The Other Side of Midnight
Chapter 5
The light was brilliant! So bright that it almost hurt to look at it. Silver-blue and sparkling like frost in moonlight, it was spread out as far as Mistofolees could see.
"What is this place?" he wondered breathlessly as his eyes tried in vain to find both the source and end of the light.
This is the magic Grizabella answered, trying but not quite succeeding in hiding how obvious she thought the answer was.
"My magic?" Mistofolees asked with wide eyes.
Your magic All magic You have always believed that the magic was within you and that is true - but it doesn't come from within you It comes from the life force that is all around you From every living thing around you You are one of the rare few who can use this force and that is the true magic I am here to show you how to tap into this life force
"And that will help me defeat Macavity?" The young tom wasn't sure. He was still very afraid of the physical power the ginger cat possessed.
Yes The force is very strong Stronger than even you can imagine Once you learn to tap into it no one can defeat you
Mistofolees thought about that for a moment. "But what if I use this newfound power the wrong way? What if I use it for evil purposes? I would become as bad as or worse than Macavity ever was!" The thought clearly horrified the little magician.
Grizabella laughed softly. Macavity has discovered the dark side of the force, that is true But if it were thought you would ever walk that path I would not be here You are inherently good young Mistofolees just as Macavity is inherently evil You will not abuse your power It is not within you to do so
"I guess," he conceded doubtfully. The thought of having this much power at his disposal was daunting and he was more than a little nervous. Suddenly, a shaft of white-hot pain shot through his chest. He doubled over and fell to his knees in agony, moaning. He could feel Grizabella's paw rest on his shoulder and the warmth that radiated from her palm spread down his body and the pain subsided.
We must hurry
Mistofolees struggled to his feet and wiped his hand across his eyes, ridding himself of the last remaining traces of pain. He took a deep breath and nodded. Grizabella held out her paws and the light surged around them and Mistofolees barely had time to gasp in wonder before the sparkling light encompassed him.
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Macavity was losing patience. It had been hours since the magical cat had been brought to him and the wretched beast was still unconscious. He should have been awake by now. Awake and pleading for his miserable life. Macavity smiled in anticipation. He loved it when his victims begged. Unable to contain his frustration, he sent his foot flying with a heavy kick at the small tom's injured side. The cat's moan of pain and the satisfying crack that indicated the damaged ribs had finally broken made him feel a little better. It wouldn't be long now. That the conjurer could feel the pain was a clear indication that he would be waking soon.
The Hidden Paw paced away, his mind whirling with the endless possibilities that came from having the conjurer's power at his disposal. His greedy paws rubbed together as he imagined the heists he would pull, the depraved acts of torture he would inflict. Human and animal kind would fear him even more when he was done. There was never any doubt in his mind that the tuxedo tom would do exactly as he ordered. Most cats, in his experience, were weak creatures when truly cornered. Oh, they fought and hissed but once they realized they were helpless they caved, or tried to run, and there was no where to run here. He surveyed the room around him. The old factory was perfect for his machinations for it had many inside rooms from which there was only one exit. This was one of them. It was large enough to give his captive room to scurry away, but not so large that the strong ginger cat couldn't corner him in a second. The walls were made of thick cement block and the dim light that filtered through the grimy windows gave it a certain sinister ambience that suited his mood for these sorts of - he chuckled to himself - interviews.
A small sound from the corner and Macavity whirled with amazing speed. In the faint light, he could see the magician begin to twitch and soft moan indicated that he was, indeed, returning to consciousness. Macavity bounded over to the young tom with a spring in his step as he anticipated the coming interview.
Mistofolees knew it would hurt, but he had no concept of how much it would hurt until he tried to move. He moaned as pain laced through every inch of his body, even the places where he'd not been injured. He was also aware of new injuries, obviously inflicted when he'd been unconscious, most notably the broken ribs. He moaned again and then cried out in agony as someone grabbed the fur on his head and dragged him up.
"Good morning, magician. Time to wake up."
He knew the voice. He'd heard it in his nightmares as a kitten. "Macavity," he croaked, unable to stop the name from leaving his lips.
"I see you know who I am. Good. I would hate to think that my name had gone missing from the Jellicle language."
With a great effort, Mistofolees forced his eyes open. He blinked a few times before his vision cleared but when it did he saw he was almost nose to nose with the monster. He gasped in surprise then hissed as the pain of his broken ribs took the breath away again. Macavity laughed.
"A bit uncomfortable, are we? I can take care of that for you. I can get you help, get you feeling better in no time," he said sweetly.
Mistofolees managed a snort of disbelief. "Really," he whispered, unable to speak louder. "I find that hard to believe."
"Oh, now that hurts. It pains me deeply that my reputation has been so tarnished by popular culture that I can't even been considered kind enough to help a fellow cat in distress." He punctuated his kind words with a vicious slash of claws across Mistofolees cheek. Mistofolees cried out and raised a shaking paw to his face. Macavity slapped it away hard and gently cupped the injured cheek with his own paw. "I can be kind, conjurer, when I have reason to be. I just need to be motivated. Say you'll join me and you'll see what I mean."
The tux would have laughed if he'd had enough breath. All he managed was a harsh wheeze. Macavity laughed, too, then he shook the little tom and Mistofolees cried out in pain again. "I'm warning you, magician, I can be kind where kindness merits but I can mete out pain just as easily. You'll do well not to mock me."
"Or what?" Mistofolees managed after a moment. "You'll kill me? You'll kill me anyway and we both know it."
"That's not true. I don't want you dead. If I had, we wouldn't be having this conversation. No, no, my young friend, and I can be your friend, I want you to join me. You and I would do very well together, I think. Very well."
"No," Mistofolees croaked.
Macavity said nothing, only raised his free paw and a bright flash of red light danced off his the tips of his claws. He fisted his hand, trapping the red light inside his palm, then opened it suddenly. The red fire sped from his pawtips and struck at the helpless magician. Mistofolees screamed in agony as the magical light ignited each and every one of his wounds with a burning evil flame. After an endless minute of torture, Macavity fisted his hand again and the red fire was gone. Mistofolees whimpered as the magical flames lingered for a second on his wounds, then dissipated.
"You see, I have magic, too. Not as advanced as yours but I have it. And I want you to show me how to use it. In return, I will share all that is in my power to share - riches, abundant food, lavish homes, queens. All of it will be yours. And just think, you'd have someone around who shares in your gift. Someone who can sympathize and empathize with your magic. Someone like you."
Mistofolees eyes closed and tears leaked out from under his tightly shut lids. His head nodded as best it could being held by Macavity's iron grip. "Alright. I. . . I'll join you. Just stop this. Please just stop."
Macavity let an evilly satisfied smile spread across his face. "What did you say? I don't think I heard you?"
"I said I'll join you."
Macavity jostled the magician again and watched with satisfaction as the small tom gritted his teeth against the pain.
"No", Macavity whispered, "the other part. The part where you begged me to stop."
A small sob escaped Mistofolees' throat. "Please. . ." was all he could manage.
"Please what?" Macavity was enjoying this immensely. It was his favorite game.
"Please stop. I. . . please just stop hurting me."
"Alright. I will," Macavity agreed, pleased that it had taken so little to convince the magic cat. He'd known all along that the conjurer would cave, they all did after a while. Those that didn't die that is. Macavity released his hold on Mistofolees' fur.
"There's only one problem," Mistofolees said sorrowfully as he closed his eyes and bowed his now free head.
The Hidden Paw laughed, confident in his victory. "What's that?" he asked condescendingly as he ruffled the fur between Mistofolees' ears.
Mistofolees raised his head and opened eyes that shone with an unearthly silver-blue light. "I'm not like you."
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It had taken the Jellicles some time to get themselves ready and out of the junkyard. The cats who'd been away when Mungojerrie had come were summoned and Old Deuteronomy was escorted in to confer with Munkustrap on strategy and give his blessing.
Finally, they left, fanning out so as to approach the old warehouse as unobtrusively as possible. One or two Jellicle's out and about was nothing of note but a great number out en masse was something to remark about so they wanted to keep a very low profile lest Macavity be forewarned of the attack.
Munkustrap and Pouncival rendezvoused with Demeter and Bombalurina just beyond the warehouse perimeter and waited. Demeter stayed close to her mate and every so often would brush her paw against one of his, just to reassure herself that it wasn't her mate facing death inside. Bombalurina sheathed and unsheathed her claws, waiting for the moment when she could revenge her Tugger. For although he was fickle in his affection, and she in hers, they were rather devoted to each other when it came down to it. Pouncival watched, alert and cautious, for the other cats to arrive. Munkustrap was simply still and closed. He knew that his friend might be dead by the time they made their attack. The only way he could stop dwelling on that thought was to shut himself off from everything else but the plan, so he ran it over and over in his mind until every detail was crystal clear.
By ones and two the other Jellicles made contact and were sent to their places. Only Jellylorum, Tantomile, and Deuteronomy had remained behind with the kittens. All the others were here and ready to rescue their brother. Jennyanydots was to wait alone at the rendezvous point with her medicines and bandages. By the time the sun was rising on the second day of Mistofolees' captivity, they were ready.
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Macavity backed away from the silver-blue light. Somewhere deep in the forgotten recesses of his mind, something stirred to life. It took him a moment to recognize it. Fear.
The sparkling light filled Mistofolees eyes and glittered at the ends of his fur. He stood up, seemingly unaffected by his injuries, and Macavity noticed that tiny sparks jumped from claw to claw across his paws. He looked down at his own paws and summoned the black magic he possessed to the fore. His hands fisted and opened, red lightening shooting out at his captive. The fire hit the magician and sputtered. Mistofolees didn't even flinch. It was if the blue light was protecting him.
Macavity then sprang forward, his claws striking out to dig deep into Mistofolees skin. To his very great surprise, Macavity found himself being flung across the room. He hit the back wall of the room hard and slumped to the floor, momentarily out of breath.
"I'm not like you," Mistofolees repeated in a whisper that filled the room. "You are evil. Your magic is evil. You take and use and destroy. You kill and torture for fun. You take the mystical divinity of the cat and twist it into your own perverted image. And you have doomed yourself by your actions."
"Doomed?" Macavity sneered as he found his feet and began to move cautiously toward the door. "I am not doomed. I am revered and respected and I will continue to be honored among cats long after the Jellicles have turned to dust."
"Reviled, not revered. Feared, not respected. Hated, not honored. And you are doomed. Your powers have given you unnatural long life but they have doomed you to an eternity in hell. You will not go to the Heaviside Layer. You will not be reborn. You will burn forever in the unholy fire that you have served. You must be stopped." Mistofolees voice was breathy and loud at the same time. It was if someone else was speaking through the small tom.
"And who will stop me, magician? You?" Macavity was defiant despite his fear. As long as he kept talking and moving toward the door he was certain he could escape.
A high pitched him began to fill the room and Macavity looked around for the source for he could tell it was not emanating from Mistofolees. His gaze brushed the windows and froze. The glass was moving, shifting, vibrating. Suddenly, a great wind seemed to spring up and surround the conjurer. His fur was blowing, his eyes were closed, and then the windows disintegrated in an explosion of glass.
Mistofolees' eyes opened. "Would you care to repeat the question?" he asked with a hint of sarcastic humor in his breathy voice.
Macavity wasted no time repeating himself, he ran for the door. It took him a second to realize, however, that while he was running, the door was coming no closer. He wasn't moving. In fact, he was frozen in place, unable to move even his whiskers. The conjurer, however, was moving. And coming closer. The terrible blue light in his eyes burning even brighter than before. Macavity, the Napoleon of Crime, screamed in terror.
Mistofolees said nothing as he approached. Macavity couldn't even see what expression his eyes might have held, the light was so intense. Then, a loud noise from outside distracted the magician. His eyes flicked away from Macavity and Macavity sensed a loosening in the invisible bonds that held him. He took this opportunity and launched himself at Mistofolees, knocking him off his feet. He took the conjurer's throat in his iron strong hands and began to squeeze. Mistofolees' paws came up around Macavity's wrists but he couldn't budge them.
"Who's got the upper hand now, magician?" Macavity laughed.
The light in Mistofolees eyes flared and changed and Macavity was afraid again. The grip on his wrists changed. No longer was Mistofolees trying to push him away, he was holding him in place. The second Macavity realized this was the second the silver-blue light shot out in beams from Mistofolees' eyes and bored straight into Macavity's wicked heart. The two toms screamed as the power force surged through them both. Macavity began to glow, so did the building around them. Then the old warehouse shattered into splinters and concrete dust. And when the dust finally settled, Macavity wasn't there.