Chapter 9
"Brent, what did you do no-AGH!"
I screamed and ducked as I walked into the entrance hall. A large black wolf sailed right over me. Justin and I ducked behind a large statue. I peaked out to see Izzy cowering behind another large statue. Brent was smacking aside wolves left and right, knocking out every single one. Outside I heard Mr. Forde's car alarm still going off, the pattern of the honking now more rapid and louder.
"Help me!"
I looked toward the voice. Ms. Raggs was being tossed back and forth between two large wolves. I pulled out my wand, aiming it at them. Justin pulled my wand out of my hand before I was able to cast a spell. "We're already in enough trouble," he said, "no need to blow us up." I nodded right as Brent fell on the two wolves. He placed Ms. Raggs gently on the ground before throwing the two wolves against the stairs. He tackled them. Beast pile!
The few wolves that had not been attacked by Brent cowered away from him when he began toward them, growling menacingly. They scampered back out the door. I ordered Justin to go check on Mr. Forde. I ran out to where Brent was standing in the middle of the hall and watching the door. I held up my hand for a high-five. When he high-fived me I went flying back. I landed on my stomach next to Ms. Raggs.
"You okay?" I asked her.
"Just a little stretched out," Ms. Raggs replied.
I picked her up gingerly as I stood up. I turned to say something to Brent but he was too busy talking to a startled Izzy. She winced a little as he examined her arm. From where I was I could see it was swollen up quite a bit. I walked over quickly to see what I could do. Brent looked at me in distress.
"It's sprained," he said.
"Okay," I said. "I'll go get a bandage and some ice. I've sprained my wrist tons of times." Shocker, huh? "I'll be right back." Izzy winced again as she put her arm back by her side. I elbowed Brent to get his attention. In a very quiet voice I said, "Comfort her."
I jogged up the stairs. Outside I heard Mr. Forde's car alarms shut off. I set Ms. Raggs down on a nearby table. I was on my way to the bathroom when I heard the portal bell going off. RIIIIINNNNNG! I began running to get to the portal before my eardrums popped. When I opened the door to the portal a man in a blue jumpsuit stepped out, checking something off on his clipboard.
"You have no cats in your house," he said.
"Thank you?" I said uncertainly.
"Douglas Douglas, Chief Vermin Inspector."
"Cats aren't vermin."
"We send dogs in to see if there are already cats here to keep mice out. You have no cats, which means now we are sending the cats in to get rid of the mice and other species of vermin."
"I have no mice or other species of vermin."
"Not after my frisky felines get at them."
"Who even hired you?"
"Your aunt."
"Fine. Whatever. Send your cats in."
"Alrighty. Be careful. They tend to bite."
He stepped back into the portal and it closed. Why would I need to worry about a cat's bite? I mean, come on, it was practically nothing. Wait a second…this was someone from the magic world's vermin extermination company… "Oh, crap!" I muttered. I flung open the door to the study but it was too late. I could already hear the snarling and scratching sounds coming from downstairs. I ran to the top of the stairs.
"AGH!" I screamed, ducking again. This time it was a large panther that went over my head.
"Hai-yah!" Laurent swung a bat over his head as he ran down the hall. He brought it down right on the panther's head. It walking in a circle a few times before falling down the stairs.
I looked out at the entry hall. Izzy was hiding behind the statue again. Brent was taking down all the cats like a pro, but I could see some scratches and bite marks that were bleeding. With one final toss he threw four cheetahs out the front door. They hissed at him before trotting off. I ran back toward the bathroom, getting more than just a wrap.
Izzy met me halfway up the stairs when I was going down them again with all my First-Aid supplies. In seconds she had perfectly wrapped her wrist. She took all the other supplies from me with her good arm and flew down the stairs. Apparently she thought she had more medical expertise than me. Then again, she did volunteer like everywhere, including the hospital, so I would let her handle this.
Izzy knelt next to where Brent was sitting on the ground, suddenly in so much pain. I mean, so what? He had a few cuts and bruises, it is not like…oh, I see what he is doing now. He was trying to get close to Izzy. Aw, that was so cute, and actually quite clever, even if he was totally faking how severe his pain was. I must say, it was very convincing. Then again, he had played soccer.
"This might hurt a little," Izzy said, pouring something on a cloth. She pressed it against one of Brent's deeper cuts.
"Agh!" Brent shouted. "OW! That hurts!"
"I told you it would hurt."
"Stop it!"
"You're the one who decided to fight the cats!"
"To save you!"
"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SAVE ME!"
"I WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO SAVE YOU IF YOU DIDN'T COME BACK FOR BREAKFAST!"
There was a long silence as Izzy finished cleaning the rest of his cuts and bites. "Sorry," Brent finally said as she began putting some bandages on his wounds. "It's fine," she said, "and thank you for saving me." Brent tried to conceal a smile by looking at the open front doors. Oh, shoot, I had left the doors open. I ran down to close them. I saw Mr. Forde parked in front of the steps. Justin was inside, talking to him. I saw some scratches on Mr. Forde's hood where the wolves had probably jumped on him. I made a mental note to find a car scratch remover next time I went out to the store.
Back inside Izzy and Brent were talking quietly. Izzy was saying how she did not like sports at all and Brent was trying to defend his interest in sports. I heard Izzy say she did not like sports mostly because she was not very good at them. Brent promised to teach her how to play a few, like soccer or baseball, next time he saw her. I looked back to see Izzy's and Brent's faces after Izzy stood up from the floor. She had finished with Brent's wounds a while before.
"I'll see you tomorrow, then, after school," she said, giving him a small wave.
Izzy waved to me also before walking out the door. I stood where I was in the middle of the staircase until I was absolutely sure Izzy was off my property, or at least out of earshot. Then I started screaming and dancing around like a maniac. Brent looked at me, startled. He had been doing that dramatic staring thing where he looked at the spot he had last seen Izzy before she left. Justin walked in and stopped to stare at me while I did my little psycho dance thing. After a mini air guitar solo I pointed at Brent.
"Kick up the charm-o-meter a little tomorrow, 'kay?" I asked.
"Uh, okay," he replied uneasily.
"Awesome! If this keeps up, you'll be human by next week." I started my dance again. "Stop staring at me like that. You wish you could dance this well."
