Claws (9780545469678) by Grinti Mike; Grinti Rachel

Author:Grinti, Mike; Grinti, Rachel
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Published: 2012-05-17T04:00:00+00:00

CRAG FACT OF THE DAY:

“A harpy’s scream has been known to cause nosebleeds, rupture eardrums, and shatter glass. It can even be heard more than a hundred feet underwater.”

CragWiki.org

Emma woke from a deep sleep to the buzzing of her alarm. The bright, golden morning light streaming through her window made her blink. It was time for school. But then she remembered she didn’t have school anymore. She’d been kicked out. Everything that had happened yesterday came flooding back: Matt and the spilled milk, her claws, Helena’s birthday, the cassava cake, the ratters and the ratterking. Jack.

He’d almost gotten her killed. Maybe he really was everything the others said he was. Maybe she was stupid to trust him. But hadn’t he pushed her to use her magic? Didn’t she finally know where Helena might be? That had to count for something.

She nudged him with her foot. “Are you awake?”

“No,” Jack said, not bothering to open his eye.

“Well, wake up,” she said.

Jack just yawned and adjusted his position, stretching himself out across her stomach. It was too warm to have a furry creature lying on her, but she didn’t kick him off.

“So what would you have done if the ratters had killed me?” she asked.

“I’d be very sad,” Jack said, although he didn’t sound particularly sad. “And then I guess I’d have to go and find another human to rescue your sister. Do you think your mom wants to be a Pride-Heart?”

Emma snorted with laughter in spite of herself. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?” she asked.

“Of course,” Jack murmured into his paws. “Three brothers, four sisters. It was a large litter. But cats don’t pay much attention to that sort of thing.”

“Do you ever miss them?”

“I told you, it’s not the same with cats. All that mattered was that we were in the same pride.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Emma said. “Do you miss —” She stopped as a loud scraping sound came from the roof of the trailer. “What is that?”

Jack jumped down off the bed and paced in front of the door. “How am I supposed to know?”

“It’s not another attempt to teach me magic, is it?” Emma asked, beginning to panic.

The roof creaked and the scraping sound came again, like something was walking up there.

Jack just stared at her, tail flicking back and forth with impatience.

She was scared. Stop being a baby, she told herself. Whatever it is can’t be worse than the ratters. But thinking about what had happened yesterday only seemed to make it worse. There were scarier crags in the forest than ratters.

Taking a breath, Emma opened the door and walked out into the kitchen just in time to see her dad trip over Fat Leon as he rushed out the door. Fat Leon screeched and hissed, and her dad yelled, “Didn’t Hanh tell you all to get lost this morning?”

The phone was ringing, but no one was paying attention to it. Emma wondered who would be calling them anyway, since it had only just gotten hooked up.

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