Journeyman Cat

by Virginia Ripple

  “Could someone please tell me what Brother Robert was talking about? I don’t want to do something that will get me dragged away by demons.”

  The older boy and Charlene glanced at each other, then back at him.

  “You are new, aren’t you,” said the boy.

  Tobias nodded, keeping his expression worried. “I know a bit about following the instructions we’re given and I understand the master is merciful, but I hadn’t heard about the demons.”

  “Really?” asked Charlene. “That was the first thing I was told about.”

  The gray tom’s heart thumped hard in his chest. Of course that would be the first thing they were taught. What better way to keep them in line.

  “Maybe we cats are instructed differently?” he asked.

  Charlene shrugged and scooped a forkful of greens into her mouth. The boy raised an eyebrow.

  “I suppose so. What’s your name?”

  “Tobias.”

  “I’m Lyle. This his Charlene and that’s Audrey. Charlene and I have been here about three years past work crew time. That’s where the real testing is. If you work without a disobedient spirit and show potential for learning the Master’s ways, then you get upgraded to student status.”

  “Most of us go through a couple years before we’re advanced to that level, but there’s a few like Audrey here that show real possibilities.”

  The little girl sat up as straight and tall as she could. “Brother Robert says I’m a model student.”

  Lyle rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair.

  “So who was it that needed to go to isolation not that long ago?”

  Audrey’s face crumpled and she stared at her half-eaten food. Charlene glared at the boy, then placed a comforting hand on the child’s shoulder.

  “We’ve all been there, Aud. One time doesn’t make you demon fodder.”

  “I’m sorry, Aud,” Lyle said quietly, “You just gotta remember to do as you’re told and learn the Master’s ways and you’ll be right as rain.”

  Charlene glanced at the boy, then looked back at Tobias. The cat searched her face.

  “You’ve all been to isolation?”

  “Yes. At least once. That’s where you learn about what the demons do and why the Master wants us to follow His Way so much. He doesn’t want to lose any of us to the chaos that will be when He takes us to New Eden.”

  The gray tom shuddered. The boy looked at him appraisingly.

  “I take it you’ve never earned a trip to isolation yet.”

  Tobias shook his head.

  “You will. It’s only a matter of time. Everyone goes there eventually.”

  Charlene glared at her classmate again. Lyle shrugged and went back to shoveling food into his mouth. Audrey looked from one classmate to the other.

  “Some don’t make it there,” she whispered. “Some of them get took below.”

  The older girl placed a finger to her lips, then glanced around the room.

  “Audrey, you know we don’t talk about that.”

  “About what?” whispered Tobias, glancing around the room, too. There were a few hushed conversations, mostly amongst cats, the other humans were dutifully eating they’re meals. The gray tom guessed that the academic level of the students was proportionate to the amount of puppet qualities. He turned his attention back to the older girl. Charlene looked in the direction of several Brother cats, then leaned closer to the gray tom.

  “Have you been outside at all?” she whispered.

  Tobias nodded.

  “Have you heard them?”

  “Who?”

  “The souls of the damned? The Lost Ones?”

  The hair along the gray tom’s spine stood on end. He remembered all too well the sound he’d heard just before nose-diving into Adam’s open grave.

  “When you walk alone near the forest’s edge you can hear them moan.”

  Lyle snorted. “It’s the wind. That’s what Brother Robert tells us.”

  The older girl shot him a glare. Turning her attention back to the gray tom, she continued.

  “Their souls are dragged away by the wild devil dogs that roam the forest, a feast for their wretched demon king.”

  “What?! Where’d you get that rubbish?” asked Lyle.

  Charlene straightened in her chair and turned a superior look on the older boy.

  “I’ve seen it.”

  “No you haven’t.”

  “Have so.”

  “When have you ever been out in the forest to see devil dogs dragging some helpless soul away?”

  “A few weeks ago. I couldn’t sleep so I was praying to the Master as I sat by my window. He caused me to turn my attention down toward the forest at the end of the Brother’s cemetery. I saw the pack tearing at something pale. If the Brothers hadn’t been patrolling the forest’s edge that night and scared the dogs away, they might’ve gotten that soul right then. Maybe even taken mine, too.”

  The boy’s face paled and the fork in his hand started to beat a staccato rhythm against his plate. His gaze jerked toward the little girl at the end of the table. She was pale, too. Lyle frowned at Charlene.

  “Now see what you’ve done? Poor Audrey is going to have nightmares tonight.”

  The older girl gasped and looked at the child in surprise. Her hand flew to her chest and she leaned down to look the little girl in the eye.

  “I’m so sorry, Audrey. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “It’s okay,” she whispered, her eyes glistening

  “Excuse us, please,” Charlene said, glancing between Lyle and Tobias.

  She took the little girl by the hand and led her out of the cafeteria. Lyle put his fork in his plate, the last bit of food untouched. He stared at the gray tom for a moment, then pushed his chair back.

  “I better go, too.”

  The boy hurried from the room, leaving Tobias alone at the table. He looked around the cafeteria, then down at his cold food. Lost souls? He was pretty sure that wasn’t what they were hearing. Charlene’s story confirmed that. The Brothers must set regular patrols along the forest edge to keep the wild dogs from digging up their unmarked grave sites.

  But maybe the patrols were there for another reason as well. Perhaps they did usher the damned into the forest, but for some purpose other than to let a demon king feast upon them. He had to find out what was in those tunnels and the sooner, the better.

  The brown tabby paced the length of his office, waiting. It was an unpleasant task he was about to do, but it was necessary. The Lord had told him to do nothing about the two infidels that had infiltrated his temple. That was true. However, this task had little to do with them — at least directly. He was certain his Master would approve. After all, who among his sheep didn’t need the occasional rod applied to move them back into the fold?

  This sheep had been moving toward a darker path ever since that librarian had been brought on staff. Hanif’s ears flattened at the thought of the skinny old tom. If he hadn’t been assigned by the high temple priest himself, he would have seen to it the cat found his way into the paws of the field experts long ago. Whatever he was looking for in his books couldn’t benefit the Master’s plan. At least, he thought with a smile, I can make the old curmudgeon’s progress more difficult. He turned at the sound of the door pulleys being set in motion. His aide entered, several sheets of paper held in her mouth. She blinked when she saw him and placed the papers on the floor.

  “Your Excellency, I was not aware you had returned.”

  Father Hanif cocked his head to the side.

  “Marcus reminds Us in his Book of the One to be alert lest the demon king catch Us napping. It seems his words apply as much today as when they were first penned.”

  “I suppose you are right,
as always, Your Excellency. I trust your meeting with our generous benefactor went well?”

  “Indeed, Our Master is most merciful and gracious. He has made Us aware of a most distressing situation.”

  The brown tabby turned and walked around his desk, then leaped to the top. He stared at the black and brown mottled she-cat as she sat down, curling her tail around her toes.

  “I am sorry to hear that. May I be of assistance to you?”

  A sadness crept over him as he sat looking at his little servant, once so loyal to the Master and now suffering from temptations to stray. He straightened and pushed the weak feelings aside. The Master had shown him that sometimes one must administer the rod when a sheep went astray.

  “As a matter of fact, Janelle, there is something We require of you.”

  He pushed the button on his desk, opening the door behind her. The two cats he had assigned to guard the isolation rooms entered. The young she-cat glanced at the felines as the door closed behind them, then turned back toward Hanif. He thought briefly of the gray tabby he’d seen dragged away. Janelle’s fate would be better. She would be better, once the process was finished.

  “The Lord will not suffer His little ones to be left in chaos. As His chosen shepherd, it is Our duty to see that His Will is done. We have seen that your instruction has been incomplete and have decided to remedy that.”

  The she-cat shook her head, her eyes wide. He could smell her fear from where he sat on the desk. She backed away from the toms, unsheathing her claws.

  “Do not make this difficult, my child. We only wish to keep you from the demon king, from the chaos that will be when He ushers us into New Eden.”

  The next instant the floor erupted in feline screams and flying fur. The black and brown she-cat twisted out from under the younger tom. She hissed and raced past him toward the door. The older tom jumped in front of her, teeth and claws bared. She backed away. The younger brother leaped onto her back, grabbing for the nape of her neck. Janelle screeched and rolled, pummeling the young cat’s stomach with her hind feet. He hissed and fell backward.

  “Stop this at once,” Hanif growled. “Subdue her.”

  The toms backed the she-cat toward the large desk. The older brother feinted a charge from her right as the younger tom raced in from the left. A moment later there was a thud and the she-cat lay motionless beside a chair. The brown tabby leaned over his desk, staring intently at her chest. It rose and fell, her breathing steady. He breathed a sigh of relief, then glared at the toms. The younger one glared back.

  “She asked for it.”

  The brown tabby’s tail twitched in annoyance. He pushed a hidden button on his desk, opening a smaller trap door in the floor.

  “Take her to the Anointed Ones. Tell them she needs special training.”

  The toms nodded, grasping the unconscious feline by her scruff and tail to drag her through the trap door. Hanif closed it behind them, shutting his eyes when he heard it click. The deed was done. Now it was time to move forward as the Master had commanded.

  Chapter 10

  Toby trotted into Father Hanif’s office, unsure why he had been called there, but anxious to find out if the brown tabby carried the scent of decay on his fur. So far, his efforts had come to nothing. Hanif was the last feline on his list and he was sure the cat had to have been involved. It was simple logic: if no one else had the scent of death on them, then the only one left had to be the one they were looking for.

  A skinny yellow tom with an angular face and close-set eyes showed him into the head temple cat’s office. Toby assumed Janelle was still avoiding him. He wondered how much information Lorn had gotten out of her. Hopefully, when they met tonight they’d both have a lot of information to discuss and, with any luck, a reason to plan something more than information gathering.

  “Please come in. Sit,” Hanif said, motioning to one of the plush chairs in front of his desk.

  The gray tom paced forward, glancing down at a small ring in the carpet. The chair had been moved recently. He caught a whiff of old fear scent and blood from the chair leg as he leaped onto the velvet seat. He stored the scents away for analysis later. Right now he had to get close to the brown tabby. He’d picked up a lot of decay scents around the temple, but nothing specific to Adam’s death. Telling the difference between the scent of mouse death on a feline and something much larger, say a human, was detailed work for his sensitive nose. Not impossible, but difficult. Toby noticed that the brown tabby’s whiskers were splayed wide and wondered again what prompted this invitation.

  “You seem surprised to be here,” Father Hanif said.

  The young cat nodded. The brown tabby chuckled, curling his tail around his toes.

  “We are checking on your sanctification progress. Brother Robert says you joined his little group for lunch and were asking some rather basic questions.”

  Toby held his breath and nodded. Why hadn’t it occurred to him that the Brothers reported directly to the head temple cat. The brown tabby cocked his head to the side.

  “We are surprised at this hole in your instructions. When We welcomed you here you displayed a knowledge We seldom see in initiates. However, now We are left wondering.” The tom narrowed his eyes at him. “Could it be that you were not formally introduced to the Master’s Way?”

  Toby exhaled quietly, lowering his head and doing his best impersonation of his partner when he’d promised never to twist spells he hadn’t learned yet.

  “What little I’ve learned has come from reading and pondering on the Books of the One. I have no formal instruction, as Your Excellency has rightly deduced. I was ashamed to admit my ignorance when we arrived because I was so desperate to be accepted into this superior establishment. Please, forgive me.”

  He listened to the old cat breathing. The gray tom’s heart constricted with the memory of sitting much like this, waiting for his mother’s explosive temper to erupt. He shoved the memory away. Now wasn’t the time to grieve. The brown tabby shifted position, recapturing his attention.

  “You are forgiven, my son. There is no shame in acknowledging ignorance. It is in the acknowledgment that true wisdom begins to grow.”

  The young cat exhaled loudly, making a show of relief with wide eyes and whiskers.

  “Does this mean I can continue working here?” He rose from his chair, tail trembling in mock excitement. Hanif chuckled again and narrowed his eyes.

  “Of course, We would be loathe to send you back into the world until properly instructed.”

  Toby couldn’t stop the shiver that ran the length of his body. Instead he turned it into a wriggle and launched himself onto Father Hanif’s desk to lick the old cat’s shoulder, a traditional sign of respect. It also gave him the opportunity to check the brown tabby’s scent. Hanif shoved him away with a hard paw to the shoulder.

  “Yes, yes, my son” he said, the fatherly words ruined by the slight growl in the old cat’s voice. “Please return to your seat.”

  The gray tom leaped back to the chair, disappointed that there wasn’t even the smell of dead mouse on the brown tabby. So much for our plan. He turned and smiled, half his mind trying formulate a new plan for finding the young human’s killers. The other half was wondering if Lorn’s position was in danger.

  “May I ask about the human I arrived with?”

  “You may.”

  “I understand the humans here go through a period of time in the work crews before being allowed into the classes.”

  “They are.”

  “Is there a set amount of time for that?”

  “No. It depends on the human. If We deem the human has achieved the level of humility and humble nature necessary to true learning, they are allowed to progress along the path at that time.”

  “So the amount of time differs for each human?”

  �
��As it does with all of life. No creature takes the same path to the Master as any other. It is likely your companion will take longer than others who have come here, if he ever reaches that necessary level at all.”

  Toby widened his eyes. “Why is that?”

  “It is unfortunate that he came so late in life. We have found that the older a human is, the longer the road and the harder the work it is for him to achieve humility and humbleness.”

  “Have there been others?”

  “We had many who tried, but only one showed promise. In the end, he, too, failed to reach enlightenment. He instead turned on his companion and led him into the chaos that is and will be.”

  “What happened?”

  The old cat sighed and turned to look at a large painting on the wall, depicting himself with several students, both cat and human. The gray tom was startled to see two familiar faces. Hanif shook his head and turned his attention back to the gray tom.

  “His name was Arturo. We had such high hopes for him. He was the first young adult to successfully complete the temple school’s curriculum. We hoped that, if one such as this young human could do it, perhaps others his age and older might as well. His companion convinced Us they should be allowed to enter a special school to further their training in the art of mixing remedies. The Anointed Ones recommended it because the young tom was so gifted. We sent a letter with them to the school, recommending them with high regards. Had We listened to the Master, none of what happened would have come to pass.”

  Toby leaned forward. He knew what Chivato had done, manufacturing the plague that had almost wiped out the human race and left his mother crippled. However, it seemed Gravin Arturo, Chivato’s companion, had played a bigger role than he and his partner had guessed.

  “What did Arturo do?”

  The brown tabby turned toward the picture again and flattened his ears.

  “The human conspired with the demon king’s magicians, leading them to arrest and kill the young tom out of hatred and bigotry.”