“Exploring,” he whispered back.
“Exploring for what?”
“Whatever we find that looks interesting. Keep your eyes open. That is what cats do; humans should learn to do it, too.”
That wasn’t much of an answer, but she decided to let it go for the moment. She concentrated instead on wending her way through the shadows, keeping close to the Stacks on her left as she progressed, wary of the sucking wind that sooner or later would try to draw her into the deepest part of the blackness waiting ahead. Although the Throg Monkeys were not in evidence, she kept looking for them, thinking they must be there, hiding and watching. She glanced repeatedly at Dirk for some sign that she should start worrying. But the cat seemed unconcerned, ambling down the center of the aisle, tail twitching and eyes shining like bright, tiny lamps.
After they had gone a long way back, although not as far as she had gone with Thom, and there was still no sign of the black tunnel or the sucking wind, her patience gave out.
“Why aren’t we encountering the tunnel or the wind that was here before?” she asked the cat. “What’s happened to them?”
“Nothing,” he said. “They are still here. But we don’t see or feel either because they are dormant.”
“How can that be?”
“The magic that sustains them is unaware of us.”
“Unaware of us?”
“I am shielding us. I told you I could hide us from other magic when I chose to do so.”
“Well, why didn’t you shield Thom and me when we came down here before? Wouldn’t that have saved us both a lot of trouble?”
The cat arched his back, and all his fur stood up on end. Mistaya backed away, afraid suddenly that she had stepped over an invisible line.
“That,” Dirk declared in a voice that brooked no argument, “would have put you in a good deal more trouble than you’ve gotten into so far. If you don’t know what you are doing—and you don’t—then it is best that you leave it to those of us who do. Shielding with magic is tricky business, and doing it for one is difficult enough without trying to crowd in two. Besides, if left on your own, you and that boy wouldn’t have found your way to what’s waiting.”
She compressed her lips into a tight line. “What
“I don’t mind your asking, but I think I’ll leave it to you to find that out for yourself.”
“That would be monsters, plural,” said Edgewood Dirk.
She sighed. “Can I ask you something else? Are these monsters the ones causing the blackness and the wind?”
She didn’t really expect an answer, but he surprised her by providing one. “No, the monsters have nothing to do with either one.”
“Well, who does, then? Someone must!”
The cat stopped where he was, turned toward her, and sat. “It appears your impatience cannot be contained a moment longer, so perhaps it is best if we satisfy it here and now. This is just one more example of why cats are vastly superior to humans. Cats understand patience. You never see a cat unable to wait. Humans, on the other hand, cannot stand to be put off even for a moment. If the delay goes beyond their limited ability to cope, they implode. I will never understand.”
Nor would she ever understand cats, she supposed, especially this one. “We are fragile vessels in many ways,” she conceded wearily. “But you were about to say?”
The cat gave her a long, steady look. “You are quite bold, Princess. Even for a child of Ben Holiday.” Its strange eyes glittered. “Very well. Listen carefully.”
It lifted one paw and licked it, then set it down carefully again. “Libiris is a living creature, though of limited ability and intelligence. You already know this. But all creatures share a commonality, no matter their origins or talents. If they are injured, they will be in pain. And if they lose purpose, they lose heart. The former is self-explanatory, the latter less so. Purpose is individual to each creature. Purpose gives meaning to life. Take away that purpose, and the creature starts to wither inside.”
He gave her a moment to digest this, now licking the other forepaw. “Let me give you an example. Sterling Silver was created to
