The Changeling Princess (26 page)

CHAPTER 47

Omazato was a giant centipede that lived in the Serengeti ecosystem in northern Tanzania. I did a lot of research on centipedes before I headed to Tanzania.

Like most creepy critters, centipedes live in a variety of climates. They range in size from the length of your little finger to actual giants that reach thirteen inches in length. A thirteen-inch centipede sounded pretty big, but I had a feeling that it was only a tiny baby in Omazato
’s world.

With
out exception, all of the creatures I’d captured had a fondness for human flesh or human blood. The Serengeti was abundant with buffalo, gazelles, wildebeests and zebras, but the human population was extremely sparse. I’d have to investigate and see what I could come up with.

I was really impressed when I covered the Serengeti from the air. I had never seen such large herds of wild animals. Mother Nature was amazing because she had blessed this Earth with so many diverse creations.

I decided to start my search in the form of an invisible Mist. It was a much cooler way to travel and it eliminated being seen. The last thing I wanted to do was scare someone.

I spent a lot of time patrolling the area to see if I could spot anything unusual. I enjoyed the scenery, but I didn
’t turn up anything unusual. There were several tribes living on the Serengeti, so I decided it was time to ask a few questions.

I bought a jeep and some traveling clothes for the area. My idea was to pass myself off as a world traveler exploring the Serengeti. Aside from a tent and basic cooking utensils, I packed some of the weapons that were used by the local tribes.

The most common thing I’ve discovered in my travels around the world is laughter. It doesn’t matter if you can’t speak the language, if you can laugh together, it’s like a language all its own.

The native tribes were very friendly, especially when they
discovered that I spoke their language. If the question arose about my traveling without the company of a man, I’d haul out my weapons and give them a demonstration. At a distance of one hundred paces, I could hit a small target with a spear and my accuracy with a knife left many of the male warriors talking amongst themselves. I was also fleet of foot and I could jump like a gazelle. I had so many proposals of marriage I couldn’t count them all.

My question to the tribes was always the same.
“Have you heard of an insect as large as a man that attacks humans or animals?”

My first clue came from a tribesman who claimed that he saw a large bug racing across the open plain. He said the bug wrapped itself around a wildebeest and ate it on the spot. He described the bug as long and slender, about fifteen to twenty feet long, with many, many legs. He said the bug was as fast as a gazelle.

The tribesman’s description fit a giant centipede to the letter. He pointed me in the right direction, but I couldn’t come up with anything. The incident was several months old and there was no trace of a scent anywhere. I couldn’t help wondering where Omazato could be hiding.

Everything I
’d read about centipedes said they lived under stones and inside logs. Those suggestions weren’t helpful because of the terrain. There simply wasn’t any place for a fifteen foot long centipede to hide itself. I was confused, so I decided to do another survey.

It took me over a month, but I policed the area with the eye of an eagle. I was looking for anything that looked like it could hide a giant centipede. Unlike a tropical rain forest with heavy vegetation, the Serengeti was a large flat area, sprinkled with a few tall trees and grasslands. My search was a complete waste of time. A native made a simple observation that made me feel like an idiot.
“Big bug probably live underground.”

There
’s an old phrase that says, “You can’t see the forest for the trees.” It certainly fit my situation. Centipedes didn’t live underground in my world, but Omazato wasn’t from my world. Maybe he wasn’t hiding at all because he lived underground. I had to devise a system to seek him out.

Ground penetrating radar had been developed and I needed was a way to duplicate the system. My energy beam was extremely versatile, so I
’d have to see what I could come up with.

I began by digging a small tunnel ten feet long, about twenty foot below the surface. I adjusted my energy beam to the current air temperature and systematically altered the wave lengths. When I saw the outline of the tunnel in the ground, I locked the wave length in my mind. The far-reaching powers of the Ivarr never ceased to amaze me.

I began a systematic search of any tunnels that could be used by Omazato. I was shocked when I discovered that there were tunnels everywhere. It was still going to be a long, drawn-out search, but at least I knew I was on the right track.

My patience finally paid off when I was flying over a herd of grazing wildebeest. I saw a huge centipede pop out of the ground and race toward the herd. I morphed into the Changeling Princess and hit the large insect broadside with a flying body block. The centipede tumbled for a good twenty yards before it regained its balance. I materialized and stood in front of Omazato.

Omazato arched the front portion of his body high into the air and made a funny screeching sound. The legs near his mouth were huge forceps that he used to hold his struggling victims. When he opened his mouth, it was filled with spiked teeth that he used to tear his victims apart. He stood about twelve feet tall, so I doubled my height.

You
’ve hunted your last animal in the Serengeti, Omazato. Your reign of terror is over.

Omazato
’s screechy voice sounded like someone scratching their nails on a chalkboard.
I have the strength of several elephants. You are no match for me.

When Omazato lunged at me, I grabbed his forceps and swung him around in a circle. He tried to curl his body around me, but the force behind my twirling action keep his long body in a straight line. You could actually feel the ground shake when I slammed his body on the ground. Omazato was obviously surprised and he was moving much slower as he picked himself up and lunged at me again. I cupped my hands together and struck him in the head, knocking him to the ground. Omazato was flopping around like a fish out of water as I
placed my foot on his throat.
I should tie you up and let you roast in the afternoon Sun. I’m sure the vultures will find you to be extremely tasty.

I could see fear in Omazato
’s eyes as I fashioned a force field around his upper body. I lifted him off the ground and watched him dangle in the air. I had a sudden impulse to fly Omazato to the Indian Ocean and use him for shark bait. I wanted to see the look in his eyes as the hungry sharks encircled his huge body, wiggling like a wounded fish in the water. It was only a thought, but I was tempted.

I wound Omazato into a ball and finished wrapping the force field around him. I was ready to head to the Mariana Trench when I realized I
’d forgotten something. I rolled him around until I could see his head. Then I placed my signature “W” between his eyes. I guess I smacked him too hard because he rolled a good hundred yards before he came to a stop.

After I deposited Omazato in the Mariana Trench, I made a detour and stopped in Las Vegas to pick up some traveling money. While I was there, I stopped at a casino buffet for a treat. A lot of things had changed since I
’d become an Ivarr, but not my appetite.

I was really feeling good because I only had two more Demons left on my list. I didn
’t have a single plan for the future, but it didn’t really seem important. I’d just wait and see what happens.

CHAPTER 48

I was now thirty-four years old, but I felt like I was in my early twenties. I decided it was due to the fact that my life had been so active. Having the powers of an Ivarr was a big help, too. Janis French could easily pass for twenty-three and I still had the figure of a teenager. I always took time to count my blessings.

1977 was the year my father suffered a mild heart attack. He didn
’t like it, but he was forced to slow down and take life easy. Personally, I think he liked being waited on. He’s always had the personality of a little kid and now he could indulge in it. Mom and I didn’t mind. I just hoped that he didn’t have another heart attack before I rounding up my last Demon. The pain would be unbearable if my father passed away when I wasn’t able to be at his side.

I always made it a point to visit Sherri when I returned home. Sherri and Bruce had purchased a new home and moved to Bloomfield Hills, an affluent city about twenty miles northwest of downtown Detroit.
“Fancy schmancy,” I said as Sherri showed me around her two-story, 4,000-square foot home. Money had never been a problem because Bruce came from a wealthy family and their combined incomes were in the six figures. Sherri couldn’t contain her excitement.

“
This is my dream house,” she said, her voice overflowing with happiness to match the sparkle in her eyes. “And we live close to the Creets, a Changeling family that is related to Bruce.

I spent the day with Sherri and I met Mrs. Creet, a lovely woman whose husband was a senior partner in a Detroit law firm. It was nice to be around other Changelings because I didn
’t have to hide the fact of who I was.

When I returned home the following day, Mom and Dad were spending a quiet afternoon in the living room.
“How are Sherri and Bruce?” asked my dad.

“
They’re great, Dad. They bought a new home in an upscale neighborhood.”

“
Bruce is a nice boy,” said my mother. “He’s extremely intelligent and he’s made something of himself. Sherri did all right for herself when she married Bruce.”

My mind drifted back to Wade. I couldn
’t help wondering what our relationship would have been like if we’d been two normal human beings. I had the powers of the ancient Ivarrs, but that was a question I’d never be able to answer.

* * *

I tried to put myself in the right frame of mind before I went after Salazar. I took a deep breath and sighed because I didn’t have the slightest idea what I was going to do when I finished hunting demons. I thought about chasing criminals, but I wasn’t sure if I’d still retain my Ivarr powers. I guess I’d find out soon enough.

Zalazar, the demon dragon lived in France. The list also said that Zalazar could turn invisible. Chasing down a dragon was going to be an entirely new experience for me.

I figured that Zalazar lived in a cave in the mountains. The mountains are a long way from Paris, but that didn’t stop me from making a quick trip to my favorite French bakery. I didn’t see anything wrong with stocking up on chocolate éclairs. Everyone needs a treat once in a while, even Demon hunters.

I researched the local newspapers and read everything I could on news stories about missing livestock. From what I could put together, Zalazar probably turned invisible, flew in under the veil of darkness, snatched a steer from a ranch and flew back to his lair. I decided Zalazar was a very smart dragon. On a moonlit night, who
’s going to pay any attention to someone who said he saw a cow jumping over the moon?

I adjusted my energy beam to pick up heat waves when I scanned the mountain sides. Even if Zalazar was using his cloak of invisibility, the heat his body generated would still show up on my scan. I spent a portion of each day morphing into a dragon and flying through the mountains.

After the first month, I decided I needed a new plan because I never saw a trace of Zalazar. I came up with a simple idea based on the fact that animals did not like anyone interfering with their food. If you try to take a dog’s food from his plate, you’re usually met with a growl. It’s a fact that animals in the wild will turn fierce to protect a fresh kill. I hoped Zalazar had the same instincts.

I made two dummy steers that looked extremely real. I even made them flexible so that they moved in the wind. I obtained some beef blood from a local rancher and drenched each of the decoy steers in the blood. They had the correct scent and I was now ready to carry out my plan.

I started out each morning and morphed into a dragon. I picked up my decoy steers and began flying over the mountains. It was impossible to cover such a large territory without someone seeing me, so I expected that France would soon be bombarded with reports of a flying dragon. On the bright side, maybe a sighting would be good for French tourism.

A month passed with no results, but I wasn
’t ready to give up. There are seven principal mountain regions in France and I’d covered only three so far. Actually, I was having fun impersonating a dragon. For me, it was a new way to fly.

The next range of mountains to be searched was the Pyrenees in the south of France. If I were a dragon, this is where I
’d want to live because the view was spellbinding. I also needed to purchase some more beef blood to keep the scent fresh.

I was flying at an elevation of eight thousand feet when I finally struck gold. I heard the flapping of wings and looked down to see a dragon flying straight at me. I continued flying at the same steady speed as the approach
ing dragon closed the distance.

I felt a blast of heat as Zalazar fired a huge flaming ball in my direction. I dropped the decoys and morphed into the Changeling Princess. Zalazar screeched when my energy bolt singed his left wing. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared.

I adjusted my vision to pick up Zalazar’s heat waves. I turned around just in time to be met by a fireball that that hit me directly in the chest. I wasn’t hurt, but I had to admit that Zalazar was really fast. Zalazar’s wings were flapping rapidly as we faced off against each other. The exchange of fire between us was hot enough to roast a dozen steers for dinner. I was careful not to raise the heat of my energy beam to the point that it was lethal. I didn’t want to kill Zalazar.

What kind of creature are you?
Zalazar asked.

I am an Ivarr and I have been sent here to capture you.

I have been in this world for two thousand years. You have no idea how powerful I am.

We were only twenty feet apart when Zalazar lunged at me. His mouth was wide open and the claws on his huge hands were spread. I turned abruptly and threw my body across his chest like a battering ram. I had only knocked the wind out of Zalazar, but it was the perfect opportunity to throw a force field around Zalazar in midair. Without the use of his wings, Zalazar fell like a lead weight being dropped out of an airplane.

I plunged downward and grabbed Zalazar with what Star Trek’s Captain Kirk called a “tractor beam.” I lowered Zalazar gently to the ground and then finished wrapping my force field around him. I was extremely pleased when I placed my “W” between Zalazar’s eyes. He was going to make a fine addition to my collection of Demons at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

I only had one more Demon on my list. I found it hard to believe that the years had passed so quickly. I remembered when I was still a little girl and every new experience seemed bigger than the
experience before. The years had passed so quickly that it seemed like a dream.

Zimbro, the Demon gorilla, lived in the lowland forests of Cameroon in Africa. I spent a lot of time in the library and did extensive research on gorillas. I
’d always thought they were dumb and extremely violent, so I was surprised to discover they are intelligent and very gentle. A gorilla pounding on its chest was usually nothing more than a dominant male protecting his territory.

When I arrived in Africa, I talked to several natives who told me that a giant gorilla had been sighted several times since the early 1960s. This told me that Zimbro was a Demon that had escaped when the Portal of Darkness was last opened.

The giant gorilla was said to have exceptional strength. One native told me he saw the giant gorilla tear a tiger apart with his bare hands. Another native told me the story of a giant gorilla that had killed a bull elephant. That sounded like a Demon gorilla with exceptional strength.

My hunt for Zimbro was short and sweet. I had no sooner entered the forest when I picked up the scent of death that is common to all Demons. Zimbro
’s scent was the strongest I’d ever come across.

I was deep into the forest when I heard the sound of something thrashing its way through the underbrush. I was standing in a clearing when Zimbro stepped out of the underbrush and stood in front of me. He was ten feet tall and his thoughts were crystal clear.

Your skin lacks color and I sense that you are no ordinary human. I also sense that you are hunting me. You are in for an unpleasant death.

Don
’t underestimate me, Zimbro. I’m not as big as you are, but I have powers that you can’t comprehend.

If you know my name, then you are an Ivarr. That means nothing to me because I am a champion in the world where I come from. There is nothing in this world that can stand up to me, not even an Ivarr.

I felt a strange electrical charge flowing through the air. When I saw that the charge was flowing toward Zimbro, I realized he was charging his body just like a battery. In a relatively short time, his entire body was glowing like a neon sign. I had no idea how that was possible. Maybe his body was some kind of a huge conductor that could draw power from the air around him. I guess I should have paid more attention in my science classes.

I didn
’t waste another second. I used my power of telekinesis and threw a force field over his entire body. To my surprise, he used his massive strength to tear an opening in the force field. This was beyond super strength.

You are more gifted than I gave you credit for, Ivarr. Zimbro morphed to a height of twenty feet, doubling his size.

I could have ended this confrontation quickly and cut Zimbro to pieces with my laser beam. Even better, I could have morphed to eighty feet tall and manhandled him like he was a child. I didn’t do either because first and foremost, I was a warrior. I had skills that dated back thousands of years. I was versed in all types of combat, ranging from handheld weapons to the martial arts. I would accept Zimbro’s challenge on an equal footing and prove that I was the better warrior. I morphed into a twenty-foot tall Changeling Princess, matching Zimbro’s height and tripling my strength.

Zimbro
’s eyes were on fire as he lunged at me. I grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, a simple judo move that caused him to lose his balance. I struck him behind the head with my open hand and he fell flat on his stomach. Zimbro rose to his feet, rubbing the back of his head.
You will pay dearly for that,
he screamed.

When he rushed forward again, he got my foot in his face, followed by a quick punch to the stomach that landed him flat on his back. Zimbro roared as he picked himself up off the ground. When he lunged at me again, I hit him with a quick punch to the jaw that twisted his head sideways and knocked him on his back again. He may have been a champion in his own world, but he had never tangled with an Ivarr.

Zimbro was slow getting up. I knew he was confused because he wasn’t used to being knocked down. I hoped the fact that he was getting his butt kicked by a teenage girl really ticked him off. Zimbro made one last lunge. I grabbed his arm, turned my back and used a shoulder throw that sent him flying a good fifty feet through the air. When he landed on his back, I rushed forward and smashed my fist into his huge jaw. I could have killed him with my super strength, but I only hit him hard enough to knock him out. I watched as his body shrank back to its original size. I didn’t waste another minute before I wrapped a force field around his body. I covered him with a couple of extra layers just to play it safe. I wasn’t finished until I placed my signature “W” between his eyes.

I placed Zimbro alongside the rest of the Demons in the Mariana Trench. I moved from Demon to Demon, recalling how each one of them had been captured. I felt a real sense of accomplishment as I swam to the surface of the Pacific Ocean and headed for home. My job of rounding up demons had come to an end.