"Hey..."
Liam notices my expression, and gently comes closer. Pulling on my hand, he makes me sit right against him, my legs over his, and wraps his arm around my shoulders. I am not so hot anymore thanks to the fresh air outside, so his warmth is more than welcome. He gently kisses my lips, a brief kiss.
"Don't worry, we will find answers soon, okay? Let's go check the docks again at dawn, and the cemetery too. I bet we will find some clues there."
I nod, but the truth is, I want to go now. My heart can't contain all of this anymore. I look at the city beneath us, and for once, I'm not amazed at its beauty. I just wonder which part of this world I do fit in. I can't find the right spot for me, that place where I'd say, “Ah, this is where I belong.”
I feel like I'm just trying on some shoes that don't fit, one after the other. As if mine had been broken, and I was just gathering the pieces... I let out a long sigh, and curl myself into Liam's arms, trying to repress those dark feelings. I will get my answers. The wait will be over soon. Liam gently rubs my back, my shoulders, letting me calm down until I fall asleep there. I have a vague sensation of him putting me back to bed, but I'm not really sleeping.
His arms around me, I try to find comfort in them. We don't care about the distance anymore. Liam is falling back to sleep next to me, and I want to snuggle in his arms, breathe his smell, and hear his gentle breathing. I take deep breaths too, trying to calm down. Our bond is all I need for now... Right? I will be fine. As long as Liam is with me, I will be fine...
I try to, but I can't seem to fall back asleep. Liam starts gently snoring, and that's all I can focus on for the next hour.
When he finally moves, I decide to get up while he has released his grip around me. I watch him sleep for a while, a little smile on my lips. Moon Goddess, if you're real, I have to thank you just for allowing me this vision. There's a demi-god half-naked in the same bed I slept in, snoring with his mouth open and expression as innocent as a young boy. I bite my thumb for a bit, and grab Liam's phone, taking a picture silently. This has to be illegal, but I don't mind being a criminal for this... I smile and get up, looking through his wardrobe to borrow some clothes I won't sweat in. I find a gray T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Of course, they are too large for me, but with a belt, I manage to make it work.
As I wash my face with some cold water in his bathroom, I check my appearance, but my dark circles aren't that bad... I do whatever I can to tame my hair with a comb, and finally head to the kitchen, hoping to find some coffee at least.
The oven timer says it's almost 5:00 in the morning. So I probably did sleep a bit before that nightmare... I pour myself what tastes like the worst coffee I've ever had, but it's strong enough to finish waking me up.
What do I do now? I'd rather let Liam sleep after that shitty night, and from the snoring, he's doing fine with that. I walk up to the bag I abandoned in the kitchen yesterday, taking out the map. I should have told him I brought that thing here, maybe. I spread it out on the floor, watching Silver City again. This time, I make sure to orient the map so that north matches our current position. I don't need a knife, my previous cut is still there... I pull on it until it reopens, and a drop of blood falls on the map. I sit cross-legged in front of the map, curious to see what happens.
Once again, the drop spreads toward three points, but this time, one has moved from Sylviana's house to what ought to be here. We have already confirmed we have to check out the cemetery and the docks, probably the point where the accident happened.
I take a deep breath. What do I ask it now?
"...Where is my mother?"
I wait a while, but nothing happens. Either she is somewhere outside of Silver City, or she isn't anywhere... I sigh, a bit disappointed. I have no idea what to ask that stupid map now.
"...Where are the other witches?"
This time, the blood moves and, curious, I watch it go up north. It divides into... two, two dots right next to each other, while a third one goes southeast, behind the territory in green. Shit, so there really are three witches. One of those two up north has to be Ravena, but then, who is she with? I bite my thumb. Is she planning something? Crap, if only witches could communicate like werewolves...
"Meow."
I jump and turn around.
"Spark!"
My cat is there, walking toward me naturally. How the hell did he get here? He definitely has to be a magic cat, I have no idea how he found me, but no normal cat could have gotten into the building, let alone the apartment, like that. He comes up to me, rubbing his head against my knee and purring.
I scratch his head.
"Are you here to tell me something, perhaps?"
It may sound like one damn crazy idea, but... If Spark really is my familiar, could he have appeared because I was talking about contacting another witch? He sits in front of me, his furry butt on the map, like he doesn't care much about the magic stuff going on there. I caress him.
"Spark, can you do that? Can you go talk to that witch for me?"
He meows, and for a second, I wonder if it would be really crazy to try... Should I give him a note or something? He doesn't have a collar I could slide a paper in. Yet, he's still here, staring at me with those big orange eyes. I hesitate, biting my thumb again.
"Spark, if you could speak, that would be so much easier, you know," I sigh.
Another meow, of course. I can tell he's a smart cat. And a magic cat. Why couldn't he be a courier cat...?
"Hey, do you think you can ask Ravena... No, wait, what should I ask?"
She didn't seem to know who I was either when we met...
