The Second Summoning

Claire ignored her with the ease of someone who’d spent seventeen years living with a cat. “That’s a good idea, Dean. I’m sure we can come up with something once we’ve all detached a little.”

“I’ll be after putting her in my old room, then.” He slid his arms under Byleth’s shoulders and knees and lifted her easily. “It’s closest.” Rising with Byleth’s body, Claire reached out and pressed her hand against Dean’s cheek. “I’m sorry I didn’t keep my promise to banish the demon.” He smiled. “I’m after feeling it’s not going to matter.”

“You think?”

“I do.”

“Yes!”

“Code?” Diana asked, watching her suddenly cheerful sister follow Dean and his burden up the stairs.

Austin shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”

“Uh, Austin, about Samuel.”

“What about him?” He gave her the sort of look that was usually accompanied by small feathers around the mouth.

Suddenly unsure, Diana set the orange cat on his feet and stood. She had a feeling she’d need all the advantage height could give her.

“He knows,” Samuel told her before she could decide how to answer. “He knows what I was.”

“Will you tell Claire?” Diana asked the older cat, hoping he couldn’t sense how anxious she was.

“After what we went through with Byleth, if she found out what Samuel was, she wouldn’t want him around. She’d be worried it could happen again.”

“Hey, it’s none of my business how you two crazy kids got together,” Austin snickered, starting up the stairs. “And I think Claire’s going to have plenty of other things to do for the next little while.” Halfway up to the basement, he turned and glared into golden eyes following close behind, looking concerned. “If you so much as insinuate I’m too old to be doing this, I’ll notch those virgin ears of yours.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“Sorry.”

“So you should be, kid. So you should be.”

Claire was waiting for them at the foot of the basement stairs. “Dean’s just digging out a blanket. Diana . . .”

“I thought we worked through this?” Diana demanded, folding her arms and lifting her chin defiantly, working the “best defense is a good offense” line. “Look, I know it was your Summoning and I shouldn’t have gotten involved, but you’ve got to admit you were working from your own agenda here and not seeing what was so obvious to me. If I hadn’t stopped you, we’d have lost all the potential Byleth represents.”

“I’m not arguing.” Her tone was so mild Diana braced herself. “I was only going to ask if Mom and Dad knew where you were.”

“Mom and Dad?” It took her a moment to realize the implications. “Oh, no. I got so into stopping you and saving Byleth, I forgot to call.” Patting her pockets, she remembered she’d left her cell phone behind. “Nuts! I’ll have to use the phone in the office.”

Kicking aside the cashews, she raced up the stairs two at a time with Samuel at her heels.

Claire and Austin followed a little more sedately.

“You’re not going to go on and on to her about this little incident, are you?” Claire shook her head, smiling contentedly. “No need. I’ll let the pros handle it.”

Exiting into the first floor hall they heard a desperate, “But, Mom, I meant to call!” and then giggling.

Cat and Keeper exchanged puzzled looks.

Giggling?

Before they had time to investigate, the only other door in the hall swung open to reveal a small Victorian elevator. Dean and Jacques had repaired it in the fall but when, on the inaugural trip, they’d boldly gone where no elevator had gone before, Claire’d declared it off limits until she was able to study it. Unfortunately, she’d been Summoned away before she had the chance.

A short, gnomelike man stepped out, arm in arm with an elderly bottle-redhead of formidable proportions. Matching his and hers lime-green bathing suits under open parkas and a trail of fine white sand suggested they’d just been to the beach. They stopped short at the sight of Claire and Austin.

“Augustus Smythe? Mrs. Abrams? What . . . ? Where . . . ?” Realizing that shock could keep her stuttering questions she didn’t want the answers to all afternoon, Claire managed to pull herself together. “Never mind. Not important.” Snorting hard enough to nearly flip his mustache, Augustus Smythe stepped forward. “About time you got here.”

“It is?”

“I should think so. We’re on a commuter plane to Toronto in two hours and then it’s off to sunny Florida.”

“Florida?”

“We have a nice little condo in a seniors building only a block from the ocean.” Mrs. Abrams wrapped both hands around Augustus Smythe’s upper arm and beamed. “You’ll have to come down and see us some time, Connie.”

“Claire.” This was all just a little more than she could cope with right now.

“Don’t contradict,” Smythe warned her. “It’s rude. And what’s more,” he continued, turning his scowl on his companion, “she can’t come see us, she’ll be here.”

“No.” Claire raised both hands. “I’m not . . .”