King's Cat: Malkins & Mages

The war has just begun…

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King’s Cat

Chapter 1

Toby stood and stared at the dark stain on the packed dirt at the base of the prison tower, his orange fur fluffed against the chill breeze. There was no love lost on the man who had jumped to his death there, but that didn’t mean investigating his unusual death could be shuffled off like some house wife’s used grocery list. The man was a criminal, but he was still human. If you can call the mouse turd human, Toby thought as he craned his neck to look up to the tower’s parapet. How in the Pits did he manage to make it up there in the first place?

Toby knew for a fact this prison was well-guarded. It was the same one his uncle had been held in before his trial. Genocide was not something the crown took lightly, so the black-furred monster had called Assir Prison his home for several days before being found guilty and placed in a special time bubble, courtesy of the Time Keeper and her band of Protectors. That was part of the reason Toby was still outside, looking at the dark stain instead of with his human partner inside questioning the guards and checking out the parapet. K’dash Shyam had attempted to kill every human in King’s City with a plague and knowing they were related made speaking to anyone who’d been involved sticky at best.

Former Councilman Tison Feeno hadn’t rated an ultra-high-security time bubble for the single murder he’d hired done, nor for his purchase of an illegal ancient artifact on the shadow market to do the deed. However, his crime had been heinous enough and his place in the ruling class high enough to warrant a secure lock-up facility like Assir.

So how did he get up there? Toby sat and curled his tail around his paws. Lorn was supposed to be making his way to the top of the tower, checking as he went for any evidence that Feeno had had help taking his tumble off the roof. A moment later Toby spotted him peering over the parapet walls. Lorn waved down at Toby, gave him a thumbs down, and disappeared again. Well, there’s the sign. Guess I should get to it.

It wasn’t ideal, but the stain was all that was left of Feeno’s swan dive. His body had already been burned in accordance to suicides of those who were incarcerated. Toby heaved a sigh and got to his paws, then shook himself until his ears popped as he considered the best way to handle the next steps. Smells before magic. Right. He traced a path around the large dark stain, gently sniffing at its edge. Guard boots and old blood. Nothing unusual there. He shook himself again, a shudder zipping down his spine to fluff his tail. He needed to step into the center. At least its just an old stain. Don’t think I could do it if it were recent. He shuddered at the thought and padded toward the middle. Of course if it were recent, doubt I’d have to do that anyway.

He sat down, curled his tail around his paws, and closed his eyes, clearing his mind of everything but the steady rhythm of his breathing. Opening his mouth, he took a deep breath and let the scents wash over his glands, tasting the smells, and let his mind conjure whatever picture it would in connection to the scents. More old blood. Stale with age like dried paint. A hint of something floral, but desiccated, tickled the edges of his scent glands and evaporated as quickly as dew on hot pavement. Toby opened his eyes and stared at the stain surrounding his paws. Flowers? He looked around at the surrounding grounds. No flowering bushes nearby—not that any flowers were likely to be in bloom being as it was nearly winter. Could someone have given him dead flowers before he jumped? Why? A message perhaps? But what message?

Toby shook his head again. He’d have to ask Lorn about it when he came out. For the moment, he had more work to do. He padded back out of the stain and turned to concentrate on it as a whole. Now the magic.

Rev EALTH t’SIG nah CHAR, he said, twitching his tail. A single knotted rope appeared, its color a steady brown. Toby exhaled. With the number of times he’d had to help track down an artifact for the Protectors, he was relieved that, at least this time, the death didn’t seem to be linked to one of them. Unfortunately, the magic signature didn’t point to anything unusual either. The sound of soft boot steps made Toby turn to see his partner strolling toward him.

Anything? Lorn asked.

Toby shook his head. Nothing more than you’d expect from a suicide.

Yeah. Same here. Lorn stroked his goatee and frowned down at the stain. Everyone said he continued to claim he was innocent until that one evening when he broke loose, screaming that the Demon King was after him. Managed to knock a couple guards heads together and make his way to the tower. The guards said they got there just in time to see him take his leap and that was that.

Did he have any flowers in his cell?

Flowers? Lorn’s eyebrows rose. Not that I saw. Why? Did you pick something up with your super sniffer?

Toby’s ears flattened to half-mast as his whiskers thinned to a line. I really wish you’d stop calling it my ‘super sniffer.’

You got a better way to say your nose can scent a squirrel eating a walnut fifty miles away? Lorn asked, his mouth quirking. Toby rolled his eyes. True, he’d inherited his keen sense of smell, along with an allergy to shadow magic, from his father, but while it had led them to solutions to several cases, he was by no means able to smell a squirrel eating a walnut from fifty miles away.

Fine, he said with a sigh. Yes, I caught a faint scent of flowers mingled in with the old blood.

Anything you recognize?

Toby shook his head. Not really. It was very faint and smelled like it’d been dried out for a long time before that.

You suppose someone dosed him with Angel’s Trumpets?

I don’t see how. Those flowers have been outlawed, Toby said. Of course, you can get just about anything on the shadow market. But how would they get it to him?

Good point, Lorn said, stroking his goatee again and focusing in the distance. They’d have to give it to him over several days before he’d get to the point you could make him go crazy enough to throw himself from the top of the tower. The guy had too much self-love to go down easy.

Lorn’s lip lifted as if he smelled something foul. Toby had to agree. Feeno had been an arrogant Malkin-hating misbegotten whose first and only true love had been himself. Anyone choosing to use the hallucinogenic flower to make the man commit suicide would have had to either feed him small doses over a very long period of time—much longer than he’d been in prison—or stuffed a field full down his gullet in one night. Neither scenario seemed likely.

Maybe some nut job sent him flowers ‘cause they liked him and they cleared them out of his cell later with the rest of his belongings, Lorn suggested. You remember how fanatical some of his followers were.

Never cared for the Torrent Party before he was chosen as their candidate, what with all their anti-Malkin laws, but they really took a turn for the crazy afterward, Toby said. I suppose that some zealous nitwit could have sent him flowers. You said they cleared out his cell?

Lorn nodded and grimaced. Apparently they needed the space and couldn’t wait a couple weeks. Didn’t think there’d be an investigation being as the guards saw him take his dive, so they took all his stuff and burned it with him.

Well, I suppose we should report our findings to Mage Ickahbode and see where she wants us to go from here, Toby said.

She’s not gonna like that we didn’t find anything, Lorn said, a slight catch in his voice as he stared up at the imposing edifice.

Toby glanced up at his partner, reading the human’s attitude shift with the ease any professor at the academy would read a textbook. At the mention of the recently elected Grand Master Mage, Lorn’s usual investigative confidence crumbled. She was the only reason they wore the King’s Elite Force medallions, a dream his partner had harbored since they were apprentices. Toby snagged Lorn’s pant-leg to get his attention.

We’re doing our best, he said. And our best has been pretty good to date.

Lorn swallowed and blinked, then nodded.

You’re right , but…

He started toward the coach waiting at the gate. Toby cast a last glance at the large, dark stain in front of the prison and followed behind.

This feel right to you? Lorn asked as they walked.

No, but without more to go on, there’s not much more we can do.

Lorn snorted, returning to his usual intrepid self. Toby knew what he was thinking and he felt the same. Since when had they ever needed more than a gut feeling and a pawful of indirect evidence to bring down a wagon-full of trouble?

***

Toby wasn’t sure what he would have imagined the entrance hall to the Grand Master Mage’s office to look like, but whatever it would have been, this was beyond it. He stared down the long marble corridor lined with portraits of all the Grand Master Mages to the polished wooden doors that glistened a deep red in the mage lights. Two guardsmen attended the doors, dressed in blue and russet council colors and holding halberds taller than them. He wondered if they would read Lorn’s hesitant steps beside him for what they were, nerves at this first official meeting with their new boss.

As they approached the doors, raised voices filtered through. The door was yanked open. Toby had to give the guards credit as they didn’t even flinch. A tall man in a black robe took a step out the door and spun back, jabbing his finger toward the room’s occupant.

You’re going to regret this, Pahdrigeen, the man growled. He slammed the door behind himself and strode past them, making Toby have to dance sideways to avoid being trampled. He glanced up at his partner who raised an eyebrow and gave a slight shrug. They turned back toward the door and the guards, who remained stoically watching the hall.

State your name and business, one of the guards said, not even glancing their way.

King’s Elite Lorn Ribaldy and Toby reporting as requested by the Grand Master Mage, Lorn said, stiffening to an approximation of attention. Toby’s whiskers twitched in amusement. Being a cat had its advantages. At least he wasn’t expected to stand at attention or salute or any of the other ridiculous things humans did. Actually, Lorn didn’t either, but Toby knew this promotion from the Office of Kingdom Guardianship to the King’s Elite Force meant a great deal to his partner, hence the attempt to be formal.

You’re expected, the guard said and swung one of the doors open.

Lorn dipped his head and stepped through. Toby followed and nearly lost his jaw as he eyed the ornate furnishings, his paws sinking into the plush burgundy carpet. He quickly snapped it shut again as he saw Pahdrigeen Ickahbode rise from behind the small marble island he assumed was her desk.

Right on time, as I knew you would be, she said with a tight smile. She gestured to the two over-large wing-back chairs in front of the desk and took her seat. She didn’t wait for them to sit before saying, Let me get straight to it, then. As I said, I’ve been going over the records from the Interim’s time in office and they aren’t sitting right with me.

Toby blinked. Don’t you want to hear what we found at the prison?

The woman gave him a hard stare, then turned to Lorn. "Do you have anything on what happened?"

Actually, no, Lorn said, giving Toby a side-glance. Everything points to a suicide except the fact that he was ranting and raving like a lunatic just before he jumped.

Yes. Well, then, I suppose the sudden turn of events was too much for the man. I’ll make a note of it. As to the reason I called you here—

Wait. That’s it? You’re just going to drop it? Toby asked, earning another black look from the Grand Master Mage and a horrified stare from Lorn.

I see no reason to waste more of your time on something that clearly has no evidence of a criminal nature when there is something I do need your talents for, she said, ice threading through every word.

Lorn cleared his throat, drawing her frosty stare. Was there anything specific in the records you looked at? Lorn asked.

Pahdrigeen shook her head and folded her pudgy hands on her desk. She nodded to a stack of files to her right. These are the closest I’ve been able to get to anything demonstrating what’s wrong.

Okay. So we’re moving on. Toby stretched to see the labels, but couldn’t make anything out. What’s in them? he asked.

Nothing that means anything to anyone. On the surface, these seem to be regular reports filed by different members of the King’s Elite, but they read like yesterday’s gardening club minutes.

Is that unusual? Toby asked. I know they—

Lorn cleared his throat, making Toby glance his way. The human straightened his medallion and raised an eyebrow. Toby’s whiskers narrowed.

We, he continued, turning his attention back to the Grand Master Mage, often run missions that aren’t common knowledge to anyone outside the force, so wouldn’t reports like those be left out or otherwise written so that they’d seem mundane? Maybe that’s what those are.

The woman’s lips tightened for a moment, then she looked at Lorn and gave a small smile. I’d like for you to read over them and see if you come to the same conclusions I have. I believe someone in the government, she said, her gaze shifting momentarily to the door behind them, has been using the KEF for missions contrary to our kingdom’s good.

She pushed the stack of folders toward Lorn and stood. Lorn leaped to his feet and grabbed the files, giving a sketchy salute as he did so.

It would be an honor, ma’am, he said.

Pahdrigeen gave a curt nod and returned to her seat, pulling a paper and writing utensil to her. Toby dropped to the floor and followed his partner out of the room and down the hall. As they turned the corner, he glanced back at the closed doors. While she’d never been exactly friendly toward them, this meeting had been nearly as cool as when they’d interviewed her in connection with the murder of John Kelsey. He’d have thought promoting them into the KEF as her personal hounds would have thawed her demeanor at least some. What’s the saying? Something about flies and honey. Then again, maybe she was rattled from the argument with that guy. The stormy look on the man’s face said as much about the heated words as the words themselves had. Toby hurried to catch up with Lorn who was already pushing out the front door into the brisk day.

Speaking of things that seem off, he said when he’d caught up. What do you think of our new Grand Master Mage? She sure wasn’t interested in what we’d turned up on Feeno’s suicide.

We didn’t turn anything up. She’s a busy woman, so it makes sense she wouldn’t want to waste our time on something that probably isn’t anything more than it seems.

Whoa. Weren’t you the one who said it didn’t feel right? Toby asked, trotting quickly along beside Lorn and trying to see his face. His expression was locked into a pinched frown of discomfort.

Sure, but even you agreed that we didn’t have anything else to go on.

Since when has that stopped us?

Since we got promoted. We have a responsibility to do our job in whatever way Mage Ickahbode sees fit. She’s in charge and we have to believe she knows what she’s doing, Lorn said, his frown deepening.

Toby let the subject drop and continued on in silence for several cat lengths.

Well she was friendlier when she told us she was promoting us. Now she’s back to her old self.

She’s just worried about what might be going on. She’s got the whole kingdom to consider now, not just one Reach. Besides, whoever that was that left sure wasn’t making her day bright.

Lorn held the door open for him as they entered KEF headquarters. A hush fell over them as thick as the warm air around them. It was oddly quiet for a building built for law and order. Where is everyone? They continued on down the halls toward their new office. As they reached their door, Toby caught sight of two loners rounding a corner further down. They stopped, whispered something to each other, then turned back the way they came. Toby glanced at Lorn. The man’s gaze was set on unlocking the door. He’d missed the entire exchange.

And what about that guy? Toby continued as Lorn let him into their office ahead of him. He leapt to the desk and turned. Did you notice how she looked back at the door when she said she thinks someone was using kingsmen for other purposes? Maybe she knows something about him, but she isn’t telling us. Maybe he’s part of the shadow market.

Lorn shut the door harder than necessary and stomped to his desk.

Look, this isn’t perfect. Mage Ickahbode probably does know a lot more than she’s telling us. Maybe that guy is bad news, but until she tells us he’s the problem, we can’t go saying he’s a monster like your—like K’Dash Shyam.

Toby’s tail jerked. No matter how hard he tried, the name would forever haunt him. Having a genocidal uncle still seemed like someone else’s nightmare.

Shyam was bad news but we can’t keep thinking he’s behind everything.

I don’t see that One-forsaken tom’s paw prints on everything. I just think there are a lot more out there like him than we want to admit.

Lorn continued to scowl. Maybe she was thinking about her next appointment. She’s a busy woman. Not everyone is out to end the world and not every glance has meaning. The world isn’t full of monsters.

Toby could hear the question in the words. He knew Lorn could feel the wrongness in the whole situation, but his partner wasn’t ready to concede to it yet.

You have to admit, Toby pushed, the longer we stay in this business of catching the bad guys, the more bad guys we unearth and so far none of them have been that much different than that black beast.

Lorn’s lips quirked in thought as he dropped into his chair and placed the files on the desk.

We’ve certainly seen our share, but—hang it all, he said, the frustration in his voice thick, —I want to believe there are some decent people around, even some in high places like Master Ickahbode. If I don’t, then why do we do this? Why not just let the monsters take it all?

Toby shook his head and padded closer.

Of all the people who should hate these predators most, I’d think you’d be the first. That beast made you his assassin. He took your mind and twisted it to his own will and, as if that weren’t enough, he gave you those scars on your body. Have you even looked at a girl since that happened?

Lorn’s hand reached for his sleeve, a subconscious gesture Toby had become accustomed to, but one that made him cringe every time. It had been K’dash Shyam’s doomsday device explosion that had scarred most of Lorn’s body. In a heartbeat, his partner had gone from blooming man-about-town to a shell of his former self. It had only been luck—or the hand of the One, if he believed his friend Brother Terence—that the scars on his face were minimal, giving him a slightly rakish look, a far cry from the boyishly handsome face he’d had. They’d never talked about what it had taken for Lorn to become the well-respected guardian he was when they were called in to investigate an ex-Reaver named John. It wasn’t a conversation Toby was comfortable in having. Lorn tugged his sleeve down over his wrist.

Not that it’s any of your business, but I’ve been too busy trying to save the world to think about girls right now. What about you? From what you’ve said Nadine seems to be sweet on you. You ever gonna chase that rabbit down that hole?

The mention of the black and white she-cat made Toby’s fur heat. He couldn’t help admitting that the Huntress, as the group of secretive nomads called the Protectors called her, held a special place in his heart. What that place was, though, he wasn’t entirely sure. She was definitely more than a friend, but he wasn’t sure how much more.

How about we agree to keep our lack of female companionship to ourselves for the time being and get back to the case Ickahbode just handed us. Any ideas where to start?

Lorn looked down at the stack on the desk, then back at Toby. I guess we need to read these over and then see if we can track down the kingsman in charge of each case. We could interview them, say we’re just making sure everything’s in order before we file these away.

I’m sure that’ll go over well, Toby said, wrinkling his nose as he remembered the loners in the hall.

Lorn blew a raspberry and made a dismissive gesture with his hands. We’re part of the team now. How bad could it be?

As Toby took the file Lorn offered him and opened it to get started, his mind provided a myriad of answers to that question.

***

Lorn tapped his quill on his paper as the silence grew. He cast a quick glance at his partner who was also staring at the odd looking KEF feline sitting across the desk from them. This was the fifth interview they’d attempted with similar results. So far none of the King’s Elite were willing to talk about the details of any of the case files Grand Master Ickahbode had given them. The cat stared at him, her enormous ears splayed like bat wings.

So you have no idea why it’s unusual for a member of the King’s Elite Force to be brought in on a disturbance call? Lorn asked.

None at all, the she-cat answered, her Eastern Reaches accent lightly coloring her words. We were near enough to aid in handling the dispute between the shop owner and his neighbor, so we answered the summons.

And yet, Toby said, looking down at the report they were discussing, there were several OKG officers already there. Can you tell me what made it necessary for you and your partner to step in? Were there unusual circumstances, something that looked like it threatened the kingdom’s security?

As I said, we were in the vicinity and were asked to aid in ending a dispute between a shop owner and his neighbor, nothing more.

Lorn sat back and glanced again at his partner. The tom’s whiskers were no more than a thin line. He was as frustrated as Lorn felt. He turned his attention back to the she-cat.

Thank you for your time. If we have any other questions, we’ll be sure to get in touch.

The she-cat dipped her head and dropped lightly to the floor. Lorn waited for the door to close before shoving the file away, scrambling to catch it before it tumbled to the floor on the other side of their desk.

This is getting us nowhere. Either these are the most naive kingsmen I’ve ever seen or they know something’s up and they’re covering.

Toby stretched, arching his back and giving a jaw popping yawn, then settled back on the desk with his tail around his paws.

They’re covering something, alright, I can smell it, he said, wrinkling his nose. But my bet is it’s KEF business.

Lorn frowned and leaned an elbow on the desk. His partner was famous for his keen sense of smell. If he said the kingsmen smelled like they were hiding something, then they literally smelled different than someone being completely honest. However, he didn’t like the direction Toby’s thoughts were headed. The orange tom stared at him with narrowed green eyes, a sure sign he was about to say something he thought Lorn wouldn’t like.

They’re not telling us because we’re not one of them, Toby said.

You mean because Grand Master Ickahbode promoted us without their say so? That’s ridiculous, Lorn said, leaning back in his chair and throwing his arms wide.

Ridiculous or not, it’s the unwritten rule around here. Nobody gets in without the approval of the members of the King’s Elite.

If that’s the case, then nobody’s gonna talk to us. We might as well turn in our medallions and go back to our closet at the OKG.

The memory of the tiny office he’d had while working for the Office of Kingdom Guardianship made his muscles cramp. Their new office was spacious by comparison, though it was the smallest one in the KEF complex, not much better than a closet by anyone else’s estimation. At least there was room to open the door all the way without knocking into anyone who might be sitting in the chair across from the desk.

Toby twitched his tail and the file folder opened. Lorn watched the tom for several moments as he studied the folder’s contents, waiting patiently for whatever idea was forming in his partner’s mind. It didn’t take as long as he thought it might.

We need a different way to go at this, he said, because right now we’re viewed as the enemy. We might not be Internal Inquisitors, but that’s how everyone here sees us.

I’m open to suggestions.

Toby pulled a sheet from the folder and put his paw on the upper right corner. Lorn leaned over to read what he was pointing at. It was the name of the shop owner.

What if we talked to him? We could say it’s just a routine follow up.

Lorn sat back in his chair and slung an arm over the back as he let the tom’s words soak in.

If we asked the questions just right, we might be able to find out what no one else is telling us. In the meantime we can sort through this pile and start making a list of people we need to talk to. Here, Lorn said, splitting the pile in two. Dig in.

With a nod, Toby backed up to give them both space enough to go through the folders and make lists. The sun was low in the sky, shadows creeping around their office away from the one window at Lorn’s back, before either of them looked up from their work.

I don’t know if this is gonna help us, but I found that in several of these both the KEF and the OKG were called in on cases, Lorn said. But none of them are close together and the dates are pretty random. What do you think it means?

I think… Toby began. He paused, staring at the information for several moments. Lorn could almost see wheels like Master Sylvester used in his machines turn. Finally the tom sighed.

"I think I need to take a break. Maybe go have a visit with an old friend. Let my mind