He didn’t move. He didn’t even blink. What was he thinking? Was he worried about something?
“Mr. Tabby?” Ben said quietly. Did he dare ask the question? “Why did the note say you were forbidden access to the Imaginary World?” He and Pearl waited, their anxious breathing the only sound within the Portal. Even the mysterious pilot, who usually told them to make their way to the exit, was quiet.
Mr. Tabby took a long, deep breath. Then he set the satchel on the floor and looked at the apprentices. “Before we step into the Imaginary World, there is something I must tell you.” He tugged on his vest, smoothing out a few wrinkles. “I am not exactly as I seem.”
Ben pondered this statement. Couldn’t he say the same thing about himself? Everyone might think he looked like an ordinary boy. But he’d traveled between dimensions, played fetch with a dragon, and been head-butted by a satyr. There was nothing ordinary about that.
“I know why you’re not exactly as you seem,” Pearl said to Mr. Tabby. “You’re a cat. I figured that out a long time ago.”
Ben winced, expecting Mr. Tabby to growl with disapproval. Sure, Ben had the same suspicions, but he wasn’t going to come right out and accuse Dr. Woo’s assistant of being a cat. That seemed kind of rude.
But the evidence did add up. When Ben met Mr. Tabby for the first time, he’d made a comment about hamsters tasting delicious with pepper. Another time, he’d mentioned that parakeets tasted good with mustard. Then there was the way he growled, the way his yellow eyes flashed, and his amazing sense of smell. And who could ignore that mustache? It looked just like a set of whiskers.
There’d also been a tail. Both Ben and Pearl had seen it. Just one time, though.
“Is it true?” Ben asked.
“Of course it’s true,” Pearl said. “He eats those furry mouse crackers.”
“Mackers,” Mr. Tabby corrected. He opened the satchel and pulled out a box.
“I suggest you put a few in your pockets,” he advised. “I cannot resist the odor of mouse, and you may need to tempt me from wandering.”
“Wandering?” Ben asked as he grabbed a couple of crackers by their tails and tucked them in his pocket.
“When I’m transformed into my feline shape, my instincts take over. I cannot resist the scent of mouse, or rat, or any rodent-type creature.”
“Transformed?” Pearl bounced on her toes. “You mean I’m right? You’re a cat?”
“I am a bakeneko,” he said. “A shape-shifting cat. I was born in the Imaginary World, so my true form is feline. But when I live in the Known World, I take on the form of Mr. Tabby. I must have opposable thumbs in order to do my job as Dr. Woo’s assistant.”
“Cool,” Ben said. “But if you were born in the Imaginary World, then why did Vinny show us that note, saying you were forbidden to come here?”
“The moment I step into the Imaginary World, I return to my bakeneko shape. And the longer I stay in this world, the more catlike I become. If I stay too long, I will forget all about my life with Dr. Woo.”
“Oh, that would be bad,” Pearl said. “Then you shouldn’t leave the Portal. We can get the griffin’s feather by ourselves. All we need are directions to the palace.”
“Directions won’t suffice. And no map exists,” Mr. Tabby said. “Only those who have been before can find the griffin’s palace. That is why I have accompanied you today.” He pulled a harness and leash from the satchel. “When we step into the Imaginary World, you must immediately place this around me. Never let me off the leash or out of your sight.” He looked at them sternly. “Do not let me wander. And if the mission should go awry, do not leave me behind. Do you understand?”
“We’d never leave you behind,” Pearl said, grabbing the leash and harness. Ben nodded in agreement.
Mr. Tabby reached into the satchel again and removed a vial of yellow fairy dust that hung on a string. He slipped it around his neck. The dust was their only way to summon the Portal for the return trip. “I will lead you to the palace, but I will not be able to speak. It will be up to you to get the feather from the griffin king. Remember to bow and to be very polite. Dr. Woo is counting on you. Are you ready?”
“Of course,” Pearl said. “This won’t be too hard. You lead us to the king, and we ask him for a feather. What could go wrong?”
Ben almost laughed. If there was one thing he knew for certain, something always went wrong. But then again, something always went right, too.
Leaving the satchel behind, Mr. Tabby stepped beneath the EXIT sign, into the swirling wind, and disappeared from view. Pearl gave Ben a reassuring smile, then followed. Ben hesitated. Was Mr. Tabby really going to turn into a cat? Would the griffin king like them enough to give them a feather? Would they find out what had happened to the last apprentice?
And the biggest worry of all—would they run into the dangerous Maximus Steele?
“Proceed to the exit,” the pilot ordered.
The wind whipped Ben’s hair and howled in his ears as he pushed through the tornado. As soon as he stepped into the Imaginary World, the Portal vanished. No wind. No thunder. Just silence.
Except for a quiet little sound, like a miniature motorboat engine.
Ben looked down.
Sitting at his feet was a reddish-orange cat with big yellow eyes and twitching whiskers.
And he was purring.
12
Oh, he’s sooooo cute,” Pearl said with a happy squeal. She dropped the harness and leash. Then she wrapped her arms around the cat’s belly and lifted him.
“Eroooow,” the cat complained, his legs dangling. Ben thought this was very embarrassing. The cat might look like an ordinary cat, but he was still Mr. Tabby, wasn’t he? And Pearl was treating him like a stuffed animal. The whole thing was very weird.
The cat began to squirm, slipping from Pearl’s grip. “Uh-oh,” she said. “He’s trying to get away.”
Ben grabbed the harness and quickly fastened it around the cat’s middle. “Sorry,” he said. “But I’m just following your orders.” Once the harness was secure, Ben attached the leash. His hand brushed against the little vial of fairy dust that hung around the cat’s neck. “We should take care of the vial,” Ben told Pearl. “It’s our only way back.”
“Right,” Pearl said. She reached for it.
Ben had never seen a cat throw such a fit. He hissed and spat. His hair stood on end as if he’d been caught in an electrical storm. He swung both front paws at Ben. “Ow!” Ben cried, stepping back as three red welts rose on his hand. “He scratched me!” As the cat aimed at Pearl, she dropped him. He landed on all fours, as cats tend to do. Then he tried to shake free of the harness and leash. When that didn’t work, he hissed at Pearl, hissed at Ben, then sat and proceeded to clean a front paw.
“Guess he wants to keep the vial,” Ben said, wiping blood off his palm. Ben had never been fond of cats. He’d lost his first hamster to a neighbor’s cat, and his current hamster, Snooze, was under constant surveillance by Grandpa Abe’s cat. Ben had to keep his bedroom door closed at all times. “What do we do now?”
Ben and Pearl looked around. The first time they landed in the Imaginary World, they’d been greeted by a parched desert. The second trip had brought them to a forest of tangled vines. Today they found themselves on a narrow dirt path that was lined on each side by a row of hedges. But because this was the Imaginary World, these were no ordinary hedges—they grew as tall as trees. Tweets and chirps sounded from the uppermost branches. Globs of bird poop lined the sides of the path like polka dots.
“The sky looks stormy,” Ben noted. Gray clouds were gathering over the hedges. “I hope it doesn’t rain.” His mom wouldn’t be pleased if he ruined his new shoes.
Ben looked up the path. It continued on and on toward the horizon. Then he looked back down the path. It kept going as far as the eye could see. “Which way do we go?”
“Hey, Mr. Tabby,” Pearl said. “Which way to the palace?”
The cat ig
nored them and began to clean his other front paw.
“He’s not listening,” Pearl said. “Do you think he understands? Do you think he’s forgotten about Dr. Woo already?”
Ben frowned. That would be a terrible turn of events. “Mr. Tabby, we need to get the feather, remember? Everyone’s sick.”
The cat’s gaze turned upward and focused on a purple songbird that had popped its head out of the hedge. The cat’s whiskers trembled.
“I know what to do.” Ben pulled a Macker from his pocket and held it by its rubbery tail. “If you lead us to the griffin’s palace, I’ll give you this.” He dangled the treat in front of the cat’s face. The cat sniffed, rose onto his hind legs, and batted at the cracker. Ben raised his arm higher, moving the cracker just out of reach.
“Do you think he understands?” Pearl asked.
“I sure hope so.” Ben jiggled the cracker. “Take us to the griffin king, and this will be your reward.”
The cat flicked his tail, turned, and headed up the road.
“Yay!” Pearl cried. Ben smiled. Maybe this would work out after all.
With Pearl holding the leash and the cat in the lead, they walked for a very long time. Whether on four cat paws or in polished shoes, Mr. Tabby’s walk was the same. He took long, graceful steps, held his nose high, and emitted an air of superiority. He stopped occasionally to sniff the broken eggshells that lay here and there, some speckled, some striped. Some even glowed like neon lights. He darted after songbirds if they flew too low. “Cat instincts,” Pearl whispered. The sky rumbled as dark clouds continued to gather.
“This road goes on and on and on,” Pearl complained.
Indeed, there appeared to be no end. Where was this palace? Ben expected to see turrets rising in the distance, or a drawbridge and moat. But there was nothing but the dirt path and the hedges.
“At least you don’t have to walk in these shoes,” he grumbled, his toes aching beneath the stiff black leather.
The cat took a sudden right turn, darting out of view. “Hey, wait!” Pearl cried. Then she slipped after the cat. “Oh, cool! Come see this!”
Ben followed, crawling through an opening in the hedge. Once he’d reached the other side, he scrambled to his feet and stood next to Pearl. Stretched before them, the land sloped gently downward, offering a sweeping view of more hedges, growing in geometric patterns.
“It’s a maze,” Pearl said excitedly. “I’ve never walked through one. Have you?”
“No,” Ben replied. “But I built one for my hamster. It was a science fair project.” He’d hypothesized that Snooze would run at different speeds through the maze depending on what sort of food was waiting at the end. A wilted lettuce leaf might not entice, but a beloved cheese puff would surely get his little legs pumping. The project was a failure, however, because it turned out, no matter what the reward, Snooze had only one speed—sluggish.
Ben and Pearl followed the cat down the hill and into the maze. The cat pranced along, leading them left, then right, then left again. Ben lost all sense of direction and started to feel dizzy. “Are we going in circles?” he asked. Everything looked exactly the same—green hedge walls, broken shells, and polka-dot poop. But then, something different caught his eye. “What’s that?”
A sign had been mounted on one of the hedge walls.
“Maximus Steele,” Pearl hissed.
“Who else could it be?” Ben asked as he reread the sign. They knew that Maximus was on the loose in the Imaginary World. He’d stolen one of the rain dragon’s horns and he’d tried to get a unicorn horn, too. “I hope the king arrests him before he hurts any other creatures.”
“I hope he’s sent to prison forever,” Pearl said with a stomp of her foot. “Then he’ll never hurt anything ever again!”
The cat began to hiss. At first, Ben thought Mr. Tabby was adding his disapproval of Maximus Steele. But the cat wasn’t looking at the sign. He was looking around the corner of the hedge. His fur stood on end, and he arched his back. A shiver darted down Ben’s spine. What was the cat looking at?
Pearl took a peek. “Uh-oh,” she said.
“Halt!” a voice bellowed. A spear appeared, pointed at Pearl’s chest. Another pointed at Ben’s. “By order of the king, you are hereby under arrest!”
Pearl was so startled she dropped the leash.
13
Two satyrs stepped out from behind the hedge. They didn’t look anything like Vinny. While he’d been dressed in blue pajamas, these two wore armored vests and chain mail. While Vinny’s horns had stuck out of messy black hair, their horns poked out of metal helmets. And while Vinny’s beard had been scruffy, theirs were long and braided. Plus, these guys were twice as big, twice as muscular, and holding spears.
“Why are we under arrest?” Pearl asked. She didn’t look one bit afraid. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”
The soldier standing closest to Pearl flared his nostrils and snorted. “You’re under arrest because you’re humaaaaans.” The name VLAD was engraved on his vest.
The second soldier, whose spear was aimed directly at Ben, sniffed the air. “That’s a human stench, no doubt about iiiiit.” The name VIC was engraved on his vest.
“Are you saying we smell bad?” Pearl put her hands on her hips. “That’s really rude. I took a bath this morning and used apple shampoo. It’s from the Dollar Store, so it’s a pretty good deal.”
“I like apples,” Vlad said. He leaned close and nibbled a strand of Pearl’s hair.
“Hey, stop that,” she told him, stepping away. He shrugged, then started chewing on the handle of his spear. Just like Violet and Vinny, these satyrs would eat anything!
“What are your naaaaames?” Vic demanded.
“I’m Pearl Petal.”
“And you?” Both satyrs glared at Ben. Ben stood perfectly still as Vic’s spear hovered an inch from his chest. The tip looked super sharp.
“B… b… b…” Ben stuttered. “B… b… b…” He sounded like Victoria. Was this how she’d felt after coming face-to-face with the sasquatch? “Ben,” he finally managed.
Vlad stopped gnawing on his spear. “As members of the king’s guard, we are under orders to arrest the human poooooacher.” He pointed to the WANTED sign. Then, with his big front teeth, he took a bite out of the hedge.
“Oh, now I understand,” Pearl said. “Look, we’re not poachers. We didn’t hurt the rain dragon. We helped it. And we saved the unicorn foal.”
“We work for Dr. Woo,” Ben explained. “We’re her new apprentices.”
“Got any proof?” Vlad asked, hedge leaves spraying from his mouth.
Ben stuck a finger under his collar, trying to loosen it. Despite the cloudy weather, he’d broken into a nervous sweat. “Proof?” Unfortunately, neither he nor Pearl had special identification cards, or badges. And they weren’t wearing their usual lab coats, either. Ben wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He’d never been arrested before, and it occurred to him that maybe he should call a lawyer. His dad was a lawyer, but did the Imaginary World have the same laws? The right to representation. The right to make a phone call. Innocent until proven guilty.
Doubtful.
“We can prove we work for Dr. Woo because her assistant came with us,” Pearl said. “His name is Mr. Tabby.”
Using his spear’s handle, Vlad pushed his helmet away from his eyes. “So? Where is he?”
Vic leaned on his spear. “Yeah. Wheeeeere?”
“Where? He’s right here. He’s…” Pearl turned in a circle. “Uh-oh. Mr. Tabby’s gone!”
“What?” Ben gasped. In all the commotion, Ben had forgotten that Pearl had let go of the leash. And during all the spear-pointing, Mr. Tabby had wandered off. “How could you let him get away?” Ben snapped.
“Don’t get mad at me,” Pearl said. “It’s not my fault.” She got down on her knees and peered under the hedge.
“Of course it’s your fault.” Ben crouched next to her. A neon-green eggshell cracked
beneath his palm. “It’s totally your fault. You were holding the leash.”
“Fine. Blame it on me,” she grumbled. “But maybe we should stop arguing and find him. Mr. Tabby! Mr. Tabby!”
She was right. Arguing wouldn’t solve any of their problems, which seemed to be piling up. “Mr. Tabby!” Ben looked under another hedge. “Here, kitty, kitty, kitty.”
While Ben and Pearl searched frantically for the missing cat, the two soldiers helped themselves to handfuls of leaves. “Where do you wanna get luuuuunch?” Vlad asked.
“I don’t know. Where do you wanna get luuuuunch?” Vic said, his mouth mostly full.
“Clover sounds good. We could go graze the field.”
“We had clover yesterday.” Vic snorted. “How about some brambles? Or some baaaaark?”
“What are we going to do?” Ben whispered in Pearl’s ear. “We can’t summon the Portal without Mr. Tabby. He’s got the fairy dust.”
“We’ll find him,” she insisted. “He wouldn’t leave us.”
“Mr. Tabby the person might not leave us,” Ben said, “but Mr. Tabby the cat would. Remember, he said his cat instincts start to take over, and he forgets about his life with Dr. Woo.”
Pearl opened her mouth to say something, then froze. A dark shadow had fallen over the hedge maze. Ben, Pearl, and the soldiers looked up. A massive black cloud had parked itself directly overhead.
“Looks like things are getting worse,” Vlad said. “We’d better gooooo.”
Vic swallowed, then pointed his spear. “All right, you two. Start marching.”
“Marching?” Ben asked. He and Pearl scrambled to their feet. “But we have to find Mr. Tabby.”
Vlad shook his head. “Don’t try to stall. We’ve got orders to arrest any humans and take them to the king.”
“But—” Ben was about to point out, once again, that he and Pearl were not poachers, when Pearl squeezed his arm real hard. “Ow. Why’d you do that?”