Finding Monsters (14 page)

“How’s Egan?” she asked Alastaire as more hyenas came through the dense green tendrils of the willow leaves.

“Knocked out cold. Hit his head,” Sir Alastaire said.

“Great. Try to revive him. I’ll take care of these,” she said. At least ten hyenas approached; she’d never seen so many in a pack. The leader made his way to the front and stood several feet away from her.

“The dragon is waiting for you at the other end of the forest. If you try to flee us, he will destroy you without hesit
a
tion. If you come with us, you may live.”

“What lies have you told the dragon about me, dog?” Missy retorted.

“Only the truth, that you were coming to cha
l
lenge him.

“What else?” Missy asked.

“Enough talk, make your choice human,” the hyena snarled.

Missy twirled her staff and took a few steps fo
r
ward. “I’m not afraid of you or your cackling friends. You want me, come get me!” Missy took her stance and waited for the hyenas to attack. She felt Sir Alastaire come up behind her.

“They are stupid. Take them out quickly and don’t be afraid to break bones.”

Missy nodded and focused. Several attacked at once. Missy slammed her staff to the ground and jumped over the charging beasts. She landed behind them and attacked. They fell to the accuracy of her staff. She punched one unfortunate beast in the throat sending him back against a tree, gurgling and gasping for air. More circled but she crippled them with the tremendous blows she rained down on them and soon none remained stan
d
ing but their leader.

“Had enough, Rover?” Missy taunted. The lead hyena grinned, if that’s what you’d call it, and barked its laughing bark. A new wave of hyenas came through the trees. Missy counted another ten or more. She glanced at the lead hyena.

“Coward,” she called him as she walked out to meet the newcomers. She took her stance against them and waited. Fi
f
teen, seventeen, after twenty she stopped counting. Missy felt a presence coming up b
e
hind her. She dared not take her eyes off the hyenas but she knew it wasn’t the squirrel. She ventured a quick glance and saw the cat that had attacked her by her side.

“You must be a friend if you fight the dogs,” the cat said. “I will help you.”

“Thank you,” Missy said, smiling back as the cat took a position behind her. The crowd of hyenas e
n
circled them. The first few to attack met with a flurry of bone crushing blows from Missy and the cat. Then row after row of attacking hyenas came. Very few laid paw or teeth on the two fighters. If one got close to Missy, the cat would knock it away with her wooden mace. The cat, sleek, agile, and swift, jumped the attacking an
i
mals only to latch onto their tails and fling them into more a
t
tacking hyenas. After only a few minutes, the hyenas turned to flee. Their leader lingered to sneer and laugh at them before he too turned tail back into the forest.

“They will leave our lands and return to their own,” the cat said.

“Thank you,” Missy said. She walked back toward Sir Alastaire, relieved to see Egan on his feet. The little cabayo had a pained look on his face and emotions of failure radiated from him.

“Oh, Egan, you did really well today. It’s not your fault you fell. I didn’t let go of you in time. It’s my fault. You are the bravest cabayo ever,” Missy said as she stroked the animal’s neck. “Are you ok?” she asked him. He bobbed his head before leaning it into Missy’s hands.

“Come. You may stay with us tonight. We will care for your animal also,” the cat said. My name is Calico.”

They followed Calico as she took them to a dar
k
er part of the forest. The trees here grew more enormous in width as well as height. The long leaves grew thick and lush and swayed co
n
stantly around them. They lightly caressed the skin with their velvety texture. Missy put her hand out and let the soft te
n
drils brush across her palm. Calico purred softly. Missy glanced up and saw several of the cat people in dwe
l
lings high up in the trees. The air increased in warmth, almost as warm as the courtyard in Bullclan territory. Finally, they came to an encl
o
sure where a few animals gathered. An old cabayo whose face had turned white with age came to the fence to inspect Egan with a small group of miniature yaks trailing behind her.

“Your cabayo may stay here. We will make sure he has everything he needs,” Calico said. Missy led Egan into the pen and closed the gate behind him. She slipped a few carrots to him and the other animals b
e
fore leaving.

“Behave and don’t bite anyone,” she told him. She could feel a hint of mischievousness die away as he blew out a heavy sigh and grunted. Missy and Sir Ala
s
taire followed Calico to one of the trees nearby.

“Can you climb?” she asked Missy.

“I think I can handle this,” Missy said.

With one leap, the cat bounded up the tree with incred
i
ble speed. Missy hooked her arm around a strong vine and pulled herself up at a much slower pace. Sir Alastaire laughed.

“Climb on, or we’ll be out here all night.”

Missy rolled her eyes before climbing onto the back of Sir Alastaire. Even with her weighing him down, he climbed quickly and caught up with the cat in minutes. She led them to a series of attached huts near the middle of the tall trees. Walkways and bridges linked several trees between the community of cats. Ca
l
ico led them to the largest hut and went inside. A large crowd of the cat people assembled there. Calico sat them in front of the clan and then sat opposite Missy.

“We are the Oceclan. We’ve dwelled in these trees for many millennia. You are the second tribe we have trusted in our lands. We trusted the dragons first. They protect our northern border from the hyenas and jackals. They are keepers of the blue light that connects the worlds, a noble clan. The dogs have attacked and killed our people for as long as we can r
e
member.

“Are you the leader?” Missy asked.

“My mother used to be the leader of our people and also a healer. She disappeared, taken by the hy
e
nas several moon cycles ago. I took over as leader, but I do not have her gift,” Ca
l
ico answered.

“I’m sorry about your mother. Do you think she is still alive?” Missy asked.

“I hope, but I don’t know.”

“Why have you never trusted the Bullclan before?” Missy asked.

“They are a fierce looking tribe. We feared them,” Calico said.

“The Bullclan will not hurt you. They are also keepers of the blue light and they protect this world from harm. I live among them,” Missy told her. “The hyenas and jackals have turned the dragons against us. We know there is a problem in dragon country, but we don’t know what it is. My quest was to find out and help them.”

“The dragon babies are sick,” Calico said.

“Sick? What’s wrong with them?” Missy asked.

“Drago had three young ones. One disappeared and the other two have lost their wings.”

“Lost? How can they lose their wings?”

“No one knows how. Drago is searching, trying to find the answer.”

Missy fell silent. Her mind raced with this new info
r
mation. Three babies, three sets of wings.

“Oh, God. Sir Alastaire, the winged hyenas.”

“My thoughts exactly,” he said. Missy turned back to Cal
i
co.

“When I first started my quests, I encountered three hy
e
nas with wings. I thought it was normal for this world but after today, I realize it’s not.” Missy thought about this for a few minutes before a notion occurred to her. “Calico, tell me more about your Mother’s power.”

“She uses it mostly for healing; she could pull a sickness, fever, or other malady out of the body. I’ve even seen her r
e
move an infected area completely from the body. She would have passed on the power to me when she stepped down as leader, but now…” C
a
lico trailed off.

Missy looked up. “I think your mother is alive, Calico. I think the hyenas are channeling your mot
h
er’s power to take the wings from the dragons. Do you think that is possible?”

“It would be possible for my mother, yes. But how could they make her do it against her will. She would not willingly cooperate with such madness.”

“I agree. But that’s the only conclusion I can come up with. Although, even if they have the one missing baby dragon. It doesn’t explain why all three are missing their wings” Missy continued.

“Actually it does,” Calico said. Drina had three babies but only one egg.”

“Triplets of that sort are very rare,” Sir Alastaire said.

“Yes, but because they were joined in birth, they have a special link with one another. It is conceivable that if you take the wings of one, the other two will lose their wings also. After Drina has weaned them, they will all have to choose the same world to enter,” Calico said.

“But how can we convince the dragons it’s the hyenas and not me who made the babies sick?” Missy asked.

“We will go out with you tomorrow to meet Dr
a
go. I will plead your case. He respects our borders. If he will not listen to reason, you may stay until another solution presents itself,” Ca
l
ico said.

“We are grateful for your assistance, Calico,” Mi
s
sy said.

“Come. You may sleep in my hut tonight.”

Calico led Missy and Sir Alastaire to a nearby hut. The spacious hut’s flooring looked to be palm frowns or something similar. The willow leaves created a dense curtain around the enclosure, keeping the i
n
side cozy and private. She settled them down and then left to find food and drink. When she returned, Sir Alastaire lay curled up in Missy’s pack dozing. Calico put down a plate of raw fish and two cups.

“I will be in the large hut tonight if you need me.” With that, Calico left them.

“Does she expect us to eat this?” Sir Alastaire said b
e
tween yawns.

“It’s just like eating sushi,” Missy said as she cut the fish into small nigiri style chunks. “Except there’s no rice.”

“Pass,” Sir Alastaire said. “Besides, I’ve loaded your pack with a few nuts since we’ve been traveling.”

“So that’s why my pack is so heavy,” Missy said as she glanced inside at the horde of nuts Sir Alastaire had managed to stash. They finished their meal then readied for bed. Missy lay awake in constant worry, not only for herself but also for Cha
r
lie and the others.

“I’m worried about the others,” she whispered to Alastaire.

“Me too, but we must focus on tomorrow. If we convince the dragon, he will know what happened to Atian and Vrag and that will tell us about Charlie. Try to rest, girl, we have a big day tomorrow.”

A
thunderous shrilled cry shattered the quiet predawn s
i
lence. Missy had not been asleep, but the sound shook her nonetheless.

“He sounds close,” she said

“Too close,” Sir Alastaire agreed. Missy shrugged out of her sleeping bag and dressed quickly. She packed as Sir Alastaire foraged for breakfast. He r
e
turned with fruit, nuts, and Calico.

“Drago is at the boundary, and he calls for me. He knows you are here. Eat quickly, we leave soon,” Calico said. She touched Missy’s shoulder as she left. “He will listen to me; do not worry.”

Missy finished her breakfast quickly then rushed down to Egan’s pen. She led the cabayo out of the pen and met up with Calico and others of the Oceclan. They followed Calico to the opposite end of the forest. Drago waited at the edge. He paced in halted steps and swished his massive tail frantically. Small whiffs of fire erupted from his flared nostrils.

“Stay back here out of sight, Missy. I will talk to him,” Calico said

She left alone to talk to the dragon. When he saw her coming, he lowered himself to her level.

“You hide the human from me, Calico?” he asked. He spoke in an even tone but it still shook the ground.

“I entreat you on her behalf, Wise Father of the Dragons. I believe you are mistaken about the human. The jackal has d
e
ceived you,” Calico began. She stood on a tall rock as she gazed into the intense black eyes of Drago. His reddish-brown scaled body twitched in his agitation. His tail slapped the ground cau
s
ing a tremor while he gripped and crushed stones in his ma
s
sive claws absently.

“Anukhan came and spoke to me himself. He knows I despise him and would dare not mislead me less I destroy his entire clan. He insisted the human caused the suffering of my children. She quests to b
e
come a monster. To move ahead, she must challenge me. Stealing my young and their powers is ine
x
cusable. Drina and I cannot rest until our young are well, Cal
i
co. I will crush whoever dare harm them. Bring the human out to me!” Drago said rising to his full height as flames shot from his nostrils. Smoke billowed up before dissipating, leaving a li
n
gering sulfurous smell.