Chapter 7

"Oh damn... Oh damn..."

Eduardo picked up the feather and read the readings off the pke meter.

It was class 7 this time.

"Crud."

Sidus looked toward the door and growled.

"Cut that out!"

Sidus stopped mid-growl and glared at the Latino of its disinterest.

Eduardo sighed. "Fine. I get it. Sorry, okay?"

Sidus' eyes softened a little.

Eduardo got up, still holding the feather. "Alright amigo, I don't like you and you don't like me. But if we want to find Kylie, Garrett and Roland, we gotta work together. Comprendo?"

Sidus stared at Eduardo for a while. Then, slowly, he nodded his head.

/I gotta admit. He IS smart. / Eduardo held out the feather, and Sidus sniffed it delicately.

"Well? Anything?"

Sidus lowered his head to the ground, then the air, and then the ground again. Then he scratched one of the doors to the left.

Eduardo opened it for him.

"Lead the way, partner."

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Lichmonde smiled and stroked a feathery head. "Good for you, lad."

A blue jay, owner to the aforementioned head, smiled smugly. Then it squawked with surprise as it was pushed off the desk.

Lichmonde got up, left his chair, and ran his talon through jet-black hair.

He stopped at the neck and frowned. "Strange..."

He drew back his hand and recalled the blue jay. "The force is less than I thought. Go find out what's going on."

The blue jay chirped and left.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Back in the hallway, the blue jay reverted to monster form and dug its talons into the ceiling.

It waited.

Any minute now...

The door opened, and a ray of light splashed in.

"HELLOOOOOOOOOOO! ANYBODY THERE?"

/Too easy. /

The shape-shifter tensed and prepared to pounce. /Master will be so proud of me. /

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

"Jeez, I should have brought a light of some sort..."

Eduardo panned the pke meter from right, to left. Left, to right. Right, to-

The readings started jumping. Class 7 again.

"Uh oh."

There was another gust of wind. Eduardo was bowled over by a strong arm.

Glowing feathers fluttered to the ground.

Eduardo grabbed his proton gun in time and fired.

The creature was surprised.

The beam had missed it by a mile.

Suddenly, there was a roar louder and more fear bringing than thunder. In a flash of shadows, Sidus leapt up and clamped his powerful jaws on the back of the giant bird's head.

The bird squawked with shock and rage, desperately clawing to rid it of its painful burden.

Eduardo took the moment to grab whatever senses he could and fire again, this time more accurately. Sidus jumped back five seconds before the beam made contact. The bird shrieked and started to struggle. Eduardo's mind started to race. He needed a trap, but he didn't carry one.

It was always Kylie who carried the trap.

Sidus barked. Eduardo looked at him. Then he understood and nodded. He released his finger from the trigger.

The moment the beam weakened and dissipated, Sidus leapt up again, this time locking onto the throat. With a shocked squawk, the blue jay crashed to the ground.

Pinning the bird with all he had, Sidus exerted more pressure, his jaws digging deeper into the feather-covered neck.

There was a dull snap.

The birdman opened its mouth again, but no sound came out. What was left of it shrunk down and changed into the fresh corpse of what it once was - A blue jay.

Eduardo stared wide-eyed at the dead body. "That was close. That was too way damn close."

Sidus calmly licked the area where the bird had scratched him, and got up to continue.

"Thanks dog. I guess I owe you one."

Sidus turned around. Under the dim light of the pke meter, the two archenemies made genuine eye contact.

Then they continued on like nothing had happened.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

Scout sighed and tidied its feathers.

The blue jay had been too careless.

It would have to report the death to Lord Lichmonde.

Then Scout noticed something left behind on the floor. It flew down and inspected it.

It was a patch of black dog hair.

/Could be useful. / Scout took the dog hair in its beak and flew away.

= * =

Can't live with 'im. Can't live without 'im.

Sigh... What NEXT!

= * = * = * =