The Outlaw Varjak Paw

by S. F. Said

  She knifed forwards into the Bones cats, claws blurring, flashing, slashing – and ripped a hole in their defences.

  Elyza burst forwards through the hole. Malisha went with her. Then Varjak and Jess, Omar and Ozzie. The Bones cats couldn’t stop them. Pernisha was as much as they could deal with: the one-eared cat, on fire with vengeance.

  The whole bridge was shaking and rattling, and Varjak could feel the force of the wind on his neck – but he was clear through now and running free. A platform opened up on his left. He leaped onto the platform, away from the train and its deadly wind.

  He turned and saw Pernisha Scratch, proud and undefeated, still locked in battle with the Bones cats. But behind them – huge, dazzling, blinding, deafening – the train with its single headlight screamed towards them like death coming through the night.

  ‘Pernisha!’ yelled Elyza. ‘Sister!’

  And then the train thundered through, and Varjak couldn’t see any more; couldn’t hear; couldn’t speak. His whole body filled with the terrible thud and crack and roar, and he could feel the wind crushing his fur as an endless chain of carriages rushed past, one by one by one, just a whisker’s breadth away.

  Only when he could hear once more, and the deadly wind had passed, did he dare to open his eyes. His friends were sprawled on the platform beside him. Their fur and ears were flat; their eyes clenched tight in terror.

  He looked back at the railway bridge. There was no trace of the Bones cats, or Pernisha Scratch. The train had claimed them all. They were gone.

  He shook his head. I can’t believe this, he thought. We’ve crossed the river, but we’ve lost Tam at one end, and poor Pernisha at the other.

  We’re two down already – and we’re not even close to Sally Bones.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  ‘PERNISHA?’ SAID ELYZA Scratch. ‘Where’s Pernisha?’

  ‘She – I think the train got her,’ said Malisha.

  Varjak watched the two remaining Scratch Sisters search in vain for Pernisha. He could see grief rising in their eyes. The air was freezing cold. It felt like a storm was coming.

  Omar and Ozzie looked at each other, tails curling round their legs. ‘It’s our fault,’ whispered Omar. ‘If we hadn’t said what we said, she wouldn’t have done it.’

  ‘She went down fighting,’ rasped Elyza. ‘As a Scratch Sister should. But Sally Bones’s gang will pay for this. We are going to make them pay – right, Malisha?’

  ‘Right.’

  Varjak could see their grief turning to fury. They flicked out their claws, and ghosted forwards. They headed towards the steps at the end of the platform.

  Down on the embankment, prowling about, Varjak could see more cats. Sally Bones’s cats. He looked up. All along the riverside, those vast towers of steel and glass were glowing into the night. But like a jagged claw of darkness, that single, solitary stone tower was still far away in the distance. Sally Bones’s place. Calling to him.

  ‘Wait, Elyza,’ he said. ‘There are patrols down there.’

  ‘Yes,’ she replied, ‘and they will pay for what happened to Pernisha.’

  Varjak shook his head. ‘What good will it do? If we keep fighting patrols, we’ll never get near Sally Bones, and what Pernisha did won’t mean a thing. Fighting won’t get us there. We need something better.’

  ‘I’ve got an idea,’ Razor piped up.

  ‘We’re not interested,’ snapped Elyza. ‘Come on, Malisha. Let’s go down there and wipe them out.’

  ‘We’re coming too,’ said Omar. ‘We will fight beside you to avenge her—’

  ‘Wait,’ said Varjak. ‘We’re not going anywhere till we’ve heard Razor’s idea. Go on, Razor. Tell us.’

  Razor stood a little straighter at his words. ‘The Boss is right,’ he croaked. ‘You’ll never beat them all. There’s too many. But we can fool them. Sally Bones wants Varjak captured, right? She kicked me out of her gang, but I can say I want to get back in. I’ll say I put together a posse with the Scratch Sisters – and together, we’ve beaten Varjak, and we’re taking him to Sally Bones for punishment.’

  Varjak’s eyes widened. It was simple, but it was good.

  ‘I think it’s really clever,’ said Ozzie.

  Razor’s face lit up with pride. ‘You leave the talking to me!’ he croaked. ‘They’ll take us straight to the graveyard!’

  ‘Ozzie thinks it’s clever,’ muttered Elyza. ‘Wonderful. That’s just wonderful—’

  ‘It’s this, or nothing,’ said Varjak, cutting her off. ‘I’m not doing it any other way.’

  Elyza’s eyes narrowed. Slowly, she put away her claws. ‘All right, Paw. If you think it’s so good, we’ll try it. But the minute it goes wrong – you won’t be able to hold us back.’

  The air felt tight with pressure. A storm was definitely coming. Varjak could feel it in his whiskers.

  ‘OK,’ he said. ‘Now, Jess, they know you’re my friend, so you’ll be a prisoner too. And Omar—’

  Omar’s tail flicked up. ‘Yes, Varjak? We’re in charge of the posse, right?’

  ‘No, Omar. They know you’re on my side. You and Ozzie have to be prisoners, like us.’

  ‘Prisoners?’ scowled Omar.

  Elyza laughed at him. ‘Get in line, scum!’

  ‘But no one could beat the Orrible Twins!’ protested Omar. ‘We’re the strongest!’

  Lightning crackled above the city.

  ‘Omar,’ said big Ozzie, ‘we’re doing Razor’s plan, and that’s that.’

  There was silence. Then thunder rumbled overhead.

  ‘Well . . .’ grumbled Omar. ‘OK. But I wouldn’t do this for anyone else.’

  ‘Thanks!’ said Razor, grinning. ‘Now come on: everyone’s got to do it right if this is going to work.’ Varjak could see a bit of Razor’s old confidence coming back. He still looked naked without his ears and tail – but he looked proud as he marched ahead of them all, down to the embankment.

  Varjak, Jess and the Twins walked together in a huddle, pretending to look miserable and defeated. Razor swaggered ahead of them; Elyza and Malisha behind.

  They were met by a patrol from Sally Bones’s gang, guarding their turf with cold malevolence. It was led by Luger himself.

  ‘Go on, Razor,’ whispered Varjak. ‘Make it good.’

  He held his breath as the tiger-striped tomcat strutted forwards. A spike of white lightning lit the roadside.

  ‘Razor,’ snapped Luger. ‘You dare show your face here?’ He scowled over Razor’s shoulder, and saw Varjak, and the Twins. ‘What the—’

  ‘Relax, Luger,’ said Razor. ‘They’re my prisoners. I’ve captured these outlaws, and I’m taking them to the Boss for punishment.’

  Luger’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. The other cats in the patrol shifted about, not knowing what to think.

  ‘I don’t like this,’ said Luger. ‘What are those Scratch Sisters doing here? Why have you brought them onto our territory?’

  ‘I needed them as part of my posse, to beat Varjak Paw,’ said Razor. He winked at Luger. ‘And I’m taking them to the Boss, to get their just reward.’

  A cold smile flickered over Luger’s face. ‘I see,’ he said. ‘Maybe you’re not so bad after all . . .’ Varjak felt an intense rush of relief. Razor was good; he was brilliant. They were going to get away with it. ‘But something doesn’t make sense here,’ said Luger, scratching his head. ‘What’s wrong with you, Varjak Paw? Why aren’t you fighting? Aren’t you the cat who fights like Sally Bones?’

  Varjak’s heart lurched. His mind raced. And then he knew what to do: tell the truth.

  ‘I’ve lost my power,’ he said. ‘I’m weak as a kitten now.’

  ‘Don’t get funny with me,’ said Luger harshly. ‘You’re the cause of all this trouble. This city was peaceful before you showed up.’

  ‘No it wasn’t!’ said Varjak. ‘You gangs – you were—’

  ‘Enough!’ snapped Luger. ‘You’re nothing but an outlaw, you
and that Holly you used to hang around with. Well, she got what she deserved – and so will you.’

  He spat in Varjak’s face. Varjak didn’t respond. He had to stay calm, stay focused.

  ‘You think you’re such a hero, don’t you?’ Luger continued. ‘You and that pathetic little Holly, breaking the law, ruining this city for everyone else! Come on, then. If you’re such a hero, hit me!’ He exposed his jaw, held it out. ‘Come on!’

  Varjak shook his head. He was tempted, for Holly’s sake. But it was better to do nothing; much, much better. Don’t rise to it. Don’t let it get to you.

  The pressure mounted in the air. Thunder crackled in the sky.

  ‘Scared, are you?’ jeered Luger. ‘You should be, because you’re going to die horribly when the Boss sees you. I just wish I could kill you first, you stinking, no-good—’ He slapped Varjak, flush across the face. Varjak didn’t flinch, though every muscle in his body was tense.

  Luger slapped him again. Varjak’s face stung. Every instinct screamed at him to fight back. But we’re supposed to be beaten, he told himself. I mustn’t do anything, or it’ll ruin the plan.

  Luger licked his lips. ‘Hmm. Looks like you really have lost it! So now we can do anything we like to you, and you can’t fight back.’

  He took careful aim – and kicked Varjak in the stomach. Hard.

  Varjak doubled up in pain. He sank to the ground. Luger kicked him in the guts again. Varjak didn’t move. He took the kicking. Got to stick to the plan, he thought desperately. Trust myself. That’s the Seventh Skill, isn’t it?

  ‘Good,’ said Luger, after one more kick. He sounded satisfied. ‘Now I’m going to take you to the Boss, and she’s going to punish you properly. I’m looking forward to this.’

  Omar and Ozzie helped Varjak back up. His stomach was thudding with pain; he felt like he was going to be sick; but deep inside, he was smiling. Because he knew that they’d done it. They’d fooled Luger. Razor’s plan had worked.

  Luger led them through the streets, towards the graveyard. This part of Sally Bones’s territory was different to any part of the city Varjak had been in before. Many of the buildings here were enclosed behind high gates and fences. The windows and doors were shut, as if the people were trying to keep something out. The street lamps cast a harsh white glare. Varjak felt nervous and exposed in their light.

  Luger led them on, past tall towers, through abandoned car parks sprayed with graffiti, littered with broken glass and swirling heaps of dust and debris. Finally they came to a pair of wrought-iron gates, set apart on a mound from the buildings all around.

  ‘This is it,’ whispered Omar. ‘The graveyard.’

  Ozzie shivered. ‘I don’t want to go in!’

  ‘Wish I’d run away with Tam,’ said Jess, fear flickering in her eyes.

  But there was no running away from this place. They went through the gates into the graveyard. It was full of old tombstones, shrouded in snow and ice. Nothing grew here; only dead trees, their bark turned white, their leaves long gone.

  A white flash lit up the sky. It was strange to see it: the night sky, all white. No moon, no stars: just white. Against it, the criss-crossing branches of the trees looked like cracks, hairline fractures in the air.

  Luger led them through the tombstones. The ground was frozen beneath Varjak’s paws. It smelled dank and deadly and somehow wrong. His spine tingled as they stepped over the graves. Thunder cracked above their heads, like explosions in the sky.

  At the end of the graveyard, the mound sloped up towards a high stone tower. It was so much bigger close up than Varjak expected. It was like a mountain: a massive, jagged claw of darkness, cutting into the night.

  This was it, at last. Sally Bones’s place.

  At the foot of the tower prowled her gang. Dozens of cats. Their eyes glittered in the night. Varjak could smell their sharp, strong odour on the wind. At the top of the tower, there was a wide arched window with a narrow ledge. A great bell hung inside.

  ‘So,’ said a familiar voice. ‘We meet again, Varjak Paw.’

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  IT WAS SALLY Bones. She was standing in a dark doorway at the foot of the tower, her gang ranged out before her. She was watching Varjak with her ice-blue eye. Her bony body gleamed white against the doorway.

  ‘We captured Varjak Paw, Boss,’ said Luger.

  ‘Indeed?’ said Sally Bones. ‘And you captured all his gang, too?’

  ‘No, Boss – they were guarding him. Razor put together a posse . . .’

  Luger tailed off as Sally Bones stalked towards him.

  ‘You fool,’ she said. ‘You fell right into their trap.’

  The air seemed to shimmer for a moment. Then Luger howled. There was a livid red slash on his face – and Sally Bones was flicking his blood from her claws.

  Varjak felt Razor and the Twins flinch, but he didn’t flinch himself. He was thinking, thinking hard, because his life depended on it. What did I do to her, last time? What is her weakness? I can’t see any weakness now!

  Have to get closer. That’s the only way.

  He took a step forwards.

  ‘No further!’ snapped Sally Bones, showing teeth that tapered down to deadly points. ‘You have done well to get this far, Varjak Paw,’ she said. ‘You have out-fought and out-thought some of my best cats.’ She smiled, though her ice-blue eye stayed cold and hard. ‘So I am making you an offer. Come join my gang. Be my captain. I will give you everything you want, and more.’

  She turned and nodded behind her. Some more of her gang came out of the doorway. They had a prisoner with them. A cat with spiky black-and-white fur. This cat was limping, clearly hurt – but alive. Varjak could see one of her eyes, and it was the colour of mustard. And his heart was fluttering in his chest now, like the wings of a trapped bird, because he didn’t dare believe it was true.

  ‘Holly?’ he whispered.

  ‘Yes,’ said Sally Bones. ‘She fell, with one of my cats. He did not survive, but his body broke her fall. She was half-conscious, calling your name, when I found her. So I brought her here, to my place. We have been waiting for you to come.’

  ‘Holly – is it really you?’

  The cat by the tower looked up. Lightning flashed above.

  ‘Varjak?’ came her voice, the gravelly voice that he loved so much, sounding as if it was coming from a huge distance, from the very bottom of the sea – but Holly’s voice, unmistakably. ‘Varjak, did you get away, on the rooftop? Did I do enough?’

  ‘Holly!’ he yelled, and his heart surged in his chest as he moved towards her. Up above, thunder cracked the sky. ‘Yes, we made it, Holly, and it was all thanks to you!’

  She smiled, spiky and beautiful as ever. But something about her was changed. He could see both her eyes now. One of them was mustard-coloured. But the other – it looked blue. Ice-blue.

  ‘Holly, what’s happened to your eyes?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she whispered. ‘I’ve been having dreams, Varjak, such strange dreams. And now everything looks . . . different.’

  ‘But you’re alive, that’s all that matters! Oh, I missed you – you don’t know how much I missed you! Come on, we’re getting out of here!’

  ‘No!’ snapped Sally Bones. And before Varjak could speak, half her gang stood between them again, and he couldn’t even see Holly any more.

  ‘Now make your choice, Varjak Paw,’ said the thin white cat. ‘You join my gang and do as I say, and you can have your friend back. Defy me, and you and every one of your friends will die.’ Her tail whipped behind her. ‘Choose wisely,’ she said, as she turned and went back into the tower, taking Holly with her.

  It was like a slash in the face.

  ‘How dare she do that to Holly?’ growled Razor. ‘I say we fight!’

  ‘He’s right,’ said Omar. ‘It’s the only way.’

  But Varjak still couldn’t see any weakness in Sally Bones. How could he beat her? He had to admit the truth.

&n
bsp; ‘Everyone,’ he said. ‘There’s something I’ve got to tell you. What I told Luger about losing the power? It’s true. I’ve lost it.’

  ‘Ssh,’ said Jess. ‘We know.’

  ‘I’ve lost it, and – you what?’

  ‘We’ve known for ages,’ said Jess. ‘It don’t matter. We followed you anyway.’

  ‘You – but – why?’

  ‘You made us do things we never thought we’d do,’ said Omar. ‘Even without your power, you kept us together. You always found a way to keep us going.’

  ‘And now,’ said Ozzie, limbering his massive frame up for combat, ‘we’re going to do what we came here for.’

  Thunder exploded up above. The Twins moved to Varjak’s left. The Scratch Sisters to his right. Jess by his side. Razor behind him.

  ‘Varjak Paw,’ said Elyza Scratch, unsheathing her claws, ‘the way Razor fooled Luger was genius, and I take back everything I said. But you were the one who knew. You were the one who took the kicking, to make it work. You led us here, with wisdom and courage – and you have earned the respect of the Scratch Sisters.’

  ‘And Pernisha would say so too,’ said Malisha, giving her claws one final shine.

  Varjak could hardly believe it. He felt lifted by his friends, by their faith. He felt lifted; and as he breathed in, something started to happen inside him. Deep inside him, a flame leaped into life.

  In–two–three–four, out–two–three–four

  The world shimmered and slowed down around him –

  In–two–three–four, out–two–three–four

  – and he felt the power, rising in his heart again, filling his lungs, crackling from his whiskers to his tail: a hot rush that was almost more than he could control.

  It was so good, this feeling. He’d missed it so much.

  ‘Varjak!’ cried Jess. ‘You’ve got it back!’

  ‘Yes I have,’ he said. ‘Thanks to you. Thanks to you all.’

  He was one of a pack, and his pack was all around him. And Holly was alive! She was in the tower. He was going to get her back. This time, nothing was going to stop him.

  He took a step forwards, shimmering in Slow-Time. His pack moved up with him. A snowstorm was howling down from the sky, blowing straight in their faces. Varjak didn’t even notice. This was it. This was the moment.