The Cat Who Knew How to Cry

12. DOOMED TO LIVE

"Agir IX, the Liberator. Creator of the Curtain," Aniallu read in a loud voice.

"He didn't have to sign it. It's understood," Anar noted.

While the other kings and queens made do with identical doors of carved stone, the entrance to the Liberator's tomb was sealed with a magical, coppery-golden wall, just like the Great Curtain he'd created.

"Let's hope this thing only mimics the Curtain. Otherwise, we'll be stuck here a long time," Aniallu put her cheek to the wall, as if listening to see whether Agir were talking in his eternal sleep.

It was less than two minutes before the protective field blinked and went out.

"That's it?" asked Anar in an almost disappointed tone.

"Yep. Even I'm surprised. It was set to allow only your mother in. I passed for Amialis, and there was nothing to it. Simple," Aniallu smiled, twitching her ears pensively, and added, "Only I have a strange feeling that something's amiss."

"Me too," Anar nodded, tuning in to his senses. "Are you sure Alasais doesn't have a problem with us visiting the old man?"

"I'm sure. It's something else."

"A trap, maybe?"

Alu shrugged.

Looking all around them suspiciously, the Alae stepped onto the holy slabs of the burial crypt of the great Agir the Liberator, defender of faith and bane of all non-cats. A foreboding feeling stayed with them, although they didn't run into any unpleasant surprises, and soon the dark passageway led the tailed pilgrims to the spacious quarters of the sepulchral chamber.

Its walls, floor and high ceiling were hidden under whole tiles of black Darlaron marble. In the center, on a platform framed by a sloping stone staircase, the Liberator's sarcophagus shone with a pale golden glow. It was an unusual rectangle shape. Evidently, in his profound humility, Agir had wished to be buried in his bipedal form. Behind the coffin, two glossy triangles of translucent green stone sat evenly – placed a few paces apart and facing one another at right angles. This was a stylized representation of cat's eyes, symbolizing the goddess' all-knowing nature and her eternal watch over the Rual people. The passage between them served as an invisible door through which the soul of the legendary ruler was said to ascend to Briaellar...

"Exactly as the cannons say," Aniallu was impressed.

"Not exactly," Anar let out a flabbergasted sigh. "Look at the wall!"

Alu looked around slowly. The black-mirrored walls revealed only her own reflection. There were no drawings, no writing...

"Not a single one of them is a Wall of Life?!" Alu shivered for some reason.

"Exactly. That's a gross violation of all the rules. And they said I was disrespecting tradition!" Anar scoffed.

"Maybe someone destroyed his writing? Amialis?"

"It's possible... Only, why would she do that?"

"I don't know. Let's look in the tomb, maybe we'll find something..."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Anar cut her off. "Something's not right here. You feel it yourself!"

"I do feel it. That's why I want to get to the bottom of it. Are we really putting our tails between our legs?"

"I don't know, Alu. Running with my tail between my legs isn't something I do often, but right now I'd be happy to get my paws out of here. And if your paws followed my paws, that would be amazing."