The Big Meow

None of the toms answered her. Like the others, Urruah was clawing the hyperstrings closer to him in armfuls, as if climbing a tree. They vanished into the spell structure behind him, and slowly, slowly the black gate drifted closer –

Siffha’h balanced, wavered as the strings were pulled under her, and almost fell – then caught herself and took four or five hurried steps up the string bundle again, sinking in her claws, hanging on. The black gate was almost up against the spell-circle’s border now. Behind them, the Leopard roared and everything shook again –

Sif!

She didn’t bother answering Arhu’s desperate shout. Siffha’h ran up the string bundle nearly to where it anchored into the structure of the black gate, near the bottom of the portal, and there again she clung and waited –

The gate’s interface butted into the spell-circle’s boundary… and then, an eternal few seconds later, through it.

Siffha’h spat the little glowing pearl into the gate locus. The pearl vanished into its darkness.

Get down! she yowled, and turned to leap down into the circle.

As she hit the ground, Urruah had just time enough to turn around and leap onto the control section of the spell that broke the connections to the black gate. Aufwi let go the strings he was holding, reared up and came down on the separate section that activated the circle’s protective shield. Then, looking around, Aufwi’s jaw dropped. Urruah!

Urruah turned to look.

Hwaith was gone —

Everything whited out as the black gate blew.

Deeper in reality, the battle went on, Queen Iau and her Mate and children tore at the Black Leopard’s essence, seemingly without effect. That darkness now reared above them, growing greater until one of its paws was the size of the Queen or the Great Tom. Aaurh the Mighty charged It, roaring, but the roar was lost in the earthquake-thunder, and it swept Her aside like a kitten. Sa’Rraah leapt at Its throat and clung there, biting deep, but It shook Her off like a rat. In front of It, Queen Iau crouched down and readied Herself for one more spring, though it seemed hopeless –

And suddenly the whole ground of being in that place flickered, as if a wave of some kind had run through the air. It passed over all the Pride without effect. But when it had passed, the Black Leopard looked somehow less definite, somehow diminished. And a moment later it stared at itself in astonishment and rage, for it was once more no bigger than the Queen.

“So,” Queen Iau said, and leapt. And this time, caught by the throat, the Black Leopard screamed and went down.

The Pride followed to finish off the Queen’s enemy. Squealing in pain, flailing in horror, the Outside One began to come apart beneath their teeth and claws. It shredded away like cloud before wind, in tatters and patches, as the connection to its power was lost. Tepeyollotl the Eater was vanishing now as It had in Its time made others vanish: for it was now just a physical thing. Methodically, tempering Their rage now – for there was no need for it – the divine Pride abolished the Outside One as It would have abolished Them and everything else.

And the floors of Heaven shone clean and empty except for the Pride, who stood panting and scarred on the floor of Heaven, looking at one another.

“My Daughter,” Queen Iau said, “well done. “

“Yes,” sa’Rraah said, “it is.” And without another word she flung herself at her Mother’s throat.

They rolled over and over the floors of existence together, the Lone One kicking at her Dam’s guts and tearing at Her with Her claws, during this one moment when the One might be slightly less than omnipotent. Rhiow, now separate again from the Lone One with the destruction of the black gate and the dissolution of the conditions that had prompted their joining, stood aside on the floor of Heaven and yowled in distress at what she had inadvertently brought about. No, this wasn’t supposed to happen, no!

But the Queen rose up and threw sa’Rraah aside – and as she did so, without warning a dark shape came shouldering past Rhiow and leapt onto sa’Rraah in turn. For several of those eternal moments Rhiow could only watch in astonishment as the Great Tom caught sa’Rraah Herself by the scruff and slammed her down against the dark floor of their conjunct mind, digging his claws in behind her shoulders and pinning her so that She didn’t even dare writhe or struggle to get away.

Out! He yowled.

A moment later, She had fled.

Only then did He look back at Rhiow. Only then did she see the one dark eye… and the one bronze one. She stared.

Queen Iau shook Herself all over, glancing in an idle way at the bright fur on her back, still roused a little with the annoyance of the fight, and then strolled over to Rhiow and Hwaith. Behind her, the Whisperer and Aaurh the Mighty came along like good pride-daughters, already healed of the scars They had acquired in the fight, and looking a little curiously at the Great Tom.

Hwaith in the Tom’s person flicked an ear at the Queen. Madam, he said.