Noah sat up and looked around.
They were in a cathedral. But instead of stained glass and altars, there were books.
The room was colossal. The ceiling was a fresco of cats chasing constellations. The walls were lined with bookshelves that reached hundreds of feet into the air, accessible only by sliding ladders that looked like spindly spider legs.
The air was thick with dust—golden dust that sparkled in the shafts of light coming from the high windows.
It was silent. Not the threatening silence of the Pound, but a heavy, reverent silence. The kind of silence that demanded respect.
"The Library," Mittens whispered. "Where every story in Catsopolis is written."
"Why are we here?" Noah asked, putting his boots back on.
"Because you want to change the ending," Mittens said softly. "And because the next item on the list... it's a book, isn't it?"
Noah nodded. He didn't need to see the list. He felt it.
Item 9: The Storybook.
"Where do we find one specific book in all this?" Noah asked, gesturing to the millions of spines.
"We don't find it," Mittens said. "You call for it. This isn't a normal library, Noah. The books here want to be read. If it's your story, it will come to you."
Noah walked down the center aisle. The carpet here was a deep, rich green. He passed tables where cats in reading glasses were studying scrolls. They ignored him. In the Library, a human was just another footnote.
He stopped in the center of the room, under the great dome.
"I'm looking for a story," Noah said to the empty air.
Silence.
"It's about a kitten," Noah continued, his voice gaining strength. "A kitten who wanted to go to the moon."
A rustle. High up on the shelves, something moved.
"She had a red rocket ship," Noah called out. "And a dad who built it for her."
A book on the third tier wiggled. Then another.
"But the rocket ship broke," Noah whispered, the grief catching in his throat. "And the kitten got sick."
Suddenly, a book shot out from a shelf high above. It didn't fall; it floated, drifting down like a feather, carried by the dust motes.
It landed gently in Noah's hands.
It was a hardcover book. The corners were chewed. The cover was bright blue.
The Little Kitty in Space.