Black Catkin Part 9

Part 9

Meanwhile two figures crept through the forest outside the cemetery, away from the fire.  One was that of a young man with creamy blonde hair and huge piercing light blue eyes.  And the other was that of a young dog: a German Shepherd to be precise.

Suddenly the young man turned to face the German Shepherd.  "Give it up, Princess" he said calmly, "Whatever it is you want from me, you're not going to get it without a fight."  At his very words, the German Shepherd changed back into the form of a tall beautiful girl with long rusty brown hair and warm coffee coloured eyes.

"Give me the ring," Murphy said, staring him straight in the eyes, "or you'll regret it."

"I'll regret it?" he laughed, "What makes you think you can make me give you anything, Princess?"

Even though she was a Drache, part of The First House, making her royalty in the Night World especially amongst the shifters, Murphy hated being called Princess.  "The last person who called me Princess ended up nursing two broken legs and a bruised arm" she said, keeping her voice deadly calm, "Don't tell me you want the same to happen to you?"

"You don't scare me, Princess" the young man said, his own voice deadly calm, "I'm very aware of your fighting style, and it's going to take more than a few broken limbs and some bruises to make me fear you."

"You're lying."

"Am I?"

Murphy felt like screaming.  Here she was trying to get a ring back that belonged to Faline, the little sister of the girl they'd all met at the ice cream parlour, and the person who took the ring happened to be the biggest loser on the whole planet.

If you can't stand him, why do you keep running up to him and end up kissing him senseless, over and over again in your mind? the little voice in her head taunted, Admit it, you like him.

No I don't, she told herself, trying to cover up the truth, I'd rather go jump off a short pier than kiss him.

"What's wrong, Princess?" mocked the young man, "Afraid I'll be too strong for you to fight?"

"I'm not afraid of you!" she said angrily, realising he was making fun of her, "Just because I'm a girl, doesn't mean that I'm weaker than you!"

But try as she might, she couldn't stop a stray thought escape into her mind.  Yes, I'm afraid, it thought worriedly, I'm afraid I'll fall in love.

****************

"Why are you being so irrational, witch?!"

"I'm not being irrational; I'm protecting my child from the likes of you!!"

Pandie had followed her mother and the two men into the visitor's room on Zaykaia's instructions, and now she was wishing she hadn't bothered.  The vampire's shouting was louder than she could bear, and being half cat shifter her hearing was very sensitive.

"Is that why you gave it to that half-breed slut before you came in here?" the vampire sneered, "Scared I was going to take it from you and drain it of its blood before your very eyes?"

Deane stared daggers at him.  "My child is not an inanimate object to be referred to without feeling." she said, her voice icy, "She has a name.  Her name is Pandora."  The vampire laughed cruelly.  "Do you really think I care what it's called?" he said, coldness suddenly creeping back into his voice, "Your child is lower than dirt as far as I'm concerned."

Right at that moment Pandie wished she wasn't invisible.  If you were in my time, creep, she thought to herself, feeling her nails lengthen into the more familiar claws she was used to in her cat form, I'd show you what dirt can do.

"Anyway, that doesn't matter" the vampire said, ignoring the death stares coming from Deane, "You've heard of the Millennium Prophecies."

"Yes, I know about the Wild Powers." Deane answered him bitterly, "I hope one of them fries you to a crisp."

"Well, it seems there's an eency weency little prophecy somewhere saying that six will be born to help the Wild Powers in the final battle," he said, paying no attention to the insult that was just thrown at him, "and it seems your child is one of them."

"But you knew that already, didn't you." he went on, "And the really interesting bit is it seems your child is the key to finding the others of the six."

"So you don't want my child to destroy her" Deane finally said, bitterness still in her voice, "You want her so you can find these other five children and then destroy her along with them."

"That's were you're wrong, witch."

Somehow though, Pandie had a deep feeling that the vampire was lying.  Her mother seemed to think so too.  "Cut the crap, Hunter." she said flatly, looking down at the floor, "I've worked for you before.  I know what you're like, and you're definitely not all goodness and light.  The only way you could possibly change is if, by some crazy chance, you find your soulmate."

"But you haven't found your soulmate, yet," she went on, as she looked up, "have you?"

"So, you won't give your child to Mr Moreno, then?"

"I'd rather give my child to a pack of wolves than give her to him."

"Not even if she could help the Night World gain power again over the world." Hunter pressed on, not giving up, "Mr Moreno here says he can help your child to learn how to use its powers."

As he said this, the man with the black and white hair took off his glasses.  Pandie gasped, frozen to the spot with fear.  The man's eyes where completely black with no sign of any white surrounding them.  And when he brushed his hair of his forehead she could make out eight downy lumps underneath.  Her mother's friend Cornelia told her about creatures like him.  Dark dragons.  Some where good, since they had learned how to live among humans without harming them and hadn't given into the blackness in their hearts.  Cornelia herself was one of them.  And some where evil, who wouldn't think twice about killing an innocent human being and let the blackness in their hearts seep into their whole being.  This guy was of the latter description.

"Hunter, I'd rather give up my whole life," Deane said, her voice firm, "than let you make my child help you and your dragon friend plunge the whole world into darkness and despair."

"Have it your way." Hunter said, as his fangs grew, indenting his lower lip, and his eyes glowed yellow, "Your life ends here and now."

"Sorry Hunter," said the honey golden haired witch defiantly, gold witch power already glowing between her cupped hands, "I plan on living a lot longer than you're thinking"

With that, she threw the witch power from her hands, and the whole room was filled with gold light.

When the gold light finally disappeared from her vision, Pandie found that she was no longer in the hospital visitors' room, but in a room in a burning building.  Even stranger was that somehow she'd changed into her cat form.

How'd that happen? she thought, puzzled, to herself.

"Mummy, mummy, please wake up."

Pandie looked around to see where the voice was coming from.  It was very young and full of fear.  Then in the corner of the burning room she noticed a small figure knelt over what looked like someone sprawled out on the floor.  Slowly she realised the small figure was that of a small girl.  She couldn't tell what colour her hair was, as it was covered in soot, and the room was so dim she couldn't make out the colour of her eyes.

But she realised who the person sprawled out on the floor was.  There was only one other person she'd seen with silvery white blonde hair the colour of moonlight.  The other lady she'd seen in the hospital with her mother: Lucia Hashteher.

Don't cry little girl.

The small child's head shot up suddenly.  "Oh, a kitty" she said between sniffs, wiping the tears from her eyes with her sleeve, "Did you just speak to me, kitty?"

Pandie looked at the little girl sitting in front of her.  Why does her voice sound so familiar? she thought to herself.  Looking around the room, she realised Zaykaia was nowhere to be seen.  She was on her own.

Yes, little one. Pandie said, keeping her mental voice gentle, I'm speaking to you

"You talk just like Mummy and Daddy do sometimes." the little girl said, pointing to her head, "In here."

That's right said Pandie, her eyes smiling, even though she wasn't in her human form, Can I ask you why you were crying?

"Because of the hot stuff" sniffed the little girl, "Mummy was reading me a story to cheer me up because I was feeling unwell, and suddenly all this hot stuff appeared from nowhere.  Now Mummy won't wake up!"

Looking at the little girl, Pandie was reminded of the one time she'd had use her power of protection.  It had happened six months ago, during a severe thunder and lightning storm, when Pandie was taking her little sister Faline home after teaching her how to shape shift into her true form of a cat.  There had been nowhere to shelter, and home was still too far away to get to safely.  But can I do it, again? she thought to herself, Maybe I can at least save her life, unlike her poor mother's?

Deciding give her power of protection another try, Pandie padded her way over to the little girl, purring gently, and curled up close beside her.  Slowly, as if being lulled by Pandie's soft purring, the little girl lay down and curled up with her hand on Pandie's head as if she was about to stroke a normal cat.  Carefully, Pandie shut her eyes and imagined a soft glow surrounding herself and the little girl, until she could hear the sound of its gentle humming.  Her power of protection still worked.

Beside her the little girl shivered.  Pandie knew she wasn't shivering from the cold.  It was way too warm for that.  The little girl was shivering from fear.  Remembering a lullaby her mother used to sing to her when she was very little, and couldn't go to sleep because she was too afraid to, Pandie began to sing gently into the little girl's mind.

Hush little angel, don't you cry
I'm here to sing you a lullaby
Come take my hand, we'll fly away
To a dream land, where you and I will play

By the time she had finished singing the last line Pandie could feel that the little girl had stopped shivering and was now breathing slowly but gently, lost in a deep and peaceful sleep.  Sleep well little one, she thought to the little girl, remembering something she'd often heard her mother saying to Faline after she'd tucked her up in her bed sound asleep, May the angels protect you while you dream.

Suddenly a strange light appeared in the middle room.  In contrast to the orange glow from the fire slowly burning up the whole building it was much brighter.  In the middle of the light stood Lucia Hashteher.

"Thank you, Pandora, Daughter of Hellewise, Child of Kedi" she said gently, her voice echoing softly, "You have protected my little Ari from the evil of the Dark One.  Now that the fire he sent to kill her is now dying away, she is free to live on to fight against him, by your side, in your time."

Then two more women appeared on either side of Lucia.  One of the women, she recognised as Zaykaia.  The other woman, she'd never seen before.  She had soft blonde hair and gentle brown eyes.  Just by looking at her Pandie could tell she was very important.

"Pandora," spoke the soft blonde haired woman with an authoritative but gentle voice, "as Hellewise, Daughter of Hecate, Witch Queen, I must ask you, do you accept your place on the side of light in the final battle?"

Yes

Pandie didn't know why she said yes, but she knew she wanted to be able to stop people like the vampire and the dragon that had tried to take her away from her mother from taking over the world and plunging it into darkness and despair.  Watch out Mr Moreno, she thought to herself, Deane Harman's daughter still lives and she's going to help kick your evil little dragon butt.

"My role here is done." Hellewise said smiling, "I now leave you in the hands of the Traum Zauberin to send you back to your own time."

With those words Zaykaia stepped forward.  A soft amethyst light glowed between her cupped hands.  "Moon Dragon Guardian" she said, her voice once again sounding of wind chimes, "the hope of finding the other dragon guardians, the fate of the Wild Powers, and in turn the fate of the world, rests in your hands.  Your task here is done.  Now, as the Traum Zauberin, I send you back to your own time."

Suddenly the amethyst light escaped from Zaykaia's hands and filled Pandie's vision.  As it slowly clearly, she heard a familiar voice beside her.

"Wait a minute, guys.  I think she's back."