Page 84 of Beasts of Mine

“You know what a map is,” I told Cat, staring at him as another piece of the increasingly strange puzzle fell into place.

You've shown it to us enough times, Cat replied, as though that explained everything.

“That would be a much better answer if you didn't also understand what's on it,” I told Cat, waiting for him to produce something more convincing.

He didn't.

For once, Cat appeared to have no answer at all. Menace started moving toward the opposite end of the wall, and I caught him before he'd made it more than a few steps.

“Oh, no you don't. Nobody is leaving while I process the fact that Cat understands cartography,” I told Menace, pointing toward him as he stopped with one paw still lifted.

I was walking, Menace replied, widening his amber eyes in an attempt at innocence that would have worked better if I hadn't spent the last several days getting to know him.

“You were escaping,” I told Menace, lowering my hand as Cat made a rough sound beside me.

He was escaping, Gentleman confirmed, sitting near the wall with perfect composure as Menace turned toward him.

Traitor, Menace accused Gentleman, flicking his tail sharply behind him.

Accurate, Gentleman replied, meeting Menace's annoyance without appearing remotely bothered by it.

“See? This is exactly what I mean. None of you are normal,” I told all three leopards, waving one hand between them as their behavior became increasingly difficult to explain away. Cat looked as though he intended to answer, but sunlight struck something beyond the wall and caught my attention before he could.

The stone was taller than the blocks around it and partially obscured by heavy vines. I moved closer, careful where I placed my boots, then gently shifted one vine aside without pulling it free. Weathered lines appeared beneath the moss—curves, a long body, a tail, rounded ears, and spots carved into stone.

A leopard.

“Oh, you've got to be kidding me,” I murmured to the three leopards, raising my camera as silence settled behind me. When I glanced over my shoulder, Cat, Menace, and Gentleman were all standing perfectly still. Whatever they'd been bickering about seconds earlier had disappeared, and the change did nothing to ease my suspicion.

I returned to the carving. The lower half disappeared beneath soil and moss, while smaller patterns surrounded the animal—geometric shapes, curling lines that might have represented vines, and narrow marks arranged in rows that could once have been writing. I photographed as much as I could without disturbing anything, shifting position several times until another feature became visible beyond the wall.

A path.

It was narrow and almost completely overgrown, but much too straight to be natural. Worked stones formed pieces of the border before disappearing beneath roots, while heavy vines hung between the trees ahead and created something almost like a tunnel.

The sensible thing was to stop there. I should have marked the location, radioed Mara, and returned with someone who knew archaeology instead of wandering deeper into ruins I knew nothing about. I wasn't ready to turn around without seeing where the path went, though, so I checked the radio signal again, confirmed my location on the map as closely as possible, and made sure the locator beacon was secured somewhere I could reach quickly.

Only then did I start along the old path.

“You can all stop judging me,” I told the leopards, speaking over my shoulder as I waited for the inevitable commentary. None of them said anything. I took several more steps before the silence registered and turned around. The path behind me was empty.

“Cat?” I called for him, scanning the trees near the ruined wall as no familiar golden-brown gaze appeared between the vegetation.

Nothing moved.

“Menace?” I called next, turning toward the section of wall where he'd been standing moments earlier as unease settled in my stomach.

Still nothing.

“Gentleman?” I called for him after several more seconds, listening for any answer beneath the steady drip of water from the canopy.

Nothing.

All three had vanished. Cat disappeared sometimes, Menace disappeared constantly, and Gentleman could move through the forest without making a sound whenever he wanted, but all three leaving at exactly the same time felt different. I stayed where I was and listened. A bird called somewhere high above the canopy, something small scratched through leaf litter off to my right, and insects hummed from every direction.

“Very funny,” I muttered to the absent leopards, waiting another moment for Menace to appear from behind something.

He didn't.