called, hurrying after her.
âYou know, I blame your mom for this,â Zoe said to Logan. âIt was her idea for us to adopt Keiko in the first place, and why? Because sheâd been kicked out of both Japanese menageries. Which apparently didnât set off any warning bells for my parents, oh no.â
âGotcha!â 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.
âNow what do we do?â he asked.
âWe take him to your house,â said Zoe. She gathered up Marcoâs clothes and shoes and set off in the same direction as Blue and Keiko. âAnd 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.â She nodded, as if convincing herself. âYes. That could all definitely happen.â
Logan shivered. It was freezing without his jacket. He was glad to be heading indoors, butââWait, my house?â he said. âThatâs a terrible idea.â
âListen, Marco might have a reason for being unregistered,â Zoe said. âI donât 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 anyoneâmy parents, Matthew, Blueâs mom, the SNAPA agentsââ
âWhereas if I take him home, the only person who might see him is my dad,â Logan said with a sigh. âOkay, fine. I get it.â Not sure how Iâll 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.
âIâm sure youâll be shocked to hear this,â he said, âbut Keiko has stormed off in great outrage and may never speak to us again.â
âI only asked a reasonable question!â Zoe protested. âMythical creatures are so touchy.â
âIâm not,â Blue said with a grin.
âGuys, how am I supposed to carry a rooster home on my bike?â Logan asked. His jacket had been making sleepy chicken clucks for a while, but he didnât want to let go of it even for a minute, just in case a beak escaped and pecked him.
Blue scratched his head. âHere,â he said, taking off his own jacket. Using Marcoâs sweater as well, the three of them tied the rooster bundle into an awkward sling around Loganâs chest. He still had to hold on to it with one hand, but the other was free to steer. The rest of Marcoâs clothes went in a plastic bag that Logan could hang from the handlebars.
âWeâll ride back with you,â Zoe said. âTo make sure you get home okay.â
âIâll be fine,â Logan said. âGo get some sleep.â
Zoe hesitated. Even in the half-shadowed moonlight, he could see the rings of exhaustion under her eyes. They hadnât exactly slept well the night before, trapped in the Sterling mansionâs secret staircase.
âSeriously, Iâll be fine. Come over in the morning,â he offered. âWhat time will Marco turn back?â
âDawn,â said Blue.
âAwesome.â 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 didnât wake up. By the time he made it back, he thought