I don’t know what exactly woke me up. I didn’t hear anything. But when I looked around (fantastic kitty night vision, yay!) I noticed both the window and door open, and Saben was not in his bed. Without disturbing Seth, I climbed up to the window. This room was on the second floor, and overlooked a modest back garden. I didn’t see anyone at all outside, and I waited several minutes to see if I could catch any movement. Nope.

The door was also open. For all I knew, Saben got up to piss or something. Well, I’m up anyway, let’s check out the house.

The door to Benjamin’s study was shut. It may actually be locked too, but I didn’t have thumbs to open the door. In the house he had some nice silver, and there was artwork on the walls that was more than just portraits of people I didn’t care about. The wallpaper was actually fabric in the fancy rooms. Benjamin was well off without being crazy wealthy. I guess that made sense as he didn’t have a noble title. Overall, there was nothing super interesting here. If anything I got the feeling that this was more of an office space than a home.

I heard a very faint click from the kitchen.

Saben was back.

He’d paused in the kitchen, listening to the sounds of the house. I walked into a patch of moonlight on the floor where he could see me clearly and sat. I stared at him despite the darkness in the kitchen. Even the warm coals from the cooking fire didn’t cast any light into the room.

“What are you doing out here?” Saben whispered. “Did Seth wake up?”

Dude, I’m a cat. What are you asking me questions for? I can’t talk.

“I suppose you would wake up.” He walked over to the doorway and peeked into the hallway. I was impressed with how quietly the guy could move.

But I wasn’t in the mood to let him get away with this crap. I meowed at him.

“Shhhh, kitty. We don’t want to wake anyone.”

Speak for yourself buddy. I jumped up onto a counter and knocked over a jar with wooden spoons in it. It clattered on the counter but didn’t hit the floor. Saben caught it as it fell, spoons still in it. Dude was quick. If this guy wasn’t so suspicious I’d want him as an apprentice. I could do a lot with talent like his.

And the talented guy had me tucked under one arm before I could get to the pan rack. I squirmed loose.

“Are you doing this on purpose? Are you trying to get me caught?”

I just looked at him and flicked my ears. I think I might've even sighed.

“Here. I’ll give you some cream if you knock it off.”

He quickly poured cream into a saucer and put it on the fucking floor. I ignored it and jumped up onto the table. I waited there.

Saben stared at me for a few seconds before moving the dish to in front of me. I think he was considering which one to move, me or the plate.

Drinking straight cream as a human is kinda gross. It’s fatty and heavy. Whipped cream has a fluffiness to it, but the liquid stuff is cloying.

But as a cat? That shit was delicious. It coated my tongue and clung to the rough bristles making it a much smoother treat and not at all heavy.

I was a messy eater though.

Saben stripped down to his undergarments as I ate. I paused to watch him for a moment, trying to figure him out. He stashed his clothes and started cleaning up. I quickly finished my snack before he could take it away. He then scooped me up and headed back upstairs.

John, Benjamin’s butler guy, was on the stairs with a candle.

Busted buddy! An explanation now please!

“I’m sorry if I woke you John,” Saben said softly. “The kitten was restless, so I gave her some cream. I hope that’s okay?”

Well damn. I’m his alibi.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Of course. I didn’t hear you on the stairs earlier.”

“I was trying to be quiet. I’m sorry if she was noisy in the kitchen. She was trying to knock things over.”

John just nodded and Saben continued into the bedroom he was sharing with Seth. Moonlight filtered in through the open window.

As soon as he put me down I jumped onto Seth and walked on him, trying to wake him while still acting like a cat. It didn’t work. The kid slept like he was dead.

Saben watched but made no attempt to stop me. He sat on his bed and ran his hands through his hair. I was struck by how young and how stressed he looked. Finally he sighed and leaned over to give me a pat.

“I’m glad he found you,” he whispered to me. “I’m worried whoever had our dad murdered might not be done with us. I can’t stay with him, and while school should be safe enough, I can’t be sure.”

Wait, dad was murdered? Why would Seth be a target? Why would he be in danger at school?

“I know what you are, little one.”

I felt a bolt run through my body. He knew what I was? Does that mean he knew what happened to me? Who I am, or used to be?

“And I’m grateful to you for helping him and becoming his familiar. I’m trusting you to keep looking out for him at school too, okay? You need to be careful.”

This wasn’t the shit I wanted to hear about right now so get back to the whole ‘I know what you are’ spiel already.

He didn’t look like he was going to continue, so I jumped over to his bed and meowed. But he just put me back on Seth’s bed and told me to go to sleep. When I jumped back again, he just pulled the covers up and ignored me.

It was so frustrating not being able to ask any fucking questions. I could aggravate him all night, but he’d have no idea what I wanted, and I’d probably get shut out of the room.

It made me think about where I was. And who I was. I didn’t think this was a dream anymore. I hadn’t really thought that since we reached the town. You don’t go to sleep and have dreams when you’re already dreaming. And except for magic, dream logic hasn’t really applied.

So that leaves what actually happened to me. I honestly had no fucking clue. I couldn’t remember most of who I was. Not even my name. I knew I had been a thief, but I couldn’t remember anything I’d stolen. Most of what I could remember were the bits and pieces that cropped up when I was busy or thinking of other things.

I am a cat now. Well, a magic silver leopard cub. I wanted to be human again. The simple luxuries of being able to open a door or ask a question weren’t so simple anymore.

Was that egg connected to me somehow? If I was in the egg, why am I a kitten? Felines don’t hatch from eggs. Maybe this was something the mama cat did, and not related to the egg? Why do I remember another life? Did I die?

Benjamin might know more about the egg, so he’s a suspicious character. He’s probably got other shit going down too. Saben is hiding something too, and he knows what I am. But what does he know? And how much does he know? Knowing the what of something is not the same as knowing the how or why.

What shit. Well, there’s nothing to be done right now. We start magic school soon, and until I learn enough to be human again I’ll just focus on school.

And I’ll learn how to open doors without thumbs.

----------------------------------------

In the early morning hours two days later Saben and Seth stood outside the gatehouse that guarded the Academy grounds. Saben had insisted on walking Seth to school as they probably wouldn’t see each other for several months.

Seth kept thinking how he wished Saben could stay in town, but saying anything would just depress them both. Then he got to thinking that he wished Dad were here.

“Penny for your thoughts, little brother.”

“They’re whiny thoughts. You don’t want to pay for those.”

“You’re younger than I was when I started and I was nervous too. It was just last year.”

“Yeah. Dad brought you.” Seth sighed. He hadn’t wanted to bring that up, but honestly Seth missed him terribly.

“And he gave me a gift for my first day. And that leads to me having a gift for you.” Saben handed Seth a pendant.

It was carved from the glowing horn of the huge cat. The bluish silver pendant was transparent and gemlike. It was about two inches in length, had symbols carved into it, and was strung on a simple leather cord.

“I made arrangements to have these made. Yours and mine fit together like this, see? And the one for the cat goes here. Yours and mine are enchanted for protection, healing, and can activate a light. You can have one power active passively at a time, or use all the pendant’s stored power for a single brief effect. It can work like a potion on yourself or someone else.” Saben told Seth how to activate the powers in the pendant. “I don’t know how long it takes to charge back up, and that would probably change based on where you were anyway, and the mana available. Hers is smaller, so it just has protection and healing. She’ll have her own horns for light when she gets bigger anyway.”

Seth examined the pendant after he’d put it on. “This is really beautiful.” It was actually a princely gift. If Seth were to sell this, he could live comfortably for at least a year. He was instantly angry at himself for even thinking of its resale value. “Is this what you’ve been up to, Saben? You’ve been secretive lately, and I was getting worried.”

Saben studied his brother and then shook his head. “Honestly, no. While this is one of the things I’ve been doing, it’s not the only thing. But you don’t need to worry about it, since I’m leaving town tomorrow. I’ll be in Vernar with Franco and his group.”

Seth returned Saben’s gaze frankly. “I trust you, Saben. If you tell me not to worry about you, then I won’t.”

“Good. Hopefully in a few weeks we’ll be exploring that new entrance you found to the Below and I can visit more.”

“That would be fantastic. And you don’t need to worry about me either. I’ll be fine. It’s school, what could happen?”