Off to the north, light had begun to reappear. It swept toward them as if an invisible hand had impishly accelerated the clock that governed the world. It was, in fact, caused by a retraction of the Eyelid of the Beholder that was both abrupt and unexpected.
But not necessarily, as Mamakitty was quick to point out, mysterious.
'It's the fur we've been shedding! Not only did it drive off the worms, it's irritating the Eye!' Whirling on Cezer, she suddenly grabbed his hair and pulled as hard as she could. His eyes blazed with anger.
'You stupid, mindless sack of rodent guts! What do you think you're doing?' He broke off. A grimly grinning Mamakitty had one hand thrust skyward, pointing.
'Oh,' Cezer mumbled. 'Oh yeah, right.' Reaching out, he began tugging at her hair, tugging loose strands that would not otherwise have come loose by themselves. Nearby, Cocoa pulled at her own head. Oskar considered offering to help, but was not entirely sure his offer would be taken in the proper spirit. Instead, he stood back and watched as the three cat-folk plucked fur from their own heads and flung it skyward.
Their fur-flinging efforts seemed to be bearing fruit. The Eyelid continued to retract. Not wishing to appear standoffish, he pulled out a few clutches of his own hair and added it to the mix. Samm had no fur to fling, and Taj's would in all likelihood prove no more irritating than a handful of feathers.
They kept at it until the Eyelid had withdrawn, insofar as they could see to the south, completely. Once again, blue sky splotched with blue clouds shone overhead. Once more, the way eastward was open not only to access but to view.
'Let's not waste time here.' Mamakitty started forward at a quick trot. 'We don't know when the Eye will become irritated again and return to blink back blackness over this kingdom. We need to make the best time we can and the best use possible of the light that's been returned to us!'
'Everyone, eastward at the gallop!' Cezer tried to follow in Mamakitty's wake. 'You can stop pulling my fur now, Cocoa.'
She slowly released him. 'So I can. What a pity.'
The swordsman blinked. 'What did you say?'
'I said, it's a pity that I don't have four legs anymore. I could scout on ahead and search out the best route.'
'There is no best route. This kingdom is all flat and wet and shallow, like it is right here.' Arms swinging loosely at his sides, he eyed his friend uncertainly. 'Are you sure that's what you said?'
'Certainly.' In lieu of four legs, Cocoa had been granted a certain suave volubility that complemented her conspicuous beauty.
'If the Eyelid comes back, we'll just fling some more hair.' Oskar was exulting both in the discovery of their new collective power (such as it was) and the return to open skies and freedom. His strong legs strode easily through the shallows, carrying him forward.
'I'm not sure we can rely on that to save us again.' As always, Mamakitty had second thoughts even about proven triumphs. 'The next time we irritate it, instead of blinking away the annoyance, the Eye might try to scratch it.'
'Scratch it?' A querulous Cezer gestured at the flat shallow sea of optic fluid through which they were jogging. 'With what?'
'Do you want to find out?' she responded pointedly.
After giving this due thought, the swordsman made a conscious effort to lengthen his stride.
The Eye did not blink again. Nor were they further troubled by sinuous blue worms taut of body and sharp of tooth. Such was the inherent power of unchained cat hair. No negwens manifested themselves, nor any vrorvels, and certainly not any thweens. That was just as well. None of the travelers were very happy with the thweens at that moment, and might well have made a quick meal of any who had presented themselves.
They set (unirritated) eyes on their long-sought-after final destination well before they reached it. After the comparatively flat lands they had fought so hard to cross, the towers of the Kingdom of Purple were first a ragged dark line on the horizon. As they drew steadily nearer, these uneven outlines resolved themselves into a breathtaking vista of amethystine spires, weblike walkways, lofty buttresses, and soaring crenellated structures that sparkled like crystal in glorious lavender sunshine.
'At last.' Mamakitty's pace slowed as much from exhaustion as wonder. 'There were times when I wondered if we would ever set eyes on it—the Kingdom of Purple!'
'It's magnificent.' Cocoa's gaze scanned the extensive skyline of the vast metropolis. 'Prettier and much more developed than anyplace we've visited so far.'
'Don't be so quick to bestow admiration.' The long run through the water had been especially hard on Taj's slender frame. Despite his wary admonition, the realization that their goal was now in sight restored some of his spent strength. 'It may look appealing from out here, but who knows what awaits within? It might be ruled by a murderous despot, or beset by a plague, or off limits to outsiders.'
'And you might try keeping your mouth shut once in a while.' Cezer was high-stepping tiredly through the water. 'But you won't.'
Taj shrugged apologetically. 'It's my way. Birds chatter constantly, and canaries more so than most. Being recast in human form doesn't change my nature.'
Oskar was not as ardent as his companions in expressing admiration for the looming wonders of the next kingdom. For one thing, he was too tired. His legs throbbed, and he was sick of being wet all the time. It would require an effort of will to avoid lying down and rolling luxuriously in the first patch of dry dirt they encountered upon leaving the water. For another, he could not make himself relax: not until they were completely clear of the salty, viscous, shallow sea that covered the Eye.
That blessed moment arrived soon enough. Ahead of them, a beach beckoned, teasing the expectant travelers into a final wild sprint. When at last they collapsed on the sun-warmed sands, out of the Eye and thus also of its multitude of parasites and threatening lid, they could finally rest. Even Taj, flanked by low purplish scrub, found himself overcome by the realization of what they had accomplished. They had traversed the entire rainbow, crossed every kingdom of light, and now found themselves on the periphery of the last one, within reach of their ultimate objective.
Provided that the lecherous Captain Covalt had known what he was talking about.
The indomitable Mamakitty was all for pressing on into the city, from which the muted cacophony of urban life echoed down to the beach. She was outvoted by her companions. Everyone was worn out from their long run. Even Samm had stretched out as far as his present form would allow in order to soak up the rejuvenating sun.
'This evening,' Cezer told her as he lay on his back between two oddly entwined purple bushes. 'We'll enter the city this evening. Don't you think we've earned a few hours of rest?'
Hands on hips, she stared sternly down at him. Cocoa reposed nearby, and Oskar not far from her. From time to time his body would twitch, and one foot would kick lavender sand high in the air for no other reason than that it could.
'Back in the Gowdlands, people and animals are dying,' she reminded the swordsman.
The look of utter contentment he wore faded slightly. 'I know that as well as you, stiff-tail, and am as sorry for it. But we can only do what we can do. If we push ourselves too hard, we run the risk of injuring ourselves, of damaging these human bodies we have been granted, or of making a fatal mistake not out of ignorance but from weariness. There are times, Mamakitty-cat, when rest is as important as food.' He patted the sand next to him, on the side away from where Cocoa was lying.
'Lie down, why don't you, and for a little while at least, put your mind at ease—if you can.'
Still anxious to be on their way, she hesitated. Then she sat down, reluctantly, and stretched out. The sensation of the fine, warm granules against her overstressed back and legs was not simply relaxing: it was positively sensuous. Against her better judgment, she allowed herself to be seduced by sun and sand.
Come evening, there was not one among them who did not feel better, indeed revitalized, from the afternoon spent lazing on the beach. There on the sand, they shared a meal that for the first time in days did not involve holding food and water clear of the shallow saltiness that was the Eye. Oskar didn't even mind the occasional grain of sand that crept into his makeshift sandwich of dry flatbread and jerked fish. How he longed for a bone, any kind of bone, to chew on!
The temptation, following the meal and given the sun's downward path, was to remain where they were and sleep the sleep of the just until the morrow. But Mamakitty would have none of it. She had struck a bargain and
