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“Princess, some help!” Robby snapped.
“Sorry, sorry.” I went back to attacking the snakes, gaining confidence and energy as I went. With the dragon’s help, we managed to destroy the nightmare.
I made it the rest of the way into the room in time to see Robby yank one last serpent off of a prone Dio and fling it away. The creature that had burst out of the duffle bag pounced on it and tore it apart. I suspected it had absorbed a lot of the energy from the nightmare like I had. I felt full, nearly to bursting.
The creature hopped up on the bed, black coat glistening, wings outstretched, feline tail swishing back and forth idly. I took a closer look. That wasn’t a dragon. That was a small, winged panther or a very large, winged house cat. My fingers itched to stroke that soft fur. Even the creature’s wings were covered in fur and if it weren’t for the murder mittens it currently flexed on Dio’s bed, the thing would have looked like a large, cuddly stuffed animal.
I glanced at Nic. He studied the creature, brow furrowed in concentration. Robby cast about the room, probably looking for other nightmares.
“What is that?” I gasped.
Nic turned his attention to me. “Dio’s essence.”
I raised my eyebrows. “It looks like a flying cat?”
A mysterious smile ghosted across Nic’s lips before he nodded. “Yes, apparently it does.”
The creature hopped up onto Dio’s stomach and purred, kneading his chest without unsheathing its claws. The creature looked shiny and healthy. Dio, on the other hand, looked awful. His curls were limp and plastered in sweat, his dusky skin ashen, and he looked thin as if he’d lost weight in the few days since we’d last seen him.
“What do we do?” I came over to Dio’s side and put my hand on his arm. I didn’t dare pet the winged cat, much as I wanted to. Dio’s skin felt cool and clammy to my touch. I blinked away tears.
“I don’t know,” Nic said. “I had thought simply bringing his essence to him would be enough. That I know of, no one has ever done what he did before.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket, startling me. I pulled it out and stared at the screen. Ash wouldn’t be calling me if it wasn’t important. She knew what we were up to. Dread tightened its icy grip on me, squeezing my chest as I hit reply.
“Ash?”
“Ember, they said you have to come and bring the beast with you, or they’ll kill us.” Ash’s tight voice conveyed the depth of her anger and a hint of her fear.
“Where are you?”
“My place.”
“We’re about an hour away.”
“I know. Be careful.”
“You, too.”
I hung up and turned my attention to the guys. Robby’s eyes tightened, and he clenched his fists at his side. “I’m going to spy on them,” he said, handing me the keys to the van before he vanished.
“Nic?”
“Obviously, Robby expects us to follow. We should get Dio out of here. We may not be able to fix him until we’re back in Nightmare. We’ll just have to defeat the clown and whoever is with him, then figure out how to get home.”
“Right, simple.”
Nic smiled. “I never said any of this would be easy, luv.”
I forced a smile. “I know.”
“Knight, could you collect Dio?”
Geraint nodded. “As long as the cat lets me.”
As if understanding Geraint’s words, the creature backed off, sitting and licking his paw, wings tucked along its back.
Geraint heaved Dio over his shoulder in a rescue carry. The winged panther hopped off the bed and padded along behind us, wings tucked tightly to his back. Nic wrapped us in shadows, and we slipped out into the hallway.
