Mistaya knew, too. Laphroig was ruthless and ambitious, and he had demonstrated on more than one occasion that he would eliminate anyone who got in his way.
“We’re going to get out of here, Thom,” she said suddenly, standing up as if ready to do so right that moment. “He can’t keep us locked up forever. Sooner or later, we will find a way to get out.”
He arched one eyebrow at her. “It had better be sooner. I don’t think we have all that much time. Whatever he’s got planned, it’s going to come about pretty quickly now.”
She was about to reassure him that it didn’t matter what His Eminence had planned for them, that they would find a way to escape, when the cell door opened and in strolled Edgewood Dirk. The Prism Cat looked sleek and relaxed, his brilliant fur shining in the near darkness, his eyes agleam and his tail aloft and twitching left to right, right to left. He glanced at Thom, but mostly he kept his eyes on Mistaya as he came up to her, sat down so that they were facing each other, and began cleaning himself.
She watched him with ill-concealed frustration, but kept silent while he performed his ablutions.
“Good day,” he greeted when finished, sounding as if he believed it actually was.
“I see that you’ve abandoned your insistence on never talking in front of anyone but me,” she responded with as much irony as she could muster.
“I’ve abandoned it because you’ve compromised me by telling your friend everything you know about me,” the cat replied. “There’s not much point in pretending to be ordinary when you’ve already let the cat out of the bag, so to speak.”
She sighed heavily. “Of course, I should have realized. But about that cheerful greeting you just offered?” She purposefully placed her hands where he could not miss seeing them as anything but balls of swirling, misty smoke. “It might be a good day for some, but not necessarily for me.”
The cat cocked his head. “I see what you mean.”
She waited a beat. “Well, then, perhaps you can do something about it? I would like to have the use of my hands back.”
Edgewood Dirk seemed to consider. “I am afraid I cannot help you.”
“You can’t help me,” she repeated flatly, exasperation flooding through her like a riptide beneath the water’s surface.
“I’m a cat, you see.”
“I do see. But you are so much more than an ordinary cat. You are a Prism Cat, in case you have forgotten. A fairy creature, possessed of special magic, if I am not mistaken.”
“You are not mistaken. I am possessed of special magic, although I might choose a different word than
She shook her head. “What has that got to do with anything? All I want you to do is employ enough magic to rid me of my shackles!”
The cat cocked his head the other way. “I understand that. But it isn’t easy for me to undo other spells. True, I have formidable skills with which to protect myself and sometimes others. I also have the ability to shield those I think might need it, such as you. But there are many things I cannot do because I lack the ability to weave spells in conjunction with speaking words. I believe that is your current problem, in point of fact, isn’t it?”
“You have to use your hands to get rid of this spell?” she demanded in disbelief. She gave a quick glance over at Thom, who was eyeing the cat with some suspicion but clearly not interested in getting involved in this argument. “You can’t set me free?”
“Lacking fingers and thumbs, I cannot make the necessary signs, even though I can speak the words. So, no, I cannot set you free.”
Mistaya wanted to scream aloud her frustration. What was she supposed to do now? Dirk was her last real hope for getting out of there.
“Can you open the door and let us out?” Thom asked cautiously.
The cat lifted one paw and licked it, and then set it down again. “I can open the door for you. I can even shield you from discovery. I can do this, Andjen Thomlinson, and I will, even though the Princess broke her word and told you about me. But I can only help you, not her. So long as she wears her shackles, she can be tracked easily. For her, escape is impossible. She wouldn’t get a dozen feet from the doorway before her captors were after her.”
