Cat, who had never seen more water than the stream which ran through the keep and who did not know what a boat was, found the hound’s story interesting. A leopard hound. He had heard of leopards. They were giant cats with spots. Legends, really, like dragons; but he had heard the legends. No wonder the beast was different. If she were part leopard and part hound, no wonder she seemed brighter than the rest.
Since you are not native to our countryside, I don’t suppose you noticed anything strange. The master said it was “unnatural.” Have you noticed anything unnatural?
Yellow Eyes panted thoughtfully. It is hard to say. Perhaps.
Cat lay back down and tucked his paws.
Yellow Eyes said, I’ve been here for several months. I’m familiar with most of the game the master hunts. While the other hounds were rabbit hunting, I cut a trail I recognized but not from around here. It reminded me of my home.
A creature like yourself? Cat asked.
Yellow Eyes sat up to look into Cat’s eyes. Oh, no. We called it “the leaf-ear. “ The humans called them “tembo.” Did I not know there are none here, I would have thought the track I found belongs to a leaf-ear.
I do not know leaf-ear or tembo. Cat said. Can you eat it?
Not in ten years, Yellow Eyes panted, laughing. The leaf-ears are huge. Tall as the beams in this room. Taller than the keep’s gate. It is so tall and wide it could not pass through the Horse Door in the donjon.
Cat’s eyes widened. It was hard to imagine anything so large it could not pass through those tall, massive double doors. An animal? Cat questioned.
There were herds of them in my homeland, like herds of cattle or deer here. It has a distinctive paw print and its scent is unmistakable. At first I thought I was only wishing, but the track was clear, pad after pad. I was beginning to course it when the master called me back and lashed me for not following with the hounds.
He did not see the track?
It was a grassy flat. Humans seem neither to see nor scent as well as we do.
No, Cat agreed. They have many weaknesses. Those are two of the obvious ones.
Both of them were absorbed in conversation and did not notice that the woman, Claire, was coming their way. “Get out. Get away from my cat, you filthy hound.” She struck at the dog, and Yellow Eyes slunk away and hid herself in the pack near the fireplace.
The woman stroked Cat and murmured nonsense words to him, while he preened and purred under her touch. It was, he thought, a small price to pay for comfort. If only the woman considered his stomach as thoughtfully as she did that of White Cat. Him, she left to hunt for himself. Ah, well. He raised and rubbed his head against her.
“Oh, you are such a love,” she said.
“Would you fondled me as warmly as you do that beast,” Ruger’s voice was brittle and cold. “Come, I have a gift for you.”
“This cat is a favorite of mine. Do keep your hounds away from him.” She gave Cat a last pat and put her hand on the man’s arm, allowing him to lead her from the room.
Cat sank back onto the pillow and began to wash. The woman’s hands smelled of stale grease and sour wine. Another failing of humans was that they seldom washed.
When he was clean enough, Cat leaped down, making his way around the edges of the room to the hearth near the pack of hounds. They were gnawing at the bones tossed from the table and gave him little more than a glance and a snarl. Yellow Eyes came close and Cat asked, Do you know where the tower room is?
Where the woman makes her spells? Yes. I know.
Meet me there when all is quiet. I want you to tell someone else about the beast that is larger than the Horse Doors.
Remember. I did not see it. What if I was mistaken about the track? I have no reason to believe there are any leaf-ears in this part of the world.
This one is wise in all things. She will know if it is wishing only, or a real thing. Cat looked around at the dogs to see that there were none paying attention to them before he stood and slowly strolled away.
* * * *
He spent some time in the kitchen where it was warm and full of good smells. Cat allowed the house to quiet down before he made his way up to the tower room. The door was open a crack and he slipped in and looked around.
White Cat watched him from her fur-covered bed, which she sometimes shared with the mistress. Ho, Cat. What brings you up to the tower to see me? What scheme are you hatching now?
He leaped up on the bed and greeted her with a lick. You know perfectly well it has not been that long since I have been up here to see you. It seems to me that I brought a live field mouse for your entertainment and a snack. Was that a scheme?
Her whiskers flattened against her cheeks and she gave him a lick. You are right, of course. You know I have a suspicious nature.
They talked of inconsequential things until Cat heard Yellow Eyes’ toenails on the stone steps outside the room. She stuck her head in the door and White Cat sat up, every hair on end. How dare you come in here? Be gone!
Cat said, Now, now. This is a new friend of mine who has a strange story to tell. The master feels there are unnatural forces working around the castle and this hound may have something to say about them. Will you listen?
White Cat sat, but her fur did not entirely smooth down. Cat, you do make strange friends. Come in then, hound. Tell your tale.
Yellow Eyes told again about the village to the south and about the great herds of leaf-ears there. She told about finding the track where none should have been. Cat said you were wise. You would know whether this was a true thing or only a wish of my mind. She sat down beside the bed and waited for White Cat to speak.
I am flattered by Cat’s confidence. I cannot know, from what little you tell, whether or not this is a true thing. How would a leaf-ear come here? What do they do? Are they good for anything? Do men ride them, or plow them or use them for beasts of burden?
On, no. They are too fierce for that. I have never seen a tame one. They are wild and they break down the village walls, sometimes the very houses. Occasionally, one is killed. The meat is good to eat. That is the only use I know.
It seems unlikely then that anyone would bring one here by boat or by magic. What would be the purpose?
Cat asked, Could an enemy have brought one here to break down the castle walls?
There are easier ways to make war than with strange animals. It seems to me that you need more information. Dog, could you find the track again and, perhaps, follow it?
Yellow Eyes licked her front paws thoughtfully. I think so. The track seemed fresh, and the dampness of the night will make the scent stronger. If I go now, will the master be angry?
Cat said, If you go now, who will know? Are you afraid to go alone?
The dog sat up. No. I am faster than anything in these woods. I have nothing to fear except the master, and if I go now and return before dawn, he will not know.
Yellow Eyes trotted quickly to the door, looked back over her shoulder at the two cats, and then without another word, slipped out of their sight.
The White Cat asked, Will she really go?
I think so, Cat said. She seems different from most hounds. Braver.
They heard footsteps on the stairs, and Cat jumped quickly from the bed and slipped under it to watch without being seen.
Claire came into the room. She cooed over White Cat for a minute or two and then went to the table where she worked her spells. She pulled a large stone bowl to the edge of the table and filled it with herbs from leather bags and wooden boxes. With a stone and flint, she struck a spark and breathed on it until a small flame set the dried weeds to flame. Aromatic smoke filled the room, turning its air to blue haze.
Cat watched while she pulled a white leather pouch from her sleeve. From it she took a red crystal the size of
a hen’s egg and held it to the light, turning it slowly to study its facets.
“Power,” she said. “I feel your power. Where do you come from? What is your story? Such beauty! Such power! How could anyone trade you for a horse, even a good horse? They must not have known what they had.”
The red crystal seemed to glow with inner fire. As she turned it, flashes of red light, bright as fresh blood, stabbed the dark corners of the room.
Cat drew back deeper into the darkness under the bed. He knew it was a spell, and he wished White Cat was under the bed with him so she could explain the process and, perhaps, tell him what has happening.
As the fire burned itself out, the woman put the crystal away and came over to the bed, which creaked as she lay down. Cat could hear her talking to White Cat. “How much of what you see do you understand, my pretty Puss? What could you tell me if you could talk? I wish I knew. There is so much mystery in your eyes. I know there is intelligence there as well. Could you tell me about the giant I see stalking about our castle? Perhaps it is a dragon. I have never seen one and I’m not eager to see one now, but there is something out there. It is from the east. The crystals tell me that much. Come here by magic so strong, I do not know if I can counter it. I wish I could talk to my Sisters to the south. They could tell me what to do. We must think, Puss. We must think.”
The room grew silent. After awhile, Cat slipped out and down the stairs to wait by the door for Yellow Eyes’ return.
* * * *
The kitchen came to life early. Fires were lit. The morning meal was being distributed to the people of the castle as they made their way to the great hall. Cat wished someone would put one of those bowls under the table for him.
He was considering his own emptiness when Yellow Eyes dragged through the cat door, saw him and dropped down beside him, panting with weariness.
Well? Cat said, impatient at her silence.
Yellow Eyes said, When I can make the climb, let’s go to the tower. I don’t want to tell it twice.
Cat switched his tail irritably. After all, it was he, not White Cat, who had waited the long night in the cold, drafty hall for Yellow Eyes’ return.
Quite all right, Cat said. I don’t care to hear it twice. You’d best find yourself a good hiding place to rest. You look terrible. I’ll go up now. Follow when you can.
Cat stalked off, grumbling to himself. He did not even know if she found the track or saw the leaf-ear. She could have told him that much.
He avoided the feet of people coming down the stairs as he made his way up. People tended to become very angry when they clumsily stepped on an innocent cat moving on the stairs.
Outside the tower room, Cat waited until the mistress was no longer there before he nosed open the door.
White Cat was sitting on the work table, lapping at a bowl of mush. As Cat leaped onto the table, she moved over and indicated he was to share with her. She sat back and washed while he finished the bowl.
It was better than he usually had. Cream had been added and something to sweeten it. White Cat waited patiently until he finished eating and had time to groom himself.
Did the hound return? she asked.
She did, muddy and covered with burrs. She must have gone a long way because she was too tired to climb the stairs.
Did she find the beast?
She did not want to tell it twice, Cat said primly.
White Cat licked her paw and washed her ears. She could have told you something. Unfeeling. Just like a dog.
I suppose she can’t help that. Did the woman tell you anything about her vision? Cat asked.
Nothing useful. She did seem frightened by the red crystal. White Cat sniffed the white leather bag. I didn’t see anything unusual about it other than the color.
Do you ever see the visions?
I don’t think so. Not the same thing she sees.
Cat looked at the white leather bag. He wished he could see the red crystal for himself; it had made such frightening flashes of red light in the firelight. Perhaps it was wise to leave it covered.
They heard the slow click of toenails on the stairs, and Yellow Eyes slipped into the room. She looked better. The mud had dried and had been shaken off. Some of the burrs had been picked from her coat, and there was a slight bulge in her lean belly which told Cat she had found something to eat.
Both cats jumped down from the table and made themselves comfortable on a braided rug facing Yellow Eyes.
Well? Cat said again.
Did you find the leaf-ear? White Cat asked.
Yellow Eyes stretched out on her belly, paws before her neatly, facing the cats. It was not easy. I found the track, but the rain had washed away more of the scent than I thought it would. She licked her paws alternately. The leaf-ear makes one step to my ten. I followed up the mountain and down into the next valley. In a small swale with a heavy canopy of trees, I saw a faint light, a fire. When I crept close, I saw a master and the beast. Strange, though. It was a leaf-ear all right. It smelled like a leaf-ear, but it did not quite look like the ones from my home. It is smaller, its horns are shorter, and its ears are smaller. It is friendly with the human and that is unlike the leaf-ears I know.
White Cat was less interested in descriptions than in facts. Could you communicate with it? Where did it come from? How did it get here? You did ask, didn’t you?
Better. The human called to me and invited me to share their fire. It is the first human I have known to communicate directly with me. Understand me, that is.
Cat hummed to himself. He remembered one such but did not want to interrupt Yellow Eyes’ story, so he stayed silent.
He is from a far eastern country sent here to seek a jewel of great price. It was stolen from his homeland and traded and sold many times before he traced it to this land. He has a green stone which is the companion to the red one which was stolen. The green stone glows when it is near its companion, and he showed it to me. It is glowing now in its leather sack.
A white leather sack? White Cat asked.
Yellow Eyes looked at her in surprise. How did you know?
White Cat looked at Cat and closed her eyes. I have my ways, she said.
Cat looked away to hide his smile.
Does he think it is in the castle? White Cat asked.
He asked if I had seen or heard of such a stone. I have not, of course.
Of course, murmured White Cat.
When he learns where it is, how will he get it back? Cat asked.
He did not tell me, but he is weary of searching, and he has strong magic. I think he could take it by magic or, perhaps, he will use the leaf-ear to tear down the gates and come in and get it. It could, you know. Yellow Eyes stretched her eyes to make them rounder and nodded her head wisely. I have seen the leaf-ears in action. It could breach the castle walls easily. Certainly, it could crash the gate.
Suppose he got it back. What would he do to the who have it now? Cat asked. Would he reward them or punish them?
He didn’t say. He did tell me that he understood my longing to see my homeland again. He feels the same way and would like to go home. I suspect he would take the stone and go.
How would he go? White Cat asked.
I don’t know how he got here. I suspect magic. I suppose he would go home the same way he came.
A sensible answer to a needless question, Cat thought. He said, Friend, be not offended. White Cat and I need to discuss something outside your hearing. Rest yourself here until we return. He stood up and nudged White Cat.
She glared at him, but after an appropriate wait she stood and followed him into a small anteroom where, speaking softly, they could not be heard by the hound.
The mistress’ new crystal is the red jewel the Easterner seeks, is it not? Cat asked.
I feel sure it is. What will happen if he does not get it back?
Cat nibbled his back toes and looked thoughtful. There is only one man and one leaf-ear. I tend to think our castle can defend itself. But we have seen powerful magic, you and I. If he works magic against us, there is no way to guess how much harm can befall the castle and all its inhabitants, including us.
You are becoming most wise, Cat. I agree with you. Perhaps we should return the jewel to this man.
First, I would want to be sure it was truly his. How can we know?
Cat spat out a burr. Yellow Eyes seems sure there is a red jewel. We only suspect this is the same one. I see no way except to go to the Easterner and talk with him. We could carry the jewel with us but hide it before we reach his camp. If we are convinced it is his and he will leave peacefully if he has it, we could give it to him. I think it a small price to pay for peace.
It isn’t your stone, White Cat said. And I am not going outside the castle. The way she emphasized the I, Cat knew she meant it. She had never been outside the castle walls and had no wish to go now.
The Fantasy MEGAPACK ® Page 6