* * *
Down in the study, Ulla smiled to himself. The pig was well aware of how bizarre and frightening his powers must be to the boy, but he was happy to know both that Soryn was visiting him and that he did not care if Ulla scared him. What mattered was that Soryn would keep returning and that he was becoming interested in the Seidh. For the sake of the boy’s present sanity, Ulla decided to ignore Soryn’s thoughts for the night and, instead, focused his attention on the small hole in the wall underneath the counter on which the miniature sun sat. He had seen the familiar, yellow eyes sitting there throughout his conversation with Soryn. He smirked.
What are you two doing here? Ulla asked.
At his question, two lithe, grey tabby cats slithered through the small hole and into his study. They quizzically cocked their heads at him in unison. Answering together, they said, There isss ssssomething you should know about thisss boy.
And what is that? Ulla asked.
He issss being helped by a girl-child.
Yes. Jordis. I know of this. Do you have anything useful to report? Ulla rolled his eyes.
We don’t like thisss girl. She isss sssusssspiciousss to usss. The cats hissed.
Is that all you have to tell me tonight? Ulla’s tone took on a bored, desperate quality.
Yesss. We mussst be going, they said.
The two felines turned together and squeezed through the small hole like water flowing between rocks. Ulla rolled his eyes again. Geri and Freki had never been particularly helpful to him, but for some reason, he liked having them around to tell him useless bits of information that he already knew. Sometimes it helped Ulla work through his thoughts. Tonight, he used all of his mental energy to avoid the boy’s thoughts. He had none to spare for the cats’ opinion of the girl or Soryn.
Ulla knew that upstairs, Soryn had already slipped into a dream of fire and screaming. The pig let his concentration slip just enough to pay closer attention to the boy’s nightmare. Soryn tossed and turned, tangling his sheets around his legs. Visions of monsters and blood haunted him and he soaked his mattress with sweat.
Hmmm…now isn’t that interesting, Ulla thought.