The young cats tumbled after him, then stopped, gasping at what they saw.
Clustered around the base of the hill and trailing into the distance were hundreds of cats.
“There’re so many,” Zekki said with wonder. He turned in each direction, seeing cats of every description, age, and breed.
Felines clustered by the banks of a pond, crouched by thickets lining the fairways, and skulked through the lush landscape separating houses from greens. Their purring escalated, rising from the golf course like velvet smoke, drifting over the trees and beyond.
Buddy turned and nudged Zekki’s shoulder. “If I don’t come back, can you find your way to the possum and mockingbird?”
Zekki nodded, his breathing ragged with stress. “Yes, but—”
“Good,” Buddy interrupted gently, touching his nose to each of theirs. “Stay here.”
Stunned, the two young cats watched as Buddy made his way through the soft mass of bodies that first blocked, then yielded to him, as he disappeared into the crowd.
Pris was jostled to her right, then pushed to her knees by a new wave of cats streaming toward the hill from every direction. “What’s happening?” she called to Zekki who also fought to keep his balance against the crush of bodies.
“Quiet!” an ancient Burmese hissed. “We’re here to see The Cat Master; have some respect.”
“But where is he?” Pris whispered.
“There.” The Burmese moved to the side so they could have a better view of the figure that strode firmly to the top of the hill.
Pris stared in wonder. “But that’s Buddy!” “Yes,” said the cat. “He’s come home.”
T H I R T Y - F O U R
Buddy waited on the mound, silently observing the scene below.
Cats of all descriptions covered the golf course, eyes gleaming in the moonlight, coats illuminated in its silver glow. Furiously kneading the grass, they clawed the fairways until dirt flew in all directions and the humid air vibrated with rumbling purrs from a thousand throats.
A powerful figure pushed through the crowd and leaped close to where Buddy stood on the knoll.
The purring stopped, replaced by a watchful quiet.
Savoring the moment, Jett took a long look at the expectant faces surrounding him. All the planning, pain, and injustice had been worth it. Tonight his reign would begin. He tossed his head in triumph. “You know me!” he bellowed to the crowd.
“Yes,” came the breathy response.
“I have walked among you, I have been faithful.” Ears flattened, he turned toward Buddy. “But not him.”
Voices murmured from below. “This imposter!” Jett spat, face twisted with rage. “This imposter appears after two long years hoping you won’t ask where he’s been! And why?” Jett’s empty socket was hollow in the moonlight. “Because he abandoned you for a human and the mindless life of the Indoor!” The tom paced in the grass, eye locked on the cats below. “Ask him. Ask the deserter where he’s been and what he did in the time he was away.”
Hundreds of bodies strained toward Buddy for an answer, tails twitching, whiskers fanned and alert.
The yellow tom moved forward. “It’s true I lived with humans, and it’s true I questioned my past as well as my future.” He looked steadily at the crowd. “But there is no shame in not knowing, the shame lies in not seeking. I have heard The Cat Master’s voice, as you all have. He has spoken to me of my destiny, and I stand before you, ready to serve.”
“Well, lucky us!” Jett roared from the shadows. “So now he’s ready! What about tomorrow and the next day and the next? When will this pretender tire of his ‘future,’ as he puts it, and abandon you again for the life he truly craves? He doesn’t have the stomach for the Outs!” Jett spewed, spittle webbing on his whiskers in glistening drops. “He’s nothing but a mewling, lap-sitting Indoor!”
“Death to the Indoors!” someone shouted from the crowd.
“Feral thug!” came a shrieking reply.
Jett paced in long, muscular strides along the precipice. “They are the fat, the weak, and the stupid, begging for scraps from the table of our enemy, and he is one of them—”
“Don’t be manipulated by the poison of prejudice!” Buddy interrupted. “Indoors are also our brothers, and there are many here tonight who live both lives. Be honest, what Feral has never longed for the warmth of a fireplace in the dead of winter, or water and shade in the heat of summer?”
Glowing eyes blinked, and the night rumbled with mutterings of agreement.
“The Indoors’ ways are different,” Buddy continued, “but feline is feline, and the children of The Wind follow many paths. It’s true that I’ve lived as an Indoor, but I was born a Feral. I believe the old Master chose me for this very reason. The respect I have for both worlds will bring us closer, with an understanding that will serve us all.” He paused. “There is no need for fighting between us.”
A few cats in the front row nodded.
“Don’t—don’t believe his lies!” Jett stammered. “Any information he has will serve him, not you! Remember The Law! Only a Feral can be Cat Master! Is this imposter a Feral? Look at him! Smell him! The stench of the Indoors follows him like a dog!” He scanned the greens, eye narrowed with cunning. “Let his past be your warning, my friends. He abandoned his mate in the alley, and he’ll abandon you!”
“Ahn-ya!” voices repeated from the fairway.
“Yes, Ahn-ya, dead and forgotten, and now he has chosen another . . . anIndoor.” He glared into the darkness. “Is this not proof of his true allegiance? Ferals do not mix withIndoors, this is The Law!” Stalking back and forth, his eye gleamed red and unearthly. “Ferals do not mix with humans, this is The Law!”
Hundreds of voices meowed in agreement.
“To survive is also The Law!” Buddy cried. “My allegiance is toward all felines, and I make no distinction between Feral and Indoor.” He pushed past Jett, his eyes locked on the throng below. “It is the Feral way to walk alone, but by choice, not edict. Indoors live with a burden of constraint we can’t imagine, and their lives offer lessons in acceptance without servitude. Never forget there are humans capable of love and respect.” He looked pointedly at Jett. “Just as there are cats who are treacherous and cruel.”
The crowd shifted uncomfortably. “I was near death,” Buddy continued, voice hoarse with emotion. “And a human found me, nursed me to health, and protected me. This is the reason I had to leave Ahn-ya, and this is the reason I left you. I proudly love The Boy who saved me. He is gentle, honest, and protective of all living things.” Raising his head with defiance, he turned to Jett. “As for the Indoor Shan Dara: She has chosen the feral way of her own free will. This is in accordance with The Law. Now she is in danger, put there by the very one who seeks to lead you, and I demand her freedom!” Lashing his tail, Buddy crouched low. “Where is she, Jett?”
The big tom shrugged. “Perhaps she’s where all who’ve trusted you have ended.” His eye glittered with malice. “With Ahn-ya, dead in the alley.”
“That’s not true!” a voice shouted from below.
Swiveling toward the sound, Jett’s face was blank and suddenly uncertain.
An emaciated figure limped through the crowd, a pale shape moving behind him. “The Siamese isn’t dead! I’ve been hiding her in the orchard!”
“Soot!” Zekki called, as Shan Dara burst past the black cat and leaped up the hill to Buddy’s side.
Fur bristled, Jett hissed with fury. “Traitor! You’ve shamed the memory of Ahn-ya, for the one who betrayed her!”
“No!” Soot pulled himself to the knoll with effort. “To harm my own kind would have shamed my mother.” He turned toward The Gathering. “My mother always told me about a yellow tom whom she’d loved since kittenhood; a cat that Jett hated, ambushed, and left in a dumpster to die. I didn’t realize she was talking about Buddy until now.”
“You can’t believe this pathetic sycophant! It was Buddy who attackedme!” Jett
pushed forward, desperately scanning the crowd with his weeping socket. “See my face? He did it! Blinded his own brother because Ahn-ya loved me more!”
“That’s a lie!” Soot put full weight on his injured leg, bracing for an assault. “It was you who attacked Buddy. Ahn-ya followed you both to the golf course that day. She saw the whole thing.” He dipped his head, voice low. “I know you’re my father, Jett, but I can’t lie.”
“He’s not your father,” Buddy said. “I am.”
Soot stared, mouth agape.
“Don’t listen to him!” Jett shouted. “I’m your flesh and blood; your loyalty is to me!”
“You—you mean” the black cat stammered “I—I’m not . . . ?”
“No.” Shan Dara moved from the shadows. “Buddy’s telling you the truth. You really are his son; you don’t owe Jett anything!”
“Shut up, you stupid Indoor!” Jett turned on the Siamese and sprang forward. “I should have killed you myself ! ”
“Move!” Buddy pushed Shan Dara out of the way, meeting Jett’s assault in midair.
The night reverberated with the sound of their impact, and a blast of wind swept through the golf course.
The onlookers squinted through the dust, straining to see as Jett and Buddy tumbled down the hill. Their growls and screams blended with yowls of surprise, as the crowd parted, watching the brothers roll onto the greens, their teeth bared, their tails lashing with fury.
Buddy grabbed Jett’s neck, but the big cat twirled in his grasp, breaking loose and running from the knoll.
“They’re headed toward the pond!” a voice cried from the crowd.
The two cats zigzagged through foliage and vaulted onto an oak tree by the water. Furiously they climbed, their paws slipping on bark as twigs caught in their coats. With a burst of speed, Jett shimmied ahead, blocking Buddy from climbing higher and forcing him onto a decaying branch that hung over the pond.
Jett looked down at the crowd now assembled below. “Everyone’s watching, Brother.” His eye glowed with satisfaction. “Let’s show them who the real Cat Master is.” With a grunt he lunged toward Buddy, his jaws open, ready to strike.
A gust of wind shook the tree, and Jett landed short, desperately struggling whipped and lashed suddenly, the limb snapped in half, spilling both cats into the pond below.
for a foothold. The branches
beneath Mother’s power, until
Water gushed up Buddy’s nose and down his throat as he thrashed to the surface, but Jett’s powerful claws snagged his neck, dragging him down. Colors flashed behind Buddy’s eyes, and he realized he was losing consciousness.No! his mind shouted.Of all his blood, you were chosen! Twisting forward Buddy sank his fangs into the big cat’s shoulder, and with every ounce of energy left, pushed his brother under. Blood filled his mouth as Jett bucked and rolled, trying to escape, but Buddy held fast, his own lungs about to burst, until finally the struggling subsided, and Jett floated limply beneath him, his body still at last.
Buddy pushed upward, mouth gasping for air, paws slapping the water’s surface in fast, desperate strokes. With one final kick his toes touched mud and pebbles, and he collapsed in the shallows, heaving for air.
The Wind slowed to a gentle breeze, and Buddy staggered to his feet. Behind him the moon peeked between tattered clouds, its beams reflecting off the pond. Jett’s body bobbed in the water, his paws undulating with the current, his eyeless socket turned toward the sky
One by one, the cats of The Gathering encircled the pond. Eyes huge with wonder, they stared first at Jett’s lifeless form, then at the silent figure poised on the bank.
Shan Dara moved toward Buddy and turned to the crowd. “The Master has spoken and The Gathering must answer.” Sinking to her haunches, she bowed her head. “Hail The Cat Master!”
The Master, The Master! chanted the cats, their thoughts rising through the air, crossing oceans and continents, circling the globe.
We are legion! Mind-talk soared from barnyards and alleys.Now we are one!
“One! One!” sang the humming reply.
Buddy watched the swaying mass of bodies and felt his exhaustion replaced by a raw and tingling strength. Water streamed from his coat as he strode to the top of the knoll and turned to the throng beneath him. “I bring you the promise of The Cat Master!” he roared.
“The Master,” voices purred from the fairways.
“As long as I live, you will never walk alone!”
In laboratories and shelters, cats crouched in the dark. “We are never alone,” they chanted.
“Live your lives with honor and endure your pain with courage!” Buddy’s eyes burned fierce and bright. “For your voice is my voice, and our minds are one!”
“Pain with courage,” a dying stray whispered.
“His voice is ours,” Zekki and Pris intoned, surprised to know words they had never been taught but were destined to say all their lives.
Soot, who had been watching from the shadows, quietly turned from the crowd and headed toward the orchard.
“Hail, Soot!” Buddy said loudly. The black cat looked back in astonishment.
Shan Dara lifted her paw. “Hail, Soot! Heir to the Master, son of Ahn-ya!”
“Prince of the Alleys!” the cats chanted as Soot’s eyes met Buddy’s. “He stands with the Master!”
Soot waited, acknowledging the cheers, then with green eyes glowing in the moonlight, he limped proudly up the hill to his father’s side.
“Hail The Cat Master!” he shouted, head high, tail erect. “He walks among us at last!”
T H I R T Y - F I V E
The night’s events felt surreal to Zekki. Buddy’s ascension to Cat Master had been followed by a wild celebration. Thousands of cats gathered on fairways, rolling with ecstasy in the grass and dragging prey from the bushes. Throughout the festivities, Buddy and Shan Dara remained separate from the revelry, watching quietly from the knoll and only occasionally speaking with the cats that Soot escorted to them.
No one went near the pond.
Just as sunrise glistened behind gauzy clouds and the last cat disappeared into the shadows, Zekki and Pris staggered to the orchard, where the mockingbird and possum were waiting.
Buddy was The Cat Master.
Jett was dead.
The whole thing was so unbelievable that if Pris hadn’t confirmed what Zekki had seen, the white tom might have written the whole thing off as hallucination. Even so, both knew what they had witnessed had changed them forever, and in a strange and poignant way, it had changed Buddy, too. Though Buddy, Shan Dara, and Soot followed the young cats back to the orchard, there had been little conversation among them. The trio had secluded themselves beneath a stand of ferns, where they now lay talking, their voices barely a hum above the rustling of leaves. Zekki longed to join them, but an unquestioned distance stood between them, one he instinctively knew could never be breached.
The possum lurched to his feet. “I need to get going.” He glanced at the bird, who nodded in agreement. “We’ve talked to Buddy, and we’ll be glad to take you back across the highway, if that’s what you want.”
Pris took a hesitant step, then stopped. “Is it?” she said, turning to Zekki. “Is that what we want?”
He took a deep breath. How long had it been since he’d stared through windows, his eyes fixed on the alleys, his ears tuned to the mysterious sounds beckoning from the distance? How long had he ached to be among the wild things scurrying in the darkness, his days filled with danger and adventure?
“Well?” The mockingbird fluttered to the ground.
Pris’s questioning eyes bore into Zekki’s, and his brain scrambled for answers. “What do I want?” he thought. “What do I do?”
You’ve dreamed of freedom, a familiar voice buzzed in his head. Now you have it.
Zekki started, his heart pumping with fear. What had he just heard?
Mind-talk, the voice answered gently. We’re speaking with our minds.
; The white cat turned to Pris, waiting for her to acknowledge what had just happened; then realized it wasn’t possible for her to know. Buddy was speaking to him in the language of telepathy, something the white cat had witnessed as part of The Gathering, but never in private conversation. Zekki’s blue eyes squeezed shut, as he concentrated in earnest. What—what if I was wrong about freedom? Maybe I don’t want it anymore.
But it’s already yours. Buddy’s words had a soothing, hypnotic quality that rose and fell with the sweet-smelling breeze blowing through the orchard.
Blinking against the urge to sleep, Zekki finally surrendered, enjoying the enveloping warmth of the sun on his ears and nose. His thoughts trailed in dreamy wisps behind half-closed eyes. I don’t understand, he thought.
Freedom isn’t what you choose. Buddy’s voice blended with the wind, its cool breeze wafting against his cheek. Freedom is having the choice.
The words echoed in his mind, and Zekki shook himself. The stand of ferns where he had seen Buddy, Shan Dara, and Soot was now empty. Something shone against the grass, and the white cat moved closer. It was Shan Dara’s golden collar; the last remaining link to her former life. Zekki looked toward the highway. And what of his and Pris’s former lives? He thought of home and The Boy.
Summer was over and soon fall would come, bringing sweaters and school and books tumbling from backpacks. Winter would follow, wrapping the house in the smoky scents of burning wood and cinnamon, and just when it seemed nothing could ever grow again, the old magnolia would burst with creamy flowers and geraniums would appear on the porch, their ruffled blooms laced with butterflies. Pris and Zekki had promised to take care of The Boy if Buddy didn’t return, and suddenly Zekki’s heart ached with longing for the little house and the loving humans who lived there.
“We have to leave,” the mockingbird called. “Are you coming?” She cocked her head. “Or are you staying?”
Zekki looked into Pris’s trusting face and smiled. “We’re going home,” he said, touching his nose to hers. “We’re going home.”
E P I L O G U E
The Cat Master Page 19