Chapter 15: Animals

It didn't take Charlie, Billy and I long to get dressed to go out on a walk in the chilly January air. Although there had been a strange snowfall the night before, it seemed the snow disappeared before sunrise. I pulled my hat over my ears to keep them from being hit by the cold. Salem and I meandered behind Charlie, Billy and Benjamin. Something still wasn't right to me, but no one else seemed to notice. It was too quiet. I didn't hear a single bird or barking dog. I began to feel even more anxious and ill at ease.

"Is something wrong?" Salem asked me when he noticed that I didn't join in the conversation everyone else was having. Charlie and Billy were explaining to Salem what the Flame cats had said the night before.

"No." I lied. Salem knew I was lying, but I think he also knew I didn't know how to explain why I was so uncomfortable. He just threaded his gloved fingers through mine and gave my hand a reassuring squeeze. It confused me. Weren't boys only supposed to act this way towards their girlfriends? No one had ever held my hand or kissed my forehead or bought me gifts. My face was burning and red and I began to feel even more anxious. My heart was ready to beat out of my chest. Did Salem want me to be his girlfriend? Why was he acting this way?

"Yes." He said out loud. It had been sudden. Charlie, Billy and Benjamin looked back at us. "Of course I want you to be my girlfriend. I swear you are simultaneously the most intuitive and oblivious person I have met in my entire life. Charlie, don't you think that I was pretty obvious in expressing interest in your sister?" He held up our intertwined hands and stopped walking.

"You're a natural flirt!" I said in my defense as I tried to yank my hand away. It was no use, Salem was much stronger than me. "You talk to everyone and you're nice to everyone." I lowered my voice. "And aren't we related?"

"Like, incredibly distantly. Fourth cousins. Genetically and morally safe." He tugged at my hand and we started walking again but then I pulled us back to a stop. "You guys go on ahead." Salem said to the group. They all shrugged and kept going. Salem and I stood in the middle of cathedral square hand and hand, staring at each other. "Aren't you going to give me an answer? I don't want to go into your head for this. You're freaking me out."

I stared up into his stormy ocean blue eyes and studied his face. He seemed so nervous, which was very unlike him. Salem was always so sure of himself and radiated with self-confidence. I loved looking at Salem's face. I thought he was incredibly handsome and his smile often made my heart skip a beat. I liked his personality and I was always happy when I was with him. Is that what made someone boyfriend material? I knew what it felt like to have a crush but I had never been this close to having a real life boyfriend. I figured that I liked Salem and he would make a good boyfriend and said a simple "Okay."

"Okay." He repeated me. I thought his smile would split his face in two. He let go of my hand, threw his arms around me and lifted me into the air. I let out a surprised yell and he sat me back down on the ground. "I'm sorry. You've just made me really happy. Can I kiss you?" He asked.

"N-no!" I stammered, looking down at my feet. I felt my face turn red hot again. "Not yet. I'm not ready."

"I guess I shouldn't push my luck." He wasn't daunted by my answer and although I wasn't looking at him, I could tell that his smile never faltered. "Let's go. We should be able to catch up to everyone else." He grabbed my hand and we quickened our pace to catch up to Charlie, Billy and Ben. When we made it to the café, Charlie and his friends weren't anywhere in sight. We pushed open the front door and we were immediately met by the sound of a very distressed Ben having a panic attack in the kitchen.

We ran to the back where I found Billy holding his rat, who had fallen asleep in his hand and Charlie was working with Mr. Onimous to calm down a hyperventilating Ben. "What's going on?" I asked.

Mr. Onimous looked up at me, and then at Salem. "Good morning, Infinity. Who do you have with you?"

"Oh. This is Salem. My, uh, boyfriend." I murmured awkwardly. I had forgotten that Mr. Onimous had never met Salem before.

"It's nice to meet you, Salem. I'm Orvil Onimous." The fuzzy little man raised his hand to Salem for him to shake and he was more than happy to oblige. Salem loved meeting new people. "I'm assuming that because they brought you here, that we can trust you?"

Charlie and I were about to vouch for his character but we were interrupted by a chorus of meows. Aries, Leo and Sagittarius paraded into the room in a straight line and stood around Salem, meowing happily. "Oh. They're thanking you." Billy smiled. "Salem was the one that let the cats into the academy the day Manfred's room caught on fire last year."

Salem's face turned bright red and he looked away from us all. "I thought you didn't take sides?" Charlie asked.

"I wanted to help Emma Tolly." He admitted. "But why is Benjamin freaking out? That's what I care about right now."

"All of the animals in the city disappeared." Billy explained as he stuffed Rembrandt the rat into his coat pocket where he could sleep in the darkness. "Runner Bean and all the others are gone. They all disappeared last night during the snow storm."

"That's obviously not true." Salem wrinkled his brow. "Rembrandt is right there. Aries, Leo and Sagittarius are right there, and I tripped over Percy on the way to breakfast this morning."

I thought about what I had noticed on the walk to the café. I didn't hear a single dog bark or a bird chirp. There was a gloomy and depressing aura all around the city. "Rembrandt came back for me. He wanted me to know what happened. They all went off to the wilderness across the bridge. The Flame Cats are special, that's why they're still here. Whatever evil thing scared all of the other pets off didn't scare the Flames. I don't know why Blessed didn't leave, though."

"Too old and fat, probably." Salem shrugged and looked over at Benjamin, who had a sour look on his face. "You're not blaming Charlie for this, are you? Because the same exact thing would have happened had Runner Bean been in your care."

"Salem!" I was taken aback by Salem's sudden burst of annoyance. I grabbed his arm and pulled him into the dining area away from everyone else. "I know you're sticking up for Charlie and Ben probably has some pretty nasty thoughts of him in his head right now, but he's a twelve year old boy who has lost his dog." I reminded him. Salem said nothing, but I saw him roll his eyes at me. I poked my head back in the kitchen. "Salem and I are going to go. I'll catch up with you all later." I said quickly. I stormed back out, grabbed Salem by his coat and pulled him out with me. "What is your problem?"

Salem didn't say anything. He just stuck his hands in his pockets and began to walk ahead of me. I let out a frustrated groan and walked in the other direction. I didn't want to deal with Salem's sudden moodiness. I was walking the opposite way away from home but I didn't care. I understood that Benjamin could be a pain in the ass and whined constantly, but I knew he didn't have an easy life. His parents were gone a lot and Runner Bean was the only company he had when Charlie was away at school. If Salem was going to get mad at a twelve year old boy for being upset about his dog missing after being gone for several months, then he needed to re-evaluate himself.

I turned down a street I had never been down before and picked up my pace. My anger was festering inside me until I suddenly couldn't feel anything anymore. I felt strangely empty and powerless. Something was urging me to look up from my feet, so I did. A man was standing directly in front of me in a green and gold cloak. His eyes were locked directly with mine. He raised his hand up to touch me and I shrunk back. "Hey!" I heard Salem's voice in the distance and the man lowered his hand.

"White Witch." He said in a gruff voice. He turned and walked off. He had completely disappeared before Salem reached my side. The encounter left me shaken. I wondered what would have happened to me if Salem wouldn't have come back when he did. Something about that man wasn't right. I could almost feel the evil coming from him. I knew he didn't belong here. I could sense that he was what the Flames wanted us to protect my mother from. I knew that he was the reason the animals were gone. I couldn't vocalize any of that to Salem though. I couldn't say anything. I hoped that he was listening to the inside of my head.

"I think you're right." He said quietly. "Infinity, I couldn't read his mind. Whoever he is, he is much more powerful than I am. He is much more dangerous, too." He wrapped his arms tightly around me as my body began to tremble. I was feeling so much fear.