Enchantment (93 page)

Chapter
T
w
enty-
F
ive

Meeka
paced
the
confines
of
her
roo
m
.
S
hadows
crept
across
the
floor.
H
er
heart
ached every
t
i
m
e
s
he
thought
of
Kerrigan,
s
o
she
forced
herself
to
foc
u
s
on
so
m
e
thing
else.

A
chill
settled
as
s
he conte
m
p
la
t
ed
Catz’s
revelation.
Was it the truth? Was
s
he the daughter of
s
ome
wizard?
Why
had
her
m
other
never
said
a
n
y
t
h
i
ng?

She
had
so
m
a
n
y
questions
to
ask
her
m
other.
Meeka
spent
m
ost
of
her
t
i
m
e
t
r
y
i
ng
to
think of
Tethran,
and
not
K
errigan.
It
never
worked
for
long.

Str
y
k
e
r
see
m
ed
to
be
locked
to
her
hip,
but
Meeka
welcomed
the
distraction,
even
if
it
did tax
her
patience.
H
i
s
furious
pace
in
training
proved
a
blessing.
Too
bu
s
y
to
focus
on
either Kerrigan
or
Tethran,
Meeka
welco
m
ed
the
oblivion
of
exhaustion.

Meeka
figured
Kerrigan
had
done
it
on
purpose.
Th
e
y
trained
d
a
y
in
and
out,
for
which Meeka
w
a
s
grateful.
Exhaustion
helped
keep
m
ost
of
her
thoughts
at
b
a
y
.
It
had
been
two
d
a
y
s, and
she
hadn’t
s
een
Kerrigan—not
even
once.
P
h
y
s
ic
a
l
and
m
e
n
tal
exhaustion
had
left
her feeling
nu
m
b.
She
was
in
a
dre
a
m
-
like
state,
not
real
l
y
in
the
present.

Str
y
k
e
r
advanced
wielding
the
knife,
which
she
blocked,
but
it
caught
her
off
guard.
H
e
s
pun
awa
y
,
hitting her
thigh with
his roundho
u
se
kick.
Her inabili
t
y
to
m
ove fast enough
resulted in
St
r
y
k
er’s
knife
slashing
deep
into
her
forea
r
m
.
When
s
he
screa
m
ed,
Str
y
ker
dropped
his
knife and
grabbed
M
eeka’s
ar
m
,
which
was
bleeding
profusel
y
.

“Da
m
n
it,
Meeka!
This
is
w
hat
happens
when
y
ou
aren’t
pa
y
i
n
g
atten
t
ion.
People
get
killed all
the
t
i
m
e
when
their
guards
are
down.
Shit!”
He
held
her
arm
up,
y
e
l
l
i
ng,
“
Catz,
grab
the towel.”

Catz
bounded
to
th
e
m
, the towel
hanging from
her
j
a
w
s.
St
r
y
k
er
ripped
it into thin
strips and began
to
w
rap
them
around
her
ar
m
.

Whi
m
pe
r
ing
in
pain,
Meeka
turned
her
atten
t
ion
to
Catz,
who
appraised
the situation through
narrowed
e
y
e
s.
Feeling
she
s
hould
offer
so
m
e
s
ort
of
explanation,
Meeka
pushed
her hair
back
from
her
face
and
met
his
concerned
gaze.
“
I
’m
s
or
r
y
,
St
r
y
k
er.
I
w
a
sn’t
pa
y
i
n
g attention.
I
gue
s
s
I’m
just
tired.”

Str
y
k
e
r
snarled.
“Tired?
Yo
u
're
tired?
Meeka,
y
ou
don't
get
to
be
tired.
You
and
Kerrigan need
to
get
it
together.
So
m
eone
is
bound
to
get
hurt
if
y
ou
don't.”
St
r
y
k
er
rubbed
a
thu
m
b
over her
j
a
w.
“
A
nd
between
y
o
u
and
m
e,
I
'm
not
in
a
big
hurry
to
feel
the
brunt
of
y
o
u-
know-
w
ho's anger.”

Turning
from
her,
Str
y
ker
inhaled
a
deep
breath,
his
roar
filled
with
anger
and
concern. “Kerrigan,
get
y
o
u
r
ass
in
here
n
o
w!”

Meeka
protested,
“
O
h,
no,
please
don’t
call
hi
m
.
I’ll
be
fine,
real
l
y
.
”
She
held
up
her
hands, desperate
to
avoid
the
coming
confrontation
with
Kerrigan.

“This
cut
will
not
heal
on
its
own.
The
bleeding
will
not
just
stop.
Kerrigan
can
get
his
ass d
o
wn
here
and
heal
it
hi
m
self.”

“Does
he
real
l
y
need
to
co
m
e
her
e
?
I…I
don’t
real
l
y
want
to
s
ee
hi
m
.
Please,
just
let
m
e
go and
I’ll
fix
it
m
y
s
e
l
f.”
S
he
p
u
shed
h
i
m
aw
a
y
.