“Take us to the fries, then,” commanded Polo, and they followed Boris to a dumpster.
Polo scaled the large bin in a flash. The cats waited below.
“Here, catch!” He tossed bags of fries over the side until he was satisfied they all had one. He secured one in his mouth and hopped down.
“Follow me.” The cats each had a bag clenched in their teeth and they trotted down the street, surely a strange sight if anyone had been looking out their window.
Once they made it to the library, only Polo was brave enough to get close to the raccoons and let them get a whiff. But it was enough. The first raccoon picked up the scent and lost interest in fighting. The stray cats dropped their bags and beat a hasty retreat.
The raccoons knocked each other over to get the fries, leaving the Dead Cats stunned but grateful.
Chapter 52: Things left unsaid
The fire had been quelled before any major damage occurred. The entire newspaper section was reduced to ashes, but it was the smoke which created the greatest hazard, and the library had to be closed for several days. Cicero slept uneasily in the magnolia tree, which did not suit him in the least. Marco kept him company.
“Were you scared?” asked Marco. “Didn’t it remind you of the fire at Alexandria? I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Bait setting the fire. How could he change so much? I swear, he looked like a raccoon at first. And up on the roof, he was talking to a shadow who wanted him to kill you. The whole thing was so weird. But I stopped him! I would never let anyone hurt you, Cicero.”
“Thank you, dear Marco,” Cicero said wearily. “You have proven yourself worthy. I have chosen well after all.”
Marco had stopped short of telling Cicero about his own conversation with the Whisperer. He couldn’t tell him how close he’d come to walking away from the whole thing. It was impossible to think of it now without cringing. If it weren’t for Lily, well… he didn’t want to think about it.
Cicero wasn’t telling everything, either. He never told Marco about his own encounter with Bait, preferring to let Marco enjoy his victory. He would need this triumph to build on for the future.
But why hadn’t he used the power of the book to do something? He’d gone after Alaniah, but he could have done something else. Why was he so incompetent? Was it age? Was he losing his power so gradually he didn’t even notice? No, he’d had the presence of mind to use it to defeat Bait. Still, he was alarmed at how weak and tired he felt.
Chapter 53: Miss Pinkley
In spite of the library being officially closed, it was busier than usual. Insurance adjustors, fire inspectors, police and health officials nosed around with clipboards.
When Professor Chin arrived for the purpose of examining the older manuscripts, Miss Pinkley assumed he was sent by someone higher up.
She was rather taken with him, even though she would never have admitted it. Maybe it was the fedora, or his square jar and solemn face punctuated by a trim moustache. It could have been his soft-spoken manner. But most likely it was the eye patch which suggested an intriguing past. He carried a large leather satchel, not in a casual way, like a lot of people, but as though it held his most precious possessions.
He inquired about the location of older books and manuscripts, offering his condolences to her about the fire. He said he hoped they didn’t lose anything too valuable, but this was his area of expertise and he would be able to give her a full report.
“Oh,” said Miss Pinkley. “There’s also a small collection upstairs. I don’t know if you’re interested in that one. It’s mostly local history, but there are some very old books in that room. We were worried about the smoke damage since it collected in the balcony area, but our big concern was Cicero.”
“Cicero?”
“Oh,” laughed Miss Pinkley, wondering at the sudden paleness that came over the man. “Cicero is our library cat. He pretty much owns the local history room.”
“Maybe I could start there. Yes, that would be good.”
“Certainly Professor. I’ll show you where it is.” Miss Pinkley got up, happy with the opportunity to escort the man to the room, but stopped short when an insurance adjustor approached her with some questions.
“Don’t worry,” Professor Chin assured her. “I’ll find my way.”
Miss Pinkley sighed. “We are getting ready to go home for the night. You only have a short time left today.”
Chapter 54: Legacies
Professor Chin entered the small room crammed with old books, many lying in piles on a long polished wood table. It was untidy, obviously not kept up to standards, he thought, but then this wasn’t the British Library, was it? The sight of the cat, even sleeping on a green velvet chair, caught his breath. The click of the metal latch as he closed the door behind him startled the cat into wakefulness.
“I thought you might be dead by now, after that trick you pulled in London,” said the Professor.
The cat bolted upright, back arched. Professor Chin smiled benevolently at Cicero. “But of course, you must have nine lives like any normal cat.”
He brushed the dampness collecting on his palms onto his coat. “You probably never thought I’d find you in this backwater place. But I don’t give up, once I have a purpose and besides…” He lowered his shoulder, letting his satchel slide to the table, and thought about how much he should reveal. But, he laughed, what was he worried about? After all, he was only talking to a cat. He kept his tone friendly. “I have extra help now, the Finders. Creatures who travel without passports or reservations; they have no boundaries in time or space. You’ll never be able to hide your Book well enough to evade them.”
He paced along the table’s edge, never losing sight of Cicero, careful not to make him too nervous. Careful even more so, not to give in to his rage. The cat was again standing in his way. He loathed having to negotiate with this vicious creature once again.
The Finders had led him here but wouldn’t… or couldn’t… tell him the exact location of the Book. He considered their services inadequate for the price he paid and would take his revenge on them when he had the power to do so. But he’d think about that later. The cat was growling at him.
He stepped to the far side of the table, calculating, despising. “It’s been a long time. Do you even remember me? Maybe you need a reminder.” He removed his fedora and placed it on top of the satchel.
“Every morning, when I look in the mirror, I remember you.”
Professor Chin reached behind his head and pulled his eye patch off.
“Every morning, I am forced to wear this to cover my scarred and useless eye.”
The cool air hit the moist, shrunken pulp of his empty eye socket. “It’s your legacy to me, but I have a legacy for you as well.” He replaced his eye patch and returned the fedora to cover his head. “My legacy to you, dear Cicero, is a curse. I will create a special one and place it upon you until the end of time.”
Chapter 55: Language of the Unseen
Cicero was pretty sure he could escape being captured by Professor Chin, but the dark form slinking around the room, little more than a shadow, he wasn’t so sure about. He still had nightmares about these creatures that seemed to follow the Professor like evil pets. Now even the books seemed to recoil in horror from the presence of this madman.
But, on closer examination, he saw this wasn’t one of the creatures that almost smothered him when Professor Chin had trapped him in a cage in London. This time, there was only one, and it had a voice.
At the same time, the Professor was coaxing him with artificially sweetened words. “Come on, old man. You’ve had your distinguished career as the library cat. None of the librarians will know what happened. What do they know anyway? I will relieve you of your duties and you will be free to read your dusty old tomes.”