The distant voices mingled together.
I heard tap water turn on and then off.
“Cold,” I heard a voice below. A little younger, if I had to trust my ear.
Ah, given the placement of the window, it would make sense if it was a bathroom. Or maybe a kitchen with an awkward setup.
“Window’s open,” a voice said. Not old, not young. It had a rasp to it. Other. “Raise me up.”
A pause.
“Um,” Evan whispered.
“Up, up,” the voice said, “High as you can go.”
“Hello little bird,” the voice said. “Enjoying the warmth of a toasty house?”
Evan was silent.
Inside, I heard someone calling for order.
“Problem, Cranaus?” the woman called out from below.
“No. Not at all. I’m having a conversation. I’ll return to you when I’m done.”
“Can you get down?”
“My dear, I’m disappointed you have to ask.”
“Alright, alright!” the woman said.
As she left the room, I heard her mutter, “Had to be a damn cat.”
Cranaus sniffed a bit in irritation.
“An ordinary bird would have flown away by now,” he said. “Facing down a predator like myself. An ordinary bird would have the sense to know I could catch and kill you just like that. An ordinary bird shouldn’t as haggard you do.”
“I’m no ordinary bird,” Evan said.
A laugh, with a bit of an edge to it. “No you aren’t. Are you a more-than-ordinary bird who’s attempting to break into a house owned by one of my master’s blood?”
“No. I definitely didn’t want to go inside.”
“Were you plotting harm against my master or her blood?”
“Um,” Evan said.
“We were leaning toward disruption, buying time,” I cut in, before he could get us into trouble. “I’ve more or less decided against any sort of disruption or mischief.”
“Do tell.”
“I liked Ben’s argument in there.”
“It makes you think, doesn’t it? How things have changed? But you’re not so old that you’d know.”
“Not so old, no,” I told him.
“Definitely not that old,” Evan said.
“The slant of things changed around the time the new world was discovered. Things progressed so quickly after that. I suppose you’re one of the devious ones?”
“If I’m being honest, I’ve been devious before, even as recently as twenty minutes ago,” I said. “But I try. My bird friend here, I think, is pretty straightforward.”
“Yeah!”
“There’s a difference between being genuine and being guileless,” Cranaus said. “The genuine fight with one hand tied behind their backs, but the guileless are already doomed. They don’t know it yet, but they’re doomed all the same.”
“Guileless?” Evan asked.
“If the universe decides to turn around and hurt that bird,” I said, “I’m not sure this is a world I want to fight for.”
There was a pause.
Evan hopped back on the windowsill, occupying the same relative space I was. A black paw snapped out, stopping on top of Evan’s head, pressing it down just slightly, holding him in place.
I was ready to break the window and strangle the cat if I had to. I wasn’t sure if I had it in me to do it, with the strength I’d given up.
“He passes, then,” the cat said. “But I’m forced to hold him hostage until I decide what to do with you.”
“Okay,” I said.
“Who are you with?” Cranaus asked.
“I’m with myself,” I said.
“What’s your stake in this?”
“The welfare of those I care about.”
“Who?”
I almost didn’t answer, but there was an intensity in his rough-edged, very un-catlike voice.
“Three people within the Thorburn household, and this little guy. To a lesser extent, innocent bystanders. To an even lesser extent, myself.”
“Why rank yourself so low?”
“Because when my nature was read with tarot cards, they drew the Fool. I’m worried I’m one of those doomed guileless. Every time I act on my own behalf, I have to watch how others suffer as a result.”
“That suggests you’re not supposed to be here, in the grand scheme of it all,” Cranaus told me.
“That suggestion sounds painfully accurate,” I said.
“Then-“
“Then why do I continue to exist?” I interrupted.
“I like your question better than the one I planned to ask. Do tell.”
“Because I want to change that. I fell through the cracks, where things that don’t belong go. I don’t know if what I became down there is all about entropy, destruction, or if it’s about change, but I’ve got to use that, and hopefully I can use that to make my existence a net positive.”
Another cat appeared, colored the sort of gray that looked blue in the right light.
“Brave bird,” the cat said, with a voice that sounded more like it belonged to a snake, if snakes could talk. All whispers and sounds that slid.
“Damn straight,” Evan said.
“Good morning, Hylas,” the black cat spoke.
Three familiars and me, now, gathered by the window. The cats found a position where they sat side by side, shoulders touching, about a half-foot in front of Evan.
Why did I feel like something more was going on?
“You’re familiars, right?” I said.
“We are.”
“Why does it feel like you’re testing me?” I asked.
“Because I am,” Cranaus said. “We keep the company of men and women. But as much as I liked the company of my master when she was a child, she changed. I love her and I will do what I can for her sake, but I do not always agree with her.”