Journeyman Cat

by Virginia Ripple

“No one in the buildings outside the designated areas,” said the older tom.

  “Did find some tracks outside, though,” the younger cat said.

  The other tom nodded. Toby held his breath, forcing his eyes to remain slitted and his fur to stay flat. The older cat sat down and curled his tail around his paws.

  “Looks as if the girl took off toward the stables.”

  “The stables?”

  “Yes, sir, we followed the tracks that direction as far as we could, but they disappeared in the snow. We went ahead and checked, just in case. Seems she had some ducklings hidden away. We think she went to check on them and got lost on her way back.”

  “The stable is only a short distance from here. Is it that bad out already?”

  “Can’t see anything more than a tail length in front of you,” answered the younger tom. “Lucky we could still get a scent here and there or we would’ve been lost, too.”

  The older cat looked at his brother and nodded. Father Hanif cocked his head to the side.

  “What of the boy? Any sign of him?”

  “We saw a few tracks leading around the front of the building, but they disappeared not far from the side. Best bet is he went looking for the girl.”

  Hanif turned to the Brothers who had reported the two humans missing.

  “What were their names?”

  “Audrey and Lowrance.”

  The brown tabby glanced toward Toby. The gray tom allowed his head to dip toward the floor as if he’d fallen asleep. There was a long moment of silence. Father Hanif turned back to the Brothers and the twins.

  “Thank you for your service to Our Lord, Brothers, friends. We will hold their funerals in the morning.”

  The young tom couldn’t keep his fur from bristling. Funerals? He knew Lorn was probably well on his way to headquarters by now, but what about the girl? The storm had just started. Maybe those other cats couldn’t find her, but what about him? His nose was better than any cat here. Surely he could find one terrified child.

  He shifted, readying himself to offer his help, when he remembered that he was in disguise. How would he explain his ability? Would blowing his cover help the child? No. More likely it would get him killed and broadcast the OKG’s interest to the cat in charge of everything, which would put every human here at risk.

  He swallowed the sour taste that rose in his mouth. When he signed up to do his journeyman status in the Office of Kingdom Guardianship, he’d never imagined having to make such terrible choices. He tucked his nose between his paws and prayed again that Lorn would make it to headquarters soon and the nightmare would end.

  The gray tom twitched. He’d managed to doze off a couple times, but worry followed him into sleep turning uncomfortable dreams into twisted visions of reality. Exhausted and knowing dreamless sleep wouldn’t be found anytime soon, he decided to see what solace he could find in the Books of the One.

  He rose and stretched, then wove his way past the sleeping cats between him and the door. His paws felt weighted with lead, his head hung low. He pushed the button to open the door, disturbing the sleep of a nearby Brother cat. The gray tom motioned out the door with his head.

  “Can’t sleep. Going to go read in the library.”

  The Brother yawned and settled his head on his paws.

  “Let us know if you find Harold’s frozen carcass in there. Furball wouldn’t leave his books when the storm hit.”

  Toby nodded and padded past. When he reached the library, he was glad the crusty tom wasn’t in sight. He found the section he wanted and pulled down the Book of the One he’d been reading before going undercover. With a quick glance around, he twitched his tail and floated the book behind him as he scurried down the aisle to a nearby table. He glanced around again as the book settled to the table top, breathing a sigh of relief when the old cat was still nowhere to be seen.

  He opened the large book to a random page and began reading. An angry crowd was beating the Beloved in the story. The people who had hung on his every word the day before threw insults at him and screamed for his execution. The mob dragged the Beloved to the outskirts of their town and prepared to hang him from a tree. As a final mockery, they asked the man if he had any last blessings to cast upon his faithful followers.

  “I pray the One forgives you, as I have,” he said.

  Toby looked up from the page and stared into space. How could the Beloved forgive them? He thought about how his mother had died, pierced by her own cross bolt. He thought about how his father may or may not be alive, the torture he must have endured. He thought about all the lives lost in agony to the plague. The image of the little girl, Audrey, silently screaming in the isolation room and now she had died alone, frozen in the blizzard.

  His hackles raised as more victims of the mysterious cat behind it all came to mind. That was a cat undeserving of love and forgiveness. He stared down at the words on the page. That cat would have been in this group, laughing and throwing insults as the Beloved died in agony. No. They didn’t deserve His forgiveness. He slammed the book shut with a twitch of his tail.

  He heard the clearing of a feline throat behind him. Toby jumped, whipping around to face the intruder. The old library cat scowled at him.

  “Books should be treated with respect.”

  The old tom hopped to a stool beside him. He craned his neck around to look at the book’s title, then glared at the young cat.

  “Especially these Books.”

  Toby looked at the old tom in horror. Had the librarian seen him use magic to shut the book? The ill-tempered tom’s ratty tail twitched and the book floated away. He continued to glare at the young tom.

  “So you can use magic?”

  The gray cat swallowed and nodded. Harold blinked.

  “Best keep that hid.”

  He nodded again. The old cat stared at him a moment more, then jumped down and started to walk away.

  “Wait,” called the young tom.

  The old cat stopped and looked back at him, his whiskers clamped together. Toby dropped to the floor and trotted toward the old tom.

  “You’re not an Anointed One?”

  The tom growled. Toby shrunk back, half expecting to have his fur flayed from his skin.

  “I’m sorry. I just thought only Anointed Ones have magic to use.”

  The surly tom lifted a lip in a sneer and sat down, curling his tail around his toes.

  “They call it “blessings from the master.” Pfft. Rat turds. Its magic.”

  The gray tom couldn’t keep from grinning. He was surprised when the old tom’s whiskers splayed in return.

  “No. I’m not an Anointed One. Wouldn’t take the job even if their master begged me himself.”

  “Why’s that?”

  The old cat eyed him closely, then shook his head.

  “Never you mind. You better get back to the chapel before they send someone looking for you.”

  He turned to go again. A thought struck the young tom. He put out a paw, lightly touching the old cat’s shoulder. The cantankerous tom looked down at the gray paw. Toby snatched it back, but refused to turn away.

  “Do you know anything about the ghosts below?”

  The old cat began rapidly wheezing. It took a moment for the young tom to realize Harold was laughing.

  “Don’t tell me you believe the stories those young humans have been told.”

  Toby shook his head. “Not really, but I heard something out by the abandoned chapel in the old cemetery. It sounded like moaning. It raised the hair on my spine.”

  Harold’s laughter died, his whiskers clamping together in an instant.

  “Well it should have.”

  He looked down the aisle. Toby followed his gaze, seeing the old tom’s table stacked with books. The young tom
turned his attention back to the old cat, who motioned him to follow. A large book drifted down from the stacks, landing on the floor just in front of their paws. It flipped open to two pages of connected squiggles with small notations next to several. Harold put a paw in the gutter between the pages.

  “These are tunnels below the temple and school buildings.”

  He touched a paw on several small circles on the outside edges of the squiggles.

  “These are cave openings around the grounds. As you can see from this map, the tunnels and caves have been connected in several places.”

  He pointed to the area marked cemetery and abandoned chapel. There was a smaller circle just to the left of the chapel.

  “This is where you heard the moaning, correct?”

  Toby nodded. “So what I heard was an echo from that cave, isn’t it?”

  Harold winked at him, reminding him for a moment of Master O’dorn. The gray tom smiled, then looked back at the map.

  “So what made the sound in the first place?”

  The book of maps snapped shut, startling him. Toby looked at the old tom as the book floated back to the top of the stacks on the table. He wore a serious look.

  “Something more pitiful than ghosts.”

  The old cat’s gaze jerked to the door behind the young cat. The gray tom turned to see what he was looking at. One of the twins stood, glaring at them.

  “His Excellency is about to begin the funeral service. You’re required to attend.”

  Toby glanced back at Harold. The old cat’s whiskers were clamped tight, his ears flattened to his head.

  “If his excellency requires it, then how can we refuse?”

  Harold looked at him and motioned with a thrust of his chin for the gray tom to proceed him out the door. Toby glanced at the twin, the younger brother he guessed, and noted the suspicious narrowing of his eyes, the slight raise of his fur. He wasn’t just wary, he was hoping for a fur-flying brawl with the old cat. The gray cat chanced a glance back. Harold stalked past the brawny tom, ignoring him.

  Toby followed the old cat’s example, pretending the younger twin wasn’t following them. His mind turned to what Harold had said about the tunnels beneath the buildings. What could be more pitiful than ghosts? Whatever it was, he had to find out.

  “I brought the boy to you a week ago. He should be ready by now.”

  “My apologies, my Lord, I had no idea the storm would last this long,” Hanif said, flattening himself against the cave floor. He could hear the black tom pace back and forth, his lashing tail whooshing. “The process takes four weeks to complete and it has interfered with our work.”

  “Do not blame the storm for your shortcomings,” hissed the black beast in his ear. “And do not lecture me, worm. It will take as long as I say it will take and I say it has taken too long already. Show me the boy.”

  The brown tabby rose and led the way out of the cave. They walked several tunnels over to the cave where they were holding the freckled faced boy. He worried the entire way that their progress wouldn’t be pleasing even in what little they had done. What would his Lord do then? Would this be his final day, his final hour? He glanced toward the massive black tom who strode beside him. The beast looked so like the other tom they had brought here some time ago, yet the two were nothing alike in any other way. Hanif considered his Lord’s firm hand on the rod, never letting his wayward children wander far without rebuke. The other tom had tried to win his freedom with smooth words and offers of friendship. He even quoted from the Book of the One, but it was quite clear he knew nothing of the true Master.

  Father Hanif’s whiskers splayed a little. No, a true follower knew that the Lord sometimes showed mercy, but never the coddling love that one believed in. He glanced again at the black tom beside him. If the Lord did not show him mercy for the slack work of his underlings, then, the brown tabby decided, mercy was not what he deserved. Of course, I cannot be here to make sure these lack-wits do as they’re told and be in the temple school to oversee those imbeciles as well. Surely the Lord will consider this. His tail twitched and he cast another side-long glance at the beast. If He doesn’t, then perhaps there is no harm in saying as much, is there?

  When they reached the cave door, he reached a paw out to push the button to open it. The door opened before his paw had touched the button. He looked at the Lord, seeing his ears flattened.

  “There is no need for such foolishness while I am here.”

  The brown tabby dipped his head and stepped aside to let his Master enter. There was a scurry of paws as the Anointed Ones Below fell into line beside the opposite wall. Hanif made a quick count to be sure they were all there, sighing when the number he arrived at came up right. He glanced around the room, noting its cleanliness. Word must have made it here that they were about to be inspected by the Lord. He smiled. The black tom stalked down the line of felines, glaring at each in turn. They stared straight ahead. Hanif caught the tremble of a tail and shiver of fur as the black beast strode past. The tom turned and stared up at the boy who had been strapped to a table that could teeter like a child’s seesaw and pivot in a circle, depending on the need. The brown tabby watched as he inspected the numerous contraptions and devices they used in the re-education process.

  “I see you’ve adapted the master artificer’s designs efficiently and it appears that all your contraptions are in working order. Explain to me why this human’s re-education is not finished already.”

  The felines in line looked at a small yellow tabby at the end of the line. She swallowed and took a hesitant step forward, then dipped her head to the massive tom.

  “The storm disrupted our water supply, my Lord. The drip line was frozen solid for two days, but we’ve managed to remove the blockage and are proceeding as normal.”

  The Master’s tail thumped rhythmically, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the she-cat.

  “I wish to assess the boy’s progress. Leave us.”

  The line of cats filed out of the room. Hanif padded over to sit beside the Master. The black tom turned his piercing green gaze onto the brown tabby, his eyes still narrowed.

  “Was there something you needed to tell me?”

  Hanif blinked. “Lord?”

  “Unless you have more enlightening information to give me, then there is no reason for you to be here.”

  “I thought —”

  “Out.”

  The brown tabby tucked his tail between his legs and bellied from the room, the door slamming behind him. He curled into a tight ball just outside, listening. There was a scream once, but otherwise there was nothing from the other side of the door. He sat and watched the clock tick away as he waited. An hour had passed by the time the Master exited the re-education room. He licked his sleek black ruff as the door shushed closed behind him, shutting off the low moaning from inside. When he looked at Hanif, the black tom smile was savage.

  “I am pleased with the process. Have him ready by week’s end.”

  Father Hanif’s eyes widened. He saw the small yellow tabby she-cat passing by and motioned her over.

  “Can the boy be ready by week’s end?”

  The she-cat blinked rapidly, looking from the brown cat to the black beast. Her tail twitched.

  “If we rush the process we risk permanently damaging the boy’s mind.”

  The black tom pulled at his claw sheaths with his teeth, then inspected them for a moment before replying.

  “The risk is acceptable. You may proceed.”

  “It’s also possible that the re-education may not take.”

  He shrugged. “If that is the case, then erase his mind completely.”

  “Yes, Lord.”

  The she-cat dipped her head and hurried away. Hanif watched her go. He felt a tail curl over his shoulders and turned to see the black t
om smiling down at him.

  “Fear not, my servant. I have taken care to prepare a special place for you in New Eden.”

  The brown tabby relaxed as the Lord’s mercy washed over him. The black tom removed his tail and turned to leave.

  “Succeed and you will become high priest to all my children.”

  He watched the tom pace away, trying not to wonder what he could look forward to if it failed.

  Chapter 12

  The water had stopped again. He listened to his own rasping breath, loud in the silence. When he opened his eyes, the room spun. He shut them quickly, taking shallow panting breaths as his equilibrium returned. As his head quit spinning, he assessed the rest of his body. He wasn’t a healer, but he was pretty sure there wasn’t anything permanently damaged.

  He wiggled his hands, discovering the restraints at his wrists had loosened. He pulled against them and they slid half-way down his hands, catching on the widest part. The boy smiled. He’d learned how to escape from being tied up long ago as a child in public school. The bullies hadn’t just stolen his homework. They had also pulled humiliating pranks on him, including tying him naked to a tree in the town square in the middle of winter.

  It took a moment before he’d pulled his hands free of the restraints binding him to the table. From there it was just a matter of stretching and wriggling his arms to free them from the rest of the leather bindings. He sat up, fighting the rising nausea and disorientation. With one hand to his head, he struggled to set his legs and feet free.

  He glanced toward the closed door. It was windowless and looked as thick as his forearm. No way to know if there was anyone in the hall without opening the door. Not unless he dared use magic in his condition. He stared at the door a moment longer. It was now or never. He might not be left alone again any time soon. He slid off the table, placing his feet on the floor. He took a step and collapsed, his legs refusing to hold him up. Determined, he belly crawled to the door and put his ear against it. Nothing. He could reach the button to open the door, but he knew it would open it all the way. He needed to know if there was anyone else out there. He had to chance it.