"But you said this car blocks sound!" Tom turned to Cohen. "And that's clearly a grown man's voice…"
"Because I'm a magical owl, you little dummy," Earl said through the car roof. "Your fairy tales just came true, but don't get too excited—I'm not here to save you. I'm here to deliver a message. The Chimera's shown up, and the damn thing can fly! Cohen, you've gotta catch it quick, or I'm worried it'll make me its midnight snack tonight…"
"Where'd it go?" Cohen asked. "Where'd you spot it?"
"In a wheat field near the river valley. Weird thing is, there weren't any Muggle houses around it—kinda odd, right?" Earl replied. "I saw it from a distance. It swooped down from the sky and crashed right into the field. I bet it's trying to steal my field mice…"
"What's a Chimera?" Tom asked Cohen, totally clueless.
"It's a giant monster. But don't worry—you probably won't get eaten. I think," Cohen said, turning to Tom and Jerry. "Is there a farm around here? Anything come to mind?"
Tom thought for a sec.
"Oh! Grandpa Spencer has a farm south of town. But he moved to the city in Wiltshire after Christmas, so no one should be there now…"
"That explains why there aren't any houses," Cohen said, piecing it together fast.
Looked like "Grandpa Spencer's" farm had been taken over by the Silver Key. Chances were, the mayor was about to haul them over there as test subjects.
Cohen's whole life seemed destined to tangle with experiments…
"Message delivered. Have fun with your little detective game," Earl said, flapping his wings to take off. "Oh, heads-up—that fat mayor's coming out."
Earl flew off, and Cohen and the others noticed the lights on the second floor of the mayor's house flicker out.
Soon after, two figures parted ways in the darkness outside the house. Mrs. Morick hurried off, while the chubby mayor waddled quickly toward the car.
"So, you can do magic too?" Tom asked Cohen, still processing everything.
"Shh, no talking," Cohen cut him off, nixing the magic chat. The mayor was closing in.
Right now, Cohen was playing the victim. If the mayor found out he was from the wizarding world, he might chicken out and not take Cohen to the Silver Key's secret base…
Then Cohen would have to resort to some rough, boring, grown-up tactics—no fun in that.
"Why can't you just be good, obedient kids?" Mayor Lewis grumbled in his deep, nasal voice as he yanked open the car door and slid into the driver's seat. He glanced at the three kids through the rearview mirror. "Everything was almost over. I'd saved up enough… but now you're forcing me to kill you too…"
"You don't have to fake some shred of humanity with all that nonsense, 'tiny downstairs' Mayor," Cohen said mercilessly. "We just caught you sneaking around with the widow, not murdering someone."
"Shut up!" the mayor barked. "You foul-mouthed little brat! Don't think being that inspector's buddy's kid will save you—after tonight, no one's finding your bodies."
"Which part ticked you off?" Cohen asked, genuinely curious. "The cheating part or the 'tiny downstairs' part?"
"You little ******!" The mayor lunged over the seatback, slapping a strip of duct tape hard across Cohen's mouth.
"Mmph mmph mmph (See? He's mad again)—"
Tom and Jerry flinched, terrified by the mayor's fury.
Cohen hoped this scare would teach these two troublemakers a lesson.
With Cohen silenced, the mayor slammed his foot on the gas. The car peeled out, heading south toward Coombe Fort.
Cohen watched the scenery zip by. The town was small—they were out of it in no time. Beyond it stretched a huge wheat field, and further out was the river valley.
But the mayor wasn't aiming for the valley—he was driving straight into the heart of the wheat field.
The car bumped along through the field, jostling them until they pulled up near a tall, rundown farmhouse. Weirdly, until they got close, the spot where the house stood had looked like just another patch of wheat.
"But—this isn't—didn't we just see a wheat field?" Tom stammered, twisting to look back, then forward at the farmhouse. "Why'd Grandpa Spencer's farm disappear and pop up like that…?"
"People about to die don't need to know so much," the mayor said coldly.
He got out, dragged the three kids from the backseat, and tugged them toward the farmhouse door by the ropes binding them.
The area was dead quiet, save for some chirping bugs. But suddenly, Tom and Jerry shivered hard, like a chill ran through them.
"Bro… why do I feel… like something's following us?" Jerry said, his back prickling as he glanced behind him while walking. Nothing was there—just empty space.
"P-probably just your imagination…" Tom said, looking back too, trying to reassure Jerry.
But he felt it too—like something was trailing them.
Cohen, though, kept his eyes locked on whatever was behind them.
Sure, it looked empty, but Cohen could see a massive soul outline and a glaringly obvious soul tag:
[Soul Strength: (30+30+30)]
It was the Chimera beast, waiting right there for Cohen. Its long-horned serpent tail must've sensed this moment coming.
Its invisibility right now? Probably another trick from that serpent tail.
A soft puff of air hit Cohen's ear, along with a wave of heat seeping into his collar—like the Chimera was sniffing him up close, checking his scent.
Just when Cohen thought it might pull a Sisoko and let out some dramatic roar—
A warm tongue licked the back of his head, its barbed surface tickling him. Cohen jolted forward a step, freaked out—partly to avoid it getting too into licking and maybe spitting out some liquid curse.
Cat tongues have barbs!
The invisible feline beast yelped like it'd been smacked into something.
"What are you brats up to now?!" The mayor, fed up, spun around to give the kids a piece of his mind.
But the next second, his face froze.
A massive, bizarre creature stood next to the tightly bound Cohen. Thanks to the mayor's loud outburst, all three of its gazes snapped toward him.
Mayor Lewis swore he'd never seen anything this weird in his life.
Its front half was like a lion's, but its midsection sprouted a black goat, with the goat's head jutting out from the lion's back. The rear matched the goat too.
The wildest part? Its tail—a cyan serpent with a red belly, topped with deer antlers and a gleaming gem on its forehead.