Finding Monsters

by Liss Thomas

  “Open the door,” he told them. On their hind legs, the hyenas moved awkward and clumsy as one grabbed the door with its teeth while the other turned the lock. They both pulled the door back before shoving Missy and Sir Alastaire inside. The door shut behind them. Missy hit the door once in mock frustration and heard the hideous laughter of her captures on the other side.

  “Ah, so good of you to come rescue us,” Vrag said from behind her.

  “Well, at least we found you,” she said. She whistled sharply and Charlie flew to the window.

  “We have a plan, father,” Charlie said.

  As Charlie and Sir Alastaire explained the escape plan, Missy walked over to where the frail looking cat woman lay. Her hair appeared longer and thicker than Calico’s but their faces were almost identical. She wore dark flowing robes but they didn’t hide her emaciated frame. Missy noticed the woman’s hands locked down by metal bracelets, steel, as far as she could tell. They didn’t look like they belonged to this world but to hers. Missy touched the cat woman’s face. She stirred a little. Missy relaxed her mind and concentrated on the woman.

  “I’m a friend of Calico’s; we’re going to get you out of here.”

  The woman’s eyes fluttered open. She looked exhausted and struggled even to smile.

  “It is almost time; move away from me quickly,” the woman said. Missy stepped back even as Vrag grabbed hold of her and pulled her away from the woman. Charlie soared through the window just as a light erupted from the woman and shot up into an adjoining chamber above them. It also flashed through the holding cell. Missy felt the energy drain from her body. Her knees gave way and the room spun. Vrag’s grip tightened to keep her from falling. The light subsided after a few moments. Vrag eased Missy down to a sitting position. It took her a moment to recover enough to speak.

  “Ouch.”

  “It goes away in a while but then the next wave will hit,” Vrag said. “Take it easy for a minute.”

  Missy had no time to take it easy; she’d been used to weakness in her world. She shrugged Vrag off and got slowly to her feet. She made her way back over to the cat.

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Mau.”

  “Mau, they’re using your powers against the baby dragons. Can you stop them?” Missy asked.

  “No, this light is draining my powers. Now it’s draining everyone here as well,” Mau said.

  “If you could get free, what would happen to the dragons?” Missy wanted to know.

  “The magic would fade and they should go back to normal. They harness my powers against my will. It wouldn’t last if I didn’t wish it, but I am weak. I can’t help you beyond that.”

  “What about the baby above, has anyone had contact with it? Will it be ok if we break the spell?”

  “The baby has been here longer than I have. If I am weak, I am sure it is weaker.

  “I need to communicate with the dragon; I need to tell it we have a plan and I need its help if it’s able,” Missy said. She squeezed Mau’s hand then returned to Vrag, Atian, and Sir Alastaire.

  “I need to communicate with the baby dragon,” Missy told them.

  “Try it now, Missy,” Sir Alastaire said.

  Missy cleared her mind and concentrated, but she couldn’t get anything on the small dragon above them. She blew out a sigh.

  “Nothing.” She kicked the sandy floor of the cell.

  “What do you need from the dragon?” Atian asked.

  “Fire,” she said. “But I think I know what I can do. What time is it?” she asked.

  “Ten minutes until the next light burst,” Vrag said.

  Missy nodded and made her way back over to Mau who rested awkwardly on the metal slab. She held the cat’s hand and waited.

  “It’s almost time again; you need to leave me,” Mau said.

  “No, I need to be here. I should be able to communicate with the dragon during the burst,” Missy said.

  “But it will weaken you more if you are close to me, please.”

  “No, I have to be here, but maybe I can kill two birds with one stone.” She faced Vrag and Atian who stood in the corner watching the exchange. “I need to channel the light’s power. Mau, the power enters you and you send it to the dragon, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Try to redirect a portion to me this time. If it works, I can free you.”

  “I’ll try,” Mau said. They waited. Missy stood over Mau, her hands at the ready to break the metal clasp keeping Mau immobile.

  Then the light hit. Missy felt the surge for the flash of energy and worked quickly to break the metal cuffs from Mau’s wrists. She hadn’t thought of the emotional barrage she’d suffer. It assailed her senses and emotions at their highest levels. Tears stung her eyes, and through the pain and worry from Mau, she felt intense anger and helplessness from Vrag. Atian’s emotions, though similar, added worry for her safety as well. Sir Alastaire’s distress stemmed from the heavy responsibility she had to take upon herself. Missy pushed all of those emotions aside with difficulty to focus on reaching the young dragon’s mind. She sent a request for help and received a surprisingly quick response. The little whisper trembled with exhaustion. Guilt tugged at Missy for asking for help. She didn’t want to cause the baby to grow weaker, but she didn’t know of any other way to save them. Soon the light faded and died. Missy collapsed. The others reached her within seconds.

  “Missy, just relax. Don’t try to move or talk; give it a few minutes to wear off,” Atian said, carrying her to the far end of their prison. He placed her on the floor with her pack beneath her head. Charlie flew in through the bars high up in the cell.

  “What happened!” he squawked. “I felt something happen to her.”

  “She’s ok, Charlie, just very weak from the last blast,” Atian said.

  Vrag made his way over to Mau. “How are you? Missy broke the chains. You can get off this metal slab now.”

  “I need to stay here for the next time. I know what she’s planning on doing,” Mau said.

  “She may be too weak to try again,” Vrag insisted.

  “No, I’m not,” Missy whispered.

  “You can’t do it again, Missy. Not so soon,” Charlie pleaded.

  “I have to. I need to get Atian and Vrag out now if this is going to work and you have to go too, Charlie.”

  “Just wait through two blasts instead of one; that’s all we’re asking,” Atian said.

  “We don’t have time,” Missy said.

  “She’s right,” Sir Alastaire added. “You all know it too. I’m afraid for her too, but we have to let her try. This is her quest after all.”

  Missy smiled at her friend who always defended her. She pushed herself up into a sitting position. The dizziness subsided after a few minutes. Closing her eyes, she swallowed hard.

  “Help me up,” she said.

  Vrag and Atian both helped her to her feet. She steadied herself before she walked over to Mau.

  “I need sand,” Missy said.

  Sir Alastaire and Vrag gathered sand and placed it near Missy. She pulled the artic tent from her pack and instructed the others on what she needed. They ripped the silver fabric with ease and lay it against a flat stone.

  “How much time do we have?” She asked.

  “Five minutes,” Mau said.

  “How do you feel, Missy?” Charlie asked.

  “Still better than when I first met you, so I’m doing well.” She smiled as she said it, trying to disregard her weakened state. She assembled the items she needed and waited for the next blast of light. Using the techniques she and Sir Alastaire practiced she blocked herself off from the emotional transfers. She concentrated her mind on using the fire from the dragon. She’d only get one shot at getting this right. The baby dragon would be too weak to try again.

  “One minute,” Mau said.

  “Ok, I’m ready,” Missy said as she placed her hands above the sands. Still lying on the metal slab, Mau reached ove
r and touched Missy’s shoulder. The light burst through to the upper chamber and flooded the room. Missy felt the heat rush from her hands and ignite the sands, melting them onto the platform she’d created. Missy gritted her teeth and tried not to pass out as the light faded away for the second time. The sand began cooling into the perfect glass surface. The others came forward in a rush.

  “I’m fine,” Missy said between clinched teeth. They carefully placed the glass over the silver fabric, creating a mirror. “Vrag, Atian, as soon as you are able, you need to get through the mirror with Charlie, and then you know what to do after that.” She forced herself to work through the fatigue, just like old times. Vrag recovered enough first to create a doorway. He pulled up the shimmering blue light and placed his hands on the mirror opening a passage. Atian took Charlie and went through first. Vrag looked up at Missy.

  “We’ll be waiting for you,” he said. He touched Missy’s arm and infused her with his strength, then he fell through the doorway. The light faded leaving Mau, Sir Alastaire, and Missy behind.

  Chapter 19

  “We only have a few minutes to get out of here before they notice something is wrong,” Missy said.

  She looked up at the chamber above them. A heavy metal grate separated the two rooms. Sir Alastaire shrank down to his smallest, and Missy helped him scurry up through the grate. He disappeared from view. He appeared at full height when he returned.

  “The room is clear of guards, although I suspect they are behind the door. The infant is here and so are your staff and sword,” he informed her.

  “Perfect, let’s move this grate and get Mau up there.”

  Missy watched as Sir Alastaire moved a large object from over the hole, and then struggled to move the metal grate. He reached down and Missy helped Mau through the opening. Sir Alastaire pulled the weakened woman up and disappeared. He returned quickly and helped Missy through the hole. She glanced around the room. Mau sat quietly by a small window; she looked as tired as ever. Missy saw her staff and sword and went to retrieve them. Then she saw the capsule. Dread filled her as she peered into the small prison. The baby dragon lay sleeping inside. Missy unlocked the capsule and opened the hatch. The baby didn’t stir as she lifted her out. She carried her over to Mau. The cat woman took the baby and wrapped it tightly in her flowing black robes.

  “She’s so much smaller than she should be,” Mau said.

  “Can you help her?” Missy asked.

  “I don’t know. I’ll try once we get her back home,” Mau said.

  Missy glanced back at Sir Alastaire as he pulled the remains of her tent from the pack and proceeded to rip it to shreds.

  “Even at my full size, I can’t hold their weight while gliding. I’m creating a wind catcher to assist. I should be able to glide to the ground and then move undetected to where Egan is waiting.”

  “I’ll create a distraction,” Missy said. Once you hit the ground, I’ll draw the hyenas in the opposite direction.”

  “Dare I ask?” Sir Alastaire said with a healthy helping of sarcasm.

  “Just get them out of here, dear friend. I’ll be fine,” Missy said.

  Sir Alastaire put the makeshift parachute on. He pulled Mau to her feet and wrapped his arms around her tightly. The cat woman looked terrified but didn’t say a word. She gripped her precious cargo to her chest then clamped her eyes shut. Sir Alastaire pushed away from the window and disappeared. Missy rushed forward to look out. They floated silently down toward the ground. When they hit, Sir Alastaire removed the parachute quickly and ducked down behind a large boulder out of sight.

  Missy made her way to the large door and knocked. The door lock tumbled before it opened, revealing two bewildered guards. She overpowered them and pulled their inert bodies into the room before locking the door again. Out in the hall, Missy checked the sandy ground for tracks. She followed a distinctly wet set, remembering wet tracks before, hoping she could backtrack and find the right path to the outside. She hurried through the empty corridors and felt the path going down.

  “Good,” she thought. Her luck held most of the way, not encountering any other hyenas. Moving to look around the next bend, she saw light flooding in from the outside and at least four hyenas milling around the entrance. Then an alarm sounded above her. Several hyenas barked their hideous laugh in unison; their escape had been discovered. Missy ran from her hiding place toward the opening. The stunned hyenas before her stood rooted to the spot, too shocked to react. Seconds after she passed them, however, they began to pursue her. Missy didn’t slow or look back. The sound of the animals behind her told her they were already calling others to the chase. She turned another corner and burst through the cave to the outside world. She pulled her staff out as she ran and caught several animals off guard as she passed them. She glanced in the direction Egan would have been, and saw nothing. She reached out her mind to him and felt pleased to know he had his quarry and was headed at full tilt toward dragon territory. Missy ran in the opposite direction, grateful for the boost of energy Vrag had given her before his departure. The number of hyenas behind her grew and soon she could only guess that all of them pursued her. Missy checked her path then took a quick glance behind. The closest animal of the large pack loped several feet behind her. She kept her pace steady not quite knowing what she would do when she got tired. She tried to sense Egan again. He still ran hard toward dragon territory with no pursuers. It proved more difficult to contact Sir Alastaire but she tried anyway.

  “How long till you reach the dragons?” she sent out. No response. Missy concentrated on running. She couldn’t run for as long as Egan but she could keep going for a few miles before she would have to stop. She hoped the hyenas would give out before she did. The terrain gradually changed from the dead brown of hyena territory back to greener surroundings. Large trees came into view and Missy thought about climbing one to rest, but decided against it. She pressed on, noticing her stamina waning. The pack tracked tirelessly behind her and a few were gaining. She started when she felt Charlie’s mind attempting contact. She opened herself up to it.

  “Where are you?” he asked.

  “I guess I just left hyena territory. I’m going in the opposite direction of dragon territory. The terrain just changed to greener lands,” Missy told him.

  “You’re headed for the great cliffs,” Charlie said. “How are you planning to escape?”

  “No plan, just running right now. I think all of the hyenas are behind me,” she confessed.

  “Keep going, I’ll send help to the cliffs,” Charlie said before he faded out.

  So she ran, and ran, only looking back in intervals to see how close the angry pack was behind her. Their cries rang loud and carried across the plains. Missy had no idea how many were actually behind her and how long they could keep up. They showed no signs of stopping. Missy crested a small hill and felt relieved to see the cliffs ahead. They were still over two miles away but she could make it. Apprehension crept in at not knowing what help would be there, and her strength started evaporating like dew in the desert. Sensing the animals behind her getting nearer, she took a quick glance and saw a few only feet away from her. She needed to contact Charlie again but that always slowed her progress. Having no choice, she opened her mind and sent out her message.

  “I’m one mile from the cliffs.”

  “I’m here,” Charlie said.

  “What do you want me to do?” she asked.

  “Jump,” he said.

  “Seriously?” she said, almost choking.

  “Jump out as far as you can,” he insisted. “We’ll catch you.”

  Missy didn’t ask any more questions. She felt the hyenas behind her almost close enough to bite. She used her last strength in a burst to reach the cliffs. When she got close, she timed her steps and pushed off at the edge, soaring several feet out into open air before she began to free fall. She saw nothing below her at first but the jagged rocks and a hint of a river below. A flash of gold caught her eye
. It moved up toward her. Her heart thrashed in terror as she imagined the gold below was the finch from the courtyard. He would be too small to catch her, let alone carry her to safety. But the bird continued to grow, she saw the gold tinted black on the wing tips. At a few hundred feet away, she recognized the bird to be an eagle. The enormous creature came up fast. It swooped underneath her, and she landed with a soft thud on its back. Missy gripped the feathers and rode low.

  “Good jump,” Charlie said.

  “Charlie!” she buried her face in his neck. “I’m so glad it’s you,” she said close to tears.

  He banked around and came back toward the cliff. Missy looked up and saw a staggering amount of hyenas.

  “There has to be over a thousand of them,” she said.

  “It’s time for those deceitful dogs to go home,” Charlie hissed. He swooped closer to the cliffs.

  Missy saw two enlarged shadows below her. She heard the thunder of large wings coming up from below and then they appeared. Drago pulled alongside on her right as Drina, his mate flanked the golden eagle on the left. They belched a line of flame that scorched the cliff wall and sent the hyenas running. Another round of flames caught the fleeing animals in the rear. Many fell in mid run, while the unfortunate ran while on fire. In unison, the dragons peeled away from the cliffs and headed back toward their lands. Charlie got behind them and road on the air current. Drago led the way and covered the distance in record time. Missy kept low and held tight.

  “Not much further, Missy, hang on,” Charlie said. Missy didn’t respond but held on tight, concentrating on keeping her balance. The dragons flew across another mountain range before their territory came into view. They spiraled down with Charlie close on their tails. Drago spiraled again as Drina landed. She shook the ground running back to the nest. Drago landed followed by Charlie. Atian and Sir Alastaire appeared and ran out as soon as they touched down. Sir Alastaire pulled Missy from Charlie’s back and held her tight as Atian transformed Charlie back into his human form. Charlie rushed to Sir Alastaire and took Missy into his arms.