Authors: Laura Hawks
Archanidou wrapped her arms around Jasmine, who appeared confused and lost about everything. The only thing was, Jasmine also remembered. Everything. Whatever Clarissa and her grandmother did, worked, yet no one even bothered to check and see if it had done so. Since she had her memories, she was well aware how important Trinity was and how long she had been missing. Her own welfare needed to take a back seat. Clarissa and Logan were right. The knowledge they might have found her, after all these years, far outweighed anything and everything else. Softly, Spiderwoman asked Jasmine how she was doing.
“I remember. I can recall everything. Sneaking away here to see the garden. The fact Tyler owes me money.” She gave a smile of satisfaction seeing him frown at that memory.
“You couldn’t have kept that one lost?” he quipped.
Logan didn’t leave his parents’ side, but he asked Jasmine the next question. “Do you remember what happened when you left the wedding?”
Jasmine nodded. “I remember I decided I wanted some café au lait before heading home and went to the Café du Monde. I was walking along the levee and heard a sound, but before I could turn around, I felt this hand against my throat and a horrible smelling cloth was put over my nose and mouth. Then blackness. When I awoke, there was a young female brought into the room. I remember she was in her late teens, maybe early twenties, tops. She was touching me and I felt like my heart was about to explode. I could feel the blood rush to my head and it pounded relentlessly and I knew if I lost consciousness again I would die. I just remember thinking I had to get out of there. I had to get home and back to safety. Then, nothing. I must have flashed myself away and the tearing from her touch caused my temporary memory loss. She had your eyes, Clarissa. A beautiful green, but her hair was darker,” Jasmine managed to inform the others.
“Do you know where you were? Or who took you?” Archanidou asked softly.
“I remember when the girl was brought in, she was led by a species which had the head of a wolf and the body made from a serpent and a man.”
“That’s a Rougarou,” Mel and Clarissa said simultaneously.
Logan added, “They are the creature that took Trinity all those years ago, but we never found the specific ones who took her, nor did we find her in their region.”
“Can you tell us anything about the room you were in? Sounds you might have heard, scents? Anything?” Clarissa almost pleaded with her. She was desperately seeking the proof she needed. She knew deep within her soul Coyote had Trinity, but why, how or where she had no clue about.
“I’m sorry. I remember the, what did you call it? A Rougarou? Anyways, one of them leading the female in. I remember thinking she reminded me of a prisoner: someone who was also captured and being made to do this to me. The creature stood guard against the door. He reminded me of someone who was taking orders though, not the one giving them. I didn’t see anyone else.”
Archanidou gazed over at Clarissa. “If there was no one else in the room, then how do you know Coyote has Trinity?”
Clarissa added with a certainty she would not back down from, “Because, Trinity carried his scent.” She tapped the side of her nose. “I may not be a lot of things, but wolves have an extremely good sniffer and Trinity reeked of Coyote.”
Mel nodded. “I may not trust a lot of things in this universe, but I do trust Rissa and that nose of hers. If she smelled Coyote, then there is no doubt in my mind he at least knows where she is.” He looked at Tyler, then back at Archanidou and Jasmine. “You have what you came for. Her memories have returned. You can see yourselves out.”
Tyler stepped up to Mel. “Sir. I would like to go with you to help.” He looked over at the two women still on the couch before facing the god once again. “Logan is my friend. You helped my ward get her mind back. I would like to assist in the retrieval of your daughter.”
“Can you fight?”
“Yes, Sir. I trained with the Drayman Specialty Guards.”
Jaz’s mouth gaped. Mel nodded. Those were the most elite guards in all of Faefardom, and most of the other realms as well. It could be compared to ninjutsu skills in the Human Realm, but more intense and dedicated. The elite of the elite were trained with the Specialty Guards and were usually only considered from noble stock. Archanidou, however, seemed unsurprised with this knowledge.
“Get prepared, then. Surprise is on our side at the moment.”
“You could be starting a feud. It may lead to a war. You know how sensitive Coyote can be. He will consider this an attack,” Archanidou pointed out.
Mel guffawed. “If, in fact, he has Trinity, then he committed the first aggression against me and mine. If, by some miracle, he is innocent, he will understand the search and it will be no harm, no foul. Although, considering I trust Rissa a million times more than that sneaking trickster, I doubt it will be an issue for anything other than his being, somehow, kept alive. Because when I find my daughter, I will skin whoever is responsible, including him.”
Chapter 19
The group, which consisted of Clarissa, Logan, Azamel and Tyler, arrived at the reception hall for Coyote. At the moment it was empty, but Clarissa was ready to charge through the building, kicking open every door in order to find her daughter. Mel, however, was a bit more restrained. Everything in its due course. He had learned over the millennia to take his time and examine all the angles before he attacked. It was something he tried to teach Clarissa and his son, but he also understood their anxiousness to find Trinity and bring her home. The one surprise element was Tyler. Having a Drayman Guard was unexpected, to say the least, but a benefit nonetheless.
Tyler seemed to instantly transform from the almost-gawky friend Logan had known for the past couple of years to a determined, steadfast soldier. Logan had no idea he had been living with someone who was so well-crafted in their field, or that his expertise lay in guerilla warfare with ninja finesse. As part of his studies, Logan had learned of the elite Drayman Specialty Guards but never thought he would have been living with one. He was curious to see the male in action, almost as much as he was anxious in retrieving his sister. Gone was the jovial, almost immature, light-hearted man. The Tyler who stood next to him was as serious as he had never seen before and, if he admitted it, even a bit intimidating.
Mel walked over to the massive doors and swung them open. Coyote was just about to enter the room. He smiled in welcoming.
“Greetings and salutations. Whatever do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”
Clarissa was about to charge Coyote, but both Tyler and Logan held her back. Mel’s eyes narrowed. “Where is she? Release her now and maybe I’ll only maim you but let you live out your miserable days.”
“Whom do you mean?” Coyote asked innocently. He wasn’t going to give up his prize so easily.
“You know damn fucking well. I won’t play games with you. Take us to Trinity now.” Mel reinforced his words with a hand around Coyote’s throat, his fingertips squeezing into the skin and leaving indentations upon his column. He lifted Coyote off the floor, his feet dangling.
Coyote spat in Mel’s face, chopping at his arm to loosen Mel’s grip. “You are in my home and you will show respect.”
Clarissa couldn’t stand it any longer. She pulled back from Tyler and Logan. Her snout elongated as she fell to her hands. The fur sprang from her pores as the clothes she had been wearing tore and fell from her body, which quickly became a white wolf. With a soaring leap, she dove against Coyote, pulling him from Mel’s grasp as he landed beneath her wolf body. She snarled, her teeth clamping around his neck the way Mel’s hand had just moments before.
“Can you get her scent?” Mel asked, squatting down to take over keeping him still and letting her sniff his body. She bobbed her head when she caught the fragrance and sniffed her way out the door, following the smell down the corridors, stairs and past doorways into recesses Mel never assumed existed until now. Logan and Tyler followed after her while Mel kept a hand around Coyote to drag him along.
When they arrived in the bowels of the building, Clarissa stopped and howled. Suddenly, from seemingly out of nowhere, ten Rougarou appeared, blocking their progress any further. Tyler leapt, flying feet-first and hitting one in the chest as he twirled mid-air, landing on his feet, hunched down almost in a kneeling position. Grabbing an ankle from two different Rougarou, he stood, pulling on their legs to cause them to lose their balance. The two toppled over; the second landing on the first one he kicked, who was in the process of regaining his feet, and knocked him down again. Mel kept his focus on Coyote, thrusting him against the wall as he watched the others to make sure they could handle what needed to be done.
Although Clarissa could fight as a wolf, she was better at it as a human. She moved back until she could find an opening to get past the swamp creatures and continue her search. That was her main goal. She was willing to let the men do battle while she focused on her main objective. She paced back and forth as she waited and, at one of the passes, she bit Coyote’s leg for doing this to her and her family.
Logan stepped up to take on a couple of the beasts. Clarissa watched him fight for a few moments. She and Mel had taught Logan well. His moves were precise, his aim direct. He was focused even though he wasn’t as expert at it as Tyler was. Tyler’s style was smooth, seamless and exact. His training far outweighed any expertise she had, making Logan and her appear as pure amateurs. However, the Rougarou were also quick with the unnatural ability that dominated the preternatural species. Where Tyler had experience, Logan was a demi-god trained on how to utilize his abilities. Opening his palms wide, he created two fireballs, one in each hand, and threw them one at a time at two of the attacking creatures. As each ball of fire hit, the Rougarou became enflamed.
Tyler had managed to disable two more in the meantime, leaving only three standing. Between Logan and Tyler, there was enough of a gap for Clarissa to leap over the prone bodies and past the three who were too busy being engaged in a battle with Logan and Tyler. Tyler was certainly quick and limber, moving about with a spryness which defied a fighting style she had seen before. She was certainly glad he was on their side and not with Coyote and his army of Rougarou.
Once she was past the poor line of defense, she put her nose back to the ground, hunting out the scent. She was almost running, her four paws hitting the tiled floor with a soft thudding. Another Rougarou had just left a room, shutting the door behind him, when he saw the white wolf charging at him. When the door was open, the strongest scent of Trinity came bursting through and Clarissa
knew
her daughter was in that room. She leapt and caught the Rougarou by the throat, her fangs sinking into his jugular.
Clarissa felt the warm, sanguine liquid burst forth as he fell backwards. She remained on top, snarling and shaking her head, until she was sure he was no longer a threat. Pulling back, she transformed into her human form. With a shaky hand, she turned the knob only to find the door locked. Using her werewolf strength, she pulled the door off the hinges and stood there a moment, the door hanging askew in her hand. Inside the room was a large cage with a bed, sink, chair and table, and a drape around the toilet. And among all of it was Trinity, staring agape at a sight she had lost all hope of ever seeing again. Her mother.
Clarissa dropped the door and quickly searched the Rougarou for keys to the cage. She had to wipe her eyes just to see as tears of happiness streamed down her face. She fumbled with the lock but managed to get it open and flung it wide. Slipping into the cage, she gathered up her daughter and both wept on each other’s shoulders.
Clarissa steered her out of the caged room. When they got into the hall, Logan, Tyler and Mel were approaching, the latter pushing a bruised and bloodied Coyote. They were thrilled to see Trinity with Clarissa yet appalled to see the living situation. Mel punched Coyote in the gut, then face once again, before grabbing the back of his collar and throwing him into the cage and slamming the door on him, essentially locking him within the prison.
Coyote clamored to the bars of the cell, grasping them in each hand. “You can’t leave me in here.” He ignored the blood which slowly oozed down his mouth from the split lip he received. He certainly didn’t understand why he was even still alive, but it didn’t mean he was willing to subjugate himself.
“We won’t. Despite my better desire to leave you skinned alive for this, Archanidou begged for my promise to contain you until Nanaboojoo comes. You will be put on trial for your crimes. I have already called for them. They should be here shortly.” He lowered his voice as his eyes blazed red. A demonic resonance to his words was very evident as Mel let just a glimmer of Destruction come through. “Be grateful I have learned to control my demon or you would be skinned alive. And if I find out you have touched my daughter, there will be no council in any universe to protect you from Destruction.”
Clarissa peered at him, hatred exuding from every pore. “Why? Why would you do this to our child? How could you be so cold and callus? You were a guest in our home. You knew how this was destroying our family. How could you do such a thing?” She kept a tight hold around Trinity until Mel crushed them both to his body and Logan hugged all of them from behind.