and save my life. It was something I never thought I could do, but the heat of battle and the fear of my own death turned me into something else. Something primal. I was an animal whose only concern was survival. I was a gar.
That’s when I heard a familiar laugh. It cut through my insane haze, forcing me to look up. Standing among the cheering klees was Timber, the cat who was Saint Dane. All the cats around him were cheering wildly, coaxing me to cut the throat of the gar. But Saint Dane was calm. It was like everything had gone to slow motion, except for Saint Dane and me.
“This is your way out, Pendragon,” he said calmly. “Kill him and you’ll be free.”
This was the opportunity Saint Dane told me about. I had to kill this gar to save myself.
“Kill him,” Saint Dane said. “It’s not difficult.”
His words triggered something in me. Maybe it was because I had won and was no longer scared. Maybe the adrenaline was wearing off. Or maybe I realized that if I followed through, I would forever be a killer…just like Saint Dane. That truth brought me right back into my own head. I grasped the knife tighter, kept eye contact with Saint Dane…and backed away from the gar. A second later all hell broke loose as the klees charged into the ring. In the brief moment before that happened, I saw the smug smile fall from Saint Dane’s cat face. I wasn’t a killer and there was no way he was going to turn me into one.
Score one for me. I had just beaten Saint Dane in this small battle.
Then came the riot. The klees jumped into the ring, angered that I had ruined their show. There was all sorts of pushing and shoving. It was a blur of fur and fury as they argued over how the bets should be paid off. I felt the tang knife pulled out of my hand, then felt a strong, furry arm wrap around my waist and pull me out of the scrum. I was too exhausted to do anything but go along for the ride. The strong cat pulled me out of the mess while fighting off klees who were grabbing at me. Once we were clear, I finally looked to see who my savior was. It was Kasha.
“Leave him be!” a klee yelled at Kasha. “He’s ours!”
Kasha stopped and squared off against the others. “He’s not!” she snarled back. “Durgen had no right to sell him.”
“Then where’s our value?” another klee shouted. “We paid for him.”
“You had him long enough and he gave you a good fight,” Kasha yelled back. “He owes you nothing more.”
“But he didn’t kill the gar!” the first klee argued. “The fight isn’t over.”
Kasha took a threatening step toward the other klees. “The fightisover,” she snarled viciously. “Unless you want to enter the circle with me.”
The klees exchanged nervous looks. Nobody wanted to mess with Kasha.
“Durgen won’t like this,” the klee said.
“You say that like I should care,” Kasha spit back sarcastically.
The klees shrugged and backed off. “Just letting you know, is all,” one of them said.
Kasha watched them to make sure they weren’t going to come after me, then looked to me. “Are you all right?” she asked.
“I’m alive,” I answered. “Where have you been?”
“What? I get no thanks for saving you?”
“Thanks. Where have you been?”
“You need food,” she said. “Come with me.” She held out a leash for me to slip over my wrists.
“Not a chance,” I said, and walked off.
Kasha didn’t argue. She dropped the leash and we walked, together, back toward her home. I was weak and hungry and a little wobbly on my feet, but it didn’t matter. I had my freedom and I didn’t have to kill a gar to get it. For all I knew, being sent to that prison and starved and mistreated was all a Saint Dane-orchestrated setup to get me to kill a gar. If so, it failed. The nightmare was over.
As we walked I saw that the prison was next to the zenzen corral. We walked through the animal enclosure, passing several of the multijointed horses, who were kept in much nicer conditions than the gars, I might add. Being outside for the first time in a month made me appreciate how truly beautiful Leeandra was. Heck, anyplace would have looked beautiful compared to that gar hole.
“We tried to rescue you sooner,” Kasha finally said, but it was more of a statement than an apology. “It was impossible. Durgen has many friends among the handlers.”
“You should have tried harder,” I said bitterly.
“Should I?” Kasha snapped. “You forget why you were there in the first place. It was because I chose to save your life instead of a klee. Now I’ve saved your life twice. But instead of thanks, you criticize.”
I wanted to argue, but didn’t think it would help.
Kasha added, “We couldn’t even get close to you. We had to wait until they brought you out to…” Her voice trailed off. She didn’t want to say it.
“To get killed,” I said, finishing the sentence. “Why do they keep gars in prison like that? It’s beyond cruel.”
“It’s not a prison,” she corrected. “Prisons are for klees. You were in a stable.”
“Whatever,” I answered angrily. “They treat gars worse than animals. Why? So they can have their little bloodsport?”
“No,” Kasha answered. “Gars have many uses.”
“Like?”
“Like working to keep Leeandra operating by clearing the water pipes and replacing power crystals above the trees. The handlers train some for wippen tournaments; or to help blind klees who can’t get around on their own. Some go into homes as servants or perform acrobatics in shows for young klees. If a gar doesn’t show a particular talent, but is loving, a handler can train them to be excellent pets. Gars are very important to Leeandra.”
“And some are used to kill each other to amuse the handlers,” I added. “Or to feed tangs to protect the foragers.”
Kasha didn’t comment.
“Bottom line is, the gars are your slaves,” I said. “The klees treat them as totally disposable creatures who do all your dirty work. It’s wrong, Kasha, and the thing is, you know it. I saw you save that gar in the jungle when I first got here. You’re not the hard case you pretend to be.”
“There are many things I don’t agree with,” she said softly. “I still see all sides.”
We walked in silence for a while. I then asked, “Has Seegen turned up?”
Kasha didn’t answer, which meant that the Traveler from Eelong was still missing. I was beginning to worry that he might never come back, which would spin my situation into a whole ‘nother, scary direction. We didn’t say another word for the rest of the walk. I wanted to stay angry at Kasha, but didn’t have the energy. If they couldn’t rescue me sooner, I had to accept that. Besides, I was too relieved to be out to stay mad at anybody. Except for Saint Dane, that is.
When we got to her home, Kasha gave me some fresh clothes (rags) and allowed me to use the running water in her bathroom to clean up. It was an incredible feeling to shower off the crud that had been building up for the last month. I felt like a snake shedding its skin. Once the filth was gone, I took a look at my body to see I had lost a ton of weight. I actually had a six pack for the first time in my life, but it wasn’t because I was in shape, it was because there was no fat to cover the muscle. I looked totally cut…but felt horrible. I couldn’t look at myself anymore; it was too depressing. I quickly put on my new, clean rags and joined Kasha in the main room of her tree house.
I was overwhelmed to see that while I was washing, she made me a feast. There was a roasted bird, bowls brimming with fresh, nonmoldy fruit, and round loaves of dark brown bread.
“Don’t eat too fast,” she warned. “Your system isn’t used to it.”
Tough. I was starved. I sat down and did my best not to be a total pig, but the more I ate, the more I wanted. I chowed, only stopping long enough to let out a belch that felt like it came up from my toes. After that I dug right back in. Kasha stayed in the kitchen, allowing me to enjoy my meal in peace. It didn’t take long before I was totally stuffed. I actually didn’t eat all that much because I think my stomach had shrunk down to the size of a walnut. There was still a tableful of food left over when I had to call it quits. I thought of forcing myself to puke, just so I could do it all over again, but realized that would have been idiotic. Not to mention rude. So I sat back and
