Her Enemy Protector Bear by Cynthia Wilde

Chapter 17

Once they closed up and got home, Zoe just sat in the trailer and tried to stop the tears as they ran down her face in rivulets. She felt like she was going crazy. Nick was the most wonderful man she could ever imagine being with, yet he was obviously, literally, insane. Why did she always fall for guys like him? She kept trying to think of clues, times she’d missed the signs that he was unhinged. Nothing. She had no idea how she would act tomorrow if he came into the booth. But why would he? She'd made it perfectly clear that she would be staying in her trailer tonight and moving out of his place tomorrow.

Zoe cried harder as she began to doubt all of her recent decisions.How could I have missed this? she thought. This is no life for my son. Nick was a bear and cats are witches? Nick was great in a lot of ways but this was just nuts. Devon had been influenced too much by Nick already it seemed. But what if… The rational part of Zoe's brain kicked in instantly, quashing any and all thoughts that bears and cats could turn into people. A deep part of her tried to get her attention. A part she had not access since she were a girl, but she pushed it aside. This place is making me crazy. If that was the mentality at this faire, then she would have to take Devon and leave. Honestly, she didn't want to go, but how could she stay?

The thought of working a nine to five job in retail made her cringe though. Faires were her life, but this one was her last chance. Devon took her hand to comfort her. She looked over at him with the cat on his shoulder. Devon had carried it home and she didn’t argue. He was so good with animals ─ just like she was ─ that if he wanted to keep that cat and take him with them, she wouldn't deny him his request. Furdinand had left them shortly after they'd moved in with Nick. She figured it was the competition between cat and man, and also, the large number of stray cats around. They even looked for him several times, hoping he would get caught in one of the humane traps. Zoe didn't want to admit it, but she felt relieved he was gone. The only time he showed up now was in Zoe's nightmares. She was tired of all this craziness.

Squeezing Devon's hand lightly, she knew she had to tell him what her plan was so he could say goodbye to his friends tomorrow. She knew he'd just made friends here, and she hated to take him away, but it would be best for both of them. She knew it had all been too good to be true.

"Devon," she said they made their way to the chairs beside the trailer. "We are going to have to leave this place, on Monday."

"What? No!" Devon exclaimed, whipping around at her, his feet not moving. "I can't leave my friends! I like it here."

"Honey," said Zoe, trying to keep calm. "I don't think it’s good for us. We will find a new place, I promise. Somewhere you can make new friends, and we won't have wheels under us. I'll get a proper job, and you can go to a proper school, full time. I think it would be better to put faires behind us and start a new life."

"This is our new life, you keep saying that, Mom." said Devon. Now, he was crying. "You're just mad because Nick tried to tell you the truth."

She grew very still. "I have a very different idea as to what the truth is," she said. "Nick is … people are not─"

Devon interrupted her. "But they are! They can be! Why won't you believe me?" He was shouting and the cat jumped off his shoulder. It just stood there watching instead of running away from the noise. "This cat is a warlock," he enunciated. "A wizard. He was sent by Nick to watch over us. Zelda is a witch and a cat. And Furdinand, there is definitely something wrong with him. I think he’s bad now, he's making things happen in a place called the Void. Something terrible is going to happen, Mom. You and I need to help Nick and the others, or they may not win."

Zoe threw her hands up in the air. "I've had enough!" she exclaimed. "I cannot stay here any longer. You are starting to sound just like Nick. It’s my job as your mother to keep you away from crazy like this! We are leaving on Monday, and that is that. No more talk about this!"

The silence between her and her son for the rest of the night was deafening.

* * *

Sleepingin the trailer that night was a bit of a shock for Zoe. She'd forgotten how lumpy the cushion was, and how the trailer smelled of old plastic and moisture. She missed the big memory foam mattress and Nick sleeping beside her. She felt more alone now than she ever did when Devon’s dad left her.

As Zoe tossed and turned, she heard the cat hiss and growl at the door. She reached over and grabbed her phone from the table. It was a few minutes past midnight. The witching hour, she thought, and then chided herself. It was all stupid superstition, but the cat didn't let up. He continued to growl and hiss as if something outside was making him mad.

"What is it, kitty?" she asked. They still hadn't named him for fear he would run away too. "Who's out there?"

The cat looked at her with intelligent, or at least that’s what she thought.

"Do you want out?" He stood on his hind legs and stretched out until he touched the handle of the door. His hackles were up. "That must be yes."

Zoe reluctantly opened the door; she realized how upset Devon would be if the cat didn't come back. She hastily tried to shut the door but it was too late. He bolted outside, hissing and screaming. Dammit. Oh well too late now. She hoped he would be ok. She knew that if she hadn't let him out, he would have yowled at the door all night, not allowing her or Devon to sleep. Then she saw flashes of light in the woods in the direction the cat had gone. It was a fair distance away, and it was too close to the ground for it to be lightning. She looked again but it was gone.

Closing the door, she hoped they didn't have a storm tonight; though she didn't recognize any signs of one when she'd let out the cat. She locked the door and checked on Devon. Seeing his undisturbed sleeping form, she crawled back into her bed to try to go to sleep again but it was impossible.

About an hour later, after scrolling through job listings on her phone, Zoe heard a light scratching on her door. She looked outside to see the gray cat. Again she was struck by that feeling that there was a more than catlike intelligence behind those eyes. Zoe really had the feeling it was looking at her with intention, trying to tell her something. Zoe blinked sleepily, and suddenly, the feeling was gone and the cat was just a normal looking cat again. She shook her head. Man, I must be more frazzled than I thought. She opened the door, and the cat came in, looking a bit disheveled but none the worse for wear. He looked up at her for a second and then jumped up on Devon's bed and stared out the window. For the rest of the night, Zoe didn't sleep, and neither did the cat.