Catacombs (8 page)

I had been afraid that, although I wanted to be treated like an adult cat, everyone still thought of me as a kitten. Nope, compared to these youngsters I was a handsome, mature male. I wasn’t sure if that was a bad thing or a good thing in current circumstances. Good, I decided, considering what had been happening to kittens lately, and what Flekica seemed to fear might be about to happen to hers. Moving the litter was a sign a mother was trying to take her brood out of harm’s way.

F
lekica didn’t see me, and I stifled an impulse to call out to her. I was tired of getting yelled at and I had a feeling that if I made her drop the kitten to greet me, that was exactly what would happen.

I watched, trying to figure out what the heck she was doing as she suddenly, if clumsily, darted inside the open door of a house, the kittens trailing behind her. None of them came out again. I peeked into the roof flap to see her assuming the feeding position while the kittens crowded in for dinner. Nobody else was in the house, and as far as I could tell it looked the same as all the other houses, but she seemed to like it better. There was just no telling what was on the minds of some cats.

I resumed my explorations and was sitting there on the roof of the farthest house from the temple when my boy and his shipmates came lumbering up over the dune and slid down the other side and into town.

When Jubal returned he brought the little time-wasting machine most of the crew had for long hauls, a com device to keep in touch with the others, some ration packets for himself and—oh, he was my very favorite boy in the entire universe—the last bag of fishy treats for me!

Wouldn’t you know that as soon as I lay down with the packet between my front paws, Pshaw-Ra would decide to put in an appearance.

“Ah, catling, there you are. I see your human has returned. I thought he had deserted you.”

“No, but I was hoping you had.”

“Those smell good. And familiar.”

“Mine,” I said, pulling them to my chest.

“Catling, you wound me. I come to share with you the secrets of my civilization and you cannot be bothered to share a few morsels with me, your benefactor, teacher, sponsor …”

I wasn’t going to go into that either. “I imagined you’d come about the loss of the two litters of kittens.”

“Tragic, naturally, but those were not the important kittens.”

“Their mothers thought they were important,” I said, growling through the fishy treat I was savoring.

“No doubt. Come now. You don’t want to eat all of those.”

“That’s exactly what I want.” I reached my paw in to pull out another treat, but he snatched the bag away.

“They will make excellent appetizers before the feast,” he said.

“What feast?”

“A reception feast for you to meet the queen and her court properly.”

“We sort of did already,” I said. Once was plenty, as far as I was concerned.

“Not everyone.”

“Am I supposed to be honored that an important queen’s-sire cat such as yourself has come to fetch me to this personally when no doubt we’d all be receiving a summons, or did you just know Jubal had brought me fishy treats?”

“Of course you are honored. You’re also going to be doing the summoning. I want every cat and kitten from the ship to attend. And naturally I keep myself informed of the really important events around me, such as the arrival of these treats.” He looked inside the package. “Which seem to be gone. Now, let us alert the others.”

———

The eating part of the feast didn’t take very long. We nibbled or gobbled, each according to his appetite or custom, and then looked around to see what would come next. Would mice or birds be loosed for us to chase for entertainment, or would some of the humans be called upon to dangle strings for us? Or maybe we were supposed to have a communal nap?

Instead, it turned out that we were each literally supposed to kiss the queen’s—tail. That was the reception portion of the evening.

I stayed near Jubal and the crew, who were eating with the locals, but most of the other Barque Cats seemed perfectly happy to mingle with their hosts. Except for Romina and Ninina, my shipmates looked relatively sleek and contented. When the queen passed them and presented her tail, each of the cats good-naturedly gave it a lick when it was understood that was what she wanted. My sire, Space Jockey, gave the entire tail a long swipe with his tongue, and the queen’s guards had to crowd him into backing off.

She was sashaying my way, Pshaw-Ra mentally instructing me to greet her. Her eyes were fixed on me and all I could do was wonder how long it had taken for her to get her fur painted with that crown and necklace, when she lurched sideways.

A great thump had rocked the entire hall, and I found myself sitting on my rump, my ears ringing.

“What the …?” the captain said, but before he could finish his question or I could pose one to Pshaw-Ra—like, maybe they were shooting off fireworks somewhere to cap off the evening?—the queen’s supple body flipped so that she was facing the great golden statue. In two bounds she had disappeared into the open jaws of the cat idol. Right behind her was Pshaw-Ra, followed by two of her guards.

Then me, because although I had no idea what was going on, I intended to find out.

The statue’s tongue and throat were the gateway to a long and
winding ramp that descended into a level underground passage. Its ceiling was supported by lines of pillars carved with designs like the ones on Pshaw-Ra’s ship. Connecting the tops of these pillars were catwalks running lengthways down the passage and widthwise from one side of the cavernous space to the other. Pshaw-Ra and Nefure, followed by the guards, leaped onto one of these and sprinted down the passage, totally sure of their footing. I like tall places as much as the next cat, but the floor looked like a better bet for my paws.

Running deeper into the passage, I soon saw that this was not just a big cave, it was some kind of workplace or factory. There were long tables or benches, and machinery and things that smelled like hot metal and oil, chemical smells that made my nostrils itch.

In other places there were beakers and tubes, and big metal structures that looked like the engines of spaceships. I couldn’t put a name to any of it but I thought I might come back and investigate later. The tables were the right height for humans—so maybe this was where they made and repaired things? Why down here? To escape the heat?

I didn’t have time to examine anything closely because the patter of crazy kitty paws overhead lured me onward.

Another floor-bouncing thump made the catwalks rattle above me and I heard a sharp, “Rowl!”

Then something flitted between the pillars. From the scent, I could tell it was a female cat, a particular fish-stealing female cat. I saw a flash of white behind her as the wretched handmaiden girl tried to keep up with Renpet. With a mighty leap I was among the shadows, face-to-face with the fish thief. With another leap I was upon her. I wasn’t sure what she’d done to bounce the floor so noisily or why Pshaw-Ra and Nefure were in hot pursuit, but I wasn’t going to let her get away with it.

“Gotcha!” I said. I hadn’t forgotten what happened before, the
part where her girl walloped me. I turned, snarled, and snared her with a paw full of claws. “Back off, you,” I said, even though she couldn’t understand me. “Don’t clobber the cat who feeds you.”

The girl hopped back, clutching her bleeding leg, and I returned my attention to Renpet. To my surprise she was paws up, showing her tummy in a submissive gesture. “Please do not slay me, mighty catcher of fish!” she said. “I mean no harm.”

“Is that so?” I asked, hovering but not attacking. “It seems to me that whatever it was that made the temple shake and thump is probably your fault, since you seem to be running away from it.”

“We only created a diversion while we took back what is mine by right. Nefure would have destroyed it. She is evil, Chester the Fisher. She assassinated my mother.”

“Why? Was your mom in the habit of stealing
her
fish?”

“My mother was the greatest queen our race has seen since we came from the stars. She brought peace and prosperity.”

“You must take after your sire. There’s nothing peaceful about you.”

“My sire is a traitor—I had hoped when he returned he would make Nefure pay for her treachery, but instead he has become her follower. Did you not see him join her in pursuing me, his own offspring?”

“You mean Pshaw-Ra is your sire?”

“None other,” she said bitterly.

“And he’s also the queen’s sire? And you thought he was going to choose you over the sister with the power? You don’t really know him very well, do you?”

“I fear not. He is something of a legend among us.”

“I’m sure he started the legend himself,” I said. “He thinks he’s very impressive.”

I noticed as I spoke that the girl had something strapped to her back. It smelled dead and musty. “Is that what you took? The thing she carries?”

“That is no thing. That is my mother. We are taking her to properly
prepare her for the afterlife, something Nefure would have denied her.”

“Afterlife? There’s something besides, well, no life at all?”

“Yes, of course. Royal cats are immortal and are granted nine incarnations on this plane. Of course, the trick is knowing which incarnation you happen to be on at the moment and how many remain. For that we must clandestinely consult the former royal astrologer.”

“And that would be?”

“A problem. She now serves Nefure. Before his departure, my sire also served as royal astrologer, but the post was not evidently elevated enough to suit him.”

No surprise there. “Complicated family you have,” I told her. “I had two mothers and two sets of littermates, and mine is much simpler.”

“You are not royalty,” she said.

“Maybe not, but I am
very
well bred. Just ask my mother, or even my father for that matter, he’s here too.”

“No time for that. We must spirit my mother away from here, but we are going the wrong direction.” She looked puzzled as she said that and gave a small mew.

“Why?” I asked. Surely it would have been easier to go in the right direction?

“The explosion we set accomplished its purpose, but it also collapsed the ceiling of the most convenient passage. There are other ways but to reach them we must first pass through the temple, where we will be taken by Nefure’s guards. You must assist us, Chester the Fisher.”

Must I? There was absolutely no reason to favor this fish stealer and her girl except that I wanted to see what they’d do next—that and I thought it might really annoy Pshaw-Ra.

“I will, but only because I am a very heroic fellow,” I told her. I could feel my boy waiting anxiously for me above, and though I hadn’t been communicating directly with him since my descent,
I did now.
We have a bit of a situation down here
, I told him.
That pair we met at the river need to get out without being caught. Can you do something to distract everyone?

Through his eyes I saw that the adult cats seemed to be getting extremely friendly with each other, the air thick with a hairy haze and a very musky scent that may or may not have been part of the cause of my sudden gallantry toward Renpet. I was not too young to respond to the scent with a quivering warmth in my stern.

All we have to worry about is the humans, I’m pretty sure
, Jubal said,
and I think I can handle that
.

In perhaps five rapid heartbeats he said,
Okay, they’re all watching me now, facing away from the statue. Tell Renpet to make a run for it
.

“Come on!” I told Renpet, a command relayed to the girl, and we sprinted back up the ramp and through the open mouth of the statue. The girl did not come the same way exactly, which made sense, as the hole was large for a cat but not nearly adequate for a human, even a young one.

We were just clear of the statue’s mouth when I heard a cry and Renpet tried to turn back. “They’ve taken her! I thought you said your boy had detained the guards!”

“Where is she?”

“Humans use the servants’ entrance, of course, under the Great Mau’s tail. We must free her! Who else would care for me? Besides, she has my mother’s remains!”

“Well, you can’t help her if they have you too!” I said.
Jubal, we have to go back for the girl. There were guards at the statue’s tail
.

I know. They’re dragging her out now. Tell the princess to hide. And call the kittens. Maybe they can tangle the guards’ feet and I can free her
.

“Jubal and the kittens are going to try to free your friend,” I told Renpet. “Meanwhile, we have to hide.”

“Cover me!” she said.

S
urrounded by the feline revelers, I leaped on top of Renpet, giving her a well-deserved thump and a bite as I did so. To my surprise, she emitted a moaning sound as if I were doing her more of a favor than simply hiding her.

Behind me, back toward the statue, the captain shouted, “Jubal, catch the kittens!”

I rolled Renpet head over tail so we were facing the statue. Two human guards were holding Renpet’s handmaiden, her head hanging down so her hair concealed her face. They stood by the statue’s mouth, the guards no doubt awaiting orders from the absent queen. Flekica’s kittens, led by my brothers Bat and Sol, chased each other through the maze of cats and tangled the guards’ feet while Jubal, Captain Loloma, and Beulah tried to catch them, dodging and feinting around the guards. Simultaneously Jubal barreled after them and into one of the men holding Renpet’s servant, knocking him off his feet. As the guard began to fall, he dragged the girl with him. Captain Loloma caught him by the arm holding the girl, and Jubal pretended to stagger back, knocking the other guard off balance too. The girl broke free and leaped over the cats as if she too were a particularly agile feline.

Renpet clawed me as she slid out from under me and bounded after the girl. In two more leaps she was balanced on top of the roughly cone-shaped basket the girl had strapped to her back.