“If only we had tuna, we could lure him with the smell…” Lenora was thinking hard. Mister Sparkles seemed to have left the Zoology section, and from there he could have gone anywhere. Where would Mister Sparkles, or any cat really, go if they could go anywhere in the library?

She stood abruptly, nearly bonking her head on the table they’d been under. “Bubastis!” she announced.

“Bubastis!” cried the boy. “Of course! What’s Bubastis?”

“An ancient Egyptian city,” Lenora declared, “devoted to the worship of Bast, the goddess of cats. A whole city for worshipping cats, you know.”

“I didn’t know,” marveled the little boy, his tears gone dry.

“The library has a diorama of Bubastis not far away,” said Lenora. “And I bet anything Mister Sparkles spotted it and absolutely had to go have a look. Wouldn’t you, if you were a cat?”

The little boy nodded at this obvious truth.

Lenora pointed to some comfortable reading chairs with shelves nearby. “Our books on mice are over there. You pick out a few for Mister Sparkles. I’ll be back soon.”

And off she ran, out from Zoology and down the long staircase across from History of Science and down the hallway toward the diorama. (Actually, since no one was looking, she slid gloriously down the banister.)

Now something happened that had nothing to do with the search for the lost kitten, and though it did not seem important at the time, it would occupy Lenora’s thoughts for a long time to come.

Her mind was completely on the kitten, and so she did not look twice when she passed a sign that said KENDO DEMONSTRATION. She did not even turn her head at the loud clackings and smashings that came from the room beyond. But then she heard a girl’s high, sharp shout, a martial cry that seemed like it could shatter a brick wall. She simply had to see what was happening. She ground to a halt and whipped toward the sound.

The girl who had made the shout was standing stock-still over a fallen opponent. The girl seemed several inches taller and several years older than Lenora. Not much more could be told about her, because she was encased in armor. Her face was hidden behind a metal mask, and her armor was composed of a complicated system of black padding that protected every inch of her body. She was barefoot, and in her black-gloved hands she gripped a long sword made from bamboo slats tied with leather. Her opponent, who was struggling to his feet, was dressed just like her, and around them a large audience sat on the floor at a very respectful distance.

Lenora’s gaze slid to the sign. Below KENDO DEMONSTRATION were the words JAPANESE SWORD-FIGHTING MARTIAL ART.