Finding Monsters (6 page)

“Just do your best,” he whispered.

The area cleared, and The Devil called for his next cha
l
lenger. The Doe nodded to Missy. She glanced back at her co
m
panions and especially Cha
r
lie. Turning back, she steeled herself for the fight of her life. Walking forward she presented her cha
l
lenge to The Devil.

“I wish to become a monster and thereby challenge you, Sir,” she said.

The Devil approached and looked over his new victim with contempt. “You are but a child, and no match for my skills. Go home, little human,” The Devil said.

“You cannot refuse my challenge, sir!” Missy said, her voice rang emphatic with authority.

The Devil stared at her for several silent moments. He loomed larger and more powerful, but she showed him no fear, although inside, her heart thrashed against her ribcage. She would make him give her the chance. The Devil stepped fo
r
ward, inches away now. Missy held her ground and didn’t flinch even though she had to look up to keep eye contact. His short dark hair bristled down his spine. A snarl e
s
caped his throat giving Missy a good look at his sharp dagger like teeth.

“Very well, child, don’t expect me to be easy on you.”

Missy leveled her staff. The Devil matched her stance with his own and, wit
h
out a weapon, took his position and waited. The doe came forward.

“Begin on my mark,” she said. The doe stood back and threw a worried glance toward the beast b
e
fore saying, “Now!”

The two opponents began to circle the area as the crowd cheered their favorite. Missy used basic staff techniques to test the strength of The Devil. He de
f
lected each of her blows with a strong forearm. He swung hard against her staff, knocking it out of her hand. Missy retrieved it and rolled away from anot
h
er vicious swing from The Devil. He moved quick and caught her twice on the side and back as she tried to deflect him. She hit the ground hard each time but managed to regain her foo
t
ing before he u
n
leashed more damage. Missy wielded the staff with perfect strikes, but The Devil proved too strong for her. Her blows bounced off him without much effect. She stabbed and poked at what should be soft spots only to get her staff swatted away with menacing swipes. Missy felt her energy and the battle slipping away. She hit the ground often and each time barely rose to escape. The Devil increased his attack. As she swung for his legs, he kicked away her staff. It skidded out of reach, leaving Missy without a weapon.

“Give up, human,” The Devil said, annoyance in his voice for his wasted time and effort. He yawned and scratched his ear, causing the crowd to erupt with raucous laughter. Missy r
e
sponded by swinging at him with her fists. She landed a punch to his chest, only to have him grab her right arm and twist it sharply. The crack in the bone was audible. He shoved her away, and she hit the ground in agony. She cradled the br
o
ken arm to her chest, fighting back a wave of nausea stemming from the unrelenting pain. Her staff was now within reach. Missy reached for it using her left hand and stood. The Devil watched her i
n
jured movements. He slowly walked toward the center of the circle. Missy met him there. The Devil swung toward her right arm. Missy parried his blow with the staff, and then countered with a blow just missing The Devil’s head. She turned and swung again, connecting with his shoulder. Still moving, she pivoted back and swung again. The Devil blocked the swing with a vicious swipe of his claw. Missy lost her grip on the staff. The Devil rained another blow to her shoulder, knocking her to the ground. She rolled out of reach and was on her feet again, swaying and unsteady.

“Give up, human,” The Devil said, kicking her staff well out of reach for good measure.

“No,” Missy said through the pain, her entire body thro
b
bing. The Devil backed away from the ce
n
ter of the ring and reached for a long rope. He coiled one end around his massive paw then lashed out with it like a whip, causing the end to flick and snap. The Devil walked back toward the center of the circle. Missy watched and re
a
died herself for his first attack. The next crack of the whip landed extremely close to Missy’s head. Watching intently, she ducked to avoid co
n
tact with the rope as it reminded her of a striking c
o
bra. The Devil’s mouth flickered in a mock smile as he lashed out at her again. She blocked and was rewarded with a stinging forearm. The next attack landed near her chest. Missy caught the rope out of sheer panic and instinct. The Devil jerked the rope, causing it to slide violently from Missy’s grasp, slicing the skin. She cried out in pain as blood gushed from the wound. The Devil took no mercy. He was on her in seconds, swinging his massive claws against her side, sending her sprawling on the floor. Missy gripped her side with her left hand but both streamed blood, staining her tunic a sickening red.

Charlie’s tiny cries of horror were only heard in his own ears. Fluttering around Ginger, he launched himself at The De
v
il. Ginger captured the large butterfly as del
i
cately as possible to keep him pinned.

“Hush now, Charlie. You can’t help her now.”

Charlie refused to stop. He beat his wings in vain to e
s
cape her grasp. As his energy diminished, he could only cry out indignantly as he watched Missy’s defeat.

“Give up, human,” The Devil said, de
s
cending on the girl, his hackles raised.

“No,” Missy hissed. She pushed herself away from him. Her legs weak, she got to her feet with great difficulty. The De
v
il moved in quickly and wrapped his paw around her neck. She beat her bleeding fists against the massive claws gripping her.

“You cannot win, child!” The Devil roared. “You will never be more than a pet to your monster,” he added, taunting her. Missy continued to beat against him. “Don’t make me kill you,” The Devil sneered.

“You may have to,” Missy retorted, meeting his gaze leve
l
ly. She caught sight of Charlie frantically beating his wings against Ginger’s light grip, expen
d
ing energy he didn’t have. She couldn’t lose. She wouldn’t let Charlie down; she couldn’t let him down.

The Devil increased his grip on Missy’s throat, lifting her from the ground. Choking and gasping for breath, Missy swung wildly with her fists, hitting any part of his body within her reach. Racked with pain, her palms bleeding, she hit him wit
h
out effect.

“You are no longer able to fight,” The Devil said as he threw her to the ground. “The fight is called.”

Missy skidded across the floor, landing in a heap at her friends’ feet. The tears were streaming now as she struggled to get up.

“No!” she screamed, lurching toward The Devil as Sir Alastaire held her back. She shrugged him off and limped to the center of the ring. Missy swung wildly at The Devil, but he moved out of reach. The Devil caught her second swing with his huge paw. He pulled the small girl into a firm hold then snatched her from the ground. She struggled against his grip but was held fast against his massive body.

“It’s over, little one,” he said. “It’s over.”

Missy stopped fighting. His words were no longer threa
t
ening or harsh but apol
o
getic and tender. He carried her to the doe before putting her down again.

“Take care of her and her friends, Elyen,” he said.

The doe wrapped her arms around Missy, whose tears now flowed in earnest.

“Come with me, child,” she said, as she embraced Missy and led her from the room. The doe glanced back once to make sure her companions were follo
w
ing and then led them away. Elyen escorted Missy and the rest of them to guest quarters. With Sir Alastaire’s help, they laid Missy on a bed of furs. A
f
terwards, Elyen sent the squirrels outside to wait. As she turned back to her patient, she poured liquid into a goblet from a tray of bottles. Holding Missy’s head, Elyen helped her drink.

“Thank you,” Missy whispered before falling deep into a painless slumber.

Stretching her slender hands over the girl’s body, Elyen pulled up the blue light and began healing the broken arm and se
v
eral broken ribs. She healed the slashes and cuts and soothed away the bruises. Co
m
pleting her task, she covered the girl and let her co
m
panions into the chamber.

“She is healed of her injuries, but she will sleep until morning,” Elyen said. She brushed a feather touch over Missy’s brow before leaving the room. Gi
n
ger moved close to sit by the bed. She placed Charlie on the girl’s chest. He lay listless but content against his Missy, no longer having the energy to fly.

Back in his bed at home, the real Cha
r
lie felt just as weak. He’d watched the ho
r
rific battle, unable to offer any help to his beloved Missy. He wanted to call back his reflection through the mirror but he had no power. His breath labored, he lay watc
h
ing, helpless and afraid he would not recover. A knock on his door went unanswered as Charlie had not even the energy to speak. He wanted to cry with relief when the door opened an
y
way.

“Charlie, what are you doing?” Sophie asked as she opened the door hesitantly, not wanting to incite the wrath of her son. “Charlie!” she yelled. Rushing to his bed, she could tell in an instant how weak her son was. She glanced around the room and saw the mirror. “Oh my son, no,” she wailed, cradling him against her chest. “Atian!” she cried. Looking through the mirror, she saw the human girl lying still. A flying squirrel watched over her. She knew Charlie’s refle
c
tion was nearby and watching over her as well.

Atian appeared in the doorway. He saw his son being rocked by Sophie and stormed forward.

“What happened?” he demanded. His voice sounded harsh but his eyes betrayed intense worry. Sophie filled him in as she laid Charlie back down. Atian went to the mirror and peered through. He needed to get Charlie’s reflection back. Placing his hands on each side of the mirror, he created the soft blue light around its edges. He hoped someone on the other side would notice the change in Charlie’s reflection and place him on a mirrored surface.

Ginger’s brow creased in concern as she watched Missy and Charlie sleeping. She worried for the we
a
kened monster. She saw the blue glow almost immediately. “Ala
s
taire, look,” Ginger said.

Sir Alastaire came forward from his resting place and stared at Charlie. “Looks like he’s trying to get back. We need a mirror,” Sir Alastaire said. Ginger rose and found a small one. Sir Alastaire lifted the wilting butterfly into his hands. “It’s time to go, Cha
r
lie,” he said and placed him on the mirror. The blue light rose up to envelope the butterfly before it faded, leaving only the mirror behind.

The reflection returned to the mirror as Atian, grateful someone had been watching, returned to his son’s bedside. Charlie’s labored breathing became calmer, then his eyes flu
t
tered half open. Charlie tried to speak, but no sound came from his moving lips.

“Rest, Charlie, just rest. Your human looks safe for now,” Atian said. Charlie held his father’s gaze for only a few seconds before he was drawn down into sleep.

Elyen, the Doe, crept into Missy’s room around midnight. She shook the girl awake.

“Come with me, child, and bring your staff,” she whi
s
pered. Missy rose quietly from her bed and grabbed her staff as she followed the doe from the room. They made their way to the fighting chamber. No crowds lined the edges of the ring, no challengers eager to take their chances, just The Devil in the ce
n
ter, a staff in hand.

“Come here, child,” he said.

Missy walked to the center of the ring and waited, co
n
fused.

“You are a stubborn and determined human. I know why you quest to become a monster. But you are weak and no match for any creature you encounter here. I will teach you how to fight and win against those stronger than you. First, show me the b
a
sics.”

Missy showed her offensive moves as The Devil blocked, then she blocked as The Devil tried to use his staff against her.

“You are not using all of your strength,” he growled as he felt the impact of her blows. “Strike me like you mean it. Each blow, each move, should be thrown to injure, to weaken your opponent,” he instructed. “Do you fear you will hurt me? No
n
sense! Strike!” he bellowed.