Cat and Ghost

Chapter 10

Edwin considered himself someone who kept a cool head in a crisis. He and Charles had faced down demons and sorcerors, murderers and monsters. But aside from the times Charles had been in danger, it had never been personal before. Yes, he'd been concerned when friends both old and new had been under threat. But as much as he cared about them, their peril hadn't stuck a shard of dread deep in his heart the way it did in Cat's absence.

Part of that was the level of the threat involved in this case. Edwin knew as much about the Endless as any well-informed human, but that didn't amount to a great deal. What he did know however, was how dangerous they were. Even the benevolent ones like Death, and to a lesser extent, Dream, had powers that paled in comparison to the abilities possessed even by some gods.

And from everything he'd read and gleaned, Desire was one of the more mercurial and dangerous of the Endless. Still, Edwin Payne was a man of action. As much as he was terrified for his new lover, his first instinct was to do something.

Despite the quasi-antagonistic nature of Cat's relationship with the others, Charles and Crystal didn't hesitate to help when Edwin came up with a plan. So a bit of speed-research, a trip to a magic shop, a stop at a fishmonger, and a little light breaking and entering later, they were standing in front of an altar dedicated to Bast, tucked into the corner of the nightclub that shared her name.

When Edwin had first seen the three-foot-tall golden cat statue, he had assumed it was simple decoration, given the rest of the decor of the nightclub. But then he remembered what Cat had said - that the club belonged to her. It stood to reason then, that there would be a place to give the Egyptian goddess offerings. The club was an actual temple to Bast.

Still, Edwin was relieved to see the dish at the cat statue's feet, and the black candles with Egyptian hieroglyphs on either side that clearly marked it out as an altar.

"Right. Mackerel?" asked Edwin as he nodded to Crystal.

Crystal swung her bag around and pulled out a plastic bag full of fat, greasy fish. She wrinked her nose. "Yeeeah, that smell is never coming out of this bag."

"Charles, would you light the candles, please?" asked Edwin as he opened a tome of Egyptian prayers and incantations that had been reprinted sometime in the 1900s.

"You sure this is a good idea, mate? I mean, summoning gods isn't a thing you should do all willy-nilly." Despite his protestations, Charles did as he was told and located a pack of matches to light the black candles. It was clear from the moment the match touched the wick that these were no ordinary candles. The flame glowed purple, then flicked through gold and blue.

"Cat told me that Bast is his mother. The Endless are more powerful than most gods. But if anyone can have a word with Desire without things escalating, it's someone who is a deity in her own right. Besides..." Edwin wobbled his head, "...Bast isn't known for being easy to provoke. There are hardly any instances of her ripping the hearts out of the people who summon her."

"Oi!" said Charles as he stepped in front of Crystal.

"Oh do relax, Charles. If I was truly concerned, I would have told Crystal not to come. Besides, I'm the one actually doing the summoning. This should be perfectly safe."

It was not, in fact, perfectly safe. But in Edwin's estimation, it was worth the risk.

"Crystal, if you please. Lay the mackerel in the offering dish," said Edwin as he scanned the text until he found the passage he was looking for.

Crystal tore open the plastic bag. She made a face as she gingerly pulled a shiny and fat fresh fish, about the size of a hand out of it. She draped three of them, one by one into the offering dish, then shuddered and then ducked behind the bar to throw out the bag and give her hands a quick rinse. "Next time, someone else is on fish duty."