Human Rights (12 page)

All three stood to attention, and Kayn quickly said, "Sir!"

Jiat's tail waved in great arcs. "This is
my
pet, and he is hardly stupid. And while you may believe he has a tiny memory, I do not. Report to my office tomorrow at dawn, is that understood?"

"Yes, sir!" they all said in unison, and then quickly dispersed. I could hear them grumble to each other, but not what they said. From the way Jiat's ears twitched, he did, and by the stars, what I would have given to be in that office at dawn!

I licked my lips and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Jiat's eyes focused on me, and none of the tension left him. "You've no reason to be sorry." He untied my leash, our lunch in a bag he carried, but I didn't think either of us was in the mood for food at that moment. "Come on. Let's go to the lake to eat. It's less crowded there. Quieter."

I nodded, but I don't think Jiat even noticed. I followed him, head bowed, and the bright afternoon seemed darkened even without a single cloud in the sky.

After supper, as I sat in Jiat's study and read one of the books Jiat had bought me at the Spring Festival that day, Jiat came and sat beside me. He waited a moment, and then eased the book from my hand.

"I will need to leave the house tomorrow before first light."

I nodded. "To meet with those three Guardsmen."

Jiat sighed, saving my place in the book with a ribbon. "Ewan, you do understand our position, right?"

I furrowed my brow. Our position? "We're not supposed to be lovers."

"Yes, and that means we must continue to behave as we ever have. I know we had the majority of winter away from prying eyes." Snow made it difficult for pets to go out unless properly clothed, and I didn't own many outfits fit for the cold. I didn't mind because it meant I'd spent much of my time with Jiat, tangled in our bedsheets. "But with spring and summer, we will be outside more. Attending events. Visiting people. I will take you with me as I shop for food and supplies. There is a way we must continue to behave so we do not draw suspicion our way."

"But, I didn't behave any differently today than I ever have," I whispered. Had I done it wrong? I shifted on the divan. "I'm sorry if I let on somehow. I tried—"

"It wasn't you," Jiat murmured, the tip of his tail slowly tapping against my thigh. "It was me. I overreacted with those Guardsmen, and I will have to try to control the damage when they present themselves to me in the morning. But, I know Kayn. He isn't one to forget a slight, and we had many eyes on us this afternoon when I dressed them down. If he can knock me down, I know he will. I have to be more careful." He smiled and cupped my cheek. "I have to not love you so much when we're in the public eye."

I leaned into the palm of his hand for a moment, and then I moved across the divan and into Jiat's lap. "I understand." I stroked my fingers through his fur, and then leaned in to nuzzle his throat. "But when we're not in the public eye..."

Jiat chuckled, and the tension that had plagued him since the confrontation seemed to drain from him. His hands smoothed up and down my back, pulling me closer. "When we're not in the public eye, I can love you as much as I like."

That flutter of desire uncoiled in my belly as we pressed close together on the divan. "And how much would you like to love me now?"

"Until we are sweaty, spent, and sated," Jiat growled, lifting me and carrying me from the study.

My heart raced as need pooled between my legs, and I welcomed his hands and tongue on my body, aching to have him inside me once more. I wanted to feel everything with him, to hear his growls and purr, to feel his seed coat me inside and out as I cried out his name. Under the surging of his body, I forgot about the Guardsmen and the humiliation and fear. Chasing away the shadows, Jiat loved me well into the night, until we were as he'd wanted: sweaty, spent, and sated.

Chapter Ten

For nearly two weeks, we walked on eggshells, tense and waiting. Jiat had tried to lessen the blow he'd given the Guardsmen's pride, but I knew he didn't believe he'd done enough. We didn't venture out much, and when we did, it exhausted me. I second guessed everything I did, every look, every breath. Even if it was merely an outing to collect fresh meat and greens, by the time we returned, I was shaking and near tears. It felt as if eyes were always on us now, whispered words in the shadows threatening what I'd only just gained. As the one year anniversary of my adoption loomed, we began to let ourselves relax. Jiat didn't keep the leash as tight, and I didn't keep my eyes trained to the ground whenever we left the house.

I don't know what tipped them off. I don't know if they really needed an excuse, or if they just came for me. Hosanna was at the market while Jiat was at the Guard House, and I was told to stay inside. I was not to answer the door, and it never occurred to me to break that rule. I was reading near a side window when the knock came. I ignored it. This was not
my
house, and Jiat had left me with clear orders to never open the door. I wasn't about to break the rule now.

The second knock was louder, harder. I frowned and turned the page. Hosanna would be home soon, and if the person was intent on leaving a message for Jiat, they could wait outside for her.

There was no third knock. Instead, the door burst open, thrown off its hinges, and three men I'd never seen before walked inside. I couldn't help but shake, terror seizing me. They were Felines, but that was all I noticed as the biggest one came at me, growling as his large, clawed hand wrapped around my arm. I cried out as he yanked me out of the house.

"Stop!" I shouted and thrashed, panic squeezing my heart. "What are you doing! Where are we going! Where is my master!" I wanted Jiat. Jiat would stop them, would make them let me
go
.

The Feline bruising my arm stopped us in the middle of the street. "Your master has been arrested. Abomination."

That word. The world fell away with that one word as I stared up at the cat with fear in my eyes. I was being taken from Jiat. Whatever had happened... whatever look or thought had betrayed us... I was being taken away. "I want my master," I whispered brokenly.

"You have no master any more," one of the other Felines hissed. "To the pound you go, mongrel, and there you'll be destroyed."

They yanked me along, and I thought I was going to throw up. No trial. No reprieve. Just a death sentence. Numbly, I asked, "And what of my master?"

"That is for the magistrate to decide." The smallest Feline glanced back at me after speaking, and I thought I saw a spark of pity in his eyes, but it was gone as soon as I blinked.

By the time we arrived at the pound, my feet were blistered and bloody, and I'd thrown up twice. I ached to see Jiat, to take comfort in him, but he was nowhere. I didn't know if they were holding him or if he had washed his hands of me to save himself. I wouldn't have blamed him. I came face to face with Miab, and I whimpered, recoiling.

"I knew you would be back here," Miab said. "I just didn't realize what filth you really were." He wrapped one of the pound's collars around my throat and clipped a leash to it.

The Guards left me with him, and I almost pleaded with them to stay with me. Miab drew his cane up and brought it down on the back of my thighs. The pain was so intense, so sudden, that I pitched forward and slammed my knees into the hard, unforgiving floor. My scream echoed in the receiving room, and it died out into sobs. I'd never felt such hopelessness as I did then, my thighs burning, my feet in agony, and the thickness of my anguish threatening to suffocate me.

Miab yanked on the leash. "Crawl, mutt."

I tried to crawl, but Miab mostly dragged me behind him. I didn't go into the exam room. I wasn't taken into a waiting cage to be put into the general pound. No, I was led to The Door. The door no pet wanted to go through. Behind that door, there was a bank of half a dozen cages, and only one had anyone in it. Miab opened the one next to the other pretty female pet and shoved me in, slamming and locking the door behind me. He crouched down, his nasty face pressed to the bars.

"Just waiting for the magistrate's signature, and then we'll put you out of your misery."

When he left, I actually felt relief.

And then I wept.

I don't know how long I wept, but when I quieted, the female next to me sniffled. She peered at me through the crisscrossing bars, her blue eyes red and tired. "What did you do?" she whispered.

I shook my head, a sob threatening as I breathed, "I loved my master."

No other explanation was needed. She bit her lip and shook her head. "I... I've been told by Dr. Tiwan that it doesn't hurt."

"I want my master." I just wanted Jiat. If I had to die, I wanted Jiat at my side.

I was almost finally, blissfully, asleep when the lights flickered on, too bright and painful. I squinted and tried to shy away. Two of the Guard stopped in front of my cage, and Miab was glowering beside them. It looked like they had woken him. His fur and clothing were wrinkled. I blinked several times, pressed to the very back of my cage. One of the Guardsman—a Jaguar—nodded in my direction.

"Open it."

Miab huffed, but he didn't argue. He opened my cage and clipped a leash to my collar. I cried out as he yanked, forcing me from the cage and onto the cold tile. I thought he would keep hold of the leash, but he passed it to the canine Guardsman.

"There are four rooms—"

The Jaguar shot him a bland look. "We will not interrogate him here," he spat, and I could hear the disdain in his voice. "I will send word when it's time for you to fetch him."

Miab glared, his tail shivering. "Fetch him?"

The Canine—Jackal or Coyote?—yanked on my leash. "The warden told you to cooperate, Miab. Word will be sent when you're needed."

I crawled after the Guardsmen as we left Miab and the pound behind. My knees ached as they led me through the city. I didn't dare look up, speak, and if I could have not breathed, I would have stopped in an instant. Anything to keep them from paying any sort of close attention to me. Attention could mean pain from Guardsmen like these. Jiat had told me once that there were others in his ranks at the Guard who believed as he did. Had the Guard found them all out? Were they all on trial now? Or was it just Jiat and me? My chin trembled, and my eyes stung. Jiat. What was happening to him?

The Guardsmen pulled me along until my knees throbbed from the cobbled road. I wanted to stop them, to hold my knees close, but I couldn't. I was sure if I stopped or balked, they'd just drag me behind them. I bit into my lower lip. I was panting, and there was a minute tremor moving through me by the time they stopped at a set of white, intricately carved doors. I swooned on my hands and knees, worried I might vomit. The doors opened, and we left the city behind, the cobbled road turning into smooth, cool tile under my protesting knees. It was a small blessing, one I didn't take for granted.

By the time they shoved me into a tiny, dimly lit room with no windows, I was parched, dizzy, and exhausted. And I had the return trip to look forward to because Miab certainly wasn't going to rent a cart to take me back. I leaned back into the farthest corner of the room and drew my knees up. They were torn. Bloody. I bowed my head and allowed myself a small bout of weeping. Everything hurt. My stomach gnawed at me. The thirst was terrible. I wanted cool water, warm food, and Jiat's big, gentle hands on my body. I didn't bother to look up when the door opened and then shut. If it wasn't Jiat, I didn't care.

"They tell me your name is Ewan; is that right?" It was a female voice, soft and tender. I looked up in surprise. The visitor was one of the Cheetahs, tall and sleek, draped in the robes of a magistrate. She took in my disheveled state and hissed in the back of her throat. I cowered deeper into the corner, but her anger wasn't directed at me. "I'm going to make sure someone comes and takes a look at those knees. But would it be all right if we talked for a little while first?"

I licked my lips and swallowed against a dry throat. "All right." I didn't trust any of them, really, but my knees
hurt
.

She smiled at me, her teeth sharp in her muzzle. "Good." She walked to the door and spoke softly to someone outside, and then shut the door once more. "Water will come shortly, as will a physician. While we wait, I'd like you to tell me about your master."

"Tell you about Sir Jiat?" I frowned. "He's... my master."

"Yes," she said with a slight nod. "Do you love your master?"

I felt a chasm open up before me. A maze to navigate. "Yes," I said slowly. "He is the kindest master I have ever had."

"Sir Jiat is a decorated member of the Guard. He has served the Court for many years without fail." She sat down in the only chair in the room and smoothed her robes. "Recently, though, it has come to our attention that he might be associated with the wrong sorts of people."

"Wrong sorts?" My stomach dropped. I knew what she was after now. She was after the Movement. Jiat and the network that helped to save the Humans. "T-There are wrong sorts?"

Again, she smiled at me, but this time, I could see it didn't really reach her eyes. "Yes, Ewan. The kind that think in a radically different way. The kind that believe anarchy and disorder are the answer to social ills they themselves have created."