Page 17 of Twisted Bonds

Amusement creeps up inside me as I glance down at my newly blue finger. “No, not to my knowledge.”

“I’m going to find a way out of here. You can come with me.”

The certainty in her tone is refreshing. The clear intention communicated so simply yet fiercely. Soothing even to the vast array of unknown unknowns constantly swirling in my mind.

I almost believe her.

seven

Sunder

My consciousness awakens slowly, a dull ache pulsing at the back of my skull. But as I come to, a gnawing sense of dread grips me with icy fingers. Mira is gone, ripped from my grasp by that loathsome creature. His mocking presence lingers in the air like a foul stench. My heart pounds with fury and fear, for I do not know what unspeakable fate he has inflicted on her. My soul burns with the need for vengeance.

But first, we must get her back.

I blink, and the world swims into focus.

There’s a purplish scorch mark in a circle around us, a bruised circumference marking the crime. I snarl, my teeth bared in a feral display of rage. The image of that smug, rotten weasel striding towards us burns in my mind.

Us.

Where’s the Third?

Panic grips me like a vice as I frantically scan our surroundings, desperately searching for any sign of him. Has the Second taken him too? My heart throbs in my throat. Mira and the Third. If he has both of them in his grasp, I don’t know what I’ll do. They are…they…

“Third?” I yell, my voice pitched with desperation.

My ears prick at the faintest sound, and I sprint towards it with wild determination. The noise echoes through the eerie silence, urging me on as I hurl a fallen log out of my way. And there, behind it, is an all too familiar orange figure. Only this time, he lies motionless in the dirt.

Frozen in terror, I realize that my worst fears have come true as I approach his tiny body. So defenseless. My fingers still as I reach for him, fear halting them. What if my fingers do not find warm fur, but hard, cold instead?

He lets out a strangled gasp, his breath caught in his throat like a desperate bird trying to escape. It’s a sound that’s barely audible, but it carries the weight of a thousand unspoken words and emotions.

He’s alive.

My body trembles with pure, overwhelming relief. With my heart pounding, I snatch up his small, fragile form in my arms before it can slip away from me again. Every fiber of my being screams out in desperation to protect what is now safely within my grasp.

Although as far as cats go, he is quite tiny, his small body in my hands feels too frail. I tuck him into the crook of my elbow, carrying him to a nearby moss-covered rock where I can survey him.

“Where does it hurt?” I gently probe his fur with my fingers, hoping to find what might be wrong.

I cannot lose them both.

He releases a small mew again, and yellow Chroma flickers around him. My hands adjust as his form changes until his human body is resting in my arms.

I do not know if it’s my yearning for Mira, or if the events of finding the Second have overwhelmed me too much, but I don’t stop myself. I clasp him tightly, my fingers digging into his hard back with a desperate grip. My nose burrows into his neck, inhaling the familiar scent of him.

With hesitation, his large hands reach around me and envelop me in a tight embrace. I cling to him, trying to absorb every ounce of warmth and comfort that he offers in this moment of chaos. Relief washes over me, yet a twinge of guilt pulses through me for seeking comfort in his arms.

“You were worried about me.” The tenderness in his voice is impossible to ignore. A trickle of his yellow healing Chroma flows between us, washing away the aches in my body.

I pull away, my eyes betraying me with unshed tears. I stand and turn my back, chastising myself for this display of weakness. Quickly wiping my traitorous eyelids with the back of my hand, I announce through the gravel in my throat, “The Second has Mira.”

I hear the Third stand. “Where?”

“I’m not sure. Look,” I point to the circle of violet ooze that marks his exit.

The Third nods. “Like an evil snail.”

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