By the time we reached the cave, the snowing had intensified. Our clothes and hair were dusted in frost, and Siret had been forced to stop and materialise cloaks for everyone. I also had the ability to makes things appear and disappear, but I liked to keep that to myself.
Sure enough, the panteras were gathered below the overhang of the cave opening, several glowing eyes blinking at us from further within. We all stopped before entering, because it wasn’t wise to intrude on the creatures uninvited. If any other god had turned up unannounced, they would have already been driven from the land by now, of that much I was certain. Luckily, one of the panteras broke free of the others, moving towards Willa.
“Leden,” she greeted, stepping away from the Abcurses and tossing her arms around the pantera’s neck.
Leden nudged her affectionately, and we all watched as the two of them seemed to carry out a brief and private conversation, before Leden turned around and disappeared back into the cave. Willa followed, speaking over her shoulder.
“We can go in and light a fire. Leden has asked why we came—I told her that strange things have been happening with the servers.”
Strange things have been happening among us, too. The pantera’s voice filled my head, apparently projected to each of us, judging by the nervous jolt that ran through Emmy’s body. I waited for Leden to elaborate, but she only continued to lead us further into the cave.
“Here will do,” Coen finally grumbled. “Willa, do you want to light a fire?”
“It might burn us all down,” she replied dryly.
I heard another of the Abcurses chuckle, but it was now too dark to see which one it had been.
“Just concentrate,” Aros soothed her. “You won’t hurt anyone. Start small.”
There was silence, then, and I set my hands against Emmy’s hips as I waited, drawing her back into me. The cloak was an unwanted barrier between us, but I didn’t want her to get cold, so I allowed it to remain. When she rested her head back against my chest, I tried to tell myself that she didn’t already own every piece of me.
After half a click, a small ball of flame burst to life, illuminating Willa’s face, set in deep concentration. She crouched, setting the little fire against the ground before running her hands through the flames, encouraging them to grow. It was fascinating to watch, but as soon as there was enough light to see by, I wasted no time in re-directing my attention to Emmy. She wasn’t frightened at all. There was an almost feverish look in her eye, a hunger for answers that made me grin.
The panteras didn’t stand a chance.
