and awe. “I can’t believe she just
toppled over like that.”

Instantly,
Talon popped in to Saylym’s bedroom. “What did you do to her?” he asked.

Talon
lowered the Persian to the floor and lifted Saylym into his arms. “And what is that
awful screeching?”

“The bed, Prince. She zapped it.
Bam!
She wiggled
her fingers and murdered the eye. Blinded the poor thing, she did. Pointed her
fingers straight at it just like she knew what she was doin’. It’s been
screeching ever since, ‘Me eye, me eye.’ It’s enough to drive a
Futhar
crazy. And whaddaya mean, ‘What
did
I
do to her?’ ” He sniffed,
offended. “She just keeled over like a dead mouse. I did nothing, Boss. I
swear. Her eyes just sort of rolled in the back of her head, she turned puke-green,
and she keeled over.
Bam!
She cracked the back of her head hard when she
hit the floor. Pointed her fingers straight at the poor bed, murdered the eye!
You didn’t tell me she was a mean witch, Boss.”

“She isn’t mean, Topaz. What are you doing in adult form?
You were supposed to grow gradually. You must have frightened her to death.”

“Well, Prince, it’s like this…er…I got hungry. She made me
go hunt for food.” Topaz flicked his curious greenish-gold gaze over the female
feline Talon had brought with him. His whiskers twitched as he stared at the
Persian kitty half his size. “Oh good, you brought fresh pussy.”

Talon frowned. “Celine is Mother’s
Futhar.”

“Ah.” Topaz snickered. “Royal pussy. Even better.”

He admired Celine’s long, white fur, her sleek, slender
body. His mouth watered at the sight of her exotic turquoise eyes. Yum.

He
dropped his gaze to the diamond choker sparkling around her throat, and then
back up to dwell on the dainty, pink satin bows beside each ear. “Hubba, hubba,”
he purred, and slinked his long body toward the pretty feline.

Man,
would he like a piece of that.
Rrrr. Rrrr.

Celine
blinked her lovely eyes and backed up a step. “Stay away from me, you filthy
Alley Cat!” she screeched.

“Alley Cat?”
Topaz snorted. “I’m a tomcat, Toots. A
big tom, with a great big…well never mind, you’ll find out soon enough, cupcake.”
His voice dropped to a low, rumbling purr as he edged closer to the pretty
Persian. “We were made for each other, beautiful.”

Celine
arched her back. High. All four of her legs stiffened, claws extended, and sank
into the carpet. Fur rose straight up, and she hissed, baring her sharp, little
teeth at him.

Admiration filled the big tom’s hot gaze. He didn’t think
he’d ever seen a higher arch in a feline’s spine. She wanted him all right. The
babe was hot. “Oh, baby. Come to Papa.” He slinked closer, sniffing the air,
absorbing her rich scent. “Ah, my lee-tle spice of delight. My lee-tle love
kee-ten. You smell like jas-meen and opium. Come with me to the Kasbah, and we
will make the sweet-est of love. Mmmm.”

He
figured he’d impress her with his phony foreign accent. All the females loved
it when he purred French love words in their ears. How could she resist his
charm? Oh, yeah, the babe was his. He loved her scent. It was warm and
inviting. Intoxicating.
Futhar
female felines came into heat at Beltane
same as the witches. That made her ripe for mating.

And
he was ready.

Oh,
man, was this kitty hot!

Celine turned her cute little button nose up in the air.
“I’ll certainly not be finding out any such thing as to the size of your…toy.
You so much as touch me, and I’ll claw you to pieces.”

Topaz gave a feline snicker. “I’m counting on that, Toots.
Hurt me. Hurt me.”

“You
two take your courtship out of here,” Talon growled.

“We
are
not
courting,” Celine denied furiously. She turned and stalked from
the bedroom with a miffed, “Humph!”

Topaz
followed, hot on her tail, mouth watering.

“Get
away from me,” Celine hissed, looking behind her. “Far away. I see that
twitching flagpole between your legs. I’m
not
impressed.” She sniffed,
flipping her tail in the air, swishing it back and forth and sashayed away from
him.

“Oh,
you’re impressed, Toots.”

Celine
looked over her shoulder. “It’ll be a cold day in the Underworld before you get
near me with that…
thing.”

Topaz
grinned, watching her stroll away. “Oh, baby,” he rumbled. “Do I feel a cold
front moving in? Brrr.”

Silent,
as only a male
Futhar
in stalking mode can be, Topaz trailed the little
Persian. Going down on his belly, ears flattened in a predator’s stalk, eyes
narrowed to mere slits, he crept underneath tables. When he couldn’t conceal
himself using furniture, he used his Cloaking Sheath, a shield that rendered
him invisible.

How upset the little Persian would be if she knew the
number of the times he stood close enough to nudge her with his ‘flagpole.’
Thank the gods only male
Futhars
were blessed with the Cloaking Sheath,
otherwise, they’d probably never get laid.

Not
that he was one to use force. He’d never stoop so low as to take a female
against her wishes. He let his charm do the work for him.

Females
couldn’t resist him.

How
could they?

He
was handsome. Suave and debonair. Hot!

And
he had a big one.

He
was everything a female feline could possibly want.

Topaz
stayed out of sight as Celine prowled restlessly from room to room. He made her
nervous with his shadowing her. He knew it, and savored the thrill of it.

And he never took his eyes off her. The sweet puss knew
her hours were numbered. He watched her through narrowed lids, his body
quivering with urgency. Then he scooted behind heavy drapes and peeked around
at her, excitement humming through his blood. He licked his lips, savoring
every minute of his pursuit.

There
was no way she could escape him.

His
heart pounded as he patiently waited for her to make the wrong move.

Waited
for her to come too close. Waited. Waited—

Bingo!

She
did it. Sashayed past the sofa where he lay in wait in a low crouch behind it.
He sprang over the top, only to miss the quick-footed Persian and crash belly
down on the floor.

“Awww,”
Topaz screeched. “I broke my cock!” He whimpered and rolled around on the
floor cupping his balls.
“Awww!”

Celine
snorted and took off like a scalded cat. Slamming the hall closet door behind
her, she sealed the door with magic before Topaz could stand and soothe his
aching toy.

Furious,
Topaz flung a hostile glare at the closed door where he could hear Celine howling
with laughter behind it.

Slowly,
stiffly, he got up and limped away, moaning as he rubbed his throbbing cock and
swollen balls. The little feline had outsmarted him. But this was only round
one. Round two was his.

Topaz
smirked with lusty intent. It was only a matter of time until he caught her. He
wouldn’t be such an idiot next time and leap before he looked. The smirk slowly
faded as he realized, to his chagrin, that Celine was a classy, highbred piece
of pussy. And he wanted her for more than a quick round of mating. He made a
silent vow. She would belong to him.

Topaz headed back into the bedroom where Talon had
remained secluded with Saylym the entire day. He wouldn’t allow this defeat to
get him down. His big heavy tail swished high in the air, exactly as Celine had
swished hers at him earlier in the morning.

He
hummed a little tune beneath his breath then started singing in a low baritone.
“I feel good. So good. Cause I’m gonna nail yo-ou.”

Topaz didn’t bother looking back. A male feline
Futhar
never looked back at where he’d been, because he rarely returned. He went on to
the next piece of furry, feline tail. In this case however, he’d return for
Celine but she needed to believe he’d given up.