Myka's Tail Ch. 02

"You did well sister, though you really..." she said, not really completing her sentence.

"...had no choice in the matter," said a similar voice from behind me, completing the first Neko's thought in an almost cartoonish way.

I spun and looked at the other Neko, not able to make out her face either, but the two were very similar in size and manner.

"Now it is time to..." spoke the one that was currently in front of me.

"...take your place at Master's feet," said the other, taking me by surprise as she moved faster than I thought possible and closed a heavy metal collar around my neck, the clank of the locking mechanism echoing loud with disturbing finality in my ears.

The moment the metal ring closed I felt a burning throughout my body and pain like I have never experienced before. From the collar itself, chains shot out with cuffs, lined with the same sickly green writing as the stone, to encircle my wrists and ankles. Once secured the chains shortened and forced me to kneel in a posture of submission. My heart at this point was racing and I was not sure what I could do, and then the two Neko spoke together.

"We are sorry sister, but you belong to him now and all of your power with it," they chorused, their voices harmonizing together in an almost hypnotic way.

And then I felt a sharp increase in Kelli's terror and pain that cut me through to the very depths of my soul, and within moments of that horrible feeling it all ceased as if someone had blown out a candle. I knew in my heart at that moment that Kelli was dead and that I had failed her somehow. I was supposed to protect her, my girlfriend, my mate, my love. Her life had been cut short and the only thing left deep in my soul was an aching emptiness which made me want to weep to the stars that I could see above me. The collar that was now around my neck pulsed then and I felt his presence in my mind, like the fetid scum that floats on top of a Louisiana bayou. I wanted to vomit, I wanted to claw my eyes out, but the collar and he would not let me. I did the only thing I could at that point and threw back my head and screamed out in despair and anguish, longing for an end to my suffering that I knew he would never let me have.

I was pulled back to consciousness right at that moment, and the scream that had begun in my dream finished there in our bedroom as I shot up in bed, feeling my heartbeat thunder like a herd of wild horses running through my chest. My scream woke Kelli up as well and she did nothing but hold me silently as I shook from the remembered terror and wept bitterly from the emotions my nightmare had evoked. She stroked my hair and whispered nothing but comfort to me as she let my crying take its course, and waited for me to be ready to talk about what had happened.

"Tell me what's wrong sweetie," she quietly whispered while rubbing her cheek against mine.

"You're going to die, and there is nothing I'm going to be able to do about it," I replied, in a voice that Kelli could barely hear.

"What do you mean, I'm going to die?"

"Just that," I cried as it brought me to tears again. "Someone is going to kill you and use some sort of magic to enslave me, and I don't think I will be able to stop it from happening."

"Shhh, shhh," she whispered, and pulled me tighter into her embrace. "Just start at the top and tell me everything you remember, and what you felt. It was probably just a bad dream, but let's talk about it anyway."

And so I did. I started from the point that I realized I was not in my bed anymore and gave Kelli a detailed description of all that went on in my nightmare. Over the next several minutes as I poured out my emotions and fears to her, I realized that just having Kelli hold me and listen as I dumped this in her lap was helping me to deal with the very raw emotions that I was still feeling. I described everything to her, especially the way the world around was so vibrant and real, almost more real than the waking world that we lived in. Kelli occasionally asked a question or two, mainly to clarify details that got muddled up from my crying, and I got the sense that she was cataloguing everything that I was saying so that we could discuss it later if needed.

It must have taken me more than twenty minutes to purge all of the negative emotions and get all of the details I could remember out of my head. During all of that time Kelli never let me go, listened more than she spoke, and made damn sure that if I felt anything sitting there in our bed after such a terrible experience that it was her boundless love for me. I couldn't help but wrap my arms around her at that point and kiss her within an inch of her life, and then I finally was able to wipe my eyes and excuse myself to go to the bathroom so that I could wash my face and rinse the ashen taste of fear out of my mouth. When I came back into our room I saw that Kelli was texting Cassandra with the phone she had given us, even though it was just past 3 am.

"Kinda rude to text Cassandra this early in the morning," I joked as I crawled back into bed.

Kelli giggled a bit at that then said, "You're probably right, but something about the way that this has affected you tells me that we need to let her know sooner rather than later."

I gave a little sigh at that and then nodded my head in agreement, realizing that if anyone could make sense of what this dream meant, if it meant anything, it would be Cassandra. It only took a couple of minutes to find out that Kelli had been right to send the text because we got a reply that instructed us to meet her for tea that afternoon, and she asked to take some time right then to write down everything that we could remember about the dream and our discussion of it so that we could start with a record drawn from fresh memories.

After I had done as Cassandra had asked and had written down everything that I could remember about my dream, Kelli then turned on one of the bedside lamps before she turned out the main light in the room. She looked at me with concern in her eyes and enfolded me in her arms and gently rocked back and forth with me until I was finally able to go back to sleep. I don't remember how long it took, but she was awake with me the entire time until I had lost consciousness again. Kelli never told me either way, but I also suspect that she didn't get any more sleep that night in order to make sure that I was ok.

Because of her concern for me, and probably from a lack of sleep, the next day it was Kelli's turn to run out of the house, late for her class, and I was able to spend the morning taking a run in the park, and doing some yoga near the fountain with an outdoor group I had found. I had discovered these excursions really kept my head grounded and after my nightmare I really needed the exercise and emotional balance that they provided more than ever.

On a side note, getting into yoga allowed me to discover just how much more flexible and steady I had now become. I could hold poses for much longer than anyone I worked out with, and my literally unreal flexibility was the envy of everyone. It also brought my attention back to a familiar oddity, because like many other people in other situations such as the woman and her son by the train, they did not seem to find it strange that I was a cat-girl. They just thought it a bit odd that I would be there with them, and all remarked that I was the first one they had run into, as if the possibility of running into a cat-girl would actually happen. It was just another in what was apparently a long list of things I would have to tell Cassandra later.

After the park I went home and studied some more before getting ready for noon tea with Cassandra and Kelli. We had only had one other meeting with her since New Year's and that was when she had left us with a lot of reading and research material, most of which I found terribly boring. Kelli, however, had dived right in and seemed to have a really good grasp of things. At least one of us did. Once I was finished getting ready I texted Kelli and let her know that I was headed to the tea house and she should meet me there. Her return text let me know that she would be there at about the same time and reminded me to bring the record I had made of my nightmare.

Cassandra and Kelli were already there when I arrived, and were both seated with another girl. She was similar in age to Kelli and me, but had the same long raven colored hair that Cassandra did and her face had very similar features to the older woman, but that was where the similarities ended. Cassandra, as always, had an aura of wisdom and calm that surrounded her, and she also had an ethereal beauty that few could rival. She was seated primly at the table in one of her Victorian inspired dresses, and indicated that I should sit. The new girl, on the other hand barely gave me a glance and I noticed that she was certainly pretty, but the boots, the tight black pants, the numerous piercings, and her belly shirt that was at least a size too small for her, gave her an edge that shouted "rebel" from a mile away.

Cassandra gave me a smile as I sat with them and said, "It is so wonderful to see you again dear Myka. How are you doing?"

"So far most things have been pretty great. I don't think Kelli and I could be much happier right now."

Kelli smiled at me when I said this and blushed a little as she took my hand and replied, "Yeah, things are really going well, though we haven't figured out how to open the box you gave us yet."

Cassandra waved her hand dismissively and said, "There is plenty of time yet, and you both are still figuring each other out if I'm not mistaken. Anyway, may I introduce you to my daughter, Aliara?"

The girl with the piercings looked at us both and gave a halfhearted wave as she muttered, "I go by Ali."

It was pretty clear that Cassandra and her daughter did not have the warmest of relationships, but when I would look at them I could somehow sense a genuine affection for each other. We spent some time getting to know Ali, and found out that she had just finished her degree in history and was taking some time off in order to study a bit more of their craft with the Circle. Apparently witchcraft runs in families.

"So, you look very familiar to me for some reason," I said.

"Well we might have seen each other around campus at some point," she replied.

Kelli then piped up and asked, "You were at the McAllister party weren't you? Up on stage with Jessica and her group just before midnight."

Thankful for Kelli's insight, I finally remembered that Ali had been dressed as one of the Disney princesses, though the movie version probably did not have quite so much jewelry.

"Yeah, I was. Were you two there? I can't remember seeing you."

"We were the couple that kissed a minute or so after midnight," I said, blushing. "And it was our first kiss so everyone was cheering us on."

Ali laughed then and said, "I remember you two now! The maid and the foxhunter. I gotta say you two were hot, and made a lot of people there jealous. I also remember a burst of magic then as well." Ali turned to her mother and asked, "That was your doing wasn't it?"

Cassandra just smiled gently and replied, "Oh, the totems led me to Myka, but the kiss was all them, as if you couldn't see now for yourself."

Ali chuckled again at that and we all lapsed back into more comfortable conversation for a while. Apparently, however, I was avoiding conversation about the proverbial elephant.

Cassandra finally sighed and said, "So, Myka, tell me what happened last night in your dream if you would dear."

At this Ali leaned forward, showing a great deal more interest in the conversation that was about to occur.

"Well, it felt real," I replied, "More real than anything I have ever dreamed about. In fact, for the first few minutes after I woke up, when Kelli was trying to calm me down, I was having a hard time sorting out what was dream and what was real."

Cassandra nodded and motioned for me to continue.

"I wrote down everything that I remembered, like you asked," I said, and handed over the pages that I had filled with my experience. "Everything is pretty much there, even how I was feeling."

"Thank you my dear," she acknowledged, as she quickly scanned through the things I had written down. "I will get this to Millicent, another in the Circle, who is most talented with things related to the dream world. If anyone can explain what happened, she can."

"Thanks," I replied. "It was so real, and the feelings so intense. I still feel like I'm going to lose Kelli, and that there is nothing I can do to stop it."

Kelli leaned over and hugged me tight and whispered calming words in my ear, while Cassandra reached out and placed her hand on mine and squeezed it gently.

"Fret not my dear. We will have the Circle looking into things and we should know very soon if this is nothing more than a nightmare, or if it is a premonition of things to come. However, I want you to keep something in your mind. If it is a premonition, or a clairvoyant dream, remember that knowledge gained now may allow you to direct the flow of events to some extent in the future and change the outcome in many different ways."

I nodded to her, even though her words gave me scant comfort, and wiped away the tears that had been forming in my eyes. I could figure things out later, as there were a couple of other questions that we needed answers to. Cassandra seemed to sense the change in my demeanor at that point and pulled out her ever present notebook.

"You have other things to ask, don't you," she said, and gestured that I should proceed.

"Well, first, I have noticed that no one thinks it strange that I am a Neko. I get funny looks, and looks of surprise when people first see me, but no one fails to believe that Neko exist, they are just surprised that they are seeing one for the first time. Even at my medical checkup for school the nurse that examined me mentioned that it was the first time she had treated a cat-girl, but that everything looked healthy and she even recommended a special conditioner for my ears and tail."

"That is quite interesting, and certainly worth investigating," Cassandra replied, while taking several notes.

"Also," I continued, "Kelli remembers me before I transformed, and sometimes comments that she likes me better with the tail. And I've talked to Paul once or twice since New Year's and he's asked me if I was having trouble with anyone freaking out about how I grew a tail and cat ears. Apparently he also remembers that at the time they were just part of a costume. I guess, maybe, that people I had sex with the night before I transformed remember?"

Kelli then spoke up, "Along that same line of thinking you should all see this, because I think it reaches way beyond me and Paul."

She then took a newspaper clipping out of her purse and spread it on the table. I recognized the picture from last September, when Kelli and I had volunteered to assist with the campus blood drive and the paper took a group photo for the article. Kelli had thought it was cool that we were in the paper so she kept the article. I was not sure what this had to do with me and becoming a Neko and both Cassandra and I asked her what was so interesting about this picture.

It was Ali that spoke next and asked, "When was this taken Kelli, and when was it printed?"

"Last September. Do you see it?"

"Oh yes, and it makes things much more interesting don't you think mom," she asked as she tapped on my place in the photo.

Cassandra and I gasped as we finally saw what had her daughter's attention. There I was in the photo, right where I should be, with my ears and tail prominently displayed in black and white for all the world to see. It was impossible, but somehow a photo taken and printed months ago had changed and showed me in my transformed state. I looked up at Cassandra and she had a thoughtful look on her face as she contemplated the clipping.

"Could the magic actually be that far reaching Ali," she asked in awe.

"I believe Millicent would also know about this better than anyone as well," Ali replied, and was thumbing through a very old book that looked like it was an arcane note and doodle journal.

"That is probably true, and I will certainly ask her straight away when I get back. Now my dears," Cassandra said as she again addressed us. "Is there anything else you need before I take my leave?"

I shook my head no, but Kelli quickly spoke up, "Would it be possible to get a book or some notes or something on magic itself, how it works, what is involved in the practice. Perhaps some basic text I could study to get a better idea of what is happening to Myka and me?"

Ali looked up at Cassandra with a slight shrug as the two paused for a moment to consider what Kelli had asked. It seemed to come as a bit of a surprise to them, and Cassandra eventually gave a slight hand gesture and shrug back to her daughter, apparently turning over the decision to her.

"I suppose I could make you a copy of my grimoire, here," Ali said. "Though without the magic that I have imbued in the creation and writing of the actual tome, it will have no functionality. In other words you won't be able to accidentally cast a spell from just reading it. The information in it, however, could be written into another grimoire, so I would ask that you safeguard this well if I give it to you. Can you do that?"

Kelli nodded her head and said, "I understand and I will keep it on me at all times, and if someone tries or takes it from me you will be the first person I call. Will that be alright?"

"That will be fine, though I do not think there will be a problem. Do you have an empty notebook, or notepad I could have?"

Kelli looked through her bag quickly, and pulled out a couple of regular spiral bound college notebooks and placed them on the table.

"Will one of these work," she asked.

Ali nodded and took one of them and placed it on top of her grimoire and took out an old fountain pen and ink bottle. She proceeded to draw some strange looking symbols on the notebook cover which she then surrounded by a circle and connected with the lines of a pentagram. Ali then took a quick look around to make sure that no one was watching our table before she placed her hand over the circle she had drawn and muttered for a few moments under her breath.

"Let me see your hand," she asked Kelli at that point.

Kelli placed her right hand in Ali's just before she pricked her middle finger with a small silver looking knife, and then dropped a single drop of Kelli's blood into the center of the design. The ink at that moment glowed with a faint orange light that faded almost as soon as it started, and when it had faded completely the circle and all of the other symbols had disappeared.

"There," Ali said as she handed the notebook back to Kelli. "Sorry about your finger, but I decided to tie the reading of your copy to you, and who you give permission to, and for that I needed a drop of your blood."

Kelli just shrugged as she sucked on her finger for a moment and then said, "Not really a problem, and better safe than sorry, right?"

"Exactly. So open it and tell me what you think," Ali replied grinning.

Kelli did as she was asked and opened the notebook, and gasped. I looked and saw blank paper.

"Did it not work," I asked.

Kelli then looked at me funny then said, "Oh right, you can read this too Myka."

The moment she told me that I could read it the pages filled with strange text and different symbols and drawings. It was kind of cool to actually see magic work like that and let Ali know as much.

Ali shrugged it off and said, "Nah. That was a fairly simple spell. Hopefully you two will be invited at some point to a gathering of the Circle and then you can see some real magic."