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“Just making my own observations.”
“Well, look at us observing shit together. Makes my heart glow with happiness. It’s the start of a true friendship.” When Zaide came to sit with me at the table, I asked, “Are we just going to leave him there?” I eyed Daithi’s body lying next to the other chair.
“He deserves to lie on the floor for being a Lagworm,” Zaide huffed.
“What’s that?”
“An animal that survives by eating his own waste.” He grinned, and I chuckled.
“A shit-eating animal. Nice.”
* * *
An hour later,we sat on the sofa with snacks we had bought at a shop down the road from our hotel. I was munching my way through a packet of Revels like the wildcard that I am, while Zaide chose the respectable Maltesers. Daithi still lay prostrate on the floor by the table. The telly was on, but it was background noise.
I was too busy thinking about the mystery of our situation to be distracted by SpongeBob Fucking SquarePants.
“I can’t wrap my head around all of this,” I started.
Zaide didn’t take his eyes off the screen. “I think the premise is that the yellow sponge creature is a cheerful fool who lives underwater and gets into trouble, but I admit I am struggling to understand it all, too.”
I barked a laugh. “Not the show, you idiot.”
“Ah, you mean the situation.” He looked at me, silently prompting me to continue my thoughts.
“Clawdia is Winnie’s familiar. She is also your soul pair. You guys come looking for her. Clawdia’s witch steals Savida’s fire for a project to do with this Norse legend.”
“That is an accurate summary. What is your point?”
“What are the chances that Clawdia’s soul pair was traveling with a demon? The very thing her witch needed for this project?”
He shrugged. “It is obvious fate and the gods have much to do with our path.”
“I don’t believe in fate or gods or predestined paths,” I told him, waving a Revel around as I spoke. “But I also don’t believe in coincidence.”
“Those are contradictory statements.”
“Zaide, I don’t have time to be debating my philosophical beliefs. Can’t you see I’m on the cusp of a breakthrough?”
“Ah, I apologize, Charlie. Please continue to extol your genius.”
I grinned at his sarcasm and nodded graciously. “My point is, Clawdia seems to be at the center of it all but isn’t actually involved.”
“I agree.” He threw a Malteser in the air and opened his mouth to catch it.
“Maybe that’s because we haven’t figured out exactly what her connection to this is. Maybe she has a Norse heritage? Maybe she’s the descendant of the hero Sigurd. Maybe her past life before the 1900s was in a small village where she was raised by dragons. Maybe—”
“Charlie, you are getting carried away.”
I sighed, my imagination deflated like a punctured wheel, and my tangent rolled to a stop. “The thing is, we don’t know enough about her to find out how she’s connected to the issues rather than being the catalyst. And I think answers lie in her past as a human.”
We sat in silence as we let that idea ruminate in our minds.
Note to self: Ruminate. Great word. Must use more.
Zaide sighed and threw another Maltester in the air. He caught it in his mouth because he’s a talented bastard and said quietly, “Well, we may not have the opportunity to ask now.”
I frowned at him. “What do you mean? As soon as Daithi is awake from his vision, we’re going to find her and bring her back.”
