"The ritual is simple," the Piper says. "When the clock ticks four, the Cheshire will appear and suck the girl's soul wearing the one and only Carrollian mask that holds his power."
"Meow!" The Pillar finally breaks lose, shouting from the top of his lungs. Crazily enough, all the other activists follow him. He doesn't look at me and I can't interpret his face.
"There will be one last thing needed to complete the ritual," the Piper says. "In order for the Cheshire to regain his power, he will need our help."
Everyone says they'd do anything for him. The Cheshire literally has a following.
"I know you'd do anything for the Cheshire, but it will be of great satisfaction for you as well," the Piper says. "Because today you get to avenge your ancestors! Now open your boxes, please."
The Pro-Cats begin opening their boxes and pulling out the cats, which aren’t really cats. They are small tigers. Not the cute ones you see on TV, but viscous ones, ready to sink their fangs into others. Somehow, they are obedient to the Pro-Cats. They are held in small cages that the Pro-Cats ready to throw out of the window overlooking the parade. The Pillar and I have no choice but to pretend we'll be doing the same, then we stare back at the Piper.
But the Piper is gone.
Instead, there is an old woman holding Constance in her grip. I know she is an old woman from the look of her body and her white hair flapping behind the mask. She raises her arms and shows her claws then nears them to Constance's neck.
"It's the Cheshire," the whole room snaps. They snap out of happiness, not fear.
"I wonder if Jesus Christ got that kind of attention," the Pillar mumbles next to me.
The Cheshire's presence is even scarier than the Pillar’s. Scarier than the scariest thing I have ever seen, even that scruffy bunny in the mirror. It's as if I'm looking at death and can do nothing about it. He is so confident, even if he is hiding in the body of an old woman. He doesn't need to speak. He doesn't even need to show us his face. I think the unbearable fear I see on Constance’s face is mirroring mine. The poor girl doesn't recognize me because of the mask I am wearing. I am torn between just running and crashing into the Cheshire and waiting until I see a window of opportunity to do something more effective. It puzzles me why the Pillar is stranded when it comes to the Cheshire.
The heck with it. I take a deep breath before I run recklessly toward Constance to save her. God only knows what the consequences may be.
Chapter 62
The Pillar holds me tight before I run. He doesn't say anything. His grip is just too strong, kicking me back into to reality. If I attack the Cheshire, neither Constance nor I will survive. We have two minutes left. I need to find another way.
"Once before, they threw us from the top of this building," the Cheshire woman says behind the mask. I am still puzzled about him being a woman. I imagine it's the human soul he chose to steal, but why an old woman? So he'd fool everyone? "Now, we'll show humankind what it means to have cats falling from the sky. Big cats this time. Vicious cats who will eat at them one by one. These cats in your hands will kill them, their wives, and their annoying children with red balloons everywhere. Just the way they killed us." The old woman’s voice peaks. For a moment, I think I know the voice, but I can't recall it.
The Pro-Cats pull the lids open to allow the cats out. These cats have no fear. They stand ready at the edges, ready for the clock tower to strike four.
I almost hear the ticks in my heart. The Pillar said I am supposed to save lives. Now I am torn between the ones down below on the street and Constance. My God, the fear in her eyes is killing me already.
Tick. Tock. Almost four o'clock.
I pull my hand away from the Pillar, and neglect his voice when he says I should wait.
"I know now why need me., I whisper to the Pillar. "You can't face the Cheshire by yourself." I decide I will go for Constance if there is no other choice. I can't let the Cheshire have her soul. Before I attack, the Cheshire does something I didn't see coming. He pulls his orange mask off and prepares to put on the Carrollian one from Pott Shrigly. In that brief moment, he, or she, is without a mask. I see the old woman's real face.
It's someone I know. How in the world didn't I see this coming? How in the world did the Cheshire fool and mock me this way?
I swallow hard and fist my hand to stay as calm as possible. The Cheshire is the old woman from the Great Hall. The woman with the grin who told me about the teacups.
Chapter 63
"And the madness begins," the Piper stands next to his locked box by the window. I am really concerned about his helplessness when it comes to the Cheshire.
The clock rings four o'clock.
"Revenge time!" the Cheshire says in his woman's voice. He sounds like a wicked old witch and signals for them to throw the big cats.