Chapter 16: A Longer History Than Expected

Ash, it turned out, had been alive for approximately eight hundred years. Sera discovered this not from the cat itself but from a ledger Idra produced — a record kept by every Keeper, passed down intact, detailing every visit Ash had made to the town.

The entries went back further than the ledger itself; older records had been copied in by hand. The first notation was brief: The white cat came again today. It is still looking. We do not know what it hopes to find.

"Eight hundred years," Sera said. Ash cleaned its ear. "Give or take."