Chapter 4 #2
That flicker of warmth in my chest is back. It’s stronger now, seemingly growing by the second. What it is or what’s causing it is anyone’s guess, but I’m aware of it now, and doing my best to grasp any sliver of magic I can find.
Everything around me is dark and silent, and not for the first time, I wonder what time it is. I can just about glimpse the moon through my tiny window if I strain enough. I’m not even sure it is the moon, or if it’s another light source, maybe even an illusion for all I know.
With a huff, I lie back on my cot, closing my eyes to focus on the budding magic within me.
I find it somewhat comforting, almost soothing, as if it’s trying to tell me I’m going to be okay.
Not that I’m worried I won’t be. Just the opposite, actually.
Eventually I’ll figure out who did this to me, then I’ll rain hell down on them.
Sleep pulls me under, and I give in to it, my eyelids fluttering as I drift off. Some time later—minutes or hours, who knows—I open my eyes and my jaw drops.
It’s the gargoyle. Here in my prison.
“Atlas?”
He spins around with an erratic expression that calms when he sees me. “Rune. I found you.” He steps forward but stops abruptly. “Wait. I’m not actually here, am I?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I’m dreaming.”
“No, I’m dreaming.”
I turn and look at the cot, gesturing toward my sleeping form. “That’s me. I’m asleep. You’re not real.” Disappointment settles over me. No idea why I would dream of the gargoyle, but he can’t help me.
“No, Rune, I took a sleep potion, and my dreams led me here.”
I tilt my head. “A sleep potion?”
He nods, offering a slight smile. “I don’t know how to tell you this, so I’ll just say it. I started having dreams or visions about you almost a week ago.”
“About me?”
“I got the sense that you were in trouble, and I think I was right.”
“No. I’m fine.”
Atlas raises an eyebrow. “You’re fine? This is your idea of nice accommodations, then? You’re just on vacation?”
Huffing, I fold my arms over my chest. “Fine. I’m being held against my will.”
“I know. We went to Full Moon.”
“Why?” I balk.
“Looking for you.”
That makes even less sense. I narrow my eyes suspiciously and ask again, “Why?” I ask again.
“Because you’re in trouble?” He seems confused by the question, rubbing the back of his neck and cocking his head. “I thought we covered that part.”
The urge to be defensive and assert my power is strong, but it’s useless. I actually do need help. “You looked for me?”
“Yes.” He scratches his beard. “The feeling wouldn’t go away. I don’t know why, but it didn’t feel right to not at least check. Then we saw what happened at the bar.”
“We?”
“Me and my friends. You met them.”
“Yes, I remember.” Curiosity pokes at me. “What did you see at the bar?”
“The bartender was bewitched and a demon made him drug you. He didn’t mean to hurt you. He wasn’t aware of it.”
I exhale, nodding. “I felt so good for a few minutes, but it went bad quickly.”
“Do you know where you are?”
I shake my head. “I don’t even know who abducted me or why yet. Someone delivers food to me, but that’s it. No demands have been made.” I step closer to him. “You said you had a vision of me?”
He nods, averting his eyes briefly. “This is gonna sound really weird, but I think somehow your magic reached out to me.”
“Huh?”
“I felt it, and I’m mostly immune to casual magic. It takes a concerted effort to get to a gargoyle.”
“But I wasn’t… I was just sending out…” I pause. What does this mean?
“My fingers were twitching with light zaps of magic, and I promise I don’t have an ounce of magic in me naturally. I went all the way to New Orleans to find a witch powerful enough to make me a sleep potion because that’s how I feel you. In my sleep.”
“Why?”
Atlas shrugs and looks down, almost like he’s feeling guilty about something. “No clue, but it’s not important. What is important is getting you out of here.”
He’s hiding something. But, fuck, I don’t have a whole lot of options here.
“But I don’t know where I am. I was drugged for the journey. I could be anywhere in the world.”
He offers a slight smile. “I’m here now. I’ll find you. It might take some time, but I’ll find you and I’ll get you out of here.”
“I sound like a broken record, but why, Atlas? I wouldn’t exactly call us friends.”
And that’s an understatement. We’ve met twice and only because I kidnapped one of his friends. In my defense, his friend was following me first.
“I had these visions of you for a reason; we can figure out what that reason is later. First things first.”
I nod, slightly soothed by his promise. “I didn’t think anyone would look for me.” The words sound pathetic to me as I mutter them, but he barely flinches at my casual admission that I can’t think of one single person who probably gives a shit that I’m missing.
“Hopefully, it won’t take long. I’ll see if I can get outside and walk around for some clues. Or if the person who brings you food says anything that might help…”
“Oh, wait, there was something.” I hesitate for just a second.
He’s not telling me the whole truth. What if he’s in on this plot somehow?
But, fuck me, I’m getting a little desperate.
I guess I have to… ugh… trust him. I shudder at the thought, but I really don’t have much choice.
“Elvira—that’s what I’ve been calling my hot, goth prison guard—she said something when I first woke up here. ”
“What did she say?” he asks eagerly.
“Something about a war. I don’t know exactly. She speaks in broken sentences and doesn’t say much, so it’s not a lot to go on, but…”
“At least it’s something.”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, I’ll look into what kind of war could be brewing. And you keep doing whatever you’ve been doing to reach out. I can feel it, at least while I’m sleeping. I’ll do my best, Rune.”
It’s so unusual for me to be in a position where I need help that I hardly know how to act, but I do have some manners left, so I murmur a genuine, “Thank you, Atlas.”
“I got you. One thing about gargoyles, once we set our minds on something, we’re a little obsessive about it.”
“Lucky me, then.”
A clanking sound outside my door jolts me awake abruptly. My heart immediately sinks. Atlas is gone. The sound comes a second time, and I realize it’s the old pipes in this place rattling. Fucking great. The one bit of hope and company I had is gone.
I never thought I’d say this, but I sure hope the gargoyle finds me again. He might be my only chance of getting out of here.