Fraidy’s eyes darted from side to side as he paced on the spot with his little paws. “Well, uh, it sounds about right, doesn’t it?”
He was such a transparent fibber. He and Eclipse knew a lot more than what they were telling me. But, because of their good hearts, they despised lying right to my face.
“Hey, ‘Clipsy,” Fraidy said, suddenly avoiding my gaze entirely. “You gonna tell Hattie about that other thing?”
I looked between my two kitties. “What other thing?”
Eclipse sighed. “I was hoping for a more gentle segue into this, brother. Thank you very little.”
“Spill, kitty cats,” I growled.
Eclipse sat up in my lap, clearing his throat. It looked as if we were about to address the United Nations. His head dipped so that he could straighten out a few errant fur tufts on his chest. Clipsy licked and nibbled a few times until he deemed his coat presentable for his upcoming announcement.
“You remember that house that we flew over on the way here? The one on the coast?”
“The Sugar Shack, you mean?” This little cabin by the Sugar Dunes had once been used as a meeting place for the now deceased Nebula Dreddock, and her former lover, (and eventual killer,) Avery Flute.
“No, not the Sugar Shack,” Eclipse said. “The one you pointed at, the one you said was pretty and that you had never noticed before.” He looked at me to see if I was getting it.
“Oh! Right, Yeah, so, what about it?” I asked, reaching for the cat’s food bowls and placing them in my delivery basket. “Who does it belong to?”
“Well, according to Midnight,” Fraidy began, his face not happy at the idea of having to rely on his brother’s gossip. Nobody liked gossip, rumors and shady information as much as my night-prowling moggie. “Nobody owns it right now. It’s been on the market for…how long did he say, ‘Clipsy?”
“Three years,” my memory-wiping cat answered. “No offer made on that house ever sticks. There’s a reason for that.”
“What reason?” I asked, stuffing the last of our picnic debris back into my carrier.
Eclipse and Fraidy looked at each other, but they said nothing.
“Do I need to remind you fuzzies that I gave into you yesterday, just so you could all shred Hinrika’s dress to pieces?”
“You need not remind me of anything,” Eclipse said, his chest puffed out in indignance “Unlike the subjects I perform Obliviscatur on, I remember EVERYTHING.” He responded. Obliviscatur was my mind-wiping kittie’s way of dealing with nosy folk who needed to ‘forget’ what they had just seen or heard. His memory-wiping talents had gotten us out of some very tricky situations more than a few times.
“You just don’t tell everything,” I said, sighing and pushing my cat from my lap.
Eclipse shrugged, before stretching into an enviable downward-dog pose. I blew out a frustrated breath as I got to my feet. Obviously, there was something important at that cottage that my stubborn kitties weren’t telling me about. The only way I was going to find out what it was, was to see it for myself.
The cottage was only a couple of minutes by air. Its stone walls gleamed with the same sheen as the cliff face. It could have been carved straight from the Mwyrdwen bluffs. From the overhead view, it looked like the roof was made of thatch, but a closer look at it from ground level showed that it was just regular shingle and wood. The windows looked as though they were just open holes carved into the facade of the dwelling. But once I got closer I could see that the windows held a glass of the most subtle kind -- practically non-reflective. The house was clearly very old. Just from the fact that its exterior had been mined from our coastline, (most materials for new builds now came from North Illwind’s quarries.) The strange thing was, despite the building’s obvious antiquity, the structure itself and all of its architectural elements showed very little sign of decay or wear and tear. Which is a little unnatural for a beachside house. I looked at the door. The paint was pristine. As was the door handle; a gleaming brass orb; neither worn nor tarnished. I remembered the portal into Mag Mell. The one and only time we had gained access to the enchanted isle came by way of an abandoned trawler out by the coast of Bonemark Isle. The fishing vessel was in awful disrepair, and yet, the ship’s steering wheel was a pristine and polished oak. Not weathered in the least. It had been this ship’s wheel that had proved to be our portal into Mag Mell. I felt a chill travel my spine, and I turned on my Fae Sight, the cats keeping close to my heels. My fairy vision kicked in. The whole cottage lit up with the spiritual light I’d come to associate with anything connected to Mag Mell. Everything my eyes fell on was over-washed with a kind of murky green hue. A Mag Mellian trademark color, for sure. It made me feel a little nauseated. I stopped still, shut off the Sight and blinked a couple of times. The cats thought it would be a good idea to sit, one apiece, on each of my feet.
“Guys, please,” I said. It’s not easy to walk with cats on your feet. Thankfully, my moggies took the hint and hopped off. I approached the front door; my hand stretched out ready to knock. Eclipse pressed his paw onto my foot.
“There’s nobody home, boss. If you want to snoop, now would be the time.”
I nodded at the most mysterious of my kitties. “Thanks, ‘Clipsy.” My mouth was dry, and my heart was hammering. I tried the handle, fully expecting it to be locked, but the door swung inward as soon as I turned the knob. I looked at my cats, my eyebrows raised.
“Little too easy, no?” I questioned.
“I agree, come on, let’s go home,” Fraidy whispered, already turning and making his way up the garden path.
“Fraidy, come on sweetie,” I pleaded in a half whisper. My scaredy cat trembled and squatted on all fours, pretending he was a rock.
“‘Clipsy?” Eclipse was already on his way to his brother. I saw as my mind-wiping cat whispered into the ear of Fraidy, and then patted the latter’s head with a tender paw. Both of my kitties started walking toward me again. Fraidy still shivering like a leaf, piped up.
“It’s easy b-because y-you’re with us, Hattie. We’re Cait Sidhe, remember? We are welcome into all Fae establishments, at least as far as the threshold anyway. Unseelie or otherwise.” He gulped.
“Right,” I said. I’d momentarily forgotten that my cats were the magical faery-kind. This was a recent development, you see? For me, not the cats. As far as I know, — and I don’t know much about Faery Lore — they have always been Cait Sidhe. But, for me it was still pretty new news.
The cats took the lead, and I followed and closed the door behind me. I heard a distinct click as I pushed the door to.
“Did that just—“ I started to ask.
“It’s okay,” Fraidy said, his freaked-out voice telling me that he thought it was anything but. “The lock’s just to…protect us. The house only lets a select few inside.” Then he grimaced and muttered, “Why do we have to be a part of the select few?”
“So what am I looking for that’ll let us back out?” I asked, looking around doubtfully.
“You’ll know it when you find it,” Eclipse said, trotting off to the corners to sniff and explore.
“Yeah, what ‘Clipsy said,” Fraidy said, sticking close to my ankles. “So, how about we all start looking for it now, so we can like, you know, leave.” He added.
I smiled at my timid cat, and rested my broom and delivery basket against the wall near the door, indicating that I had no intention of leaving just yet.
I turned on my Sight again briefly, the ghastly green glow basking the otherwise empty and featureless room. Nothing unusual here. I saw Eclipse trotting off toward another room at the back of the dwelling, and I followed him. Fraidy’s fur was rubbing against the whole of the bottom of my leg now, he was so close.
We reached the little cottage kitchen. It reminded me of the kitchen at the Angel, somewhat. A Franklin stove stood just to the left of the doorway. The walls were line with wooden cabinets and painted shelves. My nose picked up the scent of aging spice and herb
s. I’ll admit, I felt right at home. Eclipse pounced on what looked like a piece of chalk, lying abandoned in the middle of the kitchen floor. Fraidy, being a scared cat, but a cat nonetheless, couldn’t resist diving into the game of ‘bat the ‘thing’ across the floor.’ I left them to it, while I searched the cabinets. I opened each door. Nothing. There must be something here. I switched on the Sight again, hoping I wouldn’t throw up from the assault of the murky green light. Nothing. Something hit my ankle. I looked down to see the tiny white baton that the cats had been playing with. I kicked it away and turned my attention back to the frame.
And then I saw it. The door frame to the kitchen. Words were written across the top lintel and the side struts. I switched off the Sight, and the words disappeared. Aha! Fae activity. I switched it back on again, grabbing the doorframe for balance. I was beginning to feel particularly unwell with the jumping from Fae vision to regular witch vision. Another missile at my ankle. Fraidy looked at me with a sheepish grin.
“Guys, seriously. I’m trying to focus here. Quit it, will you.” I kicked the white stick-like thing away once more and then turned to study the words written on the door frame.
Duo on the left side of the frame. Una inscribed above on the top lintel, and then the word Una appeared again on the right side of the frame. These were words from the flag-crest rune. The communication ward. They looked as if they had been penned using cha--. I spun around to my kitties, who were sat side by side grinning at me. Fraidy batted the chalk toward my feet for the third time. Okay, so maybe I’m a little slow, but at least I got it on the third go. My fur-babies were so smart. I bent down to pick up the chalk and blew a kiss at my adorable moggies. “Thanks, guys, you’re the best.” Fraidy and Eclipse padded over to me to stare at the door frame with me.
“Okay, so what do we have?” I said, more to myself than the cats.
Eclipse came through, though.
“Well, the ward’s inscription, in its entirety says Duo Seculorum, Una Tellure, Una Spe. Or, in English. Two worlds. One Earth. One hope.
“Right, right,” I said in response, clutching the chalk. “So, presumably you need to enter the remaining words; seculorm, tellure, and spe,” Eclipse announced.
“Right, right,” I said again.” But where do I add the ‘tellure’ and the ‘spe’? top lintel or right?”
“Can you do it like a clock?” Fraidy asked, motioning his paw like the hand of a timepiece, sweeping it around in a clockwise direction.
“Good one, brother,” Eclipse said.
“I agree. Nice work, detective Fraidy.” My frightened cat grinned through chattering teeth. I chalked the word ‘seculorum’ next to the already present word ‘duo’ first. Then, followed with ‘Tellure’ and ‘Spe’ next to the two already inscribed ‘uno’s. As soon as I had finished the last ‘e’ of the word ‘spe,’ the living room that adjoined to the kitchen somehow folded up on itself. I can’t describe it any other way really. But, it folded as easily as a painted canvas, and all that remained was a giant stone door. Which swung open right in front of us. The light that burst through this magical archway was blinding. A high pitched harmonic ‘hum’ engulfed us. It was the wand. The flag rune was glowing insanely. And, I knew then that we had just succeeded unlocking the communication ward.
I looked down at my cats. “What did you two just do?”
“I Gave you a skeleton key to Mag Mell,” Eclipse said. “Or, rather, we hit your ankles with it. To, you know, point you in the right direction.”
“I’m still not convinced that was a good idea,” Fraidy said, nervously eying the now sparkly doorway.
Eclipse gave his sibling a brotherly pat on the head. “Your spirit animal is a lion, brother. Never forget that, ” ‘Clipsy said sagely.
“Is it?” Fraidy looked visibly surprised. “Gloom always told me my spirit animal was a dodo.” I reminded myself to have words with that feisty feline when I got home.
“Okay, guys, I have to get the last delivery done by four pm. That gives us about forty-five minutes. So, who’s up for seeing what’s on the other side of that door?” I clapped my hands together acting way more enthusiastic than I felt.
“Lead the way, boss,” ‘Eclipse said.
“Well, I - I did swear that oath to Lady Bast that I’d keep you s-s-safe,” Fraidy ventured
“That’s the spirit!” Eclipse said in approval. “And that’s why you’re going first.”
Fraidy looked at his brother as if he’d just told him his spirit animal was a T-Rex.
I couldn’t wait. “I opened the door,” I interjected. “So I’ll go first.”
I walked through the stone portal and into Mag Mell once more.
As I remembered, the landscape was verdant and beautiful. A cerulean blue sky crowning emerald, rolling hills and fronted by a dazzlingly white sand beach. But, what really got my attention was the edifice just in front of us.
The building was roughly twice the size of the cottage that we were standing in moments before. Its walls and roof looked like they were made from the same stone as the Myrdwen Cliffs too. It was slapped together in a pretty rude fashion like someone had used a bunch of boulders as Lincoln Logs. It had a bit of a curved shape about it that reminded me of Stonehenge, right down to the big, long rocks that made up the outer bounds of that ancient rock circle. The front entrance didn’t have a door. It was three times as wide as I was and twice my height. In other words, it was roughly the same size as the two trolls standing guard on either side.
I glanced back at the entrance I’d come through. The portal was just like it had been on my side of the dimensional hop, all bright light that obscured what lay beyond it. Weirdly, I could still see the regular reality of the cottage’s main room imprinted on the door we’d just stepped through. I was tempted to see if I could reach back into the real world by touching it. But, given that I had wanted to cross into Mag Mell in the first place, I decided to stick with what I came here to do.
Fraidy’s courage finally gave out on him as he hid behind my legs. “You didn’t say anything about trolls, ‘Clipsy.”
Eclipse snorted. “Not the worst thing we could be dealing with right now. Let me handle this.”
I wasn’t sure his Obliviscatur charm would work on his Fae cousins. But he wouldn’t have been that cocky unless we had a reasonable chance of survival. So I walked right behind his confident trot, doing my best to ignore the weight of Fraidy as he hung from my pant leg. How Hinrika managed to stand upright with eight cats clinging to her was beyond me.
Predictably, the trolls snorted and grunted as we got closer. Eclipse just glanced between the two of them and said, “Make way, cousins. We have business with the Autumn King.”
Apparently ‘Clipsy’s words were all these trolls needed. The snapped to attention and turned sideward, allowing us passage into the dwelling. I shook Fraidy from my jeans, and he trotted to be alongside his brave brother instead.
Despite the dimness, the interior of the temple seemed like an extension of the magnificence outside. While the outer walls had been stone, the interior walls were wood, the hollowed-out stump of a great tree that would have made a redwood look like a toothpick. There was a stone path laid out for us that led to the center of the great room grass and flowers grew from the cracks in the flagstones. Vines covered the humble walls, and hanging creepers waved their exotic leaves in the breeze coming through the now open doorway.
A great throne dominated the center of the temple, carved into the body of a still-living, medium-sized tree. Through an open hole in the roof, the sun shone a celestial spotlight on the important wooden chair.
“Look!” Fraidy pointed a toe toward the grass on the floor. The vibrantly green grass we’d seen just seconds earlier seemed deadened and withered. The tree throne itself seemed to be shedding crispy leaves. Eclipse, not able to suppress his cat instinct shot out a paw to bat at a falling leaf. These natural splendors seemed to be in the autumn of their lives, as evidenced by the
decaying rust and brown colors that swirled down around us. If the plant life looked tired, then the throne’s occupant looked positively haggard. His fine silk clothes did nothing to boost his unhealthy complexion. He appeared more corpse-like than Hector, even. Shoulder length white hair tumbled in brittle strands around his shoulders, but it was his coal-black eyes that stole the ghoulish show. I sensed a kind of cheer in the glitter of those black pools. His smile beat Hinrika’s hands-down. A set of pearly whites neatly rowed, top and bottom.
“Greetings, dear cousins, and, of course, my other guest,” he said, rising from the throne. “Within these walls, I wish you alls, the very best.”
The worse-for-wear man squatted on his haunches to face the cats. Fraidy seemed like he was one freakout away from running out of the temple. The throne owner looked at my scaredy cat with amusement. “No need to test your courage, oh timid one. I meant what I said when I proclaimed that no harm be done.”
“He has issues,” Eclipse said, giving me a cocked eyebrow.
The man just laughed and affectionately rubbed both cats’ heads. They purred in response and he rose to his feet. Giving me a careful look, he said, “My Cait Sidhe cousins to me are known. But tell me, dear lady…what name is your own?”
“I’m…I’m Hattie Jenkins, from Earth. Um, for .. what it’s worth.” You wanna rhyme? Anytime.
Ankou, the Autumn King looked at the wand in my hand. Noting the glowing runes, he said, “No mere mortal stands before me. For who could set the Great Challenge’s runes free?”
I glanced between the wand and Ankou. “I still have my doubts about that, Your Majesty.”
Moggies, Magic and Murder Page 26