This is fun! Wendy thought. Serves you right, picking on cats so much smaller than you.
When the lights went on in the house, Wendy bounded out of the yard. She went on prowling. The night breeze was cool on her fur and whiskers. Wendy stopped and reached her front legs up a pine tree. She plunged her claws into the bark and stretched. Mmmmmmmmmm. It felt as good as scratching a really bad itch.
A fluttering moth caught her eye, and Wendy chased it through an empty lot. The exercise made her body feel great. She leaped up onto the high fence where the moth had alighted.
Wendy’s head whipped around to gaze at the house behind the fence. A strong, familiar scent floated to her from the house and through the yard. It was Nancy’s scent!
Wendy the werecat found Nasty Nancy’s house.
An image of Nancy’s sneering face filled her mind.
Nancy hates cats, Wendy remembered. She’s allergic to them.
Wendy thought of Nancy’s mean pranks and teasing.
I think I’ll pay Nancy a little visit, Wendy decided. I’ll see if she is allergic to werecats, too!
Wendy strolled along the top of the fence. She jumped into a leafy elm tree and climbed it to the top. Then she leaped into another tree and onto the roof of Nancy’s house.
Her super-sharp nose told her she was directly above Nancy’s room. Without even thinking about the height, she jumped down onto the windowsill below her. Good! The window was open a few inches.
Just enough space for Wendy—in cat form.
She pushed her head through the opening. She scanned Nancy’s room. Posters of rock stars covered the walls. A pink teddy bear sat on the dresser. On the opposite side of the room Nancy lay sleeping. Her covers were pulled up around her ears.
Wendy bounded into the room. On a large armchair next to the bed she saw a neatly folded pair of pink leggings and an oversize purple sweater. Nancy’s clothes for tomorrow, Wendy realized. Well, she thought, if Nancy doesn’t like cat clothes, she’ll really hate cats in her clothes!
Wendy leaped onto the chair. She made a nest of the soft clothes, kneading them with her claws. She rubbed her body all over the outfit. She knew she was leaving her scent and cat hairs in the fabric.
She glanced over at Nancy sleeping peacefully. You’re in for a big surprise, Nancy, Wendy told her silently. I bet you’re going to sneeze your head off tomorrow.
Nancy still didn’t wake up. Wendy watched her for a moment. Then an idea came to her.
Should I? she wondered. Do I dare? Wendy felt her werecat wildness tug at her. She approached the bed. Wendy gracefully leaped up beside Nancy. She waited a moment, making sure the movement didn’t wake Nancy. But Nancy never stirred.
Nancy slept with two pillows. Wendy stepped carefully to the pillow Nancy wasn’t using. Then she plopped down on top of it, rolling back and forth.
When she was done, she daintily walked beside Nancy and sat at the foot of the bed. It was so easy! So much fun!
Wendy was pleased with herself. She’d been very bold. Much bolder than usual! She began to groom herself. She licked her right paw and rubbed it across her face.
Suddenly Nancy stirred.
Wendy’s paw stopped midair. She stared at the sleeping girl.
Then Nancy opened her eyes.
Wendy froze. What would Nancy do when she saw her?
Luckily, Nancy’s eyes immediately scrunched up tight as she let out a humongous sneeze.
“AH-CHOOOOOO!”
Quickly Wendy burrowed between the sheet and the bedspread. She made herself as flat as possible.
“Ah-choo! Ah-choo!” Nancy sat straight up in bed. She reached for a tissue from the box on her bedside table. She sneezed again.
“I can’t get a cold!” Nancy muttered. “I better shut the window.” She climbed out of bed. Wendy peeked out from her hiding place and watched as Nancy crossed to the window. Nancy sneezed once more, then reached up and slammed the window shut.
Shut completely.
There wasn’t a crack, an inch, any kind of opening at the bottom.
Wendy was trapped.
7
Wendy wriggled down to the end of the bed What was she going to do? She tried to make herself smaller.
Nancy yawned and returned to bed. Wendy knew she would be discovered any minute. She was too large to hide very well.
Nancy sneezed again, then lay down. But a moment later she sat up again.
“Ah-choo! Ah-choo! Ah-choo!”
Nancy turned on her bedside lamp and reached for another tissue. But she must have noticed Wendy hunkered down under the covers.
“What’s that lump?” Wendy heard Nancy say.
Then Wendy felt the blanket being pulled away. She stared up at Nancy.
Nancy stared back. Her eyes widened. “A cat!” she shrieked.
Wendy froze.
“How did a dirty cat get in my room!” Nancy cried. She jumped out of bed. “Get out! she shouted. “Out! Get out!”
I’d love to! Wendy thought. But how? She leaped to the floor and scurried under Nancy’s bed.
“Get out!” Nancy yelled again. “Out! Ahhhh-choo!”
Wendy peered out from under the bed. She glanced around, searching for a way to escape. But all she saw was Nancy coming toward her. Waving an umbrella.
Wendy’s ears flattened against her head and she hissed.
Nancy knelt down and shoved the umbrella in Wendy’s face. Wendy easily ducked out of the way. Then Nancy had a sneezing fit. She dropped the umbrella and ran over to get more tissues.
Wendy watched Nancy standing by the bedside table. “The window!” Nancy exclaimed. “The stupid cat must have come in through the window.” She yanked it wide open, then raced to the opposite corner of the room. “Now get out!” she ordered Wendy.
Happily! Wendy thought. In a flash Wendy streaked across the room toward freedom. With one fluid movement she leaped up to the windowsill and out into the night. She landed on a tree branch.
“Don’t come back!” Nancy wailed.
Don’t worry, Wendy thought, I won’t!
As Wendy headed for home, she thought that it was fun to be so daring! As long as she never got trapped inside again.
She suddenly became aware that she wasn’t alone. She glanced back to see a large black animal running swiftly in her direction.
Instantly Wendy’s heart began to beat faster. Her fur began to puff out. She felt herself grow angry.
Hey! It can’t come here, she thought. This is my territory!
Wendy wanted to fight.
No one comes onto my turf!
Wendy’s sharp hearing picked up a low growl from the black animal. Wendy leaped up onto a garbage can and watched the black animal approach. It moved more slowly now. It crept along the ground, its eyes focused intently on something.
As Wendy peered down from her perch, she realized the black animal wasn’t after her. It didn’t know she was there. But it was stalking something.
Wendy’s back arched when she recognized that the black animal was another cat. It was much larger than she, and black all over. Except for a white star on its forehead.
A white star.
The mark of a werecat.
It growled again. Then it lifted its head and gazed straight at Wendy.
Wendy stared into the glittering eyes of another werecat.
8
Wendy froze. She was face-to-face with another creature just like her.
Only much bigger.
But Wendy didn’t care. Her fur puffed out in a challenge. All she could think was how much she wanted to fight the larger cat. That she had to drive it from her territory. She prepared to attack.
But the black werecat turned away. It began to creep along the ground again.
Wendy didn’t take her eyes off the animal. What was it stalking? Wendy peered down the sidewalk. Then she saw it. A small striped alley cat. That was what the werecat was after, Wendy realized. The alley cat cowered by a Dumpst
er.
The werecat sprang. An instant later the horrifying sounds of a vicious cat fight reached Wendy’s ears. Somehow, the alley cat slipped away from its much larger enemy. It ran off, yowling in fear.
The black werecat’s eyes darted up and down the street. Its tail flicked back and forth. Who’s next? it seemed to be thinking.
Its eyes locked on Wendy’s face.
“Mowwwwwwrr!” it howled in challenge.
“Mowwwrr!” Wendy called back.
The black werecat advanced toward her. A part of her wanted to stay and fight. But another part, the human part, was afraid. Knew she couldn’t win.
The werecat sprang. It was so big, so heavy, it knocked over the garbage can.
Wendy scrambled to regain her balance. She found herself on the ground, looking up at the much larger cat. Its sharp fangs glittered in the moonlight as it moved in for the kill.
Wendy knew she was no match for the black werecat. Even though she wanted to fight, she forced herself to turn away. She streaked out of the alley. But she could still hear the black cat’s footsteps, smell its scent.
Her house was two blocks away. Wendy picked up speed and raced into the street.
SCREEEEEEK!
She heard the squeal of brakes as a car swerved to avoid hitting her. She bounded through the neighbors’ yards, flying over fences.
The black cat stayed right behind her.
At last she saw the familiar wall that surrounded her house. Wendy leaped over the wall and into the yard. I’m home! she thought. I’m safe!
But the black cat leaped after her. Wendy could sense it snarling down at her from on top of the wall.
Her wall! Wendy’s werecat senses were on full alert. She was furious. How dare that cat invade my yard? This is my home. Mine!
Wendy stopped running. She knew the other cat was much bigger, much stronger. But it didn’t matter. Her instinct to defend her home was more powerful than her fear. She turned to face her challenger.
The black werecat was gone.
Wendy leaped back up onto the wall, sniffing the air. The scent of the werecat had vanished.
It was over. For now.
Wendy streaked back across the yard and up the old oak tree. She raced along the branches to her open window and jumped inside. She noticed the first pinks of dawn beginning to lighten the sky.
A moment later her skin began to itch and tingle. In less than a minute Wendy was in human form again.
She glanced down at her pajama-clad body. Her muscles ached all over. Her skin was scratched in half a dozen places. She was exhausted, relieved, and excited all at the same time.
Amazing! she thought. Being a cat is awesome! She thought about how daring she had been. She remembered teasing the dog and her visit to Nancy’s house. She loved the way all of her senses were heightened when she was a cat. She felt so powerful.
Then she remembered the black werecat.
Wendy shuddered. That cat wanted to kill her. And it could have, she realized. Yet she had wanted to fight it. The danger didn’t seem to matter.
I was out of control, Wendy thought. I was as wild as the other werecat.
Then she had to admit something—something terrifying. She was as wild as the black werecat because she was a werecat, too.
Something not human.
I have to stop changing into a werecat, she thought.
But could she?
She didn’t know what made her turn into a werecat in the first place. She had never even heard of werecats until the cat show. Until Mrs. Bast told them those stories.
Wendy gazed at herself in the mirror. An ordinary girl gazed back. There was nothing catlike or scary about her. She looked the way she always did: reddish-blond hair, pale skin, faint freckles.
She noticed the werecat charm glittering against her nightgown like a black diamond.
The charm.
Could it be? She thought back. This all started when she took the werecat charm from Mrs. Bast. The charm that Mrs. Bast had refused to sell her.
Maybe this was why. Maybe Mrs. Bast knew.
Knew that the charm would turn her into a werecat.
Wendy quickly reached up to unlock the clasp. The charm was beautiful, and she would be sorry not to wear it anymore. But she had to stop turning into a werecat before she got hurt.
Her fingers fumbled with the clasp. It seemed to be stuck. Frowning, she turned the chain around so the clasp was in front. Watching her movements in the mirror, Wendy continued to work the clasp.
It still wouldn’t open.
Frustrated, Wendy tried to yank the necklace off over her head, but the chain was too short to make it over her chin. She yanked harder, but the chain wouldn’t snap.
This is ridiculous, she thought. I have to get this clasp open!
She glanced around, looking for something to use. She spied a pair of scissors on her desk. She grabbed them and then, holding the scissors carefully, tried to snip through the chain.
It didn’t work.
Wendy’s eyes met her reflection in the mirror. She saw panic in them.
It’s stuck, she realized with horror. The charm is never coming off!
9
“Don’t panic,” Wendy scolded her reflection in the mirror. There has to be a way to get the charm off. I’ll ask Tina to help me, she told herself. She promised to be at the gymnastics tryouts today.
Wendy pulled on a black turtleneck with white kittens on it, then piled her hair up in a white scrunchie.
On the way to school for the tryouts, Wendy realized that Tina might be angry with her. After all, she had jumped out Tina’s window last night and never gone back. What would she tell Tina? Wendy would have to come up with some reason why she had disappeared.
Wendy stood outside the gym and crossed her fingers for luck. “I wish I wish I wish I make the team,” she whispered. Then she strolled through the swinging doors. She sat beside Tina on a bleacher.
“What happened to you?” Tina asked as soon as Wendy sat down. “I called your house, but nobody answered.”
“I . . . uh, I was . . .” Wendy’s mind raced, trying to think of a believable answer. She avoided Tina’s eyes and gazed around the gym. Then she came up with the perfect excuse. “I was so nervous about the tryouts today,” she lied. “All of a sudden I wanted to be in my own bed.”
She smiled at Tina, but inside she felt terrible about lying to her best friend.
Tina gave Wendy’s hand a quick squeeze. “You’ll do great!” Tina told her. “I’m here to cheer you on.”
“Thanks.” One problem down, Wendy thought. How many more to go?
“Say,” Tina interrupted Wendy’s thoughts. “Before you left, did you notice Shalimar do anything strange?”
Wendy thought back. “No,” she answered. “I didn’t see Shal all night. Why?”
“The couch was ripped to shreds,” Tina explained. “Boy, is Shalimar in trouble. My mom is so mad she locked him in the basement.”
“Oh, no!” Wendy cried. “It wasn’t Shalimar’s fault!”
Tina looked surprised, and Wendy felt herself blush. “I mean . . . Shal couldn’t have done it,” she continued. Wendy wanted to tell the truth. She knew Shalimar didn’t rip the couch. She did. She felt so guilty.
“I know,” Tina said unhappily. “I tried to tell my mom Shalimar would never do something like that, but she—”
Her words were cut off as Ms. Mason began explaining the rules of the tryouts. A moment later the door opened and Nancy rushed into the gym.
Wendy gasped. She was shocked by Nancy’s appearance. Nancy looked terrible. Her skin was covered with red spots. Her red nose seemed raw and her eyes were swollen. Nancy rushed to take a seat in front of Wendy and Tina. As soon as she sat down, she sneezed.
“You’re late, Nancy,” Ms. Mason commented. “We almost started without you.”
“I’m sorry,” Nancy replied. “I—AH-CHOOO!” She pulled a tissue out of her bag.
&n
bsp; “If you’re sick, you shouldn’t be here,” Ms. Mason told Nancy gently.
“I’m not sick,” Nancy objected hoarsely. “It’s just allergies. I’m fine, honest. I—I—AH-CHOO!”
Wendy’s mouth dropped open. She had no idea that allergies could be so bad! She felt terrible.
“Let’s get started,” Ms. Mason said. Wendy glanced at the nine other girls who were also trying out for the Shadyside Middle School team. She knew she might be in the top five, maybe, but that wouldn’t be good enough. Only three girls would be chosen. And she had to be able to perform on the balance beam. Without falling!
“Wendy,” Ms. Mason said. “You’re first. Good luck!”
“Go for it!” Tina whispered. “It’s in the bag.”
Wendy smiled at Tina, then approached the mat. The floor routine was her best event. She was glad they were starting with it. She took a deep breath, tucked, and went into a forward roll.
Every cartwheel, every handspring, every flip was perfect. Wendy knew she had never performed better in her life. Her concentration never wavered. She remembered all the choreography. Her muscles responded exactly as she wanted. She was strong and graceful.
Graceful as a cat.
Even before she finished the routine, Wendy heard applause. Her face glistened with sweat. She came to her final position and grinned.
“That was excellent!” Ms. Mason exclaimed. “Debbie, your turn.” Wendy returned to her seat, bursting with confidence.
Soon it was time for the final event of the tryouts. The balance beam.
Wendy had performed well so far. She knew she was one of the top four girls in the group.
She actually had a chance—a chance of making the team!
But now she had to face her toughest challenge. The balance beam.
Wendy’s throat tightened as she walked toward the four-inch plank. You can do it, Wendy told herself. You’re having a great day.
Wendy stood by the balance beam. She took a deep breath and glanced at the bleachers. Tina grinned and gave her a thumbs-up.