Hellcats: Anthology

by Kate Pickford

  Much to Wynder's surprise, he was able to sleep a bit more at night. While there were many changes in the town itself and talk of more battles in distant lands, the patrons returned to the tavern and things slowly returned to normal.

  Wynder found out that Coral had no real intentions with Ragfeet and in fact, Ragfeet had no desire to do anything but eat oysters and ignore any more hints of grand adventures. The events of the night had left him unable to care about anything except his next meal and he was becoming a true fat cat rumored to be spending the night at the Harbormaster's house.

  Coral was eventually allowed into the tavern at nighttime and they spent many nights watching the moon from the attic window.

  It was on one of these such nights, he was waiting for Coral when he looked up to the window to see a large black cat.

  "Who are you?!" he shouted.

  "Oh, just a cat you met once. A few weeks ago. No big deal, really."

  "A Protector?! Here?! You survived!"

  It was Moosh.

  "Yes, I always do. That's not my first bout with poison."

  He began to clean himself.

  "What—um, why are you here?"

  "True Goblin Sight is a rare gift for cats. Most with cats never know what it is they are chasing across their bed chambers or across the other rooms of their abodes. Sometimes regular cats just see a small shape and chase it. But you, you were born in elven lands. You have Goblin Sight. The Guild will be training you, if you accept it, to guard the humans of this town if ever the need arises again."

  Wynder couldn't believe what he was being told. Him? A Protector?

  "There are worse evils than goblins. There is talk of darker things and we must rise to protect the humans, elves, and dwarves from what they can't see. Will you take up the charge of a Protector?"

  Wynder meowed happily. "I will."

  J.T. Williams is the creator of The Dwemhar World epic fantasy universe and has three crazy tavern cats of his own. Crafting tales of escapism and wonder, he works to make the world a better place one book at a time.

  Find out more at www.authorjtwilliams.com/series-timeline.html

  59

  Cats on the Prowl

  by DJ Cooper

  What evil lurks in the night? Salvation begins with the twitch of a tail. An unlikely hero emerges and engages in the fight of a lifetime for the princess in white, against an evil that can kill with the touch of its long white tentacle. Prepare for epic battles and an adventure to be savored.

  The light waned and soon the creatures of the night would be emerging. It was our job to prowl the darkness, keeping the forces of evil at bay. Not a soul would dare question our domination, nor our prowess in the realm.

  The gruesome sound of frenzied digging reached my ears and I crouched beneath the edge of the shrub. My eyes were wide and searching. This, the first of tonight’s adversaries, would be a tricky one. I’d heard this sound before. It was pure evil, and one I’d yet been able to subdue. My body kept low to the ground. I crept silently, nearly invisible. The stealth of my movements was unparalleled. The sound became louder and more furious. Excitement roared through my veins and my body began to twitch. I’d only need just the right position for a successful pounce. Adjustment, twitch, adjust, twitch, he wouldn’t get away this time. Pure power launched me at him, his fuzzy tail froze, and he stared at me. Like flames licking at the sky, this orange blur descended upon him. Terror filled his eyes, exhilarating me; at last, this time I’d have him. A split second before I could level my thunderous assault, he turned and ran up the mighty oak tree beneath which he’d been furiously digging. I chased him, my perfectly sharpened claws effortlessly clinging to the bark in leaps up the massive trunk. Midway up I spotted him sailing from this tree to another at the highest point.

  “Curse you!” I growled at him.

  “Chit…chit, chit,” he responded facing me down from atop the next tree, eventually turning and scurrying into the branches of another.

  He was mocking me, and my eyes followed him in anger. “One day,” I meowed after him. “One day.”

  Wow! I was impressed with my skills when I looked down to see how high I’d gone. But… Getting back down might be a little precarious. My claws stuck to the tree at times during my descent, but what was even more annoying was that a misty rain had begun to fall softly across the land. At the bottom of the tree, I hesitated, cringing at the wet grass that tickled my paws. I noticed how the rain was changing my usually vibrant orange fur to a pale and squalid color. I was repulsed by the look, and the smell was worse.

  “Eww, wet cat.” I wrinkled my nose and pulled my head back, mouth open. “This won’t do.”

  Not to fear, this would never quell my dashing personality; the deafening sound of my roar announcing my arrival always strikes fear into the hearts of my foes no matter how I look…or smell.

  I sat poised atop the upper rail of the fence while my partner, who usually prowled with me nightly, remained in her lair grooming her lovely white fur. Preparing for my entrance, she no doubt wanted to look her best. I watched her grooming for a few moments, with each lick to her long white fur, making sure it was clean and soft. A fervor grew within me, causing my whiskers to twitch as she finished her preening, finally washing her face.

  Oh, she was lovely.

  I glanced at my ragged coat and lapped the wet from a few places. A ripple crawled up my spine and I shook off the steady stream of water falling from the sky. It would have to do. The overseers knew I hated being wet.

  “Curse you,” I snarled upward at the half-exposed moon before taking a few careful steps between the pointed tops.

  When I came to the long-abandoned nest, my tail stood straight up in pride and curiosity. We’d taken care of those squatters early in the spring, but I peeked in, just in case they came back. Recalling it, I paused and sat eyeing the ragged pile of leaves and twigs.

  “Long gone.” I huffed.

  Apathetically, I pawed at the destitute mass. At first with only the tip of my paw, but quickly grew bored.

  “Humpf.” I swiped my massive claws at it and watched mostly disinterested as it crashed to the ground.

  My high wire act…ok well, fence-walking act, was a thing of grace to behold. I made it to the deck, chose my usual place on the table, and gazed through the window. She was stretching, her beautifully manicured and sharpened claws protracted out against the fray in the upholstery. It sent a shiver through my body when she shredded it as she dragged them across the surface. It was magnificent.

  The human passed by and I ducked. She didn’t think I was good enough for Princess and chased me with a broom last time I came calling, but we were a team. Unstoppable. Inseparable.

  The urge to fly off the table and back across the fence nearly overpowered me, but my prowess and superiority were displayed in the stealth of my stance. My ears flattened, I peered over the edge of the window. Only my eyes could be seen, a nearly perfect imperceptible sentinel, eyeing the scene within.

  Princess purred and rubbed between her human’s legs and arching under the caress of the petting.

  “Gahhh! Such a suck-up,” I hissed.

  At last, she was ready. A small white paw peeked through the flap door, feeling about, grasping a small mouse toy, and snatching it back inside.

  Oh, I loved to watch when she would do her warmup exercises before we began to prowl. She was so fast, her dainty paws and razor claws just as deadly as my massive pounce. Her head peeked through the small door, her bright yellow eyes looking around. She caught sight of me when I casually hopped off the table to greet her. Absolute regal authority oozed from my movements. She could not resist me, and lazily dragged the rest of her body through the small door.

  “Good evening, my princess,” I said, arching my back in a giant stretch before offering a wide yawn exposing my impressive fangs. She liked that.

  “Tom, you look positively dreadful,” she gasped. “And the smell! What have you been doing?”<
br />
  “What? What do you mean? It’s the sky water,” I stammered. Trying to lick off of the wet areas and explain myself, “I was… grumph…trying to…ack.” I looked up at her pitifully. “Sorry, furball.”

  “Well, never mind. I don’t feel like getting wet tonight,” she said and stretched with her tail sticking straight up, her backside in my face.

  I offered a cursory sniff and replied, “Meow?” She could never resist my roar.

  She just yawned and sat with her back to me. I smacked the small toy mouse over to her. She pawed at it with minimal interest and laid down, her long body stretching out. She yawned and tucked her front paws under her. She was irritated at the weather and glared across the small enclosed and perfectly manicured yard, eyes squinted and ears listening behind her.

  “I have an idea,” she purred.

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, let’s take care of some issues inside tonight. There is so much evil in there, and I simply cannot handle it all alone.” She rubbed against me purring.

  “What about the human?” I asked.

  “We’re good, she just left, we have the whole place to ourselves.”

  I was keen to go inside her castle to see how the fancy cats lived and perked up, immediately following her slow sensual walk through the small opening.

  Careful steps, sniffing the air, and checking every corner as I entered. She was overcome when my whistle of approval pierced the silence and glared at me.

  I gazed at the bowl full of crunchy snacks and the high tower she gracefully ascended and perched herself atop. I casually strolled about the lair and noticed a small cave. Curiosity overwhelmed me and I peeked my head in. One sniff and I knew what this was.

  “A private sandbox?” I exclaimed, looking excitedly toward her.

  She simply nodded and sat atop her tower washing her face…again.

  I cautiously entered and began to scratch in the clean loose sand. “Princess, this is amazing,” the echo surrounded me when I called out.

  This digging was fantastic, I simply couldn’t resist.

  I poked my head out of the cave and looked up at her before going back in and covering the spot.

  Tiny particles of sand tumbled to the floor when I emerged in a slinky strut. An awkward tick in my step felt strange and caused me to stumble. I hopped straight up, creeped out, unsure of the texture beneath me. The tickle from the sand that was stuck to my paws threw me off but I recovered, cleaning the clingy grains from my paws by shaking them one by one.

  “I’m sorry sweets, but where is the evil? There are no foes to fight, no evil to overcome, and not even any prowling or pouncing. What do you do around here?”

  “Tom!” she shouted.

  “Wha…?” I looked up, my mouth filled with the delicious crunchy snack.

  “You used the sandbox,” she exclaimed, wrinkling her nose.

  “Well, all that scratching…geez, you know how it is.”

  She hopped down from her tower and sauntered on past flicking her tail under my chin. “Follow me, tough guy.”

  The sway of her tail was mesmerizing as she led the way through a maze of doors, hallways, and finally heading up a steep winding stairwell. I followed behind her, silently keeping watch for danger in this strange place. It didn’t seem to faze her that a small lizard sat in a glass cell, glaring at us, watching our every move. Questions arose and I simply had to know the identity of this prisoner.

  “Hey, sweets. What was his crime?” I asked, shrugging in the direction of the pathetic-looking soul.

  “I don’t really know,” she said pausing. “I tried to execute him once and got soaked with the torture spray over there.” She gazed across the room, pointing to a container with liquid. “I think he has a life sentence, but I don’t exactly know what for.”

  “Poor devil.”

  “Sometimes he gets to come out. I hate that! Once, I nearly died while backflipping to get out of the way because, I’m ashamed to say, he surprised me.”

  “Oh, that’s the worst.” I nodded in agreement.

  As we ascended the stairs into the unknown, a movement caught my attention in the farthest corner of one stair. I spied him, an evil eight-legged monster whose ferocity was unequaled. He thought he could hide, but I’d seen him.

  My whiskers tingled. “What is going on?” I exclaimed.

  “What?” She asked.

  “Something invisible touched my whisker.”

  Movement. I saw him. He crept toward me and the fur on my tail stood out. My back hunched, and I moved toward him. The imposing action was meant to intimidate, walking sideways in my most threatening manner. He was unmoved and took two steps toward me... I hopped two or three times to let him know I was serious, but he wouldn’t back down. Finally, I pounced! And the savage beast hopped to the side, evading my attack. I spun around just in time to see him scurry under a small dust ball. This foe would perish this night I vowed.

  Princess turned and saw the evil creature. “Hiss,” she cried out terrified.

  I was growing tired, and the fight raged on. Engaging in mortal combat with this eight-legged beast proved to be taxing. I eventually prevailed over this terrible creature of the night; his body lay broken, upside down, one leg twitching. The carcass, a testament to my strength and agility, remained on the step exactly where I had pawed him to death.

  Princess came up and rubbed herself beneath my chin, her tail curling around my ear. I stood tall soaking up the attention while she showered me with adoration. This night would prove to be an adventure after all, I thought while I stood gazing about the area with squinted eyes.

  Once the ascent resumed into the realm of the dreaded white wraith, she began to tell me of this evil. We’d set out in search of it, to rid her home of its wickedness once and for all. The human kept it pent up and attached to the wall with a silver stake. The sight of it ghastly; the wretched beast had been impaled through the center of its body, keeping it from raging across the floor after us. The long tentacle could still be seen waving, waiting for its next victim to enter the room and get close enough. Waiting to assassinate anyone that came within its reach.

  We crept into the small room and there it hung with its long tentacle nearly reaching the floor. I couldn’t believe my eyes; her description of the fierceness of this foe was vivid, but I didn’t believe her. We could see it staring at us waiting, waving at us, challenging us.

  A gentle breeze came through the open window and drew our attention momentarily, when we looked back the long tentacle was swaying side to side. Stunned, we backed up in preparation for the attack, preparing ourselves for the battle to come. Once again, my senses on high alert, back arched... I hopped toward it, sideways in a threatening manner, warning that it too would fall to my savage onslaught this night.

  The terrifying arm continued to move, swaying back and forth. I could see that it was preparing to unleash its strike. It seemed to thrive on the night air and a gust of wind riled it up. The deadly arm reached out for us. At first, it startled me and instinctively I hopped with absolute skill and grace in a backward flipping evasion of the charge, bouncing and bounding from one spot to the next in rapid succession to disorient it.

  I cried out, “Princess, get behind me.”

  She moved in behind me, her back arched. She was ready, poised to fend off the beast. Stupendous strength would be required to subdue the evil waiting within the small room. It made another hostile move—propelling me into action, I lashed out with my claws extended and like a flash of lightning, I slashed the tentacle.

  It retreated, dangling in shreds, reeling in revulsion. It had provoked me and paid the price. I stood back waiting for another volley, holding my claws at the ready. The evil within would not prevail; this was a battle to the death, and it would die!

  “Watch out, Tom,” Princess called out. “It’s getting ready to strike again.”

  It came after me—three quick swats and even as I retreated to prepare for another launch,
it had grabbed hold of my paw. I stopped and looked. Horrified, I could see it was closer, the length had grown so much so that it could reach me even here.

  I felt it squirm and looked down. I had it beneath my paw. My claws emerged slowly, and my paw grasped the shredded end of the tentacle. I was not going to let this go. I held fast while Princess pounced on its body and I lashed at the length of the tentacle. It was no match for our razor-sharp claws; we thrashed and rolled, dismembering this evil that hell had unleashed. The battle raged on as the never-ending tentacle continued to advance. We sliced and clawed, chewed, and bit at it until finally there was nothing left on the spear but the brown skeleton of the beast.

  Now that the battle had ended, she chirped and trilled at me. We returned to the lower area of this strange place to lick our wounds and revel in our victory. I walked confidently, ears up, knowing that I had saved her from the ravages of an evil that lay within these walls. She purred and rubbed against me. I was feeling proud and strong. My battle skills were honed to a flawless magnificence. My swagger oozed with confidence; the M etched in my forehead stood for magnificence. I returned to the small dish, and helped myself to a few more morsels of her kibble, all while she adorned me with lyrics and purrs. Mewling, she glanced over her shoulder at me while her tail finished trailing beneath my chin. She was indeed impressed with my prowess. I lay on the open floor, contentedly gazing about the room, eyes half-closed absent-mindedly licking my paws, cleaning, and grooming my fur to look as regal as the King I had shown myself to be.

  Click!

  Her ears perked up, listening, they swiveled; she knew the sound, it was the human.

  “Come on, Tom, we’d best get outside,” she mewed.

  “Why?” I questioned, still proud of our victory. “Won't your human be pleased that we defeated the monsters lurking within this place?” I stayed stretched out prone on the floor and continued my lazy paw licking.