“Seriously, Handsome? Get out of there.”
He tilts his head, which freaks me out every time. It's like he's mimicking human behaviors—particularly Omen's. He's clearly not a cat from this realm. He meows again, then picks up his front paw and licks at his fur. For such an ugly cat with his smashed face, he's pretty adorable. I still can't get over how tiny he is, though it's hard to tell with all the fluff.
“Handsome,” I snap, and he blinks lazily at me, then continues his bath. “Let's go get a treat.”
I tuck the book under my arm and edge closer to the circle. Who knows what would happen if I stepped inside. I crouch and hold out my hand as if I'll be able to coax him to me. He twitches and I swear flames flicker in his eyes. A millisecond later and they're gone, replaced by the regular green glow. He glances at his feet, then ducks his head to the hemlock. The candles flare to life and I gasp.
“No, Handsome.” I tumble into the summoning circle. The book slams to the ground, and the cat ends up in my arms.
There's a tug in my gut and the room disappears.
Ipace across the small area—a cage really. I don't know what the fuck is going on and no one seems to have answers. Dimitri shuffles in his sleep. Is he considered asleep if he's actually unconscious? At least he's still breathing. I resist the urge to kick him.
It's his fault I'm here. His fault I was ripped away from Clara. His fault I have a raging hard on. I shake my head and shove the last thought away. He definitely didn't get me hard. Clara, on the other hand…
I slam my fists into the bars and snarl. I haven't even talked to anyone. When I was yanked away from my little witch, I could have burned entire dimensions to the ground. Anyone who came near me would have felt my wrath. Yet all I was met with was a cell and Dimitri. I couldn't very well take him out. He's clearly as much a victim as me.
None of which matters since I'm still stuck in here. I have no idea how long I've been gone, nor how long I've been in here.Down here there's only a blue hue to everything. I can't even pinpoint where in Hell I am.
“Omen?” Dimitri croaks out, and I grit my teeth.
“Start talking, Dimitri.” I try to keep my voice even. Taking out my rage on him won't help either of us.
“Uh, welcome to the cage?”
I snort, shaking my head as I stare into the darkness. “What a clever name. Who thought that one up?”
“Triton, of course. He sent me down here to get someone. Then I got that weird tingly feeling again, andbam, I was in a closet. Spent a couple minutes in there, too terrified to come out on account of what happened last time I was in a random person's house, which wasn't so random seeing as how it was your?—”
“Get to the point,” I growl. The last thing I need is him calling Clara my girlfriend, or worse, my soulbound.
“Okay, touchy. After that, I felt the tug again, andbam, I was in here. ’Cept now the door was locked and I was on the other side of it. Don't know what happened, but I've just been waiting for someone to come get me. I thought it'd be quick.”
I finally turn to face him. “How long have you been down here?”
He shrugs. “Don't know. I keep getting pulled back to the human realm. It was disorienting. I'd come back and eventually I couldn't handle the magical trip. I'd pass out, come to, get shoved into limbo?—”
“I get it. You don't have to overexplain everything Dimitri,” I say, exhaustion lining my voice. He gives me an apologetic look, then pushes to his feet. “You know I didn't mean?—”
“I know. Forget sometimes. Mind going a mile a minute. Sometimes it's hard to slow down. Take out the unimportant bits. You know,” he mutters.
“I do. So knock it the fuck off. How did I get down here?”
He shrugs again, and I suck in a sharp breath. He's being absolutely no help. Usually, it's nice he's distracted by the next shiny object and doesn't think too deeply into things. He's excellent at listening and gives solid advice when he's locked in. He just won't pry if I don't tell him to. Unless he gets a bug up his butt and hyperfixates on my problems instead of his own. Not that Clara is a problem. Just the thought of her has my lungs seizing, and I brace my hands on my knees.
“Maybe you should flame out. See if that pops the lock or something.” He leans against the wall, exhaustion etched in every line of his body.
“You could have shocked the shit out of it.”
He holds up his hand and a soft glow weaves through his fingers, pulsating with his heartbeat. It's nothing like his usual energy. While it's beautiful for a quiet night by the fire, it's not what we need to get us out of here. The soft flickers will be perfect the next time he's trying to get laid. Too bad the door isn't susceptible to his charms.
“Pretty, but not particularly useful,” I say.
“Careful or I'll steal your girl.” He smirks as he drops his hand. “Too soon?”
I huff, turning back to the darkness. “Be glad she's not here or we'd have more trouble than we can handle.”
A soft meow echoes through the space and I groan. Dimitri lets out anaww,and when I turn around, he's scratching Clara's cat. How the little fucker got down here, I have no idea. I'm not surprised, though.
