HAWK

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: BIRDCAGE (3/6)

One hour may have passed or ten; Kas had no idea. Her mind and body had begun playing games with her that made it difficult to think clearly.

On top of the cold, her stomach was complaining loudly of still having not been fed (Swanne's promise of food and water had unsurprisingly been left unfulfilled), driving Kas to press her fists into her tummy in an effort to ease its suffering. On the up side, her brain had kept her well entertained with a series of varied and interesting hallucinations.

She'd so far been treated to an impromptu symphony of strange but beautiful music, been visited by her eccentric former neighbour, Mr Mause (who had in reality passed away many years before), and sat in stunned silence as what can only be described as a troupe of tiny and colourfully dressed men put on a rather wonderful display of acrobatics. She wasn't so keen when the smell of freshly baked bread filled the room and coerced a loud groan from her belly, but gratefully it didn't last for long.

Kas was busy trying to invoke her brain to fall asleep when a spark of yellow light erupted out of the darkness. She watched utterly engrossed as it fluttered across the room in long, swirling movements reminiscent of a firefly. This time, it didn't disappear when she looked at it.

'Hey there little guy,' she croaked. The firefly stopped moving at once.

'Hello,' it replied. It had a young female voice. While Kas might normally have been a little more startled to discover a glowing bug that could talk, she'd seen weirder things in the past few hours to make this new encounter seem relatively tame.

'You don't look very well,' the firefly added.

'I don't feel too great, either.'

'Are you trapped here as well?'

'Uh-huh...'

'Me too.'

'Sorry to hear that. What did you do?'

'I made the governor angry, so she killed me.'

'Bummer.'

'I hope she doesn't kill you too. You seem nice.'

'Thanks. You're a polite little bug, huh?'

'I am not a bug.'

'Oh. Sorry.'

'That's OK, I have to go now.'

'Go where?'

But the firefly didn't answer. Instead, its fiery body shrunk to a speck of dust before disappearing entirely. Suddenly, every panel on the far side of the room flickered and glowed, creating a fifteen-foot wall of dim light. Kas sat up groggily and looked at it, unsure if it was real or not. Either way, it was casting just enough of a glow that it didn't strain her eyes. She looked at the door, half expecting somebody to enter - but nobody did. Instead, an unwelcome voice trickled out of the walls.

'Good morning, Miss Balera. How did you sleep?'

Kas didn't know where to look, so she just glared at the dimly lit wall and waited for Swanne to continue.

'I thought you'd appreciate an update on proceedings. We are making steady progress accessing your ship's C-Ram, but I wonder if you might help to speed things up a little?'

Kas had no interest in talking to Swanne, let alone helping her. She looked back down and focused on her cold feet.

'You certainly are stubborn, aren't you? I'll be interested to see how long it takes for you to break.'

'I don't break,' Kas said without looking up.

'If you say so. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough.'

'You think locking me in a cold dark room is gonna make me talk? You'd be better off torturing me.'

'I have no interest in hurting you, Miss Balera. You're worth far more to me alive and well than you are dying in pain.'

'Fine by me. But you might want to order take-out because you're in for a long wait.'

Silence. Kas wondered if the governor was getting angry. Her iron-willed temperament was all she had left, and if she couldn't leave the room she would make sure she did everything she could to make Swanne's blood boil. When the governor's voice returned, however, it was obnoxiously calm.

'Before you come to a decision, there is something I think you should see which may change your mind.'

'I doubt it.'

Swanne's voice disappeared, leaving Kas in ominous silence.

What's she up to now...?

The dimly lit wall suddenly flickered and changed. Kas watched it curiously as the glow morphed into a large coloured image. The panels had united to create a single huge monitor that gave the impression of doubling the size of the cell because what the wall now showed was another room. It was only a little bigger than her own but it already looked much more inviting. There was a bed for starters with a thick duvet. Beside that was a wooden table supporting a small glass of water and an orange lamp. The walls were powder blue and decorated with framed pictures of colourful landscapes. There was even a washbasin and a toilet in the corner.

Does she seriously think she can make me talk by offering me a more comfortable room...? Sorry Swanne, but you're gonna have to try better than--

Movement.

Kas's eyes swung back to the bed where the duvet had stirred. There was someone in it. Suddenly a little white leg poked out from its edge and dangled a bare foot over the side of the mattress. Kas then looked to the top of the duvet where a tuft of untidy blonde hair freed itself from the covers, revealing the familiar little face that Kas thought she'd left safely behind on Lysan. She held a hand to her mouth to catch her gasp.

Worm...?