D. MacHale - Black Water

“But you believe Seegen,” I said.

“I’ve got more of an imagination,” Boon answered. “Besides, I’m sitting here talking to you, right? Seegen said you’d come and here you are.”

“What about her mother?” I asked.

“She was killed in a tang raid,” Boon said softly. “I think that’s why Kasha became a forager. She likes fighting tangs. Every time she kills one, I know she’s thinking about her mother.”

Kasha entered the kitchen and Boon fell silent. “Are we ready to eat?” she asked.

“All set!” answered Boon. The three birds were now crackling brown and smelled delicious. Boon pulled them off the spit and brought them inside the tree, where we all sat around the table. Kasha gave me a quick, dirty look. It must have been hard for her to have a filthy gar sitting at her table, but too bad. I was starving. I sat down politely and waited for Boon to serve. He placed one bird in front of each of us. No knives. No forks. No plates, either. I was kind of hoping for a vegetable and a potato, but I wasn’t going to push my luck. The chicken would do me just fine. Kasha and Boon picked up their birds and devoured them. I pulled off a leg and took a big bite. Oh yeah. It was good. It tasted like…chicken. No big surprise. It could have tasted like shoes. I didn’t care. I tore into the meat and ate, but not quite as ravenously as Boon and Kasha. It took them all of thirty seconds to polish off their birds, bones and all. I had barely finished one leg when they were licking their paws and staring at my bird out of the corner of their eyes. As hungry as I was, there was no way I’d be able to finish the whole thing, so I tore off the other leg, pulled some breast meat off the bone for myself and asked, “You guys want to finish this?”

Boon answered by grabbing the bird quickly, tearing it in two, and giving half to Kasha. These cats may have been civilized, but they sure ate like animals. The strange scene was complete when I heard an odd noise. It sounded like a low engine, but looking around, I didn’t see anything that might be making the sound. That’s when I realized it was coming from Kasha and Boon. They were purring. How freaking strange is that?

I finished the delicious meat and looked around for a napkin to wipe my hands, but realized that was idiotic. So I followed the lead of my hosts and licked my fingers clean. Hey, why not? At home my mother would kill me for doing that, but I wasn’t home. When I finished, I saw that my plate was empty. Both my leg bones had been swooped up by the cats and devoured. Note to self: If you don’t want to go hungry around here, eat fast.

“It’s late,” Kasha announced. “I need rest. Tomorrow we will go to my father’s home. Be ready to leave early.”

“Where do I sleep?” I asked, really hoping she wouldn’t banish me to the dog run.

She glanced at Boon and spat out, “Right here.” It killed her to let a beast sleep under her roof. Tough.

Boon said, “I’ll get you a blanket.”

“I need something to write with,” I said. I figured it was time to catch up with my journals.

Kasha looked at me like I had just announced I was going to grow a second head.

“You can write?” she asked, not hiding her surprise.

“Amazing, but true,” I answered snottily. “And I can count, too. Want to hear?”

“I’ll get what you need,” Boon interjected, trying to keep the peace. Kasha left without saying good night. Boon got me a scratchy blanket, along with some blank parchment pages and a pen. The pen actually had an ink reservoir inside. I didn’t have to dip a quill into a well. Eelong was truly a strange place. Much of what I saw was savage, but there were also hints of modern convenience.

“I’ll be back in the morning,” Boon announced.

“Whoa, you’re not staying? What if Kasha decides to slit my throat while I’m asleep?”

Boon chuckled. “She won’t. She may not like to be told what to do, but she’s honorable.”

“I’ll have to take your word for that,” I said. I planned on being a very light sleeper that night.

“So, tomorrow we go after Saint Dane?” Boon asked hopefully, like he was asking if we were going to Disneyland.

“One thing at a time,” I answered. “First we find Seegen and Gunny.”

“Right!” Boon exclaimed. “Good night, Pendragon.” He got down on all fours, leaped out of the doorway, and ran off into the night.

I sat down on a long couch that had a soft blanket for a seat. It wasn’t exactly cushy, but it was comfortable enough. I spent the next few hours writing Journal #16, the one you’ve already read by now. By the time I finished, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I rolled up the pages, sent it through my ring to you guys, then put my head down to rest. In the few seconds before nodding out, I thought back on the incredible day I had just spent. I had woken up that morning in a mansion on Veelox having slept in a comfortable bed. I ended the day sleeping on a scratchy blanket in a tree house surrounded by predator jungle cats who were getting ready to pass a law that allowed them to kill and eat humans. Can my life be any stranger?

I wanted to sleep lightly, but my body wouldn’t let me. I totally conked out. The next thing I remembered, I had a dream that I was being stalked by a cat. No big surprise, right? The only thing was, the dream felt real… so real that it jolted me awake. There was a moment where I wasn’t sure where I was, but when I opened my eyes it all came flooding back. That’s when I realized my dream wasn’t a dream. I slowly opened my eyes to see a big, gray cat creeping across the floor toward me, hunched down, ready to spring. Zing! I went from dead asleep to wide awake in a nanosecond. I was totally defenseless and quickly realized I had only one hope.

“Kasha!” I screamed. I rolled off the couch and scrambled underneath it, pulling the blanket down for whatever pitiful protection it might offer until Kasha came to my rescue…assuming she came to my rescue.

She did. The black cat leaped into the room, ready for action. “What?” she snarled.

The big gray cat who was stalking me stood up on its two hind legs and said, “What is this, Kasha? You’re now letting gars sleep in your home?” The cat’s voice sounded old. His fur was longer than others I’d seen and the gray was from age. This was definitely an elderly cat, but it still looked pretty dangerous.

“Where is my father, Yorn?” Kasha growled at him.

“Yorn?” I exclaimed. “The acolyte?”

The old cat shot me a surprised look. I figured I had to take charge and said, “My name is Pendragon. I’m looking for Seegen.”

“Pendragon?” the old cat gasped. “But…you’re not supposed to be here!”

“Well, surprise,” I said, crawling out from under the couch. My heart was still thumping. “Where is Seegen?” I asked him.

Yorn staggered to a bench and sat down. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was old and weak, or the surprise of seeing me knocked him for a loop.

“He went to Second Earth, looking for you!” Yorn answered. “He had news of the Traveler you seek. The injured gar.”

“Gunny?” I shouted.

“Yes, Gunny.”

“Where is he? Is he all right?”

“I don’t know,” Yorn answered. “He and Seegen left on a journey several days ago. They wouldn’t tell me where they went. Then Seegen returned alone. As far as I know, Gunny’s harm does not go beyond the loss of his hand. He was attacked by a tang, you know.”

I couldn’t believe it! Gunny was okay! Now I knew why he lost his hand-he was attacked by a tang. But he survived. That’s all that mattered.

“There’s more, Pendragon,” Yorn continued. “Saint Dane is here on Eelong. He’s influencing the Council of Klee to begin a campaign that will wipe out the gars. Seegen went to Second Earth to tell you this and bring you back.”