Apparently not.
Even now, I can feel the soft hum of my connection to the great cat. It’s a strange feeling, being bonded to another essence—and to that of an animal, no less. It’s like discovering you have an extra appendage, only this one is sentient.
I close my eyes now and focus on that sentience and the bond that binds us together. The longer I concentrate on our connection, the more I feel a pull to slip down it.
So I do.
One moment I’m sensing the magical bond, and the next, I slide into the panther’s mind.
Most of the creature’s thoughts are barred from me, but I can feel his mild hunger, and I sense that he’s otherwise in good health. His strength simmers just below the surface, and inside his head, I feel stronger, more athletic.
I breathe in, and through his nose, I smell a dozen different scents, each with its own nuanced meaning. Most shocking of all, when I blink and the world comes into focus, I can see myself through his eyes.
Freaking trippy as hell.
I swing his head around, taking in our surroundings. His vision is sharper yet less vibrant, and I can see all sorts of things in the shadows of the jungle.
I slip back into my own head, and it’s like moving from one room to another—no magic needed, no memories devoured.
I have to place my hand on a nearby tree while I catch my breath.
“You are… This is…” Unbelievable. Extraordinary.
And most of all, unexpected.
Really, really unexpected.
Despite how desperate I was to find my familiar, I hadn’t truly believed it would happen on this trip.
Tentatively, I step forward and stroke my panther’s fur, still half expecting him to bite my hand off. But he lets me pet him, even closing his eyes and leaning into my touch.
“What should I name you?” I ask him.
The big cat says nothing, just continues to lean into me.
“Phantom?” I try the name out. I mean, he is scary.
No reaction. I think that might be a no.
Goddess above, I’m trying to read the thoughts of a wild cat.
“Onyx?” That one’s pretty literal.
No reaction from my familiar.
“Ebenezer?” I throw out.
Now he gives me a look, and it’s not a nice one.
“I’m kidding,” I say. I take in the panther all over again. “Hmmm…you’re a serious guy.” Serious enough to deserve a powerful name, one of a ruler.
From the foggy wisps of my memory, I drag a name forth. “Nero.”
The big cat turns his head and licks my palm with that abrasive tongue of his.
“Do you like that?”
The panther butts his head against my hand, and I think that’s a yes.
I pet his fur. “Yeah, I bet you get a thrill being likened to some ruthless Roman emperor.”
It’s as I’m straightening that movement above me catches my eye. I glance up in time to see that line of indigo magic twisting in the air. It snakes through the trees, toward what looks to be a body of water.
My queen… Find me… Claim me… Save me…
The deep-blue magic reaches for my arm, wrapping itself around my wrist as though it were a hand and tugging me forward.
I stare at it, momentarily confused. I think I assumed finding Nero was the driving force behind the plane crash and this very literal magic quest I’m now on. But, of course, that’s not the case. Familiars don’t actually put out any magic of their own; they simply amplify and conduct it. The voice and the insistent power pulling me toward the murky water ahead of us are something else entirely.
The magic tugs on my hand again, and I feel compelled once again to find the source of it.
Empress…
“You better not be some swamp monster set on devouring me,” I call out, “because now I have a badass familiar who looks like he would happily eat swamp monsters for breakfast.”
I glance at Nero, who doesn’t look like he’s on board with eating swamp monsters at all.
“I’m obviously bluffing,” I whisper. “Just go along with it.”
Languidly, the big cat stretches, then prowls forward, his tail brushing against my side as he starts after the magic.
I follow him, reveling in the subtle thrum of our connection. Though I cannot see the thin magical cord that connects us, I can still sense my familiar on the other end of it.
This is so wild.
Nero slips between the trees on silent feet, moving like a shadow through the jungle’s underbrush.
We haven’t gone far when the trees give way to a large, winding river.
Could this be the Amazon River? Because that would actually be really fucking awesome. Random, but awesome.
I stand there, hands on my hips, my combat boots splattered with mud and my skin sweaty, and I savor the ridiculous irony of the situation. I’m now getting the wild magic quest I was too broke to afford. I mean, technically I’m also too broke for the quest I purchased, but what are details?
The line of blue magic cuts directly across the river, disappearing into the trees on the other side.
I let out a sigh, then turn to Nero. “You wouldn’t happen to know of any nearby bridges, would you?”
CHAPTER 6
It’s not a bridge, but Nero does lead me to a boat. Well, a dinghy. One that’s rusted over and partially submerged into the muddy riverbank. Inside, it’s filled with decaying shrubbery, a murky puddle of water, and what looks to be a thriving, self-contained ecosystem. The floor of it is also partially rusted through. And it’s missing its oars.
But you know what? It’s something.
So I spend a ridiculous amount of time and magic repairing the Tetanus Express and prying it out of the riverbank. By the end of it, my head, which had stopped hurting thanks to the aspirin, begins to throb again.
I ignore the pain and my rising anxieties about the amount of power I’ve used today. I’m on a magic quest; I can be a little indulgent with my spellcasting.
With that thought in mind, I release another burst of my power, one that cleans the interior of the dinghy. All the while, the dark blue magic circles me.
Empress…
I ignore the voice and the restlessness it stirs in me. Instead, I drag the boat into the water, grimacing a little when my boots squish into the riverbed. I nearly whoop with joy when the dinghy stays afloat, rocking gently in the shallows of the river. It’s still badly rusted and missing oars, but it floats.
I turn to Nero, who’s been watching from the riverbank, and I hesitate. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to acquire a familiar but not what to do with one once we bonded.
“Do you…want to come with me?” I ask.
Nero stares at me for a moment. Then, in response, he prowls to the lapping edge of the river and leaps into the dinghy. The force of his landing nearly capsizes the boat in the process.
“Dude,” I say, grabbing the edge of the vessel and holding it as steady as I can.
If Nero was at all worried about being thrown overboard, he doesn’t show it. The panther plops on the floor of the boat and begins cleaning himself.