"Willow's Missing Tail" 8

“It is a new twist knowing Daphne isn’t who I’d thought she was and is in fact, Perfidia’s cousin,” Avery recounted sourly as he sat down with a bewildered look.

“Pris was great at playing games when she was ten, so I can only imagine she’s gotten better at it,” Perfidia added the insight into her cousin's behavior then thought it might not help Avery’s confidence to know that.

“Oh, believe me, I know how good at game playing she is; no surprise there,” Avery grumbled and gave Perfidia a look of determination. It showed he didn’t intend to be bested by her again.

Martha had heard enough about Daphne/Priscilla’s talent; what she needed to hear was a concrete way to retrieve Willow.

“I understand Daphne has an agenda we don’t know of, but she also has Willow. So can we get back to planning how to get Willow out of that building? Then we can confront your cousin, and your ex-girlfriend, whatever name she chooses to go by these days, when we cross her,” Martha scolded.

“Of course Martha, we need to rescue Willow,” Perfidia agreed.

Avery turned to Max and told him to get Thistle. They’d need her on board too.

Max twitched his ears and the cat in question should have answered the call, but she didn’t.

“Go and get her,” Avery told the cat.

Max gave a low meow and slunk off to the find the wayward feline; she had to be somewhere in the meadow.

Perfidia instructed Chaos to go with him and the cat grudgingly followed the other familiar out of the room.

“So while we wait, would you both care to join me for dinner?” Avery inquired as he picked up the receiver on a house phone that sat on a small table next to the couch.

“That would be nice; I’m starving,” Perfidia admitted and accepted for both her and Martha.

Avery pressed a corresponding button on the small phone and called his chef in the kitchen to tell him there would be three for dinner.

“How big is this unseen house?” Perfidia whispered to Martha.

Martha shrugged but thought it had to be grand in size, and taking up way too much of her meadow.

 *

Max and Chaos used their unique talents to scan the meadow for the missing feline, but both were unsuccessful in finding her hiding place.

Max had placed a charm on Thistle that should have kept her within a certain distance, but apparently she’d found a way to dislodge it.

Chaos didn’t have a tracking bead on the feline but he knew how to hide; he was very good at hiding and he knew if a cat didn’t want to be found; it wouldn’t be. Still, he put himself in Thistle’s mindset and decided her best plan of escape would be through the opening that led back to the world beyond the meadow. He ran off in that direction and after a slight hesitation, Max followed him.

They came to the willow tree and both cats peeked under it. They found the opening was closed to them but they could see beyond, into the garden.

Thistle was out there, licking her paws, just beyond the Willow tree, on the other side. She turned her little feline head and gave them a low, taunting, feline meow before she ran off.

Max sat down with a cat frown on his little furry face; Thistle had escaped. He knew this wouldn’t be welcome news to his human.

Chaos butted his head against the unseen exit but to no avail, he could not go through it. The cats looked at each other in silent understanding before they turned and ran back to their humans.

 *

Perfidia sighed as her palate savored the last morsel of chocolate mouse Avery’s chef had served for dessert. She could get use to this way of life, very easily. Having someone cooking for her, like this, would be happiness inspiring.

“That was fantastic!” Perfidia exclaimed, raising her teacup in a salute to Avery.

“Marco is an excellent chef,” Avery admitted as he poured more tea into Martha’s nearly empty cup.

“I have to say, Marco brews a welcome cup of tea too. I’m not sure I know this blend but I taste a hint of lemon verbena, and something else I can’t quite define.”

“That’s Marco; he likes to experiment with everything he creates. Your guess as to what’s in this tea is better than mine but, you should be advised, Marco won’t give his recipes to anyone.”

“Oh, won’t he?” Martha inquired with a twinkle in her eyes.

Avery chuckle and was about to reaffirm his belief his chef would not, when Chaos and Max returned to the room, sans Thistle. Both cats looked troubled.

“Where’s Thistle?” Avery asked his familiar.

Max’s ears lowered and he shook his furry face then he twitched his ears and small map appeared on the table. It had an arrow pointing to the exit under the willow tree in the meadow.

“She’s left the meadow,” Avery stated flatly.

Max nodded his furry head.

Martha put down her teacup and stood up. “We need to go; if she’s in my garden, maybe I can persuade her to help us,” Martha reasoned.

“I’ll have my driver take you to the willow tree,” Avery advised her.

“Driver? I don’t allow cars in the meadow.” Martha fumed.

“It’s not a car actually; it’s a fusion powered…golf cart.”

“What?” Perfidia and Martha said it in unison and Avery had the good sense to look ashamed.

“If you want; I will park it until I leave.

“That would be best and for now you can walk with us to the tree; the old fashioned way. The way best suited for a healthy nature,” Martha insisted.

“Of course,” Avery agreed.

It took them a half hour to reach the willow tree and Martha was the first to step under the hanging branches and the first to discover she couldn't exit; the opening had been closed, even to her.

Martha stepped back out from under the branches and stared in disbelief at Perfidia.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’ve been shut out.”

“How…and by who?” Perfidia queried.

Avery gave a slight cough to clear his throat and when they both turned to him, he sheepishly gave his opinion.

“I’d hazard a guess to say…it was Thistle.”

Martha frowned at him. “That makes no sense. Willow and I are the only ones allowed entry here; how could a sibling have this ability, or the ability to alter Willow's magic?”

Perfidia stepped under the hanging branches to try her luck at leaving but what she saw when she looked out of the blocked exit made her eyes widen in surprise, and her fighting spirit awakened.

“She’s here, out there!” Perfidia exclaimed.

Perfidia’s furious tone made Avery and Martha step under the branches to see who she was talking about. Upon seeing the who, all three sucked in their breath and raged for different reasons.

Daphne/Priscilla was waving to them from Martha’s garden and the sibling cat, Thistle, was by her side purring with delight.

“What are you up to?” Perfidia demanded.

“Me cuz? I’m not up to anything, not a thing; pity you’re all stuck in there; it’s a lovely night here in the garden but it is a bit chilly. I think I’ll go inside and have a cup of perfect tea! Thank you Martha.” Daphne wiggled her fingers in a teasing goodbye gesture and headed for the backdoor.

“Leave my home and garden now, and do not touch my teas!” Martha fumed.

Daphne stopped and pretended to listen then she shrugged. “Do you hear a buzzing Thistle?” she asked the cat at her feet, “I thought I heard an annoying insect but I must be mistaken.” She laughed and continued through the back door and into the house.

Martha was apoplectic in her fury and turned to Avery. “How could you have dated her?”

Avery shrugged. “She wasn’t this prickly when I first met her and, she is rather…beautiful.”

Perfidia smirked at him and shook her head. “Great; so because you’ve wronged her in some way she perceives, we’re all in her vengeful sight…” then she turned to Martha. “Isn’t there anything we can do to get out of here?”

Martha had been thinking about that and she knew Willow had another way out of the meadow, but she never bothered to discover where it was since she only needed the access from and to her garden. Now she wished she’d found that other way out.

“There is another doorway; I’m not sure where it is or where it actually leads to, but its here somewhere.”

“Wouldn’t any doorway lead back to your garden?” Perfidia asked.

“Not necessarily; Willow liked to travel, so where she might have placed her alternate exit will be anyone’s guess. Still, if we find it; it will get us out of the meadow and back out there…somewhere”

“Okay, then it’s decided. We have Max and Chaos to help us and we’ll start looking in the morning,” Avery said with a decisive nod then he turned to start the long trek back, without his golf cart, to his abode.

Martha and Perfidia frowned at his retreating back and shook their heads.

“He may look like a seasoned undercover man, but he’s a bit of a comfort freak isn’t he?” Perfidia mumbled.

“He does like his luxury but I’m sorry, I don’t think I can’t sleep; I need to start looking tonight.” Martha stated with a steely eyed look back at her garden, thinking of Daphne in her house and not liking it one bit!

“I agree, but Avery does have a point in starting fresh in the morning; I’m tired Martha and wandering this massive meadow in the dark isn’t going to be fruitful.”

Martha sighed, she knew Perfidia was right.

They turned and followed Avery back to his hidden house.

*

Max and Chaos had no such qualms about searching in the dark; their eyes were laser focused in the night. They sat down and both cats scanned the meadow in the setting sunlight and then they took off in different directions.

*

Daphne entered Martha’s kitchen with a gleeful giggle. It was so much fun to best not only her rotten ex-boyfriend but her cousin as well. She had nothing against Martha and only a childish anger at Perfidia but, by way of association they had become part of the bargain she’d made to seek revenge on Avery. Seeing the herbs she needed in Perfidia’s store and finding that the garden Max had run to, when she chased him for capture, had held a second familiar, that belonged to Martha, were all just happy paths that crossed, but they were no less fun, and she was having a grand time besting them all.