In the Open Cage

Chapter 20

Royle raised his lantern, studying the stony structure of the bell tower. It hadn't changed since the last time he'd come to look at it, though there was certainly something eerie about it in the dark of night. He pondered over the riddle. He was certain it was a bell they were supposed to be looking for. He just couldn't figure out what it meant by the door in the sky.

At first, he'd taken it to be a bell that was at a high place. The obvious choice was this bell tower, which was why he had come back to it. It would be useful if there was a way to get up there and examine the bell a little closer. Rational thought, however, dismissed it. The very idea that a bell strung up more than ten meters above the ground was the door to the witch market didn't make sense. Even witches weren't that ludicrous.

He stepped closer to the tower, switching strategies. Perhaps the riddle was talking about the general location. Perhaps the door was hidden within the bell tower and not on top of it.

Royle reached out his hand to touch the rough stone of the tower but grabbed something much softer instead. A sudden tug that followed had him stumbling from the momentum. Locking his knees, Royle halted. The girl's hand tightly gripped his, and he glimpsed a flash of terror in her eyes.

"What are you—"

"Shh!" She clamped a hand over his mouth, stealing a fearful glance at the city square. The warmth of her body pressed against his chest. "Shut up!"

Royle moved to follow her gaze, but she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the other side of the bell tower. He didn't resist only because of the sheer terror he'd seen in her, though he intended to ask what had spooked her. His questions were answered when they made it behind the tower, however, as a bright light—brighter than any lantern—spilled on either side of them.

Royle tensed. Witches.

The tower's shadow stretched before them, elongating as the witches approached. The lantern's fire was so pathetic compared to the witches' light that turning it off didn't cross Royle's mind. Neither did it cross Misa's, it seemed, as she stood frozen in place.

"I swear, I felt it somewhere around here," a soft lilting voice said.

"I sensed it too," replied a deeper voice. "A call for help. Odd at this time of night in Central Square."

Royle shot a glance at Misa. He recalled the way he'd found her, backed onto the wall, squeezing her cat as though relieved. A call for help. Had she really been so scared?

"Do you think she got caught?" The first witch. Soft-spoken, though Royle sensed a sharpness that indicated she was not a child. "It was a desperate plea. The witch felt true danger."

A meow interrupted the conversation. The girl tensed and squeezed his hand in a tight grip. Well, that explained how they hadn't been discovered. The cat must have worked to distract the witches while they hid. Royle remembered its intelligence and was, for once, glad it had come along.

"Maybe she got spooked by the little one," the second witch suggested. Slightly accented. "Yawo, where is the witch in need?" Definitely not Plathean.

"What if she's at the purgehouse?"

"There are no officers this early out. She must have run off." If only they knew.

"Well, I'm sure she'll be fine. She can just use her magic if she needs to."

"Doubtful." Footsteps approached the bell tower. Royle held his breath. The accented witch spoke, her voice not three steps away. "The magic was familiar to me. I sensed it in a young witch who did not know how to use it. Her magic is out of her control. If she truly is in danger, then I pray that her magic does not act out on its own."