Finding Monsters (4 page)

Missy is getting stronger each day and soon she will be able to explore our world. As the week comes to an end, I am hoping to take Missy on a picnic in the country so she can see my world and the wonders it has to offer. I sit in her room at the end of each day and read to her until she falls asleep.

“Read the one about the squirrels again,” she says.

I laugh since I read that one the night before as well. I begin reading as Missy pr
e
pares for bed. Mother has given her animal skins to wear to ward off the chill and the sight of her pale skin against the dark fur makes me blush. I avert my gaze and continue reading. She brushes her hair as I complete cha
p
ter one. I tuck her into bed by the end of chapter two. I start chapter three but soon she is sleeping. I continue until I reach the end. I put the book aside and sit for several hours watching her. F
i
nally, I get up to leave, tired and ready for bed. I shut her door and run into Mother.

“How is your human this evening, Charlie?”

“Feeling stronger every day, Mother. I was thin
k
ing about taking her on a picnic tomorrow in the country. Would that be alright?”

“Perhaps, but let’s not rush any plans for tomorrow. I’ll check on her and make sure she is well enough.” Mother enters Missy’s room and closes the door behind her. I continue to my room and prepare for bed. I struggle with sleep but finally, it gives in.

I awake with a start. It is early, perhaps near dawn. Did I hear something to jar me from my fitful dreams? I listen, but hear nothing. Something woke me, I am sure of it now, but I’m unable to put my finger on it. Pulling the blankets back, I sit up. I feel something that makes me hurt inside. The sensation is new and not overpowering, but a little disturbing. I go to my bathing room and run cool water into a basin, splas
h
ing my face. The feeling is still there. Perhaps it will go away with breakfast. After washing and dressing, I make my way to the cooking fires to prepare breakfast for Missy and myself. I carry the tray of breads and fruits to her room. I knock. I knock again. Opening the door, I glance inside, ready to retreat if she is still sleeping. I panic. Missy is not in her room. Flinging open the door, I put the tray down. Her bed is made. I check the washing room which is also empty. I check my room just in case. Not there. I run to my parents’ room with my heart thrashing in my chest.

“Where is she?” I cry without preamble. “Where is she?”

Mother comes to me and tries to calm my fears. “She left this morning before dawn. She has started her quest.”

“I don’t understand. What quest? Why didn’t she tell me? Who is protecting her?” I look in turn to each as I question them. I can’t think straight. The hurt inside is growing, increa
s
ing with my panic.

“Charlie, Missy has gone on a quest to become a monster. I explained to her what happened to you when you touched her. She wants you to be as you were. As she completes the tasks of her quest, she will gain traits of a monster, strengths and abil
i
ties you probably take for granted. She will grow stronger, and so will you.”

I am reeling from the news. Did I want her to become a monster like me? Somehow, I always envisioned myself as a human for her. Staggering toward the window, I look out into the distance. I scan the h
o
rizon for any sign of her. She’s gone. My human is gone. “Who’s protecting her?” I ask not looking at them.

“This is a quest she must complete on her own, Charlie,” Mother says.

I whirl in a rage. “You sent her into our world alone?” I let out a stream of curses as the hurt inside turns to nausea. I run from the room before either can stop me. I run through the halls, knocking over a se
r
vant before I reach the outer doors. I wrench them open and scream her name. Other bulls stop to stare at me as I continue yelling for my human to return to me. Father a
p
pears behind me.

“Enough, Charlie!” Father jerks me back inside and I slump to the polished stone floor in silence.

Mother approaches me and kneels, her long cream dress bunching around her. “She left you a note.” She puts the letter in my hand and leaves with Father. I stare at the folded parc
h
ment, a tremor runs through me. I rise and storm to my room, slamming the door. I sit on my bed, unfold the letter, and begin to read:

“My dearest Charlie, please forgive me for leaving you like this, but I fear it’s the only way we will truly be together and happy. I don’t want you crippled by my presence and that is what has happened. It’s almost as though we’ve traded places; you are sickly now and I am well. Only this time, I have the power to make you whole again. I have r
e
ceived my first task in a series of three that will transform me into a monster. Your mother assures me that I will be able to change back to my normal appearance at will so I am not really changing that much at all, right? Don’t fear for me, my love, your mother has told me all I need to know about your world. I am currently on my way to challenge ‘The Devil’. It sounds worse than it is. I should return to you in three days. I wish you could be with me. Even a tiny bit of you to comfort me. The hurt I feel inside is worse than the pain I felt as a human. I know you are feeling
it too. Dawn will be here soon, and I must leave before then. I love you with all my heart.

Missy.

I read the note again and again. I won’t let her be alone. Moving toward the corner, I view my reflection in the full-length mirror. I grip the sides and stare for a moment b
e
fore I speak.

“Reflection! Come forth.” I stand back and watch as my reflection in the mirror steps though the pane in front of me. “I need you to find our human and stay with her. I only have the strength to transform you into a butterfly but she will know who we are in that form.” I pull up the shimmering blue light and transform my reflection into the swallowtail butterfly. I feel the drain on my strength but don’t care. I open the wi
n
dow and my reflection flies away in search of our human. I check my mirror and I can see all that it sees. Satisfied that we will be t
o
gether soon, I turn the mirror so I can see it from the bed and lie down to conserve my strength.

“I’m coming, Missy  …  I’m coming.”

THE QUESTS

T
he swallowtail butterfly hurried on the wind toward a group of trees in the di
s
tance. He beat his wings with a fury born of desperation. Flying high, he landed on one of the top most branches and surveyed the lands below; his
antennae
perked, catching any sound within distance. A small laughing bark floated on the winds from the north, the sound of hyenas on the trail of prey. The butterfly bolted from the branch and flew toward the sound. A breeze lent assistance as he spread his wings wide and let the current carry him. A sharp scream came next, and the butterfly flapped his wings to increase his speed. He saw the next grouping of trees not far ahead. As he came closer, a single hyena advanced on a large evergreen. He gazed up and f
o
cused on the branches, spotting a young girl climbing up and away from the stalker below. Her feverish climbing si
g
naled she was the prey of the circling an
i
mal below.

“Not good,”
thought the butterfly as he charged toward them.

Missy scowled at the hyena as it circled the tree she’d managed to climb. She pulled herself higher as the animal below leapt and snapped its jaws inches from her ankle. He landed and barked an annoying laugh of pleasure. She reached her hand into a ho
l
low of the tree and hurled a handful of acorns in his direction. An indignant cry rang from the hole as a squirrel bounded out in a rage.

“Those nuts are mine! What are you doing in my tree? Get out! Off with you!” He punctuated the last word with a nip at her hand.

Although she’d been in the monster realm for a week, she still couldn’t stop her jaw from dropping when animals spoke. The squirrel marched up and down the limb of the tree, flailing his arms as he r
e
minded her whose tree she was in. He stared at her now, nose twitching, his large eyes scowling. Missy su
p
pressed the urge to giggle and mention how cute he was in his little leggings and tunic. Instead, she smiled, trying to win him over.

“I’m terribly sorry but I’m trying to get away from that hyena.” She pointed down at the animal circling below. The squirrel scurried around the tree for a be
t
ter look, then came back and sat on a branch near her head.

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but it seems that there are now, in fact, three hy
e
nas below.”

Missy looked down again. Nausea swept through her as she watched two more an
i
mals join the first.

“Throwing my nuts won’t help you none, girl. You need to fight them off. Use your staff.”

Missy fingered the staff she had attached over her back and sighed. “I don’t really know how to use it yet; this is my first quest.” She felt stupid coming out here alone in a foreign world without having any skills at all. “I don’t know what to do. Pe
r
haps you will let me stay here until they go away?” she asked the squirrel. He twitched his nose at her and tsked.

“I don’t think they will go away any time soon. Besides, you’re not that safe up here.”

“What do you mean?” Missy said with an unch
a
racteristic stutter. The squirrel pointed again at the circling animals below. Missy leaned down to look at the lead hyena. He gave her a toothy smile then another bark of laughter as he shook out what looked like bat wings from his spine. He flapped the dew-wet wings and dispensed as much water as possible. Then he spread them wide in the sun to dry. The others fo
l
lowed their leader in preparations to fly. “Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me!” Missy said though clinched teeth. She pulled her knees to her chest and clung to them, unable to think of a way out of this. The squirrel sighed and jumped down to face her.

“My name’s Sir Alastaire Henry, and you are?”

“Missy.”

“Well, Missy, it seems like you need a little assistance ge
t
ting out of this mess. I will help you on one condition.”

“Name it!” Missy said.

“You help me and the lovely Mrs. He
n
ry relocate our nuts to another tree.”

“Absolutely!” Missy said, but added, “but I don’t want you to get hurt on account of me. There are three flying hyenas down there and well  … ”

Sir Alastaire laughed at the near di
s
missal of his abilities. “Hand me your staff, girl. I eat hyenas for breakfast! Ginger! Get out here,” Sir Alastaire called toward the hollow of acorns. Soon, Ginger appeared at the entrance wiping her hands on her apron.

“What’s all the racket, Alastaire? Can’t I have a bit of a rest? I’ve been packing acorns all morning!”

“Ginger, my dear, I need to ward off a few bea
s
ties below, and I want you to look after the girl while I’m working.”

Ginger followed her husband’s pointing paw to Missy. She scurried over and sniffed at the girl. “What sort of girl are you?” Ginger asked.

“I’m a human girl, Ma’am,” Missy re
p
lied.

“Don’t worry, child, Alastaire will take care of those hy
e
nas for you.” She turned to her husband. “Don’t get fancy! Just take care of them and come back straight away. We’ve got work to do, you know?”

Sir Alastaire grunted a muffled, “Yes, dear” before clim
b
ing out onto a long branch, gripping Missy’s staff. He hurled a final warning at the three hyenas for good measure. “All right you laughing cowards, be gone with you, or I’ll have to pop you right good!”

The hyenas laughed of course, which to Missy seemed like all they could muster. Sir Alastaire leapt from the branch. He stretched his arms wide and u
n
folded the flaps tucked away. Missy watched in amazement as the small flying squirrel grew larger as he made his way toward the ground. When he landed, he matched the size of his three foes. The hyenas tucked their wings back in as they prepared for the fight. They circled the squirrel and attacked. Sir Ala
s
taire struck each one in turn with the staff squarely on the tops of their heads before he moved toward the smallest of the three. He jumped into the air and landed behind the beast before it had a chance to turn. Sir Alastaire gripped the staff tightly as he swatted the animal’s bac
k
side, then smacked hard on its hind legs. The animal yelped and went down. Sir Alastaire moved on to the next smaller hy
e
na and assaulted him as well. With the two smaller ones down and licking their wounds, Sir Alastaire moved toward the leader of the pack. The lead hyena lunged for the squirrel that was ma
k
ing a mockery of his pack. He bared his teeth and went for the legs of Sir Alastaire.