Chapter IX

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THERE ARE VERY FEW UNIVERSAL RULES in our world, rules that hold true through the ages and all across the land. One of them is that a cat shall never be found when it is needed, but shall ever be present when its presence is inconvenient.

"Any other time," Theo grumbled as he stomped unhappily down an alley, "I'd be up to my chin in cats. This city is full of cats. Cats are everywhere. I built a ladder out of cats just the other day. Finicky buggers. Now I can't find a cat to save my life."

He went into pet shop after pet shop, ostensibly searching for a pet of the feline variety. Instead, he encountered an astonishing array of furry, winged, scaled and slimy creatures of the non-feline variety. Each time he requested a cat, the shopkeeper looked at him in confusion and said the city was full of cats, why did he want to go paying for one like a dingbat?

At last, worried that he would have to postpone the ritual, Theo trudged home through the dark streets. He was exhausted, and he was due at Tansy's home in an hour. There was no way he'd make it in time.

Perhaps he could attempt the ceremony without the cat? He'd made up half the steps, after all ... it just seemed so unwise to change even a half-made-up demon-summoning ritual this late in the game.

The weary sorcerer unlocked the door of his shop. He stepped inside and immediately tripped over a furry black object of some kind.

"Meow," said the object.

"Ow," said Theo. "Oh ... I suppose you'll do, Elliott."

"

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