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Sam hooked his claws on the crossbar of the crate and stared at Arthur—who’d crouched just out of paw reach, his sword point on the floor, pommel jutting up at a sharp angle over his left shoulder. “Yes.”

“And this mirror said it saw Diana and Kris pass through the store?”

“Yes.”

“But that it later heard gossip suggesting they had been captured?”

“Recap much? Get on with it!”

“And this…story isn’t merely a ploy intended to secure your release so that you can run off after Diana?”

“No.” In all the time he’d been a cat, he’d never realized just how satisfying a good tail lashing could be. If he moved it any faster, he was afraid it might come off his butt. “Would I do something like that?”

Arthur straightened, reached back, and adjusted his sword.“As I understand cats, yes, you would.”

“But I’m not!”

“And you heard this conversation with the mirror?” Arthur asked, flipping his hair back off his face as he turned to Stewart.

The mall elf froze in mid squeak of a rubber fire hydrant.“No words, sire, ’cause the mirror’s real small and it was down by him, not up with me, but I heard the talking.”

“Hey!” Sam drew the attention of both the Immortal King and the elf back to the crate. “You know I suck at lying. If I was any good at it, would I be in here?”

“You have a point,” Arthur acknowledged after a moment’s consideration.

“I have a whole lot of points,” Sam muttered, “and I know where they’ll hurt the most.”

Sapphire-blue eyes narrowed.“What was that?”

“Nothing. Look, it’s real simple. The bad guys have Diana. We have to rescue her.”

“We?”

“I’m smart enough to know when I need help. You can’t just leave her there! And what about Kris. You can’t leave her! You’re supposed to be this great leader, but isn’t abandoning your people a bad thing?”

“Yes.” Arthur bent and opened the crate.

“Finally.” Sam raced out and up onto a stack of dog food, reclaiming the high ground. “What convinced you?”

“With one Keeper taken and the other gone, the darkside will want to close the segue as soon as possible, before the light has a chance to send other wizards. In order to succeed, they must remove us. They will, therefore, be massing to attack. I have always preferred to attack on my terms, not the enemy’s.”

“I didn’t say any of that.”

“I know.”

“But Diana…”

“Will be freed when we defeat the darkside.”

Sam opened his mouth to ask what would happen if they didn’t defeat the darkside, but he closed it again when he realized he already knew the answer. And he didn’t like it much.

*

“What a lovely cat.”

Dean glanced down in time to see Austin pointedly cross to the other side of the dining room—as far from Meryat as he could get and still be contained within the same four walls.

“I don’t think he likes me.”

“Foolish kitty,” Dr. Rebik murmured, bringing the blackened tips of the mummy’s fingers to his lips.

Trying not to shudder, Dean developed a sudden interest in cleaning nothing off a spotless floor. He was doing his best to be open-minded about this—he was involved with an older woman himself—but he just couldn’t get past the reanimated corpse part of the relationship. When he straightened, all ancient digits were back within the masking folds of Meryat’s cloak and Dr. Rebik was finishing his oatmeal.

“As Meryat would like to remain here until your Keeper returns,” the archaeologist began, setting his spoon aside, “I was wondering, Mr. McIssac, if you could do me a favor.”

Ignoring Austin’s warning twitch, Dean nodded. “I’d be happy to.”

“It’s just I don’t have a lot of clothes with me and, were I to go out to a coin laundry, I’d have a choice of either not washing my trousers or not wearing them while they washed. And they do need washing.”

From what he could see of the cream-colored chinos, that was an unfortunately accurate observation.“I’d be happy to do a load for you. Put everything you want washed in one of the pillowcases and set it out in the hall.”

“Thank you, Mr. McIssac.” He set both palms against the tabletop and pushed himself to his feet, then tucked a hand under Meryat’s elbow to help her stand.

“Yes, Mr. McIssac.” The morning light illuminated the depths of her hood as she turned and Dean got an unwelcome education in what bits rotted away even in a very dry climate. The dark eyes looked out of place amidst the lack of cartilage and fat. “Thank you.”

He assumed she was smiling although the words“rictus grin” couldn’t help but come to mind. “You’re welcome.”

“You know,I was wondering something myself.”

All three heads rotated toward the cat, the new angle throwing Meryat’s face back into shadow.

“Why is it that you want to see the Keeper?” Austin continued, suddenly sitting at the end of the long table. Dr. Rebik looked startled, a ripple traveled the length of Meryat’s cloak, and Dean tried to pretend that he didn’t usually let the cat sit with the breakfast dishes. Not that “let the cat” was in any way pertinent to cats in general and this cat in particular. “She’s on assignment. You could have quite the wait.”