Prince of Cats (9 page)

The sun was dipping low on the horizon and it was nearly time for Neomee to implement the first stages of her plan
regardless of what the Prince of Cats had in mind. 
With any luck, I’ll be long gone by the time he comes for me
. 

***

Bray couldn’t help the snarl that escaped his lips.  He knew his lily was up to something and whatever it was it had her terrified.

He stomped through the corridors and down the tunnel that led to the
altar room.  When he saw the congregation of Cat’s milling outside the large wooden doors he almost corrected his course. 
However,
when he thought of Neomee and her
unknown
scheme he forced his legs to carry him down the corridor.

“
Aww
, another one down for the count!
” 
Madu yelled before turning his attention to Bray’s approaching footsteps.  “Brother!” He smiled and shoved his pitcher of henqet into the chest of the nearest Cat before he wobbled toward Bray.  “Have you come to laugh at these fools with us?”

Bray’s lips pressed into a grim line.  In previous years he too had enjoyed heckling the guardian Cats who
, on the day of the Honoring of Osiris Festival, sought
out the
altar room.  Once a year the Cats were allowed to petition the Priest for bonding to a mate.  While the Cats could claim a mate any day of the year and could seal that bond with consummation, only on the day of the Osiris Festival would the bond be acknowledged
—upon petition—by the Priest and then rendered to the Vizier for his blessing.  No bond was considered valid or recognizable by law without the Vizier’s blessing.

While t
he Cats were permitted a mate and even children if they so chose, his
chosen
mate and
any subsequent
offspring were expected to spend their lives in service at the temple until the guardian Cat was released from his obligation.  It was the reason some Cats sought the challenge of fighting to gain their freedom.

“No,” Bray began harshly frowning at Madu and grabbing his shoulders to straighten him when his fellow Cat lost his balance and leaned heavily into his chest.  “I am not here to chastise the fools.”  He drew in a long breath through his nose, his dark eyes glinting.  “I am among them.”

The crowd of Cats gathered in the hall instantly grew silent and all eyes turned on him.  Even Madu seemed to sober at his brother’s revelation.

“Bray?”  He shook his head as a huge grin split his features, “No?”

Bray snorted once.  “Yes.”  He frowned at the other Cats
and couldn’t help the lifting at the corners of his mouth when he took in their shocked expressions.  “It’s not
that
bad boys.”

Silence reigned a few more moments before Madu threw his arms in the air and shouted, “Price of Cats!”

“PRINCE OF CATS!” The group by the door shouted in unison
before erupting into a chorus of cheers.  A
s Bray strode determinedly through the doors of the altar room to place his mark on the petition for recognition of
mating status, he did so to well-wishes and good natured slaps on the back.

Chapter
9

N
eomee
retrieved a cloth and a jar of water before retreating to the slaves bathing area
carrying her new white
tunic
draped over one arm.  The new tunics had
been provided to all
female slaves for the special occasion.

T
h
e
women’s
bathing
area consist
e
d of a small empty windowless room with benches.  In the middle of each of the four benches sat a large bowl
and a chunk of pasty soap made from rendered animal fat and chalk
. 

Neomee
placed the large bowl on the ground, removed her gown
, sat with her feet in the large bowl, then
poured
some of
the
water from her jar over her feet.
 
She dipped her cloth in the water before swiping it against the soap several times then proceeded to scrub
her body before rinsing clean with the remainder of the water in the jar.
Who knows when next I’ll have the luxury of bathing.

After her bath, Neomee
changed quickly into her new white gown
.  It exactly matched
her old gown except the new one
was a pristine white
, free of the dirt that
had
tinged her old gown
to more of
a cream color
ed hue
. 

She
unbraided her flowing black locks and ran her fingers through her hair in an effort to brush her
waist length
mane.  Satisfied, she
quickly re-braided her hair, folded her old gown and placed it under one arm
as she exited the slave’s quarters.

The temple would be home to hundred
s of guests
and e
very temple slave was assigned multiple tasks for the evening.  Even slaves from the town and outlying villages had been loaned to the temple for the great festival. 
Neomee’s hope was that in the mass confusion and raucous celebration that
a
lone missing slave would go unnoticed
long enough for her to put great distance between herself and the town.
 

She couldn’t help but remember Bray’s odd threat. 
All
my
plans are ruined if
he
intentionally
seeks
me out. 
If he cannot find me, perhaps
he’ll think I’m hiding from him and will let it be.
 

The temple and town were both already filled with more people than Neo
mee had ever seen in one place, and as she made her way down the crowded hall to the garden, she had to sidestep multiple guests
and ornately dressed Cats
to avoid collision.
  Head bowed, eyes cast downward, she traversed the corridors quickly.
 

Approaching
the
garden cautiously
,
she stopped
at the door to peek a
round the corner into the open area
. 
Sh
e sighed her relief to find the
plots
empty.
 

She
crossed the
garden to a
large thick
shrub on the farthest wall
then
scanned
her surroundings
and the wall one last time to ensure there were no witnesses.  Satisfied that she was alone, Neomee crouched behind the shrub and pulled her food cache
from under its lush green leaves.  Unfolding her old gown, Neomee loaded it with the
fruits, nuts, vegetables, and dry meat that
she’d been hoarding
before she
topped her gown with
a small calf skin water bag she’d managed to
steal from one of the Cats
when
he’d dropped it
as he carried
a slave out of the garden for some primal pleasure. 

She quickly
folded her gown around her contents and carried it like a sack.
Standing, she scanned the garden again.  Empty.  Funny,
she could feel the fine hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.  It felt like she was being watched, but she saw no one. 

Paranoid
,
she chided her
self. 
Get moving girl. 
Exiting
the garden, Neomee made her way quickly back down the crowded corridor, her eyes on the ground.  Music drifted through the temple from the altar room.  The festival had officially begun. 

As
Neomee passed a mixed group of n
oblemen and Cats, one of the noblemen grabbed her arm, “Beautiful woman, what is the hurry.  Come, stay, play awhile.”

Neomee kept her eyes on the ground, her arms firmly wrapped around her make shift sack, “Sorry Master, I am on a mission for the Prie
st.  Please forgive me.”  She
made to pull away, but the nobleman was not ready to let her go.

“Surely, we
can find another to handle the P
riest
’
s mission.”  The nobleman grabbed another slave as she walked by, “You’ll do nicely, take this slave
’
s package and deliver it where it needs to go.”  The other slave made to grab Neomee’s sack, but Neomee
jerked out of the
nobleman
’s grasp
and began to quickly walk away
as she lied
, “I’m sorry Master.  The matter for the Priest is
of utmost urgency
. I was told it could be trusted to no one else.”

Stunned, the noblemen star
ed after her.  As she departed, Neomee heard one of the Cats laugh, “Let her go.  Take this one instead.”

Neomee looked back to see the Cat rip the gown from the slave and shove her into the nobleman’s greedy arms.

Amon, I am sorry sister.

Neomee ducked
around
drunken
revelers and tried to avoid Cats at all costs.  Thanks to the Prince Cat, she knew they could smell her fear if she got too close.  Noblemen, noble
women, Cats, scribes, Priests, half naked women both slave and of rank lined the halls.  The closer Neomee got to the door that led to the lower catacombs, the faster her heart raced.  Her plan was to sneak down to the maze of catacombs
and to follow
the tunnel that led dir
ectly under the garden to the fie
ld just beyond the temple wall. 

She
only knew of the tunnel
s
from talk she’d heard
among
the Cat’s who lounged as she’d worked in the garden.  According to the Cats,
the t
unnel that led under the garden
was the only lower tunnel that led out of the temple. 

Finding the door, Neomee’s sandaled fee
t
crunched on the sand covered stone steps as she descended into
the lower catacombs
. 

Few candles
illuminated the darkness and it
slowed her progress significantly.  Neomee didn’t know where her escape tunnel lay, but she knew the general direction. 

She
was startled right away by a Cat that stepped out of the darkness to cut her off.

“I was hoping the slaves would begin to come down soon to play.”  The Cat purred as he ran a hand down her hair and pulled her into him.

“I didn’t…I’m not…Master I am not her
e
for…
that
.”

The Cat leaned down, a wicked smile da
ncing on his lips.  Neomee star
ed at him i
n shock.  Just as the Cat was about to
speak, he quickly looked over Neomee’s shoulder then dropped his hands, stepping out of her path.  Neomee
quickly
looked
back
over her shoulder and saw nothing.

“On your way.” The Cat demanded
still looking over her shoulder
.

Neomee didn’t wait for a second chance, she quickly fled.
She
ran the length of the corridor,
unable to
shake the feeling that her entire escape was being witnessed. 
She prayed the eerie feeling was the result of the
Cats’
presence in the catacombs
;
regardless, she wasn’t going to back out of her plans now. 

She
continued running down corridors, slowing momentarily here and there
to
turn
down
hallways
she was certain led to the path she sought. 

Exhausted,
she
stopped in a
particularly
dark corridor and
fell back against the wall, sliding down its face with her package clasped tightly to her chest.  She concentrated on slowing her breathing as she eyed her surroundings. 
Her
mouth dropped open as she saw moonlight shining down
at the furthest end of
the long
hall
. 

Yes!  Almost there.
  Neomee quickly rose from her huddled position and
sprinted
down the corridor
,
eyes sh
ining
with
barely controlled
excitement. 
I can’t believe it.  I did it!  I did it!