Magic Kitten: Moonlight Mischief (2 page)

Mrs Dawson smiled. ‘Thanks, Jo. That’s very thoughtful of you.’

While her parents chatted to Jo, Eve wandered into the hall and then into the sitting room. It looked cosy, with red curtains and bookcases against one wall. There were two sofas and a bright rug in front of a huge stone fireplace. Polished horse brasses hung above the fireplace.

She heard someone come in behind her.

‘It’s not bad, is it? If you can stand looking at all those boring books.’ Alison sauntered across the room. She threw herself on to one of the sofas and lay on her back, dangling her legs over one arm.

‘Actually, I really like reading,’ Eve said.

‘It’s OK, I suppose, if there’s nothing else to do,’ Alison said.

‘Where are you, Alison? Wait for me!’ called a voice.

Darren dashed into the room. He sprawled on the rug and ran his toy fire engine back and forth. ‘Brr-rrrum! Brr-rrrm!’ he said loudly.

Eve smiled. ‘Darren seems really sweet.’

‘Huh! You don’t know him,’ Alison muttered.

Just then Jo poked her head round the door. ‘I’m going to take the Dawsons into the office and show them where things are. Why don’t you take Eve up to see her bedroom, Alison? And could you keep an eye on Darren, please?’

‘If I have to,’ Alison said under her breath. As soon as her mum went out, she quickly swung her feet round and got up. She glanced at Darren who was completely engrossed in his game. ‘Come on, quick! We’ll leave him there,’ she whispered to Eve.

‘Are you sure…?’ Eve hesitated.

‘Yes, I am! Hurry up!’ Alison grabbed her arm and pulled her into the hall.

Eve couldn’t help laughing as they raced up the stairs together. Alison
darted into a bedroom, pulled Eve in behind her, and closed the door.

‘That little pest won’t find us in here,’ she said, grinning.

Eve felt a bit mean for hiding from Darren, but she didn’t want to say anything and risk upsetting Alison. She seemed to be trying to be friendly now. Eve looked round at her bedroom. The walls were yellow and the curtains and duvet were in cheerful stripes of yellow and white. The room seemed filled with sunshine. From the window, she could see over the patio fence to the rows of outdoor pens.

‘This is a great room. You can see the yard and cat pens from up here,’ Eve said excitedly.

‘Glad you like it. Mum and I cleaned the house yesterday. I did all the hoovering by myself,’ Alison said. ‘Darren played with his toys, as usual. Mum never makes him do anything.’

Eve thought Darren looked a bit young to do chores, but she didn’t say so. ‘Does your mum come in every day?’ she asked.

‘Not usually, but she’s going to while you’re here.’ Alison pulled a face. ‘She’s going to help with feeding the cats and stuff too. That’s why I have to help her. It’s a real pain. I’m never going to be able to see my friends.’

‘I know what you mean,’ Eve said with feeling. ‘I keep thinking of all my friends back at home. Maybe
we
could
go out for a pizza or rent a video sometime?’

Alison rolled her eyes. ‘If I get desperate! I’m not that keen on hanging about with younger kids.’

‘Please yourself!’ Eve said, feeling her face grow hot. She hated the way she blushed when she was embarrassed or annoyed. It seemed like a waste of time trying to make friends with Alison. She quickly turned on her heel. ‘I’m going to see what Mum and Dad are doing.’

Alison stood there, staring after her. ‘Hey! I didn’t mean…’ she began.

‘Forget it!’ Eve called over her shoulder, already on her way downstairs.

In the kitchen, Eve saw that the door into the cattery office was open. She
found her mum sitting at a computer, while Jo explained about the files and records. Her dad stood by, looking blank.

Mr Dawson winked at Eve as she came in. Eve pulled a sympathetic face. Her dad was useless with computers!

‘Bedroom OK?’ her dad asked. ‘How are you getting on with Alison?’

‘OK,’ Eve said, still smarting a bit from the unfriendly comment. ‘My bedroom’s lovely. What’s through here?’

‘That’s the storeroom. Go and have a look. It leads to the outdoor pens where the cats live.’ He grinned. ‘Meeting the cats is a certain cure for someone who had a long face all the way here!’

Eve put her hands on her hips. ‘Da-ad! I’m not a baby any more! I’m going to be eleven next birthday! And I’ve got an even better cure. How about letting me have my own pet kitten?’

He chuckled, twinkling at her. ‘Nice try! What is this, pester power?’ he teased.

‘If you like!’ Eve laughed and gave her dad a playful shove. He could always cheer her up. And one day she
was
going to have a pet cat. She just needed to work on him a bit harder.

She went through the storeroom and straight outside to the rows of wiremesh pens. They all had inside sleeping places and heat lamps for cold weather. In one pen, a Siamese cat was curled up in its bed. In another, Eve saw a tabby cat and a ginger kitten playing with a toy.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Eve saw a flash of bright white light. She spun round to see what seemed to be an empty pen glowing among all the others.

Eve frowned. What was that?
Curious, she went to have a closer look.

‘Oh!’ she gasped.

There on the concrete floor crouched a gorgeous, tiny kitten with long sandy fur and the brightest emerald eyes Eve had ever seen. Its fur and whiskers seemed to be glowing with a thousand tiny sparkles of light.

Eve blinked hard as she took a step closer, but the sparkles seemed to have died down and just the tiny sandy kitten remained. Eve shook her head – she must have been seeing things. She was very tired from the long car journey, after all.

She bent down to pat the kitten. ‘Hello. Where did you come from? And how did you get inside that pen?’

The kitten’s little body trembled, but it sat up and looked straight at Eve with wide, scared, green eyes. ‘I come from far away and my enemies are looking for me. Can you help me to hide, please?’ it mewed.

Chapter
* TWO *

Eve stared at the kitten in utter amazement. Now she was hearing things as well as seeing things! She started to back off towards the house, but stopped. The tiny kitten looked so alone.

‘You… you didn’t really just speak to me, did you?’ Eve stammered.

There was a pause and the sandy
kitten blinked slowly. ‘Yes, I did. I am Prince Flame.’ Some of the fear seemed to fade from his big emerald eyes. ‘Who are you and what is your name?’

‘I’m Eve. Eve Dawson. I’m… um… looking after this cattery with my mum and dad,’ Eve answered hesitantly. Her curiosity began to get the better of her shock. ‘Did you say
Prince
Flame?’

Flame nodded and lifted his tiny sandy head proudly. ‘I am heir to the Lion Throne. My uncle Ebony has stolen my throne and rules in my place. His spies are searching for me. They want to kill me.’

‘Kill you?’ Eve gasped. Flame was so tiny and helpless-looking. She felt a burst of protectiveness towards him. ‘If any nasty cats come here they’ll have me to
deal with!’ She had a sudden thought. ‘Is your uncle a kitten like you?

‘No. Ebony is enormous and very strong,’ Flame growled softly, showing his little sharp teeth for the first time. ‘But he and I are not cats.’

‘Then what…?’

There was a blinding silver flash. Eve couldn’t see anything for a second and then her sight cleared. Where the cute kitten had been now stood a majestic young white lion.

Eve gasped and took a hasty step backwards.

Flame’s fierce emerald eyes softened. ‘Do not be afraid,’ he said in a deep velvety roar. There was another flash and Flame was a cute sandy kitten with long silky fur once more.

‘Well, I hope I never meet your uncle!’ Eve said in a shaky voice. ‘Come on, Flame. Let’s hide. I’ll take you into the house.’

As she bent down and picked Flame up, a few sparks from his fur tingled against her fingers before they went out. ‘Just wait until I tell Mum and Dad all about you!’

‘No! You must tell no one my secret.’ Flame reached up and put a paw on her chest. He had a serious expression on his tiny face. ‘Please promise, Eve.’

‘All right. I promise. I’ll just say you’re a stray and I’m going to look after you,’ Eve agreed disappointedly.

Her dad would have been as amazed and excited as she was about Flame, but a promise was a promise. She just hoped she could keep Flame’s secret with so many people coming and going at the cattery.

Flame rubbed the top of his head against her arm and began purring loudly. ‘That is good. Thank you, Eve.’

‘I’m sorry, but keeping Flame is out of
the question,’ Mrs Dawson said firmly. She had laid down the book she’d been reading. ‘We’ve got more than fifty cats to look after, Eve. You can’t really expect us to let you keep another one!’

Eve stared at her mum in utter dismay. ‘But I
have
to look after Flame. He’s in danger of…’ She stopped in horror, realizing that she had been about to reveal Flame’s secret. ‘… of starving or getting run over or even freezing to death!’ she rushed on.

Her mum sighed. ‘Don’t be so dramatic, Eve! A stray could be carrying cat flu or anything. The responsible thing to do is contact the local pet centre.’