| She did not realize she and the rest of the clan were being watched. A strange commotion awoke Magifra and she leapt onto the floor. It took her a moment to realize that the disturbance was somewhere else. Puzzled, she sent tiny searching fingers from the depths of her mind, looking for the trouble. She saw a startled white cat and her heart stopped. Falbriah! No, it was a smaller cat, pure white, with shorter fur. There were many other cats surrounding her, and the trouble was a large cat, almost as big as a dog, with matted fur, a domed head, and sunken eyes. Though she had never met him herself, Magifra knew the cat to be the enemy to all that was good. Moonlight, don�t fail me now� She shimmied up the curtains and out the open window, scratching her way through the screen. A scream and a hiss pierced Falbriah�s sleep. She jumped up and into an attacking position. Jemima hid in a corner, her eyes wide with terror. "What is it?" Falbriah asked, hearing a disturbance outside. Macavity, Jemima mouthed. "I�I feel so weak," she croaked. Though the words were not spoken, the name filled Falbriah with hot anger and she bounded out of the den. Only pure evil, such as Macavity, would injure an innocent queen. How dare he follow her here? There he was, the devil, holding another white queen hostage. Munkustrap circled Macavity with an air of experience; Falbriah released they had fought before. Mistoffelees aimed a paw at his opponent and a lightning bolt flew out. Falbriah�s eyes widened. He had power, perhaps more than Falbriah herself. He could easily defeat Macavity, couldn�t he? No. This was Falbriah�s fight, no one else should fight it for her. "I believe it�s me you�re looking for," Falbriah called across the junkyard. Macavity turned to her, dropping the other queen, and advanced until he stood close to Falbriah, close enough for either one of them to attack. "You have no right following me here and threatening those who have taken me in." Falbriah�s brazen, diplomatic voice did not faze the tom. She hadn�t expected it to, but at least it hid her fear. To her surprise, Macavity nodded in agreement. "You�re right, Falbriah. And I won�t. That is, if you�ll join me." Of course. There was always a catch. Falbriah spat back, "You cannot have me nor my power." She saw the other cats circling around Macavity and knew that now was all she had. Bunching up her hind legs, she sprung at Macavity, unleashing claws that gashed his chest. She pinned him to the ground and stared into his eyes. His powers of hypnosis were no match for the powers of the Moonlight. Falbriah dug her claws deeper into his chest and Macavity howled, the first time she�d heard him voice weakness. The stare between the two of them was a battle of the yin and yang, good and evil, light and darkness. The rare powers of the Moonlight, passed on only to twins of white and black, penetrated whatever power Macavity had and he shut his eyes to block his mind from it. That was the moment when Falbriah blinked, the chain of power broken. She did not realize she was flying until she hit something hard and slid to the ground. Macavity had used her one millisecond of weakness against her. Rivulets of pain danced up and down her spine. No, the Moonlight wasn�t supposed to end this way� At first, Falbriah thought it was Mistoffelees knocking Macavity back down. But it wasn�t. This was a queen, with magical golden eyes. Her coat shone with pure power, Moonlight itself radiating from her presence. Macavity was down before Magifra even touched him; and when she actually did, sparks flew. "Away from here," Magifra hissed. "You cannot have the Moonlight." That was all that the queen had to say before Macavity wriggled, knowing that tampering with such power would give him a slow and painful death. Magifra she let him go. The others leaped upon him, scarring and tearing his flesh until he could leap onto a pile of trash and escape. The other cats watched Macavity disappear with astonishment, then turned to Magifra. Before the cat could receive her thanks, she glowed brighter and whispered in words only her twin could hear, "Look at yourself. Intrepidity enhances the Light." Then there was a sound almost like metal being cut and the radiant ball of silver thinned to slit before disappearing. Falbriah smiled at Magifra�s grand exit before she noticed that her pain was gone. Her fur had sheen to it, each white hair tipped with silver, the peach bits with gold. The mere fact that she had been brave enough to challenge pure evil had been enough for the Moonlight to trust her. She had the power to protect these cats. But so did Mistoffelees; the Lightning was often more powerful than the Moonlight. And Munkustrap was a good leader, he would protect the tribe with his life. Falbriah didn�t belong here yet. She had not saved these cats, she had merely aided them. And one of the few heirs of the Moonlight was not a homeless stray. First, she had to find a home. Perhaps then she could be a Jellicle. Mistoffelees approached her. "You�re a magus," was all he said. "Who was that other cat?" Munkustrap inquired. "My twin sister, Magifra." "You two are magi of the Moonlight," the white cat whispered, her voice full of astonishment and extreme gratitude. Falbriah understood her completely; being in those hidden paws could conjure a greater fear than a cat would ever normally feel. Falbriah shook her head and simply explained, "No. We are one magus, but of two bodies. We are a double magus. "And you," she told Mistoffelees, "have the Lightning. It is more common, but can be greater than the Moonlight. It can always overcome whatever power evil has." Falbriah knew that they were not ready for her yet, overwhelmed by this unique power she had. She couldn�t blame them; after all, she was on a first-name basis with the diabolical Hidden Paw. So she leaped onto the junk heap and trotted away. Magifra would be waiting to talk to her and willing to help her find a permanent shelter. NEXT |