***

Thanks to Nomarr's potion, Nela was able to pass through the glass without triggering the alarm spell. Crouching behind a thick velvet curtain which hid the enchanted portion of the window so well, the cat listened. Somewhere deep inside the house, three people were talking. Sticking her nose between the curtains, Nela almost sneezed – it seemed like they had absorbed the dust of all Enhiarg's epochs!

Something stirred near the opposite wall. A mouse. No, a rat. The sated, contented brute wasn't even hiding, but lounging behind the leg of a dresser like a matron by a fountain. Beside it on the floor lay a piece of something edible yet unrecognizably dusty. Judging by the collar, the rat was someone's pet. And that meant she had a problem. Many creatures liked digging in the memory of their pets in their leisure time – it was just so relaxing! Either Enbri or his girlfriend could easily belong to this camp. The cat contemplated her dilemma: she could possibly pass the rat undetected, but Nela did not want to leave the sharp-eyed rodent in her rear.

Hopping down to the floor without a sound, Nela snuck under the dresser. She coiled like a spring, ready to pounce. The moment the rat turned its head, the cat sprung forward and seized the prey in her claws. Her sharp fangs closed on the victim's neck and in a split second the rat surrendered its soul to the Infinite without as much as a peep.

Clenching the bristly scruff in her teeth, Nela dragged the rat to the wall. She would come back here on the way back to remove the evidence, then discard it somewhere down the road. Grimacing squeamishly, she followed the voices.

Enbri had guests. In the kitchen, sitting around a large table set with decorative candles, was his brother Orin and Lady Domera, his latest flame. Waiting for the right moment, Nela slipped under the sofa and took to eavesdropping.

"Stay a while. You've done a lot today," Enbri said tenderly, apparently taking something from Domera. "You wanted to listen to the recording. Have a listen and just relax."

"I can only express my admiration once again for the work your subordinates have done, Patriarch," said Orin. His voice sounded somehow flat – Domera must have already started the recording. "It's just a shame that the tragedy in Cahnerali happened before their work was completed. Many casualties could have been avoided..."

"Yes. Could have. Alas, developing a system of defense against telepathic meddling is a long and arduous process. Especially when one does not fully understand what exactly one is up against," said another voice. (Nela's eyes bulged in amazement – it was the voice of Patriarch Selorn!) "Veindor's interference kept Inaan's telepaths from sniffing everything out thoroughly, and that made our task much more complicated."

"But not impossible," Enbri's brother countered obsequiously. "It's gratifying to know that the citizens of Naeria finally have something with which to oppose the charms of this manipulating Cahneralian provocateur!"

"No. They have nothing with which to oppose his charms," Selorn cut him short. "The Council will flush our plan down the latrine."

"What?"

"No one will ever see the fruits of our plan."

"Why not?"

"Amer, that Rualite snake, intends to... veto our project. He believes the time has come for revenge. That we need to wait for all of Enhiarg to come crawling to us for help, and only then show mercy. Alasais' Fangs! How can I explain to that imbecile that if we don't act today, tomorrow there likely won't be anyone left to crawl!"

There was a silence. Nela twitched her ears in suspense.

"I... can I do anything to help?" Orin said finally.

"You can." Selorn replied readily. "That is why I called for you, boy. I want you to take a copy of our plan to Elidan. They can recruit non-Alae telepaths and realize the plan with their help."

"You want to circumvent your Council?"

"Correct. Moreover, I want you to tell the Elidanites that you stole these documents from me."

"But what if... If they don't take me seriously? What if they think you're just trying to rehabilitate your image in their eyes?" Orin whispered disjointedly. "I mean, why would you be working on a plan against your own interests? Please excuse the audacity, patriarch, but this question is valid."

"I have no need to rehabilitate anything in their eyes!" Selorn roared. "I don't give a dog's tail what the Elidanites think. They haven't taken my cats, Veindor has. See the difference?"

Orin didn't answer.

"That's the end?" Domera asked. "Well then, it's exactly as Enbri told me. You, Orin, have been bestowed a great honor!"

"The Nae know, I sought no such honor," said the other Orin, not from the recording, in a hoarse voice. "And you're telling me to... exacerbate things. What did I come here for?"

"You came here to save my life! If it weren't for you, those headhunters would have already presented poor Enbri's hide to Czar Anshog!" Enbri cackled indignantly. "And I'll tell you what else, dear brother. I believe that Tialianna herself has lead us to this truly historic moment. Together we... we can turn your mission into something truly grandiose! Are Elidanites the only ones who deserve to protection? No, no, and again I say, no! Who knows, maybe Elidanite lords really will consider your priceless gift a provocation and destroy the documents. What then? No, we mustn't allow it! We have to take care of everyone, without exception! We need to send out copies, many copies! I suggest beginning with Elaan and Nel-Ileyn. In Nel-Ileyn I have powerful friends, and Lady Domera's aunt is Fraulein Lady Laetrilell, one of Elaan's Eminents."

"Nel-Ileyn doesn't bother me, but Elaan... Elaan is a completely different story, Enbri. Messing with them could be... dangerous beyond measure," Orin sighed heavily.

"Elaaneans are dangerous; they're cruel and arrogant. I agree with you, brother," Enbri said somberly. "Children of the Light are a threat to all who cast a shadow. Although... imagine how much more dangerous they could become, if this – what did Selorn call him – Cahneralian provocateur were in control of their minds! What would happen to their neighbors? It's frightening to even think of it! Lady Domera can imagine the scale of this threat very well, which is exactly why she's asking you to give her a copy of Selorn's plan."

"You're prepared to take the risk, my lady?" Orin said with yet another sigh. "You are indeed aware of how my brother's endeavors usually end."

"It's not only his endeavor. I am the one who first expressed the idea about the copies."

"Oh my..."

"Lady Domera possesses not only rare beauty, but a keen mind as well!" Enbri exclaimed with passion; Nela heard the sound of a kiss.

"Enbri, all this is wonderful, of course," Orin went on, "but just try to imagine our fate, and the fates of many others, if Elaan reacts differently, or if anything else fails to go as you've planned?"

"Have no fear, brother! What could go wrong? You're not doing anything unsound! Shouldn't all sentient beings ban together in the face of such a formidable danger?"

Enbri jumped from the sofa and began pacing around the room. After a few seconds Nela's sensitive nostrils caught the scent of a dish the half-elf was apparently in the process of cooking. It was Enbri's signature salad with tomatoes and very tart yaru fruits, generously sprinkled with hot pepper and dressed with oil and vinegar. In short, certain death for any digestive tract. It was just like Enbri to offer guests such a meal: on the one hand, it was delicious; on the other, cheap and impossible to eat in large quantities...

Orin was silent, and the cat knew why – he was spellbound by the sight of his brother dancing around the kitchen. She too knew how to move just as elegantly, with graceful and delicate steps that lulled the audience into a sense of calm, hypnotizing them, instilling in them a sense of tranquility and confidence in one's silver-tailed person.

"I understand," Orin said reluctantly. "But you must understand me as well. Sooner or later Selorn will find out that his plans have turned up in Elaan, and it won't be difficult for him to identify the culprit in the leak."

"Let him find out! You'll have already saved the world by then, and this world won't let any harm come to you," Enbri assured him, as if crossing out the last of his brother's doubts.

Orin didn't say anything for a long time. Even from under the sofa Nela sensed the indecision emanating from his whole body, the doubts eating away at him... But as time passed, Orin, hitherto floundering weakly in the ocean of Enbri's charm, finally sunk to the bottom:

"Very well. Let it be as you wish."

***

Tugging at her whiskers nervously, Nela hurried from the House of Shadows back home.

She had to warn Patriarch Selorn right away. So that was what he had hired her for! And she had been racking her brain over what he wanted with this Enbri character.

Since kittenhood Nela had been an extraordinarily crafty personality. This wasn't the first time she juggled several clients simultaneously. That was why, having gotten the order from Selorn to spy on Enbri, she had immediately volunteered to relieve Nomarr, tasked with the same mission, only by the head of the House of Shadows. Everything had worked out marvelously!

The cat darted under the wardrobe to grab the dead rat. It was so big and heavy, Nela had to lift her head high to prevent her victim's tail and... the part it grew out of from dragging on the ground and leaving a trail in the dust. She almost dislocated her jaw jumping to the windowsill with her load. Once through the glass, the green film on which had already begun to fade, Nela grabbed the rat more comfortably and moved on. After three roofs they parted. The dull grey body slapped onto the pavement far below, and the ubiquitous Abyss scavengers rushed to it from all sides: beetles, centipedes, small rodents...

So lost was Nela in her thoughts that she failed to notice two creatures lurking in the gloom of the doorway. At the first sight of the Alae, one of them pointed a pair of tongs for splitting sugar at her. Nela yelped in protest as unseen fingers grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and lifted her in the air. They held her frighteningly tight yet tenderly at the same time, like a mother cat's teeth carrying her kitten.

Risking spraining her neck, Nela shook her head as hard as she could. A bloody shroud clouded her eyes, but even through it the cat was able to trace the strings of enemy magic to their source. Nela swung like the clapper of a bell and wriggled about sharply, mercilessly twisting her strong, flexible body. The invisible fingers tore a tuft of fur from her nape, but they could not keep hold of the agile daughter of Alasais.

The cat lunged off the lip of the roof, arched her back and hissed.

There they stood, on the other side of the alley – her enemies. One of them was huge, in heavy armor and wearing a hooded trench coat. His face did not betray a speck of emotion. A dumb mountain of muscle, a bodyguard, a living shield for the second one: a short, puny creature with the face of a melted candle. It looked even sadder in contrast with his luxurious black robes, shimmering in the dim lamplight. And yet, despite his ridiculous appearance, he filled her with inexpressible horror.

Nela's sides expanded and contracted laboriously from her uneven breathing, which was no longer silent. The sorcerer quickly waved some whitish root, and the cat saw that she was trapped: she could not break through the magical sphere which enveloped Nela and her pursuers both.

Nela fell into a daze from the sheer horror of the situation and froze, just as if she'd fallen under a spell of paralysis. She could not use magic: her cat's form, which had fulfilled its mission splendidly, hiding the glow of her eyes and many other elements that would have given her away as an Alae, also limited her in a hundred different ways. Shifting back into bipedal form wasn't an option either, as the metamorphosis would take half an hour...

The mage raised his wand again. Stop him! the thought rang out in Nela's brain, and she gathered her strength and pounced.

"You viper!" the magician screeched with pain.

The grey huntress' hind legs swiped at his face and left deep red gashes on his throat. The sorcerer's flesh turned out to be strangely soft, like wax. Pushing off from this abominable pancake, Nela soared back to the roof, laid her ears back and hissed – a viper indeed. Her eyes burned with a fierce madness, her tail lashing like a grey whip at her tense sides. As she spun around, the sphere droned and constricted sharply, convulsively, knocking at the cat's lean buttocks.

Howling angrily, Nela tried clinging to the edge of the roof, but the rotten planks split under her nails, and she fell. Struggling for support, her claws scraped against the glass in the locked window frames, releasing sparks from the wet moss that had grown under the protruding canopy. Nela landed on the pavement as a cat should – on all fours, and was once more seized by the scruff of the neck. Only this time the hand was quite material, as the warrior had rushed to the sorcerer's aid.

Her mei sense told her she could not win, but she kept fighting, thrashing, writhing with her whole body, growling, and swinging her paws and tail in the air, until the magician's spells overcame her, and the cat was immersed in sleep...

__________________________

Illustration by Natalia Anikina.