Anne H. Petzer
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I am a South African currently living in Prague. I live with my
two cats, Zvonek who inspired the series and Metaxa, a feisty
young lady who rules the household! I work as an English
teacher in a private language school in the city.
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New Title(s) from Anne H. Petzer
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Cat on Thin Ice: Excitement in Prague mounts as
the city prepares for a hockey game against the Russians. It is a game
to celebrate the goodwill between the countries. Feline Intel is alerted
when an old enemy is seen in town. News from Brussels confirms
suspicions that the happy front is just that, a front. FI is called in
when it is known that a cat's life is in grave danger and its them
against time to save him.
Cat Among the Pigeons: Life was great on the streets of Strašnice until
Zvonek is accused of mercilessly killing pigeons and leaving their
ripped bodies strewn all over the street. But its part of a cat’s nature
you might say. FI operatives have a code to live by and someone is
breaking it, leaving Zvonek to take the blame.
Excerpt
Word Count: 24000
Pages to Print: 78
File Format: PDF
Price: $3.99 |
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Mau-ow:
Zvonek enjoying some down time after a stressful mission with Clawdette
at the helm. However, this peace was not to last. Clawdette has a
special job for Zvonek – only he can be trusted to do. He discovers she
has a secret in her past. What link does it have to the mission? Zvonek
needs to know and in his quest ends up with more than just lose ends.
Return of the Rats:
A local enemy re-surfaces in Strašnice. The on going struggle for
dominance between cat and rat. The rats have the upper hand this time
when they snatch one of FI dearest. Will the operatives be able to
rescue their own? It's a maze in the rodents' tunnels under Prague,
foreign territory for the the felines.
The Miracle of the Carp:
Christmas is dawning and preparations for cats and humans are under-way.
Disaster strikes. The centre of the Czech Christmas dinner is in danger.
Stray felines? Or is it more sinister? FI aims to find out to save the
strays and Christmas.
Excerpt
Word Count: 31,100
Pages to Print: 98
File Format: PDF
Price: $4.99 |
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Zvonek 08 (Volume 1) |
Zvonek stretched out on the big comfortable bed with the thick
soft duvet, and closed his eyes. Life was good again; at least
for a few days; hopefully weeks, now that the mission was
finished. He loved Strašnice, it had been his home for a year
now and already he had so many good memories. Bad ones too, but
they didn’t count when you had so much to be grateful for.
Ahhh…with only one life gone, he could still enjoy himself.
The evening had ended on a good note, although it had not
started that way. Zvonek had not called for back-up, leaving him
and Honza in a very vulnerable position. Vladimir, his boss,
known to them as V, was not happy with them. He felt Zvonek not
only compromised the mission, but put their lives in unnecessary
danger. However, the job had been done, he and Honza had escaped
unscathed, and after a few days, V would see that.
So in true cat fashion, Zvonek stretched out and closed his eyes
once more. Remembering all the good things, he slowly drifted
off into a daydream of salmon truffles and low fat milk, served
by pretty feline waitresses at a luxury resort paid for by
Feline Intelligence (FI). This kitty agent was certainly due for
some down time. He was, after all Zvonek 08.
Just as the bit of feline fluff in his dream was about to
scratch his ear, a shrill noise jolted him back to reality.
Mom’s alarm clock! Food. Breakfast. He jumped up, stretched and
made for the kitchen. Life was good!
Sometime later after Mom had gone to work, Zvonek was sunning
himself in the window, watching the fat juicy pigeons peck at
food on the ground, the scroungers, when a sudden movement
caught his eye. Something to the left, under the car, he
thought. Immediately alert, he tensed and watched the spot
intently, waiting. Minutes ticked by: nothing.
Bah! he thought, my nerves are still jittery from the last
mission. Just nerves.
Zvonek resumed his grooming, then stretched again. This is
great. Warmth, peace—what more…There, the movement again. This
time he crept behind the curtain and peered out, obscured from
whatever it was under the car. If indeed there was something
there. Not entirely convinced that it was just his imagination,
he waited and waited, but still nothing.
Hmmm. I am becoming paranoid, he thought, maybe a life short is
enough to give me the jitters.
He was just settling down on his cushion by the radiator, when
he heard a distinctive and very loud Meeooww outside the bedroom
window of the two-room flat where he lived.
“What’s this now?” he growled, knowing full well what, or rather
who, it was. He sighed and made his way across the flat to the
bedroom, jumped up onto the window ledge, and there as he
suspected, was Honza.
Honza was a big cat; if he had been a human, one might have
described him as burly. He certainly carried his lion genes
well. He was Zvonek’s sidekick and best friend, when he was not
interrupting Zvonek’s well deserved naps! The two of them made a
striking pair, being opposite in stature and coloring. Zvonek,
though smaller, was no less agile or competent in defending
himself or protecting the cause of the mission at hand. Honza
was completely ginger; Zvonek was almost completely black on his
back and white on his under body, the black thinning and giving
way to more white around the neck. Two white back legs, and
mixed black and white front legs. A handsome tom!
“Hey,” Honza called.
“Hey, yourself. What’s going on? Thought we had decided to get
some R&R.”
“Disturbed you from your beauty sleep, did I?”
Zvonek scowled.
“Well, wait till you hear what I’ve got to tell you, Zvoni boy;
it’s well worth forfeiting your little nap.”
Zvonek lifted the edge of the cat safety net Mom had installed
after the accident, and jumped down to meet Honza in the garden.
Of course the loose flap at the end was Zvonek and Honza’s
secret. She would have a fit if she knew her cat was still able
to get out and ‘wander’ freely.
“This had better be good; I was just about to drift off,” he
muttered.
“Well,” began Honza, “I was over at the Mau getting breakfast,
when at the reception I spotted very familiar luggage being
wheeled in.”
“Familiar luggage?” Zvonek was beginning to think that his
friend had lost it completely. “You were at the Mau?”
“Yes, bud.”
“What do you mean by familiar luggage?”
Honza sighed, “Does the logo of a blood-red ruby on a white
cushion mean anything to you?”
Zvonek stared at his friend. He could feel the fur on his back
starting to stand up. A chill run through him, even though the
day was relatively warm for this time of year. He knew the logo,
and Honza knew he did.
“Yes, exactly.”
“What is she doing back here? Did you see her? Did she see you?”
“One question at a time, little buddy.”
Zvonek let the pet name go. Although Zvonek was of higher rank
and superior ability, Honza was bigger than him. It normally
irritated him for Honza to call him little buddy. Zvoni he could
live with.
“Dunno, no and no.”
Zvonek swished his tail, looked around him, and then back at
Honza.
“She’s not going to appear in your garden, Zvoni! She’ll lure
you out to some lonely alley and remind you of old times.” Honza
winked.
“Very funny.” Even as a joke Zvonek did not want to be reminded
of old times. This was what had led to the whole net thing in
the first place. Before that, life was free and he didn’t have
to have secrets from Mom.
“Here’s a thought, Zvon, maybe she’s on holiday. Prague does
have a lot to offer.”
“Yeah, right.” Zvonek’s mind was working overtime. It wasn’t so
much Saskia herself that worried him, but what came with her.
“Have you told Vladimir?”
“Nope, came here right from the Mau.”
The Mau was the local hotel which also served really good food.
Zvonek and Honza normally ate at the pub opposite the flat, but
when they felt like a bit of class, or at least when Zvonek
could persuade Honza he needed class, they would eat at the
club. Located at the back of the parking lot of a service
garage, it looked onto a green lawn and trees. The men who
worked at the service garage had been really good to Zvonek when
he had come home from the hospital, and kept asking Mom how he
had been doing. They would also chat to him if they saw him
sitting in the kitchen window as they went past.
“I think we should keep it to ourselves for a while and see what
happens.” Zvonek was thoughtful now.
“Don’t you think if V finds out that we knew and didn’t let on
that we would be in even more trouble?”
“We’re not in trouble; Vladimir is just a little upset that we
didn’t follow his instructions to the letter.”
“A little upset! He broke a nail scratching on the table!”
“Well the job was completed successfully, we’re both safe, and
now cats can walk the streets again.”
Honza was not convinced. He loved his friend, but agreed with V
that Zvoni could be somewhat of a, what were the words he had
used? Loose cannon.
“So what are you going to do?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothinggg?”
“Yes, Honza, nothing, absolutely nothing. I’m going home to curl
up in front of the radiator and take a nap.”
Back to Zvonek 08 (1) |
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Zvonek 08 (Volume 2) |
Prologue
1786 BC
The bejewelled sky spread its dark velvet covering over the
silent earth below. The pale light of the moon cast a cold glow
on Ma’at. The form of the goddess nestled among the columns of
the temple; statuesque, protected from the night. Still and calm
filled the land with peace that brought comfort.
Somewhere in a corner, a small movement. Not threatening. In the
shadows, a small, huddled bundle. Silver, shining in the tiniest
of pale rays that reached it. Another movement, shifting, and
then the smallest of contented mews.
On the other side of the temple, a door opened silently. A dark
shadow grew in the pale light. Stopped. Then moved again.
Another mew, the shadow moved stealthily forward, growing longer
in the pallid light. It reached the far corner, bent. There on
the floor in a golden basket, lying on a silken quilt, the small
body of Anther was rhythmically breathing the safe, contented
breath of sleep.
The shadow stopped, did not move for an entire twelve seconds,
then quietly bent over the basket and gently lifted the sleeping
kitten, clothed in the soft quilt, into its arms and moved
quickly and noiselessly back to the door. A sharp glow from the
eyes of Ma’at pierced the shadow, causing it to stumble and fall
in a heap at her feet.
Anther, now awake and frightened, darted for the door and
disappeared inside.
In the bright golden light of day, a few worshippers gathered on
the temple steps, all with only one eyebrow. Anther could not be
found. All that remained were the empty basket and a crumpled
silk quilt.
2011
Zvonek was not in the mood to wait for Honza. They had decided
to have lunch at Whiskers. The last mission had been
successfully completed, the paperwork filed, and now all that
was left was to kick back and relax. It hadn’t been as dangerous
or as stimulating as other missions. Clawdette had decided to
stay in Prague to oversee the mission, causing undue stress for
everyone.
He looked around the pub. It wasn’t as full as usual. It was
only their second visit to Whiskers since the HQ of Feline Intel
had moved to their new location. Zvonek hadn’t been sad to leave
the old FI building at all. It was getting cramped and they
needed something more upmarket. Their new location certainly was
in a better area. The garden around the flat—it had been
arranged for Mom to move as well, which wasn’t easy since she
hated change—was so much better, too. Lots of long, soft, grass.
And trees! Zvonek loved trees. It was great to have them in his
own garden! The flat was down the road from the former
residence.
One window was situated halfway behind a leafy bush, so you
could look out, but it wasn’t that easy to look in. This garden
had a proper fence, about ten metres from the window. Nice all
round. Alas, there still were many things he missed about the
old flat.
The humans who came to pet him while he lay in the sun at the
living room window. The human friends he had made on the block.
Ah well!! Guess it was time to move on.
“Anything else, sir?” The kit arrived at the table, disturbing
Zvonek’s thoughts.
“Nothing more for me, thank you. Just the bill.”
He looked around and saw Honza was still at the bar, purring at
a couple of felines. Zvonek smiled to himself. It was typical of
Honza; his friend just couldn’t help it.
He slowly walked home. It had been a hot day and Zvonek was glad
for the reprieve. He stopped under the bushes in the garden to
enjoy the coolness before going in.
He sat under the tree outside the window. He still used the flap
method in the cat net to get in and out. Simple and it worked
well. He smelled the air. Different smells, but not unpleasant.
This time, he had a dog to contend with. She belonged to their
neighbour, and he had groaned inwardly when he saw her. She
proved useful in a canine sort of way, like keeping strays away,
which meant that he had peace, so he would tolerate her for now.
Zvonek stood up and stretched out his legs in front of him, rump
in the air. He’d better go in. Mom would be home soon and he
should be inside, ready to greet her. It was Wednesday, which
meant poached fish! It was his second favourite. He especially
hadn’t had lunch at Whiskers not to ruin his appetite. When he
got inside he would nibble on some granules, just to keep
himself going. He walked slowly towards the window, stretching
one back leg at a time. Just as he was about to jump onto the
window ledge he heard a noise. The dog! He high-tailed it across
the remaining space, leapt onto the window, through the flap,
and onto the sofa. Just in time. The dog bounded toward the
fence, to bark at people passing the garden.
Dogs! Zvonek shook his head as he sat down on the sofa, catching
his breath. He looked around the room. It was a smaller flat
than their last, by a couple of square metres. Instead of a
separate bedroom and living room, in this flat they were
together. Mom closed the door between the living room and
kitchen while she was out, so that he didn’t run out when she
came in after work. |
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