exceptional intelligence. 'Shouldn't we be searching the study?'
The study. Oskar tried to twitch his tail at the thought of it. The absence of a tail was disconcerting. Still, he mused, there were other appendages he would have missed more. Be grateful for what you have, he told himself. While Evyndd's pets had been allowed in that sanctum sanctorum, it was only when the Master was present. Woe unto any animal who was caught there without permission! Mamakitty relieved him of the need to contrive a response.
'Taj is right. The study is where Master Evyndd kept all of his most important things. We should look there.' Turning, she gestured with a hand as fluidly as if she had been doing so all her life. 'Everyone follow me.'
Oskar was more than willing to let the senior cat go first. As they stood confronting the open portal, ingrained training warning them to stay back, he observed that Cezer was standing very close to the equally tall but much less muscular Taj.
The former songster finally noticed the other man's intense, unwavering stare. 'Is there something on your mind, cat-man?'
'Yesst. I have this overpowering urge to rip your throat out and gnaw on your brains.'
'Repress it.' Oskar felt no compunction at intervening. 'If we're going to survive what's happened to us, we're going to have to rely on each other's help.'
'Besides,' declared Taj boldly, 'I'm big enough now to fight back.'
Eyeing the other male, Cezer let out a disdainful snort. 'Maybe.'
A heavy hand fell on his shoulder. Looking up and back, Cezer's eyes widened to take in all of Samm, who had come up quietly behind him. Even in his new, massive man-form, the former snake moved with uncanny silence.
'Leave him alone,' the giant hissed threateningly. 'Remember—if given a chance, I would also kill and eat cats.'
'All right, take it easy, musclehead!' Shrugging off the oversize hand, the irritated Cezer stepped aside.
'Quiet, all of you!' Cocoa's attention was focused on the interior of the sacrosanct chamber. Crowding close together in the doorway, they stared in silence as Mamakitty tentatively but with increasing assurance moved into the study.
The manifold shelves that lined the chamber were crammed to overflowing with books and beakers, fragments of unknown creatures dried and jars of organic matter preserved. In the center stood a table of polished dark walnut. Boxes of strange powders jostled for space with bound bundles of desiccated plants and twigs. High overhead, a single stained-glass dome of singular design allowed wan sunlight to penetrate. It was as gray as everywhere else, and the magnificent stained-glass segments were likewise utterly devoid of color.
Finally, Mamakitty rested both hands on the back of the high, thickly upholstered chair. 'I think it's safe. It looks safe. It smells safe. Everyone, come and help search.'
They filed into the room, still uneasy at the thought of rummaging through the Master's belongings. Only Taj seemed at ease. But then, Oskar remembered, the Master had often taken the canary into his study to entertain him with song. For that reason, Taj was probably more familiar with the study and its contents than any of them. As they hunted and the floor did not fall away beneath them, their confidence grew. But loose papers yielded no immediately useful information, and none of the hundreds of books and scrolls glowed with revelation.
'There has to be something.' Mamakitty wiped a forearm across her face. The advent of perspiration was another new, and unpleasant, consequence of their recent transformation. Wherever her much less flexible neck would permit it, she licked the salty droplets from her bare skin.
'If I have to look through one more moldy old book, I think I'll throw up.' Cocoa took a deep breath. 'This room stinks of age. Besides, all this work is making me hungry. The bookshelves are full of wonderful mouse smells.'
'I'm hungry, too.' Oskar brightened. 'Wait a minute. If I remember right…' Walking back to the Master's desk, he started pawing at the drawers on the right side before he remembered to use his fingers.
'I've gone through those already.' Mamakitty made the comment idly. 'There's nothing in there.'
'No? What about this?' Triumphantly, he held up the opaque glass jar of tasty snacks from which their smiling master had so often dispensed special treats. Grinning, he started to bite the top. Remembering how the Master had done it, he carefully unscrewed the lid. 'Couldn't do this with just paws.' Reaching inside, he grabbed a couple of favorite pieces and popped them in his mouth. As he chewed, his expression faltered.
'They don't taste the same, somehow.'
'Dogs! Can't think beyond food. Don't hog everything for yourself.' Stepping forward, Cezer staked a claim on the jar. As he reached for it, Oskar tried to pull away. Caught between their efforts to establish possession, the jar was pulled loose. Falling to the floor, it bounced once and began rolling across the carpet, spilling treats as it tumbled.
'Now look what you've done!' Oskar barked.
Suddenly, Mamakitty was striding forward, but not to recover edibles. Bending, she reached into the jar and pulled out a half-revealed piece of paper. It was neither large nor lengthy, but it was enough. It was what they had been looking for.
'What better place to leave instructions for one's animals than in their treat jar?' Carefully she unfolded the single sheet, using both fingers and tongue. 'What more likely place for spying intruders to ignore?' In the silence that ensued, she read hungrily, her green eyes focusing on the paper's contents as intently as if they were rat tracks.
Unable to stand the ensuing silence for more than a minute, Cocoa moved to stand alongside the older woman and read with her.
'What does it say?' Taj asked finally. 'I remember seeing that paper, but never thought to look at it.' He sniffed. 'There are no canary treats in that old jar.'
Mamakitty looked up, her expression solemn and serious as always. 'Many things, minstrel. It says many things. But you won't believe what it expects us to do.'
FOUR
They crowded around Mamakitty and the revelatory note, Rather than try to read it himself, Oskar waited for her to explain. Strange, he mused, how perfectly her human speaking voice mimicked the serious tone of her erstwhile meows.
' 'If you are reading this,' it says, 'then it means that I am dead, and will not be coming back to you, my closest and dearest companions.'' Mamakitty paused, but no one could think of anything to say—though Oskar thought a small chirp might have escaped Taj's lips, and Cocoa was visibly choked. To cover the naked emotion, she licked the back of her right hand and began wiping at her eyes with it.
' 'I have always felt there was more truth, honesty, love, and common sense in what are commonly misidentified as the lower orders of animal than in a highly conflicted and combative humanity. That is why I never married, but instead surrounded myself with your kind. But now that I am gone, I regrettably must ask you to don human shape for a while, until you have hopefully accomplished that which I could not.
''The Gowdlands that are home to us all have been invaded by a most dreadful menagerie of creatures human and otherwise known collectively as the Totumakk Horde. They are led, I ascertain, by a necromancer I do not know and whose identity I cannot perceive. Such cloaking power signifies a sorcerer of uncommon strength and ability. I believe that when the ultimate moment of confrontation comes (as it must) that I will be able to defeat him. If you are reading this letter, then it means that I was wrong in the most profound manner imaginable. Though I am loath to transform you into that for which I have sympathy but little love, I have no choice. In your original and natural form there is no way you can successfully do that which I must now ask of you.''
'And what might that be?' wondered Taj, who despite his slender build seemed more at ease in the room than any of his companions.
Mamakitty glanced over at him, then read on. ' 'Should I fail, it will mean that this Khaxan Mundurucu and the Horde that he leads will perforce have overrun the Gowdlands and taken from it all color, for such was the terrible
