Beasts of New York

Chapter 2 - The Ocean Kingdom

The Beach

Patch was awoken by the rattling sound of wind in the dry dune grass. The sun on his face was warm, for the first time since winter had begun, and the beach was swept by a wind so strong that it lifted little tendrils of sand above the ground. The grass around him was like none he had ever seen before: golden and brown, wide-stalked, the roots of its blades matted and woven together like an enormous spiderweb sunk into the sand.

He was weak from his wounds, and cold, and starving, and desperately thirsty. But there was no food or water on the beach. All he smelled was salt air and dry grass. He walked inland, moving slowly, so feeble that it was difficult to ascend the sandy dunes. He had to rest for some time after climbing the small wire fence he came across, a fence he would normally have bounded over without thinking. Patch knew as he limped forward that if danger found him he would not be able to run away.

As he continued inland the grasses grew thicker and were joined by bushes and vines. He came across a vine with shining leaves and bright, tasty-looking berries – but its smell made his tail stiffen, and he steered around it. Where the sand turned into earth, the tall grasses were topped by clumps of seeds, and he tried to eat some from a fallen stalk, but after a few bites he realized they might fill his belly but they had no sustenance. Some patches were damp with dew, but it was not enough to slake his thirst.

Then the wind changed, and he smelled two things. Fresh water, and a cat.

Normally Patch would have avoided the cat-smell. Cats were bigger and faster than squirrels, and far more vicious and dangerous; and while birds, mice and rats were their preferred prey, squirrels were not so different. But there was fresh water near this cat – and, too, cats often lived near humans, and Patch thought he was more likely to find food in human lands than in this desolate wilderness.

He changed direction and moved upwind, following the smells, until he crested a bushy ridge and saw a blocklike concrete structure mostly buried in the next ridge of sandy earth. Part of its flat roof protruded, and in that corner was a depression full of rainwater that smelled stagnant but drinkable. The cat-scent was stronger than ever.

Patch approached with caution, but went unchallenged as he quenched his thirst. At first he supposed the cat had just left. But when he descended the ridge, he saw a large hole, human-made and big enough for a dog, in the side of the concrete block; and just inside, barely visible, the silhouette of a small cat.

Patch froze.

‘Who are you that dares disturb me?’ the cat demanded. Its fur was bristled, and it stank of rage and fear.

‘I am Patch son of Silver, of the Seeker clan, of the Treetops tribe, of the Center Kingdom,’ Patch said. ‘Who are you that asks?’

The cat took two stalking steps out into the light. She was all black but for the two green eyes that stared at Patch with haughty contempt. ‘My name is Zelina,’ she said, ‘and I am the Queen of All Cats.’

The Queen of All Cats

‘Pay no heed to my unfortunate surroundings,’ Zelina said. ‘I have been tricked, abused, betrayed and exiled. My throne has been stolen from me. But a throne does not make a queen. I will die here in this broken shell of a ruin, but I will die a queen.’

After a moment Patch said, ‘Is there any food near here?’

‘No. Three days I have been without food, Patch son of Silver, ever since I was betrayed. I will starve here, and I will die.’

‘But you can get food here,’ Patch objected. ‘You’re a cat. You can catch birds. I’ve seen sparrows and starlings in the bushes.’

‘Catch a bird?’ Zelina asked, offended. ‘And eat it with ... with feathers and bones and blood? I, the Queen of All Cats? Don’t be ridiculous.’