Fallen.

Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag.

Carter held his hands up in a 'stop' gesture and asked, "Whoa whoa whoa, what is this accident you keep mentioning? This is third or fourth time you've referenced 'the accident'." I flinched quite noticeably and self-consciously touched my bow. Then I slowly answered, "Well, about three years ago, I did something that no magician has tried in centuries and it went horribly wrong. It was the biggest mistake of my life and it changed me in more ways than one." Carter gave me a look and questioned, "What was that mistake? And how did it change you? You don't look any different than anyone else and you seem sane." I sighed and reached up, unwrapping my ears and saying, "This is how it changed me. It also made me much more jumpy and agile, as well as giving me a tail and causing my pupils to turn into slits when I'm scared or nervous. And what happened is, I tried to invoke the power of Bast. I misread the spell, and it backfired and almost killed me, as well as making me part cat. It put me in a coma for almost a year. When I finally woke up, the group of magicians I had hung out with told me I was a freak and that I was no longer welcome. The House Of Life told me if I put a toe out of line again, I would die. I wandered for another year until I found a girl named Alexandria who accepted me for who I was. Then about six weeks ago she disappeared. And I was alone again. Now the House Of Life is going to put me to death for 'consorting with the enemy'." Carter touched my arm and my pupils slitted as I hissed. I stepped back and, as Carter approached, swiped my hand at him. My nails lengthened and sharpened into claws. They tore open Carter's skin and the smell of blood filled the air. Carter stumbled backwards, as did I. We both stared at my hand and Carter squeaked, "You didn't mention that." I whispered in wonder, "That's because I've never done that before. Also I'm so so so sorry. I just meant to knock your hand away from me. Are you okay?" Carter tore off the bottom part of his t shirt and wrapped it around his arm, saying, "I'm fine. Are you okay?" I realized I was swaying back and forth, and stuttered, "I'm- I'm- I'm f-f-fine." But in reality, I felt like I was about to collapse. Then the world suddenly began swirling and twirling and bouncing and all manner of things it shouldn't be doing. My knees felt like butter and buckled under me. I dropped to the ground and vaguely heard Carter and Sadie asking me what was wrong. After what felt like an eternity, my vision went black and I passed out.

-Sadie's POV-

Carter picked up Cat bridal style and looked at me with fear in his eyes. I said quickly, "I'm gonna go get Bast. Maybe she knows what's wrong with her." Carter responded, "Get Jaz too. She's burning up and it seems like she's having trouble breathing." He carried Cat into his room as I ran downstairs and shouted, "Jaz, Bast, come here." Bast jumped down from the mantel and Jaz walked out of the training room. I grabbed their hands and dragged them both upstairs and into Carter's room. Bast took one look at Cat and sighed sadly, stating, "Poor girl. When Ra put me in the cage with the Serpent, he put a curse around it that would turn anyone who tried to open it into a cat. And I guess in a way, it did. She's called Cat and she works alone, plus she is part cat. She must have deactivated the curse, so that when your mother tried to open it, she wasn't turned into a cat." Carter gave her a look and cried, "What's wrong with her?" Bast looked away and stated softly, "She isn't going to live more than a day at this rate. We need to get her back to where she performed the spell. Sadly, we don't know where that is."