Part 5 (2/2)

Jasper put his left paw on the desk and started poking at keys again. WHT TME ”Eight o'clock. I'll call her at eight.”

NO.

”Okay, I'll call her at seven thirty.”

NOW.

Anica sighed. He was right. She'd fire up the espresso machine and pour a couple of cups down her sister. They had to get back to work on this.

”Okay, Jasper. I'll call her.”

He repositioned himself in her lap so he could reach the mouse. He dragged the cursor to the bottom of the screen.

”OmiG.o.d.” She'd been so focused on the message he'd typed in Word that she'd missed the Internet tab sitting at the bottom. He'd been online after all. If he'd been e-mailing . . . but no, that would have taken an enormous effort, considering how tough it was for him to type text.

She reached for the mouse and brought up the Internet screen-a Google listing of sites dealing with magic. He hadn't been e-mailing anyone. While she'd been sleeping, he'd been trying to help himself in the only way he could manage. He'd turned on the computer and tried to do research. Ridiculously, her throat tightened.

”I'll definitely check this out,” she said. ”Thank you. I completely forgot about going on the Internet. Thanks for the reminder.” She minimized the screen again. ”Is there anything else you wanted to tell me?”

Jasper painstakingly tapped out another message.

LEVE LID UP.

Jasper had finally come to the inescapable conclusion that he'd been hexed by a witch's spell, and he wanted it rectified immediately. Working the computer without opposable thumbs hadn't been easy, but at least he'd been doing something. Now he was forced to let the witchy sisters take over.

From listening to Anica's side of the conversation when she called her sister, Lily wasn't responding well to the summons. Tough s.h.i.+t.

”She has to take a shower to wake herself up,” Anica said as she clicked the cell phone closed. ”But she'll be here.”

It wouldn't be soon enough for him, but he had limited control in this situation. Very limited control. Then Anica let Orion out, and Jasper's focus s.h.i.+fted from Lily's impending arrival to escaping death. Orion was one scary cat. Plus he hated Jasper's guts, which in all fairness Jasper understood.

To add fuel to the fire, Anica hauled out another chicken breast, cut it up and nuked it for Jasper, while Orion was stuck with something Anica said was low-fat and probably tasted worse than it looked. Once Anica had put food out for both cats, she left to take a shower.

Orion ate the miserable food in his bowl lickety-split, which meant he had plenty of time to pace back and forth in front of the counter and growl at Jasper, who took his time with the chicken. After all, he had nothing else to do until Lily showed up.

He peered down at Orion a few times, and each time Orion hissed and glared his intention to take Jasper apart at the first opportunity. From this vantage point, Jasper could evaluate Orion's bulk. Even when his fur wasn't sticking out, he was big. Fat, actually. He might be lazy by nature, but he probably didn't have much motivation to exercise, either.

Jasper finished his chicken and wondered what else he could do to pa.s.s the time. If he stayed here on the counter he'd start thinking about his situation, and that was counterproductive because he couldn't do a d.a.m.ned thing about it without a witch on hand.

He could, however, work off some of his stress and some of Orion's flab at the same time. His leap from the counter landed him right in front of Orion, who hopped backward in shock. Jasper let loose with a taunting hiss. Then he ran like h.e.l.l.

Because Orion was no match for Jasper's speed and agility, Jasper paced himself so the pudgy cat wouldn't give up. Staying just out of reach, he raced through the apartment. When Orion got a little too close, Jasper launched himself at the first available high place. If a few things scattered, so be it.

Then he was off again, tearing from room to room like a maniac. It was the best he'd felt since Anica zapped him with her wand. An elliptical had nothing on this kind of workout. He'd spent too much time in a gym. Once he got out of this mess, he'd round up some guys and play touch football every weekend.

Anica walked into the living room in her terry robe, a towel wrapped turban-style around her hair. She glanced at the scene of the Great Chase. ”Holy s.h.i.+t.” She smelled like oranges and flowers, but she sounded like a drill sergeant. ”Jasper! Orion! Stop that right now!”

Jasper leaped to his favorite spot on top of the bookshelf and studied Anica's thunderous expression. Had he been a man, he could have coaxed her back to the bedroom and made sure she forgot all about the destruction he and Orion had caused.

But he was a cat, not a man, and besides he was furious with her, so he didn't care if she was upset. With a certain degree of satisfaction he surveyed the damage he'd inflicted on her apartment.

Magazines that had been lying on the coffee table were scattered over the floor, and the stack of books she'd been consulting the night before were on the floor, too. Some ivy-looking plant on a wrought-iron stand had been dumped, spilling moist dirt everywhere.

He and Orion must have tracked through the dirt a few times, because black paw prints decorated every piece of upholstered furniture in the living room and most of the carpet. Between the paw prints and the remnants of the dried mousse, the carpet was in sad shape.

Jasper's one attempt to climb the drapes had tempted Orion to follow, and the weight of both cats had pulled the rod out of the wall. The rod had dented a lampshade on the way down, and the drapes, complete with paw prints, lay in a tangled heap below the window. A couple of framed photographs had fallen off a side table. The gla.s.s was cracked on one that had landed sunny-side up.

Jasper smiled, or at least his inner man smiled. Cat lips didn't work into a smile very well. He hadn't asked to be here, hadn't asked to be turned into a cat, for G.o.d's sake, and he was making the best of a lousy deal. If he could talk, he would have told Anica the mess was all Orion's fault.

As a side benefit, some of the belligerence had drained out of the big orange cat. He flopped down on the carpet, panting. He might not thank Jasper for the game of chase, but it had been good for him. He also might be too worn out to launch into a fight.

Anica stared at the carnage as if she couldn't quite believe it. From the way she ran the coffee shop, Jasper had a.s.sumed she was a tidy person. He'd never noticed trash lying around and coffee spills were wiped up immediately.

At first Anica wandered around trying to straighten and pick up, but finally she plopped down on the sofa and buried her face in her hands. She sounded whipped. ”I'm just not used to trying to clean without magic. I guess I'll have the same problem at the coffee shop.”

That got Jasper's attention. Had she depended on magic to help her run the coffee shop efficiently? Maybe Wicked Brew always looked spotless because she'd waved her wand and made it so. If she was used to solving her problems with a magic wand she would be very motivated to return him to normal so she could get her abilities back.

He had to admit this was justice in its purest form, and he hoped she'd learned a lesson. He certainly had. Never a.s.sume that your new girlfriend is an ordinary woman. She could be a witch who will turn you into a cat if she gets mad at you. That was his main takeaway from this experience.

A key turned in the front door and Anica got up to greet Lily.

Last night Lily had come striding through the door ready for action. This morning she moved slowly, as if her muscles weren't on board with the concept of being upright. Jasper felt a twinge of remorse and snuffed it out. Lily had the misfortune to be related to Anica, who had created this mess.

He'd never had a sibling, but if he'd been that lucky he would have expected his sister or brother to stand by him in times like these. He was frankly relieved that Lily had shown up. He'd been a little worried she might not.

She didn't look ready to work magic, though. Her dark hair was still damp from the shower and she had a different type of running shoe on each foot. Her red sweat suit had seen better days, and she hadn't bothered with makeup.

She clutched a travel mug as if it contained the elixir of life. She gazed at Anica through heavy-lidded eyes. ”The sun's not up.”

”I know.” Anica hurried into the kitchen. ”I'll make espresso.”

”Your apartment's completely trashed.”

”I know that, too.”

Lily wandered over to the computer. ”Guess who was on the bus?” she called to Anica.

”Who?” Anica called back.

”n.o.body! It's freakin' six a.m., Anica, and I-h.e.l.lo.” She stared at the screen. ”Uh, who typed this message?”

”Jasper. While I was sleeping.”

Lily scanned the words Jasper had painstakingly typed. Then she turned and her gaze met Jasper's. ”Well done. I wouldn't have used the litter box, either.”

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