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“My sister-in-law’s a human from the human world. She helped us incriminate our corrupt leaders through solid evidence. How do you know about recording devices?”
“Some people in the Broom’s Isle are from the human world. There’s none here…look. Cages.”
They eyed the empty row that stretched ahead and noted the ongoing silence. When her instincts didn’t ring, she trudged along until the scents changed, and she was close to gagging.
“There’s piss, blood, and poo. There’s an awful stench I can’t place.”
“No humans?”
“None making noises. Stay behind me. Watch your back.”
The emptiness stopped at a point where liquid puddled on the floor before them, deep red and drying up. Movement flashed to their right and Nicola went ahead, then halted when she took in what was happening.
“Holy heavens.”
“That is so ironic considering your kind would probably burn in some heavenly, well-lit place…” Ruby trailed off, eyes bulging. “Holy shit.”
They gaped at the rows of cages before them, no longer empty. The nearest creature didn’t resemble the one that tried to attack her, but still looked unfamiliar with its glittery feathers and gemstone nails. The rest were a variety of either more glitter, more color, or the bleakest and darkest there was. One had spikes all over its body and was aggressively banging the cage without even paying attention to them.
“What do we do?” Ruby asked after they had taken stock of those caged in two’s, where most of the blood was coming from.
“Free them all?”
“Terrible idea.”
“Fine.” She thought hard. “Let’s free them by size.”
“No. Let’s free them by temper. That one looks gentle and would probably hide. We can lead the rest to the ocean and see if they can swim. Or lead the friendly ones to Isaiah’s ship and hide them there until we can find a safer place for them. It would be easy to make it look like an accident again. I can free the rest later when you and Isaiah are busy getting rid of that Ven guy. I can burn their ships after.”
Nicola stared at her. “Didn’t you say we were even?”
“You said it. Besides, the game changed. Call me personally offended when innocent creatures imprisoned and treated unfairly are involved.”
Like Ruby had been treated, Nicola concluded. There was no arguing with that vibrating stubbornness, either.
“Fine. Let’s go.”
They separated after the decision, with Nicola headed for the pairs in cages and peering at a lizard-like creature huddled in a corner. It was the size of her arm and ripped in places while its cellmate, a large bird-like creature, was sprawled on the floor with chunks of flesh on its beak. Both had the mark of the triangular skull on their feet.
“Hey, there. Don’t be scared. I’m not going to hurt you.”
In response, the creature scurried away further, soundless. Quietly, she tried to figure out the cage door and continued speaking.
“I bet it tried to kill you and you used your tail on it. I see its gaping chest, and I hope you don’t use that tail on me. I will help you escape. I might even find you a home. My king is nice and likes all creatures.”
The idea formed, sparking her excitement as she opened the door and crawled up a cage as a precaution. She waited until the creature stopped shying away, then pointed at the door. After a while, the creature figured it out and shimmied from the cage, then stopped to sniff the air. It eyed her warily and shied away again but didn’t leave.
“Don’t hurt me, please,” she crooned, using her softest voice as she went for the next cage, then the next.
The creatures didn’t follow her. Uneven steps echoed around the area as Ruby managed to free more and had them trailing after a glowing squiggly line on the ground. Half an hour later, the area was teeming with life, and the two regrouped.
“Seven freed,” Ruby announced. “We can come back for the rest later. I don’t think I can maintain their interest on that line for long.”
“You go ahead. Wait for me at the empty row. Let me set up the fake accident first.”
She got to work, hushing the more vicious creatures and backing away when they got noisier and more restless. She frowned when she didn’t find Ruby in the empty row and snuck her way to the entrance. She peeked.
Light shone in her eyes, and she ducked before it could hit her fully. But it didn’t prevent her from catching a glimpse of what was happening outside.
