P.A.W.S.

by Debbie Manber Kupfer

  “Ahem... Sorry to break up the lovebirds. But, well, it’s late, and I kinda need my beauty sleep.” Lilith was standing in the doorway and did not look sorry at all. In fact, she looked mad. Actually, Miri realized with a start, she was not just guessing this from her words and body language. She could actually feel it.

  She could feel Lilith’s anger inside her, and it was nasty, like Miri had swallowed a putrid piece of moldy cheese. And suddenly Miri desperately wanted to hurl the nastiness back at Lilith. Miri visualized Lilith’s anger and tossed it right at her chest.

  “Ow!” Lilith screamed, “What the hell was that?!” She was winded and was sitting in the middle of the carpet in their room.

  “Oh, Lilith,” Miri said, mortified by her own actions.

  “I’m so sorry...”

  “You did that? Are you serious?”

  “I... uh... think so.” And now Miri finally got it, what Danny already suspected. This was it. This was her special power. She did have magic, and it was strong, feline, badass magic. She... well, she just had to learn how to control it.

  Chapter 27

  In her dreams, Nora was falling through darkness. At least the pain seemed to have gone, the pain that had been burning through her body from the moment Alistair pounced on her. How could she have been so stupid? Did she really believe she could evade him?

  Nora had left the house that morning, quietly letting herself out, locking the door behind her. Her body ached from the beating Alistair had given her the night before, but she had the charm in her pocket and was determined to return it, even if it killed her. She was finally prepared for death, or at least she thought so.

  Somewhere in Forest Park was P.A.W.S., Alistair was sure of that. And somewhere inside P.A.W.S. was Miri. Nora just needed to find her. How hard could it be? She walked down the street towards the bus stop, passing by all the boarded-up houses in this neighborhood. She thought she had just enough change for a two-hour pass, so she could take the bus to the Metro station and take the Metro to Forest Park.

  The morning air was cool, and the streets in this distressed neighborhood were deserted. Nobody lived here anymore but Alistair and his pack, and of course, they weren’t really supposed to be living here, but no one paid any attention. These empty houses just sat there waiting for the recession to end. Many were still filled with cast-off possessions from evicted homeowners. There were coffee cups and books, electronics and furniture, and the saddest of all – toys: abandoned teddy bears and dolls, building blocks and train sets, discarded by families who were only able to take what they could jam into two suitcases when the bailiffs came knocking.

  The bus came, and Nora climbed aboard and paid for her ticket and accepted the transfer from the driver. Could it really be as easy as this? Could she really just walk away? Where would she go after she gave Miri the charm? She really had no idea. Nora had been with Alistair since she was fifteen years old.

  The bus was nearly empty this time in the morning, just a lone guy at the back of the bus talking into his cell phone. He looked up for a second when Nora boarded the bus, then went back to his conversation.

  After about a ten-minute ride, Nora got off the bus and changed onto the Metro. She kept her hand in her pocket the whole time, clutching the charm. Now that she was no longer wearing it, it no longer burned her, but it felt slightly warm to the touch, almost friendly, now that she was determined to do the right thing and return it to Miri. She wondered briefly if it really would have been hers had she never met Alistair, if Mama would indeed have passed it on to her.

  Nora counted the stops until the train reached the Forest Park Metro station. At Forest Park, she got off with a bunch of people, the majority of whom crossed the road to pick up the bus. This early in the morning they were mostly workers on their way to jobs at the zoo and the various museums.

  Nora really had no idea where to go now. She knew that somewhere in the park was Miri, but where? She was in no hurry, so she chose to walk rather than joining the workers at the bus stop. She slowly trudged up the path towards the Missouri History Museum. It was closed, of course, as it was still very early. She stopped for a moment outside the museum building and wondered where to go next. She decided to walk up Art Hill. Maybe from the top she would see something, get some kind of hint as to where P.A.W.S. might be.

  She walked up the hill and sat on a bench at the top, looking at the lake below. It was beautiful here. Nora felt she may as well stay here for a while because she really didn’t have a clue where else to go. She was still hurting from her various bruises, and the place where the amulet touched was still burning. Nora thought about that. What if... what if it had worked? What if she had turned into a cat? How would that have felt?

  She was not sure she ever really wanted that, though. She had seen the werewolves turn, and it hurt them. They screamed out with pain. Not Alistair, though. He seemed to enjoy his transformations. But the others, the young boys he turned, on the days of the full moon, they would burn with fever and scream as they transformed.

  For the first years she was with Alistair, he kept her away from the rest of his pack. But after she took Miri from him, he wanted to punish her. So he forced her to watch while he raped, killed, and consumed a young girl. His message was clear: If she ever crossed him again, this would be her fate too.

  Nora shivered. It was cold up here on the hill, and she was hungry. The art museum had just opened its doors. She decided to go inside and have some breakfast. She really had no idea how she was going to find Miri. But somehow she knew she would find her.

  She spent the day wandering around the park. After the art museum, she walked down Art Hill and went into the zoo. In the River’s Edge section of the zoo, Nora saw elephants and hippos, and a hyena that seemed to be watching her just as much as she was watching it. Towards the perimeter of the River’s Edge, Nora briefly thought she could hear a wolf howling. But there were no wolves in the St. Louis Zoo, she knew that, so she felt she must be mistaken...

  Nora walked around the old monkey house. It had always been her favorite place at the zoo. There weren’t many visitors on this cold November weekday, but the monkey house was warm, and a young mother was in there with her baby in a pink snowsuit. She was holding the baby up to one of the cages. On the other side of the glass was a young spider monkey that was looking straight at the baby. Come and play, little one! The infant was very excited. She was smiling and giggling. Nora felt tears glistening in her eyes as she watched the young mother with her child. Keep her safe. You don’t know how lucky you are.

  Nora was about to leave the monkey house when she experienced a strange sensation that she was being watched. She felt a pull over to the far right corner of the monkey house. She walked over there and, for a few seconds, she thought she could see a chimpanzee dressed in a tuxedo! But then, when she looked again, there was nothing there, not even an empty cage. Nora shook her head and walked out of the monkey house.

  The zoo closed at 5:00 p.m. in the winter. Nora walked out of the south gate with the last visitors. She had no idea where to go now, and it was almost dark. She walked south through the park until she reached the Turtle Playground. She didn’t really want to go there. This was where they had left that girl they had kidnapped from that fancy school her brother had sent her daughter to. Mandy, she thought her name was.

  Such a pompous little brat, thought she could buy her way out of Alistair’s clutches, as if Alistair cared about money. With his hypnotic power, he could get anything he wanted. Fancy car dealers went out of their way to give him the best deals. They somehow ignored the fact that he had no credit history at all; that, in fact, Alistair Wolfe did not exist on any records, and never had.

  Still, no matter how uppity Mandy was, no one should have to endure that kind of attack. Nora realized that Mandy was amazed that Alistair didn’t kill her, but then again, that was part of his plan. If he had wanted to kill her, he could have easily. But instead, he set her loose to be foun
d here in the playground, to be taken back to P.A.W.S., so that she would be a living beacon that he could track when he finally felt his pack was strong enough to take down P.A.W.S.

  Nora sat in the empty playground. It was dark now, and she had lost track of time. She did not notice the silhouettes of the wolves until they were upon her. They dragged her behind the bush in the playground to the same spot where she had watched Mandy being attacked. Nora screamed, but at this time of night, there was no one left in the park to hear those screams.

  Then the wolves moved back, and Alistair was strolling towards her. He was in his half form, the one she had always found the scariest. He walked upright, and from a distance, he might have looked human. But if you looked closer, you would see that he had the terrible claws of a huge wolf, and that when he smiled, he had canines worthy of a vampire, pointed and deadly.

  “You shouldn’t have run away from me, Nora!” he said. “That was very unwise. I always told you what would happen if you ran away. But I’m feeling in a generous mood. If you give me the amulet, I will kill you quickly. You will feel less pain.” He said this while flexing his claws.

  “Give me the amulet, Nora,” he said, staring into her eyes.

  Nora felt the familiar pull. Alistair, she had realized many times over the years, was used to getting exactly what he wanted. It would be easy to give in to him, but Nora resisted.

  “No!” Nora screamed. “You can’t have it. Kill me if you want to, Alistair. I’m not scared of you anymore.”

  This, of course, was not true. No one could not be scared of Alistair. Nora was petrified, but she was also determined. She would not go down without a fight. And still, in the back of her mind, she was holding out hope that, through some miracle, she could get the amulet back to Miri.

  “With pleasure,” said Alistair. As Nora watched from the ground, he transformed into his full wolf form, huge and powerful. And then he was upon her, ripping first through her leather jacket and then through her clothing beneath, using first his claws, and then, when he had exposed her skin, his teeth. Nora screamed as she felt him consuming her flesh and blood.

  Even though he had punished her many times before, he had always been extremely careful never to use his teeth. He had not wanted to turn her into a werewolf when he thought there was a chance she could use the amulet and become a shapeshifter.

  Now she knew he was going to kill her. She was of no use to him anymore other than as a meal, so he no longer had to hold back. As he ingested her flesh, alongside the terrible pain Nora felt his pleasure in the meal – the meal that would make him stronger, lengthen his life, and make him even more powerful, even more deadly. Yet throughout the attack, Nora willed herself to stay conscious, and held tightly on to the charm.

  However, she was unclear how long she would be able to hold out. At a certain point, she started feeling herself begin to slip in and out of consciousness. Death was welcoming her like a long-lost friend. Come, Nora, you’ve suffered enough; yield, and the pain will be over. Yet somehow she hung on until, all of a sudden, it was over. She didn’t really understand what had happened. Suddenly she was still surrounded by wolves, but they were different wolves, and Alistair was no longer among them.

  And then one of these new wolves transformed into a boy, with brown hair and brown eyes; a boy she thought she remembered from long ago.

  “Miri.” It was all she could say. Was there any chance these new wolves could bring her Miri? She desperately needed to see her. She wanted to give her the amulet before she died.

  “Watch her,” said the boy and changed back into a wolf and ran off through the park.

  Nora lay there, willing herself not to die yet, to wait – wait for Miri.

  And Miri came, and Nora gave her the amulet. So now, thought Nora, now can I die? Please...

  Chapter 28

  Darkness... Nora wondered if she was finally dead. Two fuzzy images... She tried to focus.

  The gray cat with the green eyes was there, together with another cat this time, a brown tabby; friendly, familiar, a faraway memory that was just out of reach.

  “You’ve done well, Nora,” said the gray cat kindly. “We’re proud of you,” said the tabby.

  It felt good to be there with the cats. It felt warm, safe. “Can I stay with you? Please?” asked Nora.

  “No, Nora. It’s not your time yet. You’ve come very far. Just a little further.”

  The darkness returned. Nora felt so sad, so lost. She didn’t want to leave, yet she was being pulled back. Her pain was returning; not as intense as before, but still throbbing. She felt like she was inside a music box that was wound down. Everything around her had slowed down. Somewhere there were voices, but they were still very far away. And very slowly, someone was winding the music box; as they did, the voices became clearer until she could hear what they were saying.

  “I think she’s coming around.”

  “She is strong, but I wonder if she’s strong enough.”

  Nora opened her eyes and blinked in surprise, as looking straight at her was a long, tan snake with diamonds on its back and tiny horns on its head, and it was talking to a huge, purple-spotted toad! She decided that she must still be dreaming. That was the only rational explanation here. Cats, she understood, and wolves too, but reptiles? It was just too bizarre.

  Then before her eyes, the toad started growing and changing until in its place was a large, round woman of about 50, with dimples and a concerned look on her face.

  “Zamir, dear, I think you’re scaring her,” she said, addressing the snake.

  “Oh, sorry.” And the snake stretched and reformed until he became a young man of about eighteen or nineteen with an olive complexion and a nice smile.

  “Sorry about that, dear. I’m Mrs. Bumsqueak. I’m the healer here at P.A.W.S., and this is my trainee, Zamir.”

  Nora tried to say something, but any movement at all brought waves of pain through her body. Mrs. Bumsqueak noticed this. “Zamir, do you have the calming potion?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He handed the healer a small vial of liquid. It was green and bubbled in an odd way. Mrs. Bumsqueak leaned over Nora and poured a little of the mixture into her mouth. It tasted very sweet and sickly, and she almost gagged but somehow managed to swallow it.

  It began working almost immediately. It didn’t stop the pain entirely (her injuries were far too severe for that), but it dulled the pain enough that she was able to move a little.

  “Miri?” Nora asked.

  “Plenty of time for that later,” said Mrs. Bumsqueak.

  “Now that you’ve taken the calming potion, you need to rest a little to help it work.”

  At that, Mrs. Bumsqueak took out a small silver ruler and made circles over Nora’s head. She muttered a few unintelligible words, and almost immediately Nora fell into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

  Chapter 29

  Miri was sitting with Danny at a table at the far corner of the dining room, eating breakfast, or at least that was the plan. Instead, she just stirred her oatmeal while it turned into a cold, gray mush that looked more like putty than porridge. Since she “discovered” her special power yesterday, she had been on edge, and Lilith had been giving her as wide a berth as humanly (or maybe felinely) possible.

  The problem was she had opened the floodgates. She could feel everybody’s emotions all around her now, and it was overwhelming. After breakfast, she was going to see Jessamyn. Danny said the first step was for her to learn how to shield her power and was sure his mother could help her with that, but Miri was scared. Jessamyn herself was sure to have some pretty strong emotions. What if Miri accidentally hurt her like she had Lilith?

  Danny said she shouldn’t worry about that, as his mother was one of the most powerful magicians in the world and would certainly know how to defend herself. But still Miri was not entirely convinced.

  “Ready?” said Danny, taking her hand.

  “I guess so...” she said, picking up her tray of almost
untouched food.

  They dumped their trays and made their way to Jessamyn’s chamber. When Miri held Danny’s hand, her awareness of his emotions intensified. (She found she could still pick up the feelings of others, but they were like the static she remembered from the old shortwave radio her omama sometimes listened to when she was small, when interference from other stations would sometimes force their way into the broadcasts from Europe.)

  Danny’s emotions were strong and powerful. They were at that moment overwhelmingly related to Miri. She felt concern, love, and, in the background, just a touch of sadness. Miri found herself involuntarily projecting his love back at him, and he smiled. Maybe this power isn’t all bad, she thought to herself.

  They reached Jessamyn’s chamber. Danny knocked and opened the door. Miri was mentally preparing herself for whatever illusion was on the other side. Jessamyn, after all, was the supreme magician of illusion. What she was not prepared for was the sheer weight of Jessamyn’s feelings and thoughts – layers and layers of emotions. It was like staring into a prism that reflected the whole universe. Danny’s emotions, which had been so powerful and all-embracing a minute ago, were swallowed by the many thousand hues of Jessamyn.

  The room was swirling with multicolored mists, and Jessamyn, in human form, was standing on what appeared to be a floating island. She held out her hand and beckoned for Miri to come forward. Miri stayed where she was, terrified to take a step into the mist, fearing that somehow she might get lost in the foggy wilderness of Jessamyn’s mind.

  Miri felt Danny’s hand on her shoulder and heard his voice in her ear. “Go on, Miri. You can do it.”

  Cautiously, she took a step forward, surprised that the floor was solid beneath her feet. She closed her eyes. “It’s all an illusion,” she said to herself. Miri felt like Alice when she finally understood the nature of Wonderland. “You’re nothing but a pack of cards!” she told the court.