As the two unlikely companions traversed the mansion, Veronica wondered what happened to the others.


    Had they also encountered a creepy man like she had?


    Well, she didn''t really care too much about what happened to Nissa or her friends. That didn''t mean she wanted anything bad to happen to them—okay, maybe she did a little—but she was more worried about Leta. They had just made up, and then this happened.


    "You''re pretty quiet," the cat commented as they passed by several paintings.


    "Did you want me to talk?" Veronica asked tentatively.


    Even though they were working together and the cat didn''t seem to want to hurt her, she didn''t want to get on the cat''s bad side.


    "No, I''m just used to the people I bump into asking me questions. I was a bit surprised, that''s all," the cat said.


    Veronica could imagine. "Then is it okay if I ask questions?"


    "Go right ahead."


    "If you''re not anyone''s familiar, how did you get in here?"


    The whole place was supposed to be closed off during the witching hour party, which lasted from midnight to three o''clock. That meant that the cat had to have entered before midnight, but no one had seemed to know about it, like they hadn''t known about the monsters that had shown up out of nowhere.


    "I have my ways." That didn''t answer her question. "I assure you that I hold no ill intent toward you or your fellow witches. I really only want to track down my sibling."


    She immediately latched onto that sentence. "What makes you so sure they''re here? I mean, they could be anywhere else."


    "I was able to track them here. I...I will have to apologize on their behalf."


    "Apologize for what?"


    "I have reason to believe they are the cause for all the monsters running amok as well as that man you encountered."


    Veronica stopped in her tracks. The cat quickly caught on that she wasn''t following and stopped to look back at her. She didn''t pay the cat any mind as its words echoed in her head.


    There were so many questions that she didn''t even know where to begin. The biggest one was probably who or what was the cat. Even if it was somehow a magical cat, Veronica had never heard of a cat being able to control monsters. While she might not know a lot about the world of witches, she was pretty sure she would have heard of about it.


    This is crazy. I know the cat said it was its sibling responsible for the monsters, but doesn''t that mean the cat can do the same? They are siblings. What did I get myself into?


    "Prepare yourself. Something is coming," it said, its voice cutting through her whirlwind of thoughts.


    She could also hear something coming closer. The sound of something heavy repeatedly hitting the floor grew progressively louder. The ground beneath them shook slightly as they waited to see what they were up against. Then they saw it. A stone golem came out from around the corner. Veronica''s eyes bulged, and her legs shook at the sight of the massive creature. It continued down the hallway, seemingly unaware of their presence.


    "Stay calm," the cat whispered.


    Easy for the cat to say. It could run away if the stone golem spotted them without getting hurt. The stone golem would probably not even notice it because the cat was so much smaller. Veronica, on the other hand, was bigger and much more obvious. She didn''t think she could outrun it either.


    They watched as it lumbered across the hallway in front of them. Her hands clenched her broomstick tightly until they turned white. After what seemed like forever, the stone golem disappeared out of sight. For several long moments, neither of them said or did anything. The duo continued to stare at where the stone golem disappeared, as if expecting it to jump out and run at them.


    Then the cat said, "I think it won''t be coming back." She collapsed to her knees. "Are you alright?"


    Veronica didn''t say a word.


    That had been a close call. She wouldn''t have stood a chance if it had noticed her. None of the magic she knew would have been strong enough to take on the stone golem. It would be like an ant attacking an elephant.


    If Deville were here, she would have taken care of it in a flash. It would be great if I could find her and the others. Is my baby sister and Echo still okay? What if the monsters got to them? No, I have to think positively. I''ll find them.


    Forcing herself to stand back up on her shaking legs, Veronica said, "Let''s keep going before the stone golem realizes we''re here." At the cat''s intense stare, she blurted out, "What?"


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    The cat sighed before lifting one paw. While puzzled, she didn''t think anything of it until she found herself floating into the air. She swallowed the scream that nearly came out.


    "Since you look like you''re about to fall over, I''ll have to carry you like this," the cat said as it lowered its paw. "Just don''t tell anyone about this. I''m actually not supposed to intervene like this."


    She wasn''t sure anyone would believe her, even if she wanted to tell anyone. The cat was getting weirder and weirder by the second.


    Whoever heard of a cat using magic?


    While she could accept that the cat might be magical, she never thought that it could cast magic like a witch except without a wand.


    And what did the cat mean by it wasn''t supposed to interfere? I''m confused.


    It said it was looking for its sibling and came to the mansion after them. Its sibling was the one responsible for the monsters. It could also use magic, but it wasn''t supposed to use it because it would interfere with something. Veronica couldn''t understand how all of that was connected. She had to be missing something. Unfortunately, she couldn''t quite figure it out. Maybe if she got another person''s opinion, she could put it together.


    <hr>


    As the cat started walking, it said, "I''ll let you down when I think you can walk again."


    Veronica could only float after the cat as they continued their journey. They crossed paths with several monsters—the majority were weak or small monsters—and managed to pass by without being detected. Even when a flying snake nearly brushed against her, it didn''t react and continued on like it didn''t even notice her.


    It was almost like none of them could see her.


    Had the cat done something?


    She couldn''t think of another explanation and wanted to ask, but neither of them had said another word after the cat had used magic to make her float. Suddenly asking a question felt awkward.


    The cat abruptly came to a stop and said, "I think one of your friends is coming. I''ll leave you here." Before Veronica could say a word, she floated back down to the ground and landed on her feet. "Take care."


    "Wait," she called out, reaching out to the cat.


    It didn''t give her a single glance back as it bounded down the hallway. She stared as the cat disappeared from sight. Then she looked in the direction that the cat had been looking at previously. A group of witches was heading towards her. In an instant, she was waving at them and running to meet them. When she got closer, she was disappointed that she couldn''t recognize a single one of them.


    "Who are you?" one of the witches demanded. "Why are you running around by yourself?"


    Ignoring her rude tone, Veronica said, "I''m so glad I found other witches. I got separated from my group by a bunch of monsters."


    The oldest—Veronica assumed she was the oldest because the witch was the biggest of the group—witch asked, "Can you tell us what happened?"


    Veronica quickly explained what happened to her while keeping some details out of her explanation.


    She didn''t see a reason to tell them about the cat or how it had protected her from the other monsters until they showed up. They didn''t need to know about that.


    At the end of her tale, the witch said, "You were quite lucky to make it this far on your own. You should stick with us until we meet back with everyone else."


    Why would I want to wander off on my own when I was looking for witches to join? Do they know how scary it was to travel on my own? I don''t think I could have made it a couple steps without that cat''s help.


    Instead of saying any of that out loud, she said, "Thank you."


    However, as soon as they started moving, Veronica''s thoughts turned to her baby sister and Echo.


    Despite wanting to ask the group to look for them, she was certain that they would refuse. If she wanted to find them, she would have to look for them on her own, but she couldn''t bring herself to break from the group she had just joined. She was ashamed to admit that she was too scared to search for them by herself. It was one thing to face a monster with a group, and it was another to face one all by herself.


    "So, I didn''t catch your name?" one of the witches said as she leaned uncomfortable close to Veronica.


    Veronica leaned away, refusing to meet the witch''s gaze, and said, "It''s Veronica."


    "Hi, Veronica. I''m Bernardette Soulton. It''s nice to meet you."


    "Uh, nice to meet you too."


    That''s a long name. What were her parents thinking?


    "Wait. I think I''ve heard that name before," one of the other witches said, butting in.


    Another nodded. "Yeah, I''m pretty sure I heard it somewhere." Then she turned to Veronica and asked, "What''s your last name?"


    She knew where this was going, but she didn''t know how to get out of it. If she kept quiet, they would think she had something to hide, which she kind of did. If she told them, they would probably realize who she was since they already had an idea. In that case, she was sure she would be harassed by the group.


    Out of nowhere, the wall next to them exploded. Veronica was hit by a sense of deja vu as everyone was thrown back by the sudden force. She struggled to push herself up, looking towards the wall that had exploded out of nowhere. A man stood at the opening. His head moved from side to side as if scanning the area, but it was hard to tell with the mask he was wearing.


    It might not even be a human for all she knew.


    Veronica swept the area, hoping to see if the others had recovered. Unfortunately, she was the only one in a sitting position. Everyone else was still sprawled on the ground. Her stomach dropped as her mouth went dry. Then the masked man looked in her direction. He jumped down from the hole in the wall and marched towards her. She scrambled to her feet, ready to run, when a black blur shot out of nowhere. The cat clawed at the man, hissing and spitting.


    Had the cat returned for her?


    She was touched that the cat had come back for her except something was bothering her.


    Why wasn''t the cat using magic to fend off the man?


    It didn''t have any problems using it before.


    What had changed?


    The man finally caught the cat, lifting it away from his body. The cat continued to hiss and claw at him in a wild frenzy. After several moments, he tossed it in Veronica''s direction. Without thinking, she rushed forward to catch it. The cat landed in her arms, causing her to grunt from its weight. Right as she was about to ask if it was okay and demand what it was thinking, she noticed the color of its eyes.


    They were green.


    Huh? There''s another black cat in the mansion? How many black cats are there?