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“I don’t know. I was hoping...” He looked away, and uneasy look crossed his face.
“This will only work if you talk to me,” she pointed out. “No matter how bizarre it might sound, I’ve probably encountered worse.” She thought back over the events leading to this moment. Yes, she’d definitely encountered worse.
“I’d hoped you could connect minds with her.” He glanced back at her as he finished his request, a hopeful but unsteady look in his eyes. Macey frowned. She didn’t think she was unapproachable. She certainly hoped she wasn’t.
“What makes you think I can do that?” She certainly had her doubts after all. She’d never had those kinds of powers. She didn’t know many people who did. And she was sure she’d have discovered them by now, especially as Flint and Cam both had them.
“You’ve been spoken to by him.” Cat-Man shuddered as he said the word. She didn’t blame him.
“I call him the Voice,” she supplied, barely holding off a shudder of her own just thinking that much about the invasion into her mind. Of all the things that could ever be done to her, that was the biggest violation anyone could have made. “But how do you know that?”
“I begged the Staran to bring me someone who knew. I had to speak his name to even get you here, and I worry that even that brief moment was enough to give him more power.”
“Oh.” She waited for a moment to see if he’d say anymore. “Your speech has improved massively.” Her hands flew to her mouth as soon as the words had escaped. She couldn’t believe she’d said that. How rude could she get? Behind her, Jared began to chuckle, and as pleased as she was that she could tell it was him just from the sound, it couldn’t replace the shame she was feeling right now.
To her surprise, Cat-Man chuckled. “I’m not surprised, kelpie. I’m not a simpleton, but a long time in my other form takes its toll. When I regain my human shape, it sometimes takes a little conversation for me to return to my former self.”
“Why don’t you transform more often then?” It seemed like a very simple solution to his problem. More transformations meant more chances to practice speaking. That was all he needed really.
“I can’t. I have a finite number of transformations. Once I return to my cat form for the ninth time, I will be stuck there forever.”
“Or until you die?” she prompted. “That doesn’t seem very fair.”
“Life isn’t fair, kelpie. But I think you know that better than anyone.”
She nodded in reply, grateful for the silence of the others. It was more likely confusion and shock than anything else, but it was still good to know they trusted her judgement.
“How many more transformations do you have left?” she asked, hoping he said most of them.
“Two.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, it’s a little concerning, but I had to do it for my sister’s sake.” He glanced at the large white dog, affection plain on his face. Right, yes, his sister. The reason he’d wanted Macey in the first place.
“May I?” she asked, indicating towards the large white form.
“Please.”
She made her way over to the liveless dog’s form. No, not dog. Woman. It was a woman and she needed to remember that. She crouched down next to her and pressed a gentle hand against where she imagined a dog’s forehead was. Something almost crackled against her skin, but it was gone the moment it arrived, so Macey dismissed it.
“What do I do now?” she asked, feeling far more unsure of herself than was entirely pleasant.
“I don’t know,” Cat-Man replied.
“Follow your instincts, Macey,” Cam insisted. She half-scowled at the unhelpful instructions, before realising he was probably right. He had been so far after all.
She drew in a long, deep breath, and pressed her hand more firmly against the woman’s dog head. She pushed her thoughts out, trying to gain the woman’s attention.
“It’s not working,” she grunted.
“Let me t
ry and help,” Cat-Man said softly, placing his hand over hers. The coldness of it sent shivers through her, but not unpleasant ones. There was definitely something enthralling about it, though what that was, Macey had no real clue. Maybe she’d unravel that someday. “Try again,” he prompted.
She took another breath and squeezed her eyes back shut. This time, she felt a presence alongside her, and she reached out to it, feeling it touch the outskirts of her mind, but not probe within. Having connected with the presence that she was sure was Cat-Man, she pushed forward.
Hello? she thought out towards the woman. She even tried picturing her in her mind, but it was hard without a true frame of reference. Hello? she repeated.
