The twin orbs swirled with darkness, completely unlike the moss green eyes her aunt usually had. Macey was right. She had to be. This wasn't her aunt. And though it was possible, she doubted this was actually happening.
A chilling laugh filled the air and her heart sank. There was only one person that was going to be...
WORKED IT OUT, LITTLE KELPIE?
Macey shuddered, and the world went black.
She jolted upright, taking in the dark cell around her. She was relieved the weird dream was over, not quite so much over her surroundings. After a few blinks, memories came rushing back in, and it all slotted into place.
She was a prisoner.
This was her cell.
The Voice had her.
"This is hopeless." Her voice came out as a whine and she instantly hated herself for it. She wasn't the kind of woman who'd just take what she was given. She could sort this out. She wasn't sure how, but damned if she was going to wait around to be saved. Her Wardens would have a field day if she did that.
"I'd hardly say hopeless." The small squeaky voice broke through her inner misery, and made Macey jump. She glanced around the room a few times, trying to find where it'd come from. This voice hadn't sounded hostile, but what did she know? Nothing was as it seemed, according to her recent experiences.
"Where are you?" she asked quietly.
"On the windowsill," the voice replied instantly. Looking in the direction of the tiny window, that definitely wasn't big enough to warrant the name, Macey gave her own squeak of surprise.
"You're a mouse." It was smaller than one of her hands, with dark brown fur and intelligent eyes.
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," the mouse replied. "Though I much prefer Luch."
"Is that your name?"
"Of a sorts. It's what you can call me." It scratched behind one of its ears with a paw, studying her intently.
"Why am I talking to a mouse?" she asked herself quietly.
"Better than talking to yourself."
And why was the mouse such a smart ass? She was hundreds of times bigger than he was, even with her tiny stature.
"It just seems unlikely."
"Says the walking, talking, water horse," it replied.
Macey growled low in her throat. "Don't call me a water horse."
"Don't call me a mouse then. I told you, I prefer Luch." It seemed pretty serious, and she didn't want to annoy the only thing she could talk to in this place.
"Okay, I'm sorry, Luch. I'm just grumpy from being imprisoned and all."
The mouse, no, Luch, chuckled. "You're not the only one. Though I think the other woman is nearly mad. She rocks a lot." Luch frowned.
"Other woman?" Macey perked up. While being imprisoned herself wasn't exactly a good sign, if the other woman was Amber, then she might be able to turn this around. Being in the same place as the person she was trying to rescue was a good start. Even if she technically needed rescuing herself.
"Yes, red hair, very skinny. Too much so for my tastes."
Macey ignored the last comment. Not quite wanting to think about what kind of tastes a mouse could possibly have. But Amber didn't sound to be in good shape. And in the Voice's tender care, that wasn't a good sign. She tried to work out how long the Lightning Warden had been here, but she didn't recall Izban or Sharrara mentioning a specific time frame.
One thing was for certain though, Macey needed to get out of here quickly. She needed to find the other woman and get her out too. And try not to go too crazy. If talking to Luch didn't already make that too late.
"There's two men too. Whiny ones. I got bored of them, so I'm glad you're here now."