Bella's Arc

Chapter 8 of 13

Bella waited on her cushion for a long time. The disappointed sighs faded. The room grew quiet. Then, with a soft click, the tiny door at the base of the clock swung open below her. Nothing came out. No twins. No giggle. Just an open door, waiting. Bella's tail twitched. She held still. She held stiller. A whole minute passed, which, for a kitten, is forever. Her curiosity clawed at her ribs. At last, she slid down from the cushion and crept to the floor. Up close, the doorway was a smooth wooden arch, perfectly carved, warm-colored, like the front of a tiny grand house. She pressed one blue eye to the opening. Inside, a small lamp glowed. The boy twin and the girl twin stood in the middle of the room, caught mid-motion. Each held up a sparkling crystal — earrings, Bella realized, lifted from somewhere they should not have been. They froze when they saw her eye. Then they grinned. They had wanted her to look. Bella jerked back. Her heart thumped hard. The twins were thieves, and now she had seen the proof, glittering in their tiny hands. The door clicked shut in her face. Bella stared at the closed wood, her whiskers trembling. She needed to get those crystals out — and into Marella's sight — before the twins could hide them again.