Alexander the Caracal and the Holy Grail (Sequel to "Alexander the Caracal")

Filcher's Shop

The shop of Caligula Nero Filcher sat in the shadow of Saint Gregory's Catholic Church. That a thief was selling stolen items in the shadow of a church may have seemed odd, but his uncle was the reverend and always willing to look the other way when it came to his nephew, especially since his nephew always gave him the best of his spoils. It was quite literally just called "Filcher's", making it hard to miss, especially since it looked like it had seen better days at the end of the Victorian era.

Filcher's uncle was the Reverend Domitian Skinner and he absolutely hated Captain Smith. The Captain had argued that Merneptah was not the Pharaoh of the Exodus, but Ahmose I just as ancient writers said he was, to which Reverend Skinner had responded by hurling the Bible at him. When he learned that Captain Smith had named Herod after Herod the Great, his response was to attempt to excommunicate him, only to discover that it was not considered an excommunicative offense. He was, needless to say, not the most likable of people, but his flock paid no mind to his less admirable qualities.

"You think Reverend Skinner is inside?" Ian asked, pausing to look at the church with Alexander by his side.

"I hope not, I don't want that hypocrite sprinkling me with holy water again." Alan replied. As the group reached the shop, Alan then uttered: "I can't believe it. How did I never notice this place before?"

"Probably because it had seen its better days fifteen years ago." Gemma commented, walking over to the window and taking a look. "Filcher isn't in there!"

"Any sign of Ahab?" Agatha inquired.

Alexander's ears went fully erect. If Ahab was here, he had to be ready for whatever this ogre was. Moving his ears back and forth, trying to detect whatever could have been Ahab. Sniffing the air yielded no results either for all he smelled was the scent of people, not the scent of an ogre. What did ogres smell like anyway?

"No sign of Filcher either." Commented Alan.

No sign of Ahab or Filcher? Alexander didn't like it. Almost as if they were walking into a trap. Flattening his ears against his skull, the caracal rubbed against the legs of Alan and Gemma, then proceeded to stare at the shop's door. When Ian found it open, Alexander narrowed his eyes.

Hippolyta took notice of their quadruped companion and asked: "What is the matter, Alexander? What do you think you are going to see?"

What his youngest cousin said caused Alan to think. What were they going to see? Were Filcher and Ahab lying in wait for them? Where were they? The door was unlocked and there was not sign of Filcher and Ahab. They had to be walking into a trap, didn't they?

Gemma looked to Alan and said: "You know if this is a trap there is only one thing to do."

She was right. They had to spring the trap.

Walking into the low-ceilinged shop, Alan found himself followed by Alexander immediately, ears once again up and moving back and forth to detect any sounds. Alexander's first instinct was to jump up onto the counter and then look back and forth. He saw many things such a jewellery, canes and busts, but not the Holy Grail.

"See anything, Alexander?" Alan asked as the others entered the shop.

Alexander did not answer with a meow. There was a scent, the scent of a canine, but not a canine like Cnut or Emma. It was anomalous and somehow evil. Was this the scent of Ahab? Was Ahab a canine? Alexander would soon learn.