As Kylie drew closer to Helen's cabin, she turned to Perry and looked him right in the eyes. "I want to talk to Helen alone."

"No can do," Perry said.

She frowned. "Perry, I'm serious."

"So am I," he said without a touch of sarcasm or humor, and for Perry, that was a rarity. "Look, I know you don't want me hanging around, but Burnett told me what happened with the eagle and snake and then the deer. And on top of not wanting you to get hurt by an evil being of my own kind, I can't mess up again. I've already screwed up by losing that old couple, and I'm not screwing up again. So you'll just have to suck it up."

Kylie frowned, but she did understand. Who wanted to screw up? And as much as she didn't want to accept that she was in danger, she couldn't argue with the probability that Burnett was right. She didn't want to be hurt by an evil being of Perry's kind, either.

She looked Perry right in his yellow eyes and spotted a touch of insecurity. She felt bad.

"It's just that I need to ask Helen some questions and I'm not sure she'll feel comfortable answering with you here."

"How about I transform into something else and hang back?"

Kylie suddenly got an idea. She didn't know if it would work, because she didn't know how the whole transforming thing worked, but it was worth a shot. "How about you change into a male white cat with bright blue eyes."

"The last time I made myself a cat, you got pissed, bruised my ears, and threatened to neuter me."

"Well, don't start playing Peeping Tom in my cabin windows and you won't be in any danger. Just make sure you're white with blue eyes. Oh ... and you have to be male."

"Like I would ever become a female," he said.

"Then do it already," she said.

"Fine." He waved his hand up and the sparkles started appearing. In just a few seconds, Perry disappeared and a long-haired white cat with a cute piggish little face and beautiful blue eyes stood in his place, swishing its tail back and forth.

The animal was so adorable, she had to stop herself from picking up the little fellow and snuggling with him. "Very cute," Kylie said.

The kitty, aka, Perry, cocked its head to the side as if puzzled. He reached up with his paw and gave his right ear a good scratch.

It worked. Kylie remembered her reasoning for insisting on the specific animal and smiled.

"I can't hear!" Perry said. "How did you do this?"

Kylie had to bite her bottom lip not to smile. "I didn't do it. Most male white cats with blue eyes can't hear." She said the words slowly so he might be able to read her lips. "You can watch." She pointed to her eye. "But you can't hear."

"That was sneaky," Perry said, obviously able to read lips.

Kylie smiled. "No, it was genius. Now stay back."

"But stay where I can see you."

"Fine." She took off to Helen's cabin and kept an eye out for any unwanted shape-shifters.

* * *

Helen answered the knock almost immediately. "Hey, you came to see me." She hugged Kylie so tight and had such a big smile on her face that Kylie felt a tad guilty for not visiting sooner. Helen was ... well, a little quiet and didn't have a lot of friends.

However, some of the guilt faded when she remembered she had asked Helen to come over to the cabin half a dozen times. The half-fae had declined each and every time because she spent all her free time with Jonathon, her newfound love.

"Come on in," Helen said.

Kylie started to step inside and remembered Perry. "I can't."

"Why?" Helen asked, and ran a hand through her sandy brown hair.

"I've got a shadow."

"Oh, yeah." Helen's hazel eyes widened with concern. "Jonathon was telling me what happened. They think some shape-shifters broke through the security. Are you okay? I mean, after your weekend and now this." Helen stepped out and closed her cabin door. She moved over to the edge of the porch and sat on the whitewashed wooden planks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Kylie answered, which was a bit of a lie, but she didn't need to dump her problems on Helen.

"Did you actually see the intruder?" Helen asked.

Kylie dropped down beside the girl. Their feet dangled off the edge of the porch. "It was an eagle and a snake and then a deer. And we're not even sure that it's anything. It might not even have been shape-shifters." Or at least, Kylie had been telling herself that. And since nothing else had happened today, it was getting easier to believe it-as long as she didn't remember the evil look she'd seen in the eagle's and deer's eyes.

Kylie suddenly became aware of two birds soaring overhead. A shimmer of fear ran down her back, and she looked out toward the patch of trees to see if she could spot Perry.

He didn't seem too worried. He'd found a patch of sunlight spilling through the trees and had stretched out, as if to soak in the warmth. "Who's your shadow?" Helen asked, following Kylie's gaze but obviously not noticing the cat.

"It's Perry. I had him turn himself into a male white cat with blue eyes."

Helen arched a brow with understanding. "So he couldn't hear us. Good one." She brushed an ant off her knee.

They sat there for a few seconds in silence, both of them gently pumping their legs back and forth.

Finally, Kylie spoke. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind answering a few questions about healing?"