I shoved open the door to see a humanoid figure standing over the shape of Jiji in his bed. A gasp left my mouth against my will; the dim light from the hall sliced over the loose magenta fabric of their pants and the shine of a knife arching above the stranger's head. At my sound, the dark blotch of their head tilted toward me. They’d noticed.
The flesh and fabric silhouette concaved onto itself over and over, shrinking into itself until it was no more than dust in the air. They were gone.
I jolted toward where the figment had been as if to seize the person. Then I noticed the knife. It had fallen when the killer vanished, denting into the carpet.
My heart drummed behind my ribs as I took another step and carefully scanned the dark corners of the room. Nothing. All that was left of the stranger was the impression they had left in my mind: bend of their arm as they raised the knife above their head for a killing blow, the wide stance, the slice of light illuminating the floral pattern printed on magenta fabric, the brown sandal contrasting a tan foot, the fluid motion of their disappearance.
I outstretched my wingspan and carefully tested the air around me to make sure they weren’t invisible. But no, it had been some sort of vanishing magic. Could it be a teleportation power?