upload

“That day when you came to take Drake,” Merlin said, dancing on his front paws. “You said that vampires don’t drink blood anymore. That it’s an outdated practice. Then why is my boy doing it?”

Mr. Fluffikins cleared his throat before saying,“Human vampires don’t.”

“What about cat vampires?”

Mr. Fluffikins shook his head and sighed.“I don’t know. There’s never been one before.”

We all drew quiet at this revelation.

“Will he be okay?” I asked at last.

The black cat nodded.“He’s very strong and developing at an accelerated rate. Surely, you have noticed that.”

Merlin and I both nodded, too.

“As hard as this is to hear, you need to let him go. Let him leave with Drake. They need to be together.”

Merlin’s eyes searched the horizon. “But how will I know he’s okay?” he squeaked.

Fluffikins reached forward and set a paw on top of Merlin’s “You have my word. I’ll treat them both as if they are my own.”

My cat turned to me.“Luna won’t like this.”

“I know,” I said with a sad smile. “I don’t like it either. But I understand.”

“Me, too. But let me talk to her alone,” he said, and then without waiting ran back through the cat flap.

A few moments later, Drake came out to join us in the front yard.

“I heard you broke up with Kelley,” I said conversationally, because it felt like a lighter topic than the whole vampire thing. She’d called me a few days back and cried her eyes out as we both dug into cartons of ice cream and streamed a sappy chick flick together on Netflix.

“It was the right thing to do,” he said. “Please promise me you’ll find a good guy for her, someone who deserves her.”

“Of course, I will!” I practically shouted. So much had changed in the last week, but Kelley was still one of my best friends. That would never change.

“I’m moving,” Drake added softly. “Not Beech Grove, but somewhere new.”

“There was an opening for town vampire,” Mr. Fluffikins explained. “I vouched for him.”

“Well, congratulations. I’m sure you and your kitten will love it there.” I was too consumed with sadness over the departing kitten to offer him a smile now.

Drake looked to Fluffikins, confusion evident in his expression.

“You two share an unbreakable bond. Much like Gracie and Merlin,” the cat boss reasoned.

It was true. Even after Merlin sacrificed his magic, I still remained tied to him and his family. Now anyone who saw Drake and the kitten together knew they belonged together.

“Well, at least I know I’ll have a friend where I’m going.”

“What will you name him?” I asked, hating that the kittens were more than a week old and still didn’t have names.

“Hmmm.” Drake thought for a moment, then broke out into a comical smile. “Since he’s a vampire like me, I think I’ll name him after that dude from Twilight.”

I laughed, which only goaded Drake on.

“Yup, Jacob, it is,” he declared.

I didn’t have the heart to tell him that Jacob was the werewolf. He seemed so proud of his namesake.

Merlin reappeared and gave us a solemn nod.“Luna understands. She just wants a promise that we’ll be able to visit him sometimes.”

“Dude!” Drake shouted. “Of course, you can. Come whenever you want. Any time. Seriously, any time.”

“Then we should make haste before mama cat has the chance to change her mind,” Fluffikins said.

Merlin and I returned to the cat family’s nest to say goodbye.

“Bye, Jacob!” I called right before Fluffikins, Drake, and that precious little vampire kitty disappeared in a swirl of mist.

Luna blinked up at me.“Jacob? Since when is that his name?”

“Drake decided just now,” I said, almost like an apology.

She sighed.“Then we should name the others, darling.”

Merlin nodded.“Before we do, I have a request for Gracie.”

“Sure. You can ask me anything. You know that.” I settled onto the floor to bring us closer to eye level.

Merlin curled up on my lap, glancing up at me with huge honey brown eyes.“When I surrendered my magic, I freed you of the familiar contract. It was the only way to save you. But make no mistake, you were the best familiar a witch could ever ask for. I love you, and I’m so grateful that we found each other.”

“I love you, too, Merlin,” I said, admittedly tearing up now.

“Gracie, would you please help me find equally wonderful familiars to serve my children? I know it won’t be easy, but I want them to have the best, just as I have had the b—”

“Merlin,” I interrupted. “Choose me. I love your kittens as if they are my own. And I will serve them as I have served you. We’ll all stay together as a family. That is, if it’s okay with you.”

Merlin and Luna exchanged glowing looks of love.

“We do not deserve you, dear,” she cried. “But I am so happy we have you in our lives, anyway.”

“Yes, Daisy, Rosie, and Honeysuckle are absolutely the luckiest kittens alive,” Merlin said, bending down to lick his wife on the forehead.

Luna beamed up at him.“You mean…?”

“I know it was hard seeing our boy set off so young. We should give the girls the names you picked for them. Besides, they’ve grown on me.”