UnFamiliar Pathways

  By Taki Drake

  A Familiar Magic Story

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Legal Stuff

  Dedications

  Chapter 1 – Cramming for a Test

  Chapter 2 – Those Left Behind

  Chapter 3 – No Place at Home

  Chapter 4 – Household Spirits

  Chapter 5 – On to Paris

  Chapter 6 – Testing the Water

  Chapter 7 – Unexpected Passengers

  Chapter 8 – Aura of Horror

  Chapter 9 – Sick Realization

  Chapter 10 – Predators

  Chapter 11 – Taking a New Road

  Chapter 12 – Visions of Possibilities

  Chapter 13 – Realizations

  Chapter 14 – Journeymen

  Chapter 15 – Sending a Call

  Chapter 16 – Getting Ready

  Chapter 17 – Departure Day

  Chapter 18 – Added Protection

  Chapter 19 – Not According to Plan

  Chapter 20 – Ordered Movement

  Chapter 21 – Teamwork

  Chapter 22 – Babies are Work

  Chapter 23 – Morning Surprise

  Chapter 24 – Painful Progress

  Chapter 25 – Confrontation

  Chapter 26 – Resupply and More

  Chapter 27 – Feint and Rescue

  Chapter 28 – Mistaken Complacency

  Chapter 29 – Opposites Attract

  Chapter 30 – Blending Efforts

  Chapter 31 – Folded Travel

  Chapter 32 – Momentary Peace

  Chapter 33 – Merry Meet

  Chapter 34 – Clashing Forces

  Chapter 35 – Shaken Worldview

  Chapter 36 – Distraction and Focus

  Chapter 37 – Plans and Strategies

  Chapter 38 – Fashionable Inspiration

  Chapter 39 – Bossy Deities

  Chapter 40 – Ambushed

  Chapter 41 – Taking Sides

  Chapter 42 – Design Decisions

  Chapter 43 – Feline Fashion

  Chapter 44 – Production test

  Chapter 45 – Unit Testing

  Chapter 46 – Small Field Testing

  Chapter 47 – Expanded Test

  Chapter 48 – Fashionable Protection

  Chapter 49 – In a Strange Land

  Chapter 50 – Mongolian Invasion

  Chapter 51 – Catching Up

  Chapter 52 – Russians are Coming

  Chapter 53 – Gathering

  Chapter 54 – Falling Surprises

  Author’s Notes

  Author - Taki Drake

  Keep Connected

  Legal Stuff

  Copyright © 2020 Taki Drake, All Rights Reserved.

  Reproduction of any kind is strictly prohibited unless written permission granted by the author.

  Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Published by All Chaos Press

  Dedications

  First and foremost, this book is dedicated to my husband. His support and devotion have created an environment in which I have been able to dare to extend myself into new areas with the absolute certainty that someone will always have my back. Thank you, John. Thank you for your love and support, and being there in my life.

  This book is also dedicated to the great group of crazy writers at Phoenix Prime. Those supportive, encouraging, and crazy indie authors have provided guidance, encouragement, and participation in my growth as writer of fiction.

  None of this would be possible without the incomparable Ds, Dorene and Diane. Editors, beta readers, cheerleaders, and a bright spot in my life.

  Getting the story to publish is the result of a ton of work from the All Chaos Press team. Thank you Ann and Sha for putting in the effort to get me going!

  My loving thanks to you all!

  Chapter 1 – Cramming for a Test

  Blagogarsk, Tellus

  Exhausted, TT collapsed onto the stony ground and panted, breath burning in her throat and swirling with the taste of sweat in her lungs. She couldn’t remember a time in her life that she had hurt more or been as tired. All the young cat wanted to do, was lie still and try to remember how to breathe. It was soon evident, that was not going to be an option.

  << Come on, TT. We need to move faster! Lives could depend on us, and we shouldn’t be this slow. >>

  << At least, let me catch my breath! >>

  << The Trials won’t give you the time to relax, and you know that real life doesn’t either. >>

  << I am still recovering! >>

  << Welcome to the real world, Princess. Now, get your furry white butt up, and let’s run through this course again. >>

  Slave driver! TT thought to herself. Even though Dascha was her best friend, the Familiar didn’t understand that others might be just mortal. Well, that isn’t really fair, either. Dascha is just trying to whip me into shape for the Trials. After all, we don’t have much time to get ready. And I did promise to help her exercise her skills, too.

  TT wasn’t exactly sure how she had gone from helping Dascha to prepare for the Familiar Trials to practicing for them herself. The white Persian had tried to argue that she was not a Familiar any longer, but that certainly hadn’t worked. Dascha’s response had been short and sweet.

  << You are still a Familiar! That didn’t change simply because you had a creep for a Witch, who repudiated and tried to kill you. It just means that you are unbonded, and that is no excuse for letting your skills deteriorate. >>

  Frustrated, TT had complained in turn to her Uncle Jack, but he had been even less sympathetic. First, he had made a hissing sound of derision and then treated her to his distinctive stare that said how much he was disappointed in her attitude and behavior. When he thought that she had gotten that message, a verbal chastisement was added.

  TT had never heard her Uncle Jack sound quite like he did that day, when he said, << Many Familiars go through periods where they are not bonded. I still consider myself a Familiar because I have the capability of supporting a Witch, but I am simply not connected to one right now. In the future, you may choose a new Witch, and it would be pretty stupid for you to have let your skills wither. >>

  Stumbling over her words in a rush to explain, TT found herself whimpering and whining. Jack listened for a little while before interrupting her, << I know the whole situation was horrible. You almost died and encountered a very evil Magic-user. I also know that you’re scared to touch your skills for fear that exercising that part of your abilities might bring her back. That won’t happen. >>

  << The danger is too high! She found me before by my powers. What if she follows me again? >>

  << Then Zhanna and Dascha will protect you. I will help you. You have friends here and allies. Trust in us, even if you can’t trust yourself. >>

  << It would just be safer for everybody if I never touched my Magic again. >>

  << You can let that disgusting excuse for a Witch triumph and avoid your own strengths to stay hidden. But ask yourself this question. Why would you want to give her that power over you? Does she deserve to destroy a beautiful, strong part of you? Are you still letting her win? >>

  The young and scarred white Persian had no response to that. Neither Jack nor Dascha pushed her anymore that day, but nightmares plagued TT’s sleep that night.

  The overwhelming waves of pain that the Witch that supposedly loved her Familiar had inflicted crashed against the young cat’s subconscious like ocean waves pounding on the shore. A parade of images appeared and disappeared, like a roster of all those that helped her. TT’s sleep was fragmented, and she woke more tired than when she went to bed.

  Dragging her aching body out of the warm bed by Baba’s fire in the new cottage, TT walked to the practice yards that Dascha was using for training and conditioning. Without any further discussion, the white Persian began mirroring Dascha and Jack’s exercises. Neither of the other two cats made any comment, respecting both her presence and her courage.

  << <> >>

  << Focus! You have to focus, >> Dascha snarled.

  TT climbed back to her feet, panting in short little bursts of breath. The white Persian could not remember a time that she had been more exhausted. Dascha was a hard taskmistress, pushing herself to greater efforts and demanding that TT and Jack keep up with her.

  The drill today had been mostly physical agility and endurance. The three feline Familiars had jumped, climbed, swam, and forced their way through barriers and over obstacles. All of them were dusty and dirty, with coats that needed a lot of attention.

  TT knew that hers probably looked the worst. After all, she was the plain white one. Her longer coat and the unforgiving absence of pattern made every single bit of dust show up immediately. A year ago, the Persian cat would’ve cared. Her concentration would have been broken, followed immediately by her plaintive request for someone to help her repair her appearance.

  So much had happened since then that TT felt like a different person. In such a short time, she had been rejected by her Witch, injured to just short of death, recovered, and escaped to the relative safety of Dascha’s home. Looking beautiful was no longer a core part of her personalit
y. Many other things had become more important in her world, and she valued each one.

  Even after finding sanctuary at Dascha and Zhanna’s home, TT’s adventures had not stopped. Driven from the village where Dascha had lived with her Witch, they had taken a strange pathway to come through to a world that looked much like the one they had left.

  There were many similarities between the old world and this one, but small differences continually surprised TT. There were subtle variations in familiar things like the scent of the morning air and the feel of the blades of grass. Even the mice tasted slightly different.

  Surrounded by a strange sense of otherness that TT hoped would ease over time, the scarred cat tried to adjust. Only when her surroundings no longer seemed weird, would she be able to regard this place as her home.

  Whack! A round ball of an unknown elastic, dense material slammed into TT’s side and knocked her flat on the ground.

  << Ouch! >>she cried. Before the Familiar could identify where the ball had come from, it smashed again into her partially raised head.

  Boink!

  << Ouch! >> she cried again. This time as the sphere made a big loop and started to come back to her, TT jumped quickly to the side. Seeing that the spherical assailant was lining up for another shot, TT took off through the obstacle course cursing at the top of her lungs as she ran.

  << Misbegotten spawn of a slimy rock toad! May hairballs infest your food dish! >>

  Every time that she tried to slow down, or catch a bit of rest, the ball would appear again. Hiding from it did not work. Even when she lay out of sight, the blasted thing somehow found her and started to administer its punishing blows.

  Driven by pain and the frustration of not being able to escape the consequences of trying to take just a moment of rest, TT burst through the end gate of the obstacle course, still cursing at the top of her lungs.

  The ball dropped to the ground, unmoving, just short of the finish line.

  Gasping so hard that she could almost not form the words in her head, TT yelled, << What in the names of the seven layers of cold damnation set this misbegotten instrument of torture after me? >>

  A chorus of snorts and strange sounds caused TT to whip her head around and stare over where Dascha and Jack were leaning on each other. The two cats were laughing so hard that neither of them could stand alone. Dascha kept trying to say something, but the overwhelming amusement hijacked her words into strange yodeling noises.

  Finally, the two convulsing Familiars got themselves under control. With Jack scrubbing his face with his paw, Dascha chose to answer TT.

  << You needed a better motivation than all the yelling I was doing provided. So, we found one. >>

  << You? You were the one who set that on me? Why would you do that? It hurts!>>

  Suddenly serious, Dascha responded, << You are just not concentrating. Going through the motions won’t do anything to prepare you for the Trials or develop the skills that you need to survive. >>

  TT answered with a sob in her voice, << I am trying, Dascha. Really trying. I just can’t keep the thoughts of all the others out of my head. >>

  The black Familiar came over and rubbed her body against TT’s side and purred comfortingly. << Tell me about it, my friend. Perhaps, together we can come up with a solution. That would be better than torturing yourself. >>

  For a moment, TT resisted, but then an internal dam broke, and the anguished words just spilled out. << I am worried about everybody that we left behind. I keep picturing them in pain or frightened, and I wake up ready to run to their side. My head feels like it is bombarded with worries. The Witch was already lining up a new Familiar, and it was from my clowder. Is it one of my nieces or nephews, someone without protection in desperate need with no one to help them? The lack of knowledge is torturing me! >>

  Dascha made comforting sounds, and Jack came over to lend his warmth to TT’s back. Neither of the other two cats interrupted as TT continued, << What’s happening to the rest of my family? Will they ever forgive me for not being perfect? What about the people that helped me, are they safe? >>

  TT grieved, her concerns and anguish pouring from inside her to create a caterwaul full of pain and anxiety. The two Familiars crowded even closer around her, comforting her as much as they could. For a while, the only sound was the hiccuping of a crying cat. Even the birds had stopped singing.

  It was so quiet, and she was so lost in her grief that TT was surprised when the warm arms of Dascha’s Witch scooped all three of the cats up and deposited them in the reassuring enclosure formed by her crossed legs. Comforting strokes from a gentle human hand helped to drive the panic away a little more. Reaching even deeper inside of herself, TT pushed more words out.

  << I keep seeing the Cook and the Houndmaster, and all the dogs that nurtured me. Even the horses that protected me as much as they could and the Stablemaster. The two little children, and the Master Trader and his goofy dog. All of those people helped me, helped us, and I don’t know if they are safe. If the Blood Mages were strong enough to make your Witch come here, what will they do to the kind people that are stuck there? >>

  Zhanna kept petting TT, trying to send caring and love through the repetitive, gentle tactile motion. None of the others had an easy answer for TT, but the distressed Familiar had not expected one. After a while, Zhanna climbed to her feet and carried TT back to the sanctuary of her Baba’s cottage.

  The rest of the day passed quietly. TT was exhausted by the combination of training and the release of her emotions. The other two Familiars stayed with her, providing wordless support and the warmth of family.

  Chapter 2 – Those Left Behind

  Blagogarsk, Tellus

  “I worry too,” said Zhanna despondently to her grandmother, “I know that you have tried to see how those we had to leave behind are doing. Have you had any success? Do you know anything that has happened?”

  “Nothing yet. My scrying into that world is getting better, but it’s still very fragmented. I’m afraid that part of my difficulty is the terror that I have in my heart for our old world.”

  “I wish there was something I could do, but Star Child Grace was very clear. I cannot go back.”

  Zhanna’s Baba reached a comforting hand over to clasp her granddaughter’s wrist. Opening her mouth to say something, a sudden flash of light changed the color of the Seer’s eyes, and her expression altered.

  The voice that emerged from the old woman’s mouth was different than the smooth and warm tones that Zhanna loved. Instead, a harder, harsher sound came out, “Beware the changes. They are coming for the good and the evil. Sadness rides their coattails while destruction becomes protection. Love and sacrifice fuel their energy, fearful in its power. You will see arrivals and departures in the days ahead. Take each as if it were your loved ones’ last moment, for they tread an unfamiliar pathway. One that you cannot travel with them.”

  Zhanna gasped in shock, the words hitting her like blows. A split second later, the light disappeared from Baba’s eyes, and the old woman’s unconscious form pitched forward toward the table. Shedding her chair with a force that sent it clattering to the ground behind her, Zhanna caught her grandmother in her arms.

  Responding to the noise, Dascha and several of the Hidden Folk came charging into the room, providing extra support and asking excited questions. Dascha pushed the hardest, demanding across their bond, << What happened? Who was talking? >>

  << Baba had a Vision, and a Power spoke through her. >>

  << Oh, that doesn’t sound good. >>

  << Later. We need to talk about it later. >>

  After a very short time, Zhanna’s Baba roused enough for her granddaughter and the other helpers to get her into bed. The exhausted Seer was so tired that she fell asleep before Zhanna could even kiss her goodnight. Worried, Zhanna looked down at the woman she loved more than any other person in the world and noticed how frail she was.

  “Don’t worry, we will stay with Baba,” said Noma.

  “Thank you. Please let me know if you need anything or if something more happens!”

  Feeling a fog of concerns and worries following her like a starving dog, Zhanna left her grandmother tucked in the bed, watched by Noma, and another one of the Hidden Folk. Guilt and a desire to help fought with the knowledge that she didn’t have to do everything herself.