Chapter 7: Chavo’s message

The shabby shed was cold and the blankets over Peter kept him warm and safe from the chill around him. Brightness blinded his eyes as the light revealed the room around him was small and cut rude wall supports had spider webs in the corners. He took a deep breath and pulled his sore arm over his chest and pulled himself up to the seated position. He cupped his head into his hands and leaned in and rubbed his eyes to get clearer vision. His left arm trobbed and his hand found a bandage over the ache. With a wiggle of his toes and a shift of the left and right of his rib cage he assessed all his wounds. He could hear a voice speaking in the other room.

“The boy is more then welcome here, Joseph.” Said Markus. “Mary has already tended to his neck and other wounds.”

Dragonfly wandered over to the table and stood on a chair. “There is a place near by which I can winter.” He slid a small coin across the table to Markus. Markus peered at the coin. It was rudely stamped with a spider stamped on the top and spider web marked the opposite side. “The boy should carry this at all time. Where trouble strikes in the boys area, I will feel it and come to his aide.” Markus tucked the coin into his pocket and Dragonfly left in an instant.

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A bowl sat in the corner of the room where the three men were waiting news of Sarah’s rescue. The smoke from a pipe lofted in the air swirling and dancing through the room. Silence fell and the men sat in their thoughts. In the corner of the room Lyra’s bowl began to glow and Joseph went to peer into the water. A small picture of Lyra appeared in its shimmer. “Joseph, we had an unexpected guest traveling with us after picking up Sarah.” Lyra grabed something from the side of her bowl and pulled the boy into view. Chavo was sulking as Lyra pushed him into view of man’s image in the water.

An audible sigh came from the direction of the bowl. Joseph turned to the men with the news of Chavo’s escape. The room began to fill with the voices of the men in the background. Noise of the group of men discussing the latest update increased to a furry. The echo reverberating through the barn made the room seem to be full of an audience.

“Chavo is 10 moons only.”

“He has one more year before his placement should occur.”

“Yes, Robert, but the boy is out of there now and I can’t send Jacque and Lyra back there to return the boy.”

“They will be hunting him too, just like they hunted Peter’s dad.”

“Hopefully they wont notice he is gone until we can get them clear.”

“I guess we can see if he can go with Peter to Wisconsin.”

Joseph’s face reappeared into the bowl, “Chavo, you need to understand that you can’t go back to that school. You will be hunted and the only way you will be safe is if we can place you with a family. Where we may send you, is a good place for rest and learning. This is not punishment so please don’t run. That would make our job so much harder.”

Chavo glanced up from the water as if he had seen a ghost. He glanced around the room at the three adults watching the exchange then back to the water. “I have to get a message to Robert, first.”

Robert appeared in the water, “What’s the message.”

“Jade said the Father turned into a Wendego. He escaped the school when she fought the beast off of Sarah. The beast wasn’t harmed by any spell she threw.” Chavo looked up suddenly for a scream sounded outside from nearby. “She threw me in the back of the truck so I could get the message to you!”

“Joseph, we must get them out of there. Quickly!” Robert disappeared.

A loud snap shook the shabby barn, “Get Sarah, Let’s get them out of here!” yelled Joseph!

Jacque ran to the truck and scooped up the startled child. Her larger frame made him struggle to support her in his arms. He scurried over to the group holding the groggy child. They all grabbed each other and huddled close.

A loud thump began to beat against the barn door. The concaving doors showed the Wendego on the other side. It pushed at the door peering through the cracks at the individuals hidden inside. With a running start, the Wendego burst through the door as the group of people vanished in mid-air. The beast screamed at the top of his lungs and slashed at the air.