Dan awoke at dusk, disoriented.  it took him a minute to realize where he was; although he was sleeping in his own bed, the light and angle at which it set in the room was wrong.  He quickly got out of bed, and hurried to the kitchen.  His wife was at the table, working with her lap-top.  Two large car batteries sat beside her, hooked to a curious contraption that seemed to be charging a lap-top battery.  She smiled at him as he entered.  “I never thought I should miss electricity so much,” she said.  “Most things here have been taken care of–like the ice box.  My mother had pictures of great-grandmother having one like that.  But Lap-tops do not run on imagination.”

“You are taking this rather well,” Dan said.

“So are you,” she replied.  “I don’t suppose you would like to tell me what is going on?”

“Not just yet.  I’m not at all sure you would believe me, in spite of everything we have seen.”  He drew her too him, and they stood looking out the kitchen window, into the growing dusk.  “Where is Dulce?”

“Sleeping in her chair.  She nodded off not too long after you went for your nap.”  Stepping back from the window a little, Dan could see gray curls above the chair back.  Old Tom padded softly into the kitchen, followed by Lady Beth and Tabbitha.  They sat down and stared at the humans.  Dan and Lyddia stared back.  As they looked at each other, the moon came up, round and full, shining through the kitchen window.  The cats shimmered and became human.  At the same time, a small gray cat walked daintily from the living room.

Old Tom opened a drawer in a kitchen cabinet, and pulled out a terry shower wrap, which he nonchalantly draped around his loins.  Lady Beth and Tabitha had quickly gone into the other room when they changed.  He noticed the batteries and laptop.  “What is this?” he asked.  “I’ve not seen one of these before.  Boxes of energy?”

“You don’t know about electricity?” Lyddia said in surprise.

“I know about the sparks that fly when a coat is stroked in dry weather or in winter.  I know about lightning.  You have tamed the lightning?”

“Not precisely,” Dan said.  “More like we have made a super spark.  Lightning is much too strong.”

“I see.” Old Tom thought a minute.  “I think we should have this.  But these boxes would be cumbersome.  And what is this you have before you?  The thing you are working with there?”

“A laptop computer,” Lyddia said. “Dulce did not tell you?”

“Our Dulce I’m sure must be good and clever.  She sells our goods, she keeps us fed and all our comforts seen to.  But nothing new comes into the house with her.  And we cannot ask or teach, because we only see her like this.”  He reached down and scooped up the little gray cat.  “Even when we, ourselves, are cats–as we are most nights–we cannot talk of things such as this.  Cat is a very useful language; but some things cannot be said in cat.”

“You do not change every night, then?” Dan asked.

“No.  Only the nights the moon is full.  On those nights we create the things we sell in the world to purchase our creature comforts.  When Dulce’s Aunt Hepzibah was our Sweet One, her husband was our go-between.  Since his death, we have had no one to talk with the Sweet One and with us.  I fear we may have fallen behind the times.”  He nodded at the laptop.   “What does that do?”

“It talks with others far away, sending words and pictures.  I can get much in the way of useful information using it,” Lyddia said.

“It taps into the Akashic records?” Old Tom asked in surprise.

“Oh, no, no!” Lyddia laughed.  “Only into records made by humans.  The Akasha is a bit beyond our technology.”

Old Tom grinned.  “That may be a good thing.  No one should have access to infinite knowledge.  Speaking of which, do you know why we found ourselves in a cage yesterday?  We have only these three nights to make the things we sell.  Already, we are behind.  Lady Beth and Tabitha have gone to help the others.”

“I don’t know the full story yet,” Lyddia said, “but I believe someone wants this property.  Unfortunately, the deed is in Dulce’s aunt’s name; legally, she is listed as being dead with no heirs.  Up till now, keeping the property tax paid has kept anyone from investigating.  However, we are going to have to establish a line of inheritance.  Exactly what relation is Dulce to her aunt?”

“Well, strictly speaking, she is her daughter.  How some ever, Hepzibah’s husband was dead when we did frolic and beget a child.  In those days, it was a small matter to put it about that a far-away sister had died, leaving the infant in Hepzibah’s care.  Since we live small and close anyway, it was no matter for her to remain within during the necessary months.”

“She gave birth alone?” Lyddia was shocked.

“Well, not exactly.  She was a cat when the babe came forth.  Our cat dames did attend her.”

Lyddia stared at him a moment.  “I am so glad I sent Junior to bed early.  I do not think he needs to hear this.  So…she was in cat form when Dulce was born?  And that is why Dulce changes?”

“More or less.  Somewhat more, actually.  You see, for every old dame who wished her cat could be a man, there has always been somewhere a human who wished they could live the life of a cat.  These human cats are usually human–except for the three nights of the full moon.  Hepzibah was one such.  She was a bit less cat than Dulce, however.  She remembered her nights as a cat.  Dulce does not.”

“So…Dulce is Hepzibah’s illegitimate daughter; hidden away all these years.  Hmmm…well, that has possibilities.  The problem lies in proving the relationship, and getting the change recorded.  It would be easier to buy the place for back-taxes–except that there are none owed.  Where did she go to school?”

“She did not.   Hepzibah taught her letters and spelling.  She tried to teach us…but it is hard to teach a cat.  It was hard enough to teach us to run the machines and to use the needles to make the clothing.  Some of us like to make clothes for ourselves as well–don’t we, my Tabbi?”  He snagged Tabitha by the waist as she passed through the kitchen. 

She swatted his hands.  “Go on with ye, now, Daddy.  I’m not in the mood–and if I were, I know a fine striped Tom lives not a mile from here.  I’ll have no dead or sickly kits.”

Tom’s eyes followed her as she went from the room.  “She’s a lithesome lass.  Still, she has the right of it.  We are sadly inbred; yet everytime we breed back to cat, we more cat become.  Some among us already cannot make the change, or make it only rarely.”

Dan carefully did not broach the subject of parenthood with this feline patriarch.  Clearly, his tribe ran on cat morality, not human.  “But all of you who were captured yesterday changed!  I’m sure I would have noticed if you had not.”

“You are correct.  Usually, those who do not change leave us after a time.  Some go to live among humans.  A few–a very few–bring back kittens who change.  Still, our numbers dwindle.  Our litters have become smaller and fewer.  You, your wife and child are the first hope we have had that we can even communicate with the world at large.”

“Found it!” Lyddia announced, changing the subject.  “One Simon del Perro is buying up property across the state to make a chain of resorts.”

“Del Perro!” Old Tom bristled.  “Were dogs!  I should have known!”

Chapter one

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five