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I flipped him off. The jester laughed, turned sideways, and vanished.
Though he often annoyed me, I really did like Robby, and once I’d gotten over the fright he’d given me, I was grateful not to be alone.
That made his absence even more keenly felt. Was his method of travel going to get compromised, too? Would we ever find him if it did? And how would the others know where I was at?
Those thoughts churned through my mind until Robby reappeared, seemingly out of nowhere. I heaved a relieved sigh.
“Did you miss me?” Robby smirked.
His smirk broadened when I flipped him off again.
“You love me, and you know it.” He caught my hand and folded my finger down to join the rest of my fist.
“Maybe,” I admitted.
“Okay, princess, let’s get out of here. There’s a way. It’s uncomfortable, but you should be able to do it.”
“You’re filling me with confidence.”
The jester winked and pointed. I hadn’t noticed the window slit. It was gray, showing gray sky, and the contrast was not remarkable. I went to it.
“If you think you can get through, there’s a ledge. Go to your left until you get to the next window. That room is clear, and we should be able to get someplace safe where we can wait for the others.”
“Wait, you’re not going with me?”
“I am neither small enough to fit through the window, nor an aerialist, my dear.”
I shut my eyes and wished for patience, before studying the slit. “Yeah, I can get through it. Give me a boost?”
Robby complied, and I shifted until I could squeeze through the slit. It was tight, and Robby would not have made it. I almost wished I hadn’t, once I was leaning out the other side. We were not on the ground floor. We weren’t even on the second floor, but the third.
My heart clenched and my breath stopped.
No. I could do this. The dream essence responded to my touch. I could control it. I could control the shadow essence. Hell, I had claws.
It merely took me thinking of them for my hands to shift into the weird, clawed paw-hands I’d had before. I dug the claws into cracks, fitted my toes to the ledge—which was a really generous term for the ridge of stone Robby expected me to walk on, and tried not to look down.
I did take a moment to shift my footwear into something protective but abrasive for traction and let my toes grip the stone.
I was so going to kill Robby when I got to the next window. Cheek pressed to cold stone, claws dug into crumbling mortar, and toes clutching the rock ledge, I shuffled sideways. At least the wind wasn’t blowing.
No sooner did I have the thought than my hair tickled my cheek as a breeze kicked up from somewhere. Cursing Robby with every inch I shuffled, I made my way closer to the next window. I was almost too pissed to be afraid, until the rock crumbled under my foot.
I whimpered, flexing my fingers and digging claws into the gaps between stones. My hands burned as they held my entire weight in a completely unfamiliar way.
“Shit, shit, shit,” I chanted, dangling by my claws. I hung there for a moment before I remembered I could wrap essence around myself and stick to the wall.
“Fuck me.” Feeling like an idiot for not doing that in the first place, I secured myself to the wall with tendrils of shadow essence, made a ledge for my feet, and continued my somewhat faster shuffle across to the window Robby had pointed out to me.
When I squeezed through the narrow gap, Robby was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, waiting for me.
“What took you so long, princess?”
I growled at him.
He raised his eyebrows, the picture of innocence. Trouble was, I couldn’t tell if he really didn’t know what I’d just gone through, or if he was being intentionally obtuse so he wouldn’t have to point out how I hadn’t used any of my powers until I’d almost fallen. Well, except for the claws.
Finally, I shook my head and stalked over to the door. “What’s on the other side?”
