Free A Mew to a Kill by Leighann Dobbs Page B

others? “Well, I suppose she wouldn’t be a kitten anymore. From what I heard, she was saved at the fire in the lumberyard last summer. A human gave its life for this kitten.”
    “Last summer?” Otis flicked a piece of straw with his paw. “Why, the kit would be practically grown by now. If it really were special, we would have heard." Otis smirked at her. "Perhaps it is the two-faced cat."
    Pandora's fur ruffled, but she held her temper in check. Otis was making fun of her, referring back to a time long ago when they'd been pawing through the ancient scrolls. Pandora had read a reference that she thought said something about a two-faced cat. Otis had laughed at her, saying she'd misread it. There was no such thing as a two-faced cat. Most born with two faces died shortly after birth.
    Later on, Pandora had gotten on the internet when Willa had left her laptop open and learned there was only one cat with two faces who had survived until age fifteen. Frank and Louie, his name was. But that cat was dead now. He wasn't the cat from the fire.
    "Ha. Ha," Pandora said dryly. "I guess you will never let me live that one down. Anyway, since no one has been able to decipher the scrolls fully, we don't know if there are other references to powerful cats such as the one Sasha remembers."
    "Then why have we not heard or seen this cat before?” Otis asked.
    “That’s what I don’t understand,” Pandora said. The group took pride in knowing all the cat goings-on in the area. Not all cats had the powers of the society, but the clan liked to know about even the “regular” cats and there was a large network of cats, both mystical and non-mystical that passed information around. With the help of these cats, especially the feral cats who ran wild and were witness to most of the happenings in the Notch, Pandora and her gang knew pretty much everything that was going on. Yet, Pandora had not heard of this kitten. “It’s almost as if something were keeping it from us.”
    “Well, who is its human?” Otis's voice held a hint of laughter. Pandora got the impression he was trying to make her look bad in front of everyone by proving how little she knew. “It’s simple enough to find the cat that way.”
    “From what I heard, the cat’s real human died in the fire, but now her sister, someone named Brenda, apparently has the cat. She’s very protective of it … maybe she keeps it locked indoors.”
    The cats shuddered. None of them liked the thought of being cooped up inside.
    “I think this is something we must pursue,” Inkspot commanded. Pandora thought she heard Otis make a tsking sound from his perch above her.
    “Who agrees we should seek out this cat?” Inkspot continued with only a slight glare in Otis’s direction.
    A chorus of meows sounded in agreement
    “Then we must go to this Brenda’s house and see what we can see.” Inkspot trained his glowing eyes on Pandora. “You will find out where she lives.”
    “Yes, of course.” Pandora’s heart leapt. She’d felt a tug for this kitten ever since she heard the story and knew they must find her. She wished she’d paid more attention when the humans were talking, though, because if she had, she might know more about Brenda and where she lived. But the humans were so boring, droning on and on. She rarely listened to them.
    But now she had a problem. She’d brought the idea to the group and now couldn’t admit she didn’t know how to follow through. It would be embarrassing and the last thing she needed was to give Otis more ammunition he could use to try to make her look foolish.
    As she looked up at the smirk on Otis’ face, she wondered how the heck she was going to find out who this Brenda person was and where she lived. She said a silent prayer that Bastet, the goddess of cats, would provide the answer. She made a mental promise to pay more attention to the humans from here on out.
    Inkspot faded back into a corner, signaling the end of the meeting,