Apprentice Cat: Toby's Tale Book 1 (Master Cat Series)

by Virginia Ripple

  Toby shivered. Terence’s future seemed bleak if he wasn’t chosen. I wish there was something I could do for him.

  The din in the Lesser Hall from all the feline voices drove Toby’s dark thoughts into the background. The duo made their way up the stairs to a bench near the back. The orange tom looked around. Near the ceiling were bas-reliefs in white marble depicting scenes from ancient history. The sky blue walls were peeling in places and the wood floor showed the passage of years, worn thin by the footsteps of hopefuls and students alike. A faded maroon curtain hung over the stage. The room had all the charm of a great lady in her declining years attempting to hold onto the ghosts of the past.

  Toby watched as cats and humans filtered in. He noted with interest how similar the two species were, each sitting near those who were most like themselves. It wasn’t easy to tell by appearance with the felines, but the human nobles were instantly identifiable. Even in his finest robes, Master O’dorn would have looked like a peasant farmer next to some of the younglings in their bright colors and fine fabrics.

  It wasn’t just in their finery that Toby saw a difference. The way the nobles walked and talked set them apart as well. It seemed to the orange tom that each one of them must have smelled something foul. Or perhaps that they found everything around them beneath them. Whatever the reason, the noble born humans held their noses just a little bit higher than the others.

  “If you will all take your seats, please,” said a bald man, striding to the center of the stage.

  He stood straight and tall with a piercing gaze that made Toby want to pay close attention to whatever the man said. His long nose added to his regal bearing. Everything about him, from his severe black tunic and breeches to his black master’s robe said this was a man to be respected, a man who would tolerate nothing but the best from his students. Behind the imposing man paced Master Meredith. She gracefully leapt to a stool beside the man and sat. Toby instantly made the connection.

  “Master Meredith is—”

  “the head master cat,” breathed Terence, finishing Toby’s startled sentence.

  “Trust, ladies and gentlemen,” said the man, his rich baritone pleasantly reverberating off the walls. “Trust is what makes a partnering work. It is not, as some would have you believe, a matter of blood bearing. Neither does it have to do solely with training. Levah TAH teh.”

  Before Toby could blink, Master Meredith shot into the air. She sat calmly on nothing, hovering at eye level to the head master mage.

  “I think we would all agree that a fall from this height might hurt, but it isn’t likely to cause injury. However — RAH zeh.”

  Master Meredith zoomed to the ceiling. She yawned and curled into a comfortable ball, one paw outstretched. She looked for all the world as if she were settling down for a nice nap in her cozy nest.

  “At this height, should I lose my concentration, Master Meredith would be spending a well-earned vacation in the hospital.”

  “If it’s all the same to you, Master Jalen, I would rather vacation in sunny South Felaydial,” called the head master cat.

  “Indeed,” said Master Jalen, smiling.

  “History teaches,” he continued, “that even the most careful partnerings head masters make can end disastrously, and usually it is due to a break in or a lack of trust. I urge each of you to consider carefully the case of Master Hecktor Ribaldy and Master Kiyoshi. Each had unique talents that complimented the other the likes of which we haven’t seen since.”

  Toby noticed a young human male begin to fidget in his seat. Several of the other human hopefuls turned to look at him. Although Toby wasn’t adept at reading humans, it seemed to him that the other hopefuls disapproved of this single human more than any of the others. He looked no different than any of the other less-than-rich humans. In fact, judging by his clothing, Toby estimated the boy was middle class just as Master O’dorn was.

  “No one could have foreseen the break in the bond between Master Ribaldy and Master Kiyoshi. Countless individuals have done their best to uncover what madness could have crept into Master Ribaldy’s mind, why he attempted to destroy the High Council during Session. It was a sad day of loss, a great mage to insanity and a great cat to death.”

  The room was silent. Not even the shuffling of feet or whisper of fur upon the benches could be heard.

  “It is for this reason that the academy is very selective. There are two main reasons you may be turned away. You may not be ready for a career in magic, either for lack of maturity or basic experience.

  “For the other reason you need only look around you. The ratio of felines to humans is indeed considerable. Although it would be nice to believe, as a human, you are guaranteed a place in the academy simply because there are so few of you, I must restate the importance of careful partnerings. There are more feline hopefuls to choose from, but that does not mean there is one suited to be partnered with you.”

  The human Toby had been watching squirmed again. He was slowly sinking lower in his seat.

  “Magic must be balanced to work properly. Each of you, human and feline, can perform spells on your own. If you couldn’t, you wouldn’t be here. However, the more difficult the spell, the more training and effort it takes for a lone mage or cat to perform. After today, those of you who are partnered will become one half of the equation. You will learn how to reach your own potential and to balance your partner’s unique abilities.”

  Master Jalen looked around the room at the eager hopefuls, seeming to assess them. The orange tom glanced up at Master Meredith. She looked as if she were napping, but Toby didn’t believe it for a moment.

  “Master Meredith,” called the head master mage, “would you care to inform the hopefuls of what they should expect during the final interview?”

  The head master cat stretched and yawned, then sat up to peer down at them. It was a little awkward to crane his neck up at the tortoiseshell, but Toby was determined not to miss even a whisker twitch.

  “During your final interview this afternoon you will be asked some very hard questions. We encourage you to take this time during your extended lunch break to consider why you want to become a master mage or cat and what you could contribute to the world by doing so.”

  “Very good. Are there any questions?” asked Master Jalen.

  “What about final evaluations?” asked one of the cat hopefuls. “Will we get to see them before the partnerings are made?”

  “Excellent question. Yes, you will receive your final evaluations at your interview. If you have any questions, or would like to explain your reasoning behind a course of action, that will be the time to do it. Are there any other questions?” asked the head master mage, looking around the room. Tension crackled in Toby’s fur. He knew they all had questions, but no one asked. The sounds of fidgeting began to grow.

  “In that case,” said the man, clapping his hands together, “You are dismissed.”

  The orange tom followed his friend down the stairs behind the other cats. Neither said anything. They made their silent way to the Common and waited quietly in line for lunch. Some cats were talking and carrying on as if nothing had changed, but most were just as silent as the two friends. Toby wondered again about Terence’s future. He felt helpless.

  The duo ate their lunches lost to their own respective thoughts. Terence’s nervous chatter had ceased. Toby glanced over his food at his friend, noticing how tightly the little cat’s whiskers were clamped. I want to do something for him so bad, but what if I just make things worse? Toby licked his ruff in agitation. This must be what it feels like to be caged. The orange tom looked morosely out the window at the false spring garden, his thoughts whirling and spiraling like dead leaves in the wind. Between one thought and the next he felt a tiny puff of air on his ear. He flicked it in surprise and looked out of the corner of his eye to see wh
at had caused the sensation. Hovering inches away was a brightly colored miniature dragon. Toby nearly had to cross his eyes when he looked at it, it was so close.

  “Excuse me, sir,” said the little dragon in a chiming bell-like voice. “Master Meredith requests your presence in her office for your final interview.”

  With a minuscule bow, the dragon popped out of existence as suddenly as it had appeared. Toby blinked. He’d seen a few dragons working in the library when the hopefuls had taken their tour of the grounds, but he knew very little about them except that the academy employed them for various tasks. He wondered just what they were paid.

  “Good luck,” said Terence.

  “Thanks. You, too, if I don’t see you before your interview. I’m sure you’ll do great.”

  Toby hoped his friend couldn’t hear the emptiness he felt in that last sentence. He wanted to claw himself for doubting. Terence had shown intelligence and skill Toby hadn’t been sure was there when they’d first met. But the head master is right. There are so few humans and no guarantees Terence would be a good match for any of them. For that matter, who says I would be?

  The orange tom let his thoughts sink deeper until he had almost convinced himself he would never be accepted into the academy. What am I doing? He could almost feel his mother’s cuff across his ears. If she could hear his thoughts she would have surely disowned him. He had trained hard all his life. He was the son of a master cat, one paired to a master mage on the High Council, and a loner highly trusted by the same council. He had every reason to believe he would become either an apprentice or a loner in training.

  He’d reached the head master cat’s office door. Toby stood looking at the solid wood. Doubts still wiggled in his mind as he lifted a paw to scratch at the worn wood. Master Meredith had told them to ponder what each of them would be able to contribute to the world if they became a master cat. He had no idea how to answer that. What could he, one little cat, hope to accomplish in his lifetime that would affect the rest of the very big world?

  He was still standing there, paw raised to scratch at the door, when it suddenly opened. Toby peered into the dimly lit interior. Sitting on a large wingback chair was the head master cat. She looked as steady and calm as ever, the roaring fire in the nearby fireplace adding orange and red highlights to her tortoiseshell coloring.

  “Would you care to come in so we can begin your final interview?” she asked.

  “Oh. Sorry. Yes,” stammered the young tom, suddenly aware he was still standing in the hall.

  He trotted to the small stool standing in front of the head master’s chair. Leaping gracefully to the seat, Toby settled down to face his interviewers. Lilith reclined on a leather footstool near the fireplace. M’festus sat stiffly in a straight-back wooden chair on Master Meredith’s other side. The single window behind them was covered by a heavy drape, keeping out the chilly fall day and leaving the office darkened save for the light from the fire.

  “Thank you for joining us, young master Toby,” said Master Meredith. “Let me explain how the interview works before we truly begin.” The head master paused for a moment. Toby dipped his head politely to indicate he was listening.

  “First we will go over your evaluation. You may comment at any time on what has been said in it. Once you feel comfortable that you have had your say regarding your performance in orientation, we shall proceed to the actual interview. I will allow the second years to each ask a question. I will then ask a final question. Everything said here will be recorded for the head master mage and I to review this evening before tomorrow’s partnering ceremony. Do you have any questions about what we will be doing here today?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Very well, then. Let us begin.”

  At a flick of the head master cat’s tail, a sheaf of papers rose from a monstrous, cluttered desk. A fountain pen rose to hover over a larger stack of papers on the desk as the smaller stack floated to a small table beside the wingback chair. There were only four or five sheets in all. Toby wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

  Master Meredith leafed through the papers, informing him that he had gained high marks for his knowledge in basic history and abilities in performing basic spells. She went on to inform him that he had shown unusual patience for his age and had shown some beginnings of leadership qualities. Toby was starting to feel his worries had been for nothing when the head master cat pawed another page from the small pile. It was a list of his shortcomings. Besides being tardy, though it had only occurred the one time, Master Meredith expressed the concern of allowing another cat to proceed with a spell when he believed it had been performed incorrectly.

  The gentle scritch scritch of the pen worked its way into the young tom’s thoughts, making him want to twitch his ears and bite at non-existent fleas. Each pen stroke seemed to punctuate his failings and, although Toby did his best to explain his reasoning, in the end he felt like everything he could say sounded like an excuse. He tried to gauge the head master cat’s reaction, but she was as unreadable as ever.

  “Young master Toby, are you satisfied with your evaluation?” asked Master Meredith at last. “Do you have anything you would like to add?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Then let us proceed to the interview. Lilith?”

  Toby’s heart trip hammered in his chest. His mind raced to guess what question the white she-cat would ask. Her blue eyes stared steadily into his.

  “Toby, why do you want to be a master cat?”

  Nothing like asking the hardest question first. The orange tom considered telling the three interviewers that he could make a larger contribution to the greater good by becoming a master cat, then decided not to. It seemed so rehearsed, something anyone interviewed might say because it was the most commonly held idea.

  In truth, he had never really thought about why becoming a master cat was so important. It was what his parents wanted him to do and until now that had been a good enough reason. He had been born to magic, but did that mean he had to become a master cat? He thought about the histories and myths he had read. Was every hero a master cat? It had always seemed so, but was that only his perception?

  He sat staring at the fountain pen poised above the paper on which it had been recording their meeting. Whatever he said would be written down, made permanent. Who might read it in the future? How could what he said now make a difference to someone later?

  In a flash he saw Terence as he would be if he weren’t apprenticed. He imagined him starving and frightened, huddled in some dark alley waiting for a gang to decide what to do with him, the little gray and white cat’s fur long ago dulled and matted. Toby’s gut twisted at the thought. Could he make a difference for cats like Terence? He turned his eyes back to Master Meredith.

  “I want to become a master cat to make a difference in the lives of other cats who believe their only alternative for survival is to join a gang or become a slave to a scam artist.”

  “A noble cause,” said M’festus, his lip quirking in a sneer. “Perhaps you should join a temple instead.”

  The head master’s whiskers clamped together, but she said nothing. The tuxedo tom looked smug, his tail tapping a slow rhythm against the chair leg. Toby opened his mouth to reply. He shut it again and looked back to Master Meredith.

  “May I reply to that, head master?”

  “You may, but keep in mind that your reply will be recorded and discussed with Master Jalen, and may affect our decision.”

  “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll remember that.” The orange tom turned to look M’festus in the eye. He took a deep breath, allowing his thoughts a moment to order themselves.

  “Temple cats do a lot to help the less fortunate. I admire them. But, a temple cat would have difficulty influencing the leaders of our kingdom or this academy. As a master cat I would be able to
become a part of the Council or the Board of Regents or, at the very least, to have access to the brilliant thinkers on the Council and the Board.

  “As a master cat I believe I could help cats and humans who can do magic, but who aren’t able to be partnered. I believe there has to be a way for them to make an honest living using the skills they’ve learned and I believe as a master cat I can help make it a reality.” Toby watched as M’festus’s eyes narrowed.

  “That is, indeed, a noble idea, young master Toby,” said Master Meredith. “M’festus, would you please ask your interview question?”

  The tuxedo tom took a moment to lick his shoulder.

  “Tell us, Toby,” purred the black and white tom, “why you believe you should be chosen over a cat of noble blood.”

  Toby looked at his paws. What could he say? Did he deserve to be apprenticed? He’d seen the way many of his classmates had treated those they thought beneath them: pushing past them to be first in line, the cutting looks, the whispered jokes. The orange tom shuddered to think how cats of the Lower Districts would be treated if the nobles were left to do all the magic.

  “I believe any cat, be he noble or common, deserves the chance to reach his potential. If I were a master cat I would use my abilities to encourage balance between noble and commoner, so that each may reach out to their own, or across the invisible boundaries, without fear.”

  M’festus gave a soft growl, but otherwise said nothing more. Toby endured a heartbeat more of the tom’s fierce yellow gaze before looking back at Master Meredith. He willed his skin not to shiver. The tuxedo tom was still glaring at him. He could feel it. Toby forced his attention to focus on the head master cat. One more question. Then it’s completely out of my paws. He took a deep breath and shifted from paw to paw. The young tom resettled into a slightly more comfortable position. He was ready.