Panther's Teeth

After the car stopped, I changed into a Golden Eagle, plucking two or three feathers to make it seem more real, before I laid, down in a “play dead”.  The driver got out, and Damon knocked him out with the inside your head, and you are getting sleeeepy, you are really sleeeepy, stuff.  Anyway, we stole his keys, opening the van, having Damon grab four bags.  We locked up the van, putting the keys back in the driver’s pocket, and setting him in the driver’s seat to make it look like he fainted at the wheel. 

Running far off, Damon drank up the blood pockets, and I buried them.  This time when Damon tried to turn into a wild animal, it worked, he chose a Bald Eagle and a dark firry orange Tiger.  I turned into my sleek Panther self and pranced all around his new form of an animal.  Pleased, I turned, and started running with every muscle gently rippling throughout my body, all the while using my eyes and ears, searching, listening for anything that might give a hint of my brother, and the fearsome beast that is holding him captive. 

I could tell Damon was running next to me with just as much speed and power, equally listening, and watching.  I was running past, the big open meadow, when something made me stop, almost creating me to tumble head over heels.  Then this played through my head “only to make way for thy destiny in thy thin winter air.”  This is a thin winter air, and “Another will help, and a lover he is, but don’t be fooled he’s dangerously different from the rest of the kids.  Together you are strong and away you are week, and against each other is no match to meet.”  That has to be Damon, the lover part must be wrong, but he is willing to help, and he’s is very dangerous without really knowing it at first, and when we fought, it was like no one was going to win until Sapphira got me stuck.  It is all starting to make some sense now, evil has come, and now it is time for me and Damon to depart as one.  

I turned to Damon and quickly changed to human, and Damon copied.  “The evil is here, I can tell, you should circle up, and help one when I really needed it.  But once I got the monster distracted, you go and help Mathew and bring him to safely, please.  If I live through this and he doesn’t, I will never forgive myself.”  

“That’s the plan!?  I guess it couldn’t be much better anyway.  You’ll have to appear alone, as if in a trade for something else, instead of an army.”

“Let’s go!”  I ran off toward the field while Damon flew up high getting a good view of everything.  At the edge of the forest line that kept me hidden, I changed my eye sight to a Golden Eagle, but I couldn’t really tell what was what.  I stepped out human, noisy, and clumsy.  I stopped about a third the way to the center.  I stopped and breath in deeply trying to get a hold of myself, waiting, just waiting for something to happen.  A man walked up from the shadows on the opposite side, slowly, but confidant.  He walked all the way to the center of the field, waiting.  Even if I yelled he couldn’t hear me, because we were so far apart.  I walked up, so that I was three fourths the way to the center, where he was standing.

It was then did I try to talk!  “Are you the one who took my brother, and wanted to see me?” 

“Yes, I am, and you are the powerful shape-shifter destined to good.  Though your bother is a waste, with no powers or anything to him, but bait to lure you in.”  This man has amazingly handsome even in the dark, and his dark tricks.  He was tall, maybe six foot, with straw yellow brown hair, and dark brown eyes, that sparkled with everlasting amusement.  His voice was deep, with an accent of some kind.  When he spoke it was load and clear, but not yelling loud, maybe presenting loud.  He wore blue jeans (not the skinny kind), and a loose formal shirt, unbuttoned and waving in the cold breeze.  His bare chest was showing, with nice abs, hinting that he was strong and not to be messed with even to me.  It was amazing that he wasn’t the least bit cold, it was like below -20 degrees celcious, and I have to wear a coat to keep the cold out.

I knew it was meant to sting and it did, but I bit my tongue to keep quiet.  When I suppressed my anger, I said “I am no fish meant to be caught, I’ll make a deal to get my brother back, but may I mind you that I’m different.”

“Really?  Have you ever heard what happened to your ancestor before you.  Yes she was not as pretty, and powerful and feisty, but yet still the same family.  I took her sister, she also wanted to make a deal, but when she denied what I had to offer, I brought her sister.  She attacked, but I killed her with ease.  Her sister I kept as a helper, for she had the power to look into the future.  But unlike most mythical creatures, she grew old and died.”

“Enough with the stories, I didn’t come here for a history lecture, I’m here for my brother, and my brother alone.”

“Yes, yes, I can see that.” He said calmly, and with a bit amusement to the tone of his voice.  “Here is your brother, now he can start dealing, or in modern words bidding.”

“You can’t sell people!”  I replied automatically that I didn’t even know what I had said until they came tumbling out of my mouth.  The man brought down my brother, using a rope of ice, my brother looked blue, but the rise of his chest was visible. 

“So what do you want, you monster, you evil, vile creature!”  I spat, all the while keeping my distance.  I glanced up for a hopeful second to see Damon, circling looking for a way to help.

“Oh, you must know, my name is Hans.  You can call me Evil Hans, Mr. Hans, or just Hans, I don’t really care.” He paused for a breath.  While I was worrying about my brother and what he might want, I almost over looked, his look of pleasure.  Soaking in every movement, everything that I was doing, finding it funny, or something. “Let us start creating a bargain, shall we not.”

“Fine, then, we shall start the bargain!” I could tell he would do anything to get what he wanted, and he knew that I would do whatever I could to get Mathew back.  But he didn’t know that I knew that he knew all of this, and I wasn’t going to let up easy.  He would threaten to kill Mathew, bad guys always do, even modern common criminals.  Makes no sense, I know, but I bet it’ll work, especially since I got Damon as backup, plus how hard is it to take one man with some muscle down with two people of myths. 

“Sounds good for me.  So let’s see, your brother for you joining me.”

“Let me see, no.”

“Then say good-bye to this sweet incent boy.”  He started toward my brother looking back to see what I’ll do.

“Wait!”  That’s what everyone says when they come to this position, but I got a trick up my sleeve.  “If you kill him, then you’ll have nothing left to bargain with, then I’ll be gone, and you’ll be as you were before, with nothing.”  I had no idea why I was helping out on this, even though he wasn’t yet going to kill my brother.

“You are a lot brighter than you look.”

“Yah, I think I know that, but I guess I’ll take it as a compliment.”

“With smart retorts, quick good actions and ideas, you’re going to be great to have by my side.  You’re not that bad looking either, you know.”

“Thanks, I think.”  I just trying to keep him on edge, stalling for time.

“So, you may not want to join me, but you can come with me and do as your told, or else baby face here gets it.”

“Let me think.”

“Let me think about that one.” He mimicked in a childish voice.

“You know, you act to better than my little brother, that you want to kill.”

“Sometimes I do acts to get people to change their mind, but our more fun to play with.  You play along, with the same smarts, instead of panicking, and going crazy.”

“I do play good at games, actually, I win at games, and I’m in no mood to starting losing to someone like the likes of you.”

“You are testy aren’t you.”

“So you want to play a game instead, well, I’ve got quite a few trick up my sleeve.”

“You’ll be surprised!”

“You’re smart, fast, testy, but not let’s see how good you are at fighting.  The on the field work, not just the baby games. Time to get real!”  That was the end of the talking and the easy part, he was testing me in any way. 

He stepped forward watching what I just might do.  I was going to back up, but that would be like backing down, so I held my place, also waiting and watching.  He smiled as if pleased with himself, before, transforming in a lion, a huge, black lion with a space colored mane.  He growled low, and deep.  I glanced up to see Damon about to swoop down and help, but I shook my head signaling him no.  This guy was playing a game, he isn’t going to kill or serious hurt me yet. 

I stepped back and in one jump I changed into a Golden Eagle, even though I didn’t fly all the way up to Damon, because I didn’t want to give him way, I did fly above this lion’s but just out of reach of the claws.  I started circling, looking for his week spot, and the how to hit it without getting hurt myself.  I saw, that it was ever so lightly hard to do fast turns with this animal, and that my jumpy panther go really do some damage.