Page 50 of The Tree of Spirits
“What kind of magic is this?” I gasped.
“The hard-to-kill kind.”
Capricorn grabbed a piece of tent fabric off the ground, whooshing it around like a cape. As she spun in place, flames engulfed the fabric. Their song was more of a roar than a crackle. It grew louder and louder. Just as it reached its fiery crescendo, Capricorn released the cloth. It glided toward the Charger, powerful but patient, like a hawk circling over its prey.
The monster swiped at it. The cloth hissed, coiling back, winding up. Slowly, slowly, slowly… It lashed out like a whip, singeing the beast’s shoulder. The Charger roared in anger and agony. Something terrible and noxious poured out of its mouth—all green and smoky, reeking of stomach acid anddecomposing waste. When that cloud touched the cloth, it ate through it in an instant.
“That’s not good,” Capricorn muttered, shaking out her hands. Some sparks formed on them, but they immediately died out. “Not good at all.”
The creature stomped one of its front paws like a bull preparing to charge. Promises of destruction and death danced in its eyes.
“It’s stronger than it’s supposed to be,” Capricorn said. “There’s something different about this Charger.”
Soft, ethereal laughter echoed on the wind. “That’s because it’s not a Charger at all.” Nixi the ghost materialized in front of us. “It’s only pretending to be one,” she said in a dreamy voice.
“Who are you?” Capricorn asked her. “And how can you possibly know that?”
“I am Nixi,” the ghost replied. “And I know it because I’m smarter than you. But don’t feel bad. I’m smarter than everyone.” She winked at me. “Right, Savannah?”
Capricorn looked at me. “Is this ghost a friend of yours?”
I didn’t know how to answer that question. Nixi had helped me out in the past, but I wasn’t sure I’d call her a friend. In fact, I wasn’t even sure if I trusted her. There was just something so disconcerting about her.
“Oh, yes, Savannah and I are the best of friends,” Nixi said with a slow, lethargic curl of her lips. “Her magic is just so fascinating, don’t you think?”
Capricorn gave me a curious look.
“Let’s worry less about my magic, and more aboutitsmagic,” I said quickly, pointing at the monster.
It snorted, and lightning shot out of its nose.
“You said it’s not a Charger?” Capricorn asked Nixi. “Then what is it?”
“A Chameleon, of course,” the ghost replied.
A foreboding shadow fell over Capricorn’s face.
“I take it that’s bad?” I asked her.
Nixi answered for her. “Oh, yes. A Chameleon is so much worse than a Charger. In fact, it’s one of the most dangerous monsters in the Many Realms.” She drew her hands together slowly, smiling at us over braided fingers. “But don’t worry so much, girls. This is going to be fun.”
CHAPTER 3
THE CHAMELEON
“Fun?” I repeated, barely choking out the word. “How is fighting one of the most dangerous monsters in all the Many Realmsfun?”
“Well, when you put it like that, you certainly take all the fun out of it, Savannah Winters,” Nixi replied with pouting lips. “Think of it as an adventure, a challenge, a…”
“Suicide mission,” Capricorn inserted.
“Sadly, no,” said the ghost, and she actually sounded disappointed. “For I am already dead.”
“Enough!” the Chameleon hissed. It was no longer a scaled, long-fanged wolf. It was an old woman with skin dripping off her face like melted wax. “Let’s just get on with it. I am quite eager to kill you.”
The creature’s voice was inhuman, unearthly, terrible. When it spoke, its words were rough and ragged. They scraped like sandpaper against my eardrums.
“We’ll just see about that,” Capricorn declared, stomping her foot.
