Enchantment (64 page)

“Catz,
can
y
ou
believe I
have
to
wear
thi
s
? Men!
I
refuse
to
let them
get
to
m
e.”
She
cursed. “Meeka,
y
ou don’t
have
to wear
it
if
y
o
u
do
not
wish
it,” Catz
r
e
sponded.

“Oh,
I’ll
wear
it,”
she
said.
“Th
e
y
don’t
scare
m
e.”
Pulling
her
shirt
off
over
her
head
and re
m
oving
her
la
c
y
bra,
Meeka
stared
at
the
leather
piece
that
was
to
cover
her
breasts.
It
had
to be
s
m
al
l
er
than
her
bra.

O
nce she had it on
and in place,
she realized
it actual
l
y
stuck to her body and didn’t
m
ove
at all.

It
m
u
st
be
magi
c
.

Blue
jeans
re
m
oved,
Meeka
pulled
the
s
m
all
bott
o
m
s
on.
Like
the
top,
th
e
y
see
m
ed
to
affix to
her
skin.
It
w
a
s
j
u
st
like
her
s
kin,
and
incredib
l
y
co
m
forta
b
le,
except
she
felt
naked.

She
w
a
sn’t
s
ure
h
o
w
she
was
going
to
get
the
ar
m
bands
tied
on,
but
once
she
held
th
e
m
up to
her ar
m
s,
th
e
y tied
the
m
sel
v
es.
Meeka
finished
the
other
arm
and
leg
and
stood
up tall.
“Well, Catz,
h
o
w
do
I
look
?
”

“I’m
sure
all the
m
en will be
i
m
p
r
essed.” Catz blinked sl
o
w
l
y
and
twitched her
tail back
and forth.

Meeka
opened
the
door
and
looked
at
Catz
once
m
ore.
“Here
goes
nothing.”

Kerrigan’s
face
lost
all
expression.
Perhaps
she
did
look
sex
y
,
after
all.
She
knew
she
had long,
sleek
legs
and
toned
ar
m
s.
She
s
wung
her
hair
up,
pulling
it
into
a
pon
y
t
a
il.
She
soon realized
he
w
a
sn’t
the
on
l
y
one
w
ho
stared.
Str
y
k
e
r
was
staring
j
u
st
as
intent
l
y
.
In
fact,
there see
m
ed to
be
a
sudden
lack
of
action
all
over
the field.

Meeka
proud
l
y
strode
back
to
the
two
of
th
e
m
,
conscious
of
the
fact
that
over
the
men’s
s
houlders,
the
whole
training
field
stood
silent
l
y
gawking.

Kerrigan’s
roar
ended
the
silence.

I
n
stant
l
y
,
the
warriors
got
back
to
business.
Meeka
walked
over
to
a
wall
that
held
a
varie
t
y of
weapons,
letting
her
hips
sway
j
u
st
a
little
extra.

Cha
p
ter
T
w
en
t
y

Kerrigan
stood
on
the
circular
platfo
r
m
.
A
breeze
tossed
his
hair
back,
and
the
stale
stench of
the
ch
a
m
bers
wafted
up
his
n
o
se.
N
othing
ever
changed
with
th
e
m
.

The
ten
of
them
scrutinized
him
from
plush
thrones.

Madget’s
nasal
tone
broke
the
heavy
silence.
“
Kerrigan,
y
ou
should
not
have
brought
her
to our
real
m
. You
deliberate
l
y
put
us
all
in
danger.”

“I
w
as
instructed to protect
the girl and to
report here in three da
y
s.
If I’m to protect
her, she
m
ust
be
with
m
e
at
all
times.”
Kerrigan
restrained
the
urge
to
roar.
Their
po
m
pousness
knew
no limit.
“
E
special
l
y
when
there
is
s
o
m
e
thing
or
s
o
m
eo
n
e
here
in
our
world
who
wants
her
s
pecial abilities.”

The
group
of
th
e
m
gasped
and
sat
up
tall
as
he
continued.
“I
haven’t
learned
a
whole
lot about
a
n
y
p
o
wers
she
m
ig
h
t
have,
but
I
do
know
there
is
so
m
e
thing
or
so
m
eone
in
our
world
w
hich
wants
her.”

Nine
out
of
the
ten
Cou
n
selors
were
s
hocked.
Kerrigan
watched
careful
l
y
and
noticed Thalius
did
not
seem
to
s
hare
the
sa
m
e
curiosi
t
y
.
He
e
y
e
d
the
ug
l
y
hunchback.
On
l
y
the
use
of dark
m
ag
i
c
would
age
him
as
he
w
as,
and
Kerrigan
didn’t
trust
the
crone
one
bit.

“W
h
y
did
y
o
u
not
report
this
to
u
s
im
m
e
di
a
te
l
y
?
”
Madget
narrowed
her
e
y
e
s,
fury heightening
her
alrea
d
y
high-pitched
voice.
“Meeka.
I
s
this
the
being’s
n
a
m
e
?
”
Madget
asked.

“Correct.”

Thalius
leaned
fo
r
ward,
his
face
tight,
voice
s
m
ooth,
co
m
posed.
“What
else
have
y
ou learned
about
the
girl
?
”

Too
bad
T
halius is
a
Cou
n
selor.

Kerrigan
kept
the
growl
contained.
“I’m
still
gathering infor
m
a
t
ion
on
the
girl.” “And
Tod
d
?
Is
he
repentant of
his
actions
?
”
Madget
continued
her
inqui
r
y
.

“Yes,
I
w
ould
say
he
has
regrets,
but
I
doubt,
given
the
sa
m
e
situation,
he
would
do
it
any different
l
y
.
”

“Tell
u
s
m
ore
about
what
y
o
u
have
learned
in
the
three
d
a
y
s
.
S
ure
l
y
,
y
ou
have
so
m
e
idea
of
w
hat
power
she
has.
What
strength
she
is?
“
Thalius
interrupted
again.

Kerrigan
decided
he
wouldn’t
share
explicit
details
with
the
group.
He
didn’t
trust
the
s
m
ug look
on
Thalius’s
ug
l
y
face.
“
S
he’s
having
a
hard
t
i
m
e
ad
j
u
sting
to
m
a
g
ic.
When
frightened,
s
he beco
m
es
un
u
sual
l
y
tired.
She
sleeps
a
lot.
I
believe
s
he
has
a
kind
nature.
What
I
also
find un
u
sual
is
that
y
o
u
Counselors
did
not
feel
the
intrusion
of
the
evil
force
w
i
shing
to
take
her.
I, m
y
s
e
l
f,
had
a
hard
t
i
m
e
detecting
the
force.
The
on
l
y
for
m
s
of
m
a
g
ic
I
am
unable
to
follow
are those
powers
residing
with
y
o
u, the
Counselors.”

“Are
y
o
u po
s
sib
l
y
accusing
one
of
the
Cou
n
selors
for
this black
forc
e
?
Perhaps
the
girl
ca
m
e with
the
evil.”

“I haven’t
accused a
n
y
o
ne.
I’m
just
stating
what
I
know
to
be
a
fact.
Unless
there’s
s
omething
else
y
ou
have
neglected
to
tell
me.
It
took
y
ou
two
hundred
y
e
a
r
s
to
tell
m
e
my parents
were
from
another
w
orld
and
they
didn’t
perish
entering
or
leaving
Enchantment
.
” Kerrigan
ground
out.

“I
don’t
like
the
tone
of
y
o
u
r
voice,”
M
adget
snapped.