Phoenix placed his body between her and the fire and shook his head slowly, back and forth, in an exaggerated motion. He had to free himself, certainly—but first, he had to stop this dreadful nightmare.
Lost in the logic of the dream, Raya reached over him. “If I don’t save them, they’ll burn.”
Phoenix leaped on her arm and quickly climbed up to her shoulder.
Her eyes widened with surprise. As her attention shifted, the fire disappeared.
Then the walls of the dream lit up with thousands of pieces of stained glass.
Raya approached the glowing panes in a daze, with Phoenix riding on her shoulder. As her fingers grazed the surface, the panes rearranged themselves in different patterns, forming intricate geometric shapes under her touch.
From his perch on Raya’s shoulder, Phoenix trailed a paw on the glass and found that he could have the same effect. He concentrated. The stained glass under his paw rearranged itself until it formed a perfectly rendered portrait of a small black cat.
Raya smiled. “It’s you!”
Phoenix patted the glass with his paw again. This time, the panes rearranged to form a red demon, complete with horns and a tail—and what looked like a black leather jacket.
18
Raya stared at the stained glass. The multicolored light reflected in her eyes. “I’ve seen this before.”
Phoenix reached out a paw and changed the image again.
Cat.
Demon.
Cat.
Raya’s brow furrowed. Her lips parted as if she were about to speak.
The dream trembled. The glass walls shook, then collapsed in a roar of breakage that sent Phoenix hurtling out of the dream.
He opened his eyes in the darkness of the hotel room.
Raya gasped and sat up, accidentally knocking Phoenix sideways. “Oh! I’m sorry!” She put her hand to her temple and realized her wand was in her hand. She lowered the wand and stared at it. “How did I end up holding—” Her expression reflected confusion followed by dawning recall. She looked at the cat in her bed and narrowed her eyes. “You were in my dream.”
Phoenix righted himself and sat on his haunches, then batted his collar with one paw.
Raya picked him up and examined the collar. “This doesn’t even have a buckle. How did you get this on in the first place?” She placed him back on the bed and toyed with her wand thoughtfully.
Phoenix swiped at the wand with his paw before swiping at his own collar again.
Raya tilted her head. “The wand? Your collar?”
He meowed.
“You’re a strange one, little dark prince.” Raya swung her legs off the bed and stood up. “Since you’re not letting me sleep, let’s have a closer look at you.” She picked him up and carried him to the table, then sat down in the chair. She wrapped one hand around his feline shoulders, steadying his body as she brought the wand close with her other hand.
Phoenix felt rather than saw the moment when she pushed a delicate strand of magic through the wand and into the collar.
The collar began to glow.
Raya braced him more firmly and closed her eyes.
The force of her grip slid his body toward her. He felt her power envelop him, flooding through the seemingly infinite chains binding him to the form of a cat.
One link in the chain snapped. Then another. Then on and on, each and every magical link snapping in a dizzying cascade of tiny sparks until the form that held him unfolded, freeing him at last.
