Leda’s Log. A behind-the-scenes, slice-of-life look into the Legion of Angels, hosted by Leda Pandora, the Angel of Chaos.
Warning: may include abnormally-large cats and adorable baby angels.
In this entry, Leda learns a little about Dreamcatcher (and Cupid).
Leda’s Log
Part 8: Dreamcatcher
Dreamcatcher clapped her hands together. “It’s done,” she declared, turning around to face us. “I’ve sealed the rift between realms.”
“Just like that?” I asked her.
“Just like that,” she confirmed.
Leila frowned at her. “What did you say your power was?”
“I didn’t.” Dreamcatcher scratched Whitney the wolf behind its ears.
“But you did say you call yourself Dreamcatcher.” I smirked at her. “Nice name.”
Her gaze swept up my singed clothes, then she smirked right back at me. “Nice outfit.” Her eyes slid over to Cupid. “I told you to wait for me.” There was a hint of agitation in her voice.
“So you two know each other?” I asked them.
“Of course,” Cupid said, her voice serious but serene. “Dreamcatcher is my sidekick.”
Laughter burst out of Dreamcatcher’s lips. “She likes to tell people that, even though it’s not true. I am no one’s sidekick.”
“So, no-one’s-sidekick,” Cupid said with a smooth, enigmatic eyebrow lift, “how about you tell your buddy Shadow to knock it off before we’re kicked out of here for his scandalous behavior.”
“What’s that rascal done now?” Dreamcatcher pivoted, her eyes scanning the hall for the shadow cat. “Please don’t tell me he killed someone’s pet bird again?”
“No.” Cupid’s lower lip twitched, a fleeting hint of amusement on her otherwise solemn face. “He tried to seduce the Angel of Chaos’s pet cat.”
“Oh.” Dreamcatcher snorted. “I see,” she coughed out. Her eyes were dancing with laughter. “Well, Shadow has been feeling rather lonely lately. It’s not easy being an oversized interdimensional cat. Everyone thinks he’s so fierce and frightening, but he’s really such a teddy bear.”
Sierra perked up. “Fluffy teddy bear?”
“Yes,” Dreamcatcher agreed.
“Angel and Shadow make baby fluffy teddy bears?” Sierra said hopefully.
Dreamcatcher grinned at her. “Yeah, I think Shadow would like that.”
Basanti was grinning too. “I wonder what their babies would look like.”
Yeah. Those kittens would be epically huge.
“Shadow!” Dreamcatcher called out. “Come here, you raunchy tomcat!” She whistled, and Shadow trotted obediently over to her. He did look pretty reluctant to abandon his vigorous wooing of Angel, though. “Be cool, kitty cat. Be cool.”
Shadow planted himself next to her, seated upright and alert. His big, gold eyes gazed longingly across the hall at Angel.
“Sit down,” Cupid told Dreamcatcher. “They have good food here.”
How generous of her to offer Leila’s hospitality.
“It’s a good thing I got here when I did,” Dreamcatcher said as she scooped a mountain of mashed potatoes onto her plate. “If that rift had stayed open much longer, it would have ripped your castle apart from the inside.” She sprinkled peas all over the potatoes. “But not before ejecting a ton of otherworldly creatures into this world.”
“So your powers allow you to seal rifts between dimensions,” Leila said.
Dreamcatcher nodded. “That’s right. I can also travel between this dimension and the dream dimensions. And I can communicate with the spirit animals in the dream dimensions.”
“Like Shadow.” I glanced at her shadow cat.
“Shadow, Whitney, my new friend Arvie…all of the creatures from the dream dimensions.” Dreamcatcher downed her whole glass of orange juice in one draft, then licked her lips. “And if I can convince a spirit animal to be my friend, it tags along with me on my journey.”
“Tags along with you in there?” Nero indicated one of her tattoos.
“Being in this dimension is very exhausting for them,” replied Dreamcatcher. “They rest inside my magic tattoos. And when I need their help, I can summon them.” As her hand hovered across the tattoos on her arm, they glowed in and out, one by one.
“Pretty,” Sierra cooed, her eyes wide.
“They really are, Mini Pandora,” Dreamcatcher agreed.
“How do you guys know so much about me?” I wondered.
“You are rather infamous,” Cupid told me.
My smile faded. “I had no idea my reputation transcended dimensions.”
“Oh, we’re not from another dimension,” Dreamcatcher said. “We’re from right here. From Earth.”
“You claim you’re both from Earth.” Nero’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “And yet your powers are unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.”
“Yeah, well, we’re not like other people.” Dreamcatcher winked at him.
“Obviously,” he replied, his face blank.
Ok, so maybe Nero could ignore her flirting, but I was having a hard time of it. My pulse was pounding, my skin burning, and I was really tempted to throw her out of the massive hole she’d just made in Leila’s window, but I decided to be mature and not attack the woman who’d just saved Storm Castle.
Like he’d read my mind, Nero took my hand, entwining his fingers with mine. “Tell us about your powers,” he said as my pulse started pounding for an entirely different reason. “Were you born with them?”
“No,” Cupid said. “We were born human. We only got our powers a couple of years ago.”
“And how did you get those powers?” I asked.
“Because of you, Leda Pandora.” Cupid’s gaze locked with mine, but the look in her eyes was more resigned than accusatory.
“Because of me?” I asked, confused.
“You’ve already said too much,” Dreamcatcher told Cupid. “We’re supposed to be keeping a low profile.”
“You’re right,” Cupid said as they both rose from their seats. “Well, goodbye.”
Before I could say another word, Dreamcatcher clapped her hands, and the two women—along with all their spirit friends—vanished from the dining hall.
To be continued…
Fluffy teddy bear? My cats chilling out in a sea of stuffed animals.
How did Leda give Cupid and Dreamcatcher their unusual magical powers? Why are the two women keeping a low profile? Will Angel and Shadow be the Legion’s next power couple? Find out in future episodes of Leda’s Log!
I have no idea how Leda gave them powers but I can’t wait to find out! Also, yay, we saw more of Shadow and Angel! I’m so glad Sierra was shipping them as well.
I love all the little moments between Leda and Nero.
Sierra will always ship “fluffy teddy bears”. 😉
I’m guessing Leda gave them their powers when she gave birth to Sierra and released all that magic that opened the Guardian’s sanctuary. I remember now that Jiro warned Leda at the end of the book about different realms.
Romantic, tender moments and the super jealous/ragey moment’s between Leda and Nero are my favorite. Even just Nero reassuring Leda- and calming her down- by holding her hand makes me all swoony. I’m really loving Leda’s Log!
Thanks, Cindy. I’m very grateful for all the kind comments about Leda’s Log. I’ll definitely be writing more of it. 🙂