“You piker,” she said, not without affection, and opened a can of cat food. She put half of it in his food bowl and cleaned and refilled his water bowl. There was silence for a few moments, while Mr. Snuggly made his food disappear with a neat dispatch that had her shaking her head incredulously.

When the cat finished, he began to clean his paws. He paused for a moment to say, “Did you know Joe has wings?”

“Yes,” she said. “I suspect he’s an angel.”

“Everyone else thinks they’re fake,” Mr. Snuggly observed, and resumed his cleaning program. “The wings, that is. The ones he and Chuy ‘wear’ at Halloween.”

“They’re just not always visible.” She sat down in one of the chairs by the kitchen table. She scrubbed her face with her hands. “Did you see anything else out there that I should know about?”

He nodded. “The Rev and Diederik are out and about,” he said. “Everyone else . . . besides you . . . is properly in a house.”

“And now I am, too,” she said, determined not to be miffed with the cat.

“The big man is almost back,” he said. “Diederik was talking to him on the phone.”

“Diederik’s father? That’s wonderful. The boy will be so happy. He’s grown so much! I wonder if his dad knew he would.” Fiji beamed at the cat.

“He told his son he was sorry to have missed the boy’s first moon time. I have very sharp ears.”

“I’m glad he’s coming back.”

“Tonight is very, very dangerous.”

The smile vanished from Fiji’s face. “More dangerous than the past two nights? Why?”

“Don’t need to know,” Mr. Snuggly muttered. “Long as you stay inside like a sane creature.”

“Why would I not?”

Muttering something unpleasant under his breath, Mr. Snuggly stalked into the front room. Making his way between the display cases and chairs and the table, he went over to the window and jumped onto a padded stool Fiji had placed there just for him. The light was off in the big front room, and Fiji went to look out with the cat. There weren’t any streetlights in Midnight, of course, and the traffic light and the moon were the only sources of illumination.

Fiji caught her breath.

In the middle of Witch Light Road (smack between Manfred’s house and hers) stood a tiger.

It was huge.

When she finally exhaled, she whispered, “Bengal. Holy Goddess, look at those teeth!”

“Told you so,” said Mr. Snuggly.

“But is that . . . ?”

The first tiger was joined by another. It was larger.

“The Rev? And Diederik?” she breathed.

“Maybe his dad is here by now,” Mr. Snuggly said. “I can’t tell ’em apart unless I smell ’em.”

“Do they . . . Would they know me? If I went out there?”

“Do you want to risk them not knowing you?” the cat asked acidly.

“Ah. No.”

“Then keep your butt indoors.”

“I will.”