Charlie was
tired. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he continued to climb the endless
staircase. How did he get himself into this mess? If only he hadn’t been caught
and put in a zoo exhibit. The thought filled him with shame. He hoped Daniel
wouldn’t find out about that.
Charlie might look like a tiger,
but he had been changed by the wizard Daniel to be a magician’s companion. After
undergoing several magical transformations, he was now Daniel’s most faithful
companion and had been with him for decades. Unfortunately, they had been
separated when they were ambushed by a rival wizard and his minions. Daniel had
been whisked away, and Charlie was sent to the zoo.
Shaking his
head to rid himself of the memory, Charlie kept climbing. He could feel that
Daniel was in the building, somewhere high above him. All he had to do was
reach him, and they could get out of here, away from this horrible place.
His stomach
grumbled loudly, reminding him that he hadn’t eaten since the day before. The
people at the zoo had tried to feed him raw meat, but Charlie had lost his
appetite for that kind of thing long ago. He longed for Daniel’s cooking now.
He seasoned and roasted all of his meats to perfection. The thought of some
tender roasted chicken gave him the energy he needed to keep climbing.
After
climbing several more sets of stairs, Charlie could tell that he was getting
closer to Daniel. His magical senses told him that his captors were also close
by. He grew quieter as he continued to pad up the stairs. This door is the
one he thought as all of his stealth instincts came to the fore.
Turning
himself invisible, he stood next to the closed door, listening. Familiar voices
sounded on the other side. The rival wizard and his magical companion were
questioning Daniel.
“Where is
it, old man?” The rival wizard shouted the question.
Daniel only
mumbled a reply.
The rival
wizard’s companion, a large Doberman dog, sneered back in a high-pitched voice,
“You expect us to believe that? We know you’ve hidden it somewhere.”
Of
course, thought Charlie. They want the ancient spellbook. Several
months ago, Daniel and Charlie had come across the book filled with awful
spells, most of them incredibly destructive. They had decided it was too
dangerous, and had hidden it away, but of course the entire wizarding community
knew about it.
Ever so
carefully, Charlie opened the door onto a scene that made his heart sink. There
was Daniel, tied to a chair, bruises all over his face. Charlie barely
suppressed a growl that threatened to escape and blow his cover. Instead, he
eased himself inside and made himself as small as possible. The door behind him
clicked shut, and the Doberman’s head snapped toward the sound.
While he
was still invisible, he knew that the dog would catch his scent in a matter of
moments. Charlie bounded over to Daniel, where he immediately untied his bonds.
Using his own magical powers, he transferred some of his energy over to Daniel
so they could escape. Together, they raced for the door at the other end of the
room.
Bursting
through it, they saw that they had run into a closet. Daniel slammed the door
behind them, and Charlie used his bulk to hold it shut. Fumbling in his robes,
Daniel brought out a small pouch filled with traveling dust. He smiled as he
said, “Thanks for the rescue, friend.”
Charlie purred as something slammed
into the door behind him. “You’re welcome, but we’d better get out of here
quickly.”
Without answering, Daniel sprinkled
the dust into an area in front of them, where it glowed an electric blue.
Together, the two friends stepped into the magical dust and were whisked away.
They reappeared a moment later on a deserted beach on a tropical island. A
relieved sigh escaped from Charlie. He knew that they would have to deal with
the rival wizard again, but for now, they were safe. He soaked in the rays of
golden sunshine as his stomach reminded him of something. “So, Daniel, can we
get something to eat?”
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