Finding Monsters (23 page)

“I don’t know, just to have a friend nearby may help,” he said.

Missy looked up into his face. In her mind, she thought of him as a friend already but he was the enemy, wasn’t he? She smiled; she couldn’t think of him as that anymore. “Yes, it would be nice to have a friend around,” she finally said.

The first wave of pain hit around midnight and without warning. Missy lay unmoving on her makeshift bed and winced in the silence darkness. Saal lay only a few feet away. He’d made himself a spot nearby so he would be close. His eyes stayed closed but that didn’t mean he was asleep. Missy started the breathing exercises her doctor once prescribed for reducing te
n
sion and in turn, reducing pain. When the second, more severe wave hit, she had prepared for it. The intensity continued to mount but Missy refused to cry out in pain and at its worst, she lay in a ball, shaking and breathing rapidly through her nose.

Light was already filtering into the room when Saal stirred. He growled low in his throat, not ready for the day. He rolled over on the unfamiliar bedding then stopped. Remembe
r
ing, he shot up and looked toward Missy’s bedding. Paloma sat beside her, appl
y
ing cool water to the girl’s neck, arms, and legs. Saal knelt beside her.

“How’s she doing?” Saal asked. He watched spasms of pain ripple through her body. He heard the shallow, controlled breathing; he cringed to think of so much pain.

“As well as can be expected. She is stronger than I’d have guessed.”

“Yes, she is,” Saal said in admiration. He reached out to touch her but Paloma caught his hand and shook her head. “I want her to know I’m here,” he said as he sat back and stared. She lay in a ball, eyes shut tight, clutching a pillow to ward off the pain. Saal stood and transformed himself. He padded back over to her and nuzzled his head into her hands. Missy rubbed him. Saal got as close as he could without touching her. Missy bit back the agony and shifted, burying her head in the soft fur of his neck.

“She knows,” Paloma said.

Saal settled down to wait out the pain. It took several days but after the third day, the pain began to lessen. Saal never left her side. Paloma started the herbal regiment to decrease the pain more, and by the fifth day, Missy could bear it. She opened her eyes and saw Saal still lying close in his full jackal form.

“Thank you, Saal,” she whispered.

“Anytime, dear friend,” he said.

M
issy knew Saal had to go and report to Anu
k
han, but it still caused her to ache inside. She still e
x
perienced some of the effects of the venom withdrawal but at least the medicinal leaves helped to dull the r
e
maining spasms. So she spent her days outside on her blanket beneath a large evergreen. Two of the cubs played in the nearby stream while three others snoozed near her feet. Missy leaned back against the tree and closed her eyes. A few birds chirped overhead and she wished they would find another place to have their heated conversation. She opened her eyes and gazed up into the tree. She saw two jays squawking. Then she saw another, larger bird flying ove
r
head. She couldn’t tell but it looked like a very familiar hawk. She reached out and tried to sense Charlie.

“Charlie, can you hear me?” she asked.

“Where are you?” Charlie’s voice rang in her head. He sounded exhausted and terrified.

“I’m near the creek, right below you.” She watched as the hawk got closer and closer, finally landing on her outstretched leg. He hopped around in frantic excitement.

“How did you find me?” she sent to him.

“I knew they would bring you to Jackal territory; it just took me a while to convince my father to let me come, then to get here,” Charlie explained. His ho
p
ping had awakened one of the cubs. The little jackal crouched low and inched forward. Missy saw him just as he lunged for the bird and caught him in midair.

“Good job, junior, but you can’t have this one,” Missy told the cub, who growled and sulked at his foiled hunt. Missy placed the cub in her lap and rubbed him until he became calm, even drowsy.

“I see you are blending in with the natives,” Charlie o
b
served.

“I’ve been here for a few weeks recovering from a few i
n
juries. The jackals are not the cold-blooded kil
l
ers I thought they would be. Paloma is a loving mother and sister to the jackal who kidnapped me. Even he has changed. I think the real threat is Anukhan. It seems he has a singular agenda that doesn’t a
f
fect the other jackals and as their leader, they have to follow him,” Missy said.

“I’ll believe that when I see it, my dear. We need to think of a way to get you away from here. Drago and Drina are threatening to burn down all of Jackal Country if you are not returned unharmed.”

“Charlie, they have weapons from my world. They are deadly and can kill quickly. Perhaps not so much against the dragons but if anyone else tries to come up against them, they will fail,” Missy warned. Then she remembered Dredge. “Oh, what happened to Egan and Dredge?”

“They’re fine. Your little cabayo crashed through the outer door and ran the halls until he found me. He pitched a fit and almost dragged me back through the forest to Dredge. The old bull had not made it far on foot and experienced some soreness for several days but he’s fine now. Father, the dragons, and even the Oceclan want to mass an army against the jackals for this,” he said.

“Are they nearby?” she asked.

“No. I convinced them to let me find you. I knew I could contact you once I got close enough. And if you had valuable information, I could pass it along. Drina is not far away, she flew me this far and is waiting on the other side of Reptile Te
r
ritory. But Missy, you have wings, why haven’t you escaped from here? Flown away?” Charlie asked.

Missy’s eyes welled with tears. She couldn’t e
x
plain it.

“I know how you feel, love, but you need to use them, get yourself out of here. You should not feel guilty.”

“But I do. I can’t seem to get past it. Anyway, once I got here, I thought I might be able to gather useful information,” she said. Missy explained everything she knew to Charlie, the mysterious machine, the changes in Saal and how the bulls were being used.

“The machine drains them of the blue light for a brief p
e
riod of time. No one but Anukhan knows how it works or where it came from,” Missy concluded. Charlie didn’t like the sound of this machine. He wanted to suggest a plan of action when he perked up. He flew into a nearby tree and listened.

“Jackals are coming!” he sent to her.

“Probably Saal and Kell,” Missy concluded. She put the cub down and rose slowly to her feet. She grabbed a stick she used as a cane and limped toward them. She froze when she realized these were u
n
iformed guards. Paloma appeared at the door and howled to call in her cubs. Missy limped toward the house as well.

“Charlie, stay out of sight, I’m not sure what these two want.”

“Be careful!” Charlie said.

The guards stopped Missy before she reached the door. Paloma rushed forward to assist. “Come with us, human.” The first guard said with contempt. Paloma interrupted.

“She is not ready for travel; she is still healing from her injuries and still experiencing severe pain from reptile venom withdrawal,” Paloma said. Missy limped closer to her.

“She comes with us now,” he told her as the other guard bound Missy’s hands, while Paloma watched helpless to stop them as they led her away. Missy limped, stumbling often as they moved her away through the village, slowing them down. The jackals growled and dragged her roughly when she fell. In the end, they finally hit her with their Taser and carried her limp body back to Anukhan.

Saal entered the house when he didn’t see Missy outside. He looked toward her bedding and saw it empty. He felt sick. Paloma came up behind him.

“Saal, two of Anukhan’s guards came and got her this morning without warning. I tried to tell them she still needs healing but they refused to listen.”

Saal had already changed into his full jackal form. He broke into a full run back to the temple.

“Be careful!” she yelled as he ran after them.

The guards dumped Missy unceremoniously by the clear chamber. Anukhan scowled at them.

“Careful, you fools!” he yelled. “Why is she u
n
conscious? I need her alert!”

The guards stepped back hesitantly, “We stunned her, sir. It made her easier to transport this way.”

Anukhan didn’t look amused as he berated the guards. Missy lay motionless listening to the argument. She’d been awake for half the trip unbeknownst to the guards. She’d even been able to contact Charlie, who followed overhead. She heard his call outside the wi
n
dow of the temple now. Missy took a quick peek at the room itself. The clear chamber stood in front of her where she could see Dozer inside. He appeared awake but inert. After weeks in the chamber, she hoped he wasn’t as weak as he looked. Missy sent her mind out to Charlie.

“I’m in the temple. I see Dozer and he looks weak. Can you fly to the window and see if there is a mirror here?” she asked.

“Already here. There is a mirror near the m
a
chine. That’s how he is traveling.”

“I just need to get Dozer out and to that mirror,” she sent.

“Only if he’s strong enough to pull up the blue light and those jackals have weapons.”

“So do I,” she whispered between clinched teeth.

All of a sudden, the metal door burst open with a loud scrape of metal against stone. Saal in full jackal form ran through. He leapt from the top stair and sailed to the floor in one bound. When he hit the floor. he appeared as the half jackal that Missy knew well.

“Anukhan stop this!” he yelled. “You can’t use her like the others; she’s just a child!”

“Guards! Seize the traitor!” Anukhan shouted.

The guards pointed their weapons toward Saal.

“She’s not even a monster; she doesn’t have the blue light. Of what use is she to you?” Saal pleaded.

“You have no idea, do you?” Anukhan said, laughing. He made his way toward Saal. When he reached him, Anukhan grabbed Saal’s throat. “I knew you would fail me. How did she get to you, Saal? You’re weak just like the hyenas,” he spat.

Missy saw her chance, she quietly moved to the chamber and unlocked the door. She opened it and touched Dozer.

“Dozer, let’s get you out of here,” she sent to him. He looked up confused but did as she asked. They stayed low and silent.

“Dozer, there is a mirror on the other side of the temple, can you pull up the blue light and create a portal?”

“I think so, little human,” he slurred.

“Charlie is on the window; take him with you. I’ll be right behind you,” she said.

Dozer took a minute to gather his strength, b
e
fore he ran for the mirror with Missy close on his heels. Shouting erupted behind them.

“Stop them!” Anukhan shouted.

The guards ran after the escaping prisoners. They pulled their guns and fired, barely missing Dozer.

“Don’t shoot the girl!” Anukhan yelled seconds too late. The next shot grazed Missy’s calf and she went down hard. She heard Saal shouting as he tackled the two guards. She pulled herself up and started limping. Dozer’s blue light glowed faintly around the mirrored frame before it increased. Charlie dove down from the window and landed on Dozer’s shoulder.

“Go!” Missy shouted as she tried to make it to the portal. The sound of the shotgun pump made Saal whirl around. One of the guards lined a shot at Missy again. The crack of the gun made her flinch. Saal launched himself at Missy and flung her out of the way. The bullet missed its target but tore through Saal’s back sending him sprawling to the ground. Missy lay stunned for a moment, she saw Saal a few feet away. She looked back at Dozer who strained to hold the portal open. She had to decide.

“Dozer, get out of here now! Go get help,” she yelled as she made her way to the wounded jackal.

“Missy, no!” Charlie and Dozer shouted in unison. Dozer could no longer hold the portal. He snatched Charlie with one massive hand and fell through.

M
issy turned Saal over and examined the wound. The bu
l
let tore a hole all the way through. His wound bled badly but he remained conscious.

“You should have left me, human,” he managed between painful breaths.

“No, I couldn’t do that.” Missy saw a shadow coming t
o
ward her fast. She pulled up the dragon’s fire and readied her attack.

“It’s me!” Kell shouted. “I’ll help Saal,” he said.

Missy nodded then stood to face the advancing guards. Anukhan stood aside having confiscated the shotguns.