***
The sound of a key in the lock signalled that Alex was home and Sagira opened her eyes. Her dreams had been haunted by a huge, black cat stalking her soundlessly through a wilderness of smoke and fire. She shuddered.
The apartment door opened and Sagira heard the keys being dropped on the table. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but that seemed to happen more often these days. She yawned, opening her mouth wide, before scratching the edges of the chair as she stretched. Feeling her hips and spine move easily, she was pleased that the medication had worked. She smiled to herself; it was like she suddenly felt young again.
Alex was talking on her mobile as she pushed the pram in through the front door. “… I just don’t know what to do, they said that he doesn’t have anything wrong with him,” she said, tears rolling down her face. “But I can just feel that something isn’t right!”
Sagira had always felt that Alex was more intuitive than most humans. “Yes, exactly,” Alex continued. “Doctors just don’t listen to parents. I felt absolutely crazy saying that Bobby doesn’t cry enough!”
Sagira hated to worry Alex any more than she already was, but she had business. Important business.
So she slowly padded behind the pram, trying to keep out of Alex’s view, inching closer to the door. Hearing Alex put her purse down and pick her keys up again, she waited, just out of sight. She knew Alex would go back out to get rustling bags full of food. She knew that any moment now she would open the door.
She tensed her back legs, slowly flicking her tail back and forth.
As Alex reached for the door, distracted by the conversation, Sagira bolted for the opening. She pushed herself through and, running as fast as she could, she sped into the great outside.
“Abbey!” She heard Alex shout after her.
Sagira didn’t slow or hesitate as she ran for the parked car. Once under its shadow, she hid behind the tyre, wrinkling her grey nose against the strong smell of petrol and burned oil. She knew that Alex would be chasing her soon, trying to bring her back inside and if she was slow, she would be scooped up. Her efforts wasted. So she allowed herself only a few seconds to catch her breath, before she scurried up the curb and into the bushes.
The bushes were the edge of her territory so, years ago, she had explored every inch of them. They were a perfect perimeter because they were very difficult to move in, being almost completely filled with sharp sticks and densely-packed leaves. Yet Sagira knew the path through.
Flattening herself out, she belly-crawled using the gaps around the main trunks. Emerging on the other side, she glanced back and forth to check for any danger.
Seeing none, she galloped across the grassy stretch until she reached the house next door’s back steps. No Bast lived here, which made the territory neutral and free for all to move at will within its boundary. She waited for a moment, catching her breath, and noticed a familiar smell. Kamilah.
Without meaning to, her nose automatically touched the ground trying to find his scent. Finally, her nose took her to the base of the drain pipe; his urine soaked the concrete. She was outraged. Her enemy was trying to take over territory that had remained neutral for nearly a decade.
Furious, she scratched at the cement and metal, marking her irritation.
However, a human interrupted her outrage as they walked down the wooden steps, carrying a large basket of wet clothes. Leaving Kamilah for another day, Sagira moved silently towards the fence. Mustering all her strength, she pushed herself off the ground, stretching her claws out to touch the wood.
Yet, her body was not as young as it had been when she last jumped this fence, and she faltered as she reached out for the top. Fortunately, her claws caught the soft wood and she kicked with her back legs vigorously until she scrambled to the top of the fence.
“Abbey!” She heard from far away.
She half-slid down the other side of the fence onto a paved back yard and instantly her finely-tuned senses detected Abasi’s powerful scent. Her heart began to race because she knew Abasi was a feared warrior, who would defend his property to the death. She had heard that Abasi had even attacked a dog, biting its throat so hard that it no longer was seen on the streets. She had never had reason to cross his land, but now she had no choice.
Taking a deep breath in, Sagira padded quickly across the pavers, her eyes focused on the fence in front of her. The pool of blue water sparkled in the sunlight. She desperately hoped that Abasi would be asleep somewhere in the hot afternoon sun.
Pressing her belly to the ground, she wiggled under the fence, quickly checking her surroundings. A new scent marker told her that she was in the right place. Gyasi’s home. She allowed herself to relax a little. She just hoped Gyasi would see her.
Scanning the yard and house, she slipped through the ferns towards the backdoor. The afternoon sun and buzzing insects made her feel drowsy, but she resisted the urge to curl up and sleep. Suddenly, a feeling that someone was watching her struck her. Sagira snapped her head upwards to see Gyasi gazing with her bright, blue eyes. Gyasi’s fluffy white and chocolate face watched Sagira from above.
Gyasi lowered her head. “Mmurrup?” she asked, through the gap in the window.
Sagira squinted her eyes to indicate that she was a friend, before jumping upon the precariously placed pot plants next to the window. “Meeerup!” she exclaimed, letting Gyasi know that she was pleased to see her.
Gyasi turned around in a circle. Despite her thick fur, she was painfully thin. Sagira’s heart broke as she saw her bones sticking out. Gyasi’s shoulders and hips were far too visible, her spine was a row of jutting bones.
The gap under the window was small and Sagira worried that it would be too narrow for them to properly talk. She pressed her head in the gap, only to feel a fluffy cheek stroke her own. Their minds linked together.
“Little Sagira, why have you travelled here?” she heard in her mind.
Sagira involutarily began to purr. She felt a deep love for Gyasi. “Lady Gyasi, I have need for your wisdom.”
Gyasi squinted and settled down, her nose stretched out under the window pane. “Ask child.” Sagira felt sad as she realised that Gyasi’s breath smelled like disease. This Bast was dying, inch by inch.
“How do I banish a djinn?”
Gyasi’s fur immediately puffed out and Sagira could see that her claws had extended. “Why do you need this knowledge, child?”
Sagira reached her paw under the window and touched Gyasi’s own. Pad to pad. “Because my human’s spirit is being stolen by a djinn.” It wasn’t quite true, but she didn’t want to get into the details of the problem.
Gyasi looked horrified; her tail fluffed out and her blue eyes were wide. “Oh my dear child, I am so sorry.”
Sagira settled her back legs in the basil plant she was sitting in. “Mup?” she chirruped out loud questioningly.
Gyasi closed her eyes as though drawing on knowledge from deep within.
After minutes, her blue eyes opened. “My dear, you must take seven hairs from a Bast who’s fur is black except for one spot of white, then force the djinn to close his mouth around it … this will send the infernal creature back to where is belongs.”
Sagira paused. This information was exactly what she needed, except for one thing. “My lady, I don’t know such a Bast.”
Gyasi squinted her eyes. “Wait here.” Sagira saw her jump off the perch and vanish.
Sagira waited, feeling nervous as she glanced around. She was too far away from her territory, far away from any defensible ground. She noticed also that the sun was sinking and the light was starting to fade. She crouched feeling increasingly anxious.
As the sun vanished, Sagira worried that Abasi would be checking his perimeters again soon. His reputation was of being fierce during the day, but terrifying at night.
After what seemed like hours, Gyasi’s furry face appeared at the glass again. In her mouth was a tiny bundle. She dropped it and
with her chocolate pads pushed it through the window opening.
“Force the djinn to close his mouth around this,” she said mentally.
Sagira opened her mouth to chirrup her thanks just as a human entered the room.
“Princess!” he called, hands on hips. “Dinner … no you’re not allowed outside, darling.”
Gyasi blinked at Sagira. Sagira reached her paw under the window to touch Gyasi. She knew that she would never see this Bast alive again. Gyasi blinked her blue eyes again, before turning around, waving her fluffy tail. Her human scooped her up lovingly.
Sagira picked the bundle up in her mouth.
Now sitting in the dark, Sagira felt the strongest urge to get back home. She leapt off the basil plant and streaked to the fence.
Wiggling under the fence, the sharp smell of Abasi flooded her sinus. She dropped quickly to her belly and tried to worm her way across the paved yard without being seen. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if he caught her here.
Working her way around the first deck chair, her eyes flitted from one side to the next. She froze for a moment. Then she slunk quickly towards the second deck chair, knowing that beyond the chair was the fence.
“Hsssskkk!” She heard from behind her.
She slowly turned around, dreading what she might see.
A huge ginger-white tom marched towards her, his massive bulk threatening her. His scarred face looked fierce, notched ears and chunks of fur missing from his hind legs.
She hadn’t realised how big Abasi was. His muscled chest thrust out in front of him and his fur looked like a mane. His paws pressed into the ground, spreading out as though they needed to distribute his enormous weight.
She froze momentarily, bundle in her mouth. Gathering her wits, she lowered her body in a submissive gesture, squinting her eyes to let him know she wasn’t interested in his territory.
He paused for a moment before responding.
“Grrrwwwhsssskk!” His warning was phenomenally frightening. His huge paws staunchly squared off with her.
She watched with fright as a single claw extended. She had never felt so challenged before. She immediately dropped the bundle.
“Eeerup!” she exclaimed, again trying to tell him that she wasn’t interested in trying to take his territory.
Abasi padded closer, slowly circling her. The low growl continued, like some motor running in the distance.
The fur on her neck prickled and Sagira could feel he was going to attack. Desperately, she looked away, knowing she was running a huge risk. Looking away meant that he could have her throat in less than a second, but it also told him that she completely submitted to his will. Her heart raced.
Without seeing him, she felt Abasi’s huge body move next to her. She tensed as his cheek rubbed against her own.
“Enemy?’ he asked.
Sagira crouched lower, looking only at the ground. “No Abasi, I am just going home.”
She felt the enormous opponent circling her still. She flinched and resisted the urge to run. She would never make the fence.
“I don’t know you.”
“I am Sagira, of the jasmine windows and red leaves.”
As she looked up, Abasi’s teeth were bared. She turned her eyes downwards again. “I was seeking Gyasi’s knowledge, please let me pass.”
Abasi breathed into her ear and she froze.
“I am Abasi of the paved lands and great pond,” he told her mentally.
She bowed ever closer to the ground.
“This is my earth.”
It was the same words she had spat into Kamilah’s mind the day she tore his nose open. Her heart raced, knowing now that he would kill her. She mentally sent love out to Alex.
“Please… my human will be hurt by a djinn.” She threw into Abasi’s mind, filling his thoughts with flame and fear.
Abasi glanced left and right, before curling his lip up. “You fight djinn?”
She nodded.
His ginger-white face frowned and he stepped back, his fur settling down again. He paused for a moment, narrowed his eyes, and finally said, “Go Sagira. Don’t come back to my earth.”
She understood what it meant for him to let her go in this way. If any Bast saw her walk away so easily from this challenge, his territory would be lost. Rumour would run quickly through the fences that he had lost face, and he would have to claim his lands again from scratch. She was deeply grateful, but dared not stay a moment longer to tell him.
She grabbed the bundle and fled over the fence, running as fast as she could. Her medicated limbs clambered under the bushes until she came to her own front door. She could smell her own scent and almost collapsed with relief.
Automatically, she rubbed against the brick to remind Kamilah that she was still a power to be reckoned with. However, as looked up at the front door, she realised that it was shut.
“Meerowp!” she called.
There was no movement.
“Yeeeeooowp!” she howled.
Something moved within and finally the door opened.
“Abbey, where have you been!” Alex scolded, bending down to scoop her up. “I have been so worried!”
Purring, she felt so happy to be home. Her journey had been long and difficult. She tucked the bundle under her paws as Alex carried her inside.
“You mustn’t run out like that, it isn’t safe out there Abbey,” Alex chided her. “You are too old to be running all over the neighbourhood.”
Despite her initial outrage at this statement, Sagira had to admit that Alex was probably right. Underneath the medication, she knew her hips and spine just couldn’t keep up with the battles.
As she was placed on her favourite chair, she hid the secret bundle. Now she faced a new problem; how to force the djinn to swallow it.