Come & Get Me!
THE SCREECHING, SCREAMING wail of the wind was such that Charmian had to cover her ears, her eardrums vibrated so hard. She grimaced and started clambering toward the mouth of Cave of the Woods, Thomas backing out of her way, but just as she reached it something grabbed hold of her ankle. She glanced back to see Moon Wolf holding onto her.
"What are you going to do?" he had to yell over the noise. "Don't tell me you plan to face him--!"
"What else is there to do?" Charmian shouted in response. "Augwak'll tear this Island apart if he can't find me--and I'm frigging SICK AND TIRED of hiding from him!!"
"I've seen you fight," the medicine man yelled. "Fire is your strongest medicine--yet even that won't work against this!"
"At least I have to give it a shot!" Charmian exclaimed, and climbed out of the cave. Thomas pulled her to her feet and they both stood and looked skyward. The clouds roiled and spun and the trees, heavy and groaning with snow, whipped and swayed back and forth. Charmian yelped when hunks of ice and snow began falling, and Thomas pulled her toward him, shielding her head with his arm; with his other hand he aimed at the falling chunks and blew them away with a gust of wind.
Charmian tugged on his shirt. "Back behind the Crack! There's a big field--no trees!"
"Yeah," Thomas yelled, "and nowhere to HIDE!"
"I'm SICK of hiding! Let the big dumb bag of wind FIND me if he wants a fight!" With this she turned and wallowed up the small rise behind the cave, quickly disappearing from sight. Thomas rolled his eyes and clambered after her the best he could, considering that she was wearing snowshoes and he wasn't. They made their way awkwardly past the trees and toward the great field in the middle of the Island, which was now just a vast expanse of seemingly endless white. The wind had formed the snow into curiously shaped drifts, and from here the look of the clouds was even more ominous as they churned and twisted blackly.
They stopped just beyond the treeline and stared at the sky. "Well, now what?" Thomas shouted. Charmian glanced from one end of the sky to the other, then ran out into the snow. He dashed immediately after her, grasping at her sleeve.
"When I say 'now what,' I rather hope you plan on TELLING me now what!" he cried.
"He's floating around more in that direction," Charmian shouted, waving to her right. "If I can get his attention and get him to come this way--"
Thomas waved his arms. "ARE YOU MAD?!"
Charmian waved her arms in return. "GOT ANY BETTER IDEAS?!"
"Yes," Thomas exclaimed, "like HOLING UP until you come up with a REAL plan!"
"This IS a real plan!!" Charmian retorted, when the clouds swept from side to side and the roar of the wind dulled just enough for a low booming sound to break through. They both stopped arguing and peered upwards uneasily. Charmian felt herself shaking, then realized that it was the booming sound which was making her shake, the ground trembling with each noise. She took a tiny step back and kept her eyes focused on the sky as a dim gigantic shape finally emerged, seeming almost to be one with the clouds. A great gust of snow accompanied it, obscuring their view, yet the two giant glowing yellow eyes made it clear who it was. Charmian scowled when the face cracked into a leering smile. She could hear the ice cracking on Augwak's teeth.
"Hello, FLESHLING," he boomed.
Charmian rolled her eyes. "You're not very original, are you?" she said; then, in a yell, "I said YOU'RE NOT VERY ORIGINAL, ARE YOU? I just remembered I have to SHOUT now because your head is stuck way up in a FOG all the time!"
Any other time she would have expected the comment to peeve him or send him into a screaming fit, yet all the gigantic GeeBee did now was grin from ear to ear. "Ah, that's right...tiny little insults," he said, and though he spoke in a normal voice, it was so loud that the earth vibrated whenever he spoke. "I'd forgotten just how much you enjoyed those, you see, since my head is stuck way up in a fog all the time."
"Wow. Real original," Charmian snapped.
Augwak's grin didn't waver. "Just taking a cue from the best." He lowered one hand to the ground and Charmian and Thomas watched as an entire stand of trees at the edge of the field was crushed flat beneath it. Charmian winced thinking of the manitous he had just unthinkingly killed. "Now--what was it I promised you...? Oh, that's right--the longer you hide, the more of this dippy little Island of yours I'm going to freeze and smash. Now that you're out in the open, though, you've taken some of the fun out of it."
"So go ahead and do something about it!" Charmian yelled, ignoring Thomas's tugs on her arm.
Augwak's leer grew absolutely hideous. "Impatient little speck," he rumbled, and lifted his hand up over them; Charmian braced herself, getting ready to hurl a fireball. "If you are so eager to die..." He paused, then turned his head. "No, I think something else would be more amusing right now. This Island--you would rather die than watch it be destroyed! Wouldn't you--?" And with that he swept his hand out toward the woods on the other side of the field, and smashed down the first several rows of trees, sending them flying. Charmian sucked in a gasp and felt her stomach clench; Augwak started lumbering toward them, and it was only when Thomas grabbed hold of her bodily and started carrying her back toward the woods that she realized just what danger they were really in. He stumbled and wallowed in a loose patch of snow and Charmian fell to the ground; they both scrambled to their feet and hurried for the trees. Augwak's laughter boomed overhead.
"What's the matter, fleshling? Did I hurt your feelings? Come on out and play with me!"
Charmian whirled around and clenched her fists. "NOT IN YOUR DREAMS!!" she screamed, and Thomas grabbed her arm again and yanked her out of the open.
Without a word he whirled her around in front of him and pushed her so she fell backwards; she let out a yelp as soon as she didn't feel anything beneath her. Charmian's yelp turned into a scream when she fell into the ground and out of sight of him; a moment later she struck rock and tumbled down onto a bed of ice, and winced and rubbed at her head. Thomas landed hard nearby, and Charmian looked up over herself. She frowned in confusion to see that the sky had been reduced to a mere crack of gray against black.
Crack--!
The wind howled down into the crevasse and Thomas grasped hold of her, pushing her head down. "WHERE AAAARRRRRRE YOOOOOOOUUU?" Augwak howled, and the rock walls shook around them. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
Charmian opened her mouth and Thomas promptly clamped his hand over it. She gave him a venomous look but the look he gave her matched it. "Keep quiet!" he hissed. "You can face him as soon as you have a bloody PLAN!"
"I'm tired of plans!" she felt like saying, but it came out as an indistinguishable mumble.
His grip grew tighter when a shadow loomed over the Crack. They peered up to see Augwak far overhead, looking from side to side. "Helloooooo?" he called out, and tilted his head to look over the woods. He then looked down at Crack-in-the-Island, and they could tell that he couldn't see them, yet apparently he'd gotten the idea. His eyes narrowed and he grinned, all his seeming dozens of teeth showing at once.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" he sang, and reached his long bony fingers down into the Crack.
Thomas pushed Charmian down again and crooked his hand over her, ready to fight back. Before Augwak could reach them, though, something small and bright struck him in the arm, and he hissed and withdrew his hand, rubbing at it. The other two watched as he plucked a tiny flaming arrow from his forearm and looked at it in irritation before tossing it away.
"Got a friend I should know about, fleshling?" he growled, when another arrow whizzed past him, and he scowled and bared his teeth. Charmian grabbed Thomas's hand now, tugging him toward the deeper end of the Crack.
"Moon Wolf must be dealing with him!" she whispered. "Come on! He won't reach us down here!"
Thomas obeyed, and they crawled down into the darkness. Even in all her furs Charmian shivered and chattered, as the rock surrounding them was slick and freezing with ice; they wedged themselves into the furthest corner, peering upwards uncertainly. The Crack grew narrower overhead so it was difficult to see anymore, though they could still hear Augwak moving around outside, muttering to himself. Charmian let out her breath and it came out in an icy poof.
"So," Thomas whispered, "got that plan yet?"
Charmian made a face at him, though she wasn't sure if he could see it. "I'm working on it!"
He shook his head. "You're good at thinking on your feet, but I'll be damned if you can ever sort things out ahead of time!"
"Hey! It's gotten me by this far!" Charmian retorted.
"Sure, but after enough time, one's luck tends to run out!" He peered upwards. "Trust me, you really can't go running after a GeeBee and hope to beat him at his own game. Especially not one THAT big!"
"How would you know? You ever tried?"
Thomas's mouth twitched. "You're the one with all the warnings not to go too near the west shore! You think you're the only one who knows about that?"
"What'd they do, try to chase you down?" When he looked at her she frowned. "But--you're kind of one of them. I mean, partly. Why would they try to eat..."
He looked at her as if she were totally stupid. "Hello? Cannibals...?"
Charmian flushed. "Oh. Right." She rubbed her mittened hands and looked upwards. "Well...Moon Wolf said they're weakened by fire, but mine wouldn't be enough to do much damage...so that leaves wind." She sighed. "Wind's never been my strong suit. Much less ice." She crawled forward an inch or two and continued peering out. "You could probably help me..."
"I already did," he said, and his look grew sour. "It didn't seem to do much."
"Augwak said that Chakenapok gave him the spirit of an old Wendigo," Charmian mused aloud. "Which means it must be in his spirit stone...which means I have to get to that, somehow, at least to try to weaken him. If I get that out, then he gets smaller again--I hope!"
Thomas crept forward now as well. "How about that thing you do with your hand--?" he questioned. "You know--bam?"
Charmian winced. "No, not that! I'm not using that anymore! I don't even know what exactly it does!"
"It makes big problems a whole lot smaller, is what!"
"I don't care. Getting that spirit stone back from Augwak, sure, but changing his spirit stone permanently?--I'm not going to do that! I don't even know if it has any side effects!"
"Your Wolf friend seems to be handling it well enough," Thomas said, but didn't offer any further argument when she glared at him. "Fine, all right...what else do you have in mind?"
"I don't know." Charmian chewed her lip for a moment, then turned to look at him.
"The East Bluff," she said. "I have to go that way--and maybe if I make it through the Fairy Arch, Geezhigo can give me something to help."
Thomas's brow furrowed. "The Arch again--? That's way on the other side of the Island! And how do you even know Geezhigo-Quae can help--?"
"I know how far away it is! And I don't know if she can help--but she's a windling, and knows about the GeeBees, so it's the only shot I have. The thing is I just have to GET there!" She gasped when a hunk of snow fell down into the Crack several yards ahead, and they froze when the ground vibrated, Augwak's irritated grumbling drifting down through the earth. They waited a moment or two for the noise to abate, then she glanced at Thomas again, her voice coming out in a fast whisper.
"Look--I can probably call Mani to carry me most of the way, so I'll get there fast. But I have to get out of here without him noticing." She nodded skyward. "Could you try to cover me--? Distract him, throw ice at him or something, so I can make a run for it. Get Moon Wolf to help you if you can--just long enough for me to make it to the other side of the field. That's all I need."
Thomas scowled. "That's your plan?" he exclaimed, then let out a gusty sigh and raised his hands. "Why am I even surprised! It's not like it's anything new..."
"Just for a few minutes!" she said, and shuffled forward a few paces. "Long enough for me to get to the trees," she muttered, peering out at Augwak's shadow. "He'll notice something's up and probably see my tracks, but if I can make it across the field, it should be easier..."
Thomas sighed again. "You really plan on going through with this?" he asked; when she nodded at him he shook his head. "You're either the gutsiest girl I've ever met, or you're blooming mad."
Charmian blinked. "It's probably the latter."
Thomas shook his head once more, though the corner of his mouth twitched upwards as he did so. "Again, why am I even surprised." Charmian turned to start forward through the Crack when he grabbed hold of her arm to stop her. "Hold on." She peered back and he let go of her. "What's your favorite flower?"
Charmian blinked again, then furrowed her brow. "Huh? My favorite flower? What's that got to do with..."
Thomas gave her an exasperated look. "Just tell me what is your favorite flower! It's a simple enough question!"
Charmian's face screwed up. "Well...I don't know! I like daffodils, I guess..."
"Daffodils?" Thomas nodded and then clamped his hands together. Charmian stared at him in growing confusion as he seemed to be concentrating on something, but other than that he did nothing. She was just about to turn around and leave him when she noticed ice crystals forming between his fingers and paused to look at them with some concern. Before she could ask anything Thomas's grip loosened and he carefully parted his hands. He peered into them, then opened them wider and held them out toward her.
Charmian sucked in a breath. Nestled in Thomas's palms sat a daffodil bloom seemingly made of carved crystal. It glimmered in the dim light shining down from above and she reached out to tentatively take it between thumb and forefinger. She held it up before her eyes and tilted it from side to side.
"An ice flower," she murmured, not quite certain whether to believe what she saw.
Thomas looked as if he wanted to smile at her reaction. "Everybody needs a useless talent," he said. "The best thing is, it won't ever melt." When she looked up at him he finally did smile. "One good thing that comes from being half GeeBee."
Charmian stared at him for a moment before his smile faded into a frown; her eyes had blurred just before he did so. She blinked the blur away and reached to pull at the Megis shell necklace around her neck; he sat and watched as she looped the cord around the daffodil as best as she could, securing it alongside the shell and tucking both back beneath her skins. Then she leaned forward and kissed Thomas so quickly that he didn't even have a chance to respond, other than to blink in surprise; she cast a look at him over her shoulder as she scrambled toward the shallower end of the Crack, and smiled. He stared back at her, still speechless.
"Remember," she said. "Just until I get to the trees, then you and Moon Wolf duck for cover! I'll be fine after that."
With this she turned and continued on her way upward; a moment later she could hear Thomas following, and kept her head low and her movements as quiet as possible as she approached the surface. Augwak's blustering and growling continued unabated overhead, and as she neared the end of the Crack she could see him stomping along the near side of the field, staring down into the trees. Every so often a little fiery arrow would fly out at him, and he would swipe it away and make a horrible face before trying again to find out exactly where it had come from, though the snow-heavy trees were making detection difficult. She wondered why he didn't just smash all the trees out of his way, though on the other hand GeeBees didn't tend to be the brightest creatures in the world, especially when angry.
"Moon Wolf's distracting him," she whispered to Thomas. "As soon as he turns his head, I'll run for it. And as soon as he starts to turn back, you can get his attention."
"I still think you're crazy," he said, but kept his place when she grasped hold of the rock at the edge of the Crack and got ready to run. She thought she caught a brief glimpse of Moon Wolf through the trees, though she couldn't be sure until an arrow flew up into the air; it whizzed past Augwak's face, and he swiveled his head around to look at it as he batted it away with a hiss. Charmian's leg muscles tensed and without another word she popped up out of the Crack and bolted as quickly as she could toward the field.
She allowed herself one tiny glimpse back, to see Thomas stick his head out of the ground, before turning back to the field and running with all her might. She'd never been incredibly good at relay races or sprinting, though of course that had been on the mainland; for some reason she always felt better off here. For a few paces she ran easily, then tripped and flew head over heels with a thud.
Crap! Snowshoes!!
Cringing, she popped up from the snow and hastily untied the cumbersome things, slinging them over her shoulder and resuming her run. Augwak let out a frustrated rumbling noise and started to turn back toward the field; Charmian couldn't help but glance over her shoulder again, to see Thomas go running at him, flinging his hands in the air. A gust of icy wind whipped up at Augwak's face and he shook his head; a moment later he was pelted by a seeming barrage of fiery arrows, the little missiles nicking his ears and making him bare his teeth in growing rage. Charmian turned to face her destination once more as his voice rose to a rumbling snarl which carried all the way across the field.
"Stupid little fleshlings! I have no interest in either one of YOU! That GIRL is the one I'm looking for--but I'll gladly crush you BOTH if you don't get out of my way--!"
Go on and try, dumbass! Charmian snapped in her head, her feet skimming across the snow as if it were barely an inch deep. The trees loomed dead ahead and she put her fingers to her mouth, whistling as loudly as she could.
Augwak's ears pricked up and he whirled his head around just as Charmian vanished into the trees. She scuttled down into a little hollow and collapsed against the base of one of them, gasping for breath, lungs burning. She peered up shakily to see the Wendigo glancing around the field, his yellow eyes burning. He started to scowl before something caught his attention and he leaned down closer to the ground. Charmian realized that he had spotted her tracks when he lifted his head and looked directly at her--she knew he couldn't see her, but the look he got on his face was bad enough anyway. She didn't wait another second to get to her feet and start running again just as his enraged scream shook every branch overhead.
"YOU THINK YOU'RE SO SMART, DON'T YOU, FLESHLING? I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO SMART ABOUT!!"
Charmian whistled again, frantically this time, her legs practically whirring. She dodged around trees and jumped over mounds of snow covering rocks, looking back every so often. From what little she could see of the sky through the branches, the clouds were growing ever darker, and the wind all around her picked up. She chattered and tried to pick up her already frenetic pace.
A whistle came from the woods far ahead and to her left, and she felt like collapsing in relief as soon as she spotted Mani making his way toward her, leaping through the drifts. She stumbled to a halt just as he reached her, and grabbed onto his antler to pull herself atop his back, throwing her arms around his neck.
"Mani," she croaked. "Thank God! I have to get to Fairy Arch! QUICK!"
The manitou didn't even bother questioning. He turned himself about and with a great leap was off again, bounding between the trees as if he were a rabbit.
Get Big Wind One angry--? he did ask as they neared the East Bluff. Charmian winced.
"That wasn't exactly the plan, but yeah, it worked well enough. Try to keep below the trees just in case he's watching!"
Don't worry, Mani whistled. Turtle Ones' Arch right ahead.
He vaulted off of the bluff and down through the trees, landing with a thud and a great puff of snow; Charmian spat it out as he started wallowing a bit less gracefully, but no more slowly than before, and after a moment he came to a halt. Charmian glanced around in confusion, unable to see the Arch, before remembering the state it had been in the last time she'd seen it. "Crap!" she yelled, and jumped off of Mani's back, making her way toward the nearest mound of snow and starting to dig away at it. Mani came forward and began scraping more snow away with his antlers. Slowly the rocky outline of the Fairy Arch began to emerge.
"Stupid SNOW!" Charmian barked as she dug and dug. "He is going to need a SERIOUS ass-kicking once I'm done with him--!"
Something landed in the snow just behind her and shouted, "Charmian--!"
Charmian screamed and jumped back from the Arch, Mani rearing and bristling. She nearly fell down the bluff, pinwheeling her arms to keep her balance; she spotted Niskigwun standing nearby with a surprised look on his face, and forced herself to fall forward over the edge of the Arch. She made a horrible face at him.
"DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!!"
"What are you doing?" he exclaimed when she started trying to dig again, and waved at the sky. "You should not even be out right now--!"
"I didn't really PLAN to be, if this stupid Arch wouldn't keep getting covered!!" Charmian yelled, only to freeze in mid-dig, then stand up straight and pivot around on one heel to look straight at him. Niskigwun's wings flared when he saw her stare and he held up his free hand in protest.
"I was NOT following you! I stayed nearby to keep watch over the Arch, just in case someone--"
He cut himself off with a startled gasp when Charmian grabbed hold of the front of the deerskin coat he now wore. "Those little icicle thingies!" she exclaimed, her eyes locking on his. "Those little thingies like the one you used to subdue Augwak! Do you have any more of them--?"
Niskigwun's brow furrowed. "Yes! But--"
"I need to use them!" She started poking in his pockets and pouches, rummaging through his clothes as he flushed crimson. He gingerly pulled her hand away and tugged at a pouch on his side, and she promptly took it from him and opened it up, looking at the little shards within.
"Great," she muttered, and stuffed the pouch in her pocket.
"But--" Niskigwun started to follow her when she took a few steps up the slope, Mani watching in puzzlement. "But those things will never defeat him--not in his state!" the Michinimakinong protested. "They're too small--too weak!"
"Can't talk now! Gotta go!" Charmian returned, and started madly dashing up the bluff as best as she could. Niskigwun and Mani stared after her speechlessly, before Niskigwun let out a flustered breath and flapped his wings. Mani's head popped up as he rose into the air and dove straight at Charmian, grabbing onto her and pulling her up with him. She let out a startled yelp and flailed her legs; the manitou bristled and bounded after them a few paces before realizing that he couldn't fly, and so he stood on the bluff and whistled after them shrilly, probably cursing the Michinimakinong with every manitou curse word available.
Charmian had enough time to gawk in surprise before her vision righted itself, and she blinked to realize that she was sitting neatly in Niskigwun's arms, the Turtle Fairy carrying her over the Island. She shifted her eyes from left to right, brow furrowing, before feeling the heat seep up into her face. A tiny glance at Niskigwun showed her that he just seemed annoyed.
"A foolish plan!" he groused aloud. "Going against a Wendigo with wind-shard medicine! A GeeBee is one thing--this is something COMPLETELY different! Grandmother Geezhigo-Quae will have my wings cut off for this!"
Charmian stared up at him for a moment or two before ducking her head, feeling slightly guilty but also relieved. "Thanks for the help," she said, and though Niskigwun only scowled and grumbled in response, still she felt he must understand.
The wind grew rougher and he grimaced, having to bat his wings as hard as he could, and even then they seemed to stand still in the air as the gust buffeted them from all sides. "Crack-in-the-Island!" Charmian had to yell over the noise. "That's where I was last--that's where he'll be coming from! I have to get back to him before he thinks to smash the whole Island trying to find me!"
"What do you THINK he's been doing--?" Niskigwun shouted in response, when a particularly brutal gale bombarded them, and he yelped and spun into a nosedive toward the ground. Charmian shrieked but he just barely managed to avoid disaster, whirling himself upright and landing hard on his feet, falling forward on his knees; Charmian slipped from his arms and he ended up falling atop her in the snow. Thumping noises came from nearby and Charmian sputtered at the snow in her mouth; someone grabbed hold of her hand and started to pull her out from under Niskigwun, while someone else grasped hold of the Michinimakinong's arm and pulled him up as well.
Charmian found herself standing beside Thomas, with Moon Wolf and Niskigwun standing nearby. One glance showed her that she was again at the far side of the field, her own set of prints still visible; the snow in the field was disrupted left and right with gigantic footprints, and another glance showed her Augwak at the far end toward the north point of the Island, roaring and tearing up hunks of trees. She felt a pang on seeing this destruction and stood up straight, shaking off Thomas's support.
"He's not paying us much attention anymore," he shouted. "He actually thought you might have doubled back and gone toward the Crack to try to trick him!"
Charmian blinked. "Wow. Augwak thought that? That's pretty smart, for him!" The GeeBee let out a furious scream and hurled a handful of trees into the air, their branches snapping and twisting as they crashed in the field behind him, and her anger flared. She pulled out the pouch she'd taken from Niskigwun and turned to show it to Thomas.
"Thomas! That thing you did with the ice crystals--" She dumped the little shards out onto the snow, and the others all looked down at them. "--Do you think you can do that again, with these? Merge them all together?"
Thomas's brow furrowed. "Merge--?" When she didn't take her eyes off of his he gave up and shrugged. "I suppose I could try...not that anybody around here ever explains anything to me..." He stooped to pick up the shards and gathered them in his palm, then clasped his hands around them and concentrated. Moon Wolf and Niskigwun stared at him; after a moment Niskigwun sighed and rubbed at his head.
"Divided weaker, united stronger," he murmured, earning a look from Moon Wolf. "I should have thought of this myself."
"Don't be too hard on yourself," Charmian said as ice crystals again formed around Thomas's fingers. "I only just thought of it a few minutes ago!" She glanced at Thomas's progress and said, "Could you make it look like an arrow...?"
"An ice arrow...why am I not surprised." Thomas paused and opened up his hands. The little shards were gone, now replaced by a glimmering translucent arrow. He held it toward Charmian with a puzzled look.
"It still doesn't look remarkably impressive," he admitted.
"It's what's inside that counts," Charmian said, taking the crystal arrow and looking it over. "Just one of these little things can make Augwak disappear for a few hours. A whole bunch of them together might not do the same thing on him now, but at least it might have some effect." She turned and held it out toward Moon Wolf. "Moon Wolf...think you can work with this...?"
Moon Wolf frowned slightly but took the arrow and turned it this way and that before fitting it to his bow. Charmian turned back to the field to see Augwak still busily uprooting trees and hunks of snow and earth, flinging them skyward and bellowing so loudly that even more trees fell over from the icy onslaught of his breath. Charmian gritted her teeth and stormed out into the open, cupping her hands to her mouth.
"This is the plan--?!" Thomas yelled.
"HEY! WINDBAG!!" Charmian screamed at the top of her lungs; her voice made the other three wince. Augwak's ears pricked and he lifted his head, unable to tell where exactly the little cry had come from. "WAY BACK BEHIND YOU, DUMBASS!!" Charmian yelled. "YOU WANTED ME SO BAD? WELL HERE I AM!!"
The Wendigo at last turned around on one heel, looking across the field. His stare fell on the little group huddled near the woods and he blinked, then an awful grin slowly spread across his face. He turned around fully to face them and his teeth glinted.
"There you are!" he drawled, all fangs and claws and bony angles. "And just as I was beginning to think you were a coward after all! Hiding in caves--in Cracks--" He started to come across the field, his hands and feet letting out a tremendous THUD every time they struck the ground. "Just crawling away while I turn this little hunk of rock into an icicle? But I should've known you'd be stupid enough to come back."
Charmian clenched her fists, but her mouth twitched. "Just as much of a DUMBASS as always," she shouted. "You wanted to see me so bad? Then leave the Island alone and COME AND GET ME!"
Augwak's face split into a hideous leer--"Wish GRANTED!"--and without further pause he bounded across the field, claws gouging up hunks of snow and soil as he bore down on Charmian and the others.
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