Finding Monsters (17 page)

“I’ll create a distraction,” Missy said. Once you hit the ground, I’ll draw the hyenas in the opposite dire
c
tion.”

“Dare I ask?” Sir Alastaire said with a healthy helping of sarcasm.

“Just get them out of here, dear friend. I’ll be fine,” Missy said.

Sir Alastaire put the makeshift parachute on. He pulled Mau to her feet and wrapped his arms around her tightly. The cat woman looked terrified but didn’t say a word. She gripped her precious cargo to her chest then clamped her eyes shut. Sir Alastaire pushed away from the window and disappeared. Missy rushed forward to look out. They floated silently down toward the ground. When they hit, Sir Alastaire removed the parachute quickly and ducked down behind a large boulder out of sight.

Missy made her way to the large door and knocked. The door lock tumbled before it opened, revealing two bewildered guards. She overpowered them and pulled their inert bodies into the room b
e
fore locking the door again. Out in the hall, Missy checked the sandy ground for tracks. She followed a di
s
tinctly wet set, remembering wet tracks before, hoping she could backtrack and find the right path to the outside. She hu
r
ried through the empty corridors and felt the path going down.

“Good,” she thought. Her luck held most of the way, not encountering any other hyenas. Moving to look around the next bend, she saw light flooding in from the outside and at least four hyenas milling around the entrance. Then an alarm soun
d
ed above her. Several hyenas barked their hideous laugh in unison; their escape had been discovered. Missy ran from her hiding place toward the opening. The stunned hyenas before her stood rooted to the spot, too shocked to react. Seconds after she passed them, ho
w
ever, they began to pursue her. Missy didn’t slow or look back. The sound of the animals behind her told her they were already calling others to the chase. She turned anot
h
er corner and burst through the cave to the outside world. She pulled her staff out as she ran and caught several animals off guard as she passed them. She glanced in the direction Egan would have been, and saw nothing. She reached out her mind to him and felt pleased to know he had his quarry and was headed at full tilt toward dragon territory. Missy ran in the opposite direction, grateful for the boost of energy Vrag had given her before his departure. The number of hyenas behind her grew and soon she could only guess that all of them pursued her. Missy checked her path then took a quick glance behind. The closest animal of the large pack loped several feet behind her. She kept her pace steady not quite kno
w
ing what she would do when she got tired. She tried to sense Egan again. He still ran hard toward dragon te
r
ritory with no pursuers. It proved more difficult to contact Sir Alastaire but she tried anyway.

“How long till you reach the dragons?” she sent out. No response. Missy concentrated on running. She couldn’t run for as long as Egan but she could keep going for a few miles before she would have to stop. She hoped the hyenas would give out before she did. The terrain gradually changed from the dead brown of hyena territory back to greener surroundings. Large trees came into view and Missy thought about climbing one to rest, but decided against it. She pressed on, noticing her stam
i
na waning. The pack tracked tirelessly behind her and a few were gaining. She started when she felt Charlie’s mind attemp
t
ing contact. She opened herself up to it.

“Where are you?” he asked.

“I guess I just left hyena territory. I’m going in the opp
o
site direction of dragon territory. The terrain just changed to greener lands,” Missy told him.

“You’re headed for the great cliffs,” Charlie said. “How are you planning to escape?”

“No plan, just running right now. I think all of the hyenas are behind me,” she confessed.

“Keep going, I’ll send help to the cliffs,” Charlie said b
e
fore he faded out.

So she ran, and ran, only looking back in intervals to see how close the angry pack was behind her. Their cries rang loud and carried across the plains. Missy had no idea how many were actually behind her and how long they could keep up. They showed no signs of stopping. Missy crested a small hill and felt relieved to see the cliffs ahead. They were still over two miles away but she could make it. Apprehension crept in at not knowing what help would be there, and her strength started evaporating like dew in the desert. Sensing the animals behind her getting nearer, she took a quick glance and saw a few only feet away from her. She needed to contact Charlie again but that always slowed her progress. Having no choice, she opened her mind and sent out her message.

“I’m one mile from the cliffs.”

“I’m here,” Charlie said.

“What do you want me to do?” she asked.

“Jump,” he said.

“Seriously?” she said, almost choking.

“Jump out as far as you can,” he insisted. “We’ll catch you.”

Missy didn’t ask any more questions. She felt the hyenas behind her almost close enough to bite. She used her last strength in a burst to reach the cliffs. When she got close, she timed her steps and pushed off at the edge, soaring several feet out into open air before she began to free fall. She saw nothing below her at first but the jagged rocks and a hint of a river b
e
low. A flash of gold caught her eye. It moved up t
o
ward her. Her heart thrashed in terror as she imagined the gold below was the finch from the courtyard. He would be too small to catch her, let alone carry her to safety. But the bird continued to grow, she saw the gold tinted black on the wing tips. At a few hundred feet away, she recognized the bird to be an eagle. The enormous creature came up fast. It swooped unde
r
neath her, and she landed with a soft thud on its back. Missy gripped the feathers and rode low.

“Good jump,” Charlie said.

“Charlie!” she buried her face in his neck. “I’m so glad it’s you,” she said close to tears.

He banked around and came back toward the cliff. Missy looked up and saw a staggering amount of hyenas.

“There has to be over a thousand of them,” she said.

“It’s time for those deceitful dogs to go home,” Charlie hissed. He swooped closer to the cliffs.

Missy saw two enlarged shadows below her. She heard the thunder of large wings coming up from b
e
low and then they appeared. Drago pulled alongside on her right as Drina, his m
a
te flanked the golden eagle on the left. They belched a line of flame that scorched the cliff wall and sent the hyenas running. Another round of flames caught the fleeing animals in the rear. Many fell in mid run, while the unfortunate ran while on fire. In unison, the dragons peeled away from the cliffs and headed back toward their lands. Charlie got behind them and road on the air current. Drago led the way and covered the distance in record time. Missy kept low and held tight.

“Not much further, Missy, hang on,” Charlie said. Missy didn’t respond but held on tight, concentrating on keeping her balance. The dragons flew across another mountain range b
e
fore their territory came into view. They spiraled down with Charlie close on their tails. Drago spiraled again as Drina lan
d
ed. She shook the ground running back to the nest. Drago lan
d
ed followed by Charlie. Atian and Sir Alastaire appeared and ran out as soon as they touched down. Sir Alastaire pulled Mi
s
sy from Charlie’s back and held her tight as Atian transformed Charlie back into his human form. Charlie rushed to Sir Alastaire and took Missy into his arms.

“I’ve got her, but she’s exhausted,” Charlie said.

Atian led them back into the dragons’ cave. Missy smiled as she saw two of the babies up and about, their wings r
e
stored. The third lay listlessly in the nest. She had her wings but she didn’t stir. Mau, Calico, Sophie, and Elyen were all attending to the sick infant. Drina sat nervously to one side watching the progress with Drago taking his place beside her. Elyen looked up and saw Missy. She whispered something to Sophie and rushed to where Charlie held her. She touched her cheek and forehead.

“She’s ok, Elyen. She just needs rest. How’s the baby dragon?”

“Not good. There’s nothing else we can do to help,” she said on a sob. “Once they saw how weak she had become, Drina had no choice but to pull this weak one’s life force away from the other two babies. It’s only a matter of time now.”

“Take me over there,” Missy whispered.

Charlie complied and set her down by his mother and Drago. Missy reached out and touched the baby dragon, who gasped shallow breaths. She sensed a faint emotion of peace from the baby and then it started to fade until all thought and emotion fell silent. Drina shook with silent sobs. Missy had no energy left to shield herself from the emotional parents. The p
o
werful grief shocked the air and all felt it. Tears spilled down Missy’s cheeks as feelings of failure tugged at her insides.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

“You did all you could, little one, for that we are grateful,” Drago replied.

Sophie put her arms around her and pulled her close.

A slow glow of red engulfed the infant. The a
p
pearance of flames rippled over the small body. Drago and Drina glanced at each other in silent communication. Drina gave an almost i
m
perceptible nod. Missy saw the exchange but could not guess its meaning. Drago touched his nose to the red flames and they turned shimmering blue. The light flashed brilliant white then faded, leaving the nest empty.

“Come here, child,” Drago said to Missy.

Missy rose unsteady to her feet. Charlie stood close b
e
hind to assist but she managed without help.

“You have shown incredible courage, fortitude, and intell
i
gence. You have also gone well beyond what we expected of you, even risking your own life to save my children.” Drago pulled up the blue shimmering light again and leaned his head into Missy. She put her hands on his snout.

“Drina and I have decided to grant you the po
w
ers of the dragon,” he said. The blue light engulfed Drago and Missy. She felt the warmth it always pr
o
vided. When the light faded, the warmth of the flames remained.

“Rest now, child. Your next quest will come quicker than any of us would wish for you. Hyenas are not smart enough to have managed what we’ve witness today. We can only imagine the jackals are involved and have become powerful, manipula
t
ing and using the hyenas for their schemes. It is now apparent that they are getting tools and possibly weapons from other worlds. Your next quest will be in Jackal Territory. We have to find out how they are getting through to other worlds so we can stop them.”

“Thank you, Great Father,” Missy said.

“Our pleasure, daughter,” Drago said on a bow. Drina leaned in and Missy gave her a hug. Charlie came up behind her and scooped her into his arms again. She didn’t fight the fatigue or the darkness that came up to meet her.

“
How long have I been out?” Missy asked, still groggy with sleep.

“Awhile,” Charlie answered.

She looked around. The room seemed vaguely familiar, their new dwelling. “How long is awhile?” she asked.

He hesitated, pushing the hair from her eyes and running his hands down her arms. “About ten days,” he replied. He helped her to sit up, took a cup from the dresser, and helped her to drink.

“Thank you. I feel better, although a little strange.”

“What do you mean?” Charlie asked.

“Warm,” she said.

Charlie chuckled. “Do you want to eat in the courtyard?”

“Sure, but what’s so funny?” she asked.

“Nothing, my dear,” Charlie said. “Get dressed.” He left to fetch the sundress his mother had made for her. When he r
e
turned, he found her standing near the window looking out into the courtyard, the sheet draped around her.

“My mother made this for you,” he said, showing her the dress.

“Your mother is remarkable.” She dropped the sheet to the floor and walked over to the bed to lay it out. She caught Charlie staring and beckoned him over. He flushed hotly then walked up behind her. She stepped into the dress, and he helped her button up the back. Charlie planted a small kiss on her shoulder before he twirled her around and caught her in a small embrace putting another small kiss on her lips. His lips hovered over hers for another second before he pulled back. Missy wanted to pull him closer but knew he struggled with being close to her. She struggled too. Missy realized she was holding her breath and let it out in a slow sigh.

“Oh, my. I think my temperature went up another ten d
e
grees,” Missy whispered.