A Cat's Chance in Hell

by Sharon Hannaford

  Twenty minutes later Gabi sank into stingingly hot bath water in her large en-suite bathroom, wincing as she submerged her burned fingers, and then sighing as the heat began seeping into her stiff muscles, easing the tension in her neck and shoulders. She wondered how bad Kyle’s injuries looked as she thought of them clumsily trying to redress his wounds. By the size of the dressing pads he’d given her to hold in place they were not little scratches. He would be appreciating his Werewolf blood right about now. When they’d finished patching him up he’d given her a quick hug, jumping back before she could smack him for it, and left her to her bath. She heard him draw her bedroom curtains closed before he left the room and wondered if it would make any difference to her whether the sun was streaming into her room in a few hours. She doubted she was going to get any sleep; although utterly exhausted, her mind was whirling with “what-if” scenarios. She tried using some of the meditation techniques her various martial arts instructors had tried to drum into her, but she hadn’t been particularly good at them, even in the best of circumstances. Eventually the water cooled and she reluctantly got out, towelled off and crawled into her huge comfortable bed, snuggling up with Razor sprawled out on one side of her and Slinky on the other. Somehow the exhaustion won, and she slept.

  She slowly became aware of voices somewhere in the house, trying to stay hushed, but clear to her hearing anyway. She didn’t even bother opening her eyes; she hadn’t had nearly enough sleep yet, so she resorted to burying her head under a pillow. As the pillow came in contact with her cheek the burn mark stung, and memories of the previous night flowed back like a tidal wave. Now, having not opened her eyes on waking, she was extremely reluctant to do so, and discover whether dark fog still blanketed her sight. In fact her stomach began churning anxiously at the thought of it. Like a little girl hiding under the bedcovers because she thinks there are monsters in the room, she berated herself. She hadn’t been scared like this since she saw Byron’s face when he came to the house to tell them of her father’s death. She knew she would have to do it eventually, and with the voices in the house she knew she wasn’t going to be left alone for much longer. Still procrastinating, she began picking out the individual voices, so that she knew what she was up against when she did venture out. Kyle’s voice was clear but muted; Rose answered him now, in very quiet, worried tones. Then Byron, of course, she knew better than to think he wouldn’t be here already. She idly wondered what time it was. So, it was the usual suspects out in the kitchen discussing her. Then another female voice spoke up, not attempting to keep to her tone low and hushed like the others. Gabi’s emotions flashed from fear and worry to rage in an instant. What was Athena doing in her house? She thought furiously, her eyes snapping open instinctively as she sat up, tipping a disgruntled Razor onto the floor and rolling Slinky half way across the bed. She had the covers off and was almost standing before she realised she could see.

  She sat back down with a thump, for once ignoring Razor’s annoyed grumbling, her hands tentatively going to her eyes. Well, “see” was probably a strong word for it. Her vision was still far from perfect, it had gone from a pitch black fog to a light grey fog, but she could make out shapes and see the sunlight streaming in through cracks in the curtains. She was still blinking and doing ridiculous eye contortions, trying to clear her vision when the door opened a crack and Kyle peeked in. Razor stopped languidly scent marking her legs and deliberately moved to place himself between Gabi and Kyle, facing Kyle with what Gabi knew would be a ‘give me an excuse’ expression on his face.

  “Uh, hi,” he greeted. “I thought I heard movement in here. Can I come in?”

  “As long as you don’t bring the witch in with you,” she said in a steely tone, almost hoping Athena would hear her.

  “So you heard her, did you?” he asked, coming in and closing the door.

  “I could be rude and say I smelt her, or heard her broomstick touch down,” she said archly.

  Kyle tried to stifle a chuckle. “Now, now,” he reproved, “put the claws away and play nice! She’s here to help.”

  “So she says,” Gabi countered, “she’s probably just here to gloat.”

  Kyle ignored that. He made to start moving across to the bed but Razor took an even more aggressive stance and hissed menacingly at him.

  “Call your damn guard cat off, he won’t let me near you.”

  She smirked condescendingly. “Raz, come here you big, bad boy, and stop scaring Labrador.” As she bent to pick him up, Kyle started across the room and must have noticed her tracking his progress.

  “Gabs, can you see me?” he asked in barely leashed excitement. He rushed the last few steps, crouching down in front of her and peering into her eyes, ignoring Razor’s attempt to slash him. She promptly planted a foot in the middle of his chest shoving him backwards to land on his butt in the middle of the thick carpet, chuckling at his pained expression.

  “Not my fault you’re getting slow in your old age,” she said, still grinning wickedly.

  Kyle put on his long-suffering face. “Now that you’ve had your laugh for the morning, can you answer the damn question?” He didn’t bother getting up off the floor.

  Sighing she sobered her attitude. “Yes, I can more or less see you,” she said, squinting slightly as she peered at him. “Well, I can see a big, blurry blob that I imagine must be you. So at least it’s an improvement on before.”

  Kyle heaved a sigh; she imagined it was a sigh of relief that he wouldn’t have to play guide dog forever.

  “That is really good to hear, I guess it’ll come right on its own then. No Magus interference required.”

  “Yes, and you can go back to being Wolf, instead of Labrador,” she teased, stroking Razor absent-mindedly.

  “Aaaawww,” he drawled sadly, “just when I thought that the new nickname would bring the ladies running. All chicks love a cute puppy.” He sighed in mock disappointment. “But, more to the current point, you do realise you can’t hide in here all day. You’re going to have to come out and face everybody at some stage.” He hauled himself up off the floor, wincing slightly. “So stop delaying and get dressed. I’m running out of scintillating conversation out there.”

  She pulled a face at him. “I don’t see how that’s my problem.”

  “I’ll pour you some coffee, get dressed,” he reiterated, walking out and closing the door behind him.

  Gabi made herself presentable and reluctantly prepared to face Byron, Rose and Athena. Walking down the corridor to the kitchen, using her fingertips on the wall to guide her, she steeled herself for a conversation with Athena. It was not going to go well. She was tired and grumpy, and she didn’t appreciate Byron bringing the witch into her home. No one came in here without her express invitation, that’s just how it was. Only a select few were welcome in her private little refuge, and the damn witch was definitely not one of them. And on top of that she hadn’t even had her first cup of coffee yet. She was sorely tempted to encourage Razor to take a piece out of the witch, but that would just be plain childish.

  She rounded the corner into the kitchen and was instantly set upon by Rose, fluttering worriedly, patting Gabi’s sore face, smoothing her hair and touching her all over as though to reassure herself that Gabi was indeed in one piece. She prattled away at break-neck speed, admonishing Gabi for frightening the life out of her, and vowing to not let her out hunting again.

  Gabi smiled wryly, accepting all the fuss, and reassuring Rose whenever she could get a word in. Then Razor announced his presence, jumping on the kitchen counter and loudly demanding breakfast, so Rose had a new target for her attentions. She instantly switched to berating him for his appalling behaviour; but at the same time reaching for two tins of food, and emptying them out for him as he favoured her with a huge kitty smooch to the face, almost knocking her over.

  Kyle rolled his eyes. “I say again, that monster gets away with murder,” he declared, holding a steaming cup of coffee out to Gabi. “Byron and A
thena are waiting for us in the dining room, I figured you could use a shot of caffeine before seeing them.”

  Kyle knew her too well, she thought, reaching carefully for the coffee mug, which she could smell better than she could see. She took a long sip and then mentally braced herself.

  “Alright,” she said, feeling like she was being led out to the gallows. “Let’s go.”

  As they entered the dining room Byron immediately stood up and gathered her into a strong fatherly hug. Although Gabi couldn’t see him clearly at that moment, she knew what others would see when they looked at Byron; a distinguished looking man in his mid to late forties, a few inches taller than Gabi, with the lean, toned look that suggested a man who looked after himself. Very few people would have guessed that he was already in his sixties; only the slight greyness visible in amongst the dark brown hair above his ears gave away any sign of his true age. The grace of his aging was due directly to his Magi parentage. Byron had chosen not to take up his Magus heritage, an option for any Magus-born child, and so had no special powers or supernatural talent, but the Magi blood still worked its own brand of magic on him. If full blood humans ever found out about what Magus blood did for the signs of ageing, well, that didn’t really bear thinking about. Byron’s face, now marred by a worried frown, still hinted heavily at the strikingly good-looking man he’d been in his youth.

  Everyone at the SMV knew that he could have his pick of eligible, and some not so eligible, women anytime he chose, but he hadn’t shown any inclination to take another partner after his wife died in a freak car accident some five years ago. If he felt he needed a female partner along with him at a social function he often took his daughter, Lara, or Gabi, but otherwise he attended alone. He was immensely proud of both his children, who had each become involved in their own way within the SMV, even though neither of them had any supernatural talent. Lara was a well known attorney in the city, having made a name for herself in the male-dominated world as both hard-nosed and compassionate, and she often took cases for Werewolves and Shapeshifters. His son, Ian, was a doctor at one of the largest hospitals in the city, his work was absolutely vital to the SMV as he could spot a Were or Shifter, and have them patched up and discharged before any of the other staff became suspicious or got to draw blood for testing.

  Byron was officially retired from his job as a city councillor, but he still did consulting work for them, and still regularly attended government meetings and assisted on various committees. His involvement with government and local councils had been invaluable to the SMV over the years, and he was still able to get the inside track on many issues which affected the supernatural community. He exuded calm self-assurance which inspired trust and respect from others. No one in the human world would ever have suspected his thorough involvement in the supernatural world.

  His parents; both alive and well in their nineties, as was common for Magi, and living out their retirement in a small seaside village, respected his need for secrecy and never let slip about their own extraordinary talents to the general public.

  “Gabrielle, honey,” he said in his warm, comforting voice. “How are you holding up?” He moved back slightly to hold her at arms length and have a good look at her.

  They usually kept a careful façade of polite friendship when in the company of others, besides Kyle and Rose. There was politics involved even in a group like the SMV, and Byron and Gabi didn’t like to advertise their personal relationship to everyone. The longer-standing members knew, of course, that Gabi was like a second daughter to Byron, but they rarely saw it demonstrated outwardly.

  “I’m fine, Daddy Fuss Pants,” she teased him. “My vision has cleared a lot since I went to sleep, I’m sure it will be back to normal in a few more hours. So you were right to wait and see what happened.” She heard her own voice change suddenly from teasing reassurance to cold annoyance. “Athena really didn’t have to drive all the way out here before I even woke up.”

  The implication was clear; Athena wasn’t welcome in her house, and anyone who had invited her in was in trouble. The Magus in question was sitting at the dining room table with a steaming cup of tea in front of her; trust her to be different, Gabi thought sourly. She was looking steadily at Gabi and Byron, a deadpan expression on her face; if she was surprised by Byron’s actions away from the normal SMV environment, or by Gabi’s obviously displeasure, her face didn’t show it.

  “Er,” Byron seemed to know he was in trouble, but ploughed on, trying to ease the tension in the room. “Athena was very worried about you,” he explained, ignoring the sarcastic quirk to Gabi’s eyebrow. “She thought you may feel like we weren’t taking your condition seriously enough, after our advice last night. We both know it must be a horrible feeling thinking that your eyesight may be permanently affected. So Athena suggested we be here when you wake in case there hadn’t been an improvement.”

  Gabi knew anything she said now would just sound ungrateful and childish, so she bit her tongue and kept quiet.

  “Come and sit,” Byron pulled her gently towards a chair at the table. Kyle was already lounging in one of the chairs on Gabi’s left, Athena the only one on the far side of the large rectangular table. “Kyle says your vision is still quite fuzzy, tell us exactly how much you can see. Are you in any pain or discomfort? I spoke to Ian earlier, and he insisted that you stop in at the hospital and let him check you over too.”

  “We’re also keen to hear your impressions of the Wraith and its unusual abilities,” Athena spoke up for the first time. Her voice was calm and businesslike. If she was really concerned for Gabi’s well being, she wasn’t letting it show in her voice.

  Well, at least she wasn’t acting the distraught best friend, Gabi thought as she looked over at the fuzzy, cream coloured shape that was Athena. She didn’t need to see the slim, fair-haired woman to picture her clearly. Athena was close to Gabi in both true age and apparent age; they both were heading towards thirty, but appeared closer to twenty. That was where the similarities ended; in both looks and attitude they were polar opposites. Athena was the liaison between the Magi council and the SMV council, facilitating the flow of information and supervising the use of Magi within the SMV organisation. She was one of the Head Councillors of Magi High Council, and was, by far, the youngest person to ever hold one of the coveted positions. Only those who had passed the top level of proficiency in Magi training could put themselves forward for one of the five positions, and then they still needed to be voted in by the majority of the Secondary Council. Athena was more than proficient in many aspects of Magic, but she was exceptional at counter-magic; the talent that allowed a Magi to counteract the effects of another’s spell or power. It was a rare and valuable gift, and the reason that she’d been consulted about Gabi’s loss of eyesight. It was a pity she seemed to have such an intense dislike of anyone not Magus-born.

  Gabi hadn’t managed to get Athena to squirm even once during the long seconds of staring at her, so she gave up and turned to Byron to give him an account of the previous night. With Kyle’s occasional input she clarified the events up to, and including, the shocking encounter with the Wraith, and ended by explaining how her vision was still clouded, but apparently improving, she didn’t think she would need to bother Ian. Athena asked a few polite but probing questions about the Wraith and the effects of its power on Gabi, and Gabi answered equally politely, getting to the bottom of the Wraith’s power was more important than her dislike of Athena.

  Sometime during the discussion Razor had wandered in, Gabi had automatically pushed away from the table to allow him to climb on her lap, though he was far too big to sit there comfortably. He was just trying to get comfortable when he noticed Athena across the table. He went dead still for a quarter of a second, and then lunged onto the table directly towards Athena. Gabi made a wild grab for him, missing completely, and Kyle’s face took on a horrified expression. But Razor stopped dead a few millimetres from Athena’s shocked face, sat down and stared into
her eyes with baleful malevolence.

  Athena sat back very cautiously, as though confronted by a wild tiger, and asked out the corner of her mouth, “What. Is. That? And is it going to eat me?”

  It was the first time any of them had ever heard Athena sound anything except controlled and businesslike. She actually sounded terrified.

  “Razor!” Gabi called sharply, “Don’t torment strangers, its not polite.” She was careful not to use the word guest, as that would exclude Razor from tormenting Kyle.

  “Meet Gabi’s cat, Razor,” Kyle said sardonically. “Though we use the term ‘cat’ loosely around here. He may take a chunk out of you, but I don’t think he’d actually eat you.”

  “I doubt he would enjoy the taste of witch anyway,” Gabi muttered under her breath.

  “In that case, I don’t think he likes me very much,” Athena said stiffly; ignoring her comment, and drawing in a deep, steadying breath as Razor disdainfully made his way back across the table to Gabi. He gave her a loving head butt, before hopping to the floor with a grace that belied his incredible size, and exiting the room with an arrogant swish of his tail.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Kyle commented mildly, breaking the tension. “He doesn’t like anybody, except Gabi, and maybe Rose. He takes a piece out of me any chance he gets.”

  Gabi was hard pressed to keep the smug, satisfied expression off her face. She wondered to herself if she had sub-consciously transmitted her feelings to Razor, or if the cat had taken an instant dislike to the witch on his own. She decided it was time to get her house back to herself so she could give him an outrageous reward. She stood up, yawning.

  “Well, I think I could do with a few more hours sleep. I completed last night’s assignment, so I can join Patrol tonight, unless there’s another assignment for me. Kyle, are you up for tonight, or do you want me to pair with someone else?”