Page 16 of Speak No Evil
“I refuse to stand here while you two try to talk me out of doing what I know is right. Fuck the politics of it. Fuck the King of Laurel Cove. And fuck whoever is pulling us out of nullspace! I’m getting my witch back!”
I pause, staring down at both of them, chest heaving before I add,“Whether you two come is up to you. But I’m getting my witch.”
Thorne shudders as my words hit a subsonic note. He is the first to capitulate. “Yup, sounds good to me. You coming, Ryker?”
I’m already striding off to meet the feline.
In moments, my brothers catch up with me, and we step through the archway that marks Blackwood from Laurel Cove together.
CHONK
I hate beingcold and wet the most. More than not enough crunchies. More than the peepers that fly too high and never let me catch them. More than the vet.
But my stinky woman is in trouble. Even though she isn’t so stinky anymore, I promised myself I wouldn’t let the bad thing get her. I wouldn’t let it make her red water flow like it did my woman’s.
I still miss my woman.
But now, I have to help Stinky.
If only I could get her man-things to stop acting like children.
“How can the cat possibly know where Jade is?” a man-thing says to the others.
Jade. That’s what they call Stinky.
It’s a good question. One that I don’t fully have the answer to. But I know what I know. And I know where Stinky is.
The splashing sound of man-things behind me stops, and I turn, prepared to yell at them again.
The big-horned one stares at me. “Did you just speak, feline?”
Did I?
All three man-things back away from me.
Whether I can communicate is hardly as important as finding Stinky.
“Stinky?” the one who feeds me sea-meat asks.
I turn around, flicking my tail at them.We do not have time for this. Follow me if you want to save your Stinky.
They splash behind me, catching up. “Why does he call Jade Stinky?” the third man-thing asks.
Because when I met her, she was.
I continue heading toward Stinky’s energy. Her magic calls to me like a peeper begging me to pluck it from the air.
The rain stops the moment we step through to the other place.
It’s dry and calm and warm here. I’d like it very much if the magic and energy weren’t so strange.
Feels like death here.
“Have you always been able to speak to our minds in this way?” the big one asks.
No. The magic of your house helped. But I didn’t know I was capable of this until you reacted to my passing thought.
But now that I think about it, speaking to their minds feels different than thinking. I’m not sure how. Only that it is.