Home

It was getting on toward winter, and the trees, shedding their leaves on the roof of the small cabin, seemed determined to make it a picture of bucolic comfort, although few ventured deep into the forest to see it. If anyone had wandered out that direction, unaware of the new homestead, they might have looked about in search of the owner, keeping as far as possible from the incongruous black panther that prowled the yard. A flash of bright metal would catch their eye, and they'd look in that direction, and look again, in astonishment, forced to admit that they did actually see a tiger standing on its hind legs, chopping wood just like a person. Looking more closely, they'd see that this tiger wore a sword as well, and that the black panther seemed particularly well-fed, perhaps from eating inquisitive strangers. At this point, they'd very likely do their best to quietly leave, never to return...

Jinx, as he chopped wood, thought about the changes that had happened since he and Elanor had left Rainmoor. He wasn't sure what he'd expected, but it wasn't this.

Elanor had indeed grown to like his world, for what it was worth, but she fit into it even less than he did. Inns that would allow him, grudgingly, to stay the night, would bar their doors against Elanor, or demand that he keep her in the stables. When she spoke, asking curiously whether the stables were nice, it didn't help. Instead of deciding that Elanor was a person, the humans would tend to look at Jinx with even more suspicion, and all doors would be closed. Humans didn't like jungle cats prowling around, and Elanor still refused to walk on two legs as he did. In fairness to her, he had to admit that he had more to gain from it than she had, for he had hands, but she just had front paws. It was unreasonable to expect her to stand as a matter of course: she was much more comfortable on all fours, having got around that way all her life.

Jinx couldn't trust Elanor in the cities, and made a point of avoiding them. True, in the city nobody would think twice about Elanor, but Jinx knew that sooner or later some drunken bravo or arrogant mage would insult him, or he'd get mobbed by a pack of thieves, or ordered to leave by the city government. Jinx had seen all these things happen, and he was certain that if Elanor had been there she would have gone after whoever was attacking Jinx. By the time he could explain that the gang of humans were only after his money, and that he was laying down and playing dead because that was the customary way to assure them you didn't need to be killed, it would be too late. Elanor might actually be able to defeat a gang of humans, if only because they weren't used to encountering resistance. They might flee when faced with her slavering fangs and savage claws in a dark alley. In that case, Jinx would have the task of explaining to her that they had to leave the city right away, because the gang doubled as the local militia and were off to organize a block-by-block hunt for her...

Since Jinx wasn't about to dare the cities, and since Elanor wasn't well received in the towns, that left the open country, and there they had settled. In the half-year they'd been there, they had encountered only one neighbor, a rundown wizard named Mick, who was more a druid than anything else. Mick ended up visiting a lot, which pleased Jinx. The man was happy and friendly and made cheese and sausage for Jinx's larder, and was excellent company, prone to sitting up talking about preposterous things until the first glimmers of dawn. Jinx liked staying up at night, so this posed no problems, and Mick claimed to know little and care less about what time of day it was.

The only drawback to having Mick visit was that both Jinx and Elanor would be scratching for days: Mick loved nature so much that he could be depended upon to bring an assortment of new fleas and such with him, and he scratched incessantly, dislodging the fleas, which would soon learn with delight that this new place boasted two large, furry food-sources rather than one rather small, scrawny, furless one.

It never seemed to bother Mick. He just grinned and scratched and joked about it, unperturbed. The fleas never lasted long, either: within a few days they would be gone, and Mick's company was worth the discomfort. Jinx was looking forward to it. Jinx thought he must have changed somehow, since he went to Rainmoor, for he used to be happy to stay away from humans for months on end, and now he was actually happy to see one. He wondered what had happened to his old independence. Was it really independence, or was it just anger and fear? Jinx wasn't sure, but it didn't really matter anymore.

He thought of Elanor as he chopped more wood. The isolation was harder on her than it was on him. She hunted, as he did, but she didn't take part in the small amount of gardening he did, and she didn't care how the house looked. When she wasn't lustfully nuzzling up to him, wanting to make love, she was spending her time in the Lonely Place, or at least it seemed that way at times. Her moods were becoming all extremes, with no middle ground. One minute she'd be clingingly affectionate and kittenish, just about climbing into Jinx's lap. Then, for some small reason or even no obvious reason, she'd flare at him and sometimes even lash out with her claws exposed. When she did that and he didn't dodge her in time, things got even more absurd, because on hearing his yowl of pain she'd immediately flip back, becoming miserably sorry and inconsolable over wounds she'd caused herself two seconds ago. Jinx wished she'd make up her mind, but he did understand what she was going through.

Elanor was trying to find her friends, the other animals that she'd known when she was an Astral Guard, and she was hampered by not being in Rainmoor anymore. She was, indeed, able to tap into an Astral Plane, but apparently it wasn't the same one, and she had yet to find the right one. Jinx had asked her, once, what the difference was.

"This one is emptier." she replied, "and also it's sort of happier. It's not as scary."

"Good." he'd said, at which she'd burst into tears.

"No, it's not! None of my friends are there!"

After that, Jinx had let her search, hoping she'd either find her friends or lose interest. Neither happened, and Elanor searched harder and harder, refusing to quit. She became increasingly distraught and irritable, prone to wild mood swings, unable to relax. Jinx reminded himself often, when she was distracted or prone to tears, that she'd spent her entire life with these friends, and that he couldn't take the place of them.

He tried, most commonly with passionate lovemaking, and also with holding her tenderly in the small hours of the night when she couldn't sleep. It wasn't enough. She was very good about it, and obviously still loved him, but then he'd see the tip of her tail twitching in frustration, and he'd know that there were things he couldn't fix for her. She took to going out into into the night, a ball of nerves, and Jinx would soon hear the squeal of some small woodland creature nearby. The forest was not well-prepared for the addition of a full-grown black panther to its ranks of predators: Elanor, in her frustration, decimated the wildlife and brought terror to the denizens of the woods. The hares and foxes and raccoons were horribly overmatched. She said she didn't usually eat them, but she was growing fat anyway.

Jinx often gave the extra kills to Mick, who tanned the skins and wore them, and carved wands and things out of the bones. Jinx liked Mick's magic, because it was so different from any magic he'd ever seen. The magic of Rainmoor was flashy and ominous, putting on a grand show, and Jinx had never felt comfortable with it. When Jinx had first entered Rainmoor, he'd announced his presence by figuring out that he had to put a magic rock he'd been given into a hole in the ground. The rock had exploded with a bright flash and a smell of lightning, scaring him out of his wits. Jinx asked Mick once whether that was part of the magic.

"These magicians, they're always doing things like that." Mick had answered. "You don't need to. You don't need to. Just a waste of energy. None o' them know how to work a good, honest hex."

Mick's magic seemed to grow out of rocks and trees and herbs and things, carved wands that could lead you home and little stones that started fires for you when you piled wood on them. Jinx liked that, because there was something reassuring in the countless little cantrips and tricks, so unlike anything he had known. Elanor was unimpressed, having grown up surrounded with magical Gates to strange and wonderful places, encountering conspicuous flashy magic everywhere she looked. Mick eventually got his revenge by materializing a frantic chipmunk inside the house, which miraculously evaded her exasperated claws for a solid hour. Whenever she grew tired and disgusted, it would sneak up and pull her tail, and she'd blow up and go after it again. Finally, she was so fed up that she refused to play along, at which point it walked around in front of her, and bowed, inches from her face. Her eyes glittered, and her paw lashed out to crush it to the floor. When she lifted her paw, there was nothing there but a tail, and at that point, Mick burst out laughing at her confused, exasperated look.

"I got you." he guffawed. "I got you. You may have growed up fancy and all, but I got you. Look at her! Look at her!"

Elanor was offended, but she had quickly forgiven him: one couldn't stay mad at Mick for long. There was no malice in him, and he'd quickly become attached to her and Jinx, coming over frequently and bringing little gifts and trinkets and foodstuffs to give and to swap. They rapidly grew to like him, and to welcome him into their home. Jinx had never seen anybody so accepting and friendly: the odd little man made all the other humans Jinx had met seem standoffish. He extended the same cordial welcome to Elanor, right from the start, which was astonishing, since she'd pounced on him and knocked him flat the first time he came around. "A playful one," he'd said, "a playful one! My dear, you're the biggest kitten I ever did see, and no mistake."

Jinx had never seen anybody else come by to visit, and once he asked Mick if anybody else lived in the forest. "Huh!" said Mick in amusement, "look at him, thinks he's the only one settled in these parts!"

"There are others?" asked Jinx.

"You won't see 'em. You won't see 'em. Folk around here don't mix much."

"You seem to visit us a lot."

"I visit anybody I please. A good man with a hex can go anywhere he wants. I just took to you, is all. Never saw your like, in all my years. You're powerful strange creatures."

Jinx might have been offended at this, but Mick had said it with such open, curious wonder that there was somehow nothing to be offended at.

As Jinx continued to chop wood, Elanor appeared in the door of the cabin, listening intently. "Will you stop that for a moment?" she demanded, and Jinx held still. She blinked.

"It's two people this time. One is probably Mick. The other one's bigger."

"How do you know?" asked Jinx, who heard only the rustling of the dead leaves.

"By the way they walk, of course. Can I go see who it is?"

"Please don't, Elanor! It could be anybody." replied Jinx, putting down the axe and making sure his sword moved freely in its scabbard, just in case. He waited, resting one hand on the sword's hilt innocuously.

Through the trees came two figures. One, Jinx saw immediately, was Mick: the other was almost as tall as Jinx was, with a ragged wildness about him and a wary glance. Mick walked right up to Jinx and Elanor, but the other man hung back noticably, and seemed ready to bolt.

"Jinx, this is Alan." said Mick. "Alan, this is... Oh, for heaven's sake, come forward, won't you? They won't bite you. They won't bite you. This is friends of mine, they won't bite you."

Alan nervously stepped forward. "Hello," he mumbled, looking at his shoes. Jinx stared at him a while, curiously, until Mick said "Well now! Are we invited in, to sit and talk like we always done, or are we standing around for a spell?"

They went in, and Jinx noted that Alan took a seat as near the door as possible. Jinx wondered if he had done something terrible to account for his fearfulness. He didn't speak, and looked only at his shoes. Elanor was fascinated by him, and her eyes never left him.

"Saw a raccoon on the way over here," said Mick, "and you won't believe a word of what I'm about to tell you."

"Why not?" said Jinx.

"Well, this raccoon had a little rock in his hand, you see, and he was going around and around a big old pine tree, chipping at the bark bit by bit."

"Can raccoons do that? I never saw one doing anything like that."

"Well, now, that wasn't the strange part. Turned out that raccoon went climbing up the tree as he went around, up and up until he reached the lowest branch. Happens the lowest branch was a full twenty feet off the ground. That raccoon made a spiral cut all up the tree, just as far as he could."

"Why would he do that?"

"I was wondering that myself, as I watched him. When he was finished, he scooted down the tree, and started all over again, going round and round, just cutting that groove deeper and deeper. He did it all of five times, and by the time he was finished I was wanting to know why myself."

"Well?"

"Well, the next thing he did was even stranger. He scooted down the tree, and by this time the groove was so deep that he slid down it, round and round the tree until he reached the ground..."

"Wouldn't he fall off to the side?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? That was nothing. When he got to the ground, what do you think he did?"

"Threw up, from being too dizzy?"

"Now, don't be making jokes, I'm serious. Well, he looks at the tree for a moment, and then he reaches out with one little paw and gives it a whack, and the whole tree started spinning, sinking down, just screwing itself into the ground! And do you know why he did all that?"

"I couldn't begin to guess." said Jinx helplessly.

"Why, because there was a apple on the branch that he couldn't reach! Can you believe that? I saw him, cool as a fish, just walk over, reach up and pick it, and walk off eating it and whistling. Never saw anything so astonishing in all my years."

"I thought you said it was a pine tree."

"Well," said Mick, "I wasn't totally accurate in the way I began this story..."

Elanor, having heard Mick tell stories before, had ignored it completely, and she'd been furtively sneaking closer to Alan the entire time. When she was a few feet away, she sniffed, sniffed again, and said "I know you! Do you hunt?"

"Do you?" replied Alan, still looking at his shoes.

"Yes, especially at nighttime."

"Step in this pile of dust over here." said Alan, and Elanor, puzzled, complied. Alan inspected the paw mark, and one side of his mouth curled up in a almost imperceptible smile.

"You're that new beast in the woods."

"And you're the thing that always stayed just out of sight! I knew I recognised your smell!"

"You drove me real far back. Ain't got much of a territory, since you come around."

Elanor, dismayed, exclaimed "I didn't mean to chase you away!"

Alan regarded her levelly. "Not your fault. I don't mess with anything leaves tracks like that."

"Awww. Don't be scared, I'll share." said Elanor, gazing earnestly into his eyes. "I didn't know. You can hunt in my territory any time you want."

"Thank you." said Alan, and Elanor startled him by resting her head in his lap and purring. Jinx watched him closely, in case his reaction was hostile. Hesitantly, Alan petted her, and remarked to Mick, "You're right. They're good folk."

"That's true. That's true. That's true." replied Mick. "I told you so, but I figured you had to see for yourself. They're good folk."

"Never seen 'em in town, though."

"Now, when was the last time you went to town, Alan?"

"Went there last month to get a new knife."

"There's a town near here?" said Jinx. "We tried to find a place far away from people."

"Sure there's a town. It's a good-sized town. I like to go there for provisions. I'll take you there sometime. You can go with Alan, but he never goes to town."

"How big is it, and what direction is it?" asked Jinx, planning to move the opposite direction as soon as winter was over.

"It's all of twelve houses, just twenty mile or so north. Biggest town this side of Rainmoor mountain. Full Hollow, it's called. Do you know, they actually have a blacksmith there?"

"Is that the person who made Alan a new knife?"

"Aye." replied Alan, and lapsed into silence again.

"Do you think he can make me a better sword? Mine's ruined, from clearing brush with."

"You should have told me, Jinx. I got a old scythe up at the house you can have. Don't be clearing brush with a sword, you'll cut up your arm something awful... Well, maybe not you. I reckon your fur would block most of it."

"But do you think he can make me a better sword?"

"Don't you want to hang on to your old one? You told me you killed a King with it once. Don't that count for something?"

"No, why?"

"You're a strange creature, Jinx. Can I have it, if you don't want it?"

"Sure, but I need a better sword first."

"Talk to Rob, he's the blacksmith. I'll swap you ten assorted cantrips for your old sword, and you can get any sword you like for that. Why, do you know what Rob did once? He made a full circle sword for a fellow who'd seen them scimitar things. Fellow wanted one like that, only circular, so he could cut somebody no matter what direction they were coming from."

Jinx considered this. "Did it work?"

"Hard to say. The first thrust he made with it, he stabbed himself in the back. That gave Rob the idea to make his backwards sword, to give to your enemy..."

"Backwards how?"

"It had a handle on the point, you see, as well as the hilt. Turned out nobody in these parts had an enemy that bad, and Rob finally sold it to Paul, the cabinetmaker."

"It was good to make cabinets with?"

"No, Paul's pretty strange, and he used it to make a boat with. Great big ship, that you could fit all of Full Hollow in, all the houses and people..."

"But there's nothing but streams around here!"

"I said he was strange. He wanted to have it ready, in case it rained too hard, and sure enough, the rains came and we found use for it..."

"I don't believe you. How could it rain so hard that everything was flooded?"

"I didn't say that, did I? No, what happened was Paul got tired of waiting for an ocean to show up, and he got everybody to help him turn it upside down. Just flipped it over, on top of all the houses and all, and now Full Hollow is snug and dry when it rains."

"Don't mind Mick." said Alan. "The part about there being a blacksmith in Full Hollow was true."

"All of it is true." said Mick. "All of it is true. Go see for yourself. Only trouble is, when you go into Full Hollow these days it's too dark to see anything, since the boat don't have windows in its hull, so you'll have to take my word for it."

"You're a damn liar, Mick." said Alan, amiably. "Ain't none of that was true."

"Well, some parts was truer than others. Why don't you ask Jinx how it was he killed a King, if you want tall stories?"

"Okay. Jinx, how'd you kill a King? King of what?"

"He was the King of Rainmoor, for a few minutes, anyway. I killed him with a sword. Elanor helped." Jinx noticed Mick and Alan staring at him, as if expecting him to continue. "That's all." he said, defensively.

"Mick, why ain't he tellin' a proper story?"

"I don't rightly know, Alan. You never went into much detail, Jinx, but I never heard you tell a story except for that. Why is it you can't make up other stories?"

"Jinx isn't making up stories." said Jinx defensively.

"Do tell!" said Mick. "I can set up a quick hex to know whether you're speaking the truth. Now, are you going to admit you're telling stories, or do I try the hex?"

"Please don't do magic on me!" said Jinx.

"Then you admit it. Well, I can teach you to tell better stories..."

"No, it's all true. I just don't want to have magic happening to me."

"It ain't cast on you, Jinx, and I believe I'll do it, just to teach you a lesson. See this rock?" said Mick, and produced a small rock from his pocket. "Mote it be, leap for me. Jinx, I just told the rock to hop into the air if you tell an untruth." He set it on the table. "Now, what's all this about killing a King?"

"Oh. I killed the King of Rainmoor."

Mick stared at the rock. "Mote it be, leap for me, damn it! Damn thing didn't catch..."

The rock hopped into the air, and landed with a clunk on the table.

"There we go! It didn't hear me the first time."

The rock jumped again.

Mick, addressing the rock, said, "Do you mean to tell me that Jinx here really did kill the King of Rainmoor?" and the rock just sat there.

"The thing ain't listening to anybody but you." said Alan, and the rock immediately jumped again.

"Huh!" said Mick. "Let's try this. Rock, you're not listening to Jinx." The rock jumped again.

"It's working fine." said Mick, uncontradicted by the rock. "Jinx, tell your story."

"Well, it doesn't matter much now..." said Jinx, and the rock jumped.

"I reckon it does. Out with it!" said Mick, getting interested. Alan, too, was paying close attention.

"I got brought to Rainmoor to kill the Nameless-King. He was trying to kill King-Thomas, and he was also killing First-Lords. He did kill King-Thomas, and he almost killed all the First-Lords, but before King-Thomas got killed, he made me one. All the other First-Lords were getting killed or quitting, though, and by the time I killed the Nameless-King they were all gone. Then I came here with Elanor."

Mick stared at the rock, which hadn't budged. "Let me get this straight," he said. "King Thomas is dead." The rock didn't budge.

"You were supposed to protect him." The rock didn't budge.

"He ended up making you a First Rank Lord." The rock didn't budge.

"The Nameless One really existed, and ended up killing off all the First Rank Lords but you..."

The rock jumped into the air, and Jinx corrected him. "Lord-Peter quit being a lord."

"Ah. So the Nameless One really existed, and killed off all the First Rank Lords but you and Lord Peter, and Lord Peter quit instead of being killed." The rock didn't budge.

"This is getting interesting! After that, the Nameless One killed off King Thomas, and then you killed off the Nameless One." The rock didn't budge.

"And, when you did, you was the only First Rank Lord left." The rock didn't budge.

"Well, I'll be damned!" said Mick, at which the rock jumped. Mick paused, and said deliberately, "You're the King!"

The rock didn't budge. Alan was staring at Jinx in astonishment.

"I thought it was something like that, since the way out of Rainmoor opened up again."

Mick burst out laughing. "Don't that beat all! That makes you a Queen, Elanor, how'd you like that? Wait till I tell the folks in town!"

"Please!" interrupted Jinx. "Don't tell anybody, I don't want to be a King!"

"Bit late for that now, ain't it? I declare! All this time, we ain't suspected a thing! Good to have you with us, King Jinx!"

"I don't want you to call me that! Please don't!"

"Oh, now, being a King ain't all bad, you know! You got charms around you for all sorts of things. Ain't no magic that can kill you, and you'll be in good health. I believe that goes for Elanor, too."

"It does?" said Elanor. "I don't feel that healthy. I go hunting all the time to relax, and even though I don't always eat what I kill I'm still getting fat."

At that, the rock jumped. Mick noticed, and shut it off with a "Stone I keep, go to sleep!"

Jinx noticed it too. "I thought so. You do too eat what you kill, and that's why it jumped."

"I do not! Most of it I bring to the house! You know perfectly well that I don't eat everything!"

"Well, the rock said you did."

"Now, Jinx, she said a few things there. Maybe it was upset when she said she went hunting all the time. That ain't so, since she's here with us right now, not out hunting. If it was bothered by that, I'll have to do some work on it, cause it ain't supposed to pay no mind to such remarks. Come to think of it, it shouldn't have jumped when I said I'd be damned either. It's notional, and it's always getting mixed up."

"Turn it on again." said Jinx. "I want to know what Elanor said that wasn't true."

Elanor looked at Jinx, hurt. Mick started to say the cantrip words again, and then stopped.

"I reckon I know what it was. Elanor, come over here, dearie."

She did, and Mick rested his hand on her side. A slow, roguish grin crept onto his face. "I know."

"What?"

"She said she was getting fat. That ain't so, and she'll be thinner by and by."

"What are you talking about?" said Jinx, disconcerted.

"Elanor's gonna have kittens. Yours, I presume."