by Drae Box
Sasha shook her head. “I’m afraid not. But the three of you are welcome to relax for a while here before you make your inspections.”
Pedibastet sat up and stretched before jumping down and pressing a paw to Raneth’s knee. “Time to go. She clearly has no more information of value and just wishes to find out about you courting one another. We should not waste time.”
“Wait, Prince Pedibastet,” requested Raneth as the cat strolled to the door. “Sasha, what information do you have regarding the inspectors here at Oreg?”
“There are about four or five hundred on duty at any one time,” said the brothel mistress. “Some in uniform, some without. If you’re wondering about their skills, other than the usual brawling and swordsmanship skills inspectors have, none here stand out in any way. There may be a few prisoners in the cells where the unknown items are stored, but there’s no way to tell if any of them will help you or give you information either.”
Aldora stood up as Sasha became quiet. Thank goodness for that. She’s too interested in us, like Pedi said. She took a step towards the Prince of the Cats and the door.
“We have an amazing chef and I’d love to make sure you’re all well fed. Stay for dinner. We can make you some warm chicken with gravy, Prince Pedibastet,” insisted Sasha.
Aldora looked towards her friend to see the cat’s whiskers press against his cheeks in a smile. There goes our chance to escape. She glanced at Raneth, but his eyes were focused upon the cat, a small frown on his face. At least he’s not completely happy with the free dinner either. Hopefully between us we can keep some of our privacy intact.
“We would be delighted,” replied Pedibastet, right on cue. “Raneth can burn his uniform whilst we wait on your cook.”
“It’s getting dark – we shouldn’t stay here for long,” warned Raneth.
“Why are we standing here?” asked Aldora, folding her arms and frowning at her two friends, who had stopped at a corner to look at a large building surrounded by a tall wall that Raneth could look over, but Aldora couldn’t. She tightened her arms around her torso as she started to shiver from the early evening’s chill.
“That grotty-looking building is the inspectors’ headquarters,” said Prince Pedibastet. “Look at the state of it. You would think they never clean the bricks.”
Raneth turned to Aldora. “I need to peek in some of the windows from a rooftop nearby so I can figure out some of the internal layout.”
“Why can’t we just go and knock on the door and ask to check for the Shotput?” asked Aldora.
Pedibastet and Raneth shared a glance.
“What?” she asked.
“Inspectors will not be willing to release an item of that strength into the hands of a Giften,” said Pedibastet, “especially when they could keep it for themselves. There is a lot of mistrust among the Newers due to the years of propaganda against our royal officials and detectives.”
“Their mistrust of us is from the same time our Watchtowers of Old were put up – when the Newers, Eastern Barbarians and the Northern Barbarians invaded Giften. When we officially became Southern Kingdom’s ally,” said Raneth. He looked towards the inspectors’ headquarters. “Keep an eye out.” He strolled back down the path the same way they had come.
Aldora watched him quietly as he grabbed hold of a drainpipe. She looked around the street; there were a few patrons in the window of a pub on the other side, but none were paying Raneth any mind. The rest of the street was flanked by houses, and nobody appeared to be coming or going except for her, Raneth and Pedibastet. Aldora returned her attention to Raneth’s progress; the royal official had already climbed onto the roof. He moved slowly along it, slightly stooped, and knelt on the corner of the house at the end. The royal official stilled as he looked over the inspectors’ building. Then he sat down on the edge of the roof, dangled his legs over and dropped down beside Aldora, rolling forwards onto his left shoulder and standing in the same move. “I can’t see enough to make any good plans,” he told Prince Pedibastet. “Can you take a look, please?”
“I suppose I can,” replied Pedibastet. “Take Aldora to the royal official safehouse. I can take care of myself.”
“Are you sure you want us to leave you, Pedi?” asked Aldora. “What if someone treads on your paws?”
“I will bite them. I will be fine, Aldora. Raneth, take Aldora to the safehouse.”
“Yes, sir.” Raneth gently took Aldora’s hand. “Come on, A.”
“Be careful, Pedi,” said Aldora, letting Raneth gently ease her away from her friend. He called me A, she noted as she glanced at Raneth and gave his hand a quick squeeze. That’s new.
Chapter Three
Pedibastet
Pedibastet waited until the two humans were some metres away before he turned his attention to the inspectors’ headquarters. Listening carefully, he prowled closer, strolling along the side of the road and then curving round with the path until he reached the garden wall. He leapt up and sat on the top. He noticed the same things Raneth probably had, but his green eyes spotted that one of the lower windows was open. As easy as tasting Cray’s porridge, he thought, before jumping down into the a flowerbed that lined the garden’s otherwise plain grass. He ignored the stables to the left of the building to avoid dirtying his paws.
The Prince of the Giften Cats scurried over to the window and stood up on his white hind legs, resting his paws against the dark green windowsill. Inside, a woman in the grey uniform of the inspectors was hunched over at a desk, picking at the undersides of her nails with a small letter opener. Tail swishing, Pedibastet dipped back onto all fours. There’s a small chance that she might see me. White fur is a pain. With another flick of his tail, Pedibastet strolled past the front door, heading for the other side of the building. He followed the wall, pausing to hide behind a large ceramic pot as two male inspectors stepped out of a side door. This door was behind a healthy tree that was taller than the two humans, but not by much. The cat glanced back towards the rooftop Raneth had used. The tree must have obscured his view of this door.
“There’s been a rise in Giftens coming here,” stated one.
Pedibastet twitched one ear towards them, tracking them as they moved past him and towards the small gate in the stone wall surrounding the property.
“Doesn’t mean their royal official captain is welcome. Or this… what do they call her? Dagger Bearer?”
“Yeah. I hear she sleeps with it.”
“Something that important, I bet she does.”
Ignoring their lewd sniggers, Pedibastet crept out from behind his hiding place towards the door they had come from. It hadn’t quite caught the latch. Pushing his nose and cheeks against the door and its frame, he made the wood move just enough to allow him to slip inside.
The Prince of Giften Cats padded down a long corridor, his paws taking him across the red tiles that paved the floor. Weapon racks lined the wall on the right side of the corridor, and they didn’t just contain swords; a few maces were slotted between the usual blades Pedibastet had come to expect from humans’ weapon stockpiles, and there were also javelins and one battleaxe.
A door at the end of the corridor swung open. The cat froze, watching as another inspector stepped into view, zipping up his flies. A waft of unhealthy urine caught the cat’s nose, causing him to shimmy back. The inspector spotted him and hesitated, and they watched each other for a moment before the human took a few steps closer and knelt down.
“Aw, come ‘ere, cat.” He stuck out a hand and made kissy noises.
If I had an eyebrow I’d raise it at you, thought Pedibastet, watching the man attempting to get him to come closer.
“Come on, pussy. I won’t hurt you.”
My poor non-speaking Newer cousins. This is what they have to put up with? How do they deal with the stupidity of these Newers?
“Who are you talking to, Ian?” asked a female voice from somewhere out of Pedibastet’s immediate view.
The inspect
or glanced to the left of the corridor as Pedibastet waited patiently. “Just some dumb cat that’s wandered in. Want me to chase it out?”
“Nah. Cats are harmless. We can always feed it to the prisoners if we get bored. Watch it scream.”
What? How dare they! Do they not know cats aren’t food? If this is how they look at us cats, it would be in my best interest to let Raneth deal with these buffoons! I’m too important to become food. I’m a Giften cat! Pedibastet surged into motion, running out the way he had come as the inspector watched him. He leapt up the wall and turned to face the building. Dumb Newers, he thought, before he flicked his tail once and jumped to freedom.
Raneth
Raneth followed Aldora into the kitchen of the royal official safehouse. She stopped and rested a hip against the counter. “Surely if we just ask the inspectors politely, they’ll give it to us. It’s part of Giften heritage. There must be some legal paperwork somewhere?” she asked.
“There is, but like Prince Pedibastet said, they won’t willingly give it over.”
“But surely if it’s legal they can’t fight against it?”
Raneth considered Aldora’s question quietly for a moment. It’s so sweet how she thinks they should play nice with us. He gently kissed her cheek as he went to stand by her side. “We only became official allies with Newer in 2002,” he stated gently, filling the kettle and placing it on the stove to heat up. “The best we can hope for if we ask them for the Shotput is to sit around for weeks, possibly months. There is paperwork, but I’ve tried that sort of thing with Newers before. It ends up with a lot of blocking on their end. They make everything difficult for Giftens; they will probably insist on paperwork from King Cray and Queen Regina on the matter. Inspectors have a habit of ignoring Queen Regina and working independently when it comes to working with Giftens — Cray knew not to bother giving me one ‘just in case’. Even an alliance of seven years doesn’t stand a chance against older propaganda.”
“We should try anyway. Where’s the harm in a little bit of waiting?” asked Aldora softly. “And where did all this propaganda come from?”
“It’s from the so-called Death Era - in 1704, the Newer king was assassinated and his queen blamed Giften. She thought we were working to expand our territory by weakening their royal strength. She teamed up with the Barbarians and we teamed up for the first time officially with the Southern Kingdom and it led to the war of that era. The Newers kept being beaten by royal officials sent ahead of our army so they started saying stuff about royal officials, and when their queen was killed by her nephew, he used royal officials to explain it away. At least until someone in his court let slip once he able to speak up safely. It spiralled out of control and only started being tackled by Newer’s royals when Regina became queen.”
“The Newers have been spreading lies about royal officials for nearly three hundred years?” Aldora shook her head. “That’s ridiculous!”
“Yeah, maybe.” Raneth ran a hand over the back of his neck before giving a shrug. “If you’re sure about trying to play by the rules, then we can try asking them to check for the Shotput later, but it’ll go a little smoother if it’s you asking, because you’re the Dagger Bearer and not a royal official.”
“Fine,” she said.
A squeak came from the window. Aldora and Raneth looked over as Pedibastet ran a paw down the pane, making the squeak again. The royal official opened the window and watched as the Prince of the Cats slipped inside and then sat on the sill to clean himself.
“Well?” asked Raneth.
Pedibastet paused his grooming to look at Raneth, the tip of his tongue exposed. “What?”
“What can you tell us about their headquarters?”
Pedibastet resumed licking his fur. “They,” he said, speaking between licks, “considered feeding me to the prisoners. Me. A cat. Their superior.”
Superior in what exactly? wondered Raneth as he tried not to smile.
“Are you OK, Pedi?” asked Aldora softly.
“Yes, though I shall have strange dreams for months.”
Raneth frowned and then carefully shut the window, mindful of the cat’s tail. “I meant the layout. You’re obviously fine,” he said.
“Of course.” Pedibastet told them what he had seen of the internal layout and the door he had entered through. “I suggest we sneak in and check for the Shotput sooner rather than later. Two of them talked about you.”
“Anything to worry about?” asked Raneth.
“They made some odd comment about Aldora sleeping with the Dagger of Protection, and they have a clear dislike of your presence, Raneth. We should not stick around if we can help it.”
“Pedi, I’m going to ask them nicely to give us the Shotput if they have it,” said Aldora.
Pedibastet paused his cleaning to look at Aldora.
“What?” she squeaked.
The cat glanced at Raneth.
Raneth shrugged. I can guess what you’re thinking. I’ve already tried.
“It will be an exercise in uselessness,” stated Pedibastet.
“Raneth agreed.”
Pedibastet gave a low growl, looking towards Raneth.
“I think Aldora will understand our thoughts on inspectors if she experiences what they’re like with Giftens first hand,” he said. “But I won’t be going. Last time I was here the inspectors dragged me into their headquarters and took turns beating me until someone came and helped me out.”
“Why didn’t you say?” asked Aldora. “I’m not putting you in harm’s way.”
Raneth shrugged. “That’s why I’m not going. So you won’t be. Pedibastet can go with you and advise you.”
Pedibastet’s ears flattened, but Aldora gently rubbed a finger against the underside of his chin, causing the cat to purr and close his eyes. He jutted out his head for a better chin rub.
“So be it,” purred the cat. “But only after Raneth has fed us something.”
Back in the royal official safehouse, Raneth stood in the kitchen doorway, watching Aldora pace back and forth. Pedibastet wasn’t bothering to watch her; his attention was on the small saucer of milk that was being poured by the other royal official in Oreg, Adelard. He looks like he’s kept under the inspectors’ radar pretty well, thought Raneth. No sign of any injuries in his movements, and no bruises on his face.
“I did warn you, Aldora. They are Newers,” stated Pedibastet before he lapped up some of the milk. He looked up at her. “Inspectors do not like royal officials, and I would have to guess that includes the Dagger Bearer too.”
“But it’s ridiculous,” snapped Aldora. “Royal officials are the good guys. They should be happy to work with us. I don’t even know Adelard but I trust he’s a good person and could help me if I asked nicely! He’s a sodding royal official! A law enforcer!”
And a soldier, if you want to get technical, thought Raneth, though having seen Aldora pace with this much agitation once before when they were trying to help her friend Jenny out of a jam, he knew better than to chime in. We need to answer the question of whether the Shotput is there though. I might be able to get in and out on my own without their discovering me, if I’m careful.
“Aldora, now you’ve seen what they’re like, can I sneak in once it gets dark?” asked Raneth. “Take a proper look?”
“Fine. But Pedibastet and I are coming too.”
The two royal officials glanced at each other; the Prince of the Cats was content to drink his milk.
“Aldora, you and Pedibastet should stay here,” said Raneth softly. “I’ll be faster on my own and less likely to be caught snooping. It could upset the kingdoms’ friendship if we get caught, and our friendship with Newer is still rocky at best.”
And if I get caught, you’re not the one causing a multi-kingdom upset.
“Either we all go or you don’t,” said Aldora.
Pedibastet lifted his chin away from his milk, revealing a little milk beard. “I agree with Raneth. They wanted to fee
d me to the prisoners. We should stay here, Aldora. Better let the royal official do the dangerous work. Besides, if we get into trouble, the Dagger might choose not to help us — inspectors are Newer’s law enforcers — it might decide the rule against harming them with its abilities still applies.”
“No. I know I can’t always make the Dagger do what I need it to, whether it’s the thin line it has about the difference between hurting and defending or my own lack of mastery over it, but we still go. You have better hearing than Raneth and me, and you can walk without being heard at all,” insisted Aldora.
“So can Bayres, almost,” stated the cat. “Family training, and for Raneth royal official training too.”
“We all go.”
“I’ll be on the streets,” said Adelard, who had been watching them quietly. “I need to find out if anything happened because of your going over there.” He excused himself to Pedibastet.
Raneth stepped out of the doorway so Adelard could leave and turned his attention to Aldora. She had her arms folded and was frowning up at him, expecting him to give her a response. “Fine,” said Raneth softly. I’m not getting into a fight with her over this. “You can come.”
“Stop giving in to her just because you two are courting now.”
“Your Highness,” replied Raneth, stepping a little closer to Pedibastet. “Aldora is determined we all go. I’m not going to argue with her and waste time we could be using.” He glanced towards Aldora. She was frowning at him, but she gave a slight nod.
With the town snuggled under darkness, Raneth walked beside Aldora, his right hand holding her left so they would still be able to use their weapon hands without delay if needed. Pedibastet walked behind them, listening carefully to their surroundings but saying nothing. Raneth wasn’t talking either, ignoring Aldora as she looked up at him as he examined the street and the rooftops. The town was dead now that night had claimed it; they walked across a road Raneth led them to with ease and turned right on the path nestled beside it. The inspectors’ headquarters stood a little further ahead of them.