Flash Fiction #630 -- Neko's Trip Home/10

 

The power caught me as I started to fall from Colin's arms. Colin gave a cry of despair, but it was Bird Woman who grabbed me out of the air and held me tight.

"You shall not have him back!"

But in answer, I heard the familiar laughter that I had dreaded so much in an earlier life. The sound sent a shiver through me, but Bird Woman Wrapped me in her arms and then pulled the feathered cloak around me as well. I felt magic in the feathers and I thought it made me safe. From the sounds of things around me, I thought the other magic must have faded away. It seemed I could breathe easier again, and I even dared peek out between the layers of cloak to see what was happening.

"We should go now," Colin said and sounded anxious. "And not straight to our enemy. I think I might need more help."

None of us argued. I was even relieved when, a moment later, everything went misty around us. Bird Woman looked intrigued as we took that journey. Colin noticeably relaxed the farther we got away from the last spot. I thought he might be taking us to the Fae lands, so I was surprised when we dropped back into the festival. Our arrival startled several people and a dozen or so chickens that ran for cover. We had kicked up a bit of dust so that I couldn't see very clearly around us. However, I could hear.

"You are back!" Luna cried out. She grabbed me out of Bird Woman's arms without seeing the odd stranger who carried me. She held tightly as she dashed on toward Colin.

In a moment, I found myself being smashed between the two of them. It was a wonderful feeling and chased away all the fear I'd had a moment before. Rage and desperation disappeared as well. I felt as though I could think clearly for the first time since we last seen Luna.

"I feared you would forget me," Luna admitted. She sniffed. "I am so glad to see you again."

"Let me out! I can't breathe!" Shosha shouted though it sounded more like a squeal.

Luna leaped backward in haste and then smiled with delight when Shosha scrambled out of Colin's pocket and up to his shoulder. I started to snarl since that was my place.

"May I hold her?" Luna asked one of those rare humans who didn't just grab.

"Is it safe?" Shosha asked, looking timid for the first time.

"Perfectly safe," Colin replied. He pulled her down and handed the fur ball to Luna.

I had never seen two beings bond so quickly. Colin and I sighed with relief, but Luna and Shosha never noticed. They were busily introducing themselves as they headed for our tent. Colin picked me up and settled me on his shoulder as soon as they were inside.

"That went better than I hoped," he admitted softly. "I think it is a good pairing, as long as you don't mind sharing Luna."

"That doesn't bother me," I admitted. "But what if it did?"

"I would find somewhere else for Shosha."  He stopped and looked at Bird Woman. "Do we need to find a place for you?"

She had a lovely laugh with none of the despair and distance I had felt in that other realm.   As she looked around, her smile grew.

"I may have found my place."

She was right. Bird Woman fit in with the festival crowd far better than Luna, Colin, and I did. A group of acrobats passed, and she watched them intently.

"From what I learned, the groups travel together from place to place and have a winter encampment," Colin said. "They are always open to new additions, as long as they can house and cloth themselves. They do have communal meals."

"None of this is a problem for me," she replied. I had not considered her own magic until now. You will know where to find me if needed. I will call myself Avesa, Lady of the Birds. You won't have trouble finding me if you need to. And this will always be a place of rest for you."

Avesa started past -- but then she stopped and touched Colin's arm. "Thank you. Take care."

She walked away. I watched as birds of several types landed on her shoulders and head.

"Oh yes," Colin said with a bright smile. "She'll do well here."

I suddenly felt as if this was not a disaster, but rather a rescue mission. We had gotten Shosha and Avesa out of their traps. We would get others free.

And then I would go back and see the ocean again.   I was certain Colin wouldn't mind returning to the Pacific and heading to the Atlantic before we all returned to the bookstore.

We didn't have to hunt for our places. We belonged together and at the shop. I even thought the fur ball might be one of us, or she might find another spot along the way.

I could barely pick out Avesa in the crowd.

"I think our next battle will be with fear," Colin said as he headed toward the tent. "That was the feeling I got."

"Me, too."

"Knowing what we will face this time will help us prepare for it. I am also calling in Dorian. We have no idea how many more we might face, and I doubt we can talk past most of them."

"We've gotten lucky," I agreed. Then we passed into the tent. I immediately felt better. "You have a shield on this place."

"I have made this our focal point for now," Colin explained as he placed me on some pillows by Luna and Shosha. "It gives me a small, strong power point for fast escapes."

"And we will need it," Luna added.

Flash Fiction #629 -- Neko's Trip Home/9

 

"Web," Colin repeated as he stared at me. "Caught."

I looked at Bird Lady but she appeared as shocked as Colin. "I always assumed I was the only one," she admitted.

"Me, too," Shosha added as she peeked out again.

"I had never thought about it, which means I never considered that there might be others. How many? Do we need to find a way to free them of the web?" I asked. "I really wasn't looking for a quest."

"But --" Colin began.

"But I appear to already be on one. Especially since I keep getting pulled into these situations and Colin has to come and rescue me."

"That may be true ... and I wonder if that's because you killed her."

"The fall killed her, not me. She should have looked where she was walking." I looked him in the face. "I had done it before when we were still together. She had never fallen."

"That makes --"

"It makes sense if you have to worry about a coven suddenly showing an interest."  I looked at Bird Woman, who nodded slightly. "I know I have taken credit for killing her. In truth, I had hoped she would trip, and I could get help there before she recovered. I wasn't sorry she was dead, but I wouldn't have purposely tried to be rid of her -- not on my own."

I had taken her reading right. Now that everything else dark and overlain with magic had been blown away, I could tell her powers came from natural sources. If she was not a witch, she was very akin to them.

Bird Woman gave another nod. "I would not think anyone will be sorry that she's gone, especially those of us still caught in her web. However, there is the possibility that she had an ally or another familiar after she trapped Neko. Oh yes, I know about her trick. I just had not realized you were that cat. I thought you were still trapped."

That made sense out of why others met my statements about Maude with such disbelief. First, they didn't realize she was gone, and second, they didn't know I was Neko.

I looked back at Colin. "You should have said something."

"It didn't occur to me that Maude might have her ephemeral hand in this trouble until now. I checked the body and found nothing to make me think she would still be in trouble. She worked with human-based magic, though. I might not have sensed something that wasn't close to fae magic. I also recall that she evaded fae hunters for a  long time. She had some powers we didn't understand."

I hoped he wasn't trying to make me feel better.

Bird Woman took the admission more to heart than I did. I had never thought of the fae as being all-powerful. Maude had beaten them in the game of hide and seek. They had only found me by chance.  

"Neko?" Colin said.

I started to snarl an answer and stopped myself. Was I really mad at the fae because they hadn't found me sooner?

No. I was mad because Maude was interfering with my life again. Ghost or just memory didn't matter. It was her work.

"I am annoyed," I said when Colin started to speak again. "I haven't minded helping others, but I preferred the ones that were not connected to Maude."

"I would prefer not to be involved in her messes again," Colin admitted. He looked as annoyed as I had felt a moment before. I supposed Maude did that to everyone who encountered her. Colin and I- and maybe even Shosha- probably had the same feelings toward her and the entire mess.

I couldn't be as confident about Bird Woman, although at least she looked happy about the flowers blooming around her. The birds sang, and I wondered if any of this was her work or if she was more akin to the dark and mud.

I had gotten too judgmental. And it more than angered me -- it enraged --

"Colin, we have a problem! Rage, despair -- tell me it is just me --"

Colin caught on quickly. He spun his own threads around me, not as a web, but as circles of power. We both knew when he touched the thread that linked back to Maude.

The single thread brightened and grew longer, and something on the other end tried to pull me away from my friends. I gave a startled cry and leapt at Colin, the thread slowing my movement. Colin understood and grabbed me out of the air, but Bird Woman stepped forward, grabbed the thread, and drained it of power. Colin did his best to remove the link from me, but it would not release me. He was dangerously depleting his energy, too.

"Stop," I gasped. "You --you need power for battle. It will come for me, no matter if we are tied or not."

"Yes," Bird Woman agreed as she still fought with the thread. Then, with a snarl of anger, she set fire to it, and the thread burned all the way to me, singing my fur but cutting me loose for the moment.

"Away from here!" Colin shouted. "Fast. Will you come with us, Lady?"

"Yes."

She put her hand on Colin's shoulder. He held me tighter, and Shosha meeped from his pocket, but we were already on our way.

I could feel the thread catching hold of me, and I feared it would drag me into the mist, and I would never see my friends again. My claws dug into Colin's arm, but he made no show of it except to hold me tighter.

Something was wrong. We were moving too slowly, and I had no idea where Colin was headed. I only knew that the thread -- glowing even brighter now -- would pull us all to our doom. I feared the others were about to die for me.

So I let go.

Flash Fiction # 628-- Neko's Trip Home/8

 

 I thought I could feel a tiny seed of rage buried in the back of Shosha's head. My initial thought was to tell Colin to take it all away. I don't think he would have, even for me. He had given his word as a Fae. They are not as ambiguous as cats. I really do wonder how they survive so long.

"Can we go back now?" I asked. I was annoyed that he'd picked up Shosha and left me to limp after them. Maybe Luna would hold me.

Then Collin pushed Shosha into a pocket -- much to her dismay -- and picked me up. His hand soothed wounds, but his hug cured more.

"I am sorry I couldn't find you sooner," he admitted. "That was a brilliant solution to yell for me. I didn't think you had that much magic."

Shosha mumbled something from the pocket.

Colin grinned at me, but he patted her head. She might have said something more, but we were transitioning between realms.

I don't know what went wrong.

We did not end up back with Luna and the others. The world seemed to tilt, the colors changed, and I fell.

I landed in mud up to my stomach. Foul-smelling mud overlain with a layer of bugs that immediately started swarming me. Huge birds took to the air, their wings darkening the sky as they screeched in angry protest.

"Colin!"

A shape came toward me, wings draped across the chest, plumes high above the head. The mud world went silent around us as the strange being approached.

Wings unfurled, and the body bowed, green eyes staring down at me.

"Colin," I whispered.

"My, what an odd little creature to find lost in my bog."

I blinked and found myself looking into a perfectly normal human face. The wings were actually a cape made of feathers, and she had more feathers in her hair. She also had the feel of something timeless and untouched by the world through which she walked. While the mud stuck to my fur and the insects buzzed at my eyes and ears, nothing touched her. It annoyed me.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"I rather think that should be my question since you came to me."

"That was not my intention," I snapped. Her eyes widened and sparkled with uncanny power. That stopped me from saying anything more. I was not in a good mood, and judging this person in my current state was unwise.

How long would it take Colin to find me this time? Did I dare call for him?

"Well, what are you doing here?" she demanded as she stood straighter and looked around. Maybe she expected elephants. "How did you even get here since you have so little magic?"

"Both answers are related. I was traveling with my fae friend. He was trying to get us at least closer to home."

"Fae," she repeated and I wasn't certain she knew what I meant. "Is he here?"

"I am here," Colin said and stepped out of nowhere to stand with me. "I assume you are the keeper of this realm?"

She nodded and looked Colin over as if uncertain what he might be. When Shosha peeked out, the woman only nodded.

"Will you leave now?" she asked, making it not quite a demand. "You have unsettled things here."

I was ready to tell her what I thought of her realm and see how much I could really unsettle things --

Was I influenced by Shosha's rage still? Or was I simply tired and ready to return to any reality where something wasn't trying to bite me?

"I have to make some calculations first," Colin admitted. "I don't know why we came here. Unless? Do you  know a witch named Maude?"

I had expected the same bland retort as the rest of the conversation. Instead, she made such a sound of disgust that the insects fled in fear. I stayed very still.

"I am glad to say that the pretentious, weak woman is no longer among the living. I will never have to deal with her attacks again. What has she got to do with you being here?"

"I suspect we are cleaning up some of her work," Colin answered.

"That's not fair!" I protested. "I tripped her to be done with Maude and be free of her!"


"You killed her."

I looked at the bird woman and wondered if I had done something objectionable despite her dislike of the witch.

There was no use denying it; an obvious lie would not improve the situation. I thought Colin would do or say something to help me, but he stared off into the distance, and even the fluff ball disappeared into her pocket.

"I tripped her," I said.

She stared at me.

Then she laughed.

The sound went out in waves, brushing away mud, dead plants, and noisome insects. Flowers blossomed, but the mud tried to come back.

"Oh no," she said. "Enough of the despair."

With a wave of her arm -- or perhaps a lift of her wing -- she banished the mud and everything dark with it.

"Rage. Despair," Colin spoke at last. "There will be others. Now that she's dead and gone --"

"Dead does not always mean gone," Bird Woman replied.

I winced at that thought, but I should have considered it long before now. The look I gave Colin was one of despair, and I hadn't caught that feeling from the mud, either.

"I have found no sign of her in any form, my friend," Colin said. "I would have told you."

"But you never mentioned --"

"Until our encounter with Shosha, it didn't occur to me that she might have held some string to the world yet."

"Not a string, a web," I replied. "And I think we are caught in it."

Flash Fiction #627 -- Neko's Trip Home/7

 I couldn't move. Or maybe I didn't dare move because I had no idea where Catzilla might be. I was starting to see splotches of color, but given the white from before, I assumed the colors were in my head. That didn't help. Neither did going from stone deaf to hearing everything in three realms. The roar hit me like a wind, and I rolled a few feet and came up hard against something.

Yes, I panicked.

"Easy, Neko!"

Colin swept me up in his arms, but pulling in all my claws still took a difficult act of will. I could hear his heartbeat, the rush of blood in his veins, and the sound of each breath he took.

And the movement of something else nearby.

"White Catzilla," I whispered. "Huge. And speak softly. It hurts. Told her Maude is dead. She wanted the honor."

The cat charged at us, her claws sounding like bullets against whatever flooring we had beneath us. She must have been farther away than I thought. Colin had time to shift me to his shoulder, and I settled in like an excellent furry collar.

It was where I belonged. Not only was I safe here, but I could also help. It occurred to me that this entire place was Maude's magical construction. Now that I had a moment to think, I realized no one alive knew more about her magic than I did.

She made a leap at us but hit the wall of protection he'd put up. She bounced back with a squeal of indignation that sounded like sirens going off all around us. Even Colin winced.

I could see her all too well now. She stood a bit wobbly, and her ears went back while her tail twitched. I wasn't confident even fae magic would stand up to a determined charge.

"Do you want to know how to get out of here or not?" I asked. The words were too loud but stopped her. "If not, my fae friend and I will be on our way."

I hoped.

She started to leap and pulled herself to a stop away from the magical wall. I suspected she took note of Colin for the first time. Maybe she saw me as more than a dreaded enemy, but rather a minion for Maude.

I was never a minion.

I moved to stand on Colin's shoulder rather than cowering behind his head. I stopped acting like prey, and she noted it.

"My name is Neko," I said. It was a dangerous ploy since names convey power --

But this paid off.

"She spoke often of you! You were better than me at everything --"

"She was just toying with you. She locked me away in an old building, and I stayed there for centuries until the fae helped me. Whatever she said I was good at clearly wasn't true."

She sat down. "I am Shosha -- or I was before rage turned me into this creature."

"Do you want to let go of that rage?" Colin asked.

She blinked, her icy-blue eyes narrowing. "What do I have left without it?"

"The chance to be something more and to leave this cage," Colin replied.

She stared at him again, and I wondered what she thought. At least she did so quietly. Unfortunately, Colin was in a talkative mood. My head still wanted to explode, and I would have asked for help, but Colin needed to focus on our companion.

"I want out," she whispered, afraid to admit to it. Afraid it was still one of Maude's tricks. There had been those while Neko traveled with Maude, but not after he had been trapped in the bookstore. Maybe I'd been lucky. Or else she didn't want to draw attention to me and her hidden treasure.

I stopped myself from saying anything. This wasn't about me.

"I can help you release your rage," Colin offered. "Then you can come with us or go anywhere you want."

"But I will be small and helpless again!"

"Cats are never helpless," I replied with more indignation than I had intended. Also louder. I winced, but Colin patted my shoulder.

"We cannot stay," Colin said. Shosha made a soft sound of worry. "I know this isn't an easy choice to make. I can take the rage away and give you a link to call it back again if you change your mind. Just remember that was the rage also comes the prison. I could not allow you to run around wild in that state."

She still paused. This would be a significant change for her, and I felt that she had wiped away all memories of her previous life. I had the feeling I knew someone who would help her, though. Better yet, Luna had no magic except for her ability to see beyond the simple reality the rest of us could view.

"Let me see this other world," she finally said. "It may be that I don't like it."

That sounded sufficiently catlike to me, so I had more hope for her. Colin was already lifting his hands and casting a spell. A moment later, there was a harsh breeze that seemed to tangle into everything and just annoyed me. I finally realized that this was Shosha's rage dissipating into the air.

As the sound died down, I looked over at Shosha and couldn't find her until I saw a small bit of white movement against the white and gray background.

"I am tiny!" An indignant voice shouted from the floor.

"You are adorable," Colin replied and scooped her up.

I decided that she was right -- she was tiny. She was also somewhat adorable if you go in for those short-legged fluffy things.

I could not imagine what Maud wanted with her unless it had been the power of that rage.

Flash Fiction #626 -- Neko's Trip Home/6

 

I don't like to be laughed at, and this creature didn't have a whisper of joy in that sound.  I couldn't see what I faced except for occasional flashes of black teeth. My eyes watered so much I feared I would never be able to see again, and then I wondered why I was trying to locate my enemy by sight. I closed my eyes and listened instead.

Much better.

I could hear the whistle of a breath, so soft it was barely a whistle.  The creature stood to my right.  I heard a shift of fur, a catch of breath -- something hurt --  and then the soft brush of fur against the floor.

Did I hear chains?

"Where are we?" I dared to ask.

"It is Where she put me. But you know that part. You still have her scent upon you. I know she sent you --"

"No one sent me," I protested. "As far as I can tell, you grabbed me away from my friends and brought me here."

I could almost see a face as the creature leaned down closer to look at me. "I only moved before she could since she sent you. I did not want another of her surprises, although I do admit I don't sense her any nearer now."

"You can't mean Luna," I protested.

"Is that what she calls herself now?"

"Not Luna," I said and suddenly understood.  "You mean Maude."

The creature hissed, cat-like, at the name.  "You dare to call her --"

"I can't call her," I replied.  "She's dead."

No sound at all.

I saw a glimpse of black teeth far too close to my face.

"Careful!" I jumped backward, hissing with surprise.

"She can't be dead! If that were true than I --"

"Kept yourself trapped here."

That was not the best way I could have stated it.

In fact, if I had been wise, I would have let her find that answer all on her own. As it was, she moved -- yes, she -- and I jumped a heartbeat too late.

SLAP

I went flying. I had thought there were no walls until I hit one.  Then she hit it and landed on me.  She still growled as I gasped, fighting my way out from under pounds of fur.

I came out gasping, but so was she. Also, the white was fractured by lines of wavering gray. Against that confusing background, I could see the shape of the one who captured me.  She looked like a very big white cat.

Huge.

"You can't know she is dead if I don't!" she shouted.

I waited while the echoes died down.

"I know because I killed her."

"You don't have the magic to have killed her.  I set dozens of traps for her, each one more magically elaborate. You don't have that kind of power."

"I didn't use magic.  I tripped her as she went down the stairs.  She broke her neck."

"Dead."

"I have a Fae friend who can confirm it."

"Dead."

She had a growing look of confusion mixed with anger as she turned to me again.  Her ice blue eyes narrowed as she pulled herself up and stood over me.  I knew that look.

"I am not a mouse," I warned and hoped my voice didn't squeak too much.

"I think you should run, little prey."

"I am not prey!" I replied with outright indignation.  "I am a cat!"

"Nice kitty."

I watched her tail steady as her back leg muscles tightened. When she pounced, I charged straight underneath her. As I had expected, she was out of practice. That didn't make her less dangerous in the long run. I could only dodge her attacks for so long.  It seemed as though the longer we dueled, the more awake she became. I hoped to see some sanity in  her face before I ran out of energy. I also had another hope, of course. My friends were bound to miss me soon.  However, I couldn't know how time worked here or if Colin could even find the path to this strange, white realm.

Maybe I needed to help him.

I didn't have the magic to stop my companion from trying to eat me, but I thought if I threw everything into a call for help, I might get Collins attention. The problem was that I couldn't get enough time to pull the spell together, and every bit of magic I used to stay ahead of this white demon would make my call all the weaker.

I was also aware that I was running in circles. The only way I was going to get out of this would be to do something unexpected. I could charge straight at her again, but I thought she might be a little too alert for that kind of trick twice.  I decided on something a little less blatant, at least at the start. Using a little magic, I fixed the spot along the path I was taking. The tiny little tick of magic  didn't draw her attention at all but allowed me to coordinate everything from there.  

I didn't go near it every time she chased me. When I did, I left another seed of magic.  it took her longer to sense than I had expected, but I still wasn't ready.

When she changed direction and headed for it I knew I had no more time. I threw every bit of magic I had left and added the spell I'd been working out while trying to run for my life. But the loss of the magic sent me to falling on the floor. Then the spell caught the magic and blossomed into a blinding flash of light and a rumble of words that might have been thunder.

"Colin, I need your help!"

That had  been loud enough that they probably heard it in other realms without the magic that sent the message out in eddies.

I stayed fallen on the floor, weak, blind, and deaf.