by Chris Africa
It was time to make his presence known. Chassy stepped into the low torchlight and snarled.
"Who's there?" The guard drew a dagger and squinted into the darkness. The guy didn't see him, so he came closer. The guard's eyes popped open, and he dropped his dagger and ran away shrieking.
"Cougar! There's a cougar in the city! It tried to attack me."
And the game was on. Against his better judgment, Chassy charged into a huddle of soldiers toward the startled wizard in braids. Men fell back with shouts, but Chassy didn't give them a chance to regroup. He raced a circuit around the square, scattering guards and townsfolk, waiting for the next part of the plan to come into play.
But it didn't. He had nearly gotten back to his point of origin, and Cherise had opened only one cage.
"Hurry up," he groaned, as he started his second round. This time he raced here and there, harrying individual soldiers with an occasional swipe of his enormous paw to send them sprawling and screaming. Suddenly the wizard was there in front of him, making some kind of motion with his arm. The arm came down and pointed at Chassy.
And Chassy froze helplessly in place. He panicked slightly as the wizard raised his arm for another strike, and several soldiers crowded in with swords at the ready. But then the wizard flew forward as Shyrea and two cubs raced across his back, using the man as a launch pad into the soldiers. Chassy's mobility restored, he turned and raced off into the dark. So many people were screaming now it sounded like the entire city was under attack.
Chassy circled back to finish his job, returning to the wagon where the packs were stashed. Crawling up under the covering, he slipped into his human skin, put on some of his spare clothes and crawled back out of the wagon, hauling four packs behind the tavern. Human chaos filled his nostrils and ears, and he struggled against a wave of exhaustion. He needed to find his friends and fast.
23: Nita
If it hadn't been for Shyrea and her cubs, they never would have found Chassy's hiding place. She led them through the dark across the city into a slum area, where residents constructed their houses of daub-and-wattle walls with broken barrel staves and other scavenged materials forming ineffective roofs. Chassy discovered one empty and collapsed in the driest corner.
Shyrea's family paused in front of the shack while Nita ducked her head inside. The moons sneaked through a leaky spot, sending a ray of light into the room. There he was, surrounded by their packs. His head lolled back, and his legs splayed out in front, looking as though he had indulged in too much wine.
"He's in here." She motioned to William and Cherise. The cats had disappeared.
Nita ducked into the small room and crouched low to avoid the roof. William and Cherise crawled inside behind her. She had this weird feeling that if she touched the walls, the entire thing might collapse on them. Thankfully, the inhabitant had left no belongings to clutter the tiny space.
"Chassy, wake up!" she shook his shoulders and kept her voice quiet in case the guards had found their way over here. His head rolled around and he snorted. But even so, he slept. "Whatever is wrong with him?"
"From what I know of using such powers, you'll always pay a price at the end," William suggested. "We all need sleep now, and the city guard has enough to do with almost eighty escaped prisoners running around the city. They'll be rounding up the stragglers first and get to us later if they even recognize us."
Nita smiled as she remembered the prisoners scattering and knocking down guards in their path. Gnarkvetch had planned for a docile group and no problems. The skeleton crew securing the cages was unprepared for a breakout.
William's eyes strayed toward the door.
"We're thinking the same thing. Where are Robert and the rest of your crew?" Nita said. "Don't worry, we're not leaving until we find them again."
William grimaced. "On this point we agree."
Nita's thoughts drifted to the stragglers. Gnarkvetch would execute them if he recaptured them.
"We should be helping the people. Getting them to safety and making sure they all get away." She leaned toward the door. A few hours wouldn't hurt if her friends were safe.
William's hand on her shoulder forestalled her. "They did this for you, Nita—their Silver Sorceress. You must not dishonor their sacrifices by getting yourself recaptured. Instead, let's find our friends. Then we'll track down Gnarkvetch together and fight him to the death. Stop this madness once and for all."
Nita nodded. "We will fight Gnarkvetch, but we won't kill him. We must give him the justice we would seek for ourselves: a proper trial and an opportunity to explain his case."
"You are wrong, Nita. A man who has murdered hundreds of innocents in the name of power deserves something well beyond justice. If you do not give it to him, I surely will."
Nita felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she stared him down. She would fight for what was right even if her friends did not understand. Getting revenge by killing Gnarkvetch was not an acceptable outcome.
"We should sleep now," Cherise interjected. "I can keep watch."
***
A bleak morning sun shone through the roof, washing the hovel in gray. Nita sat up thinking it had been refreshing to sleep in the shack. No one had awakened her to keep watch, a fact for which she was grateful. Cherise and William made quiet conversation while eating raw onions and sausages. Chassy was still asleep, but his eyes opened when she shook him.
"You found me." His eyes had great pits underneath, and he mumbled like his lips wouldn't move.
"Shyrea helped us again. You should eat. How do you feel?"
"Like I've been harvesting Waet bolls for six days solid." He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
Nita laughed. "I don't know the feeling, but I assume you're still tired."
"Yeah, I guess changing from a mouse to a cat to a human uses a lot of energy. I also feel like I didn't get to eat for those six days." Chassy rummaged around in his pack and came out with an apple and a sausage, which he devoured in great mouthfuls.
A head poking through the doorway interrupted them. Nita almost screamed before she saw it was Robert, the largest of William's personal guard. The group's brilliant fighting prowess had saved her, Chassy, and Andrev many times during last summer's adventures.
"Robert!" William waved his friend inside. "Where are the others? And how did you find us?"
Everyone crowded back into the corners as Robert crawled in the rest of the way, trying not to bang into the sides and knock over the entire shack. They adjusted to sit on their knees or crouch, shoulder to shoulder. Before answering William, he took each of their hands. "Greetings, Nita, Chassy, New Friend."
"I'm Cherise."
He nodded. "I hope your brother is well, Nita. Another time you can tell me how he fares. As for how I found you, one of the escaped prisoners followed you back here, hoping to glimpse Nita. He was a little shy, though, and he refused to join us."
Embarrassment flooded Nita and relief that she wouldn't have to talk about her battle stories with a random stranger.
"William," Robert continued, "there was somewhat of a riot yesterday after you set the prisoners loose and that herd of wild cougars swarmed through. Before the guards got it under control, Yasmina and the rest of the crew disabled the guys at the postern and slipped out. Bruno will hold it until I return, but everyone else is gathered outside the city. We plan to meet with some members of the resistance out at Ralph Geared's farm and free the families of the soldiers Gnarkvetch conscripted. But before I go, I wanted you to know that his minions stopped and searched us on our way there. When they found our scroll, everyone got really excited about giving it to the wizard, Fitz. Then they arrested us on suspicion of seeking a magical item. I bet they've got it in the warehouse they talk about where they take the confiscated items. We can't let them keep it."
"The scroll he speaks of is the one I mentioned to you before, The Legend of the Aegis," William explained. "Now that they have it, they may have found the other artifacts.
We should check out the warehouse before we leave the city."
"But what about the captives?" Nita asked. "People are more important than property, even an item made by the gods."
"The cloak will help all people. Besides, we need your strength here in the city. The soldiers tell the women and children that their men will die if they step out of line. They are docile with few guards. It is something Robert and the rest of my crew can handle on their own. But they will have fortified a warehouse against theft. We need you here."
Nita wanted to help the women and children, whose lives she prized above any enchanted artifacts. But she knew she could trust Robert.
"All right, let's find this warehouse."
"I'd best be on my way," Robert said. "Fare thee well. William, we shall meet again soon, I know it."
He backed out of the shack the same way he had entered.
"I suppose everyone will need disguises now. Are you up for it again today?" William asked.
"I don't think it would be wise to shift into a cat again," Chassy said. "The city guard must be on high alert for that right now."
"What about a mutt?"
"Why so soon?" Nita wondered. "Can't we give him a chance to rest?"
"I think it would be prudent to investigate the warehouse as soon as possible and get out of this city before Fitz's men start door-to-door searching. I can think of no one better suited to the task than you and Chassy. Nita, you could go as a large, dangerous looking man, with Chassy as your mutt."
Nita shrugged. "Sure, I'm up for it. I can't be just any large, dangerous man, though. I have to be someone I know well enough to remember what they look like."
"But you can't look too dangerous, or the guards will pick fights with you," Cherise added. "It's what they do."
"They seem to provoke certain people, don't they? I suppose it's their way of testing what kind of visitors they let into the city, so they know who will cause trouble," William agreed.
"What about Robert?" Nita asked. "He's large enough not to mess with but doesn't look like a guy who wants to pick a fight."
William shook his head. "Someone else. Remember, he was a captive. Having him show up a free man may raise alarms."
"What about Xander? He's big," Chassy suggested.
Nita nodded. Xander would have to do, cleric robes and all.
As Nita ate her own meal of bread and fruit, they discussed how to get into the warehouse and what information to collect. They must observe and understand the entry points. It would help to know whether spells protected the building or only men. Were there any other wizards around? How many sentries were there? The list of questions went on.
After breakfast, Nita initiated her change, holding Xander's appearance in her mind until the others complained. Nita had grown so large she wasn't sure her shoulders would fit through the door to leave.
"Sorry," she apologized as everyone shifted around.
Cherise's eyebrows went up. "You really sound like Xander."
Beside her, Chassy was putting his energy into becoming a dog, but nothing happened.
"Could you guys turn around for a few minutes? I'm having a hard time focusing with everyone watching."
Nita tried to oblige but took in a sharp breath when her elbow banged the wall. The structure shuddered and a man next door cursed. She shrugged and closed her eyes instead.
She opened them when she heard a yap at her side. Chassy was the smallest dog she had ever seen. His head didn't even reach the top of Xander's boots, and he looked tiny enough to fit in her pocket. Nita glanced at Cherise, and they burst out laughing. This earned them a ferocious growl from Chassy. Nita reached down and scooped him up, putting his face next to hers.
"You are terribly cute like this," she said. He snapped at her nose, and she tucked him into her pocket. "You'll get stepped on if you run around like that. I'll put you here for safekeeping. Time to go."
She poked her head out of the shack.
"Nita, wait. Don't forget, this Gnarkvetch is clever by all accounts. Watch out for tricks and traps. Today we are only gathering information," William warned. "We need to know how we can get in."
Cherise threw her arms around Nita. "I wish I was going with you. Good luck!"
Nita squeezed out through the ragged curtain that served as a front door, turning sideways to avoid demolishing the wall. Cherise and William stayed inside.
Chassy barked and struggled in her pocket. Half a dozen scruffy dogs chased each other down the street. Scared he would topple out and injure himself, Nita pulled him out and set him on the ground. He shot off after the other dogs, his little legs scrambling.
"Oh great, now I have to chase a dog." Or was this part of the plan? Nita launched after him, surprised at how slow this big body seemed. She need not have feared, for as soon as they left her sight, they looped around and came back, so she never lost track. Finally, they raced off between some buildings and disappeared, except for Chassy. He flopped on the ground, panting, until she picked him up and tucked him back into her pocket.
In this area of the city, blacksmiths, tanneries, and tack shops lined the streets, but one building stood out from the others. The warehouse was unmissable. Gnarkvetch had built it in the middle of the street, creating a dead end. Guards stood at every corner of the two-story, windowless box of a building, and several archers lined up on the flat roof. But these were lazy watchers. Several had removed their helmets, and the guy to the right of the front door leaned on the wall snoozing. Chassy wiggled until she removed him again. Then he raced to the front door and settled at the guy's feet to wait. So he had a plan. She only wished she knew what it was.
Nita realized she was in the road gawking, so she pulled an apple from her pack and crouched under a tree to eat it, keeping a cautious eye on Chassy. Soon enough, the pack of dogs that had led them yapped through and chased around the building. Suddenly on alert, the guards pulled their weapons but cursed or scratched their heads when they saw the source of the commotion. Someone inside the building poked out his head.
"Eh, what's all the racket?"
Quick as lightning, Chassy popped up from his resting spot and zipped inside. The guard shouted and rushed back inside, slamming the door behind him.
Nita waited several tense moments, but nothing happened. The dog pack disappeared, the outside watchman settled back, and everyone lapsed into apathy. She had to do something. What if they'd caught him? She shouldered her pack and walked up to the front door.
"Excuse me, sir. Have you seen a dog running around here?"
The watchman grunted. "Little fella? This big? Looked more like a rat than a dog."
"That's him."
"He ran inside." The man chuckled. "Jaybers is inside using up all the cuss words he ever learned. Not the brightest fellow. That's why he's inside. He's all bash and no brains."
Nita felt panic rising. What if he hurt Chassy?
"Well, that's my new wife's mother's mutt. She told me to walk him and—well, I think you can see my predicament. If I don't bring him home safe and sound, I'll be stuck with dogs for children myself, if you see what I mean." Nita winked at the guard.
The guard rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'll see what I can do, but if Jaybers got him sounds like you better plan on not going back home."
He placed one hand on a spot on the door frame, positioning his palm over a knot in the wood, then pulled open the door with his other hand and stuck his head in. "Jaybers? You—"
Chassy flew out over his head, plopping onto the ground behind them, and ran off down the street.
The guard closed the door and shrugged. "There you go. Good luck with your mother-in-law."
24: Andrev
"That's not possible. I feel nothing." Andrev mentally searched his body for any sign of magic.
"Well, of course, you feel nothing. I haven't taught you that part yet! Here..." Granny poked his neck with a dirty finger above the collarbone. "Do you feel the muscle in there?"
Andrev shook his head. But without muscles there, his head would flop around, right? He looked down at his body, trying to figure out how to feel magic. "Am I doing it now?"
Granny bustled around, shoving books into shelves. "Yes, you're doing it now. And now you're not. Like I said before, flickering. Off and on, not steady. Like your attention to my spring cleaning needs."
Andrev scowled and grumbled but hoisted his bag of books. On or off, he couldn't detect his own suppression magic.
"What organization method are you using?" He examined the volumes she had shelved.
Granny stared at him like he was crazy. "I put. Them on. The shelves. See? Not in a bag. What do you do with your books—stack them in the garden?"
So, no organization then. He might have to change that. "I alphabetize them by author and title."
"That seems excessive, don't you think?"
"I always find what I need when I need it."
"So do I. Ask me to find any book in this whole place. Name a book." She crossed her arms.
"Jebbita Sprach."
Granny looked to the first shelf on the right, scanning every title as she searched. After several minutes, she dug through her bag. Andrev rolled his eyes.
"Is that how you always find your books? You understand you're proving my point. If you had alphabetized these, you would have looked under A for Allseer."
"I'm looking in B for 'bag.' And here it is! I found it!" She pulled the book out with a flourish and set it on the table.
"Just consider how much time you would save if these were in order."
Granny put her hands on her hips and faced him. "Look how much time I would spend to keep them in order."
"But—"
"Spring cleaning time!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, wielding her broom. "Get to work! Get to work!"
Andrev felt smug knowing Granny had used her authority to end an argument he was winning even if it was unfair. Winning arguments always cheered him, and he launched into cleaning and organizing with speed and efficiency. He realized he was good at this and it satisfied him.