by KM Fortune
Matthew watched Blaze shake his head in frustration, but thankfully he kept any further comments on the topic to himself. Instead, he held up a bow and two quivers of arrows. "Not much but probably the most useful in the long run," he said and nodded to the spear Matthew held. "Plus the spear, so we will have at least some protection. Which of you two is better with one?" The twins glanced at each other and then shrugged in unison.
“About the same,” Toby said.
“But isn’t that Matthew’s weapon?” Brody asked.
Blaze shook his head. “Not if he doesn’t know how to use it,” Blaze said. “Hand it over, Matthew.”
Matthew hesitated. “I’d like to keep it, if it is all the same to you, Blaze,” he said. “I want to learn to use it.” Matthew could see Blaze was not happy with what he said but again appeared to be willing to let things go for the night. Maybe he will make a good leader after all, Matthew thought.
“Let’s just make camp and sort things out tomorrow,” Blaze said. The twins nodded.
“And have a little wine to warm up,” Brody said with a grin to break the tension.
Blaze sighed. “Fine. Right after we set up the tent,” he said. Toby laughed with delight and the four men set to work.
WILLOW PULLED THE ZIPPER of her sleeping bag up under her chin and tried to relax. All day she had been on edge as she listened for any hint of the wolves. There had been none. The rational part of her knew she was high enough above the treeline to be out of their hunting area, but the fear still nagged at her. Old habits are hard to break, she thought and purposefully closed her eyes. The lean-to she had constructed from the paracord and nylon Emilia gave her when Willow departed was doing a good job of cutting the freezing wind. It would not be a warm sleep, but she knew she would not freeze. And I better get used to it. Willow knew she would be sleeping at a high altitude for many nights ahead. The walking took far longer than she estimated. There were no trails for her to follow and so she had winded her way around, having to backtrack twice when coming to an impassable obstacle.
Frustrated after the last dead end, she had decided to make camp and rest. It would be a couple hours until dark, but Willow had to admit she was exhausted. Carrying a pack and a hunting rifle through the snow was not something she was used to doing. But I am glad to have all of it, she thought. Especially the precious gun. Emilia had insisted she take it and a handful of bullets even though they were all highly valuable. Willow did not refuse. She needed the weapon if she was going to be successful in her quest.
Laying there, she thought about what she was trying to accomplish. Rescuing Mouse was the most important thing to her now. Willow had known the little girl since she was a squalling baby found in a culvert under the Old Road. Smiling, Willow remembered the day the hunting party she was leading came across the infant. They had thought the sound was coyotes and followed it hoping to get in on a kill. What they found instead were the remains of another massacre by the Patrols. A half dozen dead nomad men, their possessions burned, and no signs of any women. Willow was about to lead her people away when the howl sounded again. Following the cry, she discovered a bundle of cloth wrapped around a baby girl. Undoubtedly one of the nomad women, most likely the girl's mother, had stashed the child in the culvert to hide her when the Patrols were sighted. The action saved the baby's life. "She's so tiny," Willow's friend Stump had said when he saw what Willow carried in her arms. "Like a little mouse."
“Yes, she is,” Willow had answered. “But she’s a strong one I think. And if she lives, she will be one of us.” No one had argued, knowing the chances of the baby enduring long were slim, but amazingly Mouse did survive. And now she needs me again, Willow thought. I will not let her down.
CHAPTER 6
Blaze felt the warmth on his face and opened his eyes. Sunlight washed over him, and he sighed at the welcome heat. Squinting to see past the brightness, he saw the sky was brilliant blue, such a rare thing in the high desert of the wastelands. He blinked and started to sit up when a shadow fell over him. "Oh, you're finally awake," said a woman's sweet voice. Startled, Blaze turned to see who was speaking and then realized it was Raven. She was dressed differently. Instead of the heavy parka and thick clothing underneath, she wore a thin fabric shirt and simple pants. Her feet were bare, and when he looked at them, it registered she was standing in a grassy field. Thick, healthy grass. Where am I? Blaze thought turning to scan around him and feeling a sense of both wonder and unease. As if seeing his concern, Raven knelt down beside him and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t be afraid, Blaze. We are safe here,” she reassured him. Blaze licked his lips.
“Okay,” he said. “But where is here? Am I dead?”
Raven stood back up and laughed. It was a natural, almost rich sound and Blaze had to smile. I have so missed this woman, he thought with relief to finally have found her again. Even if he was dead, having frozen in the tent with the others, and this was the hereafter, he did not care. He would be happy to spend forever with Raven.
“It is good to see you,” Blaze admitted as he started to stand up. “You are all I have thought about since the cat mutant took you. I know I should be focused on getting Mouse back, but ...” He trailed off. Admitting his feelings felt good, but suddenly he was a little shy. Raven was not like anyone else in his world. She was so many things Blaze was not. He looked into her face, hoping to read her reaction to his confession. All he saw was beauty and an inviting smile.
"It is good to see you too, Blaze," Raven said. "And about Mouse. We will save her and then we will all come here. Where it is safe, and we can prosper as one." Again, Blaze was confused. Where is ‘here’? he thought. Before he could ask, Raven held up a hand. "I know you have lots of questions and there isn't time to answer them. You need to wake up and start back on your journey," she said. "The morning is growing late, and you've slept long enough." Finally, Blaze understood. He was in a dreamland, not someplace real. With a frown, he nodded.
“All right,” he said with disappointment.
"Don't lose heart," Raven said as she stepped up close to him. "This place is real. I only have to show it to you." With that, she leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. Warmth and passion rolled over Blaze, and he started to reach for her, but she was gone. Blinking his eyes open, Blaze saw the roof of the tent above his head. He was sad the dream had ended, yet for the first time in days, he felt a renewed sense of hope. Smiling despite everything, he rolled over and gently punched the man next to him in the shoulder.
“Wake up,” Blaze said as Toby sat up and shook his head to clear the sleep from it.
"Well aren't you a lively one," Toby said with a yawn. Blaze nodded as he crawled to his knees and went to unzip the tent door. "You have no idea," he said. "Everybody, get up. We have places to go."
IN THE CRYPT BENEATH the cat mutant's palace, Raven and Kit hid all through the night behind the large statue of Dr. Edith Shelley. It was dark and quiet, and Raven felt safe for the moment. When Kit tried to lead Raven out into the city, she had resisted, telling the other woman they needed to wait and explain. She could tell Kit was not happy with Raven's reasoning but had relented and instead led her here. If there was more time and the moment was not so desperate, Raven would have liked to read the tombstones and learn more about the strange race living peacefully in the valley. She could only hope once the misunderstanding was worked out and Prince Edward's actions were revealed, there would be more time to explore.
Raven racked her brain trying to think of what to do next. She knew the best course would be to find Queen Helen and describe what they had seen. The problem was how to get to her undetected. Raven had no doubt the palace was alive with guards looking for her and Kit. It seemed likely they would come to the crypt soon enough. Raven knew her predicament was not a good one.
Just then Kit gently touched Raven's arm. When Raven looked at her, seeing only an outline of her features in the darkness, she saw the girl motion toward the entrance of the
room. Looking, Raven could make out the shape of someone coming. Sucking in a breath of fear, Raven slowly ducked down even further behind the statue. Suddenly a flame lit up the shadows. The figure had started a torch in the sconce on the wall. Raven sighed with relief when she realized it was the queen.
“Are you in here?” Queen Helen asked softly. Raven did not hesitate. Time had to be short and seizing the opportunity to explain was not to be wasted. Even though Kit tried to hold her back, Raven stepped out from behind the statue and stood before the queen.
“We are,” she said. “I hope you’ve come alone because you believe we are innocent.”
Queen Helen looked at her. "My instincts tell me you are not, nor ever have been, a threat. Hector would not have brought you here otherwise, and I trust him," she said.
“Thank you,” Raven said. “But I must warn you, the king is in great danger. Prince Edward means to kill him.”
Queen Helen nodded. “I suspected as much. I have had my most trusted guards placed at the king's bedside,” she said. “For now, he is safe.” She paused and stared hard at Raven. “But I cannot say the same for you. Prince Edward’s accusations will not go unheard. Even Hector is under house arrest.”
Raven felt her heart beat faster with fear. “So what can I do?” Raven asked.
The queen sighed and turned away. She looked thoughtful as she studied the statue of the doctor. “You know we all owe our existence to Dr. Shelley,” she said with a distracted tone. Not sure where the queen was going with the conversation, Raven followed her gaze and took in the gentle but intelligent face of the statue.
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Raven said.
The queen nodded and looked back at Raven. "Hector told me earlier you were from a place far, far away. I'm not surprised you don't know the cat mutant's story," she said. "Come with me." Raven, with Kit behind her, followed the queen back behind the statue. On the wall was a discrete lever. Queen Helen pulled it, and Raven heard a slight scraping just before a door in the stone wall swung open. A light glowed faintly from within. Without hesitation, the queen crossed the threshold and turned to beckon Raven and Kit forward. Tentatively coming into the space, Raven quickly realized she was in a small, but elaborate laboratory. Faint fluorescent light filtered down from the ceiling. How do they have power down here? Raven thought. Queen Helen smiled a little, taking in Raven’s confused look.
"Fusion energy," she said. "All of the electronics in the room will work if required. Apparently, it lasts indefinitely. Just another of the miracles of our city." Raven was filled with wonder at the concept. She nodded, not knowing what else to say. Queen Helen moved to a panel of computer monitors. "All of the details are locked in here," she said, motioning to the keyboards. "Unfortunately, Dr. Shelley used elaborate encryption, so the secrets are out of our reach. We do know some facts though."
“About your creation, you mean?” Raven asked quietly.
“Exactly,” Queen Helen confirmed. “Our linage is quite simple really. We are chimera. Mixed from human and the great mountain cats.”
Raven was confused. “Chimera? I thought those were mythical creatures. Not real,” she said.
Queen Helen raised an eyebrow. “Oh we are most definitely real,” she said.
Raven felt herself blush a little. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Please continue.”
The queen nodded. "Dr. Shelley, in response to the great plague which rendered human women infertile, used her laboratory to perform genetic-splicing. We know she started with rats as these survive to this day, but eventually, she moved to larger animals. It seems the cat DNA was the most resilient or perhaps simply more desirable as a race then rodents or pigs. We can only guess. But regardless, she was brilliant, and her work was successful. Hector's line was the first pride, hence their monarchy. Other prides were developed later, and all were encouraged to procreate."
Raven shook her head. It seemed impossible. But haven’t a lot of things felt that way since I woke up? Raven thought. She was about to ask more questions when the queen raised a paw in warning. There was a noise coming from the crypt outside the lab. Moving quickly, Queen Helen closed the laboratory door. It swung silently on hidden weights and hinges.
“There is another way out from here. If you follow the tunnel, it will take you outside the city. You will find a small trail at its exit, which will lead you out of the valley,” she said. “You should go now.”
Raven shook her head. “No, not without Hector,” she said.
Kit frowned at Raven’s statement. She had heard enough of cat mutants, gene-whatever, and the likes. She was ready to go. It was bad enough she let Raven convince her to stay in the crypt through the night, but now that the queen was advising them to leave, Kit saw no reason to wait any longer. And now she wants to wait for Hector? Kit thought. It was true the big brute was not the evil beast she initially thought he was and they did maintain a truce of sorts, but Kit was not going to continue to put herself or, even more importantly, Raven in jeopardy over him. She went to Raven's side and grabbed her sleeve. With a tug, Kit made it clear she thought they should go. "Wait, Kit," Raven said to her. "He is our friend, and we can't leave him to suffer at the hands of Prince Edward." Kit was not so sure about the friend statement. She shook her head. Raven's brow furrowed. "Kit, he helped save you from the net in the tunnel. Would you just desert him?" It was a reasonable question and Kit paused to consider it for a few seconds, then she shrugged. Hector's fate was really not her concern. Raven did not look happy, but before she could say anything else, the queen interrupted.
“It makes no difference,” Queen Helen said. “Hector is confined to his quarters. His door is guarded, there is no secret way in and the window is too high to jump. But all is not lost.”
“What do you mean?” Raven asked.
"There are many in the kingdom who support Hector and his right to be the next monarch. Prince Edward would find marked resistance if he tried to have Hector executed," she said. "Instead, we all must wait and see if the king wakes up. If he can announce his heir, our problems would be solved." It all sounded reasonable to Kit, and she once again pulled at Raven's sleeve. It was past time to escape in her opinion. Again, Raven resisted.
"Kit, wait," Raven said, sounding more than a little irritated. She looked at Queen Helen. "And if the king does come around and things don't go Hector's way, then what?" Kit watched the queen avert her eyes, and it was an easy guess as to the answer. Then Hector has no chance, Kit thought. “The prince will have him killed, won’t he,” Raven said. It was not a question, but the queen nodded anyway.
"I would expect nothing less from Prince Edward. But that does not mean Hector should flee now. If he does, he will be giving up any chance to rule, and his people need him," Queen Helen said. "You must understand that." Kit watched Raven's face as she considered the queen's words. It made perfect sense to Kit, and she really did not care much about any of it. What she wanted was to get out of the city and out of the valley before they were captured by Prince Edward's followers. Finally, Raven nodded, and Kit let out a sigh of relief.
“I understand,” Raven said. “I don’t like it, but I can see what matters in all you have explained.”
“Thank you,” Queen Helen said as she started to walk quickly across the room. “Follow me this way. I will show you where you need to go.” Kit could not have been happier.
CHAPTER 8
Raven and Kit emerged into the daylight. The trip through the long escape tunnel had been easy enough with the help of the flashlight the queen provided for them. More fusion energy in cells to power it, Raven thought, still impressed. Power which could last forever. The world had fallen apart while she was frozen in the ice, but the amount of scientific progress made along the way was almost mind-boggling. If all the good things which appeared to exist in pockets here and there could be rechanneled, the world could be a beautiful place again. Raven scanned the desolate wasteland which was now laid out before her and sho
ok her head. It was certainly far from a beautiful place. No hint of the majesty of the cat mutant's city in the hidden valley remained. Raven had to admit, if she had not seen it with her own eyes, she would not have believed it even existed. With a shake of her head, Raven looked at Kit. She was also scanning the vista but most likely to search for danger and not ponder the view.
"Well," Raven said. "I think we should keep moving. Eventually, Prince Edward will guess we escaped the valley somehow." Kit nodded and, with a motion for Raven to follow, began walking quickly away from the tunnel's exit. The two of them picked their way along the rough landscape, following a rudimentary hint of a trail. If Raven did not have Kit to lead her, she would not have even recognized a path existed. They had not gone more than a mile when Kit stopped and raised her head to listen. All Raven could hear was the wind, but she knew by now Kit heard things far better than she did. "What is it?" Raven whispered. Kit slowly ducked down, pulling Raven with her. She pointed to the south, and in the far distance, Raven could just make out the specs of people moving. "Cat mutants?" Raven asked in a hush. Kit nodded and without standing up, started to go at a trot, heading away from the beasts. Raven followed, pausing to look over her shoulder now and then. Eventually, the creatures who were looking for them could no longer be seen.
"I think we lost them," Raven said slightly out of breath. She had no doubt Kit could run a lot faster and was only jogging to let Raven keep up, but the pace was challenging anyway. Kit slowed, and they walked again in silence. Raven pondered what to do next. They needed to locate the others and, now that the cat mutants would not help them negotiate with the men in the Great Cave, find a way to rescue the kidnapped little girl. We need to go to this forbidden city place, she thought. It was the best option. Now she just had to convince Kit.