Chapter 5: The Scout and the Liaison
The Blood Moon Clowder and the Ephemeral Fence Between Worlds
Dracine flitted between the shadowy tombs of the City of the Dead, her wings slicing through the sticky night air. The moon, vermillion now, blisteringly close to the crimson red of the Blood Moon, hung above. Soon it would be as red as it could get, casting a fierce glow over the mausoleums.
She needed to find the Chief. She was desperate to deliver the news of her discovery and be freed from this terrible obligation to the cats.
The bat swooped down towards the largest mausoleum—Greg’s palace. The place where he met Snowball. A white rat lay motionless and bloody in the moonlight on the roof, probably an offering from some cat to the Overlord, a payment for some obligation. Its lifeless form glistened in the pink moonbeams. The very thought of the Overlord’s predatory gaze made Dracine shiver. The good news, she thought grimly, was that as soon as he found this meal on his doorstep he wouldn’t be hungry. Maybe she wouldn’t end up as a bat on his menu tonight before he learned of the deal between the bat and the Chief. Still, the uncertainty of whether he knew meant she couldn’t afford to linger.
No sign of the Chief at the Overlord’s lair, so after another circle of the roof, she flew out over the City, looking for any sign of the white cat with whom she had made the daring deal.
Dracine’s wings beat unevenly as she scanned the ground below. She ventured to the edge of the City, where the tombstones were sparser, fading into the misty shadows beyond. It was there, near the boundary between the tombs and the outside world, that she spotted a furtive figure scurrying in the darkness.
What was a white cat doing this far outside the City? The bat took a swift dive toward the feline, hoping that the sudden, direct movement would make her freeze for a moment. It worked. The cat lowered her lean body to the ground and locked her eyes on the bat.
It was the ancient white cat, Muffin, her white fur almost glowing as the moonlight of the deep red moon hit it, turning it a rose-gold hue. The Elder, outside the safety of the City? Why? Dracine lifted into the sky, watching as Muffin darted away with surprising speed and agility for such an old cat. The Elder must have a reason for being here, but Dracine couldn’t take the risk of approaching her without being certain she already knew of the agreement between herself and the Chief. Her agreement was with the Chief, and she still didn’t know if he had informed the other cats, or if they had agreed to his terms. The Elder was a swift hunter, and Dracine didn’t want to find herself in the old cat’s claws. There had to be another way. She squeaked as she flew through the branches at the edge of the City.
She needed rest. She couldn’t give up her search, but she was tired and thought of home. Home in the eaves above the home of Electra and Desiree.
The Scout and the Liaison: Dracine and Electra
Electra! Dracine realized that Muffin’s captive kitten could be the bridge she needed. With a determined tilt of her wings, she turned and flew toward Desiree’s house. As soon as she arrived, Dracine peered inside and saw a mound of white fur nestled in a red mane in the human’s bed. Dracine tapped on the window softly with her leathery wing, trying to get Electra’s attention without waking the human. Because of the glass, she could risk communicating with this cat, something she was too afraid to do with the others.
Desiree’s eyes opened, and Dracine moved away from the window. Electra opened her eyes, her head suddenly lifting, green gaze fixing on the window, waiting to make sense of sight in the darkness.
“Lectie, lie down! You’re freaking me out!” Desiree burrowed under the comforter on her bed. Electra stared at the glass until Desiree rolled over and her breath resumed its regular rhythm. When she was sure Desiree was fast asleep she leapt down from the bed and padded quietly into the living room, her paws making no sound on the rugs over the old wooden floors. Dracine released her hold on the eaves and flew to the next window, watching as Electra gained her night vision through the glass.
Electra tilted her head in surprise. “Do you really want to wake me?”
Dracine whispered, “You can’t get to me.”
Electra’s eyes hardened. The scout and the liaison locked eyes.
“I need to talk to the Chief,” the bat said.
Electra narrowed her eyes. “The Chief?” she chuckled, careful not to make a sound that would wake Desiree. “You mean Snowball?”
Dracine nodded. “Your brother. I need to speak with him.”
Electra yawned. “Whatever for?”
Dracine stretched her wings, then leaned toward the glass. “I have fulfilled my end of an agreement. Now he needs to fulfill his.”
Electra lowered her head. She never got the good scuttlebutt before her brothers. “What agreement did that fool make with the likes of you? Can I be expecting a feast?” Her lower jaw chattered as she stared at the bat.
Dracine stretched her wings wide, showing her teeth and lunging at the cat while still hanging upside down outside the window. Electra leaned back and hissed. The scout and the liaison had parried like this before, many years in the past.
“He promised all of you would take a fast from bat meat for an entire year if I help him find the missing cats.”
Electra growled. “The fool could have asked me. My human is involved in all of that.”
“He knows that much,” sneered Dracine. “He also knows you’re imprisoned and can’t track them.”
“I get out of here at least twice a year,” Electra bristled. The boys didn’t give her the respect she deserved. The scout and the liaison glowered at each other.
“Can you fly during your biannual treks?” Dracine suddenly fell into the air for a quick, dramatic swoop before returning to her perch. “Can you keep up with your human’s vehicle to see where she takes them?”
“Did you claim you can get the cats back?” Electra snorted. “I seriously doubt you could do that!”
“He only asked me to find them. I found them. They’re in prison about a mile from here.”
Electra licked her shoulder fiercely. “Prison? You mean the vet’s office?” She looked over her shoulder toward the sleeping human in the bedroom. “Dreadful place, for sure.”
She wiped her ears with her paw. “Why would Snowball make such an extreme agreement with you? Cats and bats… that’s not how it works.” Her eyes glazed over. “I remember my first bat—Mother caught it for us.” She wished she could relive that flavor nowadays, in a can, instead of tuna or chicken pate.
Dracine shuddered. “The Chief and I made an agreement. No bats will be eaten by clowder cats for a year if I give him good information on the whereabouts of those vanished cats.”
“He must have powers I don’t know about to convince the clowder to go along with that!”
“Where is he?” The scout and the liaison once again glared at each other.
Electra sat up tall and slapped the glass, “How the hell would I know?” She instantly regretted revealing her feelings of helplessness.
Electra glanced through the bedroom door at Desiree, whose breaths had turned to snores. If Electra needed to communicate with the clowder, that meant getting out of the house tonight. The Blood Moon was high, casting its red glow across the sky. Big things happened during a Blood Moon.
Dracine tapped on the window again when it seemed Electra’s mind had wandered.
Electra turned her face toward the bat. She knew the outside cats were depending on the deal made by the scout and the liaison. The bat and the indoor cat. How ironic.
“I saw the Elder on the edge of the City. Maybe she knows where we can find Greg.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Electra murmured. “Meet me at the cherub tomb.”
“Why?”
“So I can eat you!” Electra turned her back and leapt to the floor.
Electra jumped onto the bed, leaned over Desiree’s face, and let out a loud meow. Desiree groaned, her eyes fluttering open.
“Electra, what?” Desiree mumbled in her surprise, her voice thick with sleep.
Electra meowed again, more insistent this time.
“Cat! I’m sleeping!”, Desiree buried her head under her pillow.
Electra meowed again, then bounded off the bed and ran to the window. Desiree sighed, rubbing her eyes as she threw back the covers and got up.
“Trouble with the feral cats again?” She stretched her neck to peer outside. “I had so wanted to get some sleep tonight,” she said to Electra. “You cats will destroy me yet.”
Electra meowed again, louder this time.
“Alright, alright,” Desiree muttered, shuffling to the door. She opened it slightly, leaning out to see which cat was in distress. In that brief moment, Electra darted between her ankles, slipping out into the night.
“Electra!” Desiree called, her voice rising in alarm as she flung the door open wider. Electra was already sprinting toward the white tombs of the City of the Dead, her heart pounding in her chest. She had to see her mother.
Behind her, Desiree’s silhouette stood at the edge of the porch, the enormous Blood Moon hanging behind her. “Electra! Come back!” she cried, her voice echoing against the walls of the City of the Dead in the darkness of the blood moon, but the cat was already gone, swallowed by the shadows of the cemetery.
Thanks for reading Chapter 5: The Scout and the Liaison
More paintings from the Blood Moon Series.
And once again, thanks for reading Chapter 5: The Scout and the Liaison