I crossed my arms, trying to keep my cool. I was tired, worried about my guys, and extremely pissed off about being lied to. Even so, there was a certain way to handle Pica’s particular brand of crazy, and I needed her to give me what I wanted. So I needed to keep my temper under control.
“I’m so happy, too,” I lied through my teeth, forcing myself to step closer to her. “To be here with you, to have your love and protection … it means so much to me.”
Pica’s smile was brilliant, for just a click, and then it faded away to be replaced with something as dark and swirling as the storm of wraiths.
“You were going to leave me.” Her voice was so soft that it shouldn’t have been as scary as it was. “Then what would I do with all of my love?”
I swallowed hard, letting my arms fall to my sides. “I would never leave you, Pica,” I appealed. “You are … my family.”
“And you love me?” she asked suddenly.
“Yes, of course I do,” I lied. “But I also love my Abcurses, and I need them here with me in this amazing and protective home.”
Pica screamed: a guttural sound that echoed so loudly that my ears actually rang for a moment after she stopped. The flowers flew everyone as she moved so quickly that she was in my face in a mere fraction of a click. I didn’t even noticed the blade she had in her hands until it was hovering close to my throat. “You should need none but me,” she shrieked in my face, the blade wobbling dangerously close to my skin. “I do not share my things, Willy.”
I’d thought I had handled this situation when I told her about leaving and making it seem like I didn’t want to, but apparently all I had done was push her over the edge of whatever remnant of sanity she’d been holding on to.
“Why are you doing this?” I choked out. “This isn’t love.”
Pica’s expression transformed again, to one of sunshine and roses. Her voice was back to its musical trills. “Oh, yes, my dear, this is exactly what love is. You are my child, Willy. My Silly Willy, and I will not let anyone take my child from me again.”
“Why do you have a knife pressed to my throat then?” I asked, hoping she would step back just a little.
She pressed the blade closer instead, the sharp edge pricking my skin. “This is a blade of Crowe,” she whispered. “I will use it to send you to the imprisonment realm if you try to leave me again.”
Her logic was skewed. She was determined for me not to leave her, but she was willing to kill me if she didn’t get her way.
“If you kill me, you’ll lose me,” I warned her. “You’ll lose me forever. I won’t be able to stay here with you.”
“No,” she argued. “Your body will remain, and I can keep it here, perfect forever, and it willneverleave me.”
Her final words had my stomach roiling. Okay then, apparently she didn’t need my soul or anything, she was good with just the suit I wore.
“But …” Pica pressed herself even closer so that our bodies were practically touching, the blade still held between us. “If you promise never to leave me, Willy, to be my child and stay by my side for the rest of our lovely sun-cycles, then I will not harm one hair on your perfect head.”
She waved a hand and the blonde strands of hair that had been visible in my line of sight began to turn a subtle shade of pink. “My pink Silly Willy.”
Pink!Oh, for fuck’s sake …
“How will we stop the Abcurses from coming for me?” I asked, acting like I was on her side. “They’re very determined.”
She tilted her head to the side, smiling again, her eyes somewhat vacant. “No one will ever find this house. If I am killed while you are in this room, you will remain here forever. Only my server and I can remove the room’s power source. I have spent hundreds of life-cycles hiding this from all but the Creator and Rau. None will find me when I don’t wish to be found.”
Except … Staviti.
The panic bubbled up inside me with a force that my control threatened to snap completely. I was about to be the one screaming because I couldn’t stay trapped here with Pica. There had to be a way for me to fight against her. As determined as I was, I was also completely drained: when I searched for the warmth of my energy, I could feel nothing more than mere wisps of power. I’d have to bide my time and wait until my power returned before I could get the hell out of there.
“I promise to be your child and to never leave,” I said, sounding as mechanical as her server. “Can I get some rest now? I really need to sleep …Mom.”
At the sound of that word, Pica’s eyes lit up again and a single tear traced down her cheek. “Of course, my daughter. Get some rest. I’ll watch over you.”
If that wasn’t enough to give me nightmares…
The blade disappeared, back to wherever it had come from, as she led me across to the bed. I was tucked in very tightly, and she leaned down to press her lips to my forehead. “I love you,” she said softly. There was a pause, but I couldn’t seem to choke out the words.
Thankfully, Pica didn’t push it, instead turning and hurrying off as she hummed really loudly to herself. Huddling under the very warm blanket, I squeezed my eyes closed, trying to think of a plan. There wasn’t much I could do until my energy returned, but even when it did, I needed to think of something that wouldn’t bring the wrath of Pica across us all. She might be unhinged, but she was still powerful enough to cause a lot of damage. Especially if she decided to side with Staviti. As it stood, I wasn’t convinced that she hadn’t been siding with Staviti this whole time. Perhaps she changed her allegiance when she figured out that Staviti hadn’t been the one to kill Rau … I had been.
And who the hell gave her a weapon? Seriously! Crowe really needed to be more responsible with his creations, instead of just handing them out to any god who showed an interest.
