by S. E. Smith
“What is going on?” he finally demanded in a harsher tone than he had intended.
Aikaterina paused as she stepped onto the staircase. She slid her hand across the polished banister, caressing the wood. He followed the movement with his eyes.
Thick vine spindles spiraled downward to the natural stone and wrapped around the steps, holding them suspended in the air. Both the woman and the staircase gave the appearance that they were floating and added to the illusion that he was caught in a magical realm instead of a missing kingdom on his world. He shook his head and refocused his gaze on her face.
“You have come searching for the Heart of the Cat, have you not?” she asked.
Walkyr’s mouth tightened before he nodded his head. If he hadn’t seen the Goddess’ transformation and the reverence of the Forest people with his own eyes, he would have refused to respond, but she had led him this far.
“Yes,” he answered.
“To find it, you must understand that what you seek is not what you think it is,” Aikaterina stated.
Walkyr frowned when she turned away from him and began climbing the staircase. He followed her.
A ghostly warrior ran down the stairs and he startled when the figure ran through him. Turning on the step, he crouched with his hand on the blade at his side.
“What is going on?” he muttered.
He followed the warrior with his gaze. Soon, the area below him was filled with a ghostly battle. His cat clawed at him when a group of spectral Curizan and Valdier surged forward. What infuriated him was the sight of Sarafin warriors attacking their own people. The fighting brought back memories of a battle long ago.
“What you are seeing are memories of what happened here,” she replied in a tone laced with sadness.
“Why are you showing me this?” Walkyr demanded with a wave of his hand.
“The past has caught up with the present. It will be up to you to prevent what happens now,” Aikaterina said in a calm quiet voice.
A ghostly young woman ran past Walkyr. Tears streaked her grief-stricken face, and she looked fearfully over her shoulder. She was dressed in a long gown. Her dark, curly hair swirled like storm-tossed waves when she turned her head from side to side, searching for a place to hide. Her hand moved down to her rounded stomach.
Walkyr watched as she slipped into an alcove. A moment later, several warriors ran down the corridor. His cat hissed when the men passed through him. He turned when he saw the men come to a stop by a set of large, double doors.
“What happened to her?” Walkyr asked in frustration, wishing he could hear what the men were saying.
“Take my hand, and I will show you,” Aikaterina requested.
Her hand no longer looked like it belonged to a Sarafin maiden. She was a Goddess undisguised, and her skin hummed with power beyond anything he had encountered before.
He’d heard tales of the Goddess appearing before others, including close family members. It had been difficult for him to wrap his head around all of the legends and the detailed descriptions in the scroll. In fact, he had been skeptical that the legend of the Heart of the Cat was real—until now.
He turned his thoughts back to the tales told about his people. The stories that were passed down claimed that shortly after the Goddess gave the Heart of the Cat to them, the four brothers had hidden the Heart away to protect it. Many centuries later, the Goddess supposedly revealed the location of the Heart of the Cat to the Queen of the Forest Kingdom’s young daughter. The Princess had kept the secret of the gem, but she was betrayed.
Walkyr lifted his hand and placed his palm against Aikaterina’s. A wave of disorientation swept through him. He felt like he had transported down from a warship. Shaking his head, he blinked several times to clear his vision. Deep inside, his cat groaned in displeasure.
His eyes widened when he saw that they were in some kind of underground chamber. In the center was a pedestal. Concern washed through him when he saw that the princess was injured. Blood covered her hands and streaked her gown. It took him a moment to realize that she was holding a newly born infant against her bosom.
Nearby, the image shifted. He saw the outline of a man with part of his arm missing staring intently at the woman. His gaze jerked back to the woman and he saw her lips moving, but he couldn’t decipher what she was saying. She lifted a red stone above her head. Seconds later, the same shimmering golden light that had guided him through the forest covered the woman and infant. When the light disappeared, the woman and baby were gone.
“You helped her,” he stated, staring at the pedestal.
“Yes, but…,” Aikaterina said, her voice fading.
Walkyr turned to the Goddess. He frowned when he saw an expression of sadness on her face. The woman had been wounded. Did she and the infant perish? If so, what became of the Heart of the Cat?
“But?” he pressed.
Aikaterina looked at him. Once again, he felt like he was falling into the depths of her eyes. He frowned and took a step closer. He saw… a world. His lips parted when he saw a blue and white planet with a single moon and sun.
“The Heart is in danger. Those that search for the Heart have found where I sent her. You must bring the Heart of the Cat back to your people before it is too late,” Aikaterina explained.
“How will I know…?” Walkyr asked, his voice slurring as his mind grew hazy. “What is… happening to me?”
“Find her and bring her home, warrior. They know where she is now. Follow the hunters, and you will find her, but you must get to her first. She has been gone far too long and she needs you,” Aikaterina softly murmured.
Walkyr felt the gentle brush of fingers against his furrowed brow. Her? She? The Heart of the Cat isn’t a… her. The Heart of the Cat is a gem. The legend and the scroll….
The Heart of the Cat is so much more, Aikaterina’s soothing voice whispered through his mind.
Walkyr closed his eyes as the words washed through him. For a brief moment, he saw a glimpse of a woman’s face before it disappeared. His cat jerked and roared, trying to pull the image back, but it was gone. He swayed, and his mind became foggy. No matter how hard he tried to open his eyes and clear the fog in his brain, he could not. He started to fall, but everything went dark before he hit the ground.
“Walkyr, wake up,” Pallu’s deep voice pulled at his consciousness.
Walkyr’s eyes popped open and he stared at his brother. Pallu was kneeling on one knee in front of him. With a confused frown, Walkyr turned his head and gazed around before focusing on his brother again.
“Where am I?” he asked in a gruff tone.
Pallu rose to his feet and extended his hand. Walkyr grabbed it, and together they brought him to his feet. His mind was beginning to clear, but his confusion remained. Where was he and how the hell had he gotten here?
“You are near the perimeter of the rebel camp,” Pallu answered in a voice laced with confusion.
His brother’s bewildered tone told him that he would have no answers to any of Walkyr’s questions. Walkyr tensed when he noticed a shadowy movement behind his brother. He relaxed when he recognized the Curizan warrior nicknamed Arrow. He rubbed his temple and looked around again. The thick fog made it impossible to see more than a couple of feet in front of him.
“How did I get here?” he suddenly asked.
Pallu’s eyes widened in surprise, and he frowned. “You don’t remember how you got here?” he probed in a cautious tone.
Arrow stepped forward and ran a scanner over him. He turned to look at the Curizan as Arrow paused near his neck. Walkyr touched the spot on his throat where he felt a slight vibration.
“The tracker is still attached and working like it should,” Arrow muttered in a perplexed voice.
Pallu placed his hand on Walkyr’s shoulder. “What do you remember? Did you find the Heart of the Cat?” he asked.
The fog suddenly cleared from his mind, and he remembered everything. Walkyr opened his mouth to res
pond when he heard Vox call out. The three of them turned toward the tent opening when his oldest brother appeared. Walkyr immediately knew something was wrong from the grim expression on Vox’s face.
“What is it?” Walkyr demanded.
Vox looked at him. “I hope you found the Heart. If not, we have problems,” he stated.
“What’s going on?” Pallu wanted to know.
Vox looked at Pallu. “The transport carrying the prisoner you saved from poisoning disappeared on the way back to the city,” he explained.
Arrow whistled. “That is pretty ballsy,” he replied.
“Ballsy?” Vox muttered with a frown. “Have you been chatting with my mate again?”
Arrow grinned. “I will never confess, but I will say that I like some of the Earth terminology. It is very colorful. Not that I’m admitting anything, but Riley, Tina, and Pearl are much more talkative than Ha’ven’s mate, Emma. She can become more vocal if you tease her, though,” he replied with a pleased grin before it faded, and he became serious again. “Do you have any information on what happened to the transport?”
Vox nodded. “Viper debriefed the medical technician who escaped. He said that the pilot and co-pilot attacked him and briefly disabled him. He was able to activate the transport’s tracking device when he regained consciousness. He then fought with the co-pilot and managed to jump from the transport as it passed over a lake. He’s lucky he didn’t break his neck. It took him several hours to reach a village where he was able to contact us. The transport had vanished by then, but thanks to his quick-thinking, we can follow. A freighter arriving on the planet also reported a close encounter with a departing ship that was not authorized to leave. Gable and Qadir are preparing a warship to go after them. Were you successful in retrieving the Heart of the Cat?” he repeated.
Walkyr shook his head. ‘Follow the hunters, and you will find her,’ the Goddess had said. “No, but I think the prisoner knows where I can find it,” he quietly responded.
Vox’s eyes narrowed. “Prepare to join Gable and Qadir, Walkyr. Find the Heart and bring it back,” he ordered.
Walkyr nodded. “I’ll leave right away,” he said.
Pallu silently held out a communicator to him. Walkyr nodded his thanks and took it. The sooner he left, the faster they could intercept the ship.
“Transport on my signal,” he instructed.
A moment later, his body was tingling and a wave of disorientation swept through him again. This time the feeling was caused by the reorganization of his atoms as he was beamed up to the waiting warship.
Cat’s Balls, but I miss the old days when I just flew into space, he thought with a shudder.
Chapter Five
Outer rim of the Milky Way Galaxy:
* * *
The explosion shook the rebel warship, throwing Walkyr and his brother, Qadir, off balance. They were part of an elite squadron of warriors who had transported aboard the moment the shields had failed. They had overtaken most of the ship and were working their way down each level. He hoped the ship’s computer system would give them information.
A curse slipped from his lips when the ship rocked again. It appeared the rebels were determined to fight to the end, if the continued explosions were any indication. He braced an arm against the wall and peered around the door leading into the flight deck. The room was filled with fighters and other assorted types of transports. Qadir looked over at him when the alarms blared, while the emergency lights started to flash.
Walkyr signaled his brother to stay back as he visually scouted the flight deck’s interior from his position behind the frame of the bay door. Qadir nodded, crouched, and waited. Walkyr could see three men running toward several long-distance fighters, but they were out of range. He would leave the escaping rebels to the fighters deploying from Gable’s warship.
The automatic fire extinguishing systems triggered causing a wall of smoke to rise upward when it extinguished the array of fires scattered throughout the bay. The air filtration system activated, drawing the smoke up and out. Walkyr lifted his arm to cover his nose. Through the haze, he suddenly noticed enemy combatants within firing range. Raising his weapon, he fired three shots. The flash from his laser pistol briefly lit up the flight deck. He had struck one, while Qadir followed up by striking the other two when they turned. He was about to advance when he heard a computerized voice issuing instructions.
“Self-destruct sequence has been initiated. Count down has begun. Evacuate… evacuate… evacuate,” the computer’s automated voice announced.
“Cat’s balls, Walkyr! They are going to blow up themselves and us with them,” Qadir growled.
“Not all of them,” he grimly replied when a dozen ships lifted up and began a rapid escape.
“Gable, the ship is set to self-destruct. Get our men out of here,” Walkyr ordered into his comlink.
“Affirmative. We are evacuating the rest of the team now,” Gable instructed.
“Walkyr, to your left,” Qadir suddenly said.
Walkyr rose to his feet and looked to the left. Three men had emerged out of another doorway and were striding across the deck. He immediately identified one of the men as the escaped prisoner from the medical transport. Airabus had been identified from a facial scan that had been on record from his time as an elite guard at the palace.
Walkyr’s gaze moved from Airabus to the man walking next to him. The ornate cloak indicated this was probably the ‘High Lord’ he had been hearing about during his time in the encampment. His features were hidden in the shadow of his deep hood. The lights flickered as more explosions rattled the ship. Walkyr focused on the man’s arm when he raised it to grip a support on the platform he was ascending. The lights reflected off the metal limb.
“I think we’ve finally found who we were searching for,” Qadir replied through gritted teeth.
Walkyr nodded. They needed to track the ship in case the men were able to escape. His brother must have realized the same thing. Qadir grinned at him and pulled several disks from his utility belt. With a snap of his wrist, the disks lit up, swirled through the air, and landed in a neat line on the spaceship.
“Self-destruct in fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven…,” the computer stated, counting down.
“Gable, now would be a good time to lock onto us,” Qadir urged into his comlink.
“I’m going to need a long-distance fighter as well,” Walkyr added as everything blurred.
Earth: Several Weeks later
* * *
Walkyr crouched down in the thick snow and watched two men working on the underbelly of a modified Sarafin transport. Dark scorch marks, deep holes, and twisted metal showed evidence that they had received some damage during their escape two months before and hadn’t fared well upon entering the planet’s atmosphere.
He watched and listened as the two men talked, trying to determine whether they were alone. He recognized one of the men. He had been the third man walking alongside Airabus and the elusive leader of the traitors. He didn’t recognize the other, heavy-set warrior. He must have already been aboard the ship. Regardless of who they were, they needed to be stopped.
He silently advanced on the pair. It would be best to keep the element of surprise for as long as possible. Once they were eliminated, he would alert Gable to send someone. He would need assistance removing all evidence of their presence on the planet.
“I hope the High Lord and Airabus find what they are looking for. I don’t like being here,” the heavy-set warrior said.
“It doesn’t matter what you like, Nastran. What matters is following orders. The Grand Lord will retrieve the Heart, and our people will be free to rule any world, including this one,” the man from the launch bay stated.
Nastran sneered as he removed a partially ripped panel. “I’ve been hearing that same promise for centuries, Ranker. The only good thing that has come out of this is that we are no longer working with the Valdier,” he retorted.
�
�I, too, prefer not to deal with the Curizan and the Valdier. They have no place in what is to come. Only the Grand Lord can free our people and give us the power of the Goddess. Once the power is ours, then even the Curizans and the Valdier will bow to us,” Ranker coolly replied.
“I say we kill them all. Letting them live is too dangerous,” Nastran stated.
“You need to think above killing. The High Lord has shown us what is possible once we harness the power contained inside the Heart of the Cat. The Sarafin will be the most powerful species of all. The power of the Goddess will no longer belong to just the royal family. You will see when the High Lord and Airabus return,” Ranker quietly replied.
“If the power is real,” Nastran snorted.
Walkyr curled his lip in disgust. These men were only interested in power, with no inkling of what it meant or how vulnerable the fate of their species truly was.
The power given to the Sarafin through the Royal line allowed them all to shape-shift. The coats of their cats were thick enough to withstand the fire of a dragon or the energy of the Curizan. Walkyr had observed enough of the Curizans over the centuries to know that it was not just their ability with technology that made them different, and Vox had grudgingly confirmed his suspicions.
What we do? his cat asked.
Walkyr smiled. We only need one alive. I prefer the one that appears to know a little more about what is going on, he dryly added.
His cat agreed that Nastran was the expendable one. Walkyr was about to take a step forward when he heard a machine approaching. Before he could attack, a strange transport appeared between two trees. A small figure encased in a weatherized white suit sharply jerked the steering handle on the machine to the side. Walkyr uttered a loud curse when he saw the two men reach for their weapons.
