Free The Menagerie #2 by Tui T. Sutherland Page B

called, hurrying after her.
    â€œYou know, I blame your mom for this,” Zoe said to Logan. “It was her idea for us to adopt Keiko in the first place, and why? Because she’d been kicked out of both Japanese menageries. Which apparently didn’t set off any warning bells for my parents, oh no.”
    â€œGotcha!” Logan flung his jacket over the rooster and tackled it. A hurricane of frenzied flapping went off under his arms, but he buried his head in the jacket fabric and waited, and finally Marco went quiet. Logan was able to scoop up the whole bird, keeping it carefully wrapped.
    â€œNow what do we do?” he asked.
    â€œWe take him to your house,” said Zoe. She gathered up Marco’s clothes and shoes and set off in the same direction as Blue and Keiko. “And when he turns back into Marco, we ask him what he knows about the rest of the pack out here, and hopefully one of them was the werewolf who ate Pelly, and then we can prove Scratch is innocent and save both him and the Menagerie.” She nodded, as if convincing herself. “Yes. That could all definitely happen.”
    Logan shivered. It was freezing without his jacket. He was glad to be heading indoors, but—“Wait, my house?” he said. “That’s a terrible idea.”
    â€œListen, Marco might have a reason for being unregistered,” Zoe said. “I don’t like it, but if we want his cooperation, we should at least listen to his side of the story first. But if we take him to my place he could get spotted by anyone—my parents, Matthew, Blue’s mom, the SNAPA agents—”
    â€œWhereas if I take him home, the only person who might see him is my dad,” Logan said with a sigh. “Okay, fine. I get it.” Not sure how I’ll explain a new pet rooster to Dad, though.
    Soon they found a trail to follow, but it was a long, cold walk back to the parking lot. Blue was waiting by their bikes, leaning casually against the wall as if he were posing for a movie poster.
    â€œI’m sure you’ll be shocked to hear this,” he said, “but Keiko has stormed off in great outrage and may never speak to us again.”
    â€œI only asked a reasonable question!” Zoe protested. “Mythical creatures are so touchy.”
    â€œI’m not,” Blue said with a grin.
    â€œGuys, how am I supposed to carry a rooster home on my bike?” Logan asked. His jacket had been making sleepy chicken clucks for a while, but he didn’t want to let go of it even for a minute, just in case a beak escaped and pecked him.
    Blue scratched his head. “Here,” he said, taking off his own jacket. Using Marco’s sweater as well, the three of them tied the rooster bundle into an awkward sling around Logan’s chest. He still had to hold on to it with one hand, but the other was free to steer. The rest of Marco’s clothes went in a plastic bag that Logan could hang from the handlebars.
    â€œWe’ll ride back with you,” Zoe said. “To make sure you get home okay.”
    â€œI’ll be fine,” Logan said. “Go get some sleep.”
    Zoe hesitated. Even in the half-shadowed moonlight, he could see the rings of exhaustion under her eyes. They hadn’t exactly slept well the night before, trapped in the Sterling mansion’s secret staircase.
    â€œSeriously, I’ll be fine. Come over in the morning,” he offered. “What time will Marco turn back?”
    â€œDawn,” said Blue.
    â€œAwesome.” Explaining a rooster in his room would be one problem; explaining a whole seventh grader would be another. Logan really hoped tomorrow morning would be one of the ones where his dad left early and their only communication was a note on the kitchen counter.
    He rode home slowly, wobbling and off balance with the weight on his chest, but at least the wererooster didn’t wake up. By the time he made it back, he thought