Myth (Book 1)

by Angela K. Crandall

  “Jenson, open your eyes and stop scrunching. You’ve managed to freeze his bottom half at least.”

  “Keep your paws gripped deep in the earth!” hollered Minder.

  “What are ya gonna do girlie? I got my crew coming to back me up,” Gladiator taunted.

  “Owl, work some of that Mojo or whatever Cavin taught you,” Minder said skidding into the dirt. A medium sized wolf with large protruding fangs held her down.

  Who the hell, was that? What about her super fast speed and great strength?

  Nayla pushed Gladiator from behind dropping him to the ground.

  One hand lay on the soil the other gripped my tail tighter. It appeared as if he was gaining mobility little by little back to his legs. I'd better take a chance while he was weak. I had to act fast! I arched my back swinging my body outward, flinging him into the trees. It wasn’t far, but he flew, landing against a tree trunk with a whack! I didn’t wait for him to get up. I ran over to Owl and Jenson, who were now chanting.

  “Go, go,” he prodded.

  “Minder, I can’t leave without her!”

  “That’s right, she’s not going anywhere. Minder belongs to us,” spat Sika. He stepped out of the woods, onto the path. I watched him slither over to where Minder was being held captive. “Do you think we’d stand for this? My power has grown much stronger. I’ve been waiting, for years to drag you back! Was, my love not good enough for you? Everyone wants to make sacrifices for the humans! Look at me! I can never believe I was once one of them. You let Nuria put foolish ideas in your head. No, tonight this ends! No alliances, none, they join us or become our prisoners. The last is death. Gavin is on his way.”

  Minder whimpered, “Leave, Gavin, will execute you.” She pushed up against the animal crushing her to the ground. Behind a tree, was it Lance? Putting his finger to his lips, he swiftly snuck towards us.

  “What is the point of all this? Why bother us?” I shouted.

  Minder shook her head at me, “Big mistake.”

  “Yes, she is a big blunder. You’re an abomination like us! Don’t you understand, you’re stuck, neither able to exist in one world or the other! This, is why we don’t mix. It’s the reason we stay hidden. Look, at me!”

  I froze. All, I’d learned now, gone.

  Powers? What powers?! I turned away from him, to see someone peeking out from behind a tree.

  “Lance?”

  Putting his finger to his lips, he swiftly crept in our direction. I had to think! Fire, I needed to start slamming it at them!

  “Now my man Gladiator, is going to wake up. I can call him off now, surrender to me,” he demanded. “Join us, give yourselves to me. Then no harm will come to you. In fact, we could end the human race. I never knew, we were so destructive until betrayed by one of my own.”

  Rapidly, the wind picked up behind us.

  “Chant,” shouted Jenson!

  What the hell was I supposed to be chanting! My irritation climbed, up and over the garden wall. A surge of adrenaline pulsed inside me screaming to be let out. My back arched. I leaped at the creature holding Minder down, forcing him off of her.

  “Why you,” it spat, trying to corner me. Lance, had crept up behind him with his Kali stick. Sika, didn’t notice his pal about to be, attacked. He was too busy gazing at Gavin, attempting to bust through a sort of force field. That must have been why Owl and Jenson were chanting, I reflected. Every time he hit it, he’d try again. These guys were definitely, Sika’s sidekicks, really dumb ones at that.

  (Tri)

  I couldn’t sleep. Instead, I tossed and turned. Dan, better take care of our daughter. Often he’d let her take on more than she could chew. I sat up, pushing off the covers. All the doors in our apartment were locked. I’d checked every one of them before bed. I’d be damned if I lost her to the insanity of my clan. The clock on my nightstand read 3 a.m.

  No, I couldn’t use my visions. That was a clan thing. I’d be drawing them back into my life if I did that, better get up and check on Megan. I pressed my feet down on the cold wood floor, stood up and proceeded to the doorway. I pushed it opened, nothing, empty. What was I expecting to see Monsters?

  The door across the landing stood ajar. A light shone out into the hall forming an eerie shadow. Perhaps Megan was still up reading or attempting one of those Sudoku puzzles she loved. Starla hated them. I cringed at the thought of how different, my daughter’s were, yet somehow, managed to get along. I felt along the wall cautiously moving towards her room. Then I peered in. Yep! She was at it again! Well, I shouldn’t scold her too much, I couldn’t sleep either.

  “Hey Megan,” I said, pushing the door open slightly.

  Megan set her game down looking up, “Oh, I was just getting ready to put it away.”

  “No, no, it’s fine. I can’t sleep, anyway. I’d try to call Starla, but they are probably in the middle of a mess. I can just imagine your sister getting tackled by one of those thugs!”

  “You mean the bandits, the ones you told us about?”

  “Yeah, those guys,” I said, sitting down next to her on her bed. She still had her posters up, of Winnie the Pooh and Piglet. I smiled, glad she was maintaining some of her childhood past.

  “Did you ever consider going back? You could be there right now fighting by her side.”

  “And what would happen, if your father and I were both killed? I don’t want you to end up in the system. My job is to protect you girls, not lead you into danger.”

  “Oh, Mom, come on- the clan would take me in wouldn’t they,” she complained.

  Intelligent and smart, I couldn’t get anything past my girls. I pulled myself up onto the bed getting ready to snuggle in.

  “Mom, really,” she replied to my claiming her domain.

  Then I pulled my daughter into me in spite of her complaints and kissed her on her head.

  “I love you, and Starla. Let me hold you tonight, ease my mind that at least one of my daughters is home and safe.

  “Ok,” replied Megan, leaning against me.

  I couldn’t bring to mind when I’d last needed reassurance. Usually, I dished out the hugs, compliments, and encouragement.

  “What now,” Megan asked.

  “We get some sleep. In the morning, we blast dad’s phone,” I suggested.

  “Mom, sometimes you think like a teenager.”

  “Good night, Megan.”

  “Night Mom,” she replied.

  (Starla)

  Dodging the creature was a chore, comparable to basketball. I recalled playing a few games as a kid. I’d wanted to join, but wasn’t coordinated, enough. Would Gavin, ever give up? I stood there while he continued to attempt to break through the force field. How much more ridiculous could this get? I actually, felt sorry, for this lunatic!

  “Join you? I’d rather eat dirt!” shouted Minder to Sika moving closer to me.

  “Get out of the way,” he spat. Yes, literally right, on her face. She wiped it away getting ready to throw a punch. Lance, sprang into our area grabbed the creature from behind and shocked him. He fell limp in his arms.

  What? Fire bolts? I’d never seen Lance use them before.

  “At this second, the ball isn’t in your court. You’d better plan your next move. Gavin isn’t getting in,” Lance sneered at Sika, pushing the creature’s body aside.

  “Attacking my minions means little to me. I’ll immediately call in more,” he retaliated.

  Gavin sat outside our protected circle. It reminded me of a small child, waiting for someone, to let him enter. Minder grabbed my hand, and instantly Nayla was at my side. Squinting her eyes, she appeared as if she was concentrating rather hard. I could feel myself slipping into human form. “No! I have no clothes. What are you doing?” I reflected.

  “You’ll be fine, Molly and Cavin are on their way here,” Nayla reflected back.

  “But, Gavin, he’ll attack them!”

  “It will be fine, you’re over-reacting,” she speculated sending me a
stern look.

  Hit by an overdrive of simulations I wanted to rip Sika and Gavin apart. I stood on my hind legs or were they my human legs? My paws shook as I lifted Gavin into the air.

  “OK, Starla Araina, please keep him there. The boys will bring down the shield long enough for them to pass,” said Nayla.

  I held him steady, deep in fury. I don’t think it had anything to do with concentration, but more with the anger that kept him off the ground. I noticed Lance, who slowly inched up to the area Sika inhabited. He closely eyed Minder, a scrawl on his face. Then I saw them approaching from both sides. On one Cavin with Molly, and on the other three small animals similar to bats rapidly flew towards us.

  “Don’t bring up the shield yet, entrap them!” yelled Nayla.

  Sika jumped forward in front of me and grabbed my arm trying to force it down.

  “Let go! Stop, get him off me!” I screamed. He continued to twist my arm close to the ground. Minder grappled for him, but he shoved her aside.

  “You’re not going to keep them up there! They’ll enter the ring to swallow you whole. Then you’ll wish you’d joined us. When I gave you, the chance,” Sika spat at me.

  Lance eased up behind him ready to pelt fire into his ass. Unexpectedly Jenson sprang forth, striking him on the forehead with a Kali stick. Sika stumbled a bit, then repositioned himself upright.

  “Ha,” he said, and then tried hitting Jenson with his fist. Owl stepped in tripping him to the ground. Sika struggled to get up acting as if his bones had been crushed. Minder held him there with her stare.

  “The force field, Jenson, keep chanting, we’re not ready for it to shut down. Shellena, what the hell are you doing? Use your powers to entrap them! Starla, can’t do this alone! Where is Dan! Has anyone seen him?” Lance shouted.

  My dad, damn, I hadn’t even thought. No Starla Ariana, focus, hold him up!

  Shellena knelt on the ground, placing her hand on the earth. A ripple of waves spread out onto the trail nearly reaching where the bats stood. As it was about to hit, they flew into the air, avoiding the electric currents.

  “Well, that worked like a charm!”

  “Try again,” I said, “this time one hand to the earth the other to the sky. Then aim at them using your hand, like a gun.”

  Shellena pushed ripples into the earth as two bats settled down onto the ground. After paralyzing them, she moved her arm upward and caught the third one in mid-air. It fell smack into the earth!

  “OK, now drop the field!”

  Cavin and Molly raced to Nayla. I let go of my hold on Gavin. He slammed into the dirt.

  “Darn it!” he said, scrambling to get inside before the barrier sealed up again.

  “Close it,” shrieked Molly.

  Jenson and Owl fatigued from chanting stood back. I detected venom dripping from Lance and Shellena’s, lips, or was it saliva?

  “Get down, in case he enters!” shouted Lance. Spittle dripped from his mouth and sizzled onto the earth. It made Sika cringe, digging into the earth below him.

  Shellena joined Cavin close to the front of the encircled area. Gavin was closing in on our territory.

  “Use the fireball thingy like you did earlier!” I demanded, backing away.

  “Can’t, firepower is only good once every hour,” he replied.

  This was it. I had to save my family. Mom and Megan most likely were expecting me home by now.

  Leaning over, I whispered to Nayla, “We have to get out of here! Can’t you project a memory mentally to me so I can kick some hybrid wolf butt?”

  “I can’t hold Sika, much longer,” Minder piped up.

  “Let me. Nayla, Starla Araina, and Minder, you must leave now,” pleaded Lance.

  “What about Gavin?” I asked.

  “What about him?”

  I looked down at myself, still a fox, whew! At least I hadn’t changed yet...

  Nayla placed her paw in mine. Intensity, a rush filled my body brimming over with pain.

  Fire everywhere, my kind running to escape Sika, who stood in a circle igniting them with flames. What? How? Why we’re, we so safe? Why was this so easy?

  “Use it Starla, Araina, use it!” pushed Nayla.

  My heartbeat quickened as if it would explode out my ears. Thump, thump, ba-bump, louder and louder till I thought I was bleeding out my ears. When I couldn’t take it anymore, a horrific sound bellowed out of my mouth. The one I’d used when Shellena and Lance first visited me! Damn, why didn’t I think of it before? The super hybrid baddies cowered as low to the ground as they could covering their ears. I didn’t have time to say goodbye to Jenson. I stole a quick glance back before the force field came down, and we dove into the forest.

  Chapter 34

  (Cal and Nuria)

  I ran through the thicket of trees deeper into the forest, almost out of breath. My paws barely touched the ground before I leaped up again, into the air with my super fox body. Well, maybe it wasn’t super. It did give me time to reflect on the ideas running wild in my head. If Shellena and Lance were Vampire hybrids, why hadn’t they just sucked out these bad-asses blood? Why did we need to hold them? Why not just kill them?

  “Starla, we do not just kill,” Nayla said invading my mind. “We have to hold them accountable. They’ll get a trial first, then placement or banishment. The elders will decide. Now that Cavin is there they should be contained.”

  “Should Be?” I stopped, gazing at Minder. I guess she’d served her purpose, but after the lack of abilities I considered she had, I was rather disappointed in her strength to reprimand her once clan, now enemies.

  “Starla, give her a chance! She’s right beside us! Who knows, she may be able to read our minds.”

  Minder stood still a few feet away, her ears perked up, listening for something. Cautiously, she pranced up to us.

  “I thought. I heard something over there,” she said, pointing her long black nails in the direction of a train track.

  Nayla provoked movement in the trees. She flicked her tail up and down in a fast motion, creating wind, pushing its large branches out of the way. Nothing but some Squirrel prints. A few nuts lay scattered on the ground.

  “I don’t see anything suspicious. It’s best we keep going. How much farther is it Starla?”

  “We should be about half way. It’s beyond those red berry bushes. I’m not exactly sure how I know that. Last time I...”

  My arm was vibrating! Did that mean Cal was near? I touched my arm.

  “Are you OK?” asked Minder.

  “My arm, my tattoo, it’s going all haywire on me. Someone must be in the area trying to signal me! Maybe it’s Cal! Do you suppose,” I said, turning to Nayla.

  “It could be your dad. I didn’t want to worry you, but as soon as he parked the car...”

  “What... -what happened?”

  “I saw him exit the van, and then he just walked into the woods,” said Minder.

  “And no one went after him? What were you thinking?” I shouted.

  “That your dad is capable of taking care of himself. It isn’t like this hasn’t happened before in these situations. Come on, let’s keep going, perhaps daddy-O will come to our rescue at the cave,” Minder joked.

  I rolled my eyes at her and flicked my tail against the itch on my back.

  “Starla Ariana, I’m sure he’ll turn up, now move!” Nayla prodded me with her nose.

  I felt like cattle being herded by a master, not as if my instructor was pushing me to find myself via this mission. We knew, the bandits killed Du-Vance, due to this treaty thing Nuria and he had devised. In turn, Minder left the group seeking redemption by keeping Cal and Nuria safe, yet never returned them. Eh, maybe it would have been risky to our clan, but wasn’t it more so now?

  “Starla, first we get Cal back, then put the bandits in their place. Afterward, we’ll investigate the scientists that started this entire fiasco. It cannot happen all at once!” Nayla thought, poking into my brain.

  I
shook off her warnings. A headache began to form from the brief mind invasion. My paws pounded on the soil, my breathing quickened, as I tried to keep pace with my companions. I was falling behind. My tattoo now bore into me, burning my skin as we closed in on the cavern. Minder jogged up to the base of the entrance.

  “It’s urgent, get over here,” she shouted.

  My dad sat near the cave opening holding his arm to his chest. I observed a few deep gashes near his midsection, but none of them appeared fatal.

  “I thought that thing, just set stuff on fire! Why did you come here! Did you presume you’d take it on yourself? Look at what it did to you!” I exclaimed crouching beside him.

  “I was trying to protect you. Mom called me worried sick. I figured maybe if I could get to it before you did, well then we’d just get Cal and Nuria and go home.”

  “What planet are you living on mister,” Minder remarked. She held his arm out examining it.

  “There’s no time for this! Minder, take his shirt and wrap his wounds,” I ordered, standing up.

  Nayla nodded at her to proceed.

  “You can’t go in there,” my dad shouted.

  “Minder, stay with him. Dan, it has to be dealt with!” Nayla insisted.

  Dan slowly tried to ease himself up to stop us; subsequently, he fell back stumbling to the ground.

  “Whoa, buddy. You better listen to them. I’ve seen Nayla in action. It’ll be fine,” Minder reassured him.

  Dan grimaced, as she tied the torn cloth around his left arm.

  “That’s what I thought,” he said.

  “It’s not just going to let us waltz in and save them,” I whispered to Nayla surveying the inner darkness.

  “Child, it’s called the element of surprise! Remember when I disappeared, leaving you alone after our first meeting?”

  “OK, what’s the plan? Minder back there didn’t exactly tell us how to destroy this ghoul.” I nodded towards where she sat with my father.

  “I’ll transport us into the cave. If we try to walk in there, it may push us right back out. You were in your astral form before so it couldn’t harm you,” she said setting her paw on my shoulder. “Ready?”