CHAPTER 77

"Because he's the Caretaker."

The growl was more of a squeak this time, and she shook her head, fighting her instincts. "I really don't know why I keep doing that, I swear."

"Oh, I know. You can't lie to me, not for another few hours, anyway," Ratu responded.

"I can't?"

"No, you can't. When you took your medicine, I cast a spell on you to calm you down and keep you honest. You see, your appearance caused quite a commotion, and I needed to make sure you weren't a threat before taking you back."

"That makes sense." However, now that she knew that she had been enchanted, her hackles rose a bit. Something about knowing a spell had been cast on her made her angry, or at least, she knew that it should. It was almost like her brain was busy trying to be two people at once.

"Come with me. And if you see Asterion, don't let him make you nervous. He's meant to scare you, but since the spell I cast is fading, I don't feel like chasing you through the Labyrinth all day."

She nodded and followed Ratu. The passageways were long, but they went through several shortcuts and doorways that didn't make any sense. A golden lion prowled around on Ratu's purple kimono, and occasionally swatted at her hair when it came near.

"What are you?" she asked. "I mean, you can do magic. Are you a witch?"

"I'm a naga." Ratu looked over her shoulder to reveal that her face now resembled a snake. She shook her head, and when her hair passed over her face, it was back to normal. "A snake deity, of sorts. What are you?"

"Um..." She really had no idea and told the naga so. "Do you know what I am?"

"That's open for debate," the naga admitted. "You see, all the evidence points at you being human once, so you can't simply be nekomata, or a cat spirit. They start as cats. My best guess is that you are a human who has fallen prey to a curse or enchantment that has made you into this...cat person."

She gasped and touched her throat again. "Am I going to turn into a cat?"

Ratu noticed this movement and stopped. "No. The method of enchantment has been removed, but may I?" She came closer and ran her hands through the thick fur of her neck. "Hmm. That would make a lot of sense, actually."

"What would?"

"An enchanted collar."

At the word collar, she touched her throat again, her heart pounding.

"Someone did this to me?"

"They did. But it was nobody you are about to meet. Come." She tapped on a stone and it swung open like a door, revealing an ordinary room with wooden floors on the other side.

"This is... this is a house!" When she stepped through, the door behind them swung shut and vanished into the wood paneling.

"It is. I got tired of getting wet, so the rats put it in for me."

It was an odd statement from the naga, but there was no chance to ask about it because they turned down a hallway and were now in a dining room that smelled strongly of fresh baked goods. Even now, the table was being set by a very tall woman wearing an apron. When the woman turned to see who had arrived, she saw that she only had one eye.

"I didn't expect to see you," the woman said, looking down at the newcomer. The cyclops was easily seven feet tall. "I take it our visitor is okay?"

"Better than expected, actually." Ratu pulled a chair out and indicated that they should all sit. "This is Sofia, by the way. She's a cyclops, in case you didn't know that."

While her own personal memory was an aching void in her brain, she did at least recognize the cyclops for what she was. However, she had been staring and looked away, embarrassed. "Sorry, everything is...my name is..."

"Unknown," the naga finished for her, then picked up a pastry with a raspberry filling. "Mike isn't up yet? Thought I heard that he was back?"

"He had a bad night," Sofia answered. "The head injury he got from the gate was bad enough that the centaurs took him and... our other new guest for observation. They haven't returned yet." She shook her head, then shrugged. "Beth filled us in on what happened, and she's pretty upset, but not as mad as Tink or Yuki. Tink spent all morning repairing the electrical panel so I could at least make breakfast, so that's kept her busy. Yuki has been hovering around the centaurs, and I'm sure you know how much they like that."

"Hmm." Ratu tapped a finger on the table. "I think I'll stick around a bit longer. I was planning to just pass along a quick report, but I don't want anyone feisty taking out their aggressions on the new girl just yet."

"That's a good idea." Sofia sat across from the cat girl. "Can I make you anything? Are you hungry?"

Though she had eaten in Ratu's lair, she was already hungry again. "Do you have anything... um... sausage, maybe?" Sausage sounded good, and it made her stomach growl audibly.

"I'll see what I can do." Sofia vanished around the corner.

"Hey, have you seen any of the fairies lately?" Ratu had raised her voice so Sofia could hear her. "I wanted to send a message up, but I haven't seen any of them recently, and they didn't come when I tried to summon them. Not that I mind sending messages by rat, but they're kind of a one-way affair without Reggie to translate."

"Come to think of it, no, I haven't." The air filled with the sound of something sizzling in a hot pan, followed by the sweet aroma of frying meat. "I figured they were bothering you, or the centaurs maybe."

"They'll turn up, they always do, though it usually means they just broke something." The naga consumed her pastry slowly, picking it into small pieces with her fingers and savoring each bite with a smile.