The Hunt for Freedom

Chapter Forty Two

Lainey's eyes opened abruptly and the nightmare stopped. In the dream she had been running from something and tripped just before she made her escape. Looking around now and realizing where she was, she hoped the dream wasn't a premonition. Still snuggled into Dakari's side for warmth, she turned to survey their current situation. Still on the side of the cliff, tucked back into a natural recession in the rock she looked across at three islands, one far larger than the other two.

"I forgot about those islands when I described what it looked like out here." She thought and turned to see if he was awake yet.

Lainey giggled some at the sight of Dakari, eyes closed, murmuring to himself. Remembering his description of mental communication, Lainey guessed that he had seen the islands and was giving his people an update. A little tickle on her arm distracted her away from Dakari's one sided conversation and she looked down to see a hairy spider about the size of her thumb casually strolling down her elbow and on to her forearm.

She jumped up and started shaking her arm, swatting at it as if it were on fire. She barely stifled a scream, and only calmed when the offending arachnid was successfully flung from her body scurrying off into the rocks from which it had come.

She had Dakari's attention now. He still lay against the wall of the cliff, but now he was grinning and chuckling at her.

"You can ride on the back of a dragon, climb sheer cliffs in the middle of the night, but a tiny spider scares you?" With this he snorted, and she joined in with his giggles.

It felt so good to be normal for a minute. No crazy captor lurking nearby to punish you for his own pleasure. No endless list of chores to do from dawn till long past dusk. Thinking of her fire breathing captors had her looking up to eerily silent skies. No birds circled and dove for prey, no swirling clouds brought rain. The only thing to be seen was the azure sky and endless emptiness. The previous night party continued into the wee hours of the morning, the noise dying down as the first sliver of sunlight showed in the sky.

Dakari sensed her thoughts as he followed her gaze. "The smell of their barbecue permeated their nostrils last night, not leaving any room for our stench. I thank the goddesses for that, but our luck won't hold today. If we are here when they begin to wake, we might just be their breakfast."

"Before we start climbing, tell me what your people said. Are they coming to rescue us?"Lainey asked, hope swelling in her eyes.

"Soon I hope, I told them about the islands across the way, and if I squint I can see another land mass just a little further down. They will find us, that I can promise! I don't know how long it will take but they will come, and they will help us."

Lainey squinted but could see no other areas of land. Tilting her head sideways to get a better look did nothing for her either.

"I guess werecats have better vision." She teased.

"I guess we do, come on, let's climb away from the dragon's entrance."

Making their way southward in broad daylight made them feel like easy prey for any lurking dragon. They hurried without a word trying to get to another ledge that would provide some shelter until night fell. Lainey made the mistake of looking down as she climbed, the treacherous sea lying in wait beneath them as if alive, ever ready to swallow them whole. She remembered her dream and held on tightly. She could picture her body smashed and bloodied on the rocks below, then carried off when the tide rose again.

As they climbed southward, Lainey noticed that they were also climbing higher. Up ahead she saw what looked like a peregrine falcon surveying the ocean from a rocky perch. She motioned to Dakari and he understood right away. Hopefully there would be room to lay down on the bird's perch.

The falcon saw their approach and with an annoyed glance back, flew away. Dakari was the first to reach the natural shelf and reached down to help Lainey over the last rock. To the right of them the rocks were covered in moss, and some wildflowers even fought for life in the relentless battle of wind and rain. Their little pink heads faced the sea as if in defiance, daring it to do it's best.

As they sat recovering their energy, looking out at the incoming clouds, Lainey noticed her thirst. She knew they still had Dakari's silver cup, but it would do no good since the only water source was hundreds of feet away.

The clouds rolled in, dark and menacing, promising a storm before the hour was up. Taking out her amulet, in the hopes that Dakari could use the red crystals to make them a waterproof shelter of some sort, her eyes popped open in surprise. Turning to Dakari, she offers up the amulet. It was no longer a rose quartz color, but a fierce red. The crystal was glowing.

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The sadness that invaded the island was palpable. It could be felt in all aspects of life here. There was no escaping the weight of it, and Maggie couldn't will herself to sleep. Alone on the beach, Maggie had no desire to find her mate either. Staring at a flight of seagulls, clueless to her plight and happy as they scooped noisily into the whitecaps. She mourned for happier times. Training days now seemed like social events, and thoughts of school were distant memories.

How was it possible that a dragon had invaded their sanctuary? Would it continue on like this until they were all picked off one by one? Dalya was their fiercest warrior, if she could be taken, no one was safe.

She picked up a small pebble from the sand and began to massage it between her fingers. Static like from an old radio started in her mind and suddenly Dakari's voice broke through, mid-sentence.

"Dragons hunting us....see islands in the distance. Find us, help us."

And just like that he was gone. She tried to message him back, but it was still inside her mind. He was no longer connected to her.

Maggie shifted and ran as fast as her paws would carry her. She took a moment to dress before bursting in. No one was in the basement and she realized it was still barely sun up.

Moving to the map, she looked at the places that were highlighted as possible due to the recorded hide tides. The first possibility had no island near it and she dismissed it without a thought. As she did, a red X miraculously appeared on the map. Scouring the map, she saw another potential location. Goosebumps ran the length of her arm as she came across the western coast of Ireland, and saw the Aran Islands standing proud just west and north of the Cliffs of Moher.

She ran for Katalea's room. She saw Alpha Kundam sitting down to breakfast and urgently signaled for him to come with her. Without breaking speed she raced up the stairs and banged on her bedroom door.

Alpha Kundam caught up to her, a questioning look on his face. As Katalea threw open the doors, ready to kill anyone and everyone for interrupting her sleep, she stood there looking at Maggie,

"I know where Dakari is! It's time to go bring my brother home.!" She shouted.