"Oh, tell old Jemima we won't be coming home. No, no, we won't be coming home toni-yi-yi-yight!"
Ellie plugged her ears as Elkay crooned miserably, filling the blank chamber with an echoey, distorted melody. The dragon was scratching small lines into the wall as if she were counting the days they had been locked up in Spurr's secret fortress. Of course, this made no sense, because they had been there for all of fifteen minutes. Even so, in that short amount of time, Ellie had decided that she really needed to escape, if only for the simple reason that her grandmother's singing was becoming unbearable.
"Oh, tell old Jemima, that sweet old Jemima-"
"SHUT UP!" Ellie snarled, "We need to find a way out of here!"
Elkay's ears drooped.
"I know you're anxious to leave, Ellie, but we're kind of in a white chamber with no windows and no visible doors. We can't exactly tunnel out."
Ellie paced back and forth.
"I know, I know. We just need to get out of here soon."
"Why?"
Ellie's wings twitched in agitation.
"There's- Well, it's just that- Oh, look! We're in prison. We shouldn't be here. Do I really need a reason to escape?"
"No, but it sounds like you have one."
Ellie stopped pacing. She shuddered, sat down, and took a deep breath.
"I need a second to calm down. If I meditate for long enough, I can build up the energy needed to blast a hole in this wall. I'm going to enter a trancelike state. I'll wake up when I'm fully recharged. Until then, don't bother me."
Elkay dipped her head down.
"Why? Do you have somewhere to be?"
"Shush."
Ellie crossed her legs and closed her eyes gently, inhaling through her nose. Elkay half expected her to put her wrists on her knees like some sort of Buddhist monk. Soon, she was absolutely silent.
"Ellie, are you awake?"
She didn't answer. Elkay poked her gently.
"Ellieboo? You okay?"
She remained absolutely still. Seeing that Ellie would not allow herself to be disturbed, Elkay rolled onto her back and stared up at the white ceiling with boredom.
"One, one, two, three, five, eight, thirteen . . ."
She rocked back and forth.
"Two, four, six, zero, one . . ."
She let her ears sway dreamily.
"Nine, nine, nine, nine, nine . . ."
She stood up suddenly and spoke as though she was addressing someone.
"Are you there?"
There was no reply.
"I hope you can hear me, or read me, if that's what you're doing."
There was no reply.
"I know you from somewhere, Julia Spurr, and I'm trying to figure out exactly who you are."
There was no reply.
"You can speak to me. I won't tell Ellie."
There was no reply.
"You frighten me, you know. That's a hard thing to do. I'm not scared of much. I thought my greatest fear was myself, but I was wrong. You terrify me, and I don't know why."
There was no reply.
"Make no mistake, I will fight you, if need be. I don't care what you are. If you lay a finger on Ellie, I will destroy you. Understood?"
There was no reply.
"I'm telling you for your own good. If you hurt her, you will die."
There was no reply.
"You've been warned."
Elkay rolled onto her back and started wiggling around on the floor like a worm stranded on hot concrete. She didn't fare well in sterile environments. Her mind was like a clockwork monkey with cymbals; although there was not much point to what went on inside, it was both noisy and in constant motion. As such, it had to be kept occupied, no matter how shallow the distracting thoughts may be.
"It's my day and I'm doing okay . . ."
She scratched her ear.
"Never hurry and never worry . . ."
She nibbled on her toes.
"Inside my mind . . ."
She stopped suddenly and looked up. Although the wall was white, she could sense someone staring back at her.
"You're watching us, aren't you, Julia Spurr?" she whispered, "Oh, just you wait. Once Ellie is recharged, you'll see just how bad of a situation you've created. When she's focused, nothing can stop her."
Silence.
"I hope you're scared," Elkay said calmly, "But if you aren't, you damn well should be."