"Kat, Kataryna!" The voice sounded far, far away, but somewhere through the shadows of her mind, she followed it and seized hold, dragging herself back to reality. It took her a moment to focus. The carpet was coarse beneath her, the broom closet open inches from her nose, and something lay over her. A broom?
A moment later Arron knelt beside her, his hands on her shoulders. "Kat, are you alright? What are you doing out here? You're bleeding!"
"I, I don't know…" Her bandages had worked loose and blood trickled down her legs and arms as the blagh gru bites reopened. A word blinked in her memory. "Grimalkyn," she muttered, "I followed a dream and it called itself … Grimalkyn…"
"You've been sleep walking," Arron informed her, as if she had not already guessed. "Now, let me get you back to bed before you hurt yourself further." There was a certain no-nonsense tone to his voice, as though she were a disobedient child. He helped her to her feet.
"Grimalkyn," she whispered again as he took her back to her room, refastened her bandages and aided her into the hammock. "He, he wanted my help, I think. He wanted me to go through the Door… But I didn't have the key." Her eyes fluttered and then she sat bolt upright. "Titus, where is he!"
"Lie down, relax," Arron scolded her. "Titus and Aranaya have gone to a rock concert." His voice cracked a little with concern. "They should be back soon." He paused. "If all goes well." Kataryna could sense a restless worrying about him.
"She'll be fine," she replied, "Titus will look after her."
The albino Lemur fidgeted. "Why wouldn't they let me go," he bemoaned, "I could have helped, I'm hardly even dizzy anymore." He pressed his hand to his forehead. "Look what they've done to us. We haven't even scratched them and they've almost brained me and she could've killed you and Titus. There are two of them and four of us and we haven't even laid a paw on them. What if they've been caught?"
There was really nothing Kataryna could reply to that. She could hardly disperse his fears when her own ran along the same lines. So she worked to distract him. "Arron,' she said, "you write children's books, yes?"
He nodded. "I have in the past, yes."
"Have you ever heard of a Grimalkyn? It sounds, and looks, like something from a faerie tale."
Arron paused and frowned at her, pushing his glasses up his muzzle. "Maybe," he replied, "it does sound vaguely familiar. I may have something on it in my library at home." A slight smile played on his lips, "Titus's library is somewhat … lacking in that regard. Why do you need to know?"
"It was in my dream," she said, "a lithe pink and blue creature with glowing blue eyes. It said I had to help someone and lead me to the Door. Do you know where that door leads?"
"The broom closet from the looks of things, unless there's a secret world in the back of it." He chuckled at the concept.
"There is," Kataryna replied, her voice completely free of mirth. "But I need Titus's help to get into it." She struggled, trying to rise, but dizziness overwhelmed her and she fell back into the hammock. "Damnit," she growled, "why can't I get up? There's so much that needs doing. I can't just lie here all weak and useless."
"I should learn," he replied, "to cease being amazed at what this house throws at me. I think I shall head our and do some research on this Grimalkyn for you. That is, if you are fine with being here by yourself? I doubt that anything could hurt you here."
"I'll be fine," she moaned, "just bored and impotent, that's all." She sighed. "I don't suppose you can help me downstairs - then at least I can browse Titus's bookshelf."
"That I can," Arron replied and together they made the long, slow walk down the staircase. Kataryna's head spun with every step and several times she found herself clinging to the albino Lemur for support. After a giddying eternity, he helped her onto the sofa. She sunk into its welcoming depths. Titus was certainly one for comfortable furniture. Or maybe the house provided that too. The couch seemed to mould itself around her wings, so that they were not so awkward.
"Anything you need?" He queried, "a blanket, a hot drink, would you like me to turn on the magivision?" He fussed about her like a worried mother hen.
"I'll be fine with a glass of water," she replied, "but I would appreciate the magivision being operational."
Arron nodded, and approached the transparent pyramid that rested on what appeared to be a wooden shelf protrusion, created by the tree itself. He ran his long fingers down its surface, and it radiated into life, little figures appearing within the pyramid in three dimensions.
There appeared to be some sort of game show going on. It was called "Predator or Pray" and seemed to entail a handful of contestants running around in what appeared to be a hedge maze, wielding various fake weapons. Currently two were involved in a fencing duel in an egg-shaped corridor, what was quite probably the centre of the maze. Arron sighed and rolled his eyes as he returned with a jug of water and a glass. "Day time magivision, eh?" He set them the drinking vessels on the table beside her, within easy reach. "Have fun Kataryna," he said, "I'll be back shortly."
"Take care," she responded. "We don't know what's out there." She felt so useless. Wasn't she supposed to be leading this ragtag band against the hoards of darkness? Such thoughts inspired dry mirth. Help them? She could hardly help herself. What had she achieved? She'd almost got herself killed by vampiric roaches.
"I will," he replied. "It's only a block away, after all." And he took his leave, just as another contestant moved from the shadows in an attempt to stab one of the duellers in the back. Each contestant wore a vest with a light on it, and when a certain button on the suit was pushed, the contestant would have "died". The other combatant saw the sneaker come up behind and shouted a warning. His opponent whirled, stabbing the stealth attacker in the breastplate and was promptly stabbed in the back by the one that had shrieked the warning.
"Argh, I am slain!" He gasped, as his light went out and his fingers twisted into claws before he tumbled to the ground. If one had to "die" on public magivision, one should at least do it spectacularly. The stealth Assassin was clasping at his chest and stumbling back, before he hit the wall and slid down, his light doused. It was all play-acting, Kataryna knew it, but the sight of it still creeped her out. Wasn't there enough violence in the world without it being turned into entertainment?
The image cut with the winner of the round strutting proudly about the "corpses" of his opponents and flickered black for a moment before giving way to a news bulletin.
"Eriwyn has been ravaged by the effects of two tragedies this hour past," a rather worried looking newscaster said as behind her a scene of utmost devastation appeared. Kataryna gasped in horror. It was the Eriwyn stadium, and there were people lying everywhere, the ground red and slick with blood. Black, choking smoke billowed from the hollow remnants of an extremely tall speaker. "Elysia did not smile kindly upon the Aeternity reunion concert when one of the speakers exploded. The number of fatalities is not yet known, but there were some 500 Furrae in attendance. No arrests have yet to be made, but several Furrs have been taken in for questioning." The scene behind her flickered and was replaced by a shot of two City Guard Canines escorted someone away. That someone was easily recognisable as Titus.
"No!" Kataryna screamed at the magivision, although it could not hear her, and for a moment was overwhelmed with dizziness.
When she regained cohesion, a new image replaced the last. The focus this time being a large den-house dug into the side of a hillock. Smoke poured from the little round windows and billowed through the door. A sign before this den identified it as "Dancing Rains: The Eriwyn Home for Orphans". Kataryna started. This was where Arron had spent his formative years.
"… the fire is believed to have originated in the basement and quickly spread through the rest of the Orphanage. Of the 32 orphans currently in residence, only 20 can be accounted for, but authorities are hopeful. No arrests have been made and the fire is not thought to have been started intentionally." For a moment the scene panned to one of the orphans, clustered about and looking at the viewer with big, sorrow-filled eyes. Caught in the background were some random watchers, the usual crowd of vultures you get circling around any major event. It was just a fleeting glimpse, half a second of view, but Kataryna recognised her immediately.
Tawny.
She growled in fury and at her own stupidity. The concert HAD been a red herring, albeit a destructive and tragic one, Tawny's real interest had lain in the Orphanage. But had it just been a random act of destruction, or was there a deeper reasoning behind it? Her thoughts turned instead to Titus and Aranaya. Titus had been taken into the custody of the Guard, but at least he was still alive and appeared unhurt. And what of Aranaya? Had she been taken for questioning too? So many questions and she felt so helpless, unable to move without dizziness. She could not even reach the telecommunicator to speak with Arron. She was so damned useless…