Enchantment (9 page)

She
scored
points
for
brave
r
y
.
Her
s
pirit
appeared
larger
than
her
size
s
uggested.
Kerrigan
s
hook
his
head,
refocusing
on
the
m
a
t
ter at
hand.
He
needed to
p
a
y
attention and
search
out
m
ore an
s
wers.
“
Where
do
these
p
o
wers
come
fro
m
?
What
are
y
ou?
I
can
se
n
se
y
o
ur
m
agic.
To
my kn
o
wledge,
Upper
World
has
no
m
agic.
If
they
have
developed
special
abili
t
ies,
this
m
a
y beco
m
e
a
m
a
j
or
threat
to
Enchantment.”

Catz
stretched
out
lengthwa
y
s
and
then
stood.
She
crouched
at
the
fe
m
a
l
e’s
face
and
rubbed her s
m
all,
furr
y
,
whiskered
m
uz
z
le against
her co
m
pa
n
ion’s cheek
in a
reassuring gesture, total
l
y unconcerned
the
Enforcer
stood
right
behind
th
e
m
.

He
stared
at
her
in
awe,
a
ware
that
the
an
i
m
al
m
ust
need
rest,
but
sensing
she
wouldn’t
let that
happen
until
her
friend
was
safe.
The
cat
m
oved
to
the
end
of
the
bed,
casual
l
y
taking
in
her
s
urroundings.
Licking
a
paw
and
s
wiping
it
over
her
face,
she
began
to
answer
the
question
he had
asked.

“Forgive
m
e
for
being
the
bearer
of
bad
news,
but
there
are
others
with
special
abilities beside
y
o
u
.
So
m
e
of
u
s
come
to
Upper
World
who
act
as
protectors,
as
I
do.
Hu
m
ans
can
be cruel
and
destructive.
Unlike
m
a
n
y
,
Meeka
is
neither.
She
has
no
awareness
of
her
talents
or
her gifts,”
Catz
explained.
“
S
he
does
not
understand
or
see
that
co
m
mun
i
ca
t
ing
with
me
is
unusual. In
m
a
n
y
w
a
y
s,
Meeka
is
innocent,
un
a
ware
of
what
lies
be
y
o
n
d
her
e
y
e
s,
and
I
will
do
whatever I
can
to
ensure
s
he
re
m
ains
a
s
such.”

“Where
does
y
o
ur
species
co
m
e
fro
m
,
and
what
are
y
o
u
called?
W
h
y
is
s
he
to
be protected
?
”
U
nease
flowed
like
water
over him
at
the
m
ention
of
other
m
a
g
ics. When it
appeared Catz
w
a
s
going
to
settle
in,
he
s
hifted
and
got
co
m
forta
b
le
a
s
she
began
to
explain.

“We
are
Le
m
r
ens sent
to
Upper
World when
a
hu
m
an
or
half-hu
m
an
is detected
with
special abilities.
We
spend
m
a
n
y
y
e
ars
with th
e
m until th
e
y are
rea
d
y to discover their
uniqueness.
They a
s
su
m
e
we
are
just
ani
m
a
ls,
but
when
the
right
time
co
m
es,
they
learn
the
truth.
Each
hu
m
an
m
ust
travel
their
o
wn
special
j
ourney
to
discover
who
they
are.
Meeka
is
here
to
travel
that journ
e
y
.
She
will
be
extr
e
m
el
y
s
hocked
when
s
he
wakes
to
these
surroundings
and
discovers
the truth.
You
see,
Mr.
Enforcer,
y
o
u and
I
are
not
so
different.
We
are
both
protectors.”

Kerrigan
stared
in
disbelief.
What
else
had
the
Enchan
t
m
e
nt
Council
not
told
h
i
m
about
U
pper
World?
A
feeling
of
betr
a
y
al
began
to
for
m
,
pricking
his
te
m
p
er.

“I
don’t
know
w
h
y
I
should
believe
y
o
u,
but
for
the
m
oment,
I’ll
give
y
o
u
the
benefit
of
the doubt.
You
never
answered
my
question
about
why
this
Meeka
needs
protecting.”

“There
are
evil
forces
who
will
w
i
sh
to
steal
Meeka’s
s
pecial
abili
t
ies.
Her
m
ind
is
very p
o
werful,
perhaps
a
parental
trait.
U
ntil
s
he
has
learned
what
those
p
o
wers
are,
and
h
o
w
to disguise and use th
e
m
,
she will
need protection.
Meeka will
alwa
y
s
be hunted
for the powers
she does
not
y
et
kn
o
w
she
has.”

Kerrigan
turned
his
stare
to
the
sleeping
form
in
his
old
bed.
What
a
fine
m
ess
his
surrogate father
had
gotten
th
e
m
all
into.
Kerrigan
could
sense
the
extreme
tur
m
o
i
l
in
the
girl’s
e
m
o
tions, but
he
couldn’t
sense
a
n
y
presence
of
m
ag
i
c
in
her.