Bat Out of Hell (Promised to the Demons #2) - Lidiya Foxglove Page 0,48

to see you!" Cash saw us from the decks of his ship. He turned into a cat and ran right down a rope to the docks to get to us quickly. Turning back into a man, he gave Bevan a hug with a back slap. He had Daisy’s light brown skin and dark curls that weren’t as loose as Bevan’s, but they actually looked a little like cousins. I wondered if it had more to do with bats and cats having a similar vibe. ”So you're a lone familiar now, too."

"Not very 'lone'," Bevan said. "This is my...interesting team. And this is Jenny, my beloved."

I blushed. That was such a sweet way to introduce me. "Nice to meet you, Cash. You were Daisy's familiar?"

"Yep. How's she doing?"

"Good," Bevan said. "Still very Daisy, but good."

"I would hope to hear nothing less," Cash said. "It wasn't an easy decision to leave her. I guess that's why I say 'lone' and not 'free' or something like that. It leaves a little hole in me."

I nodded, but Bevan said, "I've been doing as much research as I can, and I'm starting to think that no familiar should be tied to a wizard. Even the happy ones."

"What--really?" Cash looked slightly alarmed. "I wouldn't have left Daisy, if I hadn't fallen in love with a boy who was leaving on a ship." He waved us to the gangplank, which someone was lowering as we were talking.

"Yes, but how many things did you hold back from doing because of Daisy?" Bevan said, with that new intensity he had sometimes.

Piers and Variel followed us at a distance, keeping quiet.

"A lot," Cash finally said, after a bitter pause. "But...I was a restless familiar."

"Yeah--aren't we all?" Bevan pressed. "And if we're not, do we just choke it all down from the time we're born? It's not like anyone would stand up for us if we wanted to rebel. We don't even have parents. Jenny is the perfect example. She just cooks and cleans and smiles through her pain. She can hardly get mad if she tries."

"I love to cook," I said, feeling the tiniest bit offended. “And I wouldn’t say I’m in a lot of pain.” Still, I knew Bevan was right about a lot of this. I wished I could have always been working in a proper bakery and not just for Mrs. Franch.

"Yeah, I get it," Cash said. "But do you want to completely abolish the partnership? That's not what Daisy said when she conveyed your mission to me. Daisy is family to me. I wouldn't trade our growing up together."

"It needs to be done, to put things right," Bevan said. "I think what we'll find in this temple is that our ancestors were forced into this. Helena is my family too, and that won't change, but I don't think any familiar should be bound to a wizard's side."

"Wizards growing up without familiars...," Piers murmured behind us.

"Well, it didn't work out well for Chester," Bevan said.

"You're right, but without him..."

"It shouldn't be the responsibility of our race to be friends or helpers to wizards," Bevan said. "And I don't think we should be indebted to the faeries either. We should have our own realm, our own families, our own culture..."

"Bevan, that's going pretty far,” I said. "What have you been reading? We can't survive on our own. We need friends and allies. The faery queen needs friends and allies too. That's why she's given us all this help."

Cash nodded at me. "I'm here to help Queen Morgana. I'll get you to the temple, and I don't want familiars to be slaves either, but...there must be a better way to handle it than trying to go it alone, which would probably lead to wars. And why make war when you can make better things?"

Bevan's intensity frightened me. But I had to admit, it excited me too. Deep down, the connection I felt with Bernard felt more like a shackle than anything.

As Bevan grew more fierce, as he changed from the sweet bat shifter who lived alone in a cottage minding his own business to someone with ambitions and an anger burning inside him, I wondered if he might be right after all. If he was the man who could set Celeste free, so completely that I never thought of Bernard again.

“Well, let’s give you a quick tour,” Cash said, waving us on. "I'm afraid we'll all have to pitch in and work," Cash said. "Not many people want to