Claws (9780545469678) by Rachel Mike; Grinti Grinti Page B

never manage anything like that if you give up as soon as things get just a little rough.”
    Emma sighed. “I’m tired, okay? I was attacked by giant cats two hours ago, and then I had to clean up the trailer, and now my hand hurts and all I want to do is go to sleep.” She yawned. She hadn’t quite realized how tired she was until she said it. She could barely keep her eyes open.
    â€œTired is good. Tired means your body is trying to use the Heart’s Blood, even if the magic’s not working properly yet. You can drain yourself dry if you’re not careful and you have to watch how much you let the pride take from you. The Pride-Heart is like a fountain of cat magic. Giving them magic will come naturally to you.” Emma thought again about that tugging sensation she’d felt as the cats drew on her magic, turning themselves into huge animals. “But you have to be careful. If they take too much, you’ll be too tired to move, and then they’ll be useless.”
    â€œHow do I know when they’re using too much?”
    â€œI’m sure it will become obvious,” Jack said. “Right now we’re working on claws.”
    â€œI don’t see how claws are going to help me find Helena. You said the pride would help me, but they’re not even here.”
    â€œThe pride will come back for magic once they feel the Heart’s Blood’s magic again, but you can’t depend on them to do everything for you. You’ll need to be able to fight, too.” He cocked his head. “If you don’t want claws, you could always try giving yourself some proper teeth. Claws are good, but it’s your teeth that get you the kill.”
    â€œI never said I didn’t want them.” Emma had already decided that claws would be pretty useful to have. If she was a crag now, then she was going to take advantage of the good parts. She just wished her hand didn’t hurt so much. It was making it hard to concentrate. “I’d better get some rest.” She took a few shaky steps out of the forest and yawned again. “Just a little nap. Then we’ll try again.”
    Jack sniffed, but followed her. “Well, that’s more useful than cleaning, at least.”
    They walked back to the trailer together. Emma climbed over the fence, wincing as her hands scraped against the splintered wood.
    Mr. Simbi was in his yard, lounging in his hot tub. “Already going into the forest, are we?” he called to her. “I figured it would take you at least a week. You humans just can’t help yourselves when it comes to magic. That’s probably why you’re all so scared of it. Like moths to a flame!”
    Emma ignored him. He’d probably tell her parents, but Jack had said her dad was in the forest already, so he couldn’t say much. That would mean admitting to her mom that he’d left Emma home alone. And her mom wouldn’t be back until late tonight, maybe even tomorrow if she was offered an extra shift. Hopefully it would be too dark for her to see what the cats had done to the trailer, too. That was the last thing her mom would want to deal with after a double shift.
    â€œTomorrow was supposed to be Helena’s birthday, you know,” she said to Jack. “I mean, I guess it still is . . . Dad always makes cassava cake for our birthday parties. It’s really good. But . . .”
    But maybe Helena was dead. Maybe instead of a birthday party it should be a death day party, a
gio,
like they had for her grandfather every year, with incense and sticky rice balls. She really had to stop thinking like that. She
would
find Helena; she was out there somewhere.
    â€œCats don’t celebrate birthdays,” Jack said.
    â€œWell, they should,” Emma said, trying to smile. “You get presents on your birthday. It’s fun.” They went into the trailer and Emma locked the door behind her. “We can