Enchantment

by Lawna Mackie

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Paddy and Meeka continued to huddle in the cold cell. Meeka was still unable to do more than wiggle her fingers and toes and move her head, but Paddy was fully alert. She didn’t know how she was going to protect Meeka from those monsters, but she knew she’d die trying.

  “Meeka, I wish I had powers of my own so I could defend you.” Paddy stroked the tangled hair from her face. This was the first time in her life she actually wished she had learned to use magic. She had just never had a use for it until now. Paddy looked up and listened carefully. “Meeka, someone’s coming,” she hissed. “Stay still.”

  Meeka gave a subtle nod of her head.

  Dread formed a hard knot in her belly, she couldn’t help the silent prayer from slipping passed her lips.

  Please, let Kerrigan find us.

  She recoiled at the sight of Jager, his decomposing figure sloughing with each step

  Jager let the ring of keys clang jarringly against each rusted steel bar as he slowly advanced. He sneered at them between the bars, showing his rotten, stained teeth.

  “Such pathetic creatures. You beavers are good for nothing but dinner, but she, on the other hand, is perfection.” He said, pointing his finger towards Meeka. “I hope you’ve enjoyed your time together,” he gloated. “Have I not been merciful?” Jager slowly scraped the key into the lock.

  Paddy gasped for breath and desperately threw herself between Meeka and the door. “You stay away. You hear me. Get back,” Paddy threatened.

  Jager’s laugh rang loudly throughout the cemented room. “Ohhh, have I scared the little beaver?” he teased. “Don’t worry. I just want a small taste of her before Thalius gets his greedy hands on her. I’ll even let you watch.”

  Paddy shrieked in horror, and Meeka cried silent tears at the fury and fear in her friend’s face.

  “You are filth, not fit for our world. I warn you to stay away from us,” Paddy hissed. Taking a deep breath, she summoned the one spell she knew. Jager stopped and scratched at his hair, which was suddenly crawling with talking Itchits.

  “Tsk.” He sneered. “You’ll have to do better.”

  He shoved the door open with a clang. Freedom beckoned for less than a second before the steel door reverberated off the wall and crashed closed again.

  Jager slowly made his way toward the two of them until he stood directly over them. He crouched, his dirty fingers finding their way into Meeka’s beautiful hair. Instantly, Paddy lunged forward and sank her large front teeth into his hand.

  He screamed in pain, and he backhanded Paddy, knocking her across the cell.

  * * * *

  Jager’s face was twisted in fury. “You brainless witch, look what you’ve done to me,” he yelled, spraying blood on the white floor as he shook his fist.

  “Paddy! Are you okay?”

  “Don’t worry about me, Meeka. Nothing wrong except a bad taste in my mouth. I’m ready for another round, slime ball.”

  His mocking laugh filled the tiny room. “I don’t think so, little beaver.” Jager drew a small circle in the air and then blew a breath of air toward Paddy.

  Meeka sat motionless as Paddy’s body was plastered up against the cold wall, unable to move.

  “Much better.” Jager said.

  Meeka’s hot tears streamed down her face as she shouted in defiance. “I swear if it is the last thing I ever do in my life, you will pay for hurting her.”

  Jager bent down and again buried his grimy hand in her long hair. “I don’t think you’re exactly in a position to make threats, my sweet. Can you even move at all?” He mocked her.

  Her body revolted inside at the swell and stench of evil.

  Why won’t my powers work? What have they done to me? She trembled with pent-up anger, but lay helpless on the floor. Jager submerged his face in hair.

  Paddy screamed and begged for him to stop.

  “I’ve never known anything so delicious as this helpless human.” Jager stretched out on the floor along the length of Meeka’s body.

  “My cock’s hard for you already. I can do whatever the hell I want with you, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

  His face was mere inches away from her, his reeking breath fanning the hairs at her temple.

  His long, pointy tongue slid up the side of her cheek as his hand slid down to his crotch.

  Meeka closed her eyes, wishing her powers could feel the fury deep inside her. She’d make him pay with his life, if she could only move. She could hear Paddy’s screaming. Over and over, the valiant beaver begged him to stop.

  Then, as if God had been listening, they heard the click, click, click sound of Thalius coming down the stairs. Meeka didn’t know if this new situation was better or not, but it stopped Jager momentarily.

  * * * *

  “Fuck the decrepit bastard!” Jager swore, jumping to his feet. He jammed the key into place, opened the door, and locked it again from the outside.

  “Shit! The injection.” He swore. “To hell with it. You still can’t move, anyway.”

  Thalius rounded the corner almost on the run. “Jager, are you ready? We are leaving now. Did you do everything I asked?”

  “We’re ready,” he lied, his fingers tightening on the needle in his pocket. He cast a glance at the female lying on the floor and hunched his cloak forward. No good could come of Thalius seeing his interest.

  * * * *

  Paddy scrambled across the floor to Meeka the moment the bubble containing her broke. “My poor sweet child.” she moaned.

  Meeka whispered back. “Paddy, I think he was supposed to drug me, but he didn’t.” “Yes. Yes I imagine so,” she confirmed.

  “Paddy, I have to pretend to be totally incapacitated until my powers start to come back. Play along with me,” Meeka instructed.

  She let her head fall limply to the cold floor, and Paddy carefully coddled her again.

  Thalius looked over at the two. “Good. She’s still wasted, just what I need. Open the damn door, Jager. We have to get out of here. The overbearing dragon is bringing Armageddon down on us.”

  Paddy’s eyes glistened and her chin lifted, and Meeka could barely keep still. Kerrigan must be just outside, fighting for them. Then her heart stopped.

  Threeo’s vision…

  Jager held the gate open so Thalius could enter. The twisted crone shuffled over to Meeka and Paddy. “It’s show time, my sweet.” He looked down at Meeka with an air of smug satisfaction.

  Jager moved closer, and in a split second, they all vanished.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Only through a dragon’s eyes could one have seen the tiny flashes of sparks streak through the sky. Kerrigan stood alone on the jeweled ledge awaiting their arrival, while the others remained hidden.

  His quarry shimmered into being. Not far away from where he stood, they began to appear.

  Jager appeared first. He held Paddy in a chokehold with a knife at her neck. Thalius appeared next with Meeka in his arms, and promptly dropped her limp body to the ground, panting, his face twisted in pain. Anger tore through Kerrigan’s body. Lifting his head, he roared into the sky. An avalanche of topaz jewels tumbled down behind him in response.

  Thalius cried out and stepped back, reaching down to drag Meeka with him, but Kerrigan was upon them in the blink of an eye.

  “Stop there, Kerrigan! Or Jager will slit your mother’s throat.” Thalius pointed a gnarled finger at his cohort, a sneer of glee upon his face.

  Kerrigan roared again. “I warned you, Thalius. Let them go now, and I might kill you quickly.”

  Thalius laughed and flung a red ball from his hand toward Kerrigan. It stopped harmlessly a few inches before him, bursting and spreading like a wall of fire in all directions back around and behind Thalius.

  Kerrigan advanced, his jaw snapping and flames glowing in his throat. “You think your tiny protection barrier will stop me from tearing your throat out?” He threw his considerable weight against the f
orce field, feeling it give slightly.

  “It might slow you down enough for me to administer this.” Thalius pulled another syringe out of his pocket, reached down, and plunged it into Meeka’s neck.

  The dragon roared, redoubling his attack.

  * * * *

  Meeka let out a whimper, wishing she had seen that coming.

  Mother of God, what has he given me now?

  She’d had enough of lying still. She lifted her head, then hands. With a newfound strength in her arms, she pushed herself up to sitting. She didn’t feel bad. Her head was clearing. In fact, she felt great. She winced at the knives-on-chalkboard sound of Kerrigan tearing at the shield around them.

  Meeka closed her eyes and felt for her inner power. The fire was back. She wanted to scream for joy. Whatever Thalius had just given her obviously wasn’t working, but how was she going to get everyone out of this mess?

  A huge flame shot out toward Thalius as Kerrigan swung his large tail against the barrier. Thalius backed up even farther and pulled Meeka to her feet.

  “Let’s get this show on the road, my pet,” Thalius purred.

  She had no idea what he was talking about, but obviously, he assumed she must be under his control. Determined to save Kerrigan, she moved back, her steps mirroring Thalius’s.

  Thalius looked up at the hundreds of gargoyles circling high above them. He gestured to Meeka. “Kill them. All of them.”

  Meeka swallowed hard. She couldn’t kill them, but if she didn’t, he would know he didn’t have any control. Fearing he’d kill her and the others, Meeka racked her brain for a moment before settling on a course of action. In seeming obedience, she lifted her arms, her hair swirling around her as she called upon her power.

  I can do this. Everyone’s lives depend on it.

  In waves of purple her flames rose, swirling around those flying above them.

  Kerrigan’s anguished scream brought everyone to their knees, covering their ears, as one by one the gargoyle warriors fell to the topaz plateau. With a powerful jump, Kerrigan burst into the air.

  Thalius and Jager’s sinister laughter echoed across the mountain.

  “Kill the dragon, my little sorceress. Destroy the Enforcer.” Thalius trailed a finger along her neck. “It is time for us to depart.”

  Meeka wasn’t prepared. She knew there was no way she’d be able to take control of Kerrigan’s mind the way she had the gargoyles’. He was far too powerful, his emotions too volatile in this state. She could feel the power in him even from this distance.

  Meeka watched as Stryker and Catz climbed up and over the gargoyles, trying to get closer to her. Catz was screaming at her, “Meeka, don’t do this! Stop!”

  Meeka had never been able to telepathically communicate in the past, but she needed to try. She had to reach Kerrigan.

  Closing her eyes, she sought her lover’s mind. “Kerrigan, you have to hear me, please tell me you can understand me. Please, please, Kerrigan, hear me.”

  Kerrigan froze in the air. “Meeka?”

  “Yes it’s me. Please, you have to trust me. I need all of you to pretend to be dead. This is the only way. When the warmth of my fire touches you, please fall just like the gargoyles.”

  “Are you certain?”

  Stryker interrupted their communication. “Kerrigan, she made them all go to sleep. Good job, Meeka.”

  Meeka raised her arms high in the air. This time, the purple fire spreading from her was warm and funny, actually teasing Kerrigan and the others. Kerrigan instantly closed his wings and crashed to the ground with a deafening thump. The others did the same.

  Thalius cackled with glee.

  Meeka could feel her body tire. Using her powers was draining. She wanted to lie down and go to sleep. She pretended to stagger, placing herself within grabbing distance of Paddy, and then fell down on her knees.

  This has to work. It just has to.

  She hung her head.

  Paddy’s screams and sobs stabbed Meeka in the heart worse than any knife could have. Did she really believe Meeka could have killed everyone most dear to her?

  Thalius’s laughter boomed, and soon Jager joined in, as well. “We did it, Jager! It’s done!” Thalius crowed, full of himself.

  “Meeka, here, is going to transport us out of this stupid world and into one I can rule forever!”

  Jager blindly joined in his master’s joy, and finally let go of his hold on Paddy. It was the only cue Meeka needed. With lightning-quick reflexes, she grabbed Paddy’s arm and sent her flying through the air straight toward Stryker, hoping to God he’d catch her and save the little beaver from breaking anything. Then, with all her fury, she sent a brutal back-kick aimed directly at Jager’s crotch and a fireball heading directly toward Thalius’s head. All hell broke loose.

  Meeka somersaulted through the air toward her friends.

  Thalius dodged the fireball and shrieked in rage. “Get back here! Do as I command, you bitch!” Kerrigan hurled himself onto the disgraced Counselor, trapping his writhing form under his tail.

  Jager crumpled into a heap against the cliff face.

  Todd jumped forward to clasp his wife. “Paddy, my love, I was so worried!” Then he turned on Thalius.

  “You ignorant, egotistical fool! You Counselors made this mountain, but you obviously didn’t take time to learn what properties the jewel Topaz carries, did you? Poison of any sort has no power here! Meeka couldn’t feel any of the venom you shot into her body! Topaz not only makes her powers stronger, but diminishes the power of evil. You are such an idiot! Why do you think you Counselors created it?”

  Kerrigan’s wing provided a safe landing for Meeka’s somersault. Golden eyes locked to her violet ones. Meeka was sure she saw tears glistening in his. Carefully, he placed her down on the ground. The sleepy gargoyles stretched themselves awake and took to the sky at Stryker’s command.

  * * * *

  Kerrigan reluctantly broke his gaze with his woman and turned his hot breath to Thalius. He lifted his front leg as fire shot from his mouth, forcing Jager and Thalius backward toward the edge of the mountain, and advanced with lethal intent. As he arched his neck for the final blow, the nine other Counselors appeared to stand before him, their hands locked.

  Madget stepped forward, her face an indifferent mask, chin raised. She glanced at Kerrigan before turning to glance at Thalius and spoke. “Kerrigan, this is not your matter any further. Thalius has broken our top commandment. We will deal with him.”

  The dragon demanded vengeance. “I’ll say it one more time, Madget. Get out of my way. They will pay for abusing what is mine. You will not deny me this.”

  “He is one of us, Kerrigan. We must deal with him,” Madget repeated. She turned, an air of sadness around her. “For centuries, we have turned a blind eye to your claims, allowing him to corrupt and torment. We have allowed this. Now we must do what we can to wash the taint of his filth and our guilt from this land.”

  Kerrigan roared and reared back on his legs, spreading fire through the night sky. With all the force in his dragon body, he brought his massive wings down, causing a colored ripple effect in the air and knocking everyone flying. He slammed his tail on the plateau with such a force that the mountain began to shake in a series of tremors. Large spikes of topaz forced their way up through the floor of the plateau.

  * * * *

  Screams of panic tore through the whistling air. Kerrigan was going to destroy everything if he didn’t stop. The Counselors couldn’t stay together long enough to communicate or touch. They tried placing restraints on the dragon, but they evaporated into thin air the moment they touched him.

  Meeka screamed at Stryker through the howling wind. “Get everyone off the mountain. I have to try to calm Kerrigan.”

  Stryker collected Catz, the Beavers, and Threeo, placing them on his back. “Stop him before he destroys everything, Meeka,” he hollered.

  Barely able to stand on her feet, Meeka forced herself forward, grabbing ont
o Kerrigan’s large dragon leg. Wrapping her body around it, she held on for dear life and tried to speak to him telepathically.

  “Kerrigan please stop this insanity. Nobody was seriously hurt. Your power is causing the mountain to collapse. If the mountain collapses, you will kill thousands of innocent Enchanters. Listen to me. You told me once I would never hurt anyone, and I trusted you. Now you have to trust me. Stop!”

  Slowly, the turbulent wind subsided and the mountain became quiet.

  Kerrigan brought his large head down toward Meeka, and without thinking, Meeka wrapped her arms halfway around his neck and kissed him with all the love she had in her.

  A strangled scream pierced through their moment. Jager was hanging off the edge of the mountain, screaming for help. The Counselors got up off the ground, trying to dust themselves off, and searched for Thalius. All eyes focused on where he stood at the edge of the mountain above the jagged lip where Jager dangled. Thalius turned toward the group and spoke his last words of hatred.

  “I wouldn’t give you the benefit of killing or locking me up.” He stepped off the edge of the mountain.

  Jager continued to scream as his protector dropped past him.

  Kerrigan turned away from the Counselors. “Do what you want with him. I’m done here.” Without a backward glance, he took Meeka and vanished off the mountain.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Kerrigan set Meeka on her feet in the warmth and safety of his den, his eyes never leaving her face. The soft, plaintive meow from behind her drew her attention away from the pain and sorrow in Kerrigan’s eyes. Meeka ran to Catz and scooped her up in her arms.

  “I’ve missed you so,” Meeka cried.

  “And I’ve missed you, too. I have never been so worried,” Catz said.

  Todd was still holding Paddy as Meeka approached her. “Paddy, I’m so sorry I put you through all of this. Can you ever forgive me?” Tears still streamed down her cheeks.