CHAPTER 202

"She wishes to wear you, Kisa. To wear you like a collar of her own." The old man stood, pushing the chair back. "If you obey her, you will lose what is left of yourself. This much I know."

Kisa was about to reply to him when the woman reappeared in the doorway. The woman had blonde hair that was frayed at the ends, like she had just been in a fight, and her robes had deep scratches in them.

"Okay, look," she said, her voice desperate. "We both stand to benefit from an agreement. I was planning on dumping your body as soon as a better replacement comes along, but what if I told you that I know some powerful people? People who could make you human again?"

Kisa opened her mouth to say something, but saw the old man shaking his head. "All the way human?" she asked.

"Yes!" The woman came closer, and her eyes were glowing. "My mother is a powerful witch, and she knows one of the most powerful men on the planet. Not only could we turn you back, but maybe even find out who you were. I can see inside your mind, Kisa, and I know that you aren't happy here."

"I—" She looked at the woman. "What would I have to do?"

"Just...let me in. Stop resisting." She stared daggers at the old man. "And quit listening to this one. He's not even real, just a manifestation of your conscience. You don't have to listen to him."

"Is true, Kisa." The old man sipped at his tea. "The choice is always yours."

She thought about it for a moment. She really did want to know who she was, and maybe this woman could help. After all was said and done, maybe her place wasn't in the home after all. Her thoughts touched on Mike, and she felt a sudden betrayal from her thoughts.

"That's not real," the woman told her. "You're his familiar now, you'll always be beholden to him. It'll be just like wearing that collar, and—"

"Stupid cat wake the fuck up!" It was Tink's voice, but it had come from the old man. "Tink no let go, make cat—"

He slammed his mouth shut and looked at Kisa with a raised eyebrow. "She fights for you, not against you," he told her. "Even when you were mean."

"Shut the fuck up," growled the woman, her face turning red. "She doesn't want any of this, I know she doesn't. She just wants a normal life, and—"

"Bad bitch making Kisa wear stupid collar!" Tink's voice blasted out of the old man again, and Kisa reflexively grabbed at her neck. This time, she felt her fingers close around something, and she pulled as hard as she could.

The entire world screeched like a car slamming on its breaks and then exploded into fragments of glass. Kisa was tangled up in someone's Halloween decorations, and was covered in blood. She was on the ground with Tink, and currently had a piece of fabric that looked like gauze wrapped around the goblin's neck. Tink was making choking noises, so Kisa pushed her away and fell forward on the ground, gasping for air.

In her left hand was the necklace. When she paused to inspect it, she had a sudden urge to put it back on, so tossed it away from her and went to check on Tink. The goblin was covered in scratches, and when Kisa rolled her over, Tink hit her in the face with a punch that knocked her teeth loose in her head.

"Owwww, fuck..." Kisa grabbed her mouth and rolled away.

Panting, Tink stood, moving as if in slow motion. "Tink no let stupid bitch take Kisa."

"Ith me," Kisa said through her fingers. When she looked at the goblin, Tink had adjusted her goggles and appraised her now, then let out a grunt and fell backward on the ground.

"Stupid cat run too fast," Tink said, then flopped over on her back. "Witch girl make fast run, Tink follow, but just barely. Now Tink tired."

"Tink." Kisa moved over to the goblin and then felt that cold pit in her stomach again. "We need to hide," she whispered, and then looked around.

They were in someone's front yard, and the whole place had been decorated like a giant spider's nest. Huge, bendable spiders had been put out in the yard, and the two of them squeezed beneath a bush covered in cobwebs just as a pale figure stepped around the corner.

"Sarah?" It was the woman with the long braid, and she was holding a wand in her hand that glowed with a sinister light. She waved the wand over the yard, and the discarded pendant flashed in response.

The woman ran to the pendant and knelt down to pick it up while holding the wand at the ready. She tucked the necklace away in her pocket before backing out of the yard, her eyes scanning the terrain. Once on the sidewalk, she broke into a run and disappeared.

"That can't be good," Kisa said, then helped Tink out of the bush. "We should get back before anyone sees you."

"Ha! Everybody love Tink, nobody want to see stupid cat girl." Tink let out a wheeze and then stood to her full height. "But Tink glad—"

"Hey!" The front door of the home they were near banged open, and a man with a flashlight stepped onto the porch. "You kids need to go home, get out of my yard."

Tink blew a raspberry, then mooned him. Stunned, Kisa allowed Tink to grab her wrist and pull her away, and it wasn't until they were almost a block away that she realized that Tink was cackling like a madman.

In that moment, she had a flash, and dozens of memories blew through her mind. They were vague in nature, but all of them involved time spent with Tink inside of Emily's home. The two of them teasing the mandragora plant with tofu chunks, or catching the fairies in jars to squeeze lube out of them, or the time they ate all the ice cream in the house and tried to frame Abella. They had been thick and thin, back then, and Kisa realized how much she wanted to feel that way again.