Chase 'n' Ana (20 page)

Every creature on Earth had its own natural enemies. Scorpions had to be the same.

What she needed was to make contact with an enemy of the scorpion.

“Grandfather, lend me your strength,” she prayed silently and began her chant.

“
Viue tibi Musis
,
multitudinis amicitias vita
.
Temporis sis auarus
:
omnibus beneficus
:
utere

donis tuis
:
vocationi inuigila
.
Verbum Dei nunquam recedat ab ore tuo
.”

Slowly the darkness began to brighten in a swirling eddy of light. She opened her

eyes to see the muted tones of brown and beige swimming before her eyes. A form

started to take shape.

The first clear feature she saw were two round yellow eyes. The eyes blinked once,

then again. Slowly the image became more distinct. Ana lost touch with her

surroundings as she beheld the vision in her mind.

At about five and half inches in height, the owl was without ear tuffs and its buffcolored feathers bore indistinct dark streaks. It had a very short tail, but sharp little

talons.

“Who are you?” Ana asked.

“Humans refer to my kind as an Elf Owl.”

“And you are capable of battling a scorpion?”

The owl chirruped a laugh. “Eat ‘em for breakfast.”

Ana laughed right along with the owl. “Well, I’m surrounded by a veritable feast.

You think you could round up some friends and come over for a buffet?”

“Give me five minutes,” the owl chattered its reply.

“Bless you,” Ana replied and opened her eyes to find Clara staring blankly, her

eyes void of hope.

“We’re going to get out of this,” Ana said. “I promise. You just have to hold on a

little longer.”

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Chase ‘n’ Ana

Clara nodded, but Ana could tell that she no longer believed they were going to be

saved. Ana could not fall victim to that hopelessness. The owls would come. She had to

believe that.

The seconds ticked by, the sounds of the scorpions crawling over one another

mixing with Clara’s weak breathing and the rustle of trees outside in a wind that had

risen.

Then another sound intruded. Ana strained to make it out. The sound intensified

until it seemed to be coming from all directions. The chatter and chirp of not one but

many owls.

A few seconds later they entered the house, flying through every open window and

hole in the roof and walls. Hundreds of owls, all chattering and diving toward the

scorpions.

Clara screamed at the sight. “It’s okay!” Ana yelled to her. “They’re here to help.”

Charmed as they were, the scorpions battled their natural inclination to run for

cover and so proved to be easy prey for the owls. Within minutes the room was free of

scorpions and all but one small owl.

It alit inside the circle with Ana and hopped onto her leg, staring up at her with its

big eyes.

“Thank you,” Ana said gratefully and inclined her head in respect. “You’ve saved

our lives. I owe you a debt and will gladly pay whatever you ask.”

“I think I’d like to stay with you,” the owl replied.

“Really?” Ana was thrilled. “Are you sure?”

“If you can get that big bossy hawk to agree.”

Ana chuckled. “I think I can manage that. Do you have a name?”

“Ne-as-jah.”

“I’m Ana, it’s an honor to meet you, Neasjah, and I would love to have you as a

companion.”

“Then it is done,” Neasjah said. “Do you need help with those bindings, Ana?”

“Actually, yes, I do.”

Neasjah hopped off her and moved behind her. Ana could feel the ropes around her

wrists being tugged and pulled. It took a while, but at last Neasjah succeeded in

weakening the rope enough that Ana could break free.

“My hero!” She grinned at Neasjah and quickly untied her feet. Her arms and legs

were cramped from being in the same position for so long. It took her a moment to get

the feeling back so she could use her hands to undo the noose, then weave the

banishing spell and cancel the circle Giovanni had cast around her. Neasjah added her

own chirps and chatters to the spell for which Ana thanked her then hurried over to

Clara and performed the banishing spell again.

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“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes,” Clara whispered,

eyeing Neasjah warily. “You really are a witch, aren’t you?”

“Yep,” Ana replied as she worked at Clara’s bonds. “We have to find a place to

hide. Unless I got Fergi’s message completely wrong, Giovanni will be headed our

way.”

“Why?”

“To kill me and charm you into forgetting that he kidnapped you.”

“Fat chance,” Clara snorted, some of her natural spunk returning.

“Actually, a pretty good chance,” Ana argued quietly and moved to untie Clara’s

feet. “Giovanni isn’t working alone. Seems like he took on another spirit and it’s one

mean mother, if you get my drift.”

“He what?”

“Come on.” Ana stood and held out both hands to help Clara stand. “I’ll explain

while we decide on the best place to hide.”

Neasjah flew up and landed on her shoulder. “Yeoh!” Ana winced at her sharp

talons. “Okay, first things first.”

She said a quick charm to render Neasjah’s talons harmless to her skin. “Okay,

that’s better. Now, Neasjah. Can you take a look around and keep an eye out for

Giovanni?”

“I’m on it.” Neasjah took off.

Clara watched the exchange between Ana and the owl in amazement then shook

her head. “All right, what’s the scoop on this Giovanni character and that whatever it is

inside him?”

“Come on.” Ana took her hand and headed for the door. “See, it all started

when…”

* * * * *

Chase found his father and brothers in the kitchen of the Circle R, along with

Giovanni Sardo.

“I think I may have a lead,” he announced as soon as he walked in.

Four pairs of hopeful eyes turned toward him in the form of his father and brothers.

Giovanni Sardo’s eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened.

Chase ignored Giovanni and addressed his family. “I was talking with Mick Rogers.

He was flying over the wilderness a couple of days ago and saw a car headed that way.

He didn’t get a plate, but they were headed toward Aravaipa.”

“Call and round up everyone you can for a search party,” Charlie directed Clay.

“Perhaps it would be better to wait until morning,” Giovanni Sardo suggested.

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Charlie opened his mouth as if to argue, then closed it and nodded. “You might be

right. No point in stumbling around in the dark. We’ll start at first light. Clay, go ahead

and make the calls. Tell everyone to meet here before sunup.”

Clay nodded and went for the phone. Chase watched his family and how quickly

they fell to Giovanni’s suggestion. Before Sardo, Charlie would have been out the door

before Chase finished talking. Now he was content to wait for morning.

But that was exactly what Fergi and Ana were counting on and as much as it went

against the grain for Chase not to rush immediately to Ana’s side, he would go along

with their plan.

“Well, I guess I’ll head on home and meet you back here in the morning,” he said.

“Why not bunk out here?” Cole asked.

“Naw, I’ve got Cody in the truck. I’ll see you all at sunrise.”

“Good idea,” Giovanni said, making Chase want to punch him in the mouth.

“You’ll need your rest.”

“Yeah, right,” Chase mumbled and headed out to his truck.

“Well?” Cody’s question came immediately in his mind the moment he got into the

truck.

“Well, now we get back home, get saddled up and see if Ana and Fergi are right,”

Chase answered, still feeling for all the world like a lunatic, carrying on a conversation

with a dog. But he’d talk to a bear if it meant getting Ana and Clara back. If Fergi was

right, it wouldn’t be long before Giovanni would hightail it out to Aravaipa to dispose

of Ana and make sure Clara thought of him as his rescuer.

That wasn’t going to happen. Not only would Chase be waiting for Sardo at

Aravaipa, he’d be armed for bear.

* * * * *

“Neasjah, will you find Fergi and let her know where we are?” Ana asked as she

and Clara knelt in the shadows of a thicket of cottonwood trees.

Neasjah gave a sharp chirp and took off into the sky. Ana turned to Clara. “We’re

just going to rest here for a little while until Neasjah gets back, okay?”

“As long as we’re out of that cabin and away from those scorpions,” Clara said with

a shudder. “Ana, how did you get those owls to come?”

“I didn’t. Neasjah did. All I did was send out a plea for help from whatever was the

natural enemy of the scorpions. Neasjah heard me and answered. She rounded up the

owls.”

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Me either,” Ana agreed, and then added. “We really owe Neasjah. Without her

help I don’t know what we would have done.”

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“Seems to me that I owe you,” Clara said. “I know I acted pretty snotty at first when

you said you were a witch, but as I live and breathe, I’m damned glad you are because

if you weren’t, that little owl wouldn’t have brought her feathered posse.”

“You don’t owe me, Clara. If it wasn’t for me we wouldn’t be in this mess and

you’d be— Neasjah’s back.”

A moment later the little owl alit on Ana’s shoulder, chattering a mile a minute.

“She said that Giovanni is on his way and will be here in a few minutes. Fergi is sticking

with Chase who’s on horseback and also just a few minutes away. Cody is with him.

Chase plans on ambushing Giovanni.”

“Thank god,” Clara breathed heavily in relief.

“No, that’s not good,” Ana argued. “Clara, on his own Giovanni wouldn’t stand a

chance against Chase. But he’s carrying around something old and mean and bent on

inflicting as much pain and suffering as possible. It won’t matter what weapon Chase

has on him because the Entity in Giovanni won’t fight on the physical plane.”

“And you think that…thing in Giovanni is strong enough to hurt Chase?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then what do we do?”

Ana considered it for a few moments. Neasjah chattered at her and she nodded.

“Okay.” She turned her attention to Clara. “This is what we’re going to do. I’m going to

attempt to create a charm that will make you less visible and—”

“You can make me invisible?” Clara blurted louder than she intended. “Sorry,” she

whispered.

“No, I can’t make you invisible, but I can, hopefully, make you less noticeable—as

long as you stay within the shadows. When Giovanni gets here I’ll draw his attention.

It’s me he wants to hurt, so I’ll do what I can to keep him focused on me. While I’ve got

him distracted, Neasjah will lead you to Chase. Once you’re with him, convince him to

call for help. The more people the better.”

“But you said weapons wouldn’t work.”

“They won’t. But it will keep Chase busy and besides, maybe an audience is just

what we need. At least that way we’ll have witnesses.”

“I don’t much like the sound of it, but okay.”

“Neasjah, I need you to be able to talk to Clara,” Ana said. “Which means I need

your power to make this work. Will you help me?”

Neasjah chirped once in reply and Ana smiled. “Okay, here we go.” She closed her

eyes and began to chant softly. After a few minutes she opened her eyes. “Okay, I think

that’s it. Neasjah?”

“Yep,” came the soft almost childish feminine reply in her mind.

“Oh my god!” Clara gasped, letting Ana know that she had heard Neasjah. “I can’t

believe this!”

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“Well, believe it, baby,” Neasjah giggled. “And get a move on. We’ve got some

ground to cover.”

Clara looked at Ana and Ana nodded. Clara hugged Ana tightly. “You be careful.”

“You, too,” Ana replied then stiffened. “Go. He’s here.”

Neasjah hopped onto Clara’s shoulder and Clara hurried off, sticking to the

shadows of the trees. Ana walked out into the moonlight and waited.

She didn’t have to wait long. Giovanni strode into the clearing. He stopped

abruptly when he saw her.

“How did you free yourself?”

“Like always, you underestimated me,” she replied.

“Where’s the old woman?”

“Not here.”

He ground his teeth and stomped over to her. “You stupid fucking bitch! She was

my goddamn meal ticket and now you’ve fucked that up just like you fuck up

everything else.”

“Too bad,” Ana replied with as much verve as she could muster. Something was

flickering in Giovanni’s eyes and whatever it was, it was frightening. She could not

show fear to Giovanni or the thing that inhabited him. Clara needed time to reach

Chase.

“Tell me where she is!” Giovanni roared and reached for Ana.

For the first time, she did not hesitate. She raised her right hand, palm out. “No!”

she said firmly and loudly. “Never again!” A bolt of energy shot from her palm, striking

him in the center of the chest and lifting him up off his feet.

Giovanni hit the ground a dozen feet away, but bounded up cursing. “Nice try,

bitch, but that’s kid’s play to what I can do now.”

“Can’t prove it by me,” she challenged him.

Giovanni snarled, raised both hands up on either side of his face, and then flicked

them forward much like a gunslinger pointing two handguns.