Page 15

15

CALLIE

I ignore the burn in my legs and the scrapes I've managed to make on my hands. It turns out I'm not so good at climbing. But I'm above the courtyard now, and that's the main thing.

I crouch behind a large stone gargoyle and stare down at the scene below. Will is putting up a fight the whole way, and tiny sparks jump from his hands. He's attempting to get free, but he’s being prevented somehow from creating something bigger and more effective. That's annoying, but there's nothing I can do about it.

My fingers tighten around the necklace Mel gave me. It's still itching weirdly against my skin, but I don't do anything about it. There's too much at stake for me to throw away any advantage I have.

The men finally line Will up with the huge block in the middle of the courtyard.

Who even has something set up like this all the time? This doesn't strike me as some kind of Renaissance Fayre.

It's now or never. I want to pretend that I have some kind of plan in place, but I'm making it up as I go along. Everyone seems to underestimate me as a human, so that's something I can use to my advantage. At least, that's my working theory.

A loose roof tile catches my eye, and I lean down to pick it up. It's heavier than I expect, but it'll be enough to create some kind of diversion. All I need to do is distract the people below long enough for Will to start elbowing his way free.

With all the strength I have, I throw the tile at the gargoyle on the opposite side of the courtyard.

A gasp escapes me as it reaches out a hand and catches the tile. "Watch what you're doing!" it shouts.

The witches let Will go and look up at the gargoyle, who’s still shouting like crazy.

That's an unexpected advantage.

An angry gargoyle may not be the diversion I had in mind, but it seems to be working.

Will glances in the opposite direction and locks eyes with me. I hold a finger to my lips, and he takes it as a sign to create more of a diversion than I already have.

Good. It's just what I need.

He elbows the guy directly behind him before swinging the heavy chains around and whacking another one.

Alright! Go, Will!

Now I gotta get down to him and somehow get both of us to the portal so we can escape.

This isn't really what I was after when I started my hunt for the witches.

Now. How to get down...

There's a distinct lack of ladders here, but if everyone can do magic or be a talking gargoyle, then maybe they don't need them. I briefly consider giving the stone in front of me a poke and asking if he'll fly me down to the ground, but I don't think that's the best idea. Not when the other one is making so much noise. He's only going to do the same and draw some of the attention this way.

What is it they say about cats? Oh, right, they always land on their feet .

The question is, can I? I've never tried in my human form before. It's something I've not felt an affinity for risking. But now I'm going to have to try.

"Here goes nothing," I mutter.

I glance at Will before I move and see he's managing to stay free. Or as free as someone can be when their hands are cuffed.

At least he still has two hands .

Knowing it's now or never, I close my eyes and jump. My body takes over within moments. The air whistles past my ears, and the awareness of how close the ground is swims in my head.

I open my eyes in time to hit the ground, landing in a crouch that doesn't even hurt.

Huh. Cats do always land on their feet. Handy. Or feety.

Snickering, I jump up, rushing around the corner and straight into the back of one of the witches who dragged Will out here.

Uh-oh, I should watch where I'm going .

The man turns around and reaches out a hand to grab me. I duck and pull at the amulet around my neck. The itch moves from the skin there to my hand, but I ignore it and focus on the man in front of me. I hold it out, and he flinches.

Instant reaction. That's something.

"Don't come near me!" I shout at him, backing away and toward Will, who is still battling off some of the others.

"I have to say I'm glad to see you," Will says the moment I'm in range.

"Right back at you." I wave the amulet at another of the witches, and he moves back. This is only going to last so long before they stop being so scared of it. Or work out that I don't know what it does. "How do we get your cuffs off so you can do all the flamey stuff?"

"There's a key around the biggest dude's neck."

"His neck? How cliche."

"Did the creepy castle and archaic punishment methods not convince you that this isn’t a place for modern witches?" he asks as he punches the next person to come at him.

"Duck!" I shout and shove the amulet in the face of the person swinging from his left.

This time, it connects with skin. The man pulls back, covering his face with his hands, and screams. I can't see what it's done, but it's something.

Alright, good to know. I don't have to do anything to make the amulet work.

The large man Will pointed out rushes forward. I plant my feet on the ground and wait for him to capture me. It's the only way I can think of to get close to the key around his neck, even if it could result in me being dragged in front of the king.

The man scoops me up without any effort, pinning me against the wall under my gargoyle hiding place. Maybe I should have woken it up after all.

I don't wait for him to do anything to me. I'm close to what I want, and I'm going to do my best to take it. There's no time to waste. I grab it, tearing the chain from his neck.

He drops me as he winces, mostly likely this charmed necklace working. I see it as my chance to roll away.

"Will!" I shout and throw the key as soon as he turns in my direction. He catches it with ease, and I breathe a sigh of relief for the first time since the fight started. With Will's magic no longer dampened by the restraints, we should be able to get free.

"Callie!"

I turn around in time to see the big guy coming at me again.

"Oh no, you don't." I hold out the amulet, but he smirks at me. "Can I ask you a question?"

He stops at my question, clearly not expecting it from me. "What?" he grunts.

"Is there a reason you haven't called for backup?"

There's only him and one other man left standing, and I don't think he's going to be a problem for long.

The big man grunts and starts to head toward me again. I pull my fist back and slam it into his nose.

He howls in pain and rolls away.

Point to Callie!

"You ready to go?" I ask Will.

"Yes, let me send them a message." A flame springs to life in his hand, spinning and dancing in the light.

"It's like nothing I ever imagined," I say in awe.

"And we can talk about it later," he promises.

The flames jump from his hand and multiply into something so much bigger than either of us.

"Did you put a giant flame hand in the courtyard?" I ask.

"The king wants a hand, I'm providing." He shrugs. "But someone's going to notice that, so we should get going."

I stare at it in awe, totally impressed. "Is it flipping the king off?"

He grins. "It’s time to go."

"Great idea." I see the portal shimmering, and no one between us and it.

"Should we run?"

"Yes, please." Exhaustion is very real as it courses through my body, but I want to get out of here more than I want to rest. "We'll be safe on the other side, right?"

"Safer," he admits.

"I'll take it."

He holds his hand out to me, and I clasp it. His large, calloused hand fits perfectly with mine, but I don't pay too much attention to that. Now isn't the time.

We set off at a run, neither of us looking back because it will only slow us down, something neither of us wants.

I do stop when we get to the portal itself to look back at the first amazing—and scary—proof of the supernatural I’ve ever seen and see a group of witches flooding from the building.

"Time to go," Will says and pulls me through.

The portal fizzes over my body, making me itch and tingle in a way that's similar to the amulet still clutched in my other hand, but not quite at the same time. There's so much more to the world of the paranormal than I ever imagined. I'm going to enjoy picking Will's brain over it all.

We fall to the ground on the town side of the portal, the ground biting into my hands. I've never been so glad for it.

Sirens blaze from around the corner, and I struggle to my feet, not wanting to come face-to -ace with James and Hank while I'm still covered in dirt and looking worse for wear.

"There's something you should know before they get here," Will says, dusting his hands off on his pants after he stands.

"They're not human either?" I guess.

His eyes widen.

"It's not that hard to guess once they start talking about vampires and not flinching when you spout fire everywhere."

"How have you been spying on us?" Will asks.

I wave his question away. Now isn't the time to tell him I shift into a cat when I get stressed - mostly because my stress levels are approaching feline level. I'm surprised my cat hasn't taken over already. Maybe she's aware that I need my arms and legs to get us out of the sticky situation. She seems fairly smart.

The fire truck pulls to a stop opposite us, and James and Hank jump out and then run in our direction.

"Are the two of you alright?" Hank asks, giving us the once-over with his eyes.

"We're fine," Will responds.

"Why are you covered in soot?" I glance between Hank and James, both of them covered in a thick layer of black that only comes from fires.

"Diversion," James says. "Luckily, we had some help at just the right time." He points a thumb over his shoulder.

It takes a moment for my confusion to clear and recognition to sink in. An older woman walks toward us, a regal air about her.

Her face is too much for me to take. The amulet Mel gave me drops from my hand and clatters to the floor as my cat decides to take over. I relax into the shift, knowing there's no point in fighting it. At least I can get away from the woman Mel warned me about.

Once the shift is complete, my cat darts away toward the city, leaving the firemen and the witch far behind.