Enchantment (115 page)

The
Enforcer
had
spoken.
The
m
ark
e
ters
began
racing
for
their
houses.
The
s
k
y
turned black.
Lightning
bolts
flashed
across
the
sky
as
his
p
o
werful
dragon
wings
hurled
him
through the
air.

* * * *

The
three
garg
o
y
l
es on
the
ground
fell
at
Str
y
k
e
r’s feet.

“We
failed,
M
a
ster.
We
place
our
lives
before
y
o
u
a
s
penance,” they
said
in
unison.

“Get
up,
y
ou
buffoo
n
s! You
will
search like every
other gargo
y
le
until Paddy
and
Meeka are found.
D
o
not
stir
the
Enforcer’s
wrath,”
Str
y
k
e
r
bellowed.
“Go!”

The
three
silent
l
y
launched
the
m
selves
back
into
the
s
k
y
.
St
r
y
k
er’s
transfor
m
a
tion
to
the largest
of
gargo
y
l
e
s
was
instantaneous
as
he
ju
m
ped
into
the
sk
y
.
“Catz,
can
y
ou
follow
u
s
?
” Catz
grabbed
Threeo
and
placed
him
on
her
back.
“Hang
on,
Threeo.”

Panic
filled them
a
s
th
e
y
raced
to
catch
up
to
a
furious
dragon
hunting
his
lost
m
a
t
e.

Chapter
Thir
t
y
-
One

Paddy
struggled
to open
her
e
y
e
s,
but her
head
was
fog
g
y
and
hea
v
y
.

W
h
a
t
happened? Did
I
faint?
I
’
m
so
cold.

Her
s
m
a
l
l
paw
reached
out
for
an
y
t
h
ing
famil
i
ar,
and
she
p
u
shed
against
the
cold
floor, righting
herself.
The
room
had
a
m
edi
c
inal
s
m
ell,
or
m
a
y
b
e
it
was
co
m
ing
from
her.
The
bitter taste
in
her
m
outh told
her
s
he
w
a
s
right.

W
h
y do
I
smell
like this? N
o
….
Do
not
get
sick!

The
room
kept
tilting
from
side
to
side.
She
forced
herself
backward
until
a
cold,
hard
s
urface
c
a
m
e
into
contact
with
her s
m
all,
furry back. She breathed
a
sigh of
relief,
s
wallowing
to keep
the
bile
from
rising.

Stripes.
W
hy
stripes?

She
squinted
desperate
l
y
,
t
r
y
i
ng
to
focus
on the
ob
j
ect
of her
attention.
She
rubbed
her
e
y
e
s. Slowl
y
,
the
ob
j
ect
ca
m
e into
focus.

Not
stripes.
Bars.

Panic
swept
through
her
bod
y
.
W
h
y?
W
hy am
I behind b
a
rs?
Paddy
rubbed
her
head.

A
brupt,
painful,
the
m
e
m
or
y
of
the
m
arket,
of
the
store
s
he’d
never
seen
before,
filled
her
m
ind.
She
reached
for
her
neck,
remembering
the
poke
of
s
omething
sharp
before
her
world
had gone
black.

Who
would
do
this
to
m
e?

H
e
r
eyes
were
becoming
much
clearer
now.

The
room
w
a
s
s
m
a
l
l.
Pad
d
y
looked
over
to
the
far
corner
of
the
roo
m
.

No!
It
can’t
be!

Her
cry
stuck
in
her
throat.
“Meeka.”
S
he
cried.

No,
no,
no.
This
is
all
my
fault.

“Meeka,
answer
m
e
,
”
Pad
d
y
begged
between
her
s
obs.

The
floor
w
a
s
cold
as
s
he
crawled
with
her
sore
body
over
to
w
here
Meeka
l
a
y
.
S
he
tucked her long
sable
locks
behind her ear and away
from the
girl’s
love
l
y face. “Meeka, dear, please be oka
y
.
Please
w
ake
up,
s
weetie.” Careful
l
y
,
she
placed
Meeka’s
head
onto
her
lap.

Meeka
m
oa
n
ed, and
her e
y
es
fluttered open.
Panic clouded her
face. A
s
cre
a
m
left her
throat as
s
he tried to
push
he
r
self awa
y
.

“Meeka,
it’s
m
e.
It’s
Pad
d
y
. It’s
ok
a
y
.
”

Meeka
croaked.
“St
a
y
a
w
a
y
from
m
e.
Y
ou’re
not
Padd
y
. Get
aw
a
y
.
”

What
w
a
s
she
taking
about—not
Padd
y
?
She
obvious
l
y
still
w
asn’t
well.
“
It
is
m
e.
It’s Padd
y
. We’re
in
real
trouble
here.
So
m
ebo
d
y
drugged
m
e
at
the
market, and
I
woke
up
here.”

“You
lie!”
Meeka
accused.
“You
kicked
the
creature.
The
Paddy
I
kn
o
w
would
never
hit an
y
t
h
ing.
Y
ou’re
not
Padd
y
.”

Paddy
didn’t
know
how
to
begin
to
reassure
her,
but
s
he
had
to
t
r
y
.
“I
don’t
know
w
hat
y
o
u’
r
e
talking
about,
Meeka.
I’ve
never
kicked
an
y
t
h
ing
in
my
life.
I
never
m
ade
it
ho
m
e
from the
m
ar
k
et. I
w
oke
up
here.”
Her
paw
waved
to
enco
m
pass
their
m
eager residence.

“You
took
m
e
from
the
house.
You
said
it
w
as
okay
with
Kerrigan.”
Tears
stre
a
m
ed
down Meeka’s
face,
leaving
tracks
in
the
dirt.

“Meeka,
I
promise
y
ou
it
w
a
sn’t
m
e.
Think
about
it.
Catz
wouldn’t
let
y
ou
go
a
n
y
w
here without
her.
A
nd
Kerrigan,
my
s
on,
adores
y
o
u.
He
wouldn’t
let
y
o
u
go
an
y
whe
r
e
y
o
u
could
be har
m
ed.”

Meeka
felt
the
hot
tears sting
her
e
y
e
s.

G
od,
what
have
I
done?

* * * *