Heart of the Cat

by S. E. Smith

  “Well, you’ll have to settle for something a little less… calming,” she informed him before she studied his face. “You have spots.”

  He looked at her with a startled expression before he shrugged. “That is not unusual. Most Sarafin retain the markings of their cat in this form,” he said.

  “You said that you came from another… planet. Tell me about it,” she encouraged.

  “First, I need to know how many people the boy told about my presence,” he stated in a serious tone.

  Trescina frowned. “Boy? Which boy…? Do you mean Zeke?” she cautiously asked.

  He impatiently nodded and waved one of his hands. “Yes. He must have told you that he saw me shape-shift. That is how you knew about me. From his mother’s reaction, I do not believe he has told her yet. I am not sure if he told the human male. I sensed that he was unsure. Perhaps he did, but the male did not believe the boy’s wild tales. If that is the case, why would you?” he demanded.

  Trescina’s mind raced as she tried to understand everything he was admitting. He thought that Zeke had told her that he was a shape-shifter. That meant that Zeke must have seen him when he snuck out yesterday. From the little that she had noticed, she thought Zeke must have not shared the story of his wild adventure. If he had, either Heather or Chad would have mentioned it. Granted, Chad had been hesitant about her taking Walkyr, but that was mostly because he was only relying on the little he knew of her and her work with large cats. It was obvious both Heather and Chad had believed her tale of Walkyr being a rare Siberian cat.

  “I don’t think Zeke told anyone… else. He didn’t tell anyone about seeing you shape-shifting—except me, of course. I tend to believe the more… unusual things in life. It’s one of my quirky habits,” she hastily added.

  The frown on Walkyr’s face relaxed, and he nodded in satisfaction. “It is best if neither he nor you tell anyone of my presence. Both Riley and Tina were very adamant that no other humans should be aware of my presence because they would panic,” he stressed.

  Trescina nodded in agreement before she frowned. “Who are Riley and Tina?” she asked.

  Walkyr looked over the rim of his mug. She could see his nose move as he tried to sniff the drink without being obvious. He crinkled his nose at the strong peppermint scent and looked warily at the almost clear, steaming liquid.

  “They are my new sisters. Riley is mated to my brother, Vox, while her sister, Tina, is mated to my brother, Viper. Pearl, their grandmother, is married to Asim. He is a Valdier. The three women come from your world, though my brother, Vox, met Riley on the Antrox mining station he was imprisoned in,” he explained, still unsure of the drink she had handed him.

  She released an impatient sigh. “Let me,” she said.

  She placed her cup down on the counter and reached for his mug. He paused for a moment before he handed his drink to her. She lifted it to her lips, gently blew to cool it a little, before taking a sip. She repeated her actions once more for good measure before handing him the mug again.

  “Why did you do that?” he questioned.

  She lifted an inquiring eyebrow at him. “I wanted to show you that it is perfectly safe to drink,” she stated.

  “Thank you,” he murmured, before turning the mug and placing his lips on the spot where hers had been.

  She followed the movement with her eyes. A shiver ran through her at the romantic, almost intimate act. She swallowed and began to wonder if she might have been better off just dumping him somewhere far away.

  “You were going to tell me about your planet. How did you get here? You said there were others, only you were fighting them. What happened to them?” she asked, leaning against the counter.

  We in danger and you flirt with him! her cat huffed.

  He is like us. We need to know, she argued.

  No, we don’t, her cat snorted before withdrawing again.

  “You do not have to worry. I promise I am not here to harm you or any other human,” he asserted.

  Trescina blinked, trying to follow what he was saying. It took a second for her to realize he was studying her hands. She looked down and grimaced. Her knuckles were almost white from her grip on the mug. She was lucky she hadn’t crushed the blasted thing.

  “I’m not worried, and I’m definitely not afraid,” she lied.

  His lips twitched at her obvious fib. “In that case, I better answer your questions, since you are not alarmed. My home world is called Sarafin. We are a species gifted by the Goddess Aikaterina with the ability to shape-shift into the powerful form of a feline. Our cat is a part of our primitive side. I have the power of the leopard. My skills as a warrior match those of my leopard,” he stated.

  She tilted her head and studied him. “What are your skills?” she asked.

  He grinned. “Power, stealth, cunning, and I’m an excellent lover,” he added.

  “Really? I’m sure that goes over well on your resume,” she teased.

  “I am not sure what a resume is, but Pearl once said that I was full of shit. She has a very colorful vocabulary. I have learned a lot from her,” he replied.

  His sheepish grin made her chuckle and filled her with warmth. She pulled her eyes away from his. He could add ‘very good at distracting’ to his list of accomplishments as well.

  She cleared her throat. “So, everything you’ve said so far sounds pretty unbelievable. I mean, I know the shape-shifting part is true. I’ve seen you do it. The thing you used to heal your leg is pretty awesome too, so I’ll give you the alien technology part. The other items you listed—well, I’ll wait to see if those are true as well. After all, if you are so cunning and stealthy, I’m not sure jumping in front of a truck was a good demonstration of that,” she observed a bit sarcastically.

  His expression sobered. “I was trying to protect the boy. I have to find out if those men I was tracking were killed in the explosion. It is possible they weren’t. They know about the boy and will kill anyone they come across. These are traitors to my people. They are responsible for many atrocities over the centuries. It is important that I make sure they either died or stop them before they harm anyone else,” he quietly explained.

  Trescina looked over his shoulder and out the windows at the forest and mountains. The area was pretty remote. It was a thirty-mile drive into town. The majority of the land belonged to Paul Grove. She looked back at him.

  “Why would they come here? I mean, why come so far across space to land here? I would think there would have been planets closer to yours where they could have escaped,” she reasoned.

  Walkyr turned and slipped off the stool. He walked over to the window that looked out over the mountains. A light snow was falling.

  She had an insane impulse to walk over behind him, wrap her arms around his waist, and hold him close. It was crazy to even think such a thing. If everything he was saying was true, then she couldn’t help wondering if the faint memories that had haunted her all her life were actually real.

  Are we aliens? Papa said that Katarina couldn’t shape-shift because she was half human. That Mama had never changed him because it would have been too dangerous. I always thought it was because we were a different species native to this planet. But, is it possible we are not? she silently wondered.

  I remember pain, her cat stubbornly stated.

  Trescina straightened when he turned. His face was hard—distant. This was a man used to fighting. Yet, even with the change in him, she did not feel threatened.

  “There must have been a reason they came here, to this exact location. Whatever brought them here, I need to find it first—or at least prevent them from leaving the planet. I have to return to the location where I was struck. Their space ship was not far from it. From there, I can determine if the two men survived before I track the other two on this planet,” he said.

  “I could take you,” she volunteered before wincing at her cat’s rebellion.

  “I do not want to put you in danger,” he started t
o say.

  “I don’t think you need to worry about that. I come with my own security force,” she reassured him.

  He turned to look in the direction that she waved. Trescina chuckled at his baffled expression as he studied the two tigers lounging on the rug by the thick, double-paned doors. Cinnamon was lying on her side while Spice was sprawled out with his back legs stretched out behind him. Spice looked up and yawned.

  “Is it normal for humans to have such pets?” he asked in a suddenly puzzled voice.

  Trescina laughed. “No, but then, I’m not your typical human,” she teased. “Come on, space man.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Walkyr surreptitiously studied the woman driving the vehicle. There was something about her that continued to perplex him. It didn’t help that all he could think about was burying his hands in her hair and pulling her close. Those long curls were driving him crazy.

  She make beautiful tiger, his cat purred.

  We are not here for a mate. We are here to save our people, he reminded his cat.

  We do both, his cat stubbornly argued

  Walkyr shielded his thoughts. He wasn’t about to get into an argument with his cat. That usually didn’t end well, because one of them had to lose. His cat was known to pout for weeks and cause disruptions when he least expected it. His theory was that the Goddess had a wicked sense of humor because the Valdier had the same issues, only in duplicate except theirs were twice as bad, since they had to deal with their dragon as well as their symbiot.

  He shuddered. He couldn’t imagine not having another voice in his head all the time. For a brief second, he was almost envious of the Curizan. They must have it easy compared to their shape-shifting allies!

  “What?” Trescina asked, glancing at him as she navigated the icy driveway leading away from her home.

  He shot her an apologetic look. “I was thinking,” he replied.

  She looked at him with an amused expression. “So, you can add talking to yourself as another fine quality to your resume?” she teased.

  “What is this resume that you talk about? Is it a disease?” he asked.

  “No, it’s not a disease. It is a document citing your qualifications when you are looking for a job,” she explained, slowing to a stop before looking both ways.

  “I do not need to look for a job. I am a Prince. My position is to protect my people,” he answered with a wave of his hand.

  “Oh, I forgot. You’re a Prince. Of course you already have a job,” she muttered under her breath. “So, killing people is part of your Princely duties I take it.”

  “Yes, when they are responsible for the deaths of thousands of my people, including members of my extended family,” he replied.

  “I’m so sorry. I… how?” she asked with horror.

  Walkyr nodded and stared moodily out of the windshield. “They joined together with traitors to the Curizan and Valdier. A sect known as The Enlightenment recruited followers throughout the different Kingdoms on our world and others. Their lies and deceptions were effective. The Great War between our three species raged for centuries, leaving a long line of death and destruction in its wake. During a battle, two members of the Royal Families, one from the Valdier, the other from the Curizan, became separated from their parties and found themselves face-to-face.” He shook his head. “It would appear the Goddess must have decided that since we refused to talk, we needed a little help. Creon Reykill of the Valdier and Ha’ven Ha’darra of the Curizan did just that. They eventually understood the depth of the treachery and reached out to my brother, Vox. A trap was set and sprung. It revealed that the extent of the perfidy which had not only infiltrated the three planets but also the Sarafin royal family itself. The members of the sect must have realized they were about to be revealed. On that same night, they planned and launched coordinated attacks on all three worlds. Their goal was to murder the members of all three royal families and seize control,” he explained before growing quiet as he remembered that night so long ago.

  “But… you were able to stop them! I mean, you wouldn’t be here otherwise, would you?” she protested.

  He nodded. “Yes, we stopped them, but not before there was a great loss of life throughout each of our worlds. The Valdier King was killed. They discovered quite recently that his own brother murdered him. The Curizan also suffered devastating losses while we….” He paused and drew in a deep breath. “The Kingdom of the Desert and the Forest on my world were devastated by the murders of their leaders. You must understand that the families rule our worlds because we were chosen by the Goddess to be the protectors for our people. All Sarafin were given a gift—the gift that gives us the power to connect with our cat. Without that power, we would no longer exist. The Prince of the Desert Kingdom was smuggled away by his nurse after the murder of his parents and brought to his aunt and uncle for his safety. Banu and I were raised together, and we are as close as brothers. He still searches for the Kingdom that belongs to him,” Walkyr said, reaching up to scratch Cinnamon’s chin after the white tiger rested it on his shoulder.

  “What about the other Kingdom, the one in the forest? What happened to it?” Trescina asked, lifting a hand to push her hair behind her ear.

  He turned his head and looked at her. “I’ve seen the Kingdom of the Forest. The Goddess showed me the way. I do not understand why she chose me, but she did. Princess Mia and her newborn child vanished from their Kingdom that night. The Goddess showed me what happened. Princess Mia held the Heart of the Cat, the lifeblood of our species, in her hand when she disappeared. She and her newborn child must be alive. My mission is to find them and retrieve the Heart,” he quietly shared.

  Trescina shook her head. “It can’t…. I don’t understand. How could this…? Princess Mia…. She would have to be centuries old if this happened then. There is no way! She….” her voice faded away and she shook her head again.

  He shrugged. “The Goddess said the past had caught up with the present. The Goddess is not limited to the physics of time and space the way we are. I concluded that she could only mean one thing… in order to protect Princess Mia and her child, she had sent them into the future, which is now our present,” he stated.

  Ranker held up the scanner and cursed. The Curizan’s technology was not as good as he had boasted. If he hadn’t already killed the man, he would have done it when he returned just for having wasted his time.

  He paused and looked around. Perhaps the tracking device he had found on the outer section of the hull was damaged. He swiveled on his heel and reached for his laser pistol when he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye.

  A look of disgust crossed his face when he saw a large brown beast staring at him. He straightened and lowered his arm when the creature turned his head and began to forage along the ground. He looked up when he heard a sound above him.

  He climbed a steep hill. When he reached the top, a railing with a wide road was on the other side. He narrowed his gaze when he saw a gap on the other side of the road and tracks that matched that of the transport the human child was riding. A smile curved his lips. Perhaps all that was necessary to locate Walkyr d’Rojah was a little bait—human bait.

  He waited until the roadway was clear before climbing over the railing and jogging across the pavement. Once the trees on the other side shielded him, he pocketed the defective reverse-tracking device and gripped his pistol. Setting off into the woods, he focused on following the deep ruts that had been left behind—tracks that he hoped would lead him to his prey.

  Trescina remained quiet as she drove down the road. She kept her eyes on the pavement, looking for clues on where Walkyr was hit by the vehicle. They didn’t have much time to find the place. It was already starting to get dark and the snow that had finally stopped falling was threatening to start up again.

  In her mind, she was replaying every word he had spoken. She had to force herself not to pull over to the side of the road and kick him out of the SUV, so she could run l
ike hell. It was a good thing she was gripping the steering wheel, otherwise he would have seen the trembling in her hands.

  We run, her cat pleaded.

  No. Not yet. I need… we need to know more. He spoke of Mama. He said the Goddess showed him what happened, she replied in a numb voice.

  He see because he there! her cat argued.

  She started to shake her head but stopped herself in time. She wasn’t in the mood to argue with her cat. If Walkyr was telling the truth—and she believed he was—then she needed to know more about the world her mother had come from and about the man who haunted her memories.

  She could sense Walkyr studying her. She glanced at him. He had a frown on his face.

  “What?” she demanded, beginning to feel uneasy.

  “Why do you wear powder on your face? You are beautiful without it,” he inquired.

  She relaxed. The question was unexpected but thankfully not the one she was expecting. She shrugged. “A lot of women today wear make-up. I have a skin condition that I’m self-conscious about. I don’t like it when people stare at me,” she commented before she reached up and pulled her hair forward a bit more to hide the marks on her skin.

  “You should never be self-conscious. You are beautiful the way you are and have no need to answer to anyone,” he declared with a slight growl in his voice.

  She chuckled and shot him an amused look. “Easy, big guy. I didn’t say I felt like I needed to answer to anyone, and I really don’t give a damn if someone thinks I’m beautiful or not. I just don’t like strangers asking me questions. I have a hard enough time dealing with people in general,” she calmly stated.

  “Why?” he asked, confused.

  She slowed the truck and turned on her blinker when she saw a set of skid marks and pieces of what looked like a plastic turn signal cover along the edge of the road. She pulled onto the wide shoulder and brought the transport to a stop. She shifted the gear into park and turned to look at him.