Page 38 of Blacktail

Blacktail looked at her in flat surprise. He and Slipper had been alone when this was said. “Well met, Old Kitty Mother.”

Before she could continue, the mouse between her feet let out a soft, hopeless scream.

“May I ask you something?”

“Certainly.”

“Why not just kill it? The mouse, I mean,” Blacktail asked. “I’ve always wondered about that.”

“Eh? Ofttimes the dying harbor secrets,” the cat said. She flicked the mouse’s open belly with her claw and it let out another scream, louder this time. “Sometimes they share.”

“What secrets would a mouse know that might interest one such as yourself?”

Old Kitty Mother swished her tail. “Perhaps nothing. One mouse alone is a stupid thing. But there are many mice. Their minds all run together, like little rivers flowing into the sea. Though he lies dying, this little one sees through the eyes of all mice: the living and the dead and those yet unborn. He might tell us much…if he is properly motivated.”

“Is this how you came to hear the name Blacktail?” he asked.

“No…no. Oh, perhaps I heard in passing of a wolf that lived on some distant hill, but I hear of many such. It was not this that first drew my eye to you.”

“What, then?”

“I heard the thunder your footfalls made, as you hunted man in the den of his pleasure,” the cat said. “Long and long has it been since such a sound was heard in this world. I feared I would not hear it again before hell claims me as its forfeit. I have waited a very long time to speak with you.”

“With me?” he asked, surprised. “Are there no wolves in this land?”

“Yes. There are wolves aplenty, if you know where to look. You can find them in the dens and cages of man. But none with your…” She paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “Your hunter’s heart.” She studied him with unblinking green eyes.

“Hmm. That’s very kind of you, I suppose.” I don’t like this, he thought. What is she staring at? “Well. All right, then. It’s been a pleasure to meet you. Sorry to interrupt. I’ll just be on my—”

“Tell me, Blacktail, what do you know of the old gods?”

He tilted his head. “That’s an odd question to ask. The gods? El-ahrairah, and that lot? They are long gone, I know that much. They say the last one was eaten before my grandmother’s grandmother was a pup.”

“I have heard that as well,” the Old Kitty Mother said, swishing her tail as cats do when they brush aside nonsense. “But what if it was not so? It is true that the god of men has taken dominion over this age. He tolerates no challenge. Most of the old ones were murdered long ago. The rest have fled.” Her eyes were still fixed on him, level and unblinking in the moonless night. “Only the greatest of them remains. The God of Gods is not dead, only sleeping. I am sure of it.”

“Who? The Forest God?”

“I have heard Him called by that name, but it is more accurate to say that He is the god of the hunt, the god of strife and conflict. Tell me, Blacktail, are you of the faith?”

“I suppose so,” he said. “About as much as anyone. I don’t think about it much. Anyway, isn’t the Forest God dead as well? No one’s heard from him in quite a while.”

“No. Not dead. He stands above all. Such a one cannot be destroyed. How could it be otherwise? When the god of men went forth to slaughter the gods of beasts, was this not a hunt? It is difficult to kill a thing when the very attempt is an act of worship toward it.”

Blacktail chewed on this for a moment. “That’s an interesting point. Perhaps you are right.”

The Old Kitty Mother purred, amused. “I do not seek to convince you, Blacktail.”

“Then why are you here?”

The Old Kitty Mother lay down before Blacktail and exposed her belly in submission. The cougars drew back, shocked. They looked at Blacktail with murder in their eyes.

“No, no,” Blacktail said. “Please. Get up. Do not humble yourself this way.” He glanced at the cougars. “Really. There’s no need.”

“I will not get up,” she said. “I have come to beg a favor of you, Lord Hunter. I will do it in the proper way, with all courtesy.”

“Favor? What favor?” Blacktail said, keeping his eye on the cougars.

“Will you make a short journey with me? There is something I need to show you.”