The horror took all but one thought.
I don't want to be here.
Darkness rippled like water all around him. Things moved, creating more ripples. Neko tried not to see them, but sometimes he saw a flash of neon color, unexpectedly pretty.
Strange. He would never have thought Maude had such a calm and sometimes pretty place within her. The feel--
Not her nightmare. The horror took all but one thought.
I don't want to be here.
Darkness rippled like water all around him. Things moved, creating more ripples. Neko tried not to see them, but sometimes he caught a glimpse of a flash of neon color, unexpectedly pretty. It moved closer, but something else pulled it away. Neko felt as though he was watching some sort of battle and wondered what he should hope for from this. What part of Maude should he hope to win in this contest? Could he trust anything pretty from her?
The battle continued. He tried to move closer and became aware of other things beyond the darkness. Those parts he could recognize as being Maude's creations. They seethed with anger. What was he supposed to do here? He had never been powerful.
Strange. He would never have thought Maude had such a calm and sometimes pretty place within her. The feel--
Not her nightmare. This was a powerful repudiation of everything she tried to throw at him. This was not his power, so someone else had found the link and had come to help him. He didn't recognize the magic and that told Neko what he needed to know.
"Merlin," he dared whisper.
Neko felt more than heard the agreement. For a moment, he almost relaxed, but that could be too simple a trap. He did not want to fall into Maude's hands at this point. Rage gave her power.
"Good," Merlin said, suddenly standing by Neko. The cat jumped and fluffed up a bit before he got control of his nerves. Merlin lifted his arms and sent out a wave of magic that transformed into… funny-faced balloons.
Maude's reaction matched Neko's confusion. They had both expected a masterful battle of wits and magic. Instead, they watched the balloon start to dance and sing. It was appalling. Or maybe it was just amusing.
Or confusing. Maude had to turn her attention to figuring out what was going on. Her level of rage dropped considerably. Merlin grunted in appreciation, and suddenly the balloons transformed into wraiths, attacking their prey. Maude tried to call her warriors to battle, but the balloons and the wraiths confused them. Maude shouted orders that her gargoyles and other monsters were not listening to. Dorian and Callen turned and sped toward her as the shadows of her nightmare disappeared.
Neko started that way but then changed his mind when he saw Luna trying to help Reggie with some sort of black blobs that kept bouncing at him. It took little to shred the blobs, and they fizzled and disappeared with a nasty-smelling puff of smoke.
Merlin was preparing to leave the others behind on the Hill and reinforce it so that even Maude's nightmares couldn't escape. Neko considered going with them, but they had enough company. Besides, he really wanted just to go back into the bookstore and rest.
He slept in the chair this time, although I made sure there was no spell attached to it as well. He was only aware at dawn, when the others came straggling in with mutters about the weather. At least they showed no sign of battle, so Neko didn't feel so bad about not going with them.
Silver Cloud came into the building with four dragons. They quickly shifted to a smaller size. He still felt intimidated. Neko missed a good part of the conversation until he heard someone say they could sit on the roof and guard.
"Taller buildings," Neko pointed out and tried to pretend like he was paying attention. "Dragons sitting on the roof would still draw attention."
"This is an old-fashioned building," a Dragon said with a nod toward him. "It has a nice exterior cornice and corbels at each corner. A perfect spot for a Dragon to play gargoyle."
The others grunted in agreement. Neko couldn't decide if they were happy with the idea or not. Even Silver Cloud seemed less confident about the decision. Nonetheless, Silver and three other dragons went out onto the roof to check things out.
Neko had trouble falling asleep while the others continued to discuss how best to stay safe. It wasn't as though he didn't trust them to do the right thing, but rather that he'd interfere with a crazy idea again. He slept to keep his mouth shut and woke up well into the day, smelling breakfast nearby.
The building's tiny kitchen should have felt crowded, but the fae had played with reality, and the room was a nice size. Neko took his usual place at the end of the table and was several bites in before he realized the others were still talking about Maude.
"I slept," he said with a little snarl. "Did I miss something? What has Maude done now?"
Merlin, who arrived later than Neko, gave an appreciative nod when Dorian pointed him to a chair and handed him a plate of food.
"She has gone into a deep sleep, Neko. One in which she gathers all the power she can without using any. She's buried herself so deep into her subconscious that if we didn't know where we left her, we would have a hard time finding her again. There is no telling how long she will be in the state, but we expect at least a few years."
The idea of years didn't sound nearly long enough. Neko frowned-- right until Luna gave him a piece of bacon. He considered it for a moment and then decided that it was better than worrying about something that would not happen tomorrow.
They had a friendly meal. The others made plans to come and go, but Neko turned his attention to getting the bookstore up and going again. Luna was still happy to take over the job of dealing with customers.
The group had a quiet winter. Neko, though, knew the trouble was going to come in the spring.
That was when the kittens would be born.
The End
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