By Maus

It started as a small annoyance that crept into his dreams like the buzzing of a summer fly on the window screen. Muscles twitched the corner of his eyes as he tried to slip back into a memory of new grass at his feet and the warmth of the sun on his back. But the annoyance was still there and growing stronger. With a sigh of resignation he got to his feet, stretching up on his toes and arching his back, his eyes still closed in a last futile effort to hold on to the peace of his afternoon nap.

The screen door of the general store opened with the squeaking protest of its rusty hinges followed by the sound of footsteps on the wooden floor. With a grunt, he jumped from the old chair cushion on the top of the case of canned goods to the braided rug that had long since lost its color to time and dirt. Smoothing the fur of his shoulder back in place he sauntered to the open door of the storeroom to find out who or what had disturbed his nap. After all, he owned this territory and it was his responsibility to check out all newcomers who ventured onto it.

Dust swirled in the shaft of sunlight streaming in from the store's small front window. Sitting in the shadows he heard the voice of his current benefactor, an elderly Indian man who had bought the general store twenty-five years before when word had gotten out that its previous owner was leaving due to the lack of tourists he had hoped would come to the area to see the rock paintings and caves discovered by archaeologists from the state's university. For the local sheep herders, closing the store would mean the return of a thirty mile trip into town to buy groceries and supplies. So, while business at the store would never be extremely profitable, it would be steady. Standing on the other side of the counter was a tall man carrying a pack over one shoulder. His denim clothes were dust covered.

"The place you're talking about is eight miles from here. You stay on the main road and take the second left. Don't expect another road, it's only a trail. Follow it. When you get to the abandoned hogan, leave the trail and make a straight line to the mountains." The old man paused for a moment. "Are you planning to be out there by yourself?"

The newcomer shifted his position slightly. "Is there a problem?"

"No, no. Not if you know the land around here. We've got kids who go out by themselves for days at a time to those mountains. But they were born and reared here. They've been taught how to survive out in the dessert since they were old enough to crawl around. This time of year the days are very hot and the nights are very cold. And there's little water."

"I'll be all right. I've had a lot of experience living outdoors, especially in deserts."

The old man stood quietly for a moment, assessing the stranger. He reached under the counter and retrieved an open pack of cigarettes. Pulling one out for himself he offered the pack to the stranger, who smiled and shook his head. With a slight shrug, the old man replaced the cigarette pack and walk around the counter.

"I'll get you some provisions for the trip. There's cold drinks in the icebox back by the storeroom," he said over his shoulder.

The stranger stood by the counter for a moment, then walked to the back of the store. He stopped when he saw the large cat crouching in the shadows the storeroom. For a long moment, the two regarded each other, the tall man's blue eyes locked with those of the cat. The cat shook his head and growled softly from deep within his chest.

So, you are the one who was watching me. Images and thoughts formed in the cat's mind, much to his consternation.

I am the one. And what are you? I can see that you are not one of my kind, but neither are you one of them. The cat formed his own images of people he had seen at the store and in his travels.

I am known as Bennu. And you are wrong, I am very much like the humans you have known, in many ways.

And in many ways --- not!

"I see you've met the cat," the old man said as he stood beside Bennu. "He must be very interested in you. Usually he stays out of sight when there are people in the store, especially children. I guess wherever he was before he came here he was hurt by someone. So now he has little use for people."

"But he stays here?" Bennu asked has he walked with the old man to the counter to pay for his supplies.

"It's a mutual arrangement. He comes and goes when he wants and takes care of the rodents. I keep a bowl of water out for him and respect his independence."

Still crouched by the storeroom door, the cat watched the stranger who called himself 'Bennu' place the items on the counter in his pack, then shoulder the pack and thank the owner of the store before opening the screen door to leave. With a sudden impulse, the cat silently rose to his feet and dashed to the small opening in the back wall of the storeroom. He followed the wall of the building as he made his way to the front corner, then sprinted underneath the old man's truck. From a vantage point near the front tire, the cat hugged the ground and watched the tall man leave the store and walk away along the road in the direction of the line of dark mountains. At the thought of the mountains, the cat growled, his tail whipping violently in the dirt like an angry snake.

*********

The stars were brilliant in the late night sky with the ribbon of the Milky Way stretching clearly from one horizon to the other. Huddled under a scrubby bush, the cat was motionless, save for the slight twitching of his ears. Several feet in front of him a kangaroo rat was busily searching the sparse grass for seeds, oblivious to the threat staring at him. Bunching the muscles of his legs, the cat prepared to spring just as a sudden wind kicked up the dust. The kangaroo rat scurried away from the grass and the cat, caught off guard by the blowing sand and grit, gave chase. It was the rodent, this time, who had the advantage of distance. Disgusted, the cat gave up. He stared after the kangaroo rat, which disappeared into a pile of old boards and debris. Sitting down the cat licked his front leg. There was nothing like missing such easy prey to start off a night of hunting!

Another gust of wind sent more dust up into the air. Over the mountains, sheet lightening suddenly flashed. The cat paused in his grooming and stared up at the dancing light. Something was very wrong over there, he could sense a growing evil, a malevolence unlike the threat of coyote or Man with which he was familiar. This was far greater. The fur at the nape of his neck bristled and a soft yowl rose from this throat. He had always been aware of the darkness that existed somewhere in the direction of the mountain range, but this was by far greater than anything he had sensed before. An enemy lurked out there, something counter to the natural order of his world, something that taunted him. Pacing slowly, his whiskers trembling, the cat muttered and hissed. Another flash of light snaking across the sky stopped him in his tracks. With a cry of anger, the cat set off in an easy trot toward the dark form of the mountains.

*********

Bennu spent a restless night at a rock formation near the caves. A small fire built to keep back the cold had flickered feebly, its light casting bizarre shadows on the geometric shapes and surreal animals carved and painted on the rocks around him. Later that night, the sheet lightening had added to the sense of foreboding emanating from the place.

The following day dawned with only a few wispy clouds to the west. The sun rose swiftly and with it the cold of the previous night was quickly replaced with the dry heat of the day. By midmorning the sky had taken on a pale blue color and no clouds could be seen anywhere. Bennu took in the early morning sunlight, preparing himself for a day of searching the cliffs and caves for some message from his past and, perhaps, some sign of Mira's resting place. Shouldering his pack, he began the slow climb to the first of the many caves hidden within the crumbling face of the mountain.

By late afternoon he had reached what he decided would be the last cave. Four others, while containing interesting glyphs and designs, had been barren of any signs of his people or any indication that might lead him to believe the original inhabitants of this area had been aware of an event outside of their normal daily existence. He picked up a small stone and turned it over absently in his hand as he surveyed the yawning fissure in the rocks. As with the others, there was nothing remarkable in its appearance of this cave save for a few faded paintings on the few smooth rock faces. As he approached the entrance, he noticed that one of the paintings, while faded and pocked from blowing sand was that of a large bird. With growing interest, Bennu climbed to get a better view of the image. Gently, he ran his finger along the outline of the figure. This was definitely not one of the representations of the thunderbird commonly found amid the petroglyphs in the region. Instead, some distant artist had painted a stylized representation of an eagle emerging from a solar symbol, its head thrown back to view a cluster of star symbols above its head. Nearby were additional solar and lunar symbols. Bennu paused for a moment at the entrance of the cave. Despite the unease of the previous night, he could sense nothing dangerous about this cave or the surrounding area. With one last look at the sun near the western horizon, he stepped into the beckoning darkness.

*********

The cat had reached the foot of the weathered mountains by late afternoon. The pads of his feet were sore and his muscles protested every step, but he forced himself to continue on, picking his way over the loose rocks to the base of the fractured cliff walls. After several long minutes of searching, he found the small puddle of water in one of the cracks. It was not much, but it would carry him through. He scanned the surrounding rocks and cliffs. Somewhere the enemy slept, waiting for the night. Of this, he was quite certain. For now there were no trails to follow. There was nothing for him to do except rest and wait.

*********

Inside of the cave, the floor sloped gently downward several hundred feet before opening into a large room. Using a flashlight he carried with him, Bennu surveyed the walls and ceiling. Large stones had been arranged in a circle around an open central area of the floor. Along the walls at intervals were dark marks from the soot of torches used to illuminate what must have been a central meeting place or ceremonial chamber. With one hand, Bennu felt along the wall as he walked around the perimeter of the room. As he reached the side opposite of the entrance, he felt the texture of the rock wall change for a few feet. Backtracking, he examined the wall more closely. What appeared to be rock was actually hardened mud covered with a thick veneer of rock dust and grit. Etched into the rock to the left of the false wall was a faint outline of a solar symbol, and to the right was a lunar symbol. There was no doubt that something of great importance had been very carefully hidden from casual view.

Taking a few steps back, Bennu faced the false wall for a moment before extinguishing the flashlight and clipping it to his belt. The darkness was total, yet he was very much aware of the mystery in front of him which seemed to emanate an aura of power. Touching the golden amulet he wore, he concentrated his will on the wall, then raising his hand sent a bolt of power that crumbled the hardened mud seal and sent up a billowing cloud of dust. A sudden rush of cold, dank air blew out from the opening. Unclipping the flashlight and aiming its beam at the new opening in the wall, Bennu waited for the dust to settle. After several moments he moved cautiously into the narrow tunnel.

Unlike the natural entrance into the cave, this tunnel had been carefully constructed, its walls smoothed and decorated with celestial and earth symbols. The power he had been aware of in the main chamber continued to grow in strength. Bennu followed it, drawn inexplicably toward its source as around him the air continued to grow colder.

*********

It was an hour past sunset. Standing within the entrance of the cave, the large cat reached out with his senses into the darkness before him. Yes, this was the place where the enemy rested, this was its lair. Common sense and thousands of years of his species' instincts told him that entering the unfamiliar home territory of an enemy was, at best, suicidal. He twitched the end of his tail nervously.

But this was no ordinary adversary. An owl would take a kitten if it got the chance and a coyote would kill an unwary adult. Neither would kill off all of the cat-kind. That was counter to the balance of things. This malevolence would destroy everything, even the very world in which all things existed, if it could. That was its nature, which it flaunted with demented arrogance. He knew these things - and it enraged him. If this darkness was determined to undo the laws known to all living things, he must be equally determined to prevent it from happening by using all of the powers and skills the Creator had granted his kind.

The cat began his hunt, stalking silently into the cave.

*********

Bennu stood before a large stone alter set in the center of a chamber slightly smaller than the main chamber he had left. His attention was riveted to the sight directly in front of him. High on the far wall was the same image of the eagle and solar symbol he had seen outside of the cave. Preserved from deterioration by the cold dry air and darkness of the cave, the painting caught in the beam of his flashlight glowed with vivid black, ochre, white, and blue. Mica fragments had been mixed with the pigments, causing the design to sparkle with the movement of his flashlight. No doubt in the flickering light of torches the painting would have appeared to be alive. Surely, this sign had been left for him!

He walked slowly around the alter, playing the flashlight beam down from the painted image. A large shadow formed across a portion of the lighted wall and he aimed the beam toward its source, then quickly took a step back. Sitting almost four feet high, a life-like stone statue of a snarling wolf-creature glared into the beam of light. The body was massive and powerful, but the head had an almost cadaverous appearance and the eyes, inset with quartz, reinforced its demonic presence. Confused by the combination of the benign phoenix-like symbol with the malevolent statue, Bennu turned back to the alter. For the first time he noticed the channel carved into the sloping surface and the clay pot positioned directly below the end of the channel. Grotesque parodies of humans and animals were carved into the stone base, dominated by images similar to the wolf statue. With a growing dread, Bennu realized that this had been a sacrificial chamber...and it had been sealed for a reason.

He quickly moved toward the tunnel and stopped. Something stood before him - something huge, dark, malignant. As he backed away, it towered over him, absorbing the light. A low voice chuckled in his head.

"Mira is gone, Bennu. I have seen to it."

"No, Yago! I am not so easily tricked by your lies," he replied, using his growing anger to fight down the fear and despair Yago used as his weapons.

"You are weak in this place, Bennu", Yago replied in a reasonable tone. "Centuries before, while you slept, I taught the people of this land to fear my presence and to hate all that you and your people represent. They built this holy place and made blood sacrifices in my name. While your people's love exiled me to an eternity of oblivion, I was welcomed on this world by its children. Their hatreds and fears fed me, strengthened me."

"And at what cost? Submission to your will, to your demented visions?" Bennu barely concealed his contempt.

"Do you think yourself better? What of the dream of your people to remove the suffering and conflicts of this world -- the very things that brought these creatures from the darkness of their beginnings to the light of the civilizations they now have. How can you be so blind to the forces you see around you, the forces that will lead this planet to a higher stage of development!" The dark form of Yago pushed forward, forcing Bennu to back further into the chamber and away from the tunnel.

"Your vision for this world will be its end," Yago continued. "Without the driving force of wars, hunger, and fears of the future the children of Earth will stagnate. Gone will be the drive to improve their technologies. Gone will be the passions behind their arts. Instead, they will live their lives in a dream of perfection, oblivious to their lost potential. This is the future you offer, Bennu. See it for what it is, the death of a world!"

Bennu, his back against the stone wall, clutched his amulet in one hand. Its cold weight told him what he knew was true -- the little energy it contained would not be enough to fend off Yago in this place consecrated in blood and fear and hate. Still, he would have to try.

"Yago, you have forgotten the most powerful strength of these people, the very thing you tried to destroy in this place," Bennu said. "It is their capacity to love, their energy of creativity, and their innate desire to learn. These things are not fueled by fear or hate, but flourish in their absence. It is the light of their spirituality, their love for one another and for their world, that will help them grow."

With a scream of rage, Yago struck. The sudden force caught Bennu and slammed him to the ground while Yago's cry deafened him.

"I weary of this, Bennu. I weary of you and your self-righteousness!" Yago's dark shadow towered over his prostrate form, glowing a sickly dull red. The light filled the chamber with a hellish aura. Bennu pushed himself up on his knees, clutching his amulet and bracing himself for the next onslaught. He could feel the air around him growing colder, draining his remaining strength. He countered the next blow and pushed Yago back toward the stone statue. Yago struck again, tossing Bennu into the wall and then to the ground. Dazed and in pain, Bennu was dimly aware of the presence of another being entering the chamber.

*********

The cat leaped silently upon the alter. He hissed in anger, then screamed his challenge. Distracted, Yago turned from Bennu and faced the enraged animal.

I have come for you! The cat yowled deeply, his eyes glowing in Yago's red light. Face me now! Meet my challenge!

Yago's form hesitated for a moment, then drifted closer to the alter. "Pathetic creature," he muttered with disdain.

From where he slumped against the wall, Bennu could see the silhouette of the cat's large body poised on the alter ready to leap. The bristling fur appeared to be on fire as each hair caught and reflected Yago's light. Cautiously, Bennu got to his feet. With Yago distracted, he would have only one last chance defeat this enemy. Bennu gathered his remaining energy, centering his thoughts.

I have felt your presence for many years. I know of your darkness. Here you hide, like an old toothless wolf, howling your empty threats into the night. And now I see how truly weak you are, Dark One. Only newborn kittens would tremble in your presence! The cat swayed slightly from side to side, baring his fangs as he taunted Yago.

"Enough! If you are as brave as you pretend to be stand quietly and face your death. I will use you to show Bennu what awaits for him," Yago's cold, angry voice reverberated through the chamber.

Bennu touched his amulet as he concentrated on the center of the stone alter. With an enraged cry, the cat leaped at the dark hovering form and Bennu, reaching out to the alter, released a bolt of brilliant light that shattered the stone like a block of ice. Yago screamed with rage as the alter crumbled in on itself. In a last desperate effort, the dark form struck out blindly, sending rocks crashing from the ceiling onto the floor below before vanishing into the darkness of the cave.

Coughing from the dust, Bennu took his flashlight and surveyed the remains of the alter. Beside the shattered rocks, he found the body of the cat sprawled in the debris, his fur coated with a layer of dust. Gently, Bennu scooped up the motionless animal in his arms and cradled the limp body close to him as he made his way out of the cave.

*********

The eastern horizon glowed with the first light of the rising sun. Shirtless, Bennu sat facing the sunrise, oblivious to the early morning chill. In his lap was the cat. Dirty, bedraggled, the fur along one side scorched from his encounter with Yago, only the slow movements of his chest and an occasional flick of his whiskers provided signs that he still existed in his body. As the sun's rays touched the Phoenix amulet, renewing his strength, Bennu closed his eyes. A soft golden aura surrounding him. With one hand he slowly stroked the cat's body, barely touching the fur. As with Bennu, an aura of pulsing golden light formed around the animal's body and the green eyes slowly opened.

The cat moaned softly. Carefully he stretched each limb to assure himself that he was still alive and in one piece. Sitting up and yawning, the cat looked about as his eyesight grew sharper. Suddenly, aware of where he was, he stiffened.

Ughh! What is this? He looked up indignantly at Bennu, who smiled down at him. With some awkwardness, the cat crawled from his benefactor's lap and took several stiff-legged steps before sitting down, his back pointedly to Bennu.

"How do you feel", Bennu asked, softly. Except for the backward swivel of one ear, the cat remained perfectly motionless. After several moments, his shoulders moved as he gave a huge sigh.

Is it gone? I don't sense it anywhere.

Retrieving his shirt, Bennu smoothly rose to his feet. He looked up at the cave where Yago had vanished.

I think so. I doubt Yago will be back. I --- we destroyed his hold on this place.

Bennu picked up his pack and slid the strap on his shoulder.

It was my intention to kill the thing, not to let it get away, the cat remarked, peevishly.

You faced something far greater than yourself. Greater, perhaps, than any enemy your kind has ever known or told tales about. You vanquished a great evil force from your territory and survived! Bennu took a few steps, then turned and faced the immobile cat.

"It's a long walk to the store. Would you like me to take you back?"

The cat glared up at Bennu, the sun's light glinting from his narrowed green eyes. Rising to his feet he gave an angry flick of his tail.

I will never be carried --- or petted, or coddled --- by any of human-kind! He glared up at Bennu, then turned. As he walked away he glanced back over his shoulder. Or whatever-kind you might be!

Bennu watched as the cat continued walking steadily northward, away from the direction of the store. He shook his head slowly.

I wish you well, he told the cat. But how sad that you will end your life alone, engulfed by your own bitterness and anger! Perhaps someday you will learn to use the great strength you possessed to defeat Yago to pull down your barriers and open your soul to the love another will have for you!

The huge cat stopped for a moment without turning around, then resumed his slow, steady trek. Bennu watched as the animal gradually disappeared below a small ridge. It was not Bennu's way to force his will on another, he could only teach and guide. Still, he hoped the cat would someday find happiness in his life. Taking one last look at the ancient mountains, Bennu turned east and headed toward the trail that would take him back to the main road. With luck, he would find someone willing to give a ride to a dusty, tired stranger.

*********

Sitting on the park bench, the man looked up from his book as he heard the voice of his daughter calling out to him.

"Daddy! Look! Look what I found!" She moved up the small grassy hill from the stand of trees as fast as the brace on her leg would allow. In the warm spring sun, her long hair caught the light and glowed. As she came closer, he could see her flushed cheeks and her eyes bright with excitement.

"Please, Daddy, please!", she pleaded. "Can I keep him? He followed me all the way from the swings. I think he likes me!" She pointed toward the trees.

As the man watched, a huge form emerged from the shadows, walking steadily toward the little girl. As it came closer, he realized that it had to be the largest tabby he had ever seen in his life. Each powerful step was slow and deliberate, its green eyes fixed on the two humans -- one apprehensive and the other giggling with delight.

The cat continued to approach. Then with a mutter of disgust and a soft curse for the man named Bennu, the cat slowly lowered himself to the ground and rolled over on his back, his belly toward the sun.

And he began to purr.