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She looked unaffected by my wild attempt to wrench her head from her body. Finally, the blue shield managed to push me back so only my hands wrapped around the bars like I'd wanted to wrap them around her throat. She smirked and left without a backward glance. I roared again.
She's getting away! We are trapped. She's going to kill us. Kill my soul pair. I can't fail my loved ones again.
My frantic thoughts paused at the sound of Charlie's shout. “Yo, golden giant. Calm the fuck down, please. I have a splitting headache.”
“Charlie!” Clawdia whispered.
“Clawdia,” he whispered back.
“Zaide, it’s me.” I heard her crawl closer to me and leaned my head against the bars, not ready to face her. “It’s okay. Just calm down. It’s okay.”
She touched me. I don't know why I wasn't expecting it. Of course she would touch me to comfort me, console me. But her warm, small hand on my arm was a shock, and I threw my hand up away from her. She flinched. Cringed away from me as though I was about to hurt her, hit her. My stomach sank.
“Little Cat, I would never,” I murmured and turned to crouch next to her on the floor. I tipped her head back to look at me and saw guilt in her eyes instead of the fear I had expected and sighed my relief.
She brushed her hand over my arm. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. It was just a reflex.” I nodded.
Charlie filled the awkward pause. “You okay, Zaide? Damage anything in your temper tantrum?”
“They are planning to kill us,” I growled, defending my actions.
“What?” Clawdia and Charlie said simultaneously.
I closed my eyes and opened my mouth to explain. Charlie interrupted, "Wait, they are watching us. Does this need to be whispered in pig Latin?"
"I have no idea what you mean, but no, this isn't anything they don't know already."
When I relayed what the mysterious voice had told me in my dream, Clawdia covered her mouth, and gasped, "Oh my God."
"Do you think we can trust some random voice, though?" Charlie asked skeptically.
"You know as well as I do that the witches have been waiting for Clawdia to wake up. They've kept us alive for a reason. They are still determined. Still angry. I can't imagine another possibility," I said. It was the most I had spoken whilst being in the cage, other than to tell him about meeting my gods, and I reached for the cup to take a sip of water and wet my dry throat.
Charlie nodded. "Yeah, you're right. It's just so fucked up. I don't want to think about it being real."
"What are we going to do?" Clawdia asked in a small voice. She’d wrapped her arms around herself not just for comfort, but because the fear and worry were making her cold. I settled properly on the floor, crossing my legs and leaning against the bars, before pulling her into my arms. She sighed and nuzzled into my chest. Her lips brushed my shirt as she whispered, “We need to get out of here before we die.”
Charlie crawled closer to us and lowered his voice. “We will.”
She glared at him. “You can’t promise that.”
I felt panic rising in her with every breath. “Little Cat, it’s going to be okay. Think about how much we have already done. We’ve saved Savida and the other demons.”
“Who might still be underground and suffocating,” she interrupted.
I continued calmly as though she hadn't spoken. “You died, I met my gods, and Charlie gained a familiar. That’s a lot to have happened in a short time.”
“How is this helping?” She looked up at me with dirty cheeks and confusion in her eyes, yet she was still so beautiful.
I gave her a soft smile. “I’m saying that this is just another ordeal that we’ll get through."
Charlie shuffled closer still so he was sitting in front of us, our knees touching, and he took her hands with a rakish grin. "How many times have you died now? Twice? Amazing. Another seven lives left.”
She chuckled shakily. "I don't want to test that theory, Charlie.”
I had visions of her, blood surrounding her, her body cold and pale and breathless, and my grip on her tightened. I shook my head to clear the images as Charlie spoke, a much more solemn look on his face. He clearly had the same thought as I did. “You’re right. I don't want to test it either. You’ve just been through hell but aren’t going anywhere. Panicking doesn't help anyone, so use the time to plan and heal as much as you can."
"I'm sure Savida and Daithi are on their way to us right now, and then we can get out of here," I added.
