Enchantment (54 page)

Kerrigan
laughed
along
with
her,
or
at
her,
but
Meeka
couldn’t
care
le
s
s.
The
two
of
them final
l
y
took
a
breath
of
air
as
Padd
y
’s
voice
echoed
down
to
the
lake again.

“Kerrigan,
Threeo’s
got
his
head
stuck
in
a
jar
again.”
Pad
d
y
’
s voice
tre
m
b
led with
laughter. Kerrigan
shook
his
head
and
stood
up.
He
beckoned
for
her
to
co
m
e with
hi
m
.

“Oh,
please,
Kerrigan,
I’m
j
u
st
going
to
st
a
y
right
here
and
see
what
other
fish
I
can
meet. Love-A-Lot
was
hilarious.
I
can
hard
l
y
wait
to
m
e
et
the
next
one.
Please
let
m
e
st
a
y
.
You
can hear
m
e from
up
there,”
she
pleaded
in
her
s
weetest
voice.

“Oka
y
, I’ll
send
Catz
right
down
to
y
o
u
.”

Meeka
alrea
d
y
had
another
piece
of
fruit
tied
to
her
fishing
line.
She
waved
at
him
as
he walked
back
up
to
the
others.

* * * *

Silent
l
y
cursing
his
i
m
pat
i
ence,
he
shifted
in
the
confines
of
his
own
s
pell.
The
G
oodness
s
pell
clung
to
his
skin
like
hot
s
and,
irrit
a
ting,
burning.

D
on’t
be
so
stupid,
the
Pixie’s
felt
you
before
Kerrigan
did.
If
he’d
caught
you,
it
would
all be
for
naught.

A
slow,
nas
t
y
grin
tugged
at
the
corners
of
his
m
outh
as
he
pictured
h
o
w
nasty
he
could
be.
A
nd
nast
y
,
he would
be,
w
hen
he
got
the
girl
away
from her
protector.
Snickering,
he
con
j
ured a funny
fish.

Planting
it
near
the
edge
of
the
water,
he
waited.
Saliva
dribbled
from
his
chin
as
he
pl
a
y
e
d out
his
plans
again and
again.
Thalius would
have
to
wait.
He
w
as
going
to
have
so
m
e fun
first.

* * * *

Meeka
noticed
the
fish
im
m
e
di
a
te
l
y
.
It
swam
close
to
the
edge
of
the
water
and
beckoned her
around
the
side
of
the
lake.
S
he
s
et
her
rod
down
and
followed
the
fun
n
y
fish
around
the lakeshore.
H
e
was
doing
sum
m
ersa
u
lts,
back
-
flips,
and
blowing
ki
s
ses
her
w
a
y
.

When
the
war
m
th
of
the
sun
became
blocked
by
the
tall
trees,
she
also
reali
z
ed
the
others were
out of view.
P
rickles
shot
up her spine as if in
warning. She whirled around, looking for the presence.
The
stench
of
putrid,
dec
a
y
i
ng
flesh
per
m
ea
t
ed
her
nose
causing
her
to
gag
and
lift
her hand
to
her
m
outh.

Thick,
s
ulfuric
the
grey
m
ist
s
wirled
around
her
ankles,
blocking
her
escape.
Meeka
darted to
the
side,
screaming
at
the
sensations
of
fingers
on
her
flesh.
Her
e
y
e
s
widened
as
the
gr
e
y cloud
crept
up
her
legs,
slithering
with
a
sickening
m
a
li
c
e.
Her
screa
m
s
ripped
at
her
throat, robbing
her
of
breath.

Like
a
hard
fist,
heat
swirled
in
her
bel
l
y
,
gathering,
seeking
escape.
There
was
no
way
s
he w
a
s
going an
y
whe
r
e with
whatever being w
a
s after her.
Without
thinking,
s
he obe
y
ed
her
bo
d
y
’
s instinct,
screaming
again.
“Kerrigan!
Help!”

Through
a
haze
of
red
flames,
she
fought
back.
She
could
feel
the
evil
slithering
along
her bod
y
,
lusting
after
power,
and
she
squeezed
her
e
y
e
s
shut.
Pushing
hard,
she
felt
the
heat
of
her fla
m
es
s
pread
outward,
the
strange
screaming
of
her
assailant ringing
in
her
ears.

* * * *

Kerrigan’s
every
m
us
c
le
froze
at
the
sound
of
her
scream
in
the
distance.
F
or
a
second,
his heart
stopped
out
of
fear.
He
vaporized,
and
then
stood
by
the
lake
where
she
s
hould
have
been. Catz,
in
her
lioness
for
m
, w
a
s
alrea
d
y
sprinting
around
the
shoreline.

The
second
s
cre
a
m
found
both
Kerrigan
and
Catz
staring
up
into
the
air
at
Meeka,
w
ho
was
s
urrounded
in
a
bright
red
orb
of
fl
a
m
es.
She
was
fighting
s
o
m
e
thing
u
n
seen.
The
heat
caused them
to
back
a
w
a
y
.
Meeka
shrieked
in
pain,
and
with
a
thrust
of
her
hands,
a
blast
bu
r
st
the
ball of
fire,
allowing
her
to
fall.