Kat Among The Pigeons

by Lazette Gifford

  Adrian laughed. He apparently found Cato more amusing than I did. Shakespeare at least stayed quiet.

  "We're going to have to go out and check things," I said. "We need to do it during the daylight, when most of the wild magic isn't as strong. Sunlight holds very powerful natural magic and counteracts most unfocused magic."

  He nodded as though what I said made sense to him. We ate our breakfast, neither of us in any real hurry to go. I hadn't forgotten about the danger or how much of the human world depended on me. However, sitting here for a few minutes to gather my wits did help. I needed to think about the situation. I had spent too much time rushing around, half-crazed with worry. I needed to stop and act wisely. I knew, beyond any doubt, there would be no outside help. I could not reach my father -- which was probably something Aletta had done as well -- and I would not have help from her. I tried to find any spell she had made to stop me from reaching home, but I couldn't find anything specific in the miasmic magic around us.

  I had to do this alone -- or at least without any other fae help. In fact, I had an odd feeling maybe Aletta, and whoever worked with her, were going to be surprised by the help I did have.

  When we got ready to go out, I made certain our clothing would keep us warm -- so much so that right after I placed the spell we had to step outside to keep from sweating. Adrian gave a little laugh despite my distress.

  "The magic is working and this is wonderful!" He wrapped his arm in mine and we leapt off the porch into a knee-deep drift on the other side.

  The Steller's jay still sat in the tree and laughed at us. "You're like a couple kids playing hooky from school!"

  She was right. I felt like a kid shirking duty and having a snow day. I knew real danger lurked not far away. I could feel the power, both from the odd pulses emanating from The Edge to the solid sphere of magic which had closed off the area. But even so, the snow filled landscape was gorgeous, the birds flittered around us reporting nothing new and horrible, and the few cats daring the snow only grumbled about the weather as they headed to my house where they would find warmth and food.

  Adrian watched as each cat passed and smiled in wonder as he understood what they said. I had talked to birds and cats all my life and I enjoyed watching his reactions. I warned him not to speak to the strays since some had a hard time dealing with even me. I didn't know how they would handle a human talking to them.

  We went past Mrs. Hale's house. Mrs. Miniver stood in the window and head butted the glass in greeting. I waved and quickly ducked my hand and bowed my head when the gray haired woman came to the window. She might not recognize me, walking with a companion and all.

  "Problem?" Adrian asked, glancing at the house.

  "She thinks I'm trying to steal her cats because I talk to them," I said. "The one in the window is Cato's mother, by the way. Lovely British Short Hair. Pure bred -- won a few awards, too."

  "Ah. You know a lot about cats? Should I get a book or something?"

  "I have a few in the loft. We can go over them together."

  "Sounds nice."

  Yes, I thought so, too.

  We walked to Fish Creek Road and along the curve of Lake Estes. I couldn't see across even the narrow edge through the snow fall. As we reached the outskirts of town, we found cars abandoned in the storm, though everyone seemed to have found shelter.

  Eventually, we reached Highway 36 and started east. The crews hadn't cleared the roads and some of the drifts stood waist high and growing as the wind picked up. I could feel the storm stretching out over the mountains, even beyond the shield of magic. In fact, the size of the shield and amount of magic would be part of what created such a huge storm, and pulled the weather in on itself -- and on us.

  About half a mile out of town, we found a young couple struggling through the snow. They turned to us with a bit of hope and trudged our way. I gave them a little boost of strength and warmth as they came closer and easing the growing panic they'd been suffering.

  "Good to see you!" the girl said. Purple and black spiked hair stood out from the sides of her knit cap, and the little bobble inserted in her eyebrow had frosted over and had a tiny icicle hanging from it. I tried very hard not to stare.

  "We got caught in a drift last night." The guy had a shaved head and piercings in various places. I wondered why his head didn't freeze since he'd obviously given his knit cap to the girl. She had pulled the covering down nearly to her eyebrows. "I'd just gassed up the car, so we stayed warm and we waited for light and the storm to ease."

  "You're close to a place where you can take shelter," I said, and carefully felt out such a location with other young people, so they would fit in and have a nice adventure. I gave them quick directions, but mixed a liberal amount of magic in with the words so I knew they'd get there.

  They hurried off, laughing and kicking snow at each other, their mood changed. They would be fine.

  "Magic?" Adrian asked as we went on.

  "Yes, some."

  "Good. You know, that's the first really good thing I've seen magic do. Well, and staying warm out here," he said with a grin.

  I felt better knowing I'd helped him realize not all magic is dark and horrible. We can, and most often do, use our powers to help correct problems, not only for ourselves, but for others. If we didn't care about anyone else, we would abandon The Edge, and leave this world (and the others) to whatever fate had in store. Sometimes we do big things, but often we use magic in little ways, and help the lost people find safety in the storm.

  We found another car off the road along Highway 36, but I used magic and tracked the people to a cabin not far away. Most of the people in this area knew when to get in out of the weather, and they'd taken to their homes, waiting for spring to come again. They knew they wouldn't have to wait long.

  Everything seemed normal, despite the magical shield I knew couldn't be far away. I couldn't see anything through the falling snow, though, so I needed to get closer. Adrian didn't complain about walking farther, but a little ways out of town I lost the road and found we had headed off into a field.

  "Damn. I need to pay better attention," I said, reached around with magic and found the road, returning to the surface though it sat below snow.

  And a few minutes later I lost the road again.

  The third time I knew this wasn't either chance or an effect of being love-smitten.

  "What's going on?" Adrian asked. He frowned and glanced towards the sky. "I thought we were heading a little south of east, but. . . ."

  I glanced up, too. Hard to mark the sun behind all those clouds, but I felt as though the sun had slipped off direction. Or we had, which was damned hard for a fae. We have a very good sense of direction once we settled into a place.

  I went back and found the road yet again. Everything around me slipped into place. A few steps away and the world changed once more.

  I lifted my hand and carefully felt out the area before and behind us. The shield stood less than twenty yards away, though I couldn't see the magic through the fall of snow. I could feel the power though, and I found something decidedly unsettling.

  "This is bad." I backed up and made certain I had the road firmly under my feet, for all the good it would do. Adrian glanced at me, worry etched in his face. "Let me check again."

  I did a slower check this time, feeling out not only the shield, but also what I could touch on both sides of the magical wall. I shook my head.

  "We have a new problem?" he asked.

  "A new part of the old problem," I said trying not to feel despair. "We aren't losing our direction, Adrian. The direction keeps changing."

  "Changing." He didn't say the word with any doubt. At this point I supposed he thought anything possible.

  "Yes. The shield is inching inward, and what is on the other side isn't Colorado." I took his hand and started forward, carefully moving a yard and another. I wanted a close look --

  And through the blowing snow we could finally see the ward. I felt as
though I lived inside a snow globe someone had shaken -- and for a moment I even felt queasy, as though we bounced. I could see green and gold outside the shield, and sand blowing across the ground.

  "No, not Colorado," Adrian agreed. He shook his head and held tighter to my hand. "And the snow is changing to sand there at the edge."

  I stared at the ground and watched the shield inch forward; while the glittering white of snow transformed to golden sand where the magic passed. If people came this way and saw this -- I don't know what they would think. Maybe they'd walk out into the desert to escape the snow storm. I didn't know if the desert would be better, but the shield was permeable, and we could have walked through. I backed away, instead.

  I could feel the fae world in those blowing sands on the other side -- and yet in some ways the desert didn't seem a part of fae at all. I thought I could sense another shield overlaying this one, and beyond the second wall I found snowy Colorado again. A circle within a circle, and the inner one contracting, filling the area with desert sand.

  "What are you thinking?" Adrian asked softly.

  "Sorry. I'm used to working these things through on my own," I admitted. "I could walk through the wall and go out there. We both could. But I don't know where 'out there' is. Even if I did, I have to stay here, Adrian. I'm a border guard. This is my place, and I have to do what I can to fix the problem. Running away to some place warmer -- calmer -- isn't an answer for me."

  He smiled and bent over and kissed me. I guess I had given the right answer.

  I studied the shield for a few more minutes. I'd never felt magic of this type before. I didn't understand how the shield remained powerful in the daylight -- but maybe I did sense something, like a link to . . . to a night place? Fueled from somewhere else? I began to fear what would happen tonight.

  We walked away in silence, heading towards town. The road felt steady beneath my feet, and Adrian's arm around my waist seemed to make the journey easier, though I had plenty to worry about -- as though I hadn't been worried before.

  A little junco found us, the grey and black bird gliding in through the snow flakes to land on my collar and half tangling in my hair. I pulled him into my hands, shedding a little warmth to stop him shivering.

  "Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said, chattering away. "Trouble, trouble. Pretty lights, eagle place. Trouble. Bad things, all there. "

  He flew off.

  "We've got another problem, I think. It's hard to tell with little birds, but I believe he told me there's trouble near The Edge. I'm going to have to go check. You don't have to go with me."

  "Of course I do," he said. He gave a little sheepish shrug. "I want to go with you. I want to understand what's going on. I want to help where I can."

  "Thank you." I meant those words, too. I didn't want to face this entirely alone. And besides, every time I felt Adrian's hand in mine, I remembered my job which was to protect his world. I might not be the most powerful fae, but I was far from helpless. Having someone who cared also helped. There are powers other than magic in both worlds.

  I reached out and found The Edge within the sphere, close to Highway 7. At least we didn't have to hike out to the middle of nowhere, I told myself, even though that was exactly where I fervently wished The Edge to go -- away from the town instead of coming closer and closer to Estes Park.

  The sphere had moved closer as well, which might mean some kind of relationship, though I couldn't quite figure out the connections. Not understanding annoyed me. I glanced longingly toward the street leading to home, but kept going a few more blocks to Brodie Avenue. We crossed over the bridge, both of us glancing into the water, but seeing nothing. A few ducks had taken refuge in the underpinning of the bridge, though, and I gave them some words of hope, but we didn't linger.

  "Did I mention the peripix problem?" I asked, waving towards dark buildings as we passed. Wood stoves and fireplaces kicked smoke into the air nearly everywhere in town. I saw a few people staring out windows, but mostly we passed without notice, there in the white snow fall.

  "Peripix?"

  "Annoying little creatures -- you saw the picture of one in the newspaper. They're from the other side, and they have a bad habit of finding the worst places to nest -- which is what they've been doing here, and why so much of the town has been losing power. Magic and technology don't mix. The cats say they're nesting in the power plant, phone exchange, cable company -- anywhere they will cut power to the humans."

  "You think they're choosing those spots on purpose."

  "Not them. Something is directing the peripix, though."

  "What can you do? If these people have no power --"

  "The people in this area are prepared for winter storms." I waved toward the houses where curls of smoke drifted upward from chimneys. "And I long ago made certain the hospital's generator wouldn't fail on them --"

  He stopped and caught my arm, drawing me into a big, warm embrace.

  "Hey," I said into his chest.

  "You are a wonderful person. Or whatever."

  I laughed. We kept walking, magic helping us as we headed out of town again. Before long, we found The Edge. The wall glowed brightly and would attract far too much attention tonight. I started trying to figure out how I could hide or disguise the glow in this place where most everywhere else would be dark. I feared everyone would see --

  I rethought the problem.

  "Maybe I need to stop worrying about The Edge drawing attention, and concentrate on saving people," I said aloud.

  Adrian nodded --

  And we both heard the sound, rushing toward us, through the snow. I didn't see anything at first --

  Four riders appeared, all silver ice and not misty as they had been before. They rode straight at us with swords drawn and for a moment I almost panicked, thinking those were death swords -- but no. Just ice swords.

  Deadly enough.

  I didn't push Adrian aside. Instead, I created magic fueled by fear and anger, and tossed a ball of fire right into the face of the first rider.

  He and the horse melted. Not like ice melting, but more like plastic -- a loss of shape, pulled downward by gravity. I couldn't watch since the next rider came rushing in before I could create a second ball of fire.

  Another went for Adrian, but he ducked under the blade and swatted the horse on the rump. The animal was definitely solid enough to feel the hit, and shied away while the rider -- almost a face, and dark-eyed -- fought for control.

  I stopped watching him and dealt with the two who came for me. I ducked one swing and hit the horse in much the same way as Adrian had, but with far more power. The blow sent the horse tumbling with the rider underneath, and I was glad they didn't have voices.

  The other rider nicked my upraised hand with the blade --not a bad cut, lucky for me. I cursed and leaped backward -- and then charged straight in while the horse and rider tried to change direction. They were real enough to feel the snow and ice, and not as sure footed as I was with my magic. I got past, found the rider still under his struggling horse, and grabbed the sword out of his hand. I felt it start to waver, but I infused the blade with my own power and kept it real enough to use.

  Cold, but solid: I could feel the whisper of metal in the blade. I brought the sword up, parried a blow which might have cut half way through my head -- not a pleasant thought -- and swung at the rider. The blade tore through the man's arm and struck the horse, and they disappeared into the snow. I thought there might be a kind of white blood on my blade, but I didn't check too closely.

  Instead, I killed the horse and rider before they regained their feet. I went after the other one Adrian had managed to keep busy during my battle. This last rider proved a little quicker with the sword, but I met his blows and finally cut his arm and the horse's head, probably half blinding the creature. They spun and disappeared into the snow as well -- disappeared entirely in a few steps. I didn't think they existed here anymore.

  "You're damned good with a sword
," Adrian said with a little surprise.

  "Comes with being fae." I healed my wounds and the cut on his forehead, shushing him when he started to say I shouldn't. "This is easy stuff, healing little wounds. And now we won't have to explain them to anyone one meet. But the sword -- fae use bladed weapons. Technology doesn't work well with us. Even flintlocks tend to fail around us."

  "Your car --"

  "Magic built, but tied to the laws of this reality. I could use magic and we could drive over the top of the snow, but I don't want to draw attention. I don't want the humans to start panicking."

  He said nothing as we headed into the hills -- still heading for more trouble. Maybe I should have run the other way, but I needed to see why the junco had been worried.

  And I found out soon enough. The magic-laden snow didn't fall near The Edge, but instead sublimed into the other powers nearby. Magic crackled through the air and magical creatures of all sorts had gathered to bask there. I realized they must be the ones roaming the streets at night. Some even wore human clothing, as though they would really blend in. And worse, more came through even as I watched. There were at least fifty already, of varying sizes, intelligence and belligerence.

  "Oh no. We don't need more," I said.

  Although being this near The Edge's free magic helped me, too. Better yet, not one of them was fae or a higher being, so I had the advantage on them in power and -- I hoped -- intelligence. I felt out the area around them, gathered my power, and waited until they were pulling something large though, which might be a troll. I didn't want another one here.

  So I patted Adrian on the arm, handed him the sword, and signaled him to stay put. He gave an emphatic nod. Not stupid.

  I stood, let out a scream, startling Adrian, the creatures by The Edge, and probably half of Estes Park. I ran headlong down the hill side, using a magic scoop to capture everything in sight and funnel them through the hole they had open in The Edge.

  They met resistance trying to go back through. I didn't care. I shoved harder until I sensed something, as though a bubble burst and they tumbled over one another into the fae lands. A couple tried to rush out again, but I reached The Edge and physically shoved them through before I pulled the strands of magic together and sealed the hole shut. I had started getting good at the work.