Enchantment (117 page)

* * * *

Thankful
the
drugs
were
slowly
wearing
off,
Meeka
glanced
at
Padd
y
.
S
he
sat
staring fo
r
ward,
her
e
y
es
narrowed
into
hate
-
filled
slits,
her
teeth
w
or
r
y
i
ng
against
each
other.
“We
are in
big
trouble,
aren’t
we
?
”
Meeka
whispered.

“Yes,
I
think
we
are,”
Pad
d
y
answered.
“But
don’t
y
ou
worr
y
,
Meeka.
Beavers
m
a
n
y
not
be kn
o
wn
for
their
fighting
talents, but
we
are
s
m
art and
industrious.
I’ll
think
of
s
omething.”

“I’ve
had
bad
drea
m
s,
Pad
d
y
.
Real
l
y
bad.”

“Meeka,
Kerrigan
is
not
from
this
world.
He
holds
m
uch
m
o
r
e
p
o
wer
than
he
is
willing
to accept
or
ask
for.”
Pad
d
y
dropped
her
voice, her
e
y
es
on
the
cell
door.

Ke
r
rigan
isn’t
from
Enchantment.
He
’
s
like
me.
He
doesn’t
really
know
what
he
might
be capable
of
doing.

Meeka
felt
a
ti
n
y
spark
flare.

W
h
a
t
is
he
capable
of?
W
hat will
he
do
if those
mo
n
sters
don’t
do
what
he
orde
r
s?

Paddy
lifted her chin. “I believe in
my son,
and I believe in
y
o
u
.
Fate exists for
a reason, and
y
o
u are
both a
part
of
a
m
uch
bigger picture. Kerrigan
will
do
what
he
has
to
in
order
to
get
to
u
s.
D
o
not
doubt
y
o
u
r
heart
will
lead
in
y
o
ur judg
m
e
n
t.”

Meeka
w
a
sn’t
exact
l
y
sure whether
she
understood
w
hat
Pad
d
y
m
ea
n
t,
but she,
too,
knew
in her
heart
he
w
a
s
co
m
ing.
He
w
ould
co
m
e
for
the
m
.
Meeka
j
u
st
needed
to
focus
on
not
killing him
when
he
got
here.

H
uddled
with
Pad
d
y
,
Meeka
w
ondered
what
she
could
do
to
save
the
m
…e
v
en
as
she
knew Paddy
w
a
s
working
on
a
plan
of
her
own.
“
P
lease,
don’t
let
him be
too
late.”

Cha
p
ter
Thirty-
T
w
o

The
need
for
vengeance
fueled
his
rage
as
he
circled
above
To
m
bs.
If
th
e
y
were
there,
he
w
ould
afford
no
m
er
c
y
.

The
town
was
dark
as
he
landed
and
i
m
me
d
iat
el
y
transformed
back
to
hu
m
an
for
m
,
dre
s
sed in
black
leather
from head
to
toe
and
ful
l
y
ar
m
ed. A
cold
wind
blew
his
hair
around
his
shoulders and
face.
The
stink
of
evil
engulfed
his
senses
while
he
stalked
d
o
wn
the
all
e
y
.
Those
who
m
essed
with
his
would
p
a
y
with
their
lives.

He’d
kill
an
y
o
n
e
in
his
w
a
y
.
Soulless
creatures
of
the
night
scattered
despite
their
hunger. Even they wouldn’t
m
ess with the
danger e
m
a
n
ating
from
hi
m
.
Buildings
s
hook and
cr
u
m
bled
in his
wake;
stone
cracked
beneath
his
feet.
The
night
echoed
the
warning.

The
Enforcer
is
on
the
hunt.

Kerrigan
stared
at
the
rotted
wooden
door
leading down
into
the
c
r
y
p
t Jager
called ho
m
e. He
s
hould have
annihil
a
ted
the
worthless dreg ages ago. Two
de
m
ons
stepped out to
meet
him
at the entrance.
P
us and
slime dripped
from
their
disfigured
bodies. Rotten
j
agged
teeth protruded
from the
holes
in
their
heads,
and
one
e
y
e
provided
the
on
l
y
vision
each
had
in
the
dark
world
in
w
hich
th
e
y
lived.

Bolts
of
electr
i
ci
t
y
sizzled
through
the
air,
holding
each
de
m
on
off
the
ground.
“You
have only
one
chance
to
an
s
wer
this
correct
l
y
before
y
o
u
bec
o
m
e
food
for
the
others
tonight.
Is
Jager in
To
m
bs
?
”

Without
h
e
sita
t
ion,
the
beasts
shook
their
heads.
The
desire
to
crush
their
throats
pl
a
y
e
d along
his
nerves
before
he
cast
it
aside.
Th
e
y
w
eren’t
his
target.

“I
didn’t
think
so.”
Kerrigan
thrust
his
hands
forward,
and
th
e
y
fell
to
the
ground,
slithering away
in
pain.

Cautious
l
y
,
Str
y
k
e
r
stepped
fo
r
ward,
shocked
at
how
close
Kerrigan
w
a
s
to
the
edge.
His co
m
man
d
er
not
hi
m
self
at
all.
“Kerrigan,
y
o
u need
to
listen
to
m
e.”

Kerrigan
turned
on
hi
m
,
teeth
bared,
his
e
y
e
s
flashing
dangerousl
y
.
“
F
uck
off,
Str
y
k
e
r.
You can’t
m
ake
this
better.
Th
e
y
’
ll
all
p
a
y
for
this!”
He
stretched
his
ar
m
s
out,
and
each
one
cracked loudly
and
m
orphed
into
large
wings.
His
dragon
form
took
shape,
co
m
pl
e
te
with
full
body ar
m
or.
The
scales
covering
his
legs
now
beca
m
e
individu
a
l
s
hields
of
m
et
a
l.
H
i
s
tail
displa
y
ed
s
harp
barbs
of
pointed
steel.

Str
y
k
e
r
stood
back, his
face
pale,
e
y
e
s
widened.
“Neat
trick.”
He
glanced away
from Kerrigan
for
a
s
plit
second,
acknowledging
Catz,
who
appeared
with
not
just
Threeo,
but
Todd, as
well.

Kerrigan
looked
into
his
father’s
grief-stricken
e
y
e
s.
Beavers
m
a
t
ed
for
life;
nothing
was
m
ore
i
m
por
t
ant
than
their
mates.
H
i
s
s
m
all
e
y
e
s
reinforced
his
ago
n
y
and
Kerrigan’s
concern
a
s he
spoke.

“Bring
her
back.
Please,
s
on,
bring
them
back.”

“Kerrigan,
if
y
o
u
f
l
y
into
the
Counselors’
cha
m
ber
like
this,
the
y
’
l
l
roast
y
o
u
r
a
s
s.
Y
ou kn
o
w
it.
Keep
y
o
ur
ca
l
m
,
and
then
tell
them
what
y
o
u
know
about
Jager
and
Thalius.
You
m
ust be
ca
l
m
.
Please.
Meeka
and
Pad
d
y
’
s
lives depend
on
y
o
u
.”

“Get
out
of
my
wa
y
,” Kerrigan
ground
out,
needing
room
to
take off,
but
united,
they
m
oved in,
m
a
k
ing
him
ants
y
.
A
piercing
bellow
c
a
m
e
out
of
his
throat.
H
i
s
m
o
m
and
Meeka
had
been taken
out
from
underneath
h
i
m
!
Meeka
was
his,
and
his
alone.
No
one
would
ever
touch
her,
as long
there was
breath
in
his
lungs.